This one will no doubt look very familiar to all of you. I did try not to be too repetitive or redundant, but, in this chapter, a little of that was necessary. All the recognizable dialogue in this and upcoming chapters is taken verbatim from New Moon, and no copyright infringement is intended. It's not mine… we all know who it really belongs to. And I'm sincerely grateful to Stephenie Meyer for creating such wonderful characters for all of us to love. :)

Enjoy!

Chapter 10

Alice

.

I had to be seeing things. I just had to.

I'd seen Bella jump of the cliff. I'd seen her go under the water. But I'd never seen her come back up.

She'd drowned.

And yet there she was, sitting in the cab of her truck very much alive.

I blinked rapidly, wondering if all the depression had finally gotten to me… if all the grief had left me delusional. I couldn't quite make my mind process this unforeseen twist.

Bella opened her door to get out, but, from the other side of the cab, I heard the young man next to her swear roughly, snatching her door handle and slamming it shut before she had a chance to get out. The engine started up abruptly, the tires squealing in protest as he quickly backed out of the driveway, and started speeding down the street.

I could hear their voices, raising as if in argument, but it was like listening through a bubble. I heard them, but the words didn't quite register in my mind. Feeling like I was in a trance, I ghosted down the stairs, enveloped in the lavender light of the night, and came to a stop in the front hallway… waiting… barely able to believe that this could be real.

I heard the voices outside growing louder with a heated undertone of disagreement. The car door slammed noisily, and, a moment later, the front door was wrenched open.

Bella stood in the dark entryway, breathing heavily. Her hand reached for the light switch, but it froze in mid-air. Her heart thundered in her chest, the pulsing sound echoing in the otherwise empty house. Staring at her face, which was frozen in an indecipherable expression, my hand raised of its own volition to flip on the light.

Bella jumped, blinking rapidly to adjust her eyes to the light. Her eyes snapped to me, and a whirling vortex of emotions flew over her face.

"Alice, oh, Alice!" she cried in a strangled voice. With my mind working at such a sluggish pace, I barely had time to prepare myself before her warm, human body slammed into mine.

"Bella?" I croaked, my own emotions a strange mixture of relief and confusion. Bella was undoubtedly alive… I had the proof of it right in front of me. I just couldn't imagine how it could possibly be.

With all the strength her fragile, human body possessed, she wrapped her arms around my neck, clinging to me like she thought I was going to disappear. The rhythm of her breaths were jagged and rough, quickly turning to hysterical sobbing. Not knowing what else to do, I led her to the living room couch and pulled her down into my lap, trying to comfort her.

Bella buried her face in my shoulder, her hot breaths washing over my neck. Her heartbeat echoed in the room like the sound of a jackhammer. The wet, pulsing sound so close reminded me quite forcefully that I hadn't had a chance to feed before I left. I knew I wasn't in any danger of losing control and hurting her, but the alluring sound coupled with her scent made the burn in my throat flare painfully. Though, mixed in with her mouthwatering scent was a stench that I'd never smelled before. It was disgusting… but didn't quite manage to staunch the thirst.

I turned my face away, trying futilely to get some distance from the source of my temptation, but all the while I kept my hand moving in soothing circles on her back.

"I'm… sorry," she whimpered in between cries, her tears raining a searing path down my neck. "I'm just… so happy… to see you!"

"It's okay, Bella. Everything's okay." I tried to keep my voice as even as possible, swallowing against the sudden influx of venom pooling in my mouth.

"Yes," she bawled, wrapping her arms tighter as her body trembled with her weeping.

When her cries slowed almost to a stop, I sighed, wincing at the sweltering burn in the back of my throat. "I'd forgotten how exuberant you are."

"Oh," Bella puffed, noticing immediately my strained posture and knowing exactly what it meant. She scurried back, trying to give me some distance even though it didn't really help. "Sorry," she apologized like she was at fault for the fires scorching my body.

"It's my own fault," I told her, easing her unnecessary guilt. "It's been too long since I hunted. I shouldn't let myself get so thirsty. But I was in a hurry today. Speaking of which," I glared at her, letting every ounce of worry and fear and grief I'd felt over the last several hours seep into my gaze. "Would you like to explain to me how you're alive?"

Bella swallowed loudly. "You saw me fall." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"No," my eyes narrowed at her guilty expression. "I saw you jump." There was no "falling" to it. I'd seen that in painfully clear detail. "I told him this would happen," I spat, not talking to Bella now, but just spewing out some of the frustration that had eaten at me for hours, "but he didn't believe me. 'Bella promised,'" I mocked Edward's voice. "'Don't be looking for her future either, we've done enough damage.'

"But just because I'm not looking doesn't mean I don't see. I wasn't keeping tabs on you, I swear, Bella. It's just that I'm already attuned to you… when I saw you jumping, I didn't think, I just got on a plane. I knew I would be too late, but I couldn't do nothing. And then I get here thinking maybe I could help Charlie somehow, and you drive up."

I shook my head, still not quite able to believe what had happened. I turned an accusing glance back at Bella who was just sitting there, looking as stunned as I'd felt a moment ago, her mouth slightly agape. "I saw you go into the water and I waited and waited for you to come up, but you didn't. What happened? And how could you do that to Charlie? Did you stop to think what this would do to him? And my brother? Do you have any idea what Edward – "

Bella shook her head, cutting me off. "Alice, I wasn't committing suicide."

Her denial did nothing to convince me. I knew what I'd seen. "Are you saying you didn't jump off a cliff?" I asked bluntly, giving her the chance to deny it.

"No," she admitted, grimacing, "but… it was for recreational purposes only. I'd seen some of Jacob's friends cliff diving. It looked like… fun, and I was bored… I didn't actually think about how the storm would affect the currents.. Actually, I didn't think about the water much at all."

Bella's voice trailed off as she took in my skeptical expression. Her explanation left quite a lot to be desired. I knew her too well to think that was something she'd ever want to do without some kind of motive. And she knew that.

Biting her lip, she asked, "So, if you saw me go in, why didn't you see Jacob?"

The unfamiliar name caught me off guard, and I cocked my head at her, curious as to who she was talking about. I didn't recall hearing that name mentioned before.

"It's true that I probably would have drowned if Jacob hadn't jumped in after me," Bella said. "Well, okay, there's no probably about it. But he did, and he pulled me out, and I guess he towed me back to shore, though I was kind of out for that part. It couldn't have been more than a minute that I was under before he grabbed me. How come you didn't see that?"

"Someone pulled you out?" I asked, not quite able to believe it.

"Yes. Jacob saved me."

I didn't mean to accuse Bella of lying – and I saw no reason why she would be. But as closely as I'd been watching, as hard as I'd been trying to see, I would never have thought I could miss someone being there to pull her to shore. And yet, here she sat. Someone had to have intervened.

But why hadn't I seen it? That's what I didn't understand.

Nothing quite like this had ever happened before.

My mind was whirling, trying to come up with some reasonable answer for the events of the day. There had to be more to this than met the eye.

Bella sat there silently, watching me carefully. The nasty odor that I'd noticed before still clung to her clothes and hair, catching my attention when she shifted. My instincts told me that the new smell was related somehow, but I couldn't see quite how it would be.

I leaned in, getting closer to the stench and sniffing it, trying to figure out what it could possibly be. Bella's body tensed, well aware of my black eyes and thirst. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at that.

"Don't be ridiculous," I muttered, still sniffing the odd odor.

"What are you doing?" she asked, confusion coloring both her face and her voice.

"Who was with you out there just now?" I asked, ignoring the question. "It sounded like you were arguing."

"Jacob Black. He's… sort of my best friend, I guess. At least he was…"

Black.

The name sounded familiar, and I searched my mind for where I might have heard it before. Nothing immediately came to mind, though. I felt like the answer I was looking for was obvious… but just out of reach.

"What?" Bella asked, searching my face carefully.

"I don't know. I'm not sure what it means." And I didn't like this feeling of not knowing. I wasn't used to it… and it grated at me… badly.

"Well, I'm not dead, at least."

I did roll my eyes this time. I wasn't even slightly amused by her attempt at humor. "He was a fool to think you could survive alone," I said under my breath. "I've never seen anyone so prone to life-threatening idiocy."

"I survived," she said, sounding slightly affronted at my blunt statement. But that only led me to my next question.

"So, if the currents were too much for you, how did this Jacob manage?" I asked, glancing pointedly at her.

"Jacob is… strong," she said, but the reluctance in her voice was obvious. There was much more than she was telling me. I raised my eyebrows, waiting for her to expound on that.

Bella gnawed on her lip, obviously trying to decide what to tell me. "See, well, he's… sort of a werewolf," she admitted in a rush. "The Quileutes turn into wolves when there are vampires around. They know Carlisle from a long time ago. Were you with Carlisle back then?"

My body locked down as her explanation made all the pieces fall into place.

Jacob Black.

Black.

Ephraim Black.

Quileutes.

Werewolves.

Treaty.

"Shit," I swore under my breath far too low for her human ears to hear. "Well, I guess that explains the smell," I muttered, raising my voice just loud enough for her to hear now. "But does it explain what I didn't see?" I frowned, still trying to make myself understand why I'd missed the latter half of her aquatic escapade today.

"The smell?" she asked, confused again. There seemed to be a lot of that going around between the two of us.

"You smell awful," I told her absently, still twisting my brain. "A werewolf? Are you sure about that?"

"Very sure," she told me. "I guess you weren't with Carlisle the last time there were werewolves here in Forks?"

"No. I hadn't found him yet."

Suddenly, a realization broke through the muddled mess of my thoughts. I turned back to Bella with wide, shocked eyes. "Your best friend is a werewolf?" She nodded. "How long has this been going on?" I demanded.

"Not long," she said, sounding defensive at my tone. "He's only been a werewolf for just a few weeks."

I glowered at her, stunned at her oblivion to how dangerous that was. "A young werewolf? Even worse! Edward was right – you're a magnet for danger. Weren't you supposed to be staying out of trouble?" I didn't have any right to talk to her this way, I knew that. We'd removed ourselves from her life, reluctant though it had been, but the thought of her being so incredibly reckless frightened me.

"There's nothing wrong with werewolves," she grumbled, glancing at the carpet, her face cross.

"Until they lose their tempers." I interjected, shaking my head sharply, almost wanting to shake her. "Leave it to you, Bella. Anyone else would be better off when the vampires left town. But you have to start hanging out with the first monsters you can find."

Bella shook her head, looking back up at me. "No, Alice, the vampires didn't really leave – not all of them, anyway. That's the whole trouble. If it weren't for the werewolves, Victoria would have gotten me by now. Well, if it weren't for Jake and his friends, Laurent would have gotten me before she could, I guess, so – "

Rage, white-hot and consuming, roared through my veins at her explanation. "Victoria?" I hissed, through tightly clenched teeth. "Laurent?"

Bella nodded, obviously alarmed by what she saw in my eyes. She pointed at her chest. "Danger magnet, remember?"

I shook my head again, not acknowledging her second attempt to lighten the mood. "Tell me everything – start at the beginning." I demanded, needing to know everything that I'd missed by not watching out for her.

She did, without any further prompting. I didn't like her thin explanation about the cliffs and boredom at all, but she skipped over that quickly. She told me about the strange flame she'd seen on the water and what she thought it meant.

Victoria.

I was furious as I listened to her explain. Not at her. Not even remotely. I was livid that she'd ever been put into that situation in the first place. I wanted to throttle Edward and his twisted sense of doing what was "best" for Bella. I was livid with myself for ever agreeing to it. And I would have gladly torn Victoria to shreds for her determination to kill Bella for something she had nothing to do with. She'd been the victim of James' sick hunt… and she'd had no hand in his death… but neither had Edward, when one was being technical about it. Jasper and Emmett had killed him – Edward played no part in it.

I was mortified by how oblivious we'd all been to what was happening to one we loved… to one that we'd intended to protect.

The signs had been there. We just hadn't seen it. If nothing else, we'd known that Laurent had been with the Denali coven. We'd noticed his absence, but no one had thought to question it. We'd been to caught up in our own misery to even think about it.

But that didn't even truly matter, because I should have seen it. I should have seen all of this.

And yet I hadn't.

I didn't say a word until Bella finished. She fell silent, watching me intently. I looked up at the girl I'd considered my sister, my heart twisting at what she'd been left to face alone… and how helpless she must have felt.

"Our leaving didn't do you any good at all, did it?" I murmured, contrite.

Bella laughed once, a slightly hysterical sound. "That was never the point, though, was it? It's not like you left for my benefit."

Her words didn't add up to me… of course we'd left for her. Why else would we have gone? But I didn't pursue it. I'd pushed her enough for one conversation.

I scowled at the floor for a moment, debating what I was supposed to do now. I was confused, reeling almost. "Well…" I said finally, "I guess I acted impulsively today. I probably shouldn't have intruded."

Jasper had been right.

Immediately when I spoke, all the blood drained from Bella's face, leaving it as pale as bone. "Don't go, Alice," she whispered frantically. Her fingers locked around the collar of my shirt as she began to hyperventilate again. "Please don't leave me."

My eyes widened at her frenetic heartbeat, her obvious panic. "All right. I'm not going anywhere tonight." I promised, enunciating each word with slow precision. "Take a deep breath."

The air wheezed in and out of her lungs as she struggled to breathe. It was several moments before her panic receded enough for her to breathe normally again. I watched her, pained again by just how different she appeared.

There was a new kind of maturity in her eyes… a sorrow that went deeper than anyone her age should have to know. She was thinner than she'd been before, and her coloring was off. She didn't look well. The effects of the time apart were visible on her face and in her eyes.

"You look like hell, Bella." I told her, without stopping to think, after she'd calmed down.

She laughed dryly – humorlessly. "I drowned today."

"It goes deeper than that," I told her, softening my voice this time. "You're a mess."

Even still, she flinched. "Look, I'm doing my best."

"What do you mean?" I questioned, waiting for her to elaborate.

"It hasn't been easy. I'm working on it." She toed the carpet, not quite meeting my eyes.

"I told him," I said to myself. I'd told him. But he hadn't listened. How much of this could have been avoided if we'd only known…

"Alice," Bella sighed quietly. "What did you think you were going to find?" I mean, besides me dead? Did you expect to find me skipping around and whistling show tunes?" she shook her head. "You know me better than that."

"I do," I admitted. "But I hoped." Nothing I'd imagined had prepared me for this.

"Then I guess I don't have the corner on the idiocy market."

Her quiet comeback silenced me. She was right.

I wanted to apologize for my part in this. I wanted to do something to make it better. I just didn't know how.

The shrill ring of the telephone split the air before I could say anything at all. "That has to be Charlie," Bella said, staggering to her feet and reaching back to grab my hand, not wanting to give me the chance to disappear while her back was turned, I supposed. I let her pull me up and drag me with her into the kitchen.

"Charlie?" she said, answering the phone.

"No, it's me." I recognized the husky, male voice as belonging to the young man that had been outside with Bella earlier… Jacob Black, I now knew his name was.

"Jake!" Bella's voice sounded too relieved – too excited to hear him. And deep inside, if I was being honest, I had to admit that I didn't like that at all.

"Just making sure you're still alive," said the angry voice on the other end of the phone.

"I'm fine. I told you it wasn't – "

"Yeah. I got it. Bye," he cut her off abruptly, cutting off their connection.

Bella hung her head back, staring at the ceiling. "That's going to be a problem," she said under her breath, sighing.

I squeezed her hand – she still hadn't let me go. "They aren't excited I'm here." I was trying to be understanding… I really didn't have the right to be anything else.

"Not especially," Bella said, turning back around to face me. "But it's none of their business anyway."

I had to smile at her tone – angry on my behalf. I released her hand and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "So what do we do now?" I said to myself as we meandered back into the living room. "Things to do. Loose ends to tie."

The others needed to know about Victoria. We'd need to take care of that little "problem" before much more time passed. And I honestly wanted to track Edward down now. I wanted to force him to sit and listen to reason this time – to beat it into him if necessary. It was obvious now that Bella needed us. It was too dangerous to leave her defenseless any longer. And I wasn't about to trust the mutts on the other side of the treaty line to do the job any longer.

"What things to do?" Bella's voice broke into my thoughts.

Quickly, I masked the intentions from my gaze. She didn't need to have her hopes rising for Edward yet… that conversation would be difficult in the extreme… and I didn't think she'd particularly appreciate my opinion about the… werewolves.

"I don't know for sure. I need to see Carlisle." That was probably the safest answer. And it was true. I wanted his opinion about this. Like a true father, he was always the most calm and impartial, the most prudent, in situations like this. And I desperately wanted his input now.

"Could you stay?" Bella begged, clasping my arm again. "Please? For just a little while. I've missed you so much," her voice broke, breaking my heart right along with it. The damage we'd done to her was glaringly obvious, and it almost tore my heart to shreds.

"If you think that's a good idea," I hedged. I was already in enough hot water for being here, but I didn't really see how a little more time would hurt. At least I could keep an eye on Bella and make sure she was safe if Victoria still happened to be in the area.

"I do," Bella said, nodding fervently. "You can stay here – Charlie would love that."

"I have a house, Bella," I reminded her gently. I felt odd imposing at this point after being away for so long. Charlie might not approve.

Bella's face fell, but she nodded anyway. Seeing the hope dashed from her face like that, my decision was made instantly. I couldn't deny her this if it meant that much to her… and it obviously did.

"Well, I need to go get a suitcase of clothes at the very least."

Her face lit up again just that quickly, and she threw her arms around my neck, embracing me fiercely. "Alice, you're the best!"

My throat flamed in excruciating agony once again at her sudden close proximity. "And I think I need to hunt. Immediately."

"Oops," Bella said simply, dropping her arms and taking a step back.

"Can you stay out of trouble for one hour?" I asked skeptically. Before she could even answer, I held up one finger, searching her future. Opening my eyes a moment later, I answered my own question. "Yes, you'll be fine. For tonight, anyway."

I made a face. It really was uncanny how one person could not only be so accident prone but also attract every possible danger in the vicinity… but somehow Bella managed.

"You'll come back?" she asked in a small voice.

"I promise – one hour," I assured her, knowing I could easily do what I needed to do and get back in that time.

I couldn't help but laugh as Bella immediately glanced to the clock over the kitchen table. Holding my breath briefly, I leaned in to quickly kiss her warm cheek. I flinched against the burn in my throat, and fled out the back door an instant later.

I had a promise to keep.

As quickly as I could manage, I flew into the woods, glad for the chance to finally hunt. The fires dimmed in my throat when I'd finished, and I ran back to my house, finding the bag of clothes that I'd dropped in the middle of the foyer when I'd been here earlier. I slipped into a fresh change of clothes, and grabbed something else to change into later.

It was a little more than forty minutes after I'd left that I slipped in through Bella's back door again. She'd been busy as well while I'd been away. The smell of her dinner still lingered in the air as well as the warm, humid air scented with her strawberry body wash. And in the living room, laid out across the couch, was a blanket and a pillow for me.

I folded myself onto the makeshift bed to wait for her. But it wasn't a moment later that Bella's footsteps tromped down the stairs. She did a double-take when she saw that I was already there waiting for her.

"Thanks," I said, patting the pillow.

"You're early," Bella said, obviously elated. She plopped down beside me with a happy sounding sigh and leaned her head on my shoulder.

I put my arms around her and sighed into her hair. "Bella. What are we going to do with you?"

"I don't know," she said, sounding dejected again. "I really have been trying my hardest."

"I believe you."

There was a moment of silence as Bella debated back and forth about asking about Edward. "Does – does he…" she stuttered, taking a deep breath. "Does Edward know you're here?" she asked quickly, a pained look passing over her features as she spoke his name.

"No."

"He's not with Carlisle and Esme?" she asked, sounding surprised.

I shook my head, thinking about how long it had been since I'd actually seen him… all the long months we'd spent worrying about him. "He checks in every few months."

"Oh." I expected Bella to ask more questions about that, but she let it drop, changing the subject instead. "You said you flew here… Where did you come from?"

"I was in Denali. Visiting Tanya's family."

"Is Jasper here? Did he come with you?" she asked.

I shook my head, a knifing pain cutting into me at the reminder of the tension Jasper and I had parted under. I hated having him upset with me. I knew we'd work through it when I got back, but still. "He didn't approve of my interfering," I said, putting it mildly. "We promised…"

A sudden vision halted my words, distracting me from a conversation I didn't really want to have anyway. "And you think Charlie won't mind my being here?" I asked, slightly worried that he wouldn't appreciate company when he was grieving the loss of a close friend… much less having a Cullen in his home. His reactions were uncertain to me at the moment – most likely due to his grief-hazed mindset – so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

"Charlie thinks you're wonderful, Alice," Bella assured me.

"Well, we're about to find out."

The cruiser pulled into the driveway only a few seconds after I'd spoken. Bella jumped up from the couch and hurried to open the door for him. She stood in the open doorway, watching him trudge up the sidewalk. His eyes, cast to the ground, didn't even see Bella until she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. His normally stoic face contorted at the gesture of affection, and he wrapped his arms just as fiercely around her in return.

I heard Bella consoling Charlie and his gruffly emotional responses to her – I couldn't not hear them – but I felt like I was intruding on a very personal family moment. It only made me feel more out of place than I did already.

"Um, Dad? You'll never guess who's here." I heard Bella say eventually.

Charlie's head swiveled around, catching a glimpse of the Mercedes I'd parked across the street. I took that as my cue to make my presence known. I was standing in the doorway of the living room by the time he turned back around.

"Hi, Charlie," I greeted him in a subdued voice, taking note of the lines of strain and grief etched around his mouth and eyes. "I'm sorry I came at such a bad time."

"Alice Cullen? Alice, is that you?" he asked as if he doubted what his eyes were telling him.

"It's me," I assured him. "I was in the neighborhood."

"Is Carlisle…?" he started to ask, but I cut him off before he finished, shaking my head.

"No, I'm alone," I told him in a quiet, reassuring voice. We all knew he wasn't really asking about Carlisle anyway.

Bella interjected then, "She can stay here, can't she? I already asked her."

"Of course," Charlie said mechanically. "We'd love to have you, Alice."

"Thank you, Charlie. I know it's horrid timing," I ducked my head, sincerely feeling bad about that.

"No, it's fine, really. I'm going to be really busy doing what I can for Harry's family; it will be nice for Bella to have some company," he said graciously, easing my worries.

"There's dinner for you on the table, Dad," Bella told him, squeezing him around the waist one more time.

"Thanks, Bell." He gave her one more squeeze in return before shuffling toward the kitchen, leaving me and Bella still standing in the front hallway.

I made my way back to the couch, and Bella followed silently. We were both still affected by such unusual emotional from Charlie. We settled back on the couch again, and this time I was the one to pull Bella's head down to my shoulder.

Hearing her sigh, I told her, "You look tired."

"Yeah. Near-death experiences do that to me," she shrugged, obviously not wanting to talk about that. "So what does Carlisle think of you being here?" she asked, changing the subject.

"He doesn't know. He and Esme were on a hunting trip. I'll hear from him in a few days when he gets back."

"You won't tell him, though… when he checks in again?" Bella asked hesitantly.

I paused for a moment, "No. He'd bite my head off," I told her, honestly thinking he might do just that. I didn't know what I was going to do now… I really didn't.

Bella laughed once, but the sound was more pained than humorous. She sighed, then, and, gradually, her breathing pattern slowed in the deep, even cadence of sleep. I sat there for long moments, listening to the sounds Charlie made in the kitchen, finishing up his dinner, and to Bella's peaceful breathing. Before he came back into the living room, I gently lifted Bella's head from its resting place on my shoulder and laid her down on the couch, tucking the blankets around her.

Looking like he was asleep on his feet, Charlie whispered a goodnight to me, telling me to make myself at home, and trudged up the stairs. When the house was quiet, its two human occupants sound asleep, I curled myself in the recliner and buried my head in my hands.

I was so confused.

I didn't know what the right thing to do now was… I didn't know how best to handle this new information that I'd learned. It was a tricky situation any way I handled it.

Edward had a right to know about what Bella had been through and the danger she was in. He thought he was doing what was best for her, but he needed to know that she was only suffering because of it – and that it actually had the potential to be fatal for her. I knew he'd be furious with me for interfering when I'd said I wouldn't, but if that led him to try to repair some of the damage we'd done, his anger towards me would be a small price to pay.

I knew Jasper would be against my involvement, though… he already was. He wasn't one to pry into others' business, and I knew he'd tell me I was meddling in things that were none of my concern. I hated that kind of discord between the two of us, but I just didn't agree with him this time… what happened with Edward and Bella affected all of us, not just the two of them, so I felt that meant it was my concern in some way. He wouldn't see it that way, though.

I didn't know where to turn, or what to do.

I was confused. I was discouraged. I felt helpless. And, for the first time in a long time, I felt alone.

Poor Alice. :(

I'm going to do my best to get the next couple of chapters out fairly quickly. *fingers crossed* We're finally to the part of the story that I've been itching to get to for a loooong time. Fasten your seatbelts… things are about to get bumpy. :D

As always, thanks so much for reading! Please take a second and let me know what you thought of the chapter!

Nik