Thanks for the reviews!

As I said, that was the last chapter without some stalker action. This chapter gave me some issues...I'm all hopped up on cold meds and couldn't seem to get it right. I don't know, it might be okay. You be the judge ;)

*~*

Chapter 21

Edward

I went over to Bella and wrapped my arms around her waist. "You really have to go?" I pouted.

"Yes," she giggled. "I have to get something for Eli to wear this winter. He's grown out of almost all his clothes."

"You hate shopping. Why don't you just stay here with me and let Alice and Rosie go." I nuzzled her neck and placed a few soft kisses in strategic places.

She moaned softly but shook herself out of it. "No. I can't. Alice and Rosalie are expecting a girls day out with Eli."

"What am I going to do all day without you?" I complained.

"What did you do before?" she countered.

"I got drunk," I joked. Her head whipped around and she cocked her eyebrow. "Yeah, okay. Not really. James does like to drink and fuck girls though--a lot."

"Oh, I see. And do you like to drink and fuck girls?" She asked it teasingly, but I could see the curiosity burning in her eyes.

I realized we'd never actually sat down and talked about my sex life before. I had a lot of experience, but most of it was with Tanya as we learned from each other what we liked and disliked in high school and my first couple of years at Annapolis. I'd obviously also had sex with the three other girlfriends I'd had besides Bella and a couple of one night stands, which didn't satisfy me. As much as I enjoyed sex, I didn't enjoy the morning after when you wake up next to someone who's name you can't remember. It just wasn't worth it to me.

"I can't believe we've never talked about this before," I said in astonishment. "We're getting married and I've never talked to you about this."

"Nope," she said, popping the 'p'.

"Well, for one thing, my number is seven. That includes you and every other serious girlfriend I've had plus Tanya and a couple of drunken one night stands, the last of which I don't remember at all." She listened intently. "On that note, you asked if I liked to drink and fuck girls and the obvious answer is no. I usually just hung out until James found a girl to take home. Then I hopped in the Volvo and went home alone. I found it...unappealing. Not to mention unsafe." I flashed her a wide smile. "I don't need something like Gonosyphilherpeaids running ramped in my pants."

She giggled. "Gonosyphilherpeaids, huh?"

I gave her a crooked smile and ran my fingers up her jaw line. "I like to fuck you, though. I love to fuck you."

She whimpered with my words. I leaned down to kiss her, parting her lips and pressing my tongue against hers. I pulled her body closer to mine and cupped her ass, grinding my now rock hard dick against her. I was going to make sure she came back to me as soon as possible.

"Ew. Okay, the knowledge of you doing that and the visual are two different things." Alice was standing in the kitchen, covering her eyes with her hand.

"So don't watch," I mumbled against Bella's mouth.

Bella pulled back, causing me to frown. "I should go tell Eli to put his shoes on so we can leave."

I reluctantly let her go and watched her walk out of my kitchen with Alice. I grabbed a beer out of the fridge and went into the foyer with Rosalie.

"Getting drunk?" she asked with one eyebrow raised.

"No. But it sounds pretty fucking good right about now." I took a pull of my beer.

She rolled her eyes. "It's just one day. They'll be back tonight."

"I know." It didn't make me feel any better though. "What's Emmett up to today?"

"He's supposed to be checking on computers today. Ours crashed." She was fiddling with her fingernails. "Give him a call. I'm sure once he's done, he'll come over. You boys can play video games or whatever it is you do."

"We call strippers, Rose," I deadpanned.

She cracked a smile. "Just make sure they're not skanks."

"No skanks. Got it."

Bella, Alice, and Eli came down the stairs and started out the door. Bella stopped and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"I'll miss you."

I pulled her closer. "I'll miss you. Be careful, okay?"

"Edward, nothing's happened in over a week. I think I'll be fine." She was clearly annoyed with my over protectiveness.

Too bad.

"Bella," I said seriously. "Just keep an eye out."

"Okay, okay. I don't even know who this is, but I'll keep watch for creepy stalkers. All right?"

"Remember, if it's Jane, she's got short brown hair, brown eyes, and she's tiny. Smaller than you. So if you see some chick that matches that description following you around, call me."

I still had my doubts about Jane's alibi. I didn't know of anyone else it could be besides Jacob--who had the temper of an unhinged gorilla, but didn't have the patience to sit and watch us for weeks without doing anything but send us a couple of pictures. And he had Eli the weekend the picture of us at Willy's was taken.

She nodded. "I will. Promise. Now, go have fun. We'll see you back at my place."

She gave me a quick kiss and darted out the door.

I took another swig of my beer and ran my hand through my hair. I wasn't going to be able to concentrate on shit until she got back home and I knew she was safe with me again.

******************************

I managed to get the grass cut and a shower before finally giving up and laying down on the couch. I couldn't concentrate on anything, just my irrational fear of something happening to Bella and Eli while I wasn't around. Something felt...off. I couldn't put my finger on it, but if I had to guess, we'd probably get another photo delivered to us somehow again soon.

I heard the knock on my door, but didn't get up from my spot on the couch.

"Cullen?!" I heard Emmett call from outside.

Son of a bitch he's loud.

I got up and opened the door to let him in, locking it behind us.

"What the hell are you doing?"

I looked at him strangely. "What does it look like I'm doing? Nothing."

"Why not?" He looked around the house. "Damn, it's dark in here. How much longer do you think you'll have to have the curtains shut at all hours of the day?"

I shrugged. "Until we figure out who's taking the pictures, I guess. I don't want any more pictures of Bella and I naked floating around."

"Don't blame you there." He clapped me on the back. "Let's get the hell out of here, bro. This place is fucking depressing."

"Where do you want to go?"

He grinned at me. "I want to hit the weights."

I couldn't help but smile back. "I think I'll take the bike and follow you. It's pretty nice outside today."

Emmett nodded and left me to quickly change my clothes.

I hopped on my bike and followed Emmett to the gym. Once we got there, I got on one of the treadmills and ran for an hour as fast as I could. I forced myself to think of anything and everything except for crazy ex-girlfriends and potential enemies I never knew I had. I got off, panting loudly.

Emmett looked at me and raised his eyebrows. "Feel better?"

"Yeah, I do actually," I answered honestly.

"Good. Cause whatever mood you've managed to get yourself in is about to disappear."

My brows knit. "What are you talking about?"

Emmett pointed with his head in the direction of the bench presses. "Jacob's here."

I scanned the side of the room and finally found him spotting some big Native American guy. "Jesus, that guy's huge," I muttered.

"Yeah. Whatever they're doing on that reservation is working. Apparently they're all fucking massive." Emmett slapped my chest lightly with the back of his hand. "Come on, let's get out of here."

I honestly didn't want to leave, but I didn't know if I could keep my temper controlled. I was still pretty fucking pissed about the way talked to Bella on Tuesday and I had planned to make sure I was nowhere near him when he came to pick up Eli for the weekend tomorrow.

"Yeah, all right."

We were almost out the door before I heard Jacob calling my name. I grimaced and turned around to face him.

"Look, I don't want to get into any of this shit here," I told him. "I prefer to be able to actually come back."

"I'm not starting any shit." He gave me a slight smile. "I just came over here to apologize to you."

I looked at him, completely speechless. Was he fucking serious?

I shook myself out of my daze. "Are you kidding me?"

"No," he said simply.

"What the fuck, Jacob?" His brows knit. "Look, I don't like you." I wanted to make sure we were perfectly clear. "You may be good with Eli, but you've been a pretty shitty father responsibility-wise. Top that off with the fact that you lied to Bella for years and kept her from the chance of having a normal relationship with a guy until I came around, I think it's pretty safe to say no amount of apologizing is going to change my opinion of you. Sorry."

He rolled his eyes. "I don't care if you like me or not, Cullen. I don't particularly care for you, either. But I shouldn't have acted like that about you and Bella getting married. It may hurt me, but I can see how happy you make her so I'm just going to have to learn to let it go."

I eyed him warily. "So, let's say we up and got married on a whim instead of planning a wedding. Or Bella got pregnant. You wouldn't freak out like that again?"

"I'd try not to."

I stared at him for a moment, trying to judge whether or not I believed him. I quickly realized I did.

Huh.

"Why the sudden change?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "Let's just say someone pointed out how much of an idiot I was being." He looked at the big Quiluete guy next to him.

He held out his hand for me to shake it. "Quil Ateara. I guess you're Bella's Edward?"

I shook his hand uncertainly. "Yeah?"

"Nice to meet you, man. I've known Bella for years. I grew up with this asshole here on the rez." He looked over at Jacob. "Bella's a great girl. I guess I don't have to tell you that if you hurt her, I'll fly back from La Push and kick your ass, right?"

I laughed. I liked the guy, even if he was friends with Jacob. "No ass-kicking necessary." I looked back at Emmett who was watching us carefully at his truck. "I'd better get going. It was nice to meet you, Quil."

"You, too," he said smiling.

I looked at Jacob seriously. "You need to apologize to Bella, not me."

"I know. I will."

I walked over to Emmett who looked me over curiously. "What the fuck was that about?"

"Would you believe it if I told you Jacob apologized for his reaction to Bella's and my engagement?" I asked him, laughing.

"No. Probably not," he said with a frown.

"Didn't think so."

******************************

Bella

Six hours. I'd been shopping with Alice and Rosalie for six hours. It was the worst form of torture imaginable. Not only was I doing something I hated, but my feet hurt, my legs were tired, I was starving, and I was officially broke.

"Alice, I'm sick of shopping. Can't we just go now?"

I was dragging all of the bags on the floor now. My arms were too tired to pick them up. I had somehow let Alice talk me into not only shopping for Eli, but for myself as well.

"One more stop and then we'll go get something to eat. I promise." She glanced at me behind her but never stopped walking.

I saw a small woman with short brown hair walk by and I followed her with my eyes. I couldn't help but wonder if any of the women fitting Edward's description was Jane. I seriously hoped not.

"Hey, have either of you guys ever seen Jane?" I don't know why I didn't think to ask this earlier.

"No, I never went with Emmett to visit Edward in Maryland. Sorry." Rosalie gave me a slight smile.

"I went with my parents, but Jane never was around. I think I might have seen a picture of her once, but I can't really remember what she looked like." Alice's brows furrowed. "We're a lot of help, aren't we?"

"That's okay," I sighed. "It's probably not her, anyway. I mean, she did have an alibi and all."

Rosalie squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. "They'll figure out who it is. Then you and Edward can get married in peace."

"Thanks."

Alice had me try on about thirty different things at Neiman Marcus. I tried to tell her I couldn't afford them, but she just waved me off, telling me something about her discount. I ended up getting half of what I tried on and was completely shocked at the prices. Alice's discount much be huge.

We stopped and picked up something to eat to take back to my apartment. While we were waiting for our order, I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket.

"Hello?"

"Bella! You need to get back here, quick!" I heard the complex's manager, Eric Yorkie's hysterical voice on the other end.

"Eric! Why? What's going on?"

"Just...you need to come home." I heard voices in the background and Eric talking quietly to them.

"What happened?!" I asked frantically.

"Someone broke into your townhouse and they..." He trailed off. "Just hurry up, all right? The police are already here."

"I'm on my way."

I put my phone back in my pocket and looked at Alice and Rosalie. I have no idea what expression was on my face, but it must've been bad, considering Alice and Rosalie dropped the bags of food on the floor and rushed over to me.

"What's wrong?" Rosalie asked.

"I got a phone call from Eric saying I needed to get back home immediately." I looked into Alice's wide blue eyes. "Someone broke into my house." I said with tears forming in my eyes.

"Oh my God. Okay, sweetie. Let's go."

We all hopped in my car and I raced back to my townhouse, disregarding all speed limits in my rush to get home. I pulled in the parking lot and saw the complex swarming with police officers and fire fighters.

Fire fighters.

The lump rose in my throat and I swallowed convulsively, trying to rid myself of it.

I parked and we all got out. I started to walk towards my apartment and stopped.

"Rosie? Will you keep Eli over here?" I asked shakily.

"Sure, Bella."

Alice and I continued our way through the sea of police officers and fire fighters, stepping over hoses and other miscellaneous equipment, until we came across the yellow caution tape. I started to duck under it, only to be stopped by an officer behind me.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me back up. "You can't go in there, Miss. This is an official crime scene."

I balked. "I live here!"

"You're Miss Swan?" I nodded. "Follow me." He looked over at Alice. "She stays out here."

I started to open my mouth in protest, but Alice stopped me. "It's fine, Bella. I'll wait out here with Rosie and Eli."

I hugged her and followed the man under the tape to my townhouse. I started to walk towards the door but the officer held me back.

"You know, that's really getting old." I glared down at his arm.

"What?"

"You keep touching me," I clarified. "Don't."

My entire body was swimming with mixed emotions. Anger, fear, sadness, uncertainty, confusion. I didn't need some rookie cop's grubby hands all over me.

He pulled his arm back. "Sorry. Um, let me just go get Detective Mancini. I'll be right back."

I stood there silently waiting for someone to tell me what the extent of the damage was. By the looks of things, it must've been pretty bad.

I looked at the destroyed lock and splintered wood of my blackened front door and felt the panic rise in the back of my throat. I was no longer safe. Edward was no longer safe. My son was no longer safe.

I swallowed back the sob that tried to escape my throat and wiped the tears away from my eyes. I didn't even know what had happened inside yet; I needed to try to be calm.

"Miss Swan!" Detective Mancini came out of my townhouse and pulled off the latex gloves he was wearing. His long, dark brown hair was tied back and he looked completely frazzled. "You can come inside. But don't touch anything. We're still trying to determine the structural damage and collecting evidence downstairs. It looks like the fire was started upstairs in the bedroom."

"Oh, God," I whimpered.

He turned his head back towards my townhouse and yelled for everyone to get out. Once everyone had filed out, he motioned for me to follow him.

I nodded, unable to speak. I went up the steps and through the door, only to stop short and cry out in shock. I looked around my destroyed living room, struggling to find any piece of my life left untouched.

Every photo was ripped or burned; every frame broken. My computer looked as if someone had taken a baseball bat to it and was actually smoking slightly. I looked over at my entertainment center and saw that my TV and DVD player were in much of the same condition.

All of my DVD's were scattered in broken pieces on the floor along with the stuffing to my couch and loveseat, which now had huge gashes in almost every visible area, as if a machete had sliced through the brown fabric over and over. I glanced over in the corner and saw all of Eli's toys were missing. I vaguely noticed the room had a strange rusty smell to it along with the scent of charred wood.

"Is that paint?" I asked timidly, praying that the red that was splattered on my smoke-colored walls was a couple of gallons of barn paint.

"No," he said apologetically. "Pigs' blood."

I gasped unevenly. "As in Carrie pigs' blood?"

He nodded and I felt my chest heave uncontrollably while my eyes filled with tears, spilling down my cheeks in a torrent of salty water. I bent down and put my hands on my knees, trying to breathe.

"Miss Swan. Calm down. Do you need to go outside?" I felt the detective's hand rest lightly on my back. "It's not necessary for you to see this."

I swallowed hard. I wanted to see what had been done to my home. I needed to see it.

"No. I need to see it." I stood up, swaying slightly, and wiped my face free of tears as I inhaled deeply. "Please."

"Very well."

He led me through the rest of the house, which looked much of the same. There wasn't a single thing that had been left untouched. Whoever had done this, had done and extremely thorough job in destroying everything I owned. It was all ripped, burned, shredded, bent, broken, spray-painted, and smashed--utterly ruined.

We got to my bedroom and paused.

"This is where the fire started," he stated.

I felt my chin tremble and I bit down on my lip to stop it. "Just show it to me, Detective."

He cleared his throat. "Aro, please, Bella. No need for the formality."

I nodded again, struggling to keep my composure and followed him into my bedroom. My bed looked like someone had taken a torch to it. It was completely black; the canopy had collapsed in on itself and fell to the mattress. All the drawers on the charred dresser were open, revealing their emptiness.

I walked over to the closet and saw that it was empty as well.

"Where are all my clothes?" I cried.

Aro pointed to the bed. "They were burned on the bed."

I let the pain wash over me for a moment, vaguely aware of the sobs ripping from my chest. Aro placed his hand on my back again, waiting patiently for me to get myself together.

I took a deep breath and turned to face him. "Tell me what you know," I demanded angrily.

"We had the Fire Marshall come in to determine arson and we are investigating it as part of yours and Dr. Cullen's open case file. It was obvious, but there are technicalities we have to follow." He gave me a tight smile. "The perps started the fire on the bed, using gasoline as the accelerant and a simple match to start it."

"Wait, perps? As in plural?"I interrupted.

"Yes, I'll get to that in a moment. The fire spread throughout the room quickly, but was mostly contained upstairs thanks to the diligence of Mr. Yorkie." He pointed to the large hole in the ceiling. "He noticed the smoke immediately and called 9-1-1." I nodded and waited silently for him to continue.

"Obviously the perps went through your home and destroyed everything they could before starting the fire. We estimate that they were inside for approximately four hours after you left with your son before starting the fire." He started out the room and down the stairs. I numbly followed him.

He led me to the kitchen and stopped at the table. "We found a bug in the vent in the floor next to your table. Whoever this was has been listening to you for a while and knew exactly what you were doing today. They also knew both of your neighbors work schedule and waited until they had left for work before breaking into your home."

He walked into the living room where they paint was and stopped. "They're smart, but not that smart. They left prints in the blood." I looked down at the carpet and saw footprints--large ones. "We also found a hair follicle in the kitchen that doesn't match yours or your son's." I looked at him blankly. "It's blond, Bella."

"Blond?" My mind raced through everyone I knew with blond hair. "How long?"

"Short, approximately three inches."

"I...I don't know anyone with short blond hair. Everyone I know with blond hair has long hair."

He frowned, clearly disappointed. "What about your boyfriend?"

"Um, fiancé, actually," I corrected him. "I don't know. You'll have to ask him."

His face lit up. "Well, this is a horrible time to tell you this, but congratulations, Bella."

"Thanks. Um, speaking of Edward, why did this happen here instead of his house?" I quickly realized how bad that sounded. "Not that I wish it would've happened there," I hurried.

He chuckled. "I have a theory on that, actually. My guess is that since Dr. Cullen has the added protection of a security system and motion-activated cameras outside, they chose the easier target."

"Oh," I said dumbly.

"Bella! Bella!" I heard Edward's panicked voice outside.

I didn't have a chance to even process what I was doing before I found myself halfway out the door and running full speed to him. I ducked under the tape and wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his chest.

I started sobbing again and felt his strong arms wrap around me tightly.

"Baby? What the hell happened?" he asked in alarm.

I raised my head and tried to see him, but my vision was flooded with my tears. "My...my ho-house was br-br-broke in...to. They des-des...troyed everything! And set my b-bed on f-f-fire!" I screeched, hiccupping my words as my chest still heaved uncontrollably.

"Oh, God," he whispered, hugging me tightly against his chest. "Thank God you weren't home." His voice broke.

I stood there with Edward, crying softly as my brain processed what had happened. He hummed something soothingly to me as he ran his fingers through my hair and kept me tight against his body, letting me cry it out.

I finally managed to calm myself down and stepped back to look at his face. His eyes met mine and I gasped softly at the pain that they held.

"I'm sorry," he choked out.

"Why?"

"I had a feeling today that something was going to happen, but I didn't say anything," he said guiltily.

"It's not your fault. How were you to know it would be this?"

"I should have called Aro." He looked at me with such sadness. "This happened to you because you met me."

"No. This is happening because someone is fucking nuts," I said adamantly. "On the bright side, we get to move in with you now. And I don't have to have a moving sale or anything. Just me, Eli, and the shit we bought with Alice today." I tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace.

"Bella..." He took a deep breath. "So, what did Aro say?"

"That they left footprints and a hair behind. Short, blond hair. About three inches in length. Got any ideas?" I asked hopelessly.

"At the moment, no." His eyes raised to where Aro was standing. "We should go talk to him now."

I nodded and started to walk away, only to feel Edward tugging me back towards him. He spun me around and kissed me passionately, cupping my face in his hands.

"I love you. If anything would have happened to you or Eli, I don't know what I would have done."

I took a shaky breath. "I love you." I sighed heavily. "Come on, you need to hear everything from Aro. He can explain it better than I can."