I'm sorry for my lack of updates! I was in Canada, and then I was busy, and then I was lazy. Sorry!
Please don't punish me. Please review. Hehe.

I'm bringing the Cullens back in this chapter! Yay.

I don't own Twilight. (PLEASE WRITE MIDNIGHT SUN, STEPHENIE MEYER!) (Readers, go to my profile for a link to a petition for Midnight Sun! And vote in my poll if you want me to write a new story)

Daniel's POV

Except, of course, I had no idea where she might have gone.

I groaned in frustration. Where would I start? Should I drive in the direction her car was facing when I first found her?

No, I told myself. That would just waste time. Instead of driving all round Washington to see where she is, I'll go see if she stopped at the Cullens', and if not, maybe they'll know. Edward might know. They seemed to be pretty close. Well, sort of.

But wait! What if that was it? What if she went back to the Cullens' because she liked Edward?

That would suck, I admitted to myself as I started driving towards the Cullens' house.
I sure hope that's not the case.

I rolled my eyes at myself. I couldn't possibly hope that she would like me. It was obvious that she didn't, and if I tried to convince myself that she did, I would just end up getting hurt.

Not that I can't deal with a little pain, but still. There was no point in setting myself up for disaster.

At least that's what I kept telling myself throughout the short car ride, but the image of her face cancelled out any common sense I might've had.

It wasn't until I was turning the bend towards the Cullens' house that I realised that it might be awkward to be there.

Oh well. I needed to find Ashleigh.

I parked in the driveway and headed up to the front door hesitantly yet eagerly.

I didn't even have time to knock before Esme opened the door.

Her face was surprised, but happy.

"Daniel. We didn't expect to see you anytime soon. Please come in, dear." She smiled warmly at me and gestured me inside. I smiled back and walked in.



I was immediately met by Edward who smiled gratefully at me. Bella was close beside him, but she hovered behind, slightly uncomfortable.

"I didn't get a chance to thank you, Daniel." Edward's eyes bore into mine, strongly conveying the message he was trying to send.

I was startled. "Thank me? For what?"

"For letting Bella go so easily, for letting me have her back in my arms again. You have no idea what I was going through without her with me. I am so glad to be with her again, and I thank you for handing her over so relentlessly."

Edward's words were kind enough, but something pricked a nerve inside me.

"Hold on a minute. Let's get something straight here. Bella is a human, a person. Not an object that you asked me to hold for a bit, only for me to give back to you when you were ready. She chose to go back to you, for what reason I do not know. You hurt her, Edward. Multiple times, I've heard.
Nonetheless, it was her choice to go back to you, and she made it. She loves you, Edward. There was never any question about who meant more to her. I was simply there to keep her from falling apart completely because you left her." I put emphasis on my last three words, earning a wince from Edward.

"I agree with you, it was her choice. But I realise she wasn't the only person involved in the relationship, and I didn't want any hard feelings between us. I also know that I hurt her by leaving, and for that I will be forever remorseful. I know that I could never deserve her love or forgiveness, but I am undeniably happy that I seem to have it." He smiled at her and she smiled back.

Then I remembered the reason why I was there.

"Do any of you know where Ashleigh was headed? Or where she is?"

Edward failed to see the worry behind my question, he thought I was simply wondering.

" No, but when you see her again, will you thank her for bringing me back to Bella?"

I sighed at his ignorance. "Sure. But I don't know when I'll see her again, or even if. We were hunting in the forest, and she just ran away." I left out the kiss.
"And I don't know why. I want to find out where she might be."

Edward looked confused.

"I haven't heard from her since she left here and you followed. Sorry, Daniel. I have no clue where she might be."

"Seaham," a voice gasped. We all turned in the sound of the voice.

Alice was making her way down the stairs, with Jasper following slowly behind.



"She's going on a plane back to Seaham," Alice clarified. Then her eyes went blank.

"Alice? What was that?" Edward hissed. Jasper rushed to Alice's side, looking worried.

"I-I don't know. I couldn't see, I couldn't tell. Whatever it is, it's not good." Alice looked startled and concerned.

"Her vision was filled with pain," Jasper spoke softly, eyes still on Alice.

"There were other emotions, but I couldn't tell what they were. They were faint, overwhelmed by the pain." He turned to look at me.

"If you care about this girl, you should go to the airport now." I would have blushed if I could. I'd thought I was hiding the fact that I cared about her very well.

"Yes," Alice agreed. "I see the plane landing early. It was supposed to land tomorrow morning, but someone's plans changed."

"How much time do I have?" My voice sounded strained because of the stress. What could be causing Ashleigh pain? And how could I stop it?

"An hour."

I didn't know what everyone else's reactions were. I was already halfway to my car.

Meh. A slight cliffie. Ok, maybe more than slight. And I didn't write some things that I wanted to write. Oh well. I might get back to them later. Ehh.

Please review!!

Although I did not give her a chance to beta this chapter before posting it, big thanks go to my beta Obsessed.with.writing! She's the best beta. (And the best betaee) Lol. Review her stories. Unless you want me to kill you with my bootle. Oh yes, a lethal weapon. xD