Thanks to Belindella for the pre-read on this chapter.

After a week of swimming wide circles in front of the ship, only heading back to snap at Ginnie whenever he had to raid the horse blood, Edward wasn't surprised when he spotted land before Mary. He'd been itching for the sight, but now that he had the tree line front and center, he found himself in no hurry, and he sunk beneath the dark water to head the mile back to the boat.

Ginnie was on deck with her cell phone in hand. "Grandfather's swimming out so we have help getting you to shore."

"I'm not a bomb," he said.

Could've fooled me. She rolled her eyes, and he had to wonder if he looked that immature every time he did it. "Listen, Edward – "

"I'm not going to the cabin."

"Isabella could be on her way back already. How long did you think she'd need to meet with the Volturi?"

"Meet with? Are you screwing with me? It's not a conference."

"Maybe she just… " Even Ginnie had the good sense not to continue. She shrugged. "Alright, she went to make sure they never come after you again. That doesn't mean it'll get violent."

It would. She'd ripped Enkidu's head straight off despite feeling indebted to him, so how much worse would it be when Bella didn't owe the Volturi a thing?

"I need to see Carlisle." He turned and headed below deck, because it was that or jump ship if he wanted to get the last word in. And too, he didn't want Ginnie to see how much it upset him that she hadn't heard any news. Bella didn't have a phone with her, and Edward told himself that was why no one had heard from her yet. But he didn't like it. When he ran into Mary, he offered to help out, if only to focus his mind on something.

"I've dropped anchor," she said. "There isn't much to do unless the Coast Guard or some other boat comes close while we wait for your ride."

She wasn't just worried about Edward's trouble around humans. Ever since he'd spent time in the hold, he'd suspected that Mary was smuggling something in the crates down there. From what he could tell, she made her living off of it, but she didn't think about her cargo specifically, and he didn't ask what it was.

"Are you sure it's such a bad thing that Isabella's left for a while?" Mary said. "Don't get hot under the collar. I just mean that she's a lot to take. There's something about her."

"You have no idea."

"It doesn't get to you?"

"Her leaving gets to me. Her sticking Ginnie with the job of telling me the news."

Mary sighed. "You'll be alright."

"And you know this how?" He searched her thoughts with a vague hope that she had some sort of gift, but came up empty.

"Just a feeling."

"Yeah. Because feelings have been doing me a world of good lately."

"Alright, if that's how it is." She handed him some rags and a paint scraper. "You can scrub out the bilge. Don't empty the bilge water over the side when you're done. Fish don't like bleach, so there's a bucket in the hold."

She had the gall to wink at him.

It didn't take long to do the work, but it shorted out his sense of smell. Even when he heard the sound of Bat's voice and came up onto the deck, the whole world was still a sea of bleach.

"Heard you were working hard," Bat said. "Maybe the Viking love of the sea rubbed off on you." He slapped a pack of cigarettes against his palm.

Mary must have caught the scent of tobacco, because she called, "No smoking on my ship," before she made it up the stairs. She stopped when she saw Bat. "Who's this?"

"This is my grandfather," Ginnie said. Edward had never seen Ginnie look at anyone the way she did the old man. "Everyone calls him Bat, though his original name was Volündr."

"I'll stick with Bat. Hell of a lot easier to say." The odd thing was that even as Mary said that, Edward could hear her rolling the name Volündr around in her head like it was something to stow away for later. She wiped her hands on her jeans and offered a clean palm.

For a moment Bat just stood there staring, but he finally gave her hand a brief shake and said, "We should get moving. Don't want to risk someone coming to check out the boat while Edward's still on it."

"Take a cooler for him," Mary said.

With bloody picnic provisions in hand, they set out, and Bat rowed them across in the little boat. It was maybe four o'clock on a very clear night. They hadn't walked far up the beach when Bat and Ginnie grabbed his arms at the same moment.

"You alright, kid?" Bat asked.

Oddly, the 'kid' thing didn't bother him so much coming from a seventy year old man, even though he'd technically been around for a lot less time than Bella.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"There's a woman, maybe a mile south." Bat tightened his grip.

"Can't smell anything but bleach."

"Huh. You might be on to something there."

Bat's truck was parked precariously at the top of a dune, and Edward wondered if it could be stuck. They set the cooler in the bed and piled into the front with Ginnie in the center, knees pressed against the gear shift. Bat flipped the ashtray down and lit up before putting the truck in reverse.

"I can't take you all the way to the airport to pick up your car, sweeting, not with him on board, but I'll get you a little closer."

"No," Ginnie said. "I'm sticking with you."

"You sure?"

She leaned toward Bat so that their shoulders pressed. "I'm sure, Morfar." Her thoughts turned for a moment to her apartment in Miami. Edward had no idea why she'd live in a place with that much sun, but it was clear she missed it and was only putting off her homecoming to spend time with her grandfather. That was nice, actually. It reminded him of Carlisle, and Edward wondered what kind of reception he could expect at his surrogate father's home.

He didn't have all that long to find out. Bat pushed his truck up the back roads, crossing the country like he wanted to strip the pavement from the dirt. They stopped once when they got a ticket in South Dakota (about which Bat had cursed for miles in such archaic and creative ways that Edward now had the dubious honor of knowing that skítkarl meant 'man of shit' in Old Icelandic). They stopped to hunt a few times when the woods were remote enough, and it was a relief to feel the blood come hot from the artery of a buck again. He bathed in a river while Ginnie and Bat took turns watching him so the other could use a hotel room shower. Bat brought him a bar of soap and new clothes, so he couldn't complain, even though he was now dweebed out in tan kakis and a dark red Montana Grizzlies sweatshirt.

Bat also brought news that day.

Bella had called him from a payphone, and though she'd had insufficient change, and had been cut off after about a minute, she was alive. Edward had thought he needed to know exactly what had happened and where she was headed and whether she knew yet that he wasn't waiting for her in an empty cabin, but none of it mattered now, because Bella was alive.

They were at a park near Mount St. Helens when she called.

"You sure you want to keep on to Forks?" Bat asked.

He wasn't sure at all, but going to the cabin felt wrong.

"I need to go to Forks."

"Do you really, or are you sulking?" Ginnie asked. "Because this is a long way to go just so you can make a point."

"Leave him be. It's his call," Bat told her.

"Thanks. And thank you for driving me so far out of your way."

He knew Bat helping him was really a matter of Bat helping Bella, but he was grateful just the same. Bat was thinking about her, and Edward had never seen Bella wrapped in furs on an icy shore, so it was an old image. It was a damn good look for her actually, and he asked himself again if he was doing the right thing.

Mary's face replaced Bella's in Bat's mind.

"What was with you, back on the boat anyway?" Edward asked him.

"Nothing."

"You didn't forget the mind reading thing, did you?"

"Mostly I remember that you're a pain in the ass."

"I am at that. So… Mary?"

"Don't start." Bat ran a match across a nearby rock and lit up after a few missed attempts in the breeze.

"Something about her set you off. Did you know her?"

"I don't and I won't. See if you catch me near the water again."

Despite his words, the image in Bat's head shifted, and Edward jumped back from him with a shouted, "Holy shit!" He couldn't believe what he was seeing, because Mary had never worn an outfit like that. Edward doubted she even owned something like that. "Stop! Not – Christ, you're seventy. And anyway Mary was what, like fifty when she was turned? You're an old dog."

"Shut it. I told you before, and I know your thick vampire brain remembers. I don't want anything to do with women anymore. I'll stay the hell away from her, and hopefully she'll stay hell and gone from me."

Edward wasn't going to let up, but then he remembered his own sorry life. "Yeah, alright." He could see how, if someone had warned him about the dangers of obsession beforehand, he might have steered clear of the cabin, though he was pretty sure he would have ended up there eventually.

He sat and watched the moon come up over the tops of the trees while Bat worked his way through the rest of a pack of Marlboros. When Ginnie returned from the closest hotel, nails polished, face made up, and ready for the last leg of the trip, Edward gave directions up the 101 and into Olympic National Park, then to the winding dirt road that led to Carlisle's house.

Given that his memory of every moment of his second life was perfect, there was a certain sense of familiarity in returning to any place he'd been before. That didn't stop Carlisle's driveway from feeling like both a homecoming and a reckoning. He didn't have much time to think about it. As soon as they pulled up, Edward caught unfamiliar scents through the open window, and he couldn't help the low warning growl that escaped.

"What's wrong now?" Ginnie asked.

He pointed. There were two strangers on the front porch, sitting together on a wide swing. By the time Bat told him to stay in the truck, he was already out of it. He felt his wariness spike and then get submerged beneath an odd wave of lethargy.

"Edward, it's alright." This from the small young woman who stood up but kept her hands in front of her to show him she meant no harm.

As she started to move forward, the blonde man beside her put a hand on her wrist, and whispered "Wait, Alice, he's not settled." He wanted to pin Edward, and though his thoughts made it clear he was only protecting the woman, Edward couldn't help dropping low to defend himself. Ginnie and Bat moved to either side of him, and he figured that with two Vikings on his side, he'd come out on top, even though the man who Alice thought of as her mate, Jasper, was covered in scars that made him look pretty fucking scary.

"We don't have to fight," Alice said. She imagined the five of them fighting, and then Carlisle coming through the trees.

"Where is he, where's Carlisle?"

"He's coming, Edward." Her mind was frenetic. She thought repeating his name would help calm him, but she worried that it wouldn't after all, because he would read her thoughts and know she was saying his name on purpose. It occurred to her that he would be listening now, and she thought, Everything's fine. Carlisle can explain. We're guests here, not intruders. I thought you would be here a little later, so he went hunting.

"And Esme?" he asked.

She's with him.

That made sense. And the fact that this woman knew he could read minds meant Carlisle must have trusted her.

"Everybody relax," Bat said. "You especially," he told Jasper. "You look twitchy. Alright. Does anyone want a cigarette?"

"Jesus, I'll take one." Ginnie pulled a lighter out of her purse.

It might have been awkward, the five of them standing around, except that Edward was preoccupied by what he could hear from the woods. Carlisle and Esme were getting close enough to read now. He caught Esme's rather personal thoughts when she noticed a tear in her dress. She was even prettier when she smiled. Carlisle took her right hand and then startled her by throwing his other arm around her waist and turning them in an impromptu waltz.

"We have to get back," she said, but she kissed him. When it looked like they were going to end up lying across the fallen log in their path, Edward turned his attention elsewhere. Their closeness didn't make him feel quite so left out and angry anymore; it couldn't now that he understood the mate bond better, but he wanted to give them some privacy. They'd have precious little of it at home if they let him stay.

Carlisle caught Edward's scent, but he and Esme were still hand in hand when they came running out from the trees. Ginnie thought something akin to, "Awww," while Bat thought, "The saps."

There was no hiding Edward's red eyes, and Carlisle noticed straight off. Edward might've thought he was angry if the man hadn't already come forward to hug him.

"You're alive," Carlisle said. What happened? Where's Isabella? Thank God.

Their greeting lasted long minutes with both Esme and Carlisle in some kind of physical contact with him: a hand on his shoulder, a pat on his back. He'd gotten so used to Bella's touch being forbidden or intense or longed for, that he was no longer used to this easy exchange. Or maybe it was just that he'd expected some sign that they all remembered why he'd been kicked out of this house in the first place. Instead, there were a lot of questions – some of which he answered, but most of which Ginnie managed to commandeer.

"…So the wolves were just slammed to the ground, and blood was coming out of their mouths, all over their fur, and their eyes were rolling up, and the way they thrashed - like they were being electrocuted – "

"I think they get it," Edward said.

"Well anyway." Ginnie crossed her arms. "It was pretty gruesome. I had to look away."

"You had to... You weren't even sane at that point. If I recall you were clinging to Demetri and screaming about Bella and the end of the world."

She nodded and leaned toward Esme. "If you ever get the chance to meet Isabella… nothing against her, but seriously, run the other way."

"Ginnlaug!" Bat said.

"Sorry, Morfar."

Alice laughed, and Esme turn to smile at her. Edward realized that there were a lot of competing thoughts going on, and that he'd never be able to say what he wanted unless he could get some clear space in his head.

"Esme, I really need to talk to you alone," he said. "That is, if you're willing."

"Of course."

He half expected Carlisle to object, but instead he ushered everyone into the house while Edward followed Esme to the sparse woods. The trunks were thicker here than in Appalachia, and the old growth blocked out more of the sun. The forest floor was bare in places, unlike the brambled thickets that surrounded the cabin.

"I think we've come far enough," Esme said. She sat down on a rough hewn bench that hadn't been here before he'd left. In the distance, something scurried over a log, and Esme was on her feet, teeth bared in a fraction of a second.

"It's just a squirrel," Edward said. "Maybe a fox." He had to remind himself that it had only been close to a year since she'd been turned. He remembered how much worse everything had been for him then. "Your eyes aren't red anymore," he said.

She settled back onto the bench. "No, and I can't say I miss seeing that in the mirror. But your eyes are red."

"Yeah. Long story about me stuck in a sinkhole and not having much of a say in what got thrown in after me."

"I'm sorry, Edward. I feel like this is all my fault."

"What?"

"If you hadn't had to leave – "

"I threw you out a window. You don't get to apologize." He took her hand. "I can be thick headed, and it took me a while to figure out what a jerk I was, but I'm sorry I hurt you. You were trying to comfort me during one of my tantrums. Jesus, I'd been turned for a couple of years. I should've had more control than you did."

"But you were getting used to hearing other people's thoughts on top of everything else. I know you did the best you could."

"I didn't. I could have walked away instead of pushing you."

"If you could've walked away, you would have." She shook her head. "You're different now. More controlled."

"It's been a busy couple of months."

"Maybe that's it. Whatever it is, I envy you. I still get frightened over every little thing, and that's not who I want to be."

"Don't envy me too much. I killed a human and I thought I was going to die myself. It put some things in perspective."

"I know what you mean. I was… I had a hard time before the change, and my problems didn't go away when I woke up. You remember. Sometimes the idea of living forever was so claustrophobic that I felt mummified. But when you pushed me and I went through that metal, I thought that was the end. I didn't want to lose Carlisle or the life I was just starting, terrifying though it was. After Carlisle came back and brought me home from Denali, I decided I was going to really live this time around. You almost did me a favor, which is not to say that I wasn't upset with you for several weeks."

"I know."

"And then when Isabella called the house, you spoke to Carlisle, but didn't ask to speak to me."

"I wasn't sure you wanted to talk to me." In truth, Edward had still been denying that he'd done anything wrong, but now he was too ashamed to admit that to her.

"I thought you hated me for being the reason why Carlisle sent you away."

"Listen, I'm the reason I got kicked out of the house." He let go of her hand and stood up, pacing in front of the bench. "Speaking of which… I wanted to ask you first, and I completely understand if you say no, but – "

"Edward, this is your home. Of course you can stay."

"You're the mind reader now?"

"Let me guess; you're next step is to ask Carlisle."

He gave her a shaky laugh. "You're good. I think you've got the hang of it."

"It'll be fine, you know. He tries to hide it from me, because he doesn't want me to feel guilty, but he regrets the way you two parted."

Edward cocked his head to the side, listening. "Carlisle must know we're talking about him, because he's on his way out here."

He sat back down and they waited in silence. It didn't make Edward want to fidget; the comfortable quiet came from having said what needed to be said. How could that be so simple with Esme but so difficult with Bella? And what the hell was he going to do after a few days? There was no way he could stay away from Bella, but he didn't kid himself that he had the patience to wait until he was hundreds of years old and she was willing to see him as someone she could respect. She had him over a barrel, really.

"You two having a good talk?" Carlisle asked. His eyes moved back and forth between them, and Edward realized his maker was still a little worried about leaving him alone with Esme.

"Fine." Esme said. She took Edward's hand again and pulled it onto her knee.

"I was just apologizing," Edward said. "I thought about getting her a card, but they don't really make anything that covers rebar spikes through the chest."

Carlisle look startled, but then he laughed, and things seemed to get easier after that. Esme jumped in to say that Edward wanted to stay for a while.

"If it's alright with you," Edward told him.

"You're welcome here."

"Thank you. I won't let you down this time."

"I know you'll do your best not to."

"Will your other guests mind? Alice and Jasper? I know not everyone appreciates having their thoughts read."

Carlisle shook his head. "Actually, you may find their company interesting. Alice can see how decisions will turn out in the future and Jasper is able to feel and influence the emotions of others. You could learn from them about how to handle issues of privacy."

That explained Alice's vision of a possible fight, and perhaps even the lethargy he'd felt when he'd wanted to attack Jasper. He couldn't say he was comfortable with Jasper's talent, but to be fair, everyone he'd met had been pretty good about coping with his ability, so he could try to return the favor.

"And Edward, if you need to talk about anything," Carlisle said, "your friend Ginnie shared perhaps more than you would have wanted about your relationship with Isabella. I had no idea –"

"It's fine. I was going to tell you."

Leave it to Ginnie to rush in first.

Carlisle thought Edward was an unlikely choice for Bella. Hearing that made Edward's skin prickle, but this was the worst possible moment to show irritation.

"She's my mate." He tried to keep his voice even.

"And she feels that way as well?" Carlisle asked.

He could say, She admitted it once, but then claimed the whole mate thing was a myth, so we're sort of at an impasse. Or maybe, She knows, but she's stubborn as hell, and you may think she's fierce, but I'm starting to suspect she's chickenshit when it comes to me.

"She's been on her own too long, and she thinks I'm too young," he said at last. That was the heart of the matter really, stripped of everything extraneous.

"There is quite an age difference between you."

"Says the three hundred and sixty-some year-old man whose mate has been a vampire for less than a year." Edward sounded touchy, but really given how he felt about the whole thing, no one should be surprised.

"Still, you must admit – "

"We're mates. Yes, I'm young, and I fly off the handle. But she's going to have to deal with me at some point."

Carlisle nodded. "Bat says she doesn't make you feel the dread the rest of us feel around her, so there must be something between you."

"Is there anything Bat and Ginnie haven't spilled?"

Carlisle started to answer, but Edward could hear rapid thoughts in the trees, and he held up his hand. "Someone's coming. Alice."

"Alice is coming?" Esme asked.

"No. I mean yes. Alice is on her way, but she wants to tell us someone's coming. A Volturi. If she'd calm down I could understand her thoughts better."

"Let's get back to the house." Carlisle took Esme's hand and pulled her up from the bench.

Once back, Edward had a hard time sorting out seven anxious minds. Jasper was throwing out words like 'perimeter' and 'flanking', while Bat and Ginnie actually looked forward to a fight. It was only when Edward was able to ask Alice to remember the image she'd seen earlier that he could to tell them what was happening.

"It's just Demetri," he said. No one was listening, so he said it louder.

"Demetri?" Ginnie looked both annoyed and pleased at once, which was not an attractive look for her.

"Why is the tracker coming here?" Carlisle asked.

"Ask Ginnie," Edward told him. "Since I can stay, and thank you again for that, I'm going to get a hot bath, my CDs and some of my own clothes.

He left them downstairs, though their thoughts followed him everywhere. He put Bach's Cello Suite Number 1 on repeat, and it helped to drown the competing voices for as long as he listened only to the notes. The very act of concentration made him feel closer to Bella, using one focus to keep his mind steady, as she did.

He realized he had no idea whether she even liked music.

He had no idea whether she missed him.

After a long soak, he went to the music room and played on the baby grand, wishing it were its battered counterpart on the other side of the country instead.

When he heard Demetri arrive, he waited for the initial surge in thoughts as Jasper felt out his mood and Alice tested his intent and Carlisle welcomed him to the house and Ginnie… She just said "Hey," and then flounced to the living room and turned on the TV.

Edward found Demetri on the porch, where he'd retreated once it was clear that Ginnie wasn't sure what to do with him.

"Tell me what happened," Edward said.

"No preamble. You get right to the point."

Edward just looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"Alright, well, I didn't return to Volterra immediately. I feel some remorse about that. After I talked Mary into stopping for you, I went to Anshi Park to see how Jane was healing. I knew Alec wouldn't move her until the wound had sealed, and with her neck being almost severed, that took more than a day."

"Not really what I want to know," Edward said.

"Right. Of course. Isabella had given me that warning, so I didn't return to Volterra until after she'd been and gone. I turned my cell phone off, planning to tell Aro that I hadn't had service when he'd – "

"Still not what I want to know."

"Fine. Well, Aro's dead."

"Was it Bella?"

"Yes."

Edward sat down on the porch steps. "What about Caius?"

"Dead."

"Marcus?"

"Alive, but only because he wasn't in the Great Hall at the time, and Afton took him to safety. Caius argued with Isabella shortly after she arrived. It got out of hand. All told, Isabella killed six. Renata, because she was right there when it all happened. Chelsea was there as well. Corin and Santiago she killed in a hallway on her way out."

Those last two were the ones who'd kidnapped him, but Edward didn't think he'd told her that, so maybe it was just a coincidence.

"Afton said she knocked down the outside door and that he'd never experienced her gift before, so he couldn't say whether it was stronger than any other time."

"It must have been." Edward said. "After all, you and I lived through it in India."

"I think you could live through it regardless, but yes, the fact that Ginnie and I are alive means we must not have felt the full force of it. In any event, everyone who didn't run was destroyed. Had Alec and Jane and I been there…"

"Who's running the coven?"

"Sulpicia tried to give orders when she returned, but so few guards came back that there wasn't much point. It took days before Afton decided it was safe to go back. And once Alec arrived, most were inclined to listen to him. I think if it's anyone, it'll be Alec. Jane has recovered and can back him." Demetri came over to sit on the far side of the same step as Edward. "Listen, I'd like to make a deal with you."

"With me?"

"I won't say anything about your resistance to Isabella's gift."

"If?"

"If you don't tell anyone that Isabella warned me about the attack. If Alec knew, nowhere on this earth would be safe for me."

"I don't really talk to Alec much anyway."

"I'm serious. I'd like to have your word." He held out his hand and Edward shook it.

"Alright, you have it."

"Isabella was unharmed, you know."

"I know. Bat, that's Ginnie's grandfather; he got a phone call from her after."

"So you knew all this?'

"I didn't get to talk to her."

Demetri sighed. "We're not either of us doing well with women lately."

"Understatement of the year."

"Are you giving up on Isabella, then?"

"It's not a matter of giving up or not giving up. She's it for me. We have to find a way to talk to one another."

"How're you planning on doing that from here?"

"No offense, but I'm not looking for relationship advice from you."

"Alright." Demetri stood and straightened his robe. "I'm going to grovel and see if I can convince Ginnie to speak with me."

Edward couldn't help but laugh. "I don't get you guys. She's not your mate."

"No, her mate is dead, and I've been around for a long time without meeting anyone I would call a mate. Sometimes you take what you can get."

Demetri went inside, and Edward fought the urge to go in as well and ask Bat to drive him back across to the east coast at 100 miles per hour. Isabella was surely home by now. Who knew how she felt about finding out that her talent was deadly after all. He wanted to be near her, but he didn't want her to think it was alright to keep him in the dark and leave him behind. Maybe he was being sullen, though that wasn't his intent. He thought he'd had it bad when he'd dealt with his mother's death and the change and reading minds and needing blood, but needing Bella was turning out to be the most confusing challenge of all.

All the usual characters, settings, etc. are the property of S. Meyer. Original characters and plot are mine. No copyright infringement is intended. May not be reprinted without express written permission.