AlicePOV:

Edward and Bella went outside to see off Jake and Nessie as I was getting ready for the day. Jasper had been in a decent mood lately so I decided to treat him by wearing the skirt he liked best on me. It was little things like that that I enjoyed best about our relationship. We didn't have to be overt or over-the-top; we had an eternal connection and that on it's own was amazing enough.

I was looking forward to the next few days. Both my pesky little mental blockers would be gone and I would be back to full clarity for the first time in a long time. Jazz could feel the lift in my spirits and I knew that would make him more happy than anything. Unfortunately, Edward and Bella weren't as excited as I was about this week. They were even more upset knowing that their daughter's future was blank for me and even if it wasn't I wouldn't know she was going to be safe because she was with Jacob.

No sooner had the Volvo cleared the driveway when the first vision hit. Jon Connors was fuzzily outlined next to Elizabeth. It looked as if his arm was around her shoulders, but the image was foggy. It looked as if there were still many decisions to be made, but it was a possibility at least. Interesting. It was shame that I would have to hide this from her.

EdwardPOV:

The drive to school seemed to take forever, partially because Carlisle was driving because the Volvo was gone, and he insisted on driving the human speed limit. The other thing was that both Bella and I couldn't help but be worried at what was going on with our daughter. In the back of my mind I was certain that she should be perfectly safe with Jacob; he would die for her in a heartbeat. Still, I was her father and I was worried.

When we finally got to school it took exceptional amounts of self-control not to whip out my phone in class and call Jacob for a status update every five minutes. Not only would that bring our family attention we didn't need, it would definitely make me seem a but too overprotective. They were going to end up together some day, and I had better get used to that and relax a little.

I checked my phone outside before heading to Health; no message. No missed calls. I felt my muscles tense. If anything has happened to her, I was going to kill him myself. However, I had to keep myself under control for now, because if I showed even on iota of worry, Bella would probably panic and the last thing I would do would be to cause her concern.

By lunch there was still no message and no missed calls. Bella and I walked outside together and I dialled Jacob on speaker. The phone rand once… twice…

"Hello?" he answered.

"Jacob," I said tersely.

"Oh, hi, Edward."

"Why haven't you called me? I believe I distinctly told you to call and leave a message when you stopped for gas."

"Oh, that's all?"

"No. I want an explanation."

"I did try to call. Edward, I swear, but we stopped for gas in the mountains and I didn't have any cell reception…"

"Not. A. Valid. Excuse. Dog." Bella cringed at that.

"Look… We're at Charlie's now. Everything is fine."

"Fine?" I practically growled.

"Better than fine. Perfect. Charlie is beside himself with happiness and Nessie is having a great time so far."

"How long have you been there?"

"About an hour…" he replied calmly.

"I TOLD YOU TO CALL THE MOMENT YOU ARRIVED!"

ElizabethPOV:

Poor Edward and Bella; I couldn't fathom how tough it must be to entrust the most precious thing in your world to another person and send it miles away. Not to mention Edward was internally panicking every moment that went without a phone call, not that he showed it outwardly. I was hopeful that everything would be fine when they left the cafeteria to call Jacob.

"Look human. That table is going to look at us," Alice whispered.

Emmett cuddled Rosalie, whispering in her ear and she smiled adoringly at him. Jasper pretended to be concentrating on the notebook in front of him and Alice engaged me in conversation.

"You know, Lizzy, Edward believes in an afterlife now," she remarked and I knew she was fishing but I decided to play along.

"And what brought about that change?" I asked although I already suspected the answer.

"Well, Bella… discovering that he could love her."

Emmett coughed out a laugh and of course his mind was in the gutter. I kicked him under the table.

"Do you think we have souls?" she asked quietly, as the people were still staring.

"I suppose that it is irrelevant whether we do or not. However, if we did… Well perhaps we are not born into this existence with it; perhaps it dies when we do, but I would believe that we are given infinite chances to grow ourselves a new one. Carlisle for instance… If any of us had the potential to earn a new soul, it would be him. If I had hope, it would be ones like him that gave it to me."

"Okay. We can relax now," Alice said, slumping back in her chair (as much as a pixie can slump, that is).

Alice's thoughts came in a torrent of vivid images al of a sudden.

AlicePOV:

It came on so fast. A girl with short bobbed red hair. He mascara was running down her face as she ran into the cafeteria. A group of girls followed, laughing and pointing. A boy across the room watched and chuckled as the red-hair girl ran near. He stuck out his foot and tripped her. She flew forward, a look of confusion on her face. Her head connected with a table corner. Blood. Blood gushing from her head.

EdwardPOV:

"Hey, so can I take Nessie with me to La Push for a bonfire, tomorrow… I promise she'll be safe," Jake was saying.

Then, I saw it. Alice's vision.

"NO!" I shouted.

"I promise she'll be safe…" he pleaded.

"Look, Jake. I'll call you back but I have to go NOW," I said in a rush, snapping the phone shut and throwing into my pocket. "Bella, get to the car, NOW!"

"But Rosalie has the keys to her M3..."

"Just go, please. I'll explain once we get there."

ElizabethPOV:

I had to do something. The doors to the cafeteria had just opened; the girl from the vision entered.

"Emmett, Alice, get Jasper out of here, NOW! Rosalie get out of here! I mean it! Get to the car. Edward will explain," I hissed in a hurry.

They didn't hesitant, thank God, or whoever vampires should count as their supreme being. No sooner had they flown out the back door, the girl tripped. I watched her fall, knowing the blood wouldn't affect me, but holding my breath all the same. She came down hard on the desk and I heard the sharp crack, as her skull connected with the table. The blood spilt quickly as was typical of a head wound and I heard a growl from outside, but thankfully it was too low for mortal ears. No doubt the scent of it had reached them and they understood by now. Everything was in slow motion of a sort now. I searched out and found the tenor of Edward's thoughts.

"Leaving now. See you at home."

Simple and short, but we were safe from discovery and that was what mattered. The girl fell to the floor and I heard her breathing slow. She was unconscious and still bleeding profusely. The humans looked on, doing nothing. I breathed in, testing, just in case. Still desensitized to blood; good. I moved at what would pass for a human run towards the girl and immediately applied pressure to the wound. She would need to get to the hospital. There was no way I could help her there without raising suspicion.

Jon Connors ran to my side. I didn't look up because I recognized the scent.

"Is she okay?" he asked. "Wow poor girl looks pretty rough. I wonder what happened to her head. It's bleeding bad."

"I think she needs an ambulance. She's unconscious."

"Okay." He pulled a little blue cell phone out of his pocket and dialled 911. "Hello. We need and ambulance and the high school. A girl hit her head in the cafeteria. She is unconscious and bleeding pretty bad."

He talked to the operator and she assured him paramedics were on the way.

That was when I looked at him, actually saw him, for the first time. Up until then, I had only glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. For all I had known he could have been hideously disfigured, but he wasn't. He was actually very handsome. That surprised me. He had dark brown hair that fell haphazardly into his shocking deep blue eyes. He gaze was intelligent; not what I had expected. He had nice cheek bones and a strong square jaw. His body wasn't half bad either. I had to shake myself from the thoughts, to keep them from working away at my resolve before it was too late. The paramedics were there soon enough and as soon as they had the girl out of the cafeteria, I ran for it.

I ran at a human speed to begin with, but as soon as I reached the woods I really bolted. Running, I tried to calm myself. I tried holding my breath to keep from gasping. I was out of control. I couldn't think. I stopped abruptly at the base of an enormous spruce and threw myself against the moss ground in it's shade.

My world was changing, my sky was falling, my resolve shattering. I swore that I would never let myself feel this agony again. Yet, here I was sharply inhaling and exhaling like an out-of-shape human, trying to get a hold of myself. It would never work, I kept telling myself. Over and over; I repeated it like a mantra as the sun started to set. I just sat there and stared at the blood drying on my hands; a constant reminder of the sins that tainted my soul (if I had one), the reasons why I did not deserve to be loved.

Oh, but he wanted t know me. What if it could work? What if Bella and Edward's fate wasn't a one-time thing? What if there was some chance that I could be happy? No, there was not, there could not be, but the hope, the very notion of hope was excruciating and agonizing.

BellaPOV:

The clock struck midnight as I was pacing in the kitchen. Edward was still on the phone with Jacob, clarifying what had occurred earlier. We had talked about I and we had agreed to let Jake taker our daughter to La Push. Jake should be able to see the pack even though he was not allowed to take his eyes of Reneseme for a single second. I wasn't pacing for that, though. I was worried about Elizabeth. She had been in the cafeteria when the girl's blood had spilt and even though everyone assured me that she was probably just fine, she hadn't come home yet. That worried me.

Finally Edward hung up the phone and I was at his side in an instant.

"Edward, I need you to tell me where Elizabeth is," I said, looking him in the eye to make my point.

"She's fine Bella. She didn't lose it at school. She helped the girl. It's fine."

Alice walked purposefully into the room then.

"She's eight miles west, by the stream, under a spruce. I saw her running there earlier," she offered.

"I'm going to talk to her. Don't follow me. Alice, will I find her?"

Alice's eyes unfocused for a moment.

"Yes. Follow her scent in and you'll find her," she replied.

I was off without another word.