Ok guys, please don't hate me for the delay in updating. I swear I have a really really good excuse. I was all set and excited to upload Ch.7 on Thursday night. I was thinking yay! I can update a day early! Well, to my surprise, when I went to get online to do so, I could not get onto the internet. I tried a ton of stuff to get it working again, but to no avail. Turns out, our router pretty much died. I called our internet provider Friday morning and they said they'd send us a new one and should be here no later than Monday. So TA DAH! It arrived! I just now got it hooked up, as you can see, and happy to say, here is Ch. 7! YAY! LOL! It was kind of a blessing in dusguise though, cause with the time I had on my hands, I reread and reread this chapter and decided to make it a little longer. I ended up only adding another page with it typed out on Word, but I didn't want to include too much in this chapter because of what I have planned for ch. 8, which is about halfway done at this point. :)

Ok, now onto the good stuff, as always, I wanna start out by thanking my wonderful and fabulous reviewers: Master Of The Boot, CaMiJaYe, sweetyjg, eagle219406, and buffytvslayer. You guys are the best! Reading those reviews really kept me motivated to write this week! So thank you so very much for that! :)

I also want to continue to make a shout out to those who have added either my story, or my account in general to their alerts and/or faves. It means a lot to me to know you are all anxiously awaiting more!

One quick thing as well I want to add. A hello to my wonderfully talented neice J for Jenny. She has been a great help in writting these stories because I know if I get stuck, I can turn to her and she will help me defeat that troublesome demon called: Writer's Block! LOL! Also, like I said, she's very talented. If anyone is interested in pure Buffy fiction, she is the one to read. She's currently working on one called My Sweet Escape and it's about Jenny coming back. It's really really good. In fact, as soon as I upload this, I'm gonna read the next chapter that she added the other day, when I was sans internet. I can't wait to find out what happens next! If you wanna check it out, here is the link: fanfiction .net/s/5169896/1/My_Sweet_Escape

Ok, and now, without further ado, here it is, Ch.7! I hope you enjoy!

P.S. Reviews make me feel like I'm the spider monkey on Edward's back! :)

I do NOT own the characters of Buffy or Twilight, just the very talented Joss Whedon and Stephenie Meyer do.


Chapter 7- Knowledgeable Truths

Buffy took off running after Edward. "Damn he's quick," she thought to herself. "But so am I."

Despite Dawn's attempts to stop her from going after him, she was certain she was right, and Dawn wasn't. Any number of things could have happened between the time she saw him at school yesterday, and now.

As she continued her pursuit, she tried to fathom how it could have slipped past her. If it was true that the last time Dawn had seen Edward at school was the day before, then his death had to have occurred that night. She had done patrols every night since they had arrived in town, and last night with Kennedy and Vi as well. Could they be slipping? Had a vampire fallen through the cracks somehow? She wasn't sure.

Suddenly, something else occurred to her, as she ran straight through a small stream in the middle of the forest. If a vampire had gotten into town and bitten Edward, how did the transformation happen so quickly? She had a hard time believing it was possible. As it was, it was only Wednesday, just hours since then. She could only remember the changes taking weeks, days even, but never hours. Something about this fact unnerved her. Was it possible she was dealing with another creature all together?

She began to slow her speed down, having now lost sight of him. She stopped at the edge of a clearing bathed in sunlight and glanced around. "Where am I?" she wondered. She reached into her pocket to take out Mr. Pointy, but only found a cross. "Damn it," she said under her breath, realizing that she must have left her stake on the dresser when she was rushing to get ready that morning.

She heard a twig snap behind her and she jumped, startled at the unexpected noise. She held the cross tightly and quickly turned around to see someone standing behind her.

"He's gorgeous," she thought. "No Buffy, concentrate, no more vamps guys for you."

A crooked grin spread across his face, almost as if he was laughing at her thoughts.

He knew there was no way to get out of this unless he told the truth. She had already seen too much. "You know what I am. But I assure you, I won't harm you," he said reassuringly.

"Yeah, like I've never heard that before."

"I'm different."

Buffy laughed. "They all say that. What, do you have a soul too?"

He chuckled. "Bella would choose to argue that point yes."

She was confused. Was this guy for real? She quickly held up the cross, as he took a step closer to her.

Edward chuckled again. "You're seriously kidding me with that right?" Buffy looked confused. "Stupid stereotypes." He added under his breath. Before she could realize what was happening, he had grabbed the wooden cross out of her hand.

To her astonishment he simply held it tightly in his own. She wondered how it was possible. Why hadn't his hand started smoking from something so holy touching it? She dug deeper in her pockets, searching for something else that might help. Her hand clasped a small glass bottle. "Holy water," she thought to herself.

"It may be a sunny day, but I'm not really that hot at the moment," he said with a smirk.

She hesitated. How did he know? She took the bottle out and looked up to see him smiling, almost laughing at the little bottle of liquid. She opened it and held it aloft. Edward continued to look skeptical. Was it possible that he didn't know what it was? She quickly uncorked it and threw the water at him, hitting him in the face.

She watched in surprise as he simply used his sleeve to wipe it away, as if it were nothing. The holy water had no affect either. "I took a bath this morning thank you, besides, I don't sweat," he laughed.

She was getting frightened. Nothing seemed to deter him. "What on earth are you?" she asked.

"Exactly what you think, but as I tried to explain earlier, before you got me wet, was that I'm different. My whole family is actually. Our kind does not hunt humans. We only feed on the blood of animals."

"Family?" she asked bewildered.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"What do you mean they're vamps?" Dawn asked.

Bella could tell she was going to have a tough time explaining it to her. Minutes were quickly ticking by and she wondered where Buffy and Edward were. She dug into her backpack for the emergency cell phone Edward had given her not days before. Dawn looked on as she hit the speed dial.

She heard a voice pick-up after the first ring. "What's wrong?" Alice asked anxiously.

Bella looked around to make sure no one was within earshot; there wasn't, but Jacob had begun to approach them. She glared once more at him.

"Bella, what's happening? I can't see you or Edward!"

She sighed, "That would be because a very annoying werewolf is nearby."

"It figures," Alice added bitterly.

"Wait, werewolf?!" Dawn asked, looking back and forth between Bella and Jacob.

"Thanks a lot for letting the cat out of the bag Bella," Jacob said incredulously.

Bella looked at him. "More like dog." He looked back at her, startled by her words. He was used that kind of talk from the Cullens, but his best friend?

"Bella, what's happening?!" Alice asked again, bringing Bella back to the situation at hand.

"We may have a slight problem. Buffy knows what you guys are, well, Edward at least. And she just chased him into the woods."

"She what?!" she asked shockingly. "Wait, that must be what I saw, why her and Dawn were in front of our house in my vision. What about Dawn? Does she know too?"
"Yeah, she's right here with me."

"Ok, can you see Edward and Buffy from where you're at?"

"No," Bella said with an uneasy chuckle. "That's why I called you. I was hoping that…" She stopped short when she heard murmuring on the other end.

"I don't think going after her would be advisable, she's only human," Alice said in response.

"What's going on? Who's that?" Bella asked anxiously.

"Emmett wanted to know if he should rush out there and help Edward. But Buffy's just human; I'm more concerned for her safety than Edward's. Not that he would hurt anyone, he's more of a pacifist, and…"

"Alice! Stay focused!" she interrupted her.

"Oh, right. Ok, no I can't see them, they keep changing their minds; I think I see that clearing in the woods that you and Edward go to sometimes. So they must be around there."

Bella smiled. "Thanks Alice, I'll head that way, see if I can find them."

"Bella, just be careful. I can't see anything at all now. That dog might be going with you."

"I'll try to ditch him, but I'm not making any promises," Bella said as she hung up the phone. She looked back at Dawn who was still watching Jacob in confusion.

"What are you staring at?!" He asked angrily, finally fed up.

Dawn shook her head, trying to clear the confusion in her mind. "Werewolves AND Vampires? See, I told Buffy that this town sucks!"

Bella rolled her eyes and stuffed the cell phone back in her backpack. She turned and began to head towards the forest.

"Wait!" Jacob called, stopping her. "I heard what that leech said. If you're going after them, I'm coming too. If there's a chance he could hurt someone then…"
"You think he's going to try and hurt Buffy?! That he'll try to fight?" Dawn asked alarmingly.

Bella shook her head. "Don't listen to him. Edward would never hurt anyone. I'm sure he's just trying to talk to her, explain everything." Jacob laughed and Bella glared at him.

"Actually, If Edward is as good of a person, well vamp, as you say he his, then I'm more concerned about Edward at this point," Dawn said warily.

"What do you mean?" Bella asked.

"Uh, well, my sister isn't just the new librarian in town, she's also, well…a slayer."

"A what?" both Bella and Jacob asked confusingly.

Dawn scratched the back of her head. "Uh, yeah, you see, she's a slayer, like a vampire slayer? She hunts and kills vampires."

Jacob smiled happily. "Finally someone with some sense around here!"

Bella smacked him with the back of her hand, doing no damage to him, but wincing in pain herself. She had already forgotten what had happened the last time she tried punching him. "You are such a jerk Jake!"

"Well excuse me for stating the obvious. It seems everyone on the Rez are the only ones who understand how dangerous they are! There are no good vampires."

"Uh, can I butt in here?" Dawn piped up. Bella and Jacob both turned to face her. "There is record of two that I know of, both reformed. Both having dated my sister in the past."

Bella looked confused, but turned to Jacob again, "See!"

"Wait…just wait. She dated them?" he shuddered at the thought. Dawn simply nodded in response. "Ok then, if that's true, then what happened? Why aren't they dating anymore?"

"Well, the latest is dead. He died saving the world when Sunnydale, the town we came from, got sucked into a hell mouth."

"And the other?"

"He moved to L.A." Jacob continued to look at her, encouraging her to say more. "He moved there to protect her from himself, but it's a very long story that makes no sense when you look at it from his point of view because he really wouldn't hurt her or me, or any of us, and besides that, it wasn't Angel who tried to rape her, that was Spike, but then he…"
"Enough!" Bella shouted stopping her. "I don't want a recap as if this was a television drama. While we are standing here talking, Buffy and Edward could be fighting at this moment, and I for one am not going to just stand here and wait to find out later what happens." With that she turned from the two and headed back towards the forest.

Dawn and Jacob simply looked at each other and followed after her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Family?" Buffy asked again when Edward didn't respond.

"Is there an echo out here? Yes, I said family."

"I don't believe you."

Edward grinned, "Ok, so technically we aren't related, but they are still my family."

"No, I mean I don't believe that you don't hunt humans. Why were you watching Bella if you didn't want to hunt her?"

Edward chuckled, "I know, I was just trying to lighten the mood. You are far too tense at the moment. And seeing as my brother is not here to help with that, I am forced to try to do it on my own." She looked skeptical. "Look, I know there is no way for me to truly prove to you that I am not lying; only my actions can show that. Mine and Bella's situation is complicated. I would never hurt her or another human being. You are just going to have to trust me."

"I don't, and now you're the one who's going to see the light" she said as she ran at him and kicked him squarely in the chest, knocking him backward toward and into the clearing.

"NOOOOO!!!!!!!!" a female voice shouted behind Buffy. She turned to see Dawn rushing forward, through the trees, accompanied by Bella and the guy from earlier.

Dawn got to her, and was out of breath. "What's wrong?" she asked her sister worriedly.

"Edward is a vamp, but he's ok!"

"What?"

"Bella just told me, he and his sister are and they are not evil!"

"Are you sure?" Dawn nodded. "Oh crap!" Buffy looked over at Bella sadly. "I'm sorry." She wasn't watching them, but looking past them and into the clearing.

She smiled and walked past them. The two sisters watched in amazement as they saw her enter the clearing and approach Edward, who had not burst into flames but was now standing, dusting off his clothes. His skin sparkled brightly in the sunlight. He held Bella close.

"What the?!" Buffy and Dawn both said at the same time.

"But how did you…?" Buffy began to ask.

"Manage to not see that one coming?" Edward said curtly. He looked down at the muddy footprint on his shirt. "Alice is not going to be happy about this," he added with a chuckle.

"You know she's just gonna buy you another shirt Edward," said Bella. "She rarely lets you guys wear the same things twice, you told me so yourself."

"True," he agreed.

"Uh, excuse me, can I say something?" Buffy butted in.

Edward looked at her. "You want to know why I didn't burst into flames when I fell into the sunlight correct?

"Uh, well… yeah," she said surprisingly.

"It is another myth. The same kind that makes one believe that the holy water or the cross would have any affect on me."

Bella turned her attention toward Buffy again. "Wait, so you really were gonna try and kill him?!" she said angrily.

"He's a freaking vampire! What do you expect?"

"I know he is, but he's good!"

Jacob, who was tired of standing on the sidelines, interrupted the argument by saying, "Hey, can I add something here?"

"NO!" Bella, Edward, and Buffy all shouted at once.

"Hey, I was just gonna say that I agree with this Buffy chick. If she wants to slay vamps, be my guest. At least then we won't be breaking the treaty."

"Jake?!" Bella asked alarmingly.

"Who the hell is he?" Buffy asked Dawn.

"He's Jacob Black, Bella's friend from the library, the one she was arguing with," answered Dawn. "Oh, and he's a werewolf."

"Sheesh, is nothin' a secret around here anymore?!" Jacob shouted annoyingly.

Edward looked at Bella, "He went to the library last night? Why didn't you or Alice say anything?"

"First of all, she didn't want you to have to come home early from hunting because she figured that's who was there, why she couldn't see me anymore. And secondly, you just got back, how was I supposed to tell you that? Besides, I was perfectly safe Edward," she pleaded.

Buffy put her hand over her eyes in frustration. "Ok, can everyone STOP talking for like five minutes so my head can stop spinning here? I'm getting a headache."

"Edward, maybe we should get Carlisle," Bella suggested.

He nodded. "I think that might be very advisable Bella, thank you. Yes, he will know what to do about this situation."

"Who's Carlisle?" asked Dawn.

"He's my father, well, he has been since he transformed me. I think Bella is right. We should head to our home so we can speak with him. He should be able to make some sense of all this."

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere with you blood sucker," Jacob said angrily.

"Then you're not invited Jake!"

"What happened to trying to get along Bells?"

"QUIET!" Dawn said suddenly, shocking everyone with her forceful tone. "I say we all go there and figure this out. I'm with Buff, my brain is hurting and all this arguing is giving me tummy rumblings."

"Dawn, I don't think…" tried Buffy.

"Call the gang to come with if you're worried Buff. I don't see any other way that figuring this all out is gonna work."

"Fine," she said, finally conceding. "I'm calling the gang then." She took her cell out of her back pocket to call Xander.

"And I'll call Carlisle and let him know that we are on the way," said Edward, already with his cell phone up to his ear.