Hi everybody!

A huge thanks to PurpleMadDragon, lionlambnatz, VainVamp, teamedwardtwilightfan, holtethus, -KiwiCullen-, Dragz1991, gaby47, TwilighterMindBodyAndSoul, Blue Brat24, allybrookecullen, violet ski, ???, brittany86, Cina's, Genevieveforfun, violet shuyler and sprinter1 for their reviews. Thank you all so much.

So sorry that this wasn't up sooner, but the uploader was all out of whack! Managed to get it up in the end though ;)

Its my birthday on Wednesday, so lets see if we can some more reviews, hey? Call it my birthday present!

The reaction to the last chapter was awesome. I'm really glad that you all liked it. If you liked the last one, then you should love this one…

This chapter is named after "Gold" by Spandau Ballet. Can't beat the 80's!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight… but if I do own it, I haven't seen any of the money!

Bella Swan's Point of View

Thump, thump, thump…

That was all that was going through my delicate head as I woke up the next morning.

Thump, thump, thump…

It seemed that stress was not the best thing for a person who felt that she was going clinically insane! But I suppose that's what happens to you when you are taken by vampires to be led to death, almost get beaten up by one of the vampires, then find out you are having a real chick-flick, butterflies in the stomach, goose bumps all over your body moment with the soothing vampire.

The thumping wasn't some irritating person banging on the door and it wasn't the loud noise of music from the next room. It was the horrible migraine that had worked its way into my head overnight. The migraine that I couldn't seem to shift. The migraine that I needed to be rid of as soon as possible.

Instead of a dream or a nightmare, everything that had happened yesterday had filtered through my mind whilst I slept peacefully, and it had finally caught up with me. The whole problem with James, the thing going on between Edward and I, the fact that any moment now, I will be going to the Volturi to meet my 'destiny'. I couldn't take it anymore, and from the looks of it, neither could my head.

It killed.

As I opened my eyes, allowing them to focus after hours of sleep, I grabbed my forehead in some stupid attempt to ease the throbbing. But my hands weren't magic and the pain didn't stop. The morning sun shone brightly through my window, and as I looked directly at it, my migraine hurt even more.

Well that was clever, wasn't it?!

I turned my head to look at he other side of the bed and let out a sigh, my happy mood from the previous night deflated. I was alone in my bed, no one was with me, so I knew that Edward must have left at some point in the night.

I was not sure what had transpired between me and the vampire last night, if anything at all, but I felt that we had sort of turned a corner in our… relationship. There was no hatred there anymore. Anything bad that had passed between us in the past seemed to have disappeared and was now forgotten. We were friends now, that much I was sure of… but how close was that friendship? I did not know.

His concern over my well being and my concern over his showed that we seemed to care, but how strong and deep was that care? He had been so delicate last night, so soft and so gentle that I had to wonder if a vampire's strength was truly real or just a myth. He had lain down at my side, he had stroked my hair, he had whispered softly to me and allowed me to get to know him a little, he had… kissed my cheek… What did it all mean, what was transpiring between us, why did I want it to happen again?

And this was one of the few things that were causing the migraine to thump through my head the way that it was. I was scared… I was confused… I was annoyed… I was downright lost!

I wanted the thumping to stop. Now.

I sat up slowly, trying to move my head as little as possible, closing my eyes in an aching pain. I hated migraines. They were so painful and really difficult to get rid of. I'd rather have a headache or a stomachache rather than a migraine. It was hurting my eyes and making my movements and thoughts really groggy and slow.

I felt like I had no motivation and did not want to move, but I knew I had to. I had to get out of this bed and go into the living room. I had to go and sort out what had happened yesterday. I had to see if James had calmed down. But most of all, I had to get some pain relief for this damn migraine. Doing my very best, I got out of bed and reached for some clothes, quickly getting dressed.

Once ready, I moved to the bedroom door and placed my hand on the doorknob.

"No!" I heard a voice from the other side of the door, causing me to halt my movements. It was James. "Why should I apologize? She provoked me! I did nothing."

"James, be reasonable," came Jasper's voice.

"Reasonable? Are you forgetting what she is? She's some dumb human who we were sent to fetch for Aro. You speak of her as if she is a friend or something."

"I'm just saying, if you apologize it will keep the peace and make this whole thing a lot easier."

"Well, I'm sorry, but she can apologize to me instead."

And with that, I heard the front door open and slam closed.

"James, wait," I heard Jasper shout before the door open and closed again.

Yeah, everything is fine and dandy. No problems here, Bella!

It seemed my subconscious was not very sympathetic over my migraine, otherwise she would restrain from talking to me and hurting my head even more. But no, she'd rather prove me wrong... as usual. It really did seem that nothing had calmed down since yesterday. James was being just as stubborn as ever and I had a feeling that making peace was going to be difficult. This was just making my stress and my head even worse.

"He can be so stubborn at times," came Laurent's voice.

"Tell me about it," said Edward.

I was not totally sure where Jacob was, probably asleep knowing the werewolf, but I was still not alone in the hotel room. Edward and Laurent were still here keeping watchful guard over their human prisoner. For now though, my problems with the vampires had to wait. Something for my head was what I needed now, anything to stop this god damn awful pain.

Everybody was still on edge, so I felt it best to avoid all detection. I had caused all of this tension, so it was probably best to remain out of the way and unseen. I was sure that a first aid kit would be in one of the many cupboards in the kitchen area, so I would sneak over to it and search through them without annoying the vampires. Simple, right? I sure hoped so…

Opening the door a little, a got onto my hands and knees and began, slowly but surely, entering the main area of the hotel room. Edward and Laurent were both seated upon the sofa, their backs to me and I knew therefore that it would be much easier to get through if they couldn't see me. As quickly but as quietly as possible, I managed to crawl to the kitchen, getting there in one piece. When I got there, I sat down and leaned my back on one of the many cupboards, totally out of sight. My head was absolutely killing me now and I could not wait to get some medicine.

I felt my temperature getting higher as I sat there, taking deep breathes. I felt like I was on some spy mission with my hiding and my crawling, like James Bond or Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible. Maybe I really was going clinically insane... I wouldn't be surprised if I was…! I closed my eyes and began rubbing my temples in an attempt at pain relief. Seriously, why me? I brought my knees up to my chest and waited a few minutes, just to give my head a bit of a rest.

Just at that moment, I heard someone cough, causing my eyes to shoot open. I looked and spotted Edward looking down at my sitting form, confusion apparent upon his angel's face. He must have heard a noise from the kitchen and was probably wondering what I was doing there, sitting on the kitchen floor considering I had not long been asleep in my bed.

I just looked up at him before closing my eyes again, pushing my face into my knees. I let out a small groan as my head moved too fast for my migraine. Pain shot everywhere and I wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and cry.

Almost suddenly, he was crouching at my side, a cold hand upon my shoulder, his voice laced with concern. "Bella, what's wrong?"

"Migraine," I answered, my voice muffled by my knees.

"Is everything alright, Edward?" Laurent suddenly called, and I tensed up. Edward wouldn't be so upset about my sneaking around, but Laurent might. If James was anything to go by, I did not want to see Laurent's reaction.

"Fine," Edward replied. "Just… picking up a fork. Jacob must have let it drop."

Thank god the vampire can think on his feet!

"Alright, well I'm going to see where James and Jasper have gotten to, see if we can sort all of this out."

"Well, let me know if you find them," Edward replied, covering my body and keeping it hidden whilst Laurent walked past us and straight out of the front door. I let out a small sigh of relief and Edward quickly turned back to me, the soother making his welcome appearance.

"How bad is it?" he asked, not having to keep his voice low now that practically everyone had gone. Only Jacob was here, I could tell from the sound of the echoing snores coming straight from his room!

"It kills. It hurts to even move my head," I replied, rubbing my temples a little more.

"Alright, well let's get you seated on something a little more… comfortable, and then we'll see what we can do."

I stood up slowly and with the help of Edward, began walking over to the sofa. He kept his arm around my shoulder, even though I didn't really need it, and walked me over to it. I collapsed into the sofa when I reached it, reclining back into the soft and comfortable seat. As soon as he knew that I was ok, he went back over to the kitchen and began searching through the cupboards for the first aid kit. He quickly found it and walked back over to the sofa, seating himself next to me.

He opened it up and found a cooling pad in it, quickly tearing it from its packet. As soon as it was free, he carefully placed it on my forehead, gently pressing it down, making sure I was getting its full effect. It began working immediately and I could really feel its influence.

"You should keep that on for a while before you take any tablets," he told me.

I did as he said and lay back, allowing the cooling pad to work its magic. Meanwhile, Edward began searching through the first aid kit for some aspirin. I watched as he did this, curious over his movements.

"You know, this is the second time you've helped me when I've been ill," I told him. "I mean, you knew how to bandage an arm and now you're helping my migraine."

"Well, if a lady needs help, I'll gladly give it."

"How do you know how to do all of this?"

He hesitated. "My maker is a doctor. A good one too. I learnt it all from him," he said, and as he spoke those words, he smiled. It was a happy smile, almost as if he was thinking back to another time. It was the same smile I gave when I thought about my old life and Charlie.

"Your maker?" I asked, not quite understanding.

"The vampire who turned me and made me what I am."

"Oh," I said. "I'm sorry I brought it up."

"No, it's fine. It's not a bad thing, I mean Carlisle is a wonderful man, probably the most wonderful man I know. He was like a father to me."

His use of the past tense confused me. "What do you mean, was?" I asked and when I saw his face contort into something painful, I knew that I had gone too far with my questioning. He looked as if he was hurting inside, like the mention of this other vampire was causing him pain. It wasn't a bad pain in the sense that this man had done something terrible to Edward, it was almost like a pain of longing.

"Oh, god. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything, I didn't mean to pry... I've done it again, haven't I? I'm too nosey for my own good, I-"

"Bella, don't worry. Its nothing, seriously," Edward said, smiling, yet I knew it was forced. I could see in his deep red eyes that the smile was not a true one… Hang on…

Those eyes… they aren't red.

"Edward… your eyes…"

He stopped breathing, our previous conversation forgotten and he stopped looking through the first aid kit, turning to look at me, looking like deer caught in the headlights. As much as my head hurt, I could not help but look at his eyes. I leaned forward, the cooling pad slipping from my forehead and I grabbed his marble chin in one hand, moving his head from left to right, getting a better look at his eyes. No, they were not red, they were not red at all. There was a hint of red… that was clear to see, but another color was mixed with it… a color that I had never seen on a vampire before.

"Your eyes, like look… golden."

"I know," he said, turning his head away, essentially releasing it from my weak human grip. He carried on searching through the first aid kit. "You should put the cooling pad back on."

"But why are they gold?" I asked, following his instructions and reclining on the sofa again.

"New diet," he answered simply and avoidingly, pulling out some aspirin.

"Of what?" I asked. New diet? Vampires can only drink blood. What the hell can he possibly be eating or drinking in a new diet that he would be able to survive on?

Edward ignored me, choosing to get up and fetch me some water instead.

Touchy subject much!

His secrets were annoying and were only working to help my migraine feel worse. So he didn't want to tell me, what was so bad about that? Nothing, but my curiosity was getting the better of me again and causing me to stress even more… therefore the migraine got worse. It was stupid really, but there was nothing I could do about it. I was too nosey for my own good at times.

The initial shock of Edward's eyes had caused me to momentarily forget the pain, but his secrets made me remember it all over again and I wanted nothing more than a couple of aspirin. I closed my eyes again, willing the pain gone.

"Here," Edward said, ripping me from my musings. He was sitting beside me again, handing me the water and the aspirin. I took them without hesitation and swallowed them down, hoping that they worked quickly.

"Thank you," I said, sitting up.

"No problem," he smiled, this time the smile being genuine. He clearly wasn't going to tell me about his eyes, but this wasn't over. I was determined to find out about them someday. "You should rest though and let the tablets take effect."

"Alright," I nodded, standing up from my seat.

I took a step forward, ready to go back to room to rest... somehow managing to find something to trip over. How I managed it, I don't know, but Bella Swan, no matter how ill, can always find a way to fall flat on her face! I let out a tiny squeal at my stupidness and closed my eyes as I fell and braced myself for impact…

Only it never came.

Instead of the floor hitting me, a pair of hard marble arms wrapped around my waist and stopped me from colliding with the carpet. I opened my eyes in bewilderment as soon as I realized that the floor was never coming and was quickly pulled back by the arms until I was on Edward's lap, safe from any injury.

I did not move as Edward held me and rested his head upon my back, his cold temperature seeping through my clothes and reaching my skin. He held me tight, almost as if he never wanted to let me go, but not so tight that he would hurt me. Now the thumping was coming from my heart rather than my head and my migraine was suddenly forgotten in the midst of everything that was happening.

He was… holding me… in that way…

But this shouldn't be happening. He should not have me sitting on his lap with his arms wrapped protectively around my waist. He should not be resting his head against my back, almost showing me affection. He should not be holding me the way that he was... like a lover would. None of this should be happening. None of it.

It's insane. He's a vampire and I'm a human. I'm a kidnapee and he's my kidnapper. I'm single, but he has a fiancée. Everything about us was wrong, so wrong, so very wrong… but… why did it all feel so right?

"Edward," I tried, trying to get his attention. Instead, his arms held me tighter, his face nuzzling my back.

"Let me go," I said firmly, if reluctantly, attempting to push his arms away with my weak human strength.

"So soft and warm," I heard him mumble into my back, causing shivers to run up and down my spine.

"Edward!" I said, a little louder this time, knowing that this was going too far. This seemed to snap him out of it and he quickly let go, allowing me room to stand up.

"Oh god. I'm sorry," he said, seemingly flustered, running his hand through his hair. "Are... are you alright?"

"Fine," I replied. "Uh... thank you... for catching me." And with that, knowing that my blush was covering my face, I quickly ran to my room, diving under the covers in the hope of getting a few hours sleep and trying to forget how good his arms felt wrapped around me.

xXx

My nap was short, but useful and I found that a combination of aspirin and sleep had almost gotten rid of my migraine. The pain was practically gone and I felt a lot better.

It was 2 in the afternoon when I woke up, and I knew that now was a better time than any to set everything straight. It was no good constantly putting off the inevitable. I would have to face James at some point and there was no better time than the present. So with a new found confidence and a migraine-free head, I walked out of my bedroom and into the living room, my head held high.

James wasn't there.

He was nowhere to be found and I was rather disappointed. All it meant was that I'd have to wait even longer to sort all of this out. Laurent was still gone too, probably keeping his friend company, but Jasper had returned. He, Edward and Jacob were all seated around the TV, watching the only show that seemed to be on in English. Jacob turned his head to see me when I entered the room, and a grin appeared on his face.

"Well, good morning, Sleeping Beauty! It's about time you woke up!"

"Good morning, Jake," I smiled as I headed on over to them. Jasper greeted me with a nod and Edward smiled at me… bashfully.

Wow, the vampire's embarrassed. Never thought I'd see that!

"Did you sleep well?" Jake asked me.

"Yes, very well thanks," I smiled. I noticed my Jane Eyre book placed on the coffee table, the catalyst that had started the whole argument and suddenly felt the urge to read. It was an urge that I felt quite often in my life and right now, I felt no need to fight it. I quickly picked up the book and, realizing that I had no interest in the TV show that they were watching, began to read.

Time passed rather quickly during the day. My migraine finally disappeared completely and I was happy when Jacob made me a sandwich for my lunch. James and Laurent did not return, but I knew they would be back soon enough and I would have to say sorry when they finally did return. There was a lot of tension between everyone since the argument, and the only way to get rid of it would be to apologize and set everything right again.

I spent my day curled up on the chair in the living room, reading away, totally content in what I was doing. Reading was my one escape, the one thing I could do that I could consider normal. My books were my only way out of this nightmare, even if they allowed me escape for just a few hours.

"What are you reading?" Jacob asked me, breaking me from the story.

"Jane Eyre," I replied. "It's one of my favorites."

"What's it about?" he asked, genuinely curious, probably just trying to make conversation.

"It's the story of a young woman and her life under the watchful eye of her employer," Edward answered for me, all eyes turning to him. Never thought Edward would be a big Jane Eyre fan, huh. "It's a story of class, misery, secrets, betrayal, but most of all… love."

"A love story?" Jake enquired.

"Yes," Edward answered. "Jane Eyre. The story of a monster falling in love with a young innocent girl." He chuckled to himself then and looked at me, boring his now golden eyes into my brown ones. "How… appropriate."

My eyebrows furrowed at his words as he looked away and watched the TV again, almost as if nothing had happened. What did that all mean? Why did he speak in such earnest? Why did he look at me like he did? Why did he focus on that particular characteristic of the story?

I swallowed. Hard.

What could he possibly mean?