A/N: This is an AU story. There *is* some borrowed dialogue from Twilight in here somewhere. My story parallels B/E's romance. Please read the full disclaimer on chapter one.

Warning: POV changes will occur.

Disclaimer: The Twilight Series belongs to Stephanie Meyer. Mitts off Leia.

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Chapter Eleven

The crack of Emmett's bat was shattering, thunderous; it echoed off the mountains - this was why my family could only play ball during thunderstorms. I watched through Esme's eyes as Bella's eyes lit up. She was enjoying watching us play. The ball shot like a meteor above the field, flying deep into the surrounding forest.

"Home run," Bella murmured. I giggled as Esme shook her head.

"Wait." I watched as Emmett ran around the bases with Carlisle pacing beside him. I listened as Edward disappeared into the trees, heard the distant sound of the ball smashing into his hands.

"Out!" Esme cried out. Bella stared in disbelief as Edward sprang from the fringe of the trees, ball in his upraised hand, grinning widely.

"Emmett hits the hardest," Esme explained, "but Edward runs the fastest."

I was the designated catcher for both teams. I could easily catch the ball that Alice pitched and throw it back, but hitting the ball wasn't something I had mastered yet, not without someone standing behind me with their hand on my shoulder. That wasn't a good place for them to stand, though. We'd lost a handful of bats because they'd bent around one family member or another's arm when they didn't pull away fast enough. So I was happy to catch, for now.

The game continued. Emmett's team was up by one - Rosalie managed to flit around the bases after tagging up on one of Emmett's long flies - when Edward caught the third out. He sprinted to Bella's side, sparkling with excitement.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"One thing's for sure, I'll never be able to sit through dull old Major League Baseball again." Bella's comment made me chuckle and Edward laughed.

"And it sounds like you did so much of that before."

"I am a little disappointed," Bella teased.

"Why?" Edward asked, puzzled. I tilted my head, curious about her answer.

"Well, it would be nice if I could find just one thing you didn't do better than everyone else on the planet." I snorted at this and glanced at Edward. Esme had her hand on my shoulder at the moment, as she often did when I caught. I muttered at Edward.

"Show off."

"I'm up," Edward said, ignoring me as he headed for the plate. He played intelligently, keeping the ball low, out of the reach of Rosalie's always-ready hand in the outfield, gaining two bases like lightning before Emmett could get the ball back in play. Carlisle knocked one so far out of the field that he and Edward both made it in. Alice slapped them dainty high fives. The score constantly changed as the game continued, and they razzed each other like street ballplayers as they took turns with the lead. Occasionally Esme would call them to order.

Carlisle was up to bat when Alice suddenly gasped. Edward's head snapped up to look at her. Their eyes met and something flowed between them in an instant. I heard Edward curse under his breath as he ran to Bella's side.

"Alice?" Esme's voice was tense. I walked over to stand near Bella and Edward, my head tilted as I ranged my senses out to find whatever threat might be out there. I heard footsteps approaching from a distance and my brow furrowed. It sounded like a pair or a trio of barefooted people were running through the woods. Running too fast to be human.

"I didn't see - I couldn't tell," Alice whispered.

"What is it, Alice?" Carlisle asked in a calm voice.

"They were traveling much quicker than I thought. I can see I had the perspective wrong before," she murmured. Jasper leaned over her, his posture protective.

"What changed?" he asked.

"They heard us playing, and it changed their path," she said, contrite. Everyone except me glanced at Bella and then away. I vaguely remembered hearing Carlisle mention a small coven of nomads passing through our area, but Alice hadn't seen them stopping so it hadn't concerned me over much.

"They're running," I said quietly. I heard Edward grit his teeth in frustration.

"How long?" Carlisle asked Edward.

"Less than five minutes. They want to play." He scowled.

"Can you make it?" Carlisle asked him, his eyes flicking toward Bella.

"No, not carrying -" He cut short. "Besides, the last thing we need is for them to catch the scent and start hunting."

"How many?" Emmett asked Alice.

"Three," she answered tersely.

"Three!" he scoffed. "Let them come." The steel bands of muscle flexed along his massive arms. Typical Emmett, always ready for a good fight. I was frozen in fright. Not because I was worried we couldn't win a fight, but because Bella might get hurt or dead in the process.

"Let's just continue the game," Carlisle decided. His voice was cool and level. "Alice said they were simply curious."

"Are they thirsty?" Esme's question was frightened, her voice too low for Bella to hear. Edward shook his head and pulled both Bella and myself back towards home plate.

"I'll call it now." Edward said this as he planted himself behind me with Bella clinging to his back. Alice and Esme flanked her. I grimaced as Edward laid a hand on my shoulder. The others returned to the field, warily sweeping the dark forest with their sharp eyes.

"Take your hair down," Edward told Bella. I heard her slid the rubber band out of her hair and shake it out.

"The others are coming now." Bella's quiet statement was calm, but I heard the underlying fear.

"Yes, stay very still, keep quiet, and don't move from my side, please." Edward's quiet voice trembled with stress and fear. He let go of me to help Bella arrange her hair around her face.

"That won't help," Alice said softly. "I could smell her across the field."

"I know." A hint of frustration colored Edward's tone. I hadn't wanted to say anything, knowing that my nose was more sensitive than most, but Alice's comment stirred my fear.

Carlisle stood at the plate, and we played our game halfheartedly. The seconds ticked by; the game progressed with apathy now. No one dared to hit harder than a bunt, and Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper hovered in the infield. Edward paid no attention to the game at all, eyes and mind ranging the forest. It was a good thing I didn't need eyes to catch.

"I'm sorry, Bella," Edward muttered fiercely. "It was stupid, irresponsible, to expose you like this. I'm so sorry."

Take responsibility for the sky being blue while you're at it. I snapped this mentally at Edward but I doubted he was paying attention. I knew exactly where the three vampires were. Just before they emerged from the trees, Edward's breath stopped and his eyes zeroed in on right field. He took a half step backwards, angling himself between Bella and that side of the field. I had to switch my sight to Bella to see what was coming out of the trees.

A day later

If the situation had been any different, I would have been enjoying the landscape through someone's eyes. We drove south through a lot of beautiful country. Other than one stop to get Bella some fresh clothes and a couple of stops for gas, we had been going nonstop. Bella spent all of her time curled up against me, always quiet, sometimes crying into my shoulder. I held her as gently as I knew how. Bella really should be sleeping, I thought to myself, but every time her eyes closed, I felt her jerk lightly. She didn't like what she saw beneath her closed lids and I ached for her, for the fact that her world was suddenly turned upside down. She didn't deserve any of this, but neither, I thought rebelliously, did Edward or any of us.

I wasn't breathing much and I knew Jasper wasn't. He was holding Alice's hand, his thumb tracing lazy circles across the back of her hand gently. I couldn't see it, because Bella's eyes were focused out the window at the moment, but I heard the light rasp of skin against skin.

"Which way to the airport, Bella?" Jasper had asked quietly, and Bella flinched against me. I couldn't blame her. It was the first sound, besides the purr of the car, to break the long night's silence. I wondered if Bella knew it was because talking meant breathing and we were all careful not to do too much of that in the confines of the car.

"Stay on the I-ten," she answered. "We'll pass right by it. Are we flying somewhere?"

"No, but it's better to be close, just in case." Alice responded to her. As we started the loop around Sky Harbor International, I finally felt Bella fall asleep against me. I relaxed and sighed. The light burn in my throat was not bad enough to bother me as I spoke softly.

"She's asleep. Finally."

"Good. Hopefully she'll do a lot of sleeping the next couple of days. It's going to be…tense." Alice sounded almost tired. Jasper picked up her hand then and brought it to his lips. It was a slightly different sound, the brush of lips against skin. It was something Jasper did often, so I had learned the subtle difference.

The next two days were indeed very tense. Bella was moody, erratic, and even Jasper's ability to soothe didn't help much. She was worried about someone getting hurt, anyone. I was amazed at her ability to care for my family, even Rosalie, when she didn't really know us that well. Edward, yes, and me, maybe a little. Edward was right to love this human, this incredibly loving, loyal person.

I was currently sitting on the couch with Jasper, listening to Alice give Bella information that would really piss Edward off if he knew she was giving it. How vampires were made, a delicate subject since Alice still saw Bella becoming one of us in the future. Edward was adamant that that wasn't an option. I was torn between hoping Alice's prediction came true and hoping it didn't. It would break Edward's heart either way, I thought. Unless we could convince Edward that Bella's soul wasn't in danger from conversation. I didn't know if anyone had an argument strong enough to make him believe that.

Suddenly Alice very abruptly changed subjects. The stalker had changed course, evidently. Jasper drew her out into the living area and coaxed information out of her. She was sketching the room she'd seen him in.

"It's a ballet studio," Bella said, suddenly recognizing the familiar shapes.

"Do you know this room?" Jasper's voice sounded calm, but there was an undercurrent of disbelief there. Alice bent her head to her work, her hand flying to the shape an emergency exit against the back wall, a stereo and TV on a low table by the front right corner. Bella nodded.

"It looks like a place I used to go for dance lessons - when I was eight or nine. It was shaped just the same." She touched the page where the square section jutted out, narrowing the back part of the room. "That's where the bathrooms were - the doors went through to the other dance floor. But the stereo was here" - she pointed to the left corner - "it was older, and there wasn't a TV. There was a window in the waiting room - you would see the room from this perspective if you looked through it."

Alice and Jasper stared at her and I wrung my hands in agitation.

"Are you sure it's the same room?" Jasper asked, still trying to sound calm for Bella's sake.

"No, not at all - I suppose most dance studios would look the same - the mirrors, the bar." Bella sounded like she was trying to convince herself was she traced a finger along the ballet bar set against the mirrors. "It's just the shape that looked familiar."

"Would you have any reason to go there now?" Alice asked.

"No, I haven't been there in almost ten years. I was a terrible dancer - they always put me in the back for recitals," Bella admitted with a light blush. I could almost smile at that. Yes, our Bella wasn't the most graceful of humans.

"So there's no way it could be connected with you?" Alice asked intently.

"No, I don't even think the same person owns it. I'm sure it's just another dance studio, somewhere."

"Where was the studio you went to?" Jasper asked in a casual voice.

"It was just around the corner from my mom's house. I used to walk there after school…" She said, her voice trailing off as she watched Alice and Jasper exchange a meaningful look.

"Here in Phoenix, then?" His voice was still casual.

"Yes," Bella whispered. "Fifty-eighth Street and Cactus."

We all sat in silence, staring at the drawing until Bella broke the silence.

"Alice, is that phone safe?"

"Yes, the number would just trace back to Washington."

"Then I can use it to call my mom."

"I thought she was in Florida."

"She is - but she's coming home soon, and she can't come back to that house while…"

Bella's voice trembled.

"How will you reach her?" I asked quietly.

"They don't have a permanent number except at the house - she's supposed to check her messages regularly."

"Jasper?" Alice asked.

"I don't think there's any way it could hurt - be sure you don't say where you are, of course."

Bella dialed the phone and I heard it ring four times before I heard her mother's voice telling her to leave a message.

"Mom, it's me. Listen, I need you to do something. It's important. As soon as you get this message, call me at this number." Alice wrote the number for her on the bottom of her picture. She read it carefully, twice.

"Please don't go anywhere until you talk to me. Don't worry, I'm okay, but I have to talk to you right away, no matter how late you get this call, all right? I love you, Mom. Bye."

It was the next day before we knew for sure that the tracker was coming to Phoenix. Bella identified another drawing of Alice's as her mother's house. A quick to call to Edward had confirmed that they were boarding a plane for Phoenix immediately. Bella seemed to brighten at the news that Edward would be here later this morning. That was the only bright thing about the whole affair, I thought sourly. We were going to have to move again, to a hotel closer to Bella's old home.

I was going to be sent along with Carlisle, Edward and Bella while Emmett stayed with Jasper and Alice until they could hunt down the tracker. It wasn't like I couldn't fight as well. In fact, I was almost Emmett-like in my desire to help them hunt down James. Edward had been so happy, so determined to be happy with this new love with Bella and then James had come into our lives and shattered that happiness. I was so mad, Jasper had to remind me to stop grinding my teeth whenever I thought too hard on it. But Alice was adamant about me leaving Phoenix. She refused to tell me what she saw that made her so afraid for me, but I had reluctantly agreed.

Jasper and Alice were downstairs checking us out when the call came, so I let Bella answer it. My only orders were not to let her leave the room. I could hear whatever she heard, anyway.

"Hello?"

"Bella? Bella?" It was her mother's voice, frantic. It sounded odd, though. Bella sighed and tried to calm her down.

"Calm down, Mom," she said, walking slowly away from me, as if lying to her mother would come easier if she didn't think I was listening in. I repressed a grin. Hadn't Edward explained to her that I could hear a pin drop at three miles if I was paying attention? "Everything is fine, okay? Just give me a minute and I'll explain everything, I promise."

"Mom?" Bella said this after there was a significant pause on the other end of the line.

"Be very careful not to say anything until I tell you to." The new voice was a shock. Not Renee Swan. Was this Phil? It was a man's tenor voice, a very pleasant voice. He spoke very quickly, in a manner that made my skin crawl. I couldn't see Bella's expression, so I didn't know if she knew this voice or not.

"Now, I don't need to hurt your mother, so please do exactly as I say, and she'll be fine." He paused for a minute while Bella and I both listened in mute horror. No, this was not Phil. "That's very good," he congratulated. "Now repeat after me, and do try to sound natural. Please say, 'No, Mom, stay where you are.'"

"No, Mom, stay where you are." Bella's voice was barely more than a whisper.

"I can see this is going to be difficult." The voice was amused, still light and friendly, but I recognized the musical quality that all vampires had now running through it. "Why don't you walk into another room now so your face doesn't ruin everything? There's no reason for your mother to suffer. As you're walking, please say, 'Mom, please listen to me.' Say it now."

"Mom, please listen to me," Bella's voice pleaded as I watched her walk very slowly to the bedroom. She didn't look back at me, or my horrified expression would had told her I knew, had heard. As she shut the door behind her, I stayed frozen, afraid if I moved I might explode. How had this creature found out our phone number? Then it hit me. Bella had left a message for her mother on the machine at home. He had been to her home. Now he had our phone number and Bella's mother.

"There now, are you alone? Just answer yes or no."

"Yes."

"But they can still hear you, I'm sure."

"Yes."

"All right, then," the agreeable voice continued, "say, 'Mom, trust me.'"

"Mom, trust me."

"This worked out rather better than I expected. I was prepared to wait, but your mother arrived ahead of schedule. It's easier this way, isn't it? Less suspense, less anxiety for you."

Bella and I both waited for his next words.

"Now I want you to listen very carefully. I'm going to need you to get away from your friends; do you think you can do that? Answer yes or no."

"No." Damn right, no. I wasn't going to let her out of my sight now for anything.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I was hoping you would be a little more creative than that. Do you think you could get away from them if your mother's life depended on it? Answer yes or no."

Bella only hesitated for a moment before, "Yes."

Yes, I thought, tell him that. Keep him happy. I growled very softly and my mind was working furiously. There had to be a way out of this situation without losing Bella or Renee. I put the palm of my hand against my forehead and tried my best to think of something.

"That's better. I'm sure it won't be easy, but if I get the slightest hint that you have any company, well, that would be very bad for your mother," the friendly voice promised. I growled again. That didn't give me a lot of options.

"You must know enough about us by now to realize how quickly I would know if you tried to bring anyone along with you. And how little time I would need to deal with your mother if that was the case. Do you understand? Answer yes or no."

"Yes." Bella's voice broke. I wanted to snarl.

"Very good, Bella. Now this is what you have to do. I want you to go to your mother's house. Next to the phone there will be a number. Call it, and I'll tell you where to go from there." We already knew where he would tell her to go, and where this would end. "Can you do that? Answer yes or no."

"Yes."

"Before noon, please, Bella. I haven't got all day," he said politely.

"Where's Phil?" Bella's terse question made me cringe. Don't antagonize the nice vampire, Bella. But in truth, I wondered this myself. Why hadn't he mentioned Phil? Had Renee come home alone?

"Ah, be careful now, Bella. Wait until I ask you to speak, please." How odd. His voice held a hint of uncertainty. Something I doubted Bella would catch in the horrified state she had to be in.

"It's important, now, that you don't make your friends suspicious when you go back to them. Tell them that your mother called, and that you talked her out of coming home for the time being. Now repeat after me, 'Thank you, Mom.' Say it now."

"Thank you, Mom."

"Say, 'I love you, Mom, I'll see you soon.' Say it now."

"I love you, Mom. I'll see you soon."

"Goodbye, Bella. I look forward to seeing you again." He hung up. I sat, still frozen, still thinking furiously. There had to be a way around this, out of this. I heard Alice returning and I smoothed my expression. Luckily, Jasper wasn't with her. He would sense the horror in the room immediately and demand to know what had happened.

I knew that whatever I decided, I wasn't going to leave Bella alone to face James. But I also knew better than to make any firm decisions now, while I was close enough for Alice to see my course change in clear, sparkling color. I would bide my time and pray for my chance to get away from my brother and sister before Bella could put whatever plan she was making into motion.