Just days later, the prosecuting attorney called Bella. They were ready to start preparing her for the questions that would be asked at the trial. Bella was nervous, understandably so. After all she was about to face down the men that had almost destroyed her life.

Her father reminded her just before she left to talk to the attorneys the first time that she didn't have to actually be in the courtroom for this. "I know, Dad. But I need to do it this way. I have to face these men and make sure that they understand that I'm not going to run from them." She smiled at him. "But thank you for trying to protect me."

"It's one thing that I'm very good at." Then, he looked at his daughter carefully. "Most of the time."

Bella just threw her arms around her dad and hugged him. "I'll see you later, Dad." She ran out the door to get in the truck and head over to the offices.

****

"Miss Swan, my name is Justin Ford. I'm going to help you prepare for the questions that both sides will be asking you at the trial. Now, of course, our side, the prosecutor, is going to try to be careful of your emotions and try to emphasize the fact that these men hurt you and humiliated you. The defense, on the other hand, will try to make everything seem to be your fault and they will be vicious at times. Are you going to be alright with this?"

"I'll be fine. I have my family behind as well as two other families that love me as one of their own."

"And who is this gentleman beside you?"

"This is my boyfriend and the greatest source of my strength. Edward Cullen." Edward felt so humbled by her words that he simply took her hand. "It's because of him that I have the strength to face these men and what they did to me."

"I take it his family is one of the ones supporting you in this matter?"

"Of course. My parents look at Bella as one of their own children. They would do anything for her."

"Miss Swan, you do know that he won't be able to hold your hand when you testify?"

"Of course. But he won't be far away and I'll be able to see him the whole time."

"And if I told you that he shouldn't be in here while we prepare you?"

"I'd tell you you're crazy. I don't want him surprised by any of the questions that you or the defense might ask during the trial. He can handle this as well as I can."

"All right. Then let's begin. Of course, the first few questions we'll ask you will be easy. You'll be asked things like your full name, age, if you have a job. Simple questions that you should answer honestly. But remember, the best thing to do is not to go into any detail unless it's asked for. Let's try a few." He took a deep breath. "State your name please."

"Isabella Marie Swan."

"And how old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Do you currently attend school?"

"Yes."

"At which school and in what grade?"

"Forks High School. I'm a senior."

"Do you have a job at the current moment?"

"I work part-time at Newton's Olympic Outfitters."

Smiling, Justin sat back in the chair. "Very good. Of course, as I said earlier, it gets harder from here."

****

Several days later, Bella was exhausted. Justin had been very thorough in preparing her for the questions she would be asked. In fact, Edward would have said almost too thorough.

There had been more than one instance where Edward had been on the verge of picking up Bella and spiriting her away from the lawyer. He was worried that she was pushing a little too hard and Justin was taking advantage of her desire to put these guys away.

****

Bella and Edward had gone to see Bella's mother in Florida. Of course she hadn't told her mother what had happened to her two months prior and Edward wasn't going to say anything either.

But Renee did wonder why it was that the bed in the guest room was never slept in and yet Edward seemed well-rested every morning. She was more observant than Bella gave her credit for. Bella thought about the conversation that she and her mother had the morning she left to return to Forks. "There's something… strange about the way you two are together. The way he watches you – it's so … protective. Like he's about to throw himself in front of a bullet to save you or something."

"That's a bad thing?"

"No. It's just different. He's very intense about you … and very careful. I feel like I don't really understand your relationship. Like there's some secret I'm missing …"

Of course that statement had made Bella really nervous. She didn't realize just how much her mom saw. "I think you're imagining things, Mom." She'd never thought about the fact that Renee's simple view of the world cut through all the distractions and pierced right to the truth of things.

"It's not just him. I wish you could see how you move around him."

"What do you mean?"

"The way you move – you orient yourself around him without even thinking about it. When he moves, even a little bit, you adjust your position at the same time. Like magnets or gravity. You're like a satellite, or something. I've never seen anything like it."

If only she knew what kind of hell her daughter had been through in the past several months. It made Bella glad that Renee and Charlie didn't talk more about things that were going on with their daughter.

When they got back, Bella had a surprising welcome from Charlie. He was glad to have her back because, in his words, "The food around here sucks when you're gone."

She was heading for the kitchen to start supper when her dad stopped her. "Would you call Jake first? He's been bugging me every five minutes since six o'clock this morning. I promised I'd have you call him before you even unpacked."

"Jacob wants to talk to me?"

"Pretty bad, I'd say. He wouldn't tell me what it was about – just said it was important." The phone rang and Charlie was certain it was Jake.

Bella answered it. "Hello?"

"You're back."

"Yes."

"Why didn't you call me?"

His angry tone instantly irritated Bella. He didn't even bother to ask how the trip had been first. "Because I've been in the house for exactly four seconds and your call interrupted Charlie telling me that you'd called."

"Oh sorry."

"Sure. Now, why are you harassing Charlie?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Yeah. I figured out that part all by myself. Go ahead."

"You going to school tomorrow?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?"

"I dunno. Just curious."

"So what did you want to talk about, Jake?"

"Nothing really, I guess. I … wanted to hear your voice."

"Yeah. I know. I'm so glad you called me, Jake. I …" She wanted to go see him but she knew that Edward wouldn't like that any.

"I have to go."

"What?"

"I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"But, Jake –" He left her with the dial tone.

"Is everything all right?" Edward asked, his voice low and careful.

"I don't know. I wonder what that was about."

"Your guess is probably better than mine."

"Mmmm." Of course, that was true. She knew Jake inside and out. She just couldn't figure this out. There was something Jake wasn't telling her. 'That's it. The key isn't in what he said. It's what he didn't say. Now I just have to figure that out.'

Suddenly, her fingers lost their grip on the package of frozen hamburger she held. Before her mind even registered what had happened, Edward had caught the meat and thrown it on the counter before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

"What's wrong?" She just shook her head. After all, she and Edward had discussed the whole situation with the trial coming up and Victoria looking for her.

She had made her decision a while back to become a vampire. Carlisle had convinced her to wait until after graduation. But she knew that when she did become one she would be in the throws of the conversion for three days. 'Oh no. He was seeing if I was still human. Making sure that the treaty wasn't broken. Did he honestly think that I would come home to Charlie if we had done that?'

"Bella?" Edward was getting really anxious.

"I think he was checking," she mumbled. "Checking to make sure. That I'm human, I mean."

Edward was angry but he still tried to comfort Bella. At least until Charlie walked into the kitchen. "If you don't want to make dinner, I can call for a pizza.

"No, that's okay. I'm already started."

"Okay." Charlie propped himself against the doorframe to watch. She tried to ignore him as she made dinner.