Edward:

Bella was snuggled up to me, her legs pulled up on the sofa and her cheek pressed against my shoulder. She had not moved, or said a word since we had all gathered in the den to re-hash the events of the past few days. She felt strange against me, no longer burning like a flame, but not feeling cold to me either. Her body had gone silent and still, the myriad different sounds and movements that it produced while going through the processes of being alive having been silenced forever. Being only hours old, she wasn't even trying to pretend to be human yet; she was still adapting to her new environment. She sat, as still as stone, only her eyes and occasionally her head moving, as her attention wandered between us and the sounds she was hearing outside.

It was now clear to all of us that Bella had some kind of a blocking talent. It explained why I was unable to read her mind. It explained why Alice was currently unable to see her future. It also explained why Jasper was unable to read Bella's emotions, unless he was in direct contact with her; which is why he was sitting next to her, holding her hand, his fingers lightly threaded through hers. She had looked up at his eyes with frank curiosity when he sat down next to her and picked up her hand, then back down at their interwoven fingers. She seemed to think nothing of holding his hand, stroking the ball of his thumb gently with hers. She was facing away from me, so I watched her through Jasper, drinking in the quiet wonder in her face as she scrutinized their joined hands through newly turned eyes.

She's calm, Jasper thoughts intruded. Overwhelmed, but taking it all in her stride.

I blinked, going from looking at Bella through Jasper's eyes to looking at Jasper, who was wearing a look of quiet wonder himself as he looked at her intently. It occurred to me that he was enjoying the unique privilege of sharing her emotions right as she was discovering a whole new world, just in their clasped hands alone. As I pondered the fact that he could share Bella's emotions while I was locked out of her mind, I felt a sharp stab of jealousy. It faded as quickly as it had come, but of course Jasper noticed it. His eyes shot to mine.

This isn't about me, Edward. She is just fascinated with the texture of my skin.

"No, Jazz…that's not it," I said quietly, seeing he was about to pull his hand out of hers. "I wish I could feel what she is feeling too, that's all." It had never occurred to me to envy him for his insights into the world of Bella's emotions. Having been able to share not only her emotions the way Jasper did, but her physical feelings and sensations too, had changed that. It was galling that I should be completely shut out, while all Jasper had to do was touch her to gain entrance into that mysterious universe. I knew it was neither his fault nor hers; she was new to a power she had no idea she had, let alone was able to control.

"Hello!" Emmett suddenly interjected, waving at us. "Could you guys stop playing with the baby for five minutes and listen to the epic tale of my heroic battles?"

"Emmett, dear, I think we've heard quite enough from you," Esme laughed softly, laying a gentle hand on his arm. "Right now, I am more curious about the way Victoria was acting. I wonder why she didn't just go straight for Bella."

Carlisle had filled the rest of the family in on Victoria's unusual behavior when he confronted her in the front room, and had mentioned that in retrospect, it appeared that Victoria was attempting to distract him, but to what purpose, he couldn't fathom.

"I think I can help you with that," Alice said quietly. Everyone turned to look at her, except for Bella, who was still lost in her own world and probably wasn't listening.

"I had a vision as Rose and I closed in on Victoria's mate," she continued, "who, by the way, she was only using to help her get to Bella. He was supposed to snatch her while Victoria distracted Carlisle. The newborns were created to keep most or all of us busy running around the countryside while the two of them worked on getting Bella. It was a job she couldn't use a newborn for, since she was expecting to find Bella human. She…"

"Don't," I said sharply, seeing what Alice was about to say, and heading her off at the pass. Bella did not need to know what Victoria had been planning to do to her, at least not just yet. I knew I was being over-protective and walking on eggshells around her, but Bella's transformation, and almost losing her to it, had shaken me to the core, and I did not want to risk upsetting her even a little. Not until she had stabilized. Carlisle thought I was worrying too much, but he saw no harm in being careful and did not interfere.

I felt Bella tense against me all of a sudden. I thought she was going to take exception to my interrupting Alice, but before I could say anything, I caught Jasper's eye.

"It's time. She needs to hunt fairly soon," he said with quiet urgency.

I looked at him in surprise. While it wasn't unusual for a newborn to need to hunt so soon after transformation, the fact that the thirst had increased so quickly, was. I shifted, disengaging myself so I could turn toward her.

"Bella?" I said, tilting her face up so I could look at her and be sure I had her attention. "We need to go hunting now, ok?"

She looked at me with that wide, unwavering stare that she'd been wearing since she came out of her transformation, and then blinked, a reflex left over from her human life. "Ok," she replied, so quietly, a human couldn't have heard her. She'd eventually learn to adjust the volume of her voice to be audible to humans, and she would learn it by imitating us: though we had no real reason to move and speak at human speeds anymore, we continued to do it for Bella's sake. It would help her adapt quicker.

Bella's first hunt ended up being a family event. I kept her close, holding on to her hand. Jasper was able to read her again without needing to maintain contact, but he loped along beside her just in case, prepared to reach for her once again should she close herself off or need restraining. The rest of the family formed a loose circle around us, ready to intervene should they be needed. With her newborn strength and speed, Bella could easily break free of us and be gone before we could react, and then not even the fastest of us could catch her should she not want us to. Even Rosalie came along, though she came mainly because Emmett did. Emmett was looking forward to seeing how shy, unassuming Bella Swan handled the hunt. What none of us expected, was for Bella Swan to pick hunting, of all things, to get stubborn about.

Bella's first hunting experience did not conform to the norm; then again, almost nothing about her transformation had been normal.

We followed the scent of a pair of deer, and found them grazing in a meadow. Bella was following my lead as I slowly moved us into a sheltered position within the trees and underbrush. The rest of the family hung back to watch, spreading out silently. I quietly explained the basics, instructing her to pick one animal and to not allow herself to be distracted by the other, or anything else for that matter. I focused my attention on the deer, watching for Bella to lunge at one of them out of the corner of my eye. When nothing happened, I turned toward her, immediately noticing the indefinable expression on her face as she watched them grazing peacefully in the sunlight.

"Bella?" I whispered almost inaudibly.

She looked at me wide-eyed. "I can't," she breathed. "I can't do it." She looked at the deer once more, and then slowly started backing away.

I reached for her arm to stay her. "You have to, Bella! Don't you feel the thirst? You have to quench it! You need to feed!"

She should not have been able to resist the lure of the blood, especially given the strength of her thirst, but against all logic, she had; she simply observed the deer from her hiding place, and stubbornly refused to move in for the kill.

"I do feel the thirst. But I can't do it. I won't," she reiterated stubbornly. "I don't want to kill them. I can resist. Isn't that a good thing?"

She tried to free herself from my grip gently, not even using close to her full strength, simply indicating that she wanted me to release her. I tightened my hold on her, knowing full well I couldn't stop her if she really wanted to wrench herself free. The ensuing scuffle alerted the deer. They raised their heads in unison, looking toward us, and then bolted in the opposite direction, disappearing into the trees.

"Dammit, Bella," I hissed. "What are you doing!?"

Edward? What's going on?

I turned with a frown, to see Carlisle walking toward us.

"She refuses to hunt," I growled, rising out of my crouch and pulling Bella into a standing position alongside me.

Carlisle looked surprised. "Bella?" he inquired, looking at her. I turned to observe her as well, eager to understand her reluctance.

"I..." she stammered, "I don't want to kill. I can't bring myself to do it." She seemed surprised, as if she hadn't been expecting to react the way she had.

"You must, Bella," Carlisle said firmly. "You have no choice in the matter. I won't allow you to starve yourself. Now let's go, we need to find you something, and quickly."

"No."

The entire family turned back toward her as one, surprise etched on their faces. No one refused Carlisle, not over something as important as this. Jasper leaned toward him, and whispered in his ear. Bella and I weren't standing close enough to hear, but I picked it out of their minds.

She's getting agitated, Jasper was saying. I don't think she's responding well to being told what to do, even by you. Try reasoning with her instead.

With a subtle nod at Jasper, Carlisle moved to stand in front of Bella. She straightened her back and shoulders, radiating resolve.

"Bella," he said calmly, "If you won't hunt animals, what do you propose to do for sustenance? Bearing in mind that humans are not an option - at least not until you're capable of being out on your own and making your own choices - and that you won't gain your independence until you aren't a threat to the human population? Starvation isn't pleasant, and it won't kill you. You will, however, go insane."

"Can't I drink donated blood?"

"There is no such thing as donated animal blood," he explained patiently.

"I meant donated human blood," she whispered, hanging her head. I heard Alice and Esme gasp, but I kept my eyes trained on Bella.

Carlisle sighed. "I thought we had an agreement, Bella. You promised to defer to me in all matters pertaining to being a vampire. Are you going back on your word?"

"No, but..."

"Then you have to hunt, and you have to do it when we tell you to. Once you're out on your own, donated human blood is something you can look into if you wish, but since you are a part of this family, and this family interacts with humans, that's not an option for right now. Do you understand me?"

She kept looking down, and said nothing.

"Bella," Alice interjected, catching her eyes and giving her an encouraging smile, "if you could tell us why you're unwilling, perhaps we could help you. Put things into perspective for you."

"I...it's silly."

"If it's making you feel conflicted, it isn't silly, honey," Esme added. "Please tell us."

"Well, I know I eat...ate meat, but..." She stopped, considering her words, and then resumed. "I always said that if I had to kill my own meat, I'd be a vegetarian."

"So you object to doing the killing yourself?" Esme continued, trying to understand.

"Yes. I know it's hypocritical, but...I just can't do it."

"Would it help if one of us did the killing for you?" Alice offered. "It makes it a little harder to draw out the blood, but not impossible."

She shuddered, a look of distaste on her face. "No! No, it wouldn't...something would still die for me."

"Animals have been dying to feed you for most of your life, kid," Emmett threw in. "It's the natural way of things."

"I know that!" she snapped. "I'm just not used to...uh...meeting the animals that I eat. I know it sounds ridiculous, but...I can't help the way I feel. They looked so beautiful and peaceful, and they're just going about their lives; I don't want to be the one to take that away from them in such a horrible, painful manner. And if we are so concerned about the natural way of things, why aren't we sucking on some Grade A human? Isn't that the natural way for us?"

She's remarkably obstinate. I don't think I have ever come across a newborn with such a strong will.

I looked at Jasper, wordlessly inquiring about her emotional stability.

Her thirst is increasing and it's making her cranky, but I don't think she's going to give in. We're going to have to give her a little push.

I raised my eyebrows in question.

Carlisle knows what to do. If she won't hunt, he'll bring an animal to her, and expose its blood to the air. That should be all it takes.

Carlisle continued trying to reason with her; we all did, but to no avail. Finally, when all arguments were exhausted, he ordered her to hunt, but not even that could move her. She continued to calmly and steadfastly refuse, betraying not a hint of the agitation that Jasper was sensing from her.

"And I thought she was stubborn as a mortal," I muttered darkly, earning a dirty look from Bella from beneath her lashes. She was standing, her fists balled at her sides, looking sullenly at Carlisle's feet as he stood in front of her and tried to convince her to see reason and hunt of her own free will.

"You leave me no choice, Isabella," he said at last, his voice cold as ice and full of warning. "You can either hunt…look at me." She flinched and reluctantly complied, lifting her face to stare him in the eyes. "You can either hunt willingly, or an animal will be brought to you and you will be forced to feed. I will not let you starve yourself. It's dangerous to you, to any humans you might inadvertently come across, and by extension to the whole family. I will not allow you to become a liability to yourself, or to us. Now make your decision quickly, or I will decide for you."

Her gaze hardened and she tensed, causing the whole family gathered around her to tense in reaction, but did not move, or speak.

"Bella, honey, you must hunt," Esme, pleaded soothingly, reaching for one of her fists and trying to relax her fingers to hold her hand. Bella shot her an anguished look, and then averted her face again.

Carlisle waited a beat, and then turned to Emmett.

"Go and find a large buck," he ordered curtly. "Bring it back alive." He turned to me and Jasper. "You two, restrain her if she tries to run. Jasper, the minute she shuts you out, grab her, and if necessary, calm her down.

"Bella…why?" I asked her quietly as we waited for Emmett to return. "Why can't you just do it?"

She looked up at me, resolute. "I don't know," she replied. "The idea is so repellent to me; I just can't bring myself to do it. Please don't waste your time trying to make me."

"Bella..." I said gently. "You can. You will. When Emmett gets back with a deer, he's going to open up its jugular. You won't be able to resist the scent of exposed blood, but if by some miracle you do, Carlisle will likely force your mouth to the source, and you definitely won't be able to resist the taste."

"I will," she insisted obstinately. "From what you told me, I expected even animal blood to be difficult to resist, but honestly, it doesn't smell that great, and I'm betting it won't taste that great either. Ergo, I will be able to resist."

"It doesn't matter that it doesn't smell or taste that great. It's blood, and you are thirsty. You won't be able to resist."

She was about to continue arguing with me, when Emmett returned, a young buck slung across his shoulders. It was very much alive, but unable to move much as Emmett had a firm grip on its legs. Needing no further instruction from Carlisle, he dropped it to the ground, kneeling and easily holding the thrashing animal in place.

"No…please…" Bella cried softly, as Emmett bent down and tore open its throat. Taking a step back, she bumped up against Jasper's chest. His hands fastened around her upper arms, holding her against him.

She shut me out again. But we don't have to worry much longer. She's almost there. A little push from me and she will feed willingly.

"That little blocking ability of hers could turn into a major problem," I murmured, sighing.

Big time, he thought back at me, grinning wryly before turning his attention back to Bella. "Bella, darlin'…" he spoke soothingly and persuasively. "Let go. Stop fighting it, sweetheart," he cajoled. "You knew you were going to have to do this. You agreed to it. It's time for you to let go, and do what comes naturally." He walked her firmly forward, whispering words of encouragement. Sure enough, whether on her own, or due to an empathic nudge from Jasper, Bella let go of her unwillingness, and threw herself at the animal's throat with a reverberating snarl.

In seconds the animal lay dead, drained of its life-force. Bella knelt beside it, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth and then resting both hands on its body, a look of resigned sadness on her face. Her lips moved, but I could not make out any words.

"Bella?" I said gently, crouching down beside her and rubbing my hand soothingly across her shoulder blades.

She looked up at me. "You were right, I can do it," she said wanly. "I didn't believe you. I really didn't think anything could make me…do that."

"It'll get easier," I tried to reassure her. "I promise."

She looked back at the buck, absently stroking its cooling body a moment longer, and then stood and turned to face us. "I want to go home now," she said, her voice strong again.

I had been so focused on Bella that I didn't notice that another set of thoughts had intruded into my mind until we were almost home.

"Wait," I said, coming to a sudden stop. The rest of the family froze, instantly on alert and casting out with their senses.

"Edward?" Carlisle said. "What is it?"

"There's somebody…" I frowned, analyzing the tenure of the mind, my puzzlement turning to surprise when I recognized who it was.

"Eleazar?" I shot a look at Carlisle. "Were you expecting him?"

He smiled widely, pleased at the news. "No, I wasn't. I called him about Bella's blocking abilities, hoping he might have some insight. He didn't have much time to talk, but he was very interested. We were going to speak again when he had more time, but as you know, things got in the way. I am guessing he was curious enough to come out here and see for himself."

When we emerged from the trees into the clearing in front of the house, he was there, a tall, dark figure standing quietly with his back to the house, his face turned up to the sun. He had obviously heard our approach from a long way off, but didn't look in our direction until we stepped out into the clearing. He broke into a huge grin, and strode toward us.

"Eleazar, it's good to see you!" Carlisle greeted the former member of the Volturi guard warmly as they embraced. "I assume you are here to see the newest addition to our family?"

His face fell. "She has already been turned? That is disappointing. I would have liked to see her before the change. If I am correct, and her blocking ability is a manifestation of a particular gift, this would have been the first time I would have had a basis for a before and after comparison. It is a great pity that I arrived too late."

"Unfortunately, that was unavoidable, my friend," Carlisle said, filling him in on the events leading up to Bella's transformation and Victoria's destruction.

He listened in attentively, frowning and commenting occasionally. "It seems like you have all had quite an adventure," he said when Carlisle had finished his story. "But forgive me, I have been remiss in greeting the rest of your family." He went to Esme first, kissed her hand formally, and then pulled her into a friendly embrace. A series of hugs, handshakes and kisses later, he finally moved in front of Bella, who was standing slightly behind me, biting her lower lip.

He took her hand, drawing her out from behind me, and slowly pressed it to his lips, never taking his eyes from hers. "This must be the lovely Bella," he said, his tone a little too low and intimate for my liking. "It is a great pleasure to meet the woman who captured Edward's heart and soul." He scrutinized her intently, rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand in a decidedly sensuous way. Bella looked absolutely mesmerized.

I was beginning to get annoyed by his continued pawing of my mate, and I was about to take a step toward him when I caught Carlisle's eye. He gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head, and threw me a warning glance.

Still holding on to Bella's hand, he finally looked at Carlisle. "It is as I suspected: she is a Shield. I am eager to hear more about her abilities." He turned to me. "You were unable to read her thoughts even when she was human, Edward, is that correct?"

"Up until about two weeks ago, that's true," I said politely, extracting Bella's hand from his. "Since then, there have been incidents during which I not only was able to read her mind, I was able to sense her feelings too. Ironically, a few days ago, right before the change was initiated, she started blocking Jasper too. She's completely unaware of doing it. There were also a few instances in which Alice was unable to see her future."

Eleazar grinned at my little show of possessiveness, but wisely refrained from commenting on it. "She displayed all these abilities before the change?" he asked, his eyes alight with amusement and fascination. "Have there been any changes since?"

"No, just more of the same," I replied, a little stiffly.

He thought for a moment. "Well, based on her abilities so far, I would say she is a very powerful Shield. With proper practice, she should eventually be able to completely block not only Jasper, but Alice too, at will."

"When you say completely..."

"I mean she will not only be able to prevent Jasper from sensing her emotions, but also from influencing them. Alice would become unable to see her future at all, unless Bella allows it."

I don't think I like the sound of that, Alice and Jasper both thought in unison.

I laughed. "Now you know how I feel," I muttered.

Eleazar raised his eyebrows in query.

"It's nothing," I said with a wave of my hand. "Alice and Jasper are finding that they don't like the idea of their powers being useless on her anymore than I do."

"It'll make her harder to control," Jasper said in his defense.

"Hey, I'm standing right here!" Bella piped up, annoyance in her voice, and in every line of her body. "And I don't need to be 'controlled'. Plenty of vampires have had to deal with newborns without the benefit of your powers, and they do fine. Carlisle did, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but it sure makes it easier if I can calm you down the moment you get a little feisty," Jasper countered, taking a step toward her.

Carlisle didn't need special powers to see a sibling spat in the making, and put an end to it before it even began by suggesting that we continue the conversation inside. Bella was still eyeing Jasper confrontationally as we gathered in the library, but was distracted when Eleazar continued his assessment of her gift.

"At this point, it would appear that Bella's Shield is of the mental variety..."

"There is another kind?" I interrupted, earning a pointed look from Esme for my temporary lapse in manners.

Eleazar grinned at me. "I don't know it for a fact, but it makes sense that there should be. Bear in mind, I have never met anyone with my gift, so I had no one to explain to me how it works, but it seems to be largely based on intuition," he patiently explained. "It is certainly not an exact science, though my intuition when it comes to other Vampires' gifts has been correct far more often than not. Right now, my gift is telling me that there could be more to Bella's power than she is currently displaying. It would not surprise me in the least if she were to manifest physical shielding abilities eventually."

"You mean she could someday be able to block physical objects?" Emmett said, his surprise laced with tinge of envy.

Bella shot him a slightly smug look. Emmett had made no secret of the fact that he was looking forward to getting into physical fights with Bella, to pit himself against her newborn strength. The fact that she might someday be able to prevent him from even getting close to her seemed to please her quite a bit.

"That is correct," Eleazar replied. "The fact that she is able to shield her thoughts from Edward, while simultaneously letting Jasper sense her emotions leads me to believe it is possible. The few I have come across that had similar gifts were not able to selectively shield themselves the way Bella can. It was either all or nothing."

"That's just it, though," Bella interjected, "I'm not able to do any of those things. They just happen. I've tried to let Edward in several times and it didn't work. I've never been able to make it happen."

"You will, in time," he told her with a slow, lazy smile. "With Carlisle's permission, I will even teach you, when he thinks you are ready." The look in his eyes was practically a caress, and if I didn't know he was blindly devoted to his mate, I would have punched him in the face. As it was, I had to keep reminding myself that Eleazar was a Latin male, and Bella was a breathtakingly beautiful woman. How could he not stare?

"I'm ready now," Bella said forcefully.

"Unfortunately, I don't have enough time right now," Eleazar chuckled, saving Carlisle from having to tell Bella it was out of the question. Carlisle's thoughts told me he was planning on taking full advantage of Jasper's gift in particular, to aide him in keeping Bella in check. It would not do for her to get so upset that she might overpower any of us and run, potentially putting our secret and therefore herself at risk, and any humans that might cross her path in grave danger.

I agreed with him. Bella would not deliberately endanger anyone, vampire or otherwise, but I knew from personal experience that when strong emotions get in the way, mistakes are made, and some mistakes can never be undone. Bella would be devastated if her temper and something she did as a result put anyone in peril. Whether she agreed or not, she needed to be protected from herself. We all knew this, as would anyone who had experienced being a newborn and survived unscathed.

She knew this on a rational level, but I don't think she truly understood it yet, and it was an argument we all preferred to delay as long as possible.

To be continued…

Note: I am stopping here, because it's been nearly a month, and you have waited long enough. The discussion about Bella's powers isn't over yet, much to my surprise, and will be continued. Also, I have a feeling that Jasper and Emmett are going to be dispensing a little vampire justice to Edward. He's had to face Carlisle and Esme over what he did to Bella, but he has yet to really face his brothers. We shall see. Oh, and I didn't research Eleazar much, so I have no idea how off I am on portraying him

I had not intended to go into Bella's first hunt as deeply as I did. I had planned to gloss over it, because it really was too important to ignore completely, but as I wrote it began to grow, and finally took over most of the chapter. It also needs to be told from Bella's point of view, but that isn't going to happen in this story (because I am desperate to be done with it. God I hope it doesn't show in my writing). Right now I am planning on going into Bella's point of view of her first hunt in a flashback in the 'sequel'. If Bella's reaction to hunting seems strange, it is probably because I imagined myself in her situation, and just wrote how I would react if I were faced with the necessity to hunt in that way. It is one thing to know what you need to do in theory. I imagine (never having done any hunting of any kind) that it would be much different when you are faced with the actual reality of it.

Only one more chapter left, and this time I mean it. I think. Oh please, let it be the last chapter.