A/N: A big thank you to my prereader and beta, Erikasbuddy and OnePushyFox, for their opinions, skills, and making me laugh when I read their comments. I tried to respond to the reviews from the previous chapter, but FF was being fail as usual so I'll catch you this time :)

Chapter 20

Rosalie POV

"Just drink the buck already," I growled at Mike through clenched teeth while shoving him towards Alice's fresh kill. Once Esme and Carlisle were called away by another emergency with the Swans, Alice and I were stuck taking the newborn out hunting. But getting him to feed on animals wasn't proving to be an easy task. "It's no skin off of my teeth if you starve. Just don't eat. See if I care."

He shook his head violently back and forth, like a defiant toddler on speed. I really didn't see why Jasper got to stay behind at home while we were stuck with the prisoner. I'd much rather protect the house any day than tramp through the muddy woods with someone who refused to cooperate. And who knew where Edward and my husband had disappeared to? I hadn't seen either of them in quite a while.

"It's not really that bad," Alice added in a gentle tone. "Just try it."

Mike's blood thirst was obviously overwhelming. Earlier, when I looked around Carlisle's shoulder into our basement storage room, Mike prowled the area like a caged tiger, just waiting for an opportunity to strike. But his movements weren't fluid like a normal vampire. They were twitchy and uneven like a sick, wounded animal.

His eyes should have been red from the last of his own blood lingering in his tissues. He certainly hadn't been a vampire very long. But his eyes were deep black when Carlisle released him to Alice and me with a stern warning. Don't let him anywhere near humans. Who knows how much damage he will do? We wouldn't dare bring him anywhere near civilization when he was in this state. It was hard enough to drag him thirty miles away from our house, just to find some decent sized prey.

Alice's unfocused gaze seemed to settle on a tree in front of us and I left her to the visions. At times like these, I was glad I wasn't crippled with an annoying ability. I just had my extraordinary beauty. Too bad that didn't make Mike any less irritating. "We're not bringing you humans to drink. This is your only option," I said firmly. "Or go mad from the thirst."

The newborn started to sway back and forth on his knees, his limbs twitching as his black gloved hands dug into the soft ground in front of him. The leather gloves were my idea. I hoped they would protect us from any danger posed by the newborn's hands, just in case he decided to defend himself.

"Mike, listen to me." Alice leaned in closer, trying to calm him with a friendly hand to the shoulder. "You must feed now. We have to leave very soon or you won't last the night."

I looked at Alice questioningly over his head, but Alice just quirked an eyebrow to keep me quiet when she met my eyes. I was pretty sure she wasn't telling the entire truth and wanted me to just go with it.

"I-, I will die?" he asked in a very shaky voice.

"Yes, I've seen it." She rubbed small circles over the top of his back, reassuring him that he was safe with us. Why bother making him feel safe? But I trusted Alice and I was sure her plan was a good one.

"Do you want to die, Mike?" I asked, becoming increasingly annoyed. "This situation is pretty simple. You're hungry. Alice brought you something to eat. You shut up and eat the damn thing already."

"Rosalie," Alice scolded.

"What?" I asked. "I can make this happen a lot faster, you know?"

"I want to live," Mike said quietly and looked up at Alice. The pasty newborn actually looked scared.

"Then prove it," she said while I forced his head down onto the kill.

BPOV

A flash of white darted in front of the police cruiser's headlights, throwing prisms of colored light in all directions. As I stomped on the brakes and the car screeched to a halt, a loud thump pounding the seat from behind me, a darker form just missed the bumper with a graceful leap as it bolted passed.

"What was that?" my mother screamed and clutched her chest, the seatbelt digging into her skin.

Before I could catch my breath, three large wolves raced past, clearly in pursuit of Victoria and Laurent. I knew exactly what we'd just seen, but there was no way I could tell my mother what was really going on. "You've been in the city too long. This is the wilderness, Mom."

Incoherent groaning came from the backseat as I realized that we didn't buckle my father's seatbelt in our hurry to get to the hospital. His body had slammed against the metal mesh barrier separating the front and back seats when I stopped the car so suddenly.

"Oh my God, Dad. Are you okay?" I turned around in my seat to find my father sprawled on his back, his broken arm slumped down onto the floorboard.

"Just get me to the damned hospital, Bella," he said through gritted teeth.

My mother tapped the dashboard. "What are you waiting for, baby girl? Get a move on!"

I took my foot off of the brake and pushed the gas down as far as I dared. The car took off quickly, the acceleration pushing us back into the seats as we swiftly picked up speed.

"You don't have to drive it like you stole it," my father grumbled from the back seat.

Renee hid a giggle behind one hand while she gripped the door with her other hand.

"Does your arm hurt a lot?" I asked, slowing down just enough to turn the car but still squealing tires around the corner onto the main highway back to Forks.

"More than you know."

"Bella had a broken leg, Charlie. I'm sure the pain must be similar."

I quickly shot my mother a look to shut her up before returning my attention to the road in front of me. Reminding Charlie of the time I "went home" to Phoenix when I was really running from James wasn't a good idea. Making my father even more furious when he was in pain wasn't such a great idea either.

"I know it hurts more than you'll admit. Don't tell me how to drive so I can get you to the hospital. Doctor Cullen is meeting us in the emergency room."

The pavement rolled underneath us at a much faster pace than I'd ever driven a car before. The dashed lane divider seemed to blur into one solid yellow line as I picked up speed along a lengthy straight stretch of road. I was beginning to see why the Cullens loved fast cars so much. This was kind of fun, except for the part where I was worried that my father was possibly bleeding internally or worse.

Both my mother and father were completely silent until we reached the emergency room. Either they finally got the hint that I didn't want to talk or my driving scared the words right out of their mouths. I preferred to think that they just got it and wanted to let me concentrate on driving.

Carlisle and Esme waited just outside of the emergency room doors as I eased the car to a stop. No squealing tires that time. I jumped out of the car quickly and ripped open the rear door to help my father out, but Carlisle beat me to it.

While Carlisle helped me get Charlie into a wheelchair, Esme opened my mother's car door for her, smiling warmly towards Renee. "Hello. I'm Esme, Edward's mother. It's so nice to finally meet you," she said while she held the door open for my mother.

The women exchanged pleasantries and began chatting like old friends as they entered the hospital and disappeared in the direction of Carlisle's office. At least it looked like they'd wait there while Charlie's injuries were treated.

Once Renee and Esme were out of earshot, Carlisle wanted to know what really happened. "Victoria," was all I muttered.

"That red-headed demon needs to be put down," my father said, wincing as the doctor felt along his lower arm.

"I'm afraid this is a compound fracture." Carlisle held my father's arm as still as he could as he helped him out of the car and walked him towards the entrance. "Let's get you to x-ray."

I turned to get back into the car, not wanting to block potential emergency traffic anymore. "Bella, Emmett and Edward are on their way here. Please call them so they know how serious the situation is," Carlisle said over his shoulder.

I eased the car through the parking lot and turned off the ignition after pulling into one of the few spots left in the visitor's lot. I never really noticed how busy this place was before. But then again, I never had to do the parking before either.

As soon as I had scrolled through my sparse contacts list to find Edward's number on my phone and hit send, a pale face appeared right next to me in the driver's side window of the police cruiser.

I screamed just like a little girl while I jumped in the seat and dropped the phone.

Emmett laughed heartily outside the door, gasping for breath at his own ability to almost scare me to death. "Little B," he said between fits of laughter. "You should have seen your face."

"Ha, ha," I deadpanned. "It would help if you weren't the size of a bear." I opened the door and stepped out, throwing off the unease from the shock of Emmett popping up unexpectedly. "It would also help if Victoria hadn't just attacked my father."

A deep, violent growl rumbled forth from low in Emmett's chest.

"Hang on there, big guy, before you go all murderous on me. I only want to explain what happened once." I bent over and searched for my cell on the floor of the car, finally locating it deep under the front seat.

When I put the phone to my ear, I was surprised to find that the call was connected with Edward on the other end. "Edward?"

"I heard everything and I'll be there in a minute. Don't move," he ordered. Air whipped by in the background, like he was running while talking before the line went dead.

I locked up the car and sat down on a cement curb to wait. "Why isn't Edward with you?" I asked Emmett. "Carlisle said you two were on your way here together."

"He had to hunt a bit more than I did before he could be presentable, if you know what I'm saying," Emmett replied. He stood a few feet away from me with his arms crossed, daring anything to approach us.

"Of course."

"You've had one hell of a day, haven't you?" He waggled his eyebrows at me, smiling broadly before resuming his tough guy stance.

"You could say that." I was suddenly very tired and I slouched forward to rest my head on my knees to wait for my boyfriend's arrival.

Before I knew it, Edward appeared in front of me and he pulled me up into his arms, hugging me tightly to him. "We can't be apart," he whispered. "Ever."

"She shook Charlie like a ragdoll." My eyes welled up with tears as I choked on my words. "She could have killed both of us."

"You won't be unprotected again," Edward said. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and continued to cocoon me in his embrace.

"Not when Victoria is being so bold," Emmett interrupted. "That chick is not right in the head."

I pushed myself away from Edward and swiped at my eyes, ending my moment of weakness. "She seemed really focused on Mike and whether or not he was with your family willingly. Why bring him to your house, anyway? Why not somewhere else?"

The brothers briefly glanced at each other before Emmett began to speak. "It seemed like as good a place as any at the time?"

"That was where Alice saw to bring him since Mike was unconscious," Edward added.

"Wait. He was unconscious? Just like you were, Edward?" I asked while I started walking towards the hospital.

"Oh yeah," Emmett said excitedly. "Edward made Mikey use the glowy hands on himself. Knocked him clean out." He seemed to get a little too much excitement out of this. Edward had the decency to keep any exuberance he may harbor hidden.

"Let's just get inside. I'm worried about Charlie," I said while they followed behind me.

"Luckily it was a clean break, but it's going to take several weeks to heal." Carlisle explained the extent of my father's injuries to us. While I gazed at the x-ray images illuminated on the wall, the damages were broadcast loud and clear in shades of grey on the light box. Both of the bones above his wrist were snapped. We were really lucky that Victoria didn't do more to my father. Or me, for that matter.

Charlie's arm was encased from hand to shoulder in a white plaster cast. The expression on his face couldn't be more sour or depressing. "But I can still work, right?" my father asked Doctor Cullen.

"Since your non-dominant arm is the one that is broken, you'll be able to do paperwork. But I wouldn't recommend patrolling alone."

"We don't have enough officers. I have to be on the streets with my men."

Carlisle looked at Charlie thoughtfully. "Then I don't recommend you being anywhere alone, especially when considering who did this to you."

"Which means I'm back on duty, partner," Emmett said as he waltzed into the emergency room bay and whispered something to Carlisle.

Irritation quickly flashed over Charlie's face before calm replaced it. "That's exactly what it means. If that's the only way for me to keep working."

"Thanks, Dad," I said quietly. I held his free hand while Carlisle left to complete the discharge paperwork so we could get out of here.

"I'll just go round up everyone else so they're ready to go," Emmett said and walked out of the room just as quickly as he came in.

"I've always been able to protect this town, Bella," Charlie said quietly when we were as alone as we could get in an emergency room. I looked up at my father, but he continued to stare at the floor as he spoke. "And now I can't protect the one I person I love most in the world. How do you think that makes me feel?"

"I know how powerless you must feel." I put my head on my father's shoulder and held my breath while I tried to hold back the fear and helplessness that crept into my own being. "But you know that the Cullens love me like one of their own. They will protect us. Don't be too proud to accept their help."

"Hmm," he replied and patted the back of my hand with his good one. "I don't think we have much choice anymore."

Alice POV

"There, there," I said while I patted Mike on the back. He finally appeared calm after finishing three stags. He rested calmly on his knees and his eyes were closed serenely. "All better now?"

He looked up at me with amber colored eyes and his lips curling into a slight smile. "The edge is gone."

Five minutes earlier, Rosalie disappeared deeper into the forest after her cell phone rang. Judging by the ringtone, I knew it was Carlisle calling. Once I heard the quiet crunching of dried leaves on the ground steadily approaching us, the visions started to flow quickly in front of my eyes. I knew we were going to let the newborn go now. But with several conditions, of course.

"Alice?" Rosalie said when she appeared in front of me, a quirk of one eyebrow completing her question.

I simply nodded my head to let her know that I was in on the plan and pushed it into motion. "Michael," I began. "Now that you've had a taste of what it's like to live like us, how do you feel?"

His brow knitted together as he thought hard about my question. "I don't feel as strong, but maybe that's because I was starving?"

Rosalie's job now was to play good cop too. It was integral that we both leave Mike on a high note to keep the peace between all of us, or at least to buy us a little time to prepare. "I bet that was it. One time, I didn't drink for several weeks and it took twice as long for me to recover."

The vampire rose to his full height, his clothing covered with dirt, blood, and other debris as he towered over us. As he tried to wipe away the disarray on himself, he finally noticed the mess around him on the forest floor. "What do you usually do with these?"

"Oh, don't worry about the deer. We'll take care of that," Rosalie offered. Being this helpful and sickeningly sweet had to be killing Rosalie's inner drama queen.

"Why are you being so nice now, Rosalie? You were such a bitch to me before."

"It was the only way to get you to eat," she answered simply.

Rosalie and Mike stared at each other for a few tense, awkward seconds. Apparently, good cop wasn't something that Rosalie was very good at.

"Now that you're better, Mike. You're free to go." I carefully watched the shock as my words registered in his eyes.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, but you need to make a few decisions first," Rosalie added. "Now you know that being a vampire has two distinct paths for living your life." She gestured towards the carcasses at his feet. "You need to choose one. And this decision will dictate where you must go in this new life of yours."

Mike scratched his head, the only place on his body that was still relatively clean. "So I have to pick animal or human blood."

"Yes," I answered. The hard part was next. I felt it coming and I took a deep breath to prepare myself. "And you have to go back to Victoria while you make your decision." I tried to push the visions aside while I spoke, but the plethora of possibilities flew past my eyes at a dizzying rate.

The newborn's face scrunched up in annoyance. "Why?"

I quickly thought over how much I was safely able to tell him. "She's a bit unstable right now and she's…missing you."

"So if I decide to take on the all animal diet, I can stick around Forks?" he asked, his face full of optimism.

I didn't have the heart to tell him that most of my visions were filled with his mangled corpse and a gleeful Edward lighting the pieces on fire. They only differed in location. "That's probably not such a good idea, with the whole Bella situation."

"Oh." His face fell.

Rosalie saw the opportunity to brighten his spirits. "But you haven't seen any other vampire women have you? We have some friends up in Alaska. Two words…smoking hot." Not to mention that the Denali clan would eat Mike alive.

"I never really thought about other vampire chicks," Mike said. "I figured they were all taken like you guys."

"All you have to do is travel a little. See the world, meet new people." As his expression brightened. I hoped he brought Victoria and Laurent with him on his potential jet setting ways.

"So do we have a deal?" Rosalie asked.

As we both looked at Mike expectantly, he seemed to think it over a little too long before answering. "Deal. I'll go back to Victoria while I make my decision."

And with those last words, he disappeared into the trees.

Bella POV

We sat in silence on the bed, hand in hand, waiting for anyone to come into our room in the ER. Like father, like daughter, we both furiously tapped one foot back and forth in nervous frustration. It was at least twenty minutes before Emmett reappeared in the space, nothing but dimples and a smirk peppering his face when he barged in without announcing his arrival. At least he was bearing gifts as he strolled in nonchalantly.

"Yo, what's up?" he asked while handing Charlie a familiar takeout cup of coffee. I was handed a can of Coca-Cola before Emmett plopped down in a chair across from the bed.

"What the hell is taking so long?" my dad barked out. "Did your father have to cut down the tree to make the paper he has to sign before I can leave?"

"I think we need to get you some happy pills while we're here, Chief." Emmett waited for a smile from either one of us, but there was no way I was going to encourage any of this. Not with the mood Charlie was in. "What can I say? It's a hospital. These things take time."

Stretching as I stood up, my legs stiff from sitting in one position too long, I paced back and forth to get the blood flowing again. "But where's everyone else?"

"The moms are in the cafeteria. You wouldn't believe how much those two can talk. They're already trading embarrassing stories about all of us. I got to hear all about how you used to eat paste in kindergarten, little B."

My cheeks flushed hot. I was going to kill my mother when we were alone. "Ha, ha. Where's Edward?"

"He's waiting in Carlisle's office."

I looked at my father, who continued to drink his coffee and look miserable. Emmett seemed to have a case of the nervous chatters himself. I wasn't sure how much more of this caged waiting I could take and still keep my sanity. "I'm going to find Edward and 'the moms' as you called them. Be right back."

As I darted out of the room and started down the sterile, brightly lit hallway towards Carlisle's office, Emmett was already talking baseball with Charlie. Hopefully that would brighten my father's mood a little. I hoped it served as a distraction from our troubles, at least for just a little while.

The door to Doctor Cullen's office was a deep burgundy. It matched the rest of the doors in this hallway, but was slightly ajar as I approached. My pulse quickened with the unknown before me and I paused in front of it. Which Edward was waiting behind the ordinary door for me? My loving, overprotective boyfriend or the one who seemed to regret being near me?

One step into the darkened room, a cool hand suddenly snaked around my waist and quickly pulled me further into the space, the door slamming shut behind me. The metallic clicking of a lock sounded a second later. Before I could catch my breath or my eyes could adjust to the dimness inside the room, lips crashed down over mine in a kiss so furious, so full of need that I couldn't even respond at first.

When I stiffened in response to the surprise attack, his lips retreated from mine and hovered over my ear. "My Bella," Edward whispered, before trailing lingering opened mouth kisses from my ear down my jaw line and continuing down my neck.

Heat pooled in my core and I wound my hand in the hair at the nape of his neck. "Edward," I gasped. He continued his exploration of my neck with his mouth while his hand found my sensitive nipple through my shirt. "Don't stop."

He returned his lips to mine. There was no restraint, no holding back. The barriers that he had set up before were completely dissolved now. I finally had all of Edward, whether he regretted it afterwards or not. He was all mine, every inch.

As I ran the palm of my hand along the hard planes of his stomach and along the hardness inside his pants, he tore his lips away from mine. "I'm sorry for how I acted earlier." Even in the dim glow of the security lighting, his eyes pierced into mine.

I started to unbutton his pants and met no resistance from Edward. "So you don't regret this?" I asked as my hand met his hard skin.

He sucked in a large breath when I ran my palm down his length. "Oh, God no." Of course any man would say that at a time like this.

"What about this?" I asked before dropping to my knees. I took a tentative lick around the head before pulling a few inches into my mouth.

"Bella, you don't need to," Edward said before trailing off when I started to pull more of his length into my mouth. It didn't take long to figure out what combination of licks and sucks did him in, his hands flying to my head and tangling in my hair.

"Bella," he growled and held tightly to my head while he thankfully held still and let me work. "Oh God," was all the warning that I got before he finished inside of me. And it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Since his seminal venom didn't affect me after our lovemaking earlier in the day, I wasn't worried about this type of exposure. Surely Edward would have warned me if I was at risk?

Once his labored breathing slowed, he pulled me to his chest, hugging me tightly. "I love you, Bella. Nothing will change that."

"I love you too," I rasped into his chest. "But you won't always be around to protect me. Or Charlie. And tonight just proves how vulnerable we are."

Edward pulled away and tucked himself back in, righting and straightening his clothing as he went. "I know, that's why you'll never be alone anymore."

I sighed in frustration. "But what kind of life is that? Always looking over my shoulder. Never getting any solitude?"

Edward grabbed my shoulder and held my chin so I had to look at him. "It's what will keep you safe and alive."

"I can protect myself. And Charlie."

"Bella, there's no way," he said before I cut him off.

"Change me."

Edward opened his mouth to respond, but a knock on the door interrupted him. "Stop fooling around in there, you two," Emmett said through the door. "We've got to go."

Do you think it was a big mistake to let Mike go? What about Bella's new tactic to persuade Edward to change her? At least Charlie wasn't so much of a douche this time around. If you enjoy this little story, please review and pass it on. Until next time...