Sorry, sorry, sorry this was so slow! I got a little overwhelmed with life. But your reviews and messages keep me working at it… I'll try to update again tomorrow or Wednesday as I have the next chapters decently mapped out.

Twilight is the property of Stephanie Meyer.

Two hours later we walked towards our terminal with tickets for the redeye flight back to Forks. We had tried to convince Bella to spend the night at the hotel, but she would not be swayed, and I think we were all secretly relieved to leave the scene of our encounter and get Bella back where she belonged as quickly as possible. Bella's only concern had been whether it was safe for her to fly while pregnant, but Carlisle had reassured her that flying posed no danger to healthy pregnancies, so we had driven to the airport. After hearing of our success, Esme and Alice had also booked late night flights; Alice's was to arrive an hour before ours, and Esme was supposed to land mid-morning.

Hesitantly, I had called Rosalie. While I was pretty sure her phone would be off while she hunted, I couldn't help but be nervous that I would actually reach her. Jasper, Carlisle and I hadn't discussed it, but the correct method of informing Edward of all of these doings was at the forefront of our minds. Rosalie's phone rang once and went straight to voicemail. I didn't leave a message.

We sat quietly at our gate. Jasper settled himself next to Bella, and Carlisle and I sat in the seats across from them. Jasper's eyes were a deep amber-brown and I could tell he wasn't breathing. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head and I relaxed back into my seat. I trusted Jasper to know what he was doing. Picking up a discarded newspaper, I flipped to the sports section. Following sports was always more pleasant to do away from Alice, who delighted in ruining whole seasons for me by blurting out championship results.

After a time I noticed Jasper lean in towards Bella. Her mouth was turned down at the corners, and she was biting her lower lip in agitation. With Bella, one barely needed Jasper or Edward's powers. Her thoughts and feelings constantly flickered across her face.

"Bella," Jasper softly addressed her.

She looked up at him.

"I can feel guilt pouring off you. Why are you feeling guilty?"

I glanced over at Carlisle who, like me, was doing his best to appear engrossed in his reading, but who was really listening intently to the conversation in front of us.

"Because I'm an idiot," Bella replied with feeling.

Jasper raised an eyebrow, but did not respond.

Bella gave him a petulant look and explained. "It's just--" she paused, searching for how to express her concern. "It's that the fight was too easy."

I snorted, but Bella did not look over at us, so I assumed she didn't hear.

Jasper continued to watch her, his expression mildly incredulous.

Frustrated by his lack of response, Bella's face shifted into a full-on glare. "Don't you see?" She questioned heatedly. "I left Edward. I left my husband! I left my family! But I didn't even need to. You weren't in any danger, and I was foolish to think that you were. And now I don't know what I am coming home to." Her eyes flickered to me, and she continued in softer tones. "I know that Edward is not really okay. I know what him leaving me did to him last time, and this time must have been so much worse." Her voice rose again in agitation. "For me to leave him like that after promising myself to him forever… How will he ever forgive me for that?" She ended desperately.

A glance at Carlisle showed me a glint of his previous rage suppressed under his tranquil demeanor. I felt the anger too. Aro had threatened Bella's safety and had known exactly how to manipulate her loving nature to force her away from us. And we had failed to protect her as we should have. And here she sat, blaming herself.

I wanted to rail at her and make her see reason; make her see that none of this was her fault and convince her that Edward would welcome her back with open arms. But before I could make a move, Jasper responded.

"Thank you for telling me," he said evenly. "I'd like to ask you to do something for me, now. I'd like to ask you to forgive yourself. I'll help to take away your pain and guilt, but you can't fight me. Carlisle told you yesterday that you are not to blame for any of this. You have done nothing wrong. You acted as you always do—bravely and selflessly. And we cannot be certain that if you had acted differently, things would have turned out better. If you hadn't gone with him, Aro very well might have turned you as he threatened to do. And," he paused, "Edward will be fine. He will understand what you did and why you did it, and be nothing more than eternally grateful that you are safely reunited with him."

Bella stared at Jasper, her lips slightly parted in surprise. I was surprised too. It was rare to hear Jasper give such a speech.

"May I help you?"

Bella nodded mutely, and he rested a hand on her knee. I felt the peace Jasper sent her and my muscles relaxed without me being aware that they were tensed.

Soon our plane began boarding. As first class passengers, we were first to on. Bella took the window seat, and, after a nod from Jasper, I settled myself next to her. Airplanes were challenging enough for him because of the confined space and re-circulated air.

As other passengers continued to file onto the plane, Bella's eyes drooped. Jasper's dose of calm was clearly taking effect. I took down some pillows from the overhead compartment and positioned them against the window, motioning her to lean against them. She smiled groggily at me.

"I used to be able to curl into one seat," she murmured, "But curling is currently not the most comfortable position."

I chuckled, and, raising the armrest, scooped up her legs and laid them across mine. She was now almost fully reclined, and I could tell she was struggling to keep her eyes open.

"You think Jasper's right?" She asked sleepily. "You think Edward will forgive me?"

"Of course," I reassured her. In what universe could he not?

She nodded and mumbled to herself before her eyes closed fully and her breathing slowed. Carlisle passed a blanket forward and I awkwardly covered her, trying not to shift her legs.

"Sleep well, Bella," I whispered.

We sat in silence as the plane took off, but after we were in the air I turned my head so I could see the seats behind me.

"How should we approach Edward?" I asked.

Jasper and Carlisle were not surprised by my question. Sometimes Edward needed delicate handling.

"If she's not there, he very well may still do something stupid," Jasper agreed.

"I think that she should have the opportunity to tell him everything herself," Carlisle said slowly. "But I do worry about his reaction to all of this. I don't want him racing off to revenge himself against Aro after everything she has been through to try to keep him safe. I don't want to see her hurt."

Jasper and I nodded.

"Her presence is the most likely antidote to his rage," Jasper said.

"But we should be there in case that is not enough to knock some sense into his thick skull," I growled.

Carlisle laughed shortly. "Fair enough," he agreed.

Bella slept peacefully the duration of the flight whether because of Jasper's calming presence or her utter exhaustion I couldn't tell. When the plane reached the terminal I leaned forward and brushed my hand against her warm cheek.

"Bella, you need to wake up," I said softly.

She stirred and muttered, "Five more minutes," before attempting to roll over. She slipped from her seat and I steadied her, laughing. Her eyes snapped open.

"Even clumsy in your sleep, I see," I poked her lightly and she laughed before straightening up.

We exited the plan and made our way out of the airport. As we left the security checkpoint, I noticed a small black blur making its way toward us. While still in motion, it planted a kiss on Jasper's surprised mouth before careening to a stop in front of a shocked Bella. Graceful little Alice lurched forward unsteadily, clearly thrown off balance by her abrupt halt. She windmilled her arms to steady herself, and looked to Carlisle, who was covering a smile.

"Is she breakable?" she gasped.

"No more so than normal," he chuckled.

Alice grinned maniacally and threw herself at Bella, securely wrapping her up in her tiny arms.

Tears streamed down Bella's cheeks. "I'm so sorry Alice," she muttered. "I missed you so much!"

"Hush," Alice said firmly, untwining one of her arms from Bella to place a firm hand over her mouth. "Not another apology from you. Well, unless you feel guilty enough to let me decorate the nursery?"

Bella gave a strangled laugh. "Of course Alice. Who else could I count on to keep my child ridiculously fashionable?"

Alice squealed and kissed Bella's cheek. Then they stared at each other before erupting into laughter.

"Alright ladies, I think that's enough," Jasper said, stepping forward to peel his tiny wife off of Bella. The three of us couldn't hide our grins. Bella and Alice were nothing alike, and yet they were so perfect for each other.

As we went to retrieve our vehicles from long term parking, I saw Carlisle lean in towards Alice.

"Can you see how he'll react?" He questioned softly.

Alice shook her head. "I just see him coming in the door and looking in. He freezes, but then I don't see anything after that, because there's no way to know what he will decide to do."

Carlisle nodded. "And Bella's future? Can you see her again?"

Alice looked uncertain. "Yes and no. As soon as I saw her, her future snapped back into place. I can see her again, but it's like I am being overwhelmed with visions of too many possible futures. I guess so much is up in the air right now, it is impossible to settle on one."

We reached the cars and Alice pulled Bella firmly into her little yellow Porsche. Rosalie had driven me to the airport, so I joined Carlisle in the Mercedes. Jasper climbed in as well, rather than squeeze into the back of Alice's vehicle.

We caravanned to the house, while Jasper sent out tidal waves of calm. As we approached Forks, Carlisle pulled out his phone.

"How long?" he questioned.

"Just minutes after us," I heard Alice's voice reply.

We pulled into the long driveway and the engines shut off. I moved quickly to Bella's door, and opened it, helping her to her feet.

"Emmett, when did you become such a gentleman?" She asked, giggling.

I grinned down at her. "Probably after my sister got knocked up," I replied in a mock growl. "With my brother's child…" I added as an afterthought.

Bella laughed, but Carlisle shot me a warning glance. Oh right, Edward would be arriving any minute, and we were supposed to let Bella tell him herself.

We trooped into the house, dropping the few bags we had traveled with, but before we had settled Alice tapped Bella's shoulder.

"He's here," she said softly.

Bella turned toward the door. Her eyes were wide in her pale face, and we could all hear the hammering of her heart. But she stood determinedly.

The door opened. The morning light silhouetted Edward's form, but he did not make a move to enter the house. He had clearly caught Bella's scent. My Rosalie appeared behind him, visibly irritated, and shoved him through the doorframe, following him in before she too froze.

Edward stared at Bella, taking in her whole form. The agony we had seen daily on his face since Bella had left was replaced by a rigid mask. I had no idea what thoughts were passing behind his empty eyes.

I tried not to bombard him with my thoughts, but I couldn't help cautioning, Don't hurt her. It's not what you think. What were we thinking allowing them to meet in this way? Of course Edward would believe what we had—that Bella had cheated on him and left—and it would be crushing for her to have him to doubt her in that way.

"No Edward!" Alice's shrill cry cut the silence.

But she was too late. Edward had already turned and fled through the doorway, moving so quickly it was impossible for my eyes to track him.

Shit.