Special thanks to Jennej and EdwardsFirstKuss from Project Team Beta. They were awesome. A big "Hello" to TMofT.

I truly appreciate your encouragement! I can't tell you how much it means.

The interior of the SUV was musty. Bella must have kept it parked and ready, but I'd never seen it, and she'd never mentioned it. I was surprised when the engine roared to life on the first try. Before I put it in gear, I turned around and examined what I could see from the driver's seat. The cargo area was filled with bulging, black duffle bags. It didn't take much imagination to know what was in those bags.

"Sweetheart, that's a lot of gear. How long have you been prepared to go on the run?" I asked, pulling out of the lot.

"A while."

"Does anyone else know about this?" If the vehicle could be traced to Bella, we'd have to abandon it soon.

"No. Just me." It seemed that she wasn't going to elaborate, but then she continued. "That wasn't easy, and it wasn't cheap."

I got the idea of how she'd made it happen. "You just walked into a car dealer and dropped off a pile of cash?" I was still concerned about how unemotional she sounded. Maybe if I kept asking questions, it would help bring her around.

"I told the dealer it was my grandmother's birthday." She stared out the window into the darkness. "After another stack of cash, he even registered it in her name."

"Having cash gives you options, I suppose. Emmett and Esme have very different perspectives on money than the rest of us. It's only natural. They had the hardest lives before their change."

She was silent so long I thought I'd have to ask another question. When she did start talking again, she was practically whispering.

"Without money, I'd end up stealing when I had to start over. I hated that."

This was something I understood. "It's easy is to lose track of right and wrong over the years." Someday, I'd tell her about the time I spent away from Carlisle and Esme, but now wasn't the time.

She sighed and dropped her forehead against the window. "Emergency stashes seemed like the answer. I shouldn't have to steal again."

"It'll be easier now," I said, reaching over and taking her hand. "You're not alone anymore."

She didn't pull away. I took that as a good sign, but Bella was silent as I drove. She may have been processing the horrors of the evening or thinking of something else. For all I knew, she was in some sort of delayed shock. "Bella?" I wasn't sure what else I could ask. I just needed her to look at me.

She replied with that standard, toneless, "I'm fine," but she didn't meet my eyes.

I reached over, cupping her chin and gently tilting her head toward me. "You're not fine right now, but you will be."

She shook her head and turned back to the window. "I knew I'd have to run eventually. I just thought there would be more time."

"We have all the time in the world," I reassured her. "And now you don't need to face everything alone."

To my surprise, there was an open parking spot a few doors down. Bella started to get out of the car, but I motioned for her to wait while I checked the neighborhood. I hadn't been lying to Emmett before. I didn't expect trouble from Felix again so soon. Impromptu attacks weren't his style. He enjoyed orchestrated shows of strength. Once I reassured myself she would be safe, I escorted her into the building. Bella climbed the stairs slowly as though every muscle hurt. I stood patiently while she managed the door and verified the alarms.

When she was finished, I took her hand and pulled her toward the bathroom. She protested, but I wasn't letting her go. Of all the horrible experiences she'd had to live through, she'd dealt with each one alone. She wasn't alone now, and she didn't have to be strong. I was here.

I reached in and turned on the shower to let it warm up. Bella looked away as I ripped her shirt and bra down the front, pulling them off her shoulders. Within seconds, I had her stripped and evaluated for injuries. Thankfully, there were only a few bruises across her back and one hip. Within days, the visible evidence of our horrible night would be gone. As she stepped under the spray continuing to avoid my eyes, I knew the hidden damage would take much longer to heal.

I dropped my clothes into a heap on the floor and climbed in with her. Bella continued to wash, and I stepped to the rear of the small space. As much as I wished we could take a nice hot shower and crawl into bed, that wasn't an option. Felix might not be coming tonight, but he would find us soon. It was best to get moving.

I washed in record time, scrubbing to remove the soot and smoke smell. Bella's movements were mechanical. I tried to help with the shampoo, but she shook me off. Not knowing how else to help, I got out and dried myself. After the ripped crotch incident, I'd kept some clothes at her apartment. I raided that pile and walked back into the bathroom just as she stepped out of the shower.

Holding her hand up, she said, "I need a human minute. Can you just give me some time? I'll come out when I'm ready." It was the strongest she'd sounded since the fire.

I nodded and left, stung with the rejection. I couldn't fault her, though. Our relationship was new. She wouldn't be able to share her grief with me so quickly. We'd have years ahead to talk about everything that had gone wrong. Right now, my priority was getting her away. I listened carefully, ready to defy her. Between the normal bodily functions and the rustling of clothing, I heard two muffled sobs before she was quiet again.

When she emerged in jeans and T-shirt, Bella's eyes were dry. There was a grim, determined set to her jaw. Dawn had barely broken, and Bella looked ready to do what needed to be done.

She grabbed a backpack from a peg near the door. I followed as she went back into the slightly steamy bathroom. There was still a sheen of condensation on the floor as I knelt beside her. I was surprised as she reached under the cabinet and pulled out an enormous generic tampon box. We'd never discussed that particular bodily function. Even with my training as a doctor, I still wasn't used to dealing with menstruation. My expression must have given me away because Bella rolled her eyes as she dumped the contents of the box onto the worn linoleum. Assorted documents tumbled out, and I snatched up a few of the stacks, flipping through them before she could protest. There was an impressive set of passports, property titles, birth and death certificates. It was a forger's dream. There were also credit cards in multiple names and bundles of cash in various denominations.

I already knew the answer, but I had to ask. "These have been hidden here all this time, haven't they?"

"I learned a long time ago that if thieves made it inside the apartment, they'd never go anywhere near that box. Even in some of the worst neighborhoods, no one's ever raided this stash. Men don't want anything to do with periods, and women aren't going to steal those." She pulled the documents out of my hands and tucked them into the bag. Standing, she walked back into the small living room.

"Spare clothes and bathroom items are in the go bags. We can skip those rooms. Anything I missed, I'll pick up along the way."

"What about the kitchen?" I knew she didn't worry much about food, but wherever we were going, she would still need to eat.

"Water and protein bars will hold me for a long time," she said.

"Okay. No bedroom, bathroom, or kitchen." There wasn't much in the living room. This wouldn't take long.

Bella knelt in front of the bookcase, reverently setting aside some of the volumes. "They kept me sane. It's stupid and reckless to take the time, but I'm packing them anyway."

I couldn't think of the right thing to say. At that moment, there was nothing more important than saving her most precious possessions. I pulled the packing boxes from the closet and assembled them, making sure they were worthy of the precious cargo.

Bella was careful about what she took, sorting with a pattern I couldn't understand. When the last box was nearly full, she wrapped the fragile copy of Pride and Prejudice in a small towel and set it on top of the others. It was the book I'd touched the first time she'd allowed me in her apartment.

I stacked the boxes near the door while Bella unlocked the top drawer of the file cabinet. She pulled out two more wooden boxes matching the one from the bar. I doubted they would be much help now that the surprise was gone. Either way, it couldn't hurt, so we boxed them up and marked the outside as "Fragile. China."

Bella dropped her laptop into her bag and declared that she was done. There was nothing else to pack. Looking around, I realized that we'd been here less than an hour. It was strange to know that she was ready to walk away and never see this place again.

She pulled five one-hundred dollar bills from the backpack and wrapped them up in a tight fist. "Stay here. I'll be back in a minute."

I put myself in front of the door. "You're not going anywhere without me."

"I'm not leaving the building," she said, but she must have been able to tell that I wasn't giving in. After a few tense seconds, she sighed and nodded. I stepped aside so she could get through the door and lock it. I was close behind as she descended the stairs.

The first time I'd come home with Bella, I'd scanned the thoughts of the people in the building. I'd ignored them once I was sure they weren't a threat. As we reached the apartment two flights below, I thought that maybe I should have paid more attention. It was obvious someone was trying to spruce up this part of the building. Bella knocked on a bright blue door. A boy of about eight threw it open, looking thrilled to have company. He had dark hair and eyes, and he recognized Bella on sight. Sometime last year, one of the older boys had tried to take his soccer ball, and Bella had stepped in. She'd made the bully go away.

Within seconds, a young woman emerged from behind him. She admonished him in rapid Spanish for opening the door to a stranger. She smiled awkwardly as she saw Bella. They greeted each other in that stilted way neighbors do when they are still practically strangers.

"I was hoping you could help me," Bella said in fluent Spanish. "I have a family emergency, and I need to leave town." It wasn't necessarily a lie, but it wasn't the entire truth. She held up the cash, and the woman's eyes went wide. "I've removed all the items I need from the apartment. The rest you can keep. Can I hire you to make sure it's empty and clean by the end of the day? The landlord will need it empty to rent it again."

The woman looked from Bella to me. She knew the story was a lie, and she certainly didn't need to borrow any of her neighbor's troubles. On the other hand, she needed the money, and this was the girl who'd helped her son. With a rueful smile, she took the bills and promised to have the apartment empty by sundown.

We were only a few feet away when I heard the woman begin making phone calls. She told relatives about this unexpected windfall and asked for their help carrying and cleaning. Bella's meager belongings would be well-taken care of, but she'd probably known that before she'd ever knocked on that door. Even as she prepared to leave, my girl was doing a good deed.

A few minutes later, I had all the boxes at the curb. While I rearranged the cargo, Bella pulled a bag out from the back seat. It was from a local big box store, and there were disposable cell phones inside. Without asking, I knew she'd paid cash, and they wouldn't be traceable. She pulled one from the packaging and plugged it into the car's charging port.

I shut the back door and walked around to the passenger side. As a gentleman, I'd planned to help her get settled, but she held up a hand to stop me. Pulling her previous cell phone from the backpack, she walked to the front of the car. Bella dropped the phone onto the concrete, watching impassively as the screen shattered. She kicked the broken phone until it was directly in the path of the car tire. When we pulled away from the curb, the phone would become nothing but metallic confetti.

This time, when I walked Bella to the passenger side, she didn't protest. I put the car in gear and pulled away just as two young men emerged from the building carrying Bella's desk.

"That didn't take long," I said.

Bella didn't answer, closing her eyes and falling into a fitful sleep almost immediately.

"We're here," I said, wishing I didn't have to wake her. The last few hours had been difficult enough. If she could manage some rest, I hated to take that away.

We made the last turn, and the house came into sight. Several vehicles waited in the driveway with their doors and trunk lids open. Boxes were stacked neatly, waiting to be packed. When you did something often enough, you developed a system. We definitely had a system for moving.

I pulled around and parked the SUV in front of the other vehicles. I left the keys in the ignition because we wouldn't be here long. Bella and I were going to start a new life with my family. Leading the caravan felt right.

I walked around to help her out of the car, but she'd already opened the door. She held the cellphone she'd unwrapped in one hand and closed the door with the other.

"Bella! We were so worried. Thank God you're all right." Esme rushed forward and enveloped her into a giant hug. Bella stood stock still, as though deciding how much affection to accept. If Esme felt the hesitation, she never let on. It seemed like a battle of wills. Would affection and concern win out over Bella's shock?

Edward! Jasper's mental call stood out from the drone of thoughts around me. Something's going on here. Her emotions are all wrong.

I looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

I would have expected fear, anger, grief, and a bit of excitement about starting a new life. Jasper rubbed the back of his neck the way he did when he was really concentrating on someone. Mostly, I'm just getting resignation and grief. But it doesn't feel right. This so much deeper than what she felt at the bar. Part of an idea arced across his thoughts, like two live wires connecting, and he abruptly shut me out. As though changing a radio station, he went from concentrating on Bella to singing "The Yellow Rose of Texas."

A creeping suspicion ran through me. Before I could confront him, Bella pulled out of Esme's embrace. Giving the older woman an awkward pat, she retreated from the show of affection. The rest of the group took the cue. Everyone except Jasper called out a simple greeting and then went on with what they'd been doing before we arrived.

As though she was the empathic one, Alice pulled Jasper into a loose embrace. Maybe that was part of the mate connection. Her support didn't seem to help, though. Even as he wrapped his arms around Alice, Jasper's narrowed eyes never left Bella.

For the first time since we left her apartment, Bella looked me directly in the eye. "Can I talk to you, alone?" She pointed toward a spot in the side yard. We'd worn a small break in the vegetation when we headed off to hunt. As she walked past Rose, Bella handed over the cell phone she'd been holding. Evidently, she wanted her hands free for this discussion.

We walked far enough to give us the illusion of privacy. Everyone would be able to hear everything we said, but the distance let them know this wasn't an open discussion. Bella looked back at Jasper, and something passed between them. He shook his head and then switched to reciting dates and casualty reports from the Civil War. When Bella turned back at me, I tried to brace myself. I prayed I was wrong about what was coming.

"I could give you a gentle, flowery speech, but I don't think it's going to help." She took a deep breath. "I'm leaving."

With two words, she'd confirmed my worst suspicions. Frustration roared through me. I wasn't giving in that easily. I wanted her to spell it out. She needed to clarify why she was doing this, because I certainly didn't understand. I wondered if she completely understood it herself. "You'd better be talking about the fact that we're all leaving. We'll be on the road in just a few minutes."

That stubborn set to her jaw was back. "You know that's not what I meant."

"I don't know anything that goes on in your head, remember. If you're thinking something, you need to tell me because I'm blind where you're concerned."

"You don't have to be blind to understand this is the right thing to do. It's too dangerous for me to stay. I shouldn't be here now, and I certainly shouldn't be here with you." She sounded so logical, like we were discussing the merits of solar energy.

"Are we back to this? We've been over it again and again. You don't have to be alone anymore." I still couldn't believe that she'd rather be on her own.

"Are you saying you're willing to start a fight with the Volturi over me? Because you shouldn't. You have all the things I've only dreamed of having again." She motioned to the six figures standing in the driveway, watching us. They were still and silent, in that way only vampires can be. "You have a home and a family. You shouldn't jeopardize that for me."

"How can you say that? Meeting you was like finding the puzzle piece I'd been searching decades for! This family isn't complete without you." How could she not see that?

Everyone behind me concurred mentally, but they stayed quiet. The stakes were too important for Bella to feel that everyone was ganging up on her. This was, ultimately, between her and me.

She shook her head. "That's not true. You were fine before I got here, and you'll be fine again."

"There's a difference between existing and truly living! Before, it was like I was watching everything in two dimensions. My world was flat. After we met, there was richness and depth to everything!" I stopped because words failed me. There was no way to express how much she'd changed my life. She made a tiny movement, an unconscious nod, and I couldn't help but believe she felt the same way. She'd been just as affected by our relationship. The question was whether or not she'd let us remain a couple.

"Edward, please. Aro has left you alone for now, but what if Felix persuades him to send more of the guard to look for me? If we're together, it puts you in danger. You'd be a tremendous trophy. Aro wouldn't kill you, but he'd keep you in Volterra. You'll only wish you were dead," she said, and her voice dropped as she added, "just like I did."

This argument was getting old. I decided to try to a new tactic. "You have no way to know if Felix is even acting with Aro's blessing! He threatened to go to Aro, but he never thought about Aro sending him here. He could be working alone. He's certainly obsessed with you. Did you think of that?"

As I'd hoped, the idea made her pause but only for a moment. "Are you really willing to take that chance? I'm not. I love you too much to even consider putting you at risk."

As usual, I felt a rush of joy when she said she loved me, but it was quickly followed by the reality of what I was fighting for. "So this is it? You just disappear. I'll never see you again. Don't you ever want to stop running and hiding?"

A single tear ran down her cheek. "It doesn't matter what I want. This is the way it has to be. At least for now."

"No!" Birds in trees half a mile away took flight at my outburst. "You're not willing to try. Not even for me." I couldn't keep the anguish out of my voice. I hated myself for it, for the weakness.

"I don't know how else to get this through to you. I only have words, and they don't seem to be working. I'm doing this for you," she whispered, but I could hear her as though she were shouting. Another tear streamed down her cheek, and the scent of it brought me low. It took everything I had not to reach out and brush it away. "The worst they can do is hurt me." She inhaled slowly as though having to brace herself to continue speaking. "They can kill you. I'd have to live with that—forever. I'd have to live with it every day, over and over. Please don't ask me to do that." Her voice broke. "I just can't."

Through the pain in my chest, I inhaled, preparing to respond. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jasper step back from the intensity of emotions bombarding him. I pushed away everyone's thoughts, focusing only on Bella. This could be the fight of my life, and I couldn't be distracted. I took a step toward her, bending over her. I was invading her personal space, letting myself look like the killer I was. "Somehow in your head, you're protecting me? I'm the predator here, Bella. I can protect myself. Never forget that."

"Maybe you are a killer, but that's not all you are." She shook her head, and her eyes unfocused for a moment, as though lost in memory. "You were so persistent. You knew I'd fall in love with you." She reached up and brushed more tears away. "You were right. No one has made me feel the way you do. Letting you into my heart was so easy." She took a hitching breath. "I'm not sorry I did it. These last weeks have been the happiest I've ever been."

There was such longing in her words, but I braced myself against it. I couldn't let her sway me. "But you're not happy enough to stay with me. You're not happy enough to take the risk that I can protect you."

"It's not my life I'd be risking. It's yours and everyone you love. That's too much. Please don't ask me. If I disappear now, I can leave everything exactly the way I found it."

"That's a lie. We both know it! My life will never be the way it was before you."

Her face went white. "Do you think this is easy for me? That I wasn't affected by what happened between us? If you truly believe that, then … " She turned away from me, fisting the hair at her temples.

A small, softhearted part of me ached to wrap her in my arms. The sheer anguish in her small frame was almost too much to witness. Unfortunately, my anger overruled everything else.

When she finally turned back around, the sadness in her eyes matched my fury. "How could you believe this is easy for me?"

My mouth opened, and I just managed to stop myself before all the horrible things I'd been thinking poured out of my mouth. Her selfishness, her lack of trust, and her idiotic independence affected all of us. When it came right down to it, she didn't love me enough to stick it out when things got hard. It was as though she could sense my condemnation. The longer I stared at Bella in silence, the harder her eyes became. When she spoke again, I was taken aback by the venom in her words.

"Just tell me what you want me to say. That I love you so much I ache? That leaving is going to feel like someone is opening my chest with a meat cleaver? That I should happily let you take chances with all of our lives? Well? Come on, Edward. You've got all the answers! How do I stay with you and not get everyone killed? How are you going to hide seven vampires and an eternal human? Maybe I'm not the one being selfish here." She was pacing now, and her heart rate was much too high.

Hearing the proof of how difficult this confrontation was for her added to my outrage. She was willing to throw everything away because she was scared.

"We'll work it out!" I insisted. "I don't know how, but anything has to be better than this. Nothing is going to hurt more than this."

"Maybe that's the problem. I don't know about 'better than this,' but I can tell you that there are things worse than this, and that's why I'm going." Her voice softened. "I know it doesn't make sense to you. You think that if I truly loved you, I would stay. I care about you too much to take the risk." She looked up at me. "I love you enough to give you up."

She started to walk back toward the SUV.

"You have something to stay and fight for, but you won't," I yelled at her back. "You're a coward!"

"Maybe so, but I'll be a coward who knows you're safe," she said without turning around.

Jasper ran to Bella, taking hold of her arm. She tried to pull away, but he held her firm. When she looked up with tears streaming down her cheeks, he said softly, "Retreat if you have to, but this isn't over. Not for him, not for us."

For just a moment, the two of them stood together—battle weary soldiers who'd seen too much defeat. "Nothing's ever over. Not for me." She climbed into the driver's seat and looked back toward the house. For a moment, it looked like she was going to say something else, but she just nodded and put the key into the ignition.

Carlisle held Esme tucked into his chest. Emmett was standing behind Rosalie, who was eyeing me as though I had just peed in her cereal bowl. Do something else! Don't let it end like this, she urged. Alice stood alone, leaning against the porch rail with her arms wrapped around herself.

As Bella put the car in gear, I started walking. By the time she was half way down the driveway, I was running. I'd almost reached her bumper when I was hit from behind. If Bella ever looked back, I'd never know. Emmett and Carlisle kept me pinned to the ground long after her taillights were out of sight.

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