A/N: I have fought FF all day to upload my story! Thank you BUTTERFLYBETTY for finally getting this up!! Searching will be updated tomorrow or Wednesday! If anyone wants to learn how I uploaded PM me. :)

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Once Bella was completely calm I whispered to her that I needed to make sure that the wolves knew about my family's imminent arrival. I opened the downstairs door and called out. Three large wolves loped into view, before the one I knew as Sam turned into the trees, coming back moments later in a large pair of sweatpants.

"Carlisle, Jasper and Edward will be here this afternoon, followed this evening by Alice, Rose and Emmett," I said to them.

I watched for Sam's reaction. To say that the reaction was mixed would be an understatement. The fact that he would no longer need to play guard dog was obviously pleasing, but the fact that six more vampires would soon be on his doorstep was anything but.

"I assume that you won't be staying here long, that you will be taking Bella away soon," Sam said, obviously needing a bit of good news.

"Yes. She will likely need to be in an area far from humans, and since she is supposed to be dead…" I said.

"Agreed. Will you return to Forks again?" he asked.

"We would like to return here again in sixty or seventy years," I said, calmly. "It really is the perfect climate for my family."

"There will be wolves waiting to protect our interests at that time," he said with a nod.

"I expect that their will, and we will look forward to meeting the next chief and maintaining our treaty," I said.

"That all depends on you," he said.

"We will keep our side of the treaty. We appreciate all the help you have given us in this matter," I said.

"Is it true about Charlie Swan, that he was killed by one of the vamps?" he asked, although it seemed to pain him to do so.

"Yes. Alice, my middle daughter, can see the future. Victoria did kill Charlie, although she didn't drain him, just crashed him into a tree. He will be found in the morning," I said.

"Couldn't she have seen it before?" he asked.

"She's been asking herself that same question, but unfortunately her gift is not infallible. She would have had to be looking for either Charlie or Victoria for it to work," I said.

"So she can't see everything?" he asked, a slight smile visible on his face.

"No, the future isn't concrete. People change their minds, situations change… Most of the time that affects the future. Some visions, like Alice's vision of Bella becoming a vampire, will happen no matter what… Although Edward was willing to sacrifice everything to try to change it," I said.

"I see," he said, nodding his head slowly. "Why didn't he want her?"

"He did, more than anything ever, but becoming a vampire was not his choice, it was death or vampire life… Carlisle chose vampire life, with the help of his human mother. It isn't the easiest thing, vampire life. You are stuck forever at whatever age you were when you were changed. So for the kids, it means that they attend high school over and over and over again. He didn't want her to have to sacrifice anything to be with him," I said.

"I can see the problems," he said, and I was glad to be encouraging discussion between our groups. The more they understood us, the easier it would be.

"Then there is the issue with others of our species. Not everyone understands our desire to live near humans. They believe themselves superior and feel the need to flaunt that superiority whenever they can," I said. "The two who are here, obviously fall into that category."

"We'll take care of them, if need be," he said.

"All the same, please be careful. Laurent and Victoria are very experienced and extremely lethal," I said.

"We can handle ourselves," he said gruffly, not liking the fact that I was warning them about anything.

"Of that I have no doubt. But I still have no desire to see you or your friends injured, or worse. If there is anything we can do to help, please let me know," I said.

"It will be a cold day in hell before we come to leeches for help," he said.

"Still," I said. "The offer still stands. I wish our natural enmity were not so. In other circumstances, I would enjoy getting to know you and your people better."

"In these circumstances, I am glad of your distance," he said.

"I can see that," I said. "It is time for me to return to my daughter. I don't like leaving her alone for long."

"Fine," he said. "Send her our condolences about her father."

"Will do," I said. "Thank you."

He turned towards the trees and phased back to wolf form and I made my way up to Bella's side. I didn't move again, until I heard a car in the driveway. I took a deep, unnecessary breath and whispered to Bella.

"They're here," I told her softly.

Through her change I knew she could hear me. I saw the tears, but her heart rate and breathing had pretty much remained the same. As soon as the words were out of my mouth her heart began to race in her chest and her breathing would be better described as panting.

"Bella," I said, worried. "What do you want me to do?"

Tears began to flow down her cheeks again.

"Carlisle needs to see you. Do you want me to keep Jasper away?" I asked.

No response. No change.

"Do you want Edward in here?" I asked.

She frantically shook her head no.

"Calm down and I will tell him you don't want to see him," I told her, hearing the car getting closer. "But, Carlisle will insist on getting in here."

She calmed down visibly after that.

"I will meet them at the door and let Carlisle up. I will do everything I can to keep Edward away until you are ready. I love you," I told her, kissing her cheek before I made my way down to the front door.

Edward was at the door before the car was stopped with Jasper at his side. His eyes were frantic and I could tell he wanted to see her, more than anything.

He didn't say a word, he simply tried to push past me, anxious to see Bella.

"No," I said, as I grabbed his arm.

"What do you mean , no?" he asked. "She needs me."

"No, Edward, she doesn't," I said.

"What do you mean?" he asked, getting frantic and angry.

"She doesn't want you there," I said firmly.

He looked like I had ripped his heart out of his chest.

"What do you mean, Esme?" Jasper asked. "Is she speaking?"

"No," I said. "She became very agitated when I heard your car. I asked her what she wanted and she let me know… I'm sorry."

Carlisle rushed into the house then. He stared at Edward who was sagged against Jasper. Jasper had an incredibly pained look on his face, obviously sensing Edward's emotions.

Carlisle flung his arms around me, lifting me into his arms, my safe haven.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry," he whispered in my ear.

"I love you," I told him.

"As I you," he said. "Where is she?"

"In our room?" I said.

"May I?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Please Carlisle…" Edward whispered, pain evident in his voice. "Make sure she is okay."

He nodded and followed me back to the room. Once there, he talked to Bella as though he expected her to answer, letting her know how sorry he was for leaving as he did a thorough check up. Once he was done, he caressed her cheek, as any father would and looked at her sadly.

"I love you my daughter," he said.

She remained calm.

"We need to talk," he said to me.

"I can't leave her alone," I said. "I promised."

"Edward can sit with her," he said.

As soon as that suggestions was past his lips, Bella's heart rate picked up and she began to struggle on the bed.

"Shh," I said as I rushed to her side. "It's okay."

I looked at Carlisle pointedly.

"Jasper could sit with you," he said to her calmly, and it was as though we flipped a switch. She was instantly calm and her heart rate returned to normal.

I could hear Edward groan in pain from the living room.

Jasper was at the bedroom door as soon as we opened it and I smiled at him as I walked past.

"Talk to her," I said. "Tell her what you know."

He nodded in response.

Carlisle and I went to the living room. I knew Edward was hurting, and as mad as I was at him, he needed to be involved in this conversation, for his own mental health.

"So," Carlisle started. "Her change seems to be going a lot faster than any of my previous experiences."

"What does that mean? Is she okay? When is she going to wake up? I need to talk to her. I need to tell her…" Edward said.

"Chill, Edward," I said. "One question at a time."

"Who are you to tell me to chill?" he snarled at me.

"The person who kept her alive when you couldn't be bothered," I snarled back.

"You know that's not true!" he snarled back. "I love her. I love her so much that I could barely breath when we were apart."

"I need to see her," he said, starting towards the stairs.

"No," I roared, and blocked his path.

"Get out of my way," he said.

"No! I promised her. I am standing up for her and until she lets me know that she wants to see you, you will not set foot in that room!" I threatened.

"If you don't get out of my way, I will make you move," he snarled.

"Enough Edward!" Carlisle said. "Bella has made herself clear, even without words, and she does not want to see you now. Deal with it! We have things to discuss. Now sit down and shut up!"

Edward looked from me to Carlisle and walked into the living room with a huff.

"How much faster, Carlisle?" I asked.

"Emmett was the fastest change out of all of you, just under three days. Even with him, he didn't show this level of change until 50 hours had elapsed, and we aren't even at 24 hours yet," he said.

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked, worried about Bella.

Edward snarled from his position at the far side of the living room.

"No. Something right," he said.

Edward growled again, obviously displeased.

"What?" I asked turning to him. "If you have something to say, just say it!"

"Never mind," he muttered.

I turned to Carlisle and took a deep calming breath.

"Why do you think her change is happening so quickly?" I asked.

"Honestly," he said. "I think she was ready for it. All of you fought against the burn, she welcomed it. Instead of her body fighting against the venom, she is allowing it to do what it needs to do. It is just a theory, though."

"It makes sense," I said.

"No it doesn't," Edward said under his breath.

"That's it! I've had it with you and this attitude. I know you have something to say so just damn well say it!" I snarled, walking over to him and getting right in his face.

"Why was changing her the only option? She could have remained human…" he said.

"It wasn't the only option. I could have taken her and run. However, it was the option she chose, and I respected her enough to let her make that choice," I said.

"Respected her?" he scoffed.

"Yes. Unlike you who made her feel unwanted when she would say anything about it to you. Did you ever think of that?" I asked.

"I did not make her feel unwanted!" he said.

"Yes. Yes, you did, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen!" I said. "Every time you made light of her choice or refused, it was like you saying, 'I don't love you enough to change you' or 'You're fun for now but I don't want you for an eternity'."

"That's not what I said though," he roared, before getting quiet. "It's not what I meant. I didn't want her to sacrifice everything to be with me. She shouldn't have to…"

"You never took into account what she wanted! It was all about you, and what you thought was best for her. Did you ever stop to think about her?" I asked.

"Every second of every day," he said, almost in a whisper.

"But you didn't look at it from her point of view," I said.

"But I know what this life is like. I know the hardships!" he said.

"So you planned to stay with her through her human life and then when she died? Then what?" I asked.

"I would have found a way to die too," he said.

"And what of your family?" I asked. "We obviously don't factor in to that choice. We all grew to love her as a sister and daughter. So we get that for fifty years and then we all lose her, and you. Is that fair to us?"

"No, but I couldn't take everything away from her. She could have gone on to get married and have a baby…" he argued.

"Did you ever ask her if she wanted that?" I asked.

"We talked about it briefly. But she would have at some point," he said.

"Maybe and maybe not," I said.

"Look at you and Rose," he said. "You both long for a baby."

"Yes, and at the point we were changed it was a desire in both of our hearts. Alice doesn't, nor do any of the Denali's," I said, having given a lot of thought to the situation.

"But how can we know? How could she?" he asked.

"It is irrelevant. She chose you. And leaving her human and in our world would never have worked, nor would dropping out of her life. She loved you with all her heart, and I'm know she still does. She is angry and hurt and you caused all of it," I said.

He looked at me as though I had slapped him.

"I didn't mean…" he started to say.

"But you did," I said. "When you left her in the damn forest. You knew what you were doing. You set out to break her heart and you did. I have never seen anyone so crushed. I have never seen anyone in more pain… And you did it on purpose."

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "What did I do?"

Every instinct I had told me to comfort him, but I fought every one of them and I turned away from him to talk to Carlisle some more.

"So," I said to him, breathing deeply to try to clear some of the anger that was boiling within me. "What do we do now? Wait for Victoria and Laurent to show up?"

"I'd imagine that they will figure out that we're changing her. I expect that they will try to attack either just before she would wake, or just after. The goal in this seems to be to hurt her. By taking Charlie…" Carlisle answered. "But they will expect her change to be three days, like normal."

"But they would know we would be back by then. They can't be planning to attack a coven of seven mature vampires with just the two of them," I said.

"No. I doubt she would be that foolish. And Laurent has some knowledge of us, with the time he spent with the Denali's. Maybe I should call them and see what they know. I'd hate to destroy Irina's mate without talking to them first… Unless he leaves me no choice," he said.

"Make the call. I'm going to get back to Bella," I said, before turning to Edward. "You better not even think of coming near her until she says so, or my foot and your ass will have an intimate meeting. Do you understand me?"

He didn't answer me but I know he understood. The slump of his shoulders let me know that he understood everything.

I hurried back up the stairs to see Jasper sitting on the bed with Bella.

"Is she hurting?" I asked him.

"Physically? Not at all. Emotionally? So much I can barely stand to be here," he said.

"What did you tell her?" I asked him.

"I told her what he felt after my attack. I told her how much he loved her, how much we all did. I told her how sorry I was for attacking her…" he said.

"You know she doesn't blame you for that," I said.

"How can she not? At the very least it led Edward to make a horrible decision that hurt her so much!" he said, obviously beating himself up about the whole thing.

"Jasper, have you ever really stopped to think why bloodlust has been more difficult for you then any of the others?" I asked.

"I know. My empathic abilities," he said, with a sigh.

"Exactly. Jasper, I don't have to tell you that my throat was burning when she cut her finger. And Edward… I'm sure his was too. Other than Carlisle, everyone was affected… And you felt every bit of it. She doesn't blame you so stop blaming yourself," I said.

"Thank you, Mom," he said hugging me. "And thank you Bella… I don't know what I have ever done to deserve your forgiveness, but I will do everything in my power to show you that I deserve it."

He kissed her cheek, then mine.

"I think I'll go talk to Eddie and let him know that she isn't in any physical pain," he said.

"Thank you. He needs some comfort and I am in no state to give it," I said with a sigh.

I sat down with my girl and ran my fingers through her hair.

"You are facing a lot of changes my daughter. I will be here every step of the way," I promised.

I sat with her for a long while as Carlisle came in and out of the room. He had called the Denali's and Irina was most surprised that Laurent was with Victoria. He had told her he planned to visit Europe for a few weeks to tie up his affairs there, then he would return to her. The entire family was on their way to Forks and would arrive the next morning. If Laurent was siding with Victoria, it would be against his mate, Irina.

That could be interesting.

When I heard another car turn into our driveway, I looked at the clock. It was still too early for it to be Alice, Rose and Emmett. I looked at Carlisle and he shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll be right back," I told Bella. "I love you."

To say I was nervous was an understatement. We were not expecting anyone. Carlisle, Edward and Jasper were all on alert as well. We congregated by the front door, listening as the car got closer. It wasn't until I heard the sound of two heartbeats from the car, that I relaxed.

As the car pulled into sight, I recognized the distinct markings of the Forks Police Department car. I opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. Carlisle joined me on the front porch, placing his arm around my waist while instructing the boys under his breath to wait inside.

"Good evening Dr. And Mrs. Cullen," Deputy Mark said. He obviously had not slept since I saw him last night.

"Deputy Mark," Carlisle said, extending his hand.

"Of course you know Dr. Gerandy," he said.

"Bill," Carlisle said, extending his hand.

"Carlisle," Bill Gerandy said warmly.

"What can we do for you this evening? I'm assuming you are here about Isabella," Carlisle said, emotion thick in his voice.

"Yes, Sir," Deputy Mark said.

"Come in," Carlisle said, opening the door for them.

We all walked into the living room where Jasper sat comforting Edward.

"These are two of our sons, Edward and Jasper," Carlisle said. "Boys this is Dr. Gerandy and this is Deputy Mark."

Both boys nodded in the men's direction but remained closed lipped.

"They are here about Isabella," I added.

The look of pain that crossed both the boys faces did not go unnoticed by the deputy nor by Dr. Gerandy.

"Is it okay to speak with the boys present?" Dr. Gerandy asked.

"Yes. They both loved her. I doubt that I could force them to leave if I tried," Carlisle said.

"I understand," Dr. Gerandy said.

"There was a body found in the Swan residence. The entire house was destroyed. It was an old building and…" Deputy Mark said, before sighing. "The house was only a pile of rubble. There isn't much left… even the teeth are destroyed. What we do know is that the specimen is female. We could send the remains for DNA testing but with the evidence, we all agree that the body is that of Isabella Marie Swan."

"The skull had similar fractured to those noted on an x-ray you took of Isabella after the car accident last year. And the one femur that was recovered has a fracture that matches the one from Isabella's fall in Phoenix. I have the x-rays here if you want to see, Carlisle," he said.

I broke down in fake tears and both boys gathered to comfort me. Carlisle took a deep breath, looking like he was struggling for composure and reached for the file that Dr. Gerandy handed him.

He took the x-rays to a light in the kitchen. He wouldn't really need it, but a human would and Carlisle was very good at his human game. I regained my composure and left the boys to stand with Carlisle.

"It can't be Carlisle," I sobbed.

I watched as he looked at the x-rays. From my untrained eye, I could tell that they were not the same, but they were close enough to be believable to human eyes I guess.

"I see," Carlisle said taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Es."

I sobbed against Carlisle as the boys pretended to be struggling with their own emotions.

"Boys will you bring your mother upstairs. I will be up in a little bit," he said.

The two boys guided me to the top of the stairs and we stopped just out of sight, but still within hearing distance.

"I'm sorry Carlisle, I know she was important to your family," Dr. Gerandy said.

"Thank you Bill," he said. "Deputy, is there a cause of fire? Is foul play suspected?"

"The fire originated at the fuse box. The house was old… it was like lighting a match to a pile of dry twigs. She was likely in her bedroom at the time, hopefully asleep. I don't think she felt any pain," he said.

"Any word on Charlie?" Carlisle asked.

"No. I just don't know what to think. It's so unlike him to go and not call in…" Deputy Mark said.

"So you think something happened to him?" Carlisle asked.

"I know something happened to him," he said, shaking his head sadly.

"What about Isabella's mother?" he asked.

"She was very distraught. I spoke with her husband Phil this afternoon to confirm our findings. She wants her remains shipped to Jacksonville," he said. "When I told them about Charlie they weren't very kind."

"Should I call?" Carlisle asked. "We were close to her and all."

"Honestly, I wouldn't. We will be releasing the remains but someone has to physically claim them and ship them to Florida. Phil Dwyer was not overly happy about that," he said.

"Maybe I will call. That would be the least we could do for her and her mother," Carlisle said.

"Good luck," Deputy Mark said.

"I should get back to my wife and sons. I am sure I am needed. They were all very close to her and the rest of my family will be here soon. They're not going to take it well," Carlisle said.

"Charlie talked a lot about an Alice. That's your girl, right?" he asked.

"Yes. She was very close to Bella," Carlisle said.

"I'm sorry," Deputy Mark said again.

"If I can do anything for you," Dr. Gerandy said.

"Thanks, Bill. I think we will just say our goodbyes and go. Being here will be too hard on the kids, and since there is no funeral…" Carlisle said.

Carlisle shook Deputy Mark's hand and did the weird man hug thing with Dr. Gerandy before ushering them out the front door.

As soon as their cruiser was gone, Edward walked downstairs and plopped himself down on the couch, completely sullen. Jasper and Carlisle sat with him. I knew a conversation was coming and I did my best to distance myself from it. I made my way back to Bella and even though I tried not to at first, I listened to their conversation.

"That went better than expected," Carlisle said.

"Yeah," Jasper agreed.

"Alice, Rose and Emmett should be here soon," Carlisle said.

"Yippee," Edward added sarcastically.

"Look," Carlisle said. "We all get it. You need to get it too!"

"Get what?" Edward asked.

"Seriously? You don't think she has a right to be pissed at you?" Carlisle asked.

"I don't know if she's mad or if she completely hates me," Edward said.

Isabella's heart rate began to accelerate.

"She doesn't hate you. She is, however, so pissed that it puts Rosalie to shame," Jasper said.

"Does she still love me? Or did I kill that with my stupidity?" he asked.

"She loves you… But you have some major groveling to do before she gets anywhere near showing you that," Jasper said.

"I don't know what to do. I mean if she was Rose or Alice all I would have to do is buy her something. But my Bella wouldn't like that," Edward said dejectedly.

"Prove that she's yours. Think of something that she would like. Something for only her," Jasper said.

"But what?" Edward asked.

"You know the answer better than anyone else," Jasper said.

"You think about it, Son. I have faith in you. Jasper, call Alice and figure out their exact arrival time. I'm going to call Bella's mother," Carlisle said.

Obviously Carlisle and Jasper went out of earshot to make their calls because the next ten minutes the house was completely silent, except for Bella's heart rate, which was still racing and her breaths which were getting shallower and shallower.

Then it started. Edward found his way to tell Bella. I looked down at my daughter and I knew this was it. She may still be angry after this, and she had every right to be. But he found the way to her heart.

SO WHAT DO YOU THINK HE DID????