We're Going on a Vampire Hunt
Wednesday the 23rd

The Cullens, Paul, Rachel and Jacob went to the Hale'iwa State Beach Park. People on the beach were packing up their things and leaving because the sun had set, and so there were lots of good parking places. Renesmee grabbed Jacob's hand and ran with him to the beach.

"I really like it here," she remarked. "The waves are fun and so is the sand." The grown ups headed out into the water while Bella stayed with her daughter and Jake. There were only a few night surfers, so they were not too worried. If she followed her pattern the vampire wouldn't be there for two more nights. Paul and Rachel played near the waves and had some semi-private time. Paul started kissing her, pulling her close to him. She allowed a few kisses, but then pulled back, resting her head on his chest. "This is tempting, but please, not in public," she asked.

"No one is paying us any attention," he kissed her ear.

"Nessie is too aware of everything. Maybe later," she replied. She pushed away from him, but kept a sparkle in her eyes and a smile on her lips. She reached down and put her hand into the water. Then she suddenly splashed him and ran away, laughing.

He took the bait and chased after her. She could run fairly fast, but was it hard to run in water up to her knees, and she was no match for him. He tackled her and they both went into the water, laughing and playing.

Bella and Jacob picked Nessie up as the waves met them. She laughed and giggled each time. Bella looked around at the people who were still in the water. "I didn't notice that there were this many people here this late yesterday. We are conspicuous." She didn't take off her cover-up.

"Don't worry, we're far enough away that they are not watching us or noticing your white sparkling arms and legs. Although I must say that the sight of those legs when you were human would have been a sight I would've enjoyed seeing." He gave her the once over and whistled.

"Jake! Shame on you!" she would have blushed in those times, long ago. Now she just gave him a scandalous look.

"I'm just sayin'…" he shrugged his shoulders, laughing, and they jumped more six inch foamy waves with Nessie. They played in the water for a good half an hour before Nessie wanted to build a sand castle.

They called to Paul and Rachel, who joined them. They had the general shape when Edward came running up on the beach. "Paul, get Rachel into the car, quick! Jacob, get Nessie and Bella up to the other car. Go to your house immediately! We will run there."

"What happened?" Bella tried not to scream.

"She's out there," explained Edward. "Alice saw her in the water and was showing it to me when her thoughts blared into my mind. She's not going to wait for the contest on the weekend. There are enough men here tonight for her take her pick. She's getting greedy. Take Bella and Renesmee and get to the house! We will try to get her to stop and move on to another place. If we claim that this is our hunting grounds most of our kind will move on out of courtesy. I hope that this is the case, but from what I have read from her mind, I'm not sure we can dissuade her from hunting here. Jake, if she gets angry, she might get physical. We don't want to fight her, we just came to help Rebecca. We don't want any vampires to think of this beach as a good place to come for humans. Get them out of here." He turned to Renesmee, who was gathering her sand toys. She was aware of the danger because of the tone in her father's voice. "Take them quickly to the car, dear. Go with Mommy back to the house. Be safe, my girls," and he kissed them both, Bella was a little too protective of Renesmee to feel safe staying nearby.

They grabbed an armful of things to take to the car, and tried not to look alarmed. They left a few things, as if they were leaving them for the group in the water. As they drove to the entrance of the parking lot Jacob looked back. Edward was back in the water and couldn't be seen. He put on the brakes and turned to Bella. "I can't leave. I staying to help. If she fights them I must know and alert the others. I'll be the cell phone this time. I can stop her if she comes out of the water. Go to the house, like he says, and keep our girl safe."

Bella's heart would have been beating double time, if it could've. Her breathing was quick. Just as she ran around to the driver's side she saw a glimmer in the water. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was blonde hair bobbing in the waves.

Paul and Rachel had taken off quicker than she did, but she soon caught up with them. They were trying to not draw attention to their frantic driving. The last thing that they needed was a ticket. What would they say to a policeman trying to write them up for speeding or reckless driving, "Sorry, officer, I'm a vampire/werewolf, and am trying to get this human away from a thirsty vampire that I saw on the beach." When they got to the house, a gray wolf was standing on alert on the porch, and all of the lights were out. It would have been hard to see her, except with their super eyes.

Paul and Rachel opened the doors and scrambled out of the car and up onto the porch. They saw that Jacob wasn't in the other SUV with Bella and Renesmee, and guessed that he had stayed with the others. There was no time to ask. Rachel checked Rebecca, who was asleep on the porch. Tonight Mala had crawled into covers with her after she was asleep. He couldn't stand not being with her again. He had his arm around her shoulders. Billy was asleep in his bed. Leah was listening for Jacob. Bella ran up the stairs, Renesmee following her.

"What's wrong, mommy? Why did daddy send us here? Why did my Jacob leave us, too?" she was full of question.

Bella didn't have exact answers. "I think that a bad vampire that we came here to find, the one who made Rebecca phase, was out there in the water. Alice and daddy heard her thinking at the beach where we just were and didn't want you or Rachel to get hurt by her. They are going to take care of her so that she doesn't hurt us. They will tell her that Rebecca is here and that she needs to go somewhere else. They are protecting us. Paul, Leah and I will protect you here. Don't worry, dear, everything will be just fine." But her face belied her words.

"I want to help, too, I'm big," she looked beseechingly up at Bella.

"The best way for you to help is to do just what I tell you to do," she instructed. "Just relax here on the couch. When daddy and Jake are done they will come here to be with us." Bella sat with her daughter, stroked her hair and hummed lullabies until she relaxed and dropped off to dreamland. The tension in the air made that take longer than usual.

Paul and Rachel were having a discussion in one of the bedrooms. "I must phase if I am to protect all of you. If the bloodsucker gets past the Cullens and Jacob she will be coming here. She has already been here and she knows we are here. They don't know we know about them, but I must protect you and the others. I don't know what I will do if anything happens to you, I love you and can't stand the thought of anything coming anywhere near you. Do you understand?" His voice sounded like it would break into tears.

"Yes, I understand. Go do your duty, my big man," she said, trying to be brave. He began to turn toward the door when she grabbed him by the shoulders, spun him around and gave him a passionate kiss. It was also fearful. She let him go, and he stood there torn for a moment before regaining his composure.

He gave her a big smile and said, "I'll be back for more of that!"

Bella was reminded of how she felt about being separated from Edward just before Victoria and her newborns attacked them. The memories brought back the feelings she had then and wanted to go back to help Edward fight, but then she also had to protect Renesmee. The voices grew softer but Bella's ears picked up the soft words that they were speaking. She turned her thoughts away from their conversation. After a few minutes they came out, hand in hand. Paul left Rachel and went out to the porch, taking his shirt off and kicking off his shoes. He went down to the lower level to phase. It didn't take him long to return to stand with Leah.

"I know exactly how you feel," said Bella, softly to Rachel. "I have been in your shoes."

"How do you stand it?" she pleaded.

"Not very well, I'm afraid. Actually, I keep telling myself that I must trust my husband. I believe him when he says that she will be no problem for the five of them, and Jacob. My family is experienced in this area, as are Paul, Jacob and Leah. They stood together before and won. I want to be there at his side, right now, but my daughter needs me more. If the vampire eludes them and comes here again, Paul, Leah and I will take care of her. I have been training with Jasper and Emmett this year, and know a couple of things about fighting, too." She looked toward Renesmee's room, "No one will hurt my baby. I gave my life to have her, and no one will take her away from me now."

Paul was also a wolf now, and he and Leah paced back and forth. That was a good trick with Mala and Rebecca laid out on the floor - there wasn't much room for movement. They didn't want to awaken Rebecca if it were not necessary. She had had a rough day.

"I'm going to check the perimeter. I'll be back in a minute," thought Leah to Paul. She ran down the stairs and was off.

Rachel went to the door and whispered to Paul, "Anything new on the beach?" He shook his head left to right.

Maybe it was the tension, or the pacing, or the whispering, but Rebecca woke up with a start. She saw Rachel at the door, and Paul at alert and gasped "What is wrong?" She sat up. Rachel motioned for her to come over to the door, and her movement awakened Mala, who had an identical reaction. Rachel gave up on whispering to them one at a time, and went over to a patio chair near them to explain what had happened at the beach. "Is there a danger of her coming here?" Rebecca demanded.

"There are five vampires and a werewolf at the beach to reason with her. Jacob will be in touch with Leah and Paul when he phases, of course. We then will have communication with them so that we will know what is happening there," Rachel explained. "We will know when they are coming back."

"How good are wolves at swimming?" Mala asked.

"Not nearly as good a vampires," answered Bella. "My guess is that Jacob won't get into the water."

"Unless he has to," added Rebecca. The air stilled.

Only Paul could hear Leah "Nothing out here, I'm coming back."

A/N The fun has begun. Click Review and let me know what you think!