HEY! It's CHRISTMAS!!! Because I am so nice, I am placing this chapter in your stockings! :)

A/N: Last time on Can't Stop Loving You…Bella and Edward talked about their relationship. Edward was in trouble at home, and Jacob was followed home in Bella's truck. Bella is ready to fight. Remember the license plate? X219F—X as in get rid of, 2 for B as in Bella, 19 for S as in Swan, and F for Female. I didn't pick something random. : ) Enjoy!

"Changing..."

BELLA

Damien was here, and causing an uproar in my life. I thought I had rinsed my hands clean of his memories, instead, I found out he had stained my hands in red. A quick rinse wasn't going to the job; it was time to scrub.

At the Cullens house—I hadn't been here in so long—something in the air seemed…free. Maybe it was the liberty of being out of Charlie's house.

"Dear," Esme breathed at the foot of the stairs. She looked like she had attempted to rid herself of dust, but I could still spot the remnants. "Give me a hug."

After trying to be strong for Edward, emotion overwhelmed me as I encompassed Esme with my own arms. While the tears flowed freshly down my face, I quietly lamented for the loss of my mother. Somewhere in the world, she was trying to fight this battle herself. She didn't have the support base I did here in Forks. She was alone, but I knew she was strong as well.

Esme whispered in my ear, crying also, "I love you so much, Bella. I don't want any creep hurting you. I could kill him myself."

"Premeditation? I might have to turn you in to Charlie," I chuckled out, though it got lost in my thick throat.

She smiled and kissed the top of my forehead. Touching both of my shoulder, she looked at me in the eye with earnestness. "When one of her children is endangered, a mother will go to extremes for protection. You, Bella, are just like one of mine, and I will do anything to make sure you stay."

"Thank you," I choked out, trying to take control of my emotions.

Behind Esme, Alice and Emmett stood, eyes saddened, but hope not lost.

"Yeah, sis. We have your back," Emmett grinned, pounding a fist over his heart twice.

Alice angled her head to the side while muttering, "Bella, my sister? I like that."

Wiping away the last of my tears, I smiled and hugged my extended family before following Edward upstairs.

Going up to his room, I could tell something was different. Without hesitating at the frame, Edward gracefully strolled into his room, straightening things as he passed. When I came in, I attempted to give us some privacy when I realized…"Edward, where is your door?"

He chuckled; it sounded rather forced. "I told you I was in trouble at home."

"What happened?" I asked while sitting on the edge of his bed.

"I was being moody. Alice and Emmett wanted to lift my mood. They played monkey in the middle with my iPod. Anyway, Esme punished us by removing our doors."

I couldn't help but laugh as I went to Edward's window. The sky was taking on a reddish-orange tint, clouds occupying the space. The sun was beginning to set. "Seems like the day began so innocently," I chatted idly. "The sun rose the same way it always did. The bird chirped like they always do. Yet, my life is changing, Edward. I thought coming back here would let me start anew. I would be Bella, little girl who left almost twelve years ago. Not Bella, a girl plagued by her mom's ex-boyfriend."

"But you're still Bella," Edward said softly, suddenly beside me.

"Am I really? I am really the same little girl you fell in love with? So much has happened…I just hope this ends soon so I can get on with my life."

"We all want this to end."

I sighed, thinking about Jacob. He was in danger because of me. All did wanted to do was see his father, and end up in the crossfire. "Have you heard anything from Jake?"

"No…he might be in contact with Charlie though. Don't worry about him, Bella. He'll be fine. He's home."

Home. The one thing I didn't have right now because I was still running.

Edward's phone buzzed. "Excuse me," he muttered, walking away from me. "Hello?...who is this?...how did you get this number?!" I turned to Edward, concerned about his sudden temper. His face suddenly went ghost white. His body froze to the ground.

"…Hey, Bella, I was thinking…" I heard Alice's voice chime in from Edward's door. She was holding a garment in her hand, but that dropped to the floor. "Get out," she mouthed, but not to anyone in particular. Her eyes had closed, but she looked just as tense as her brother.

I heard the phone slam together. I didn't hear Edward swipe past my side and grab a backpack, dumping clothes in them.

"Edward, what's wrong?" I asked, coming to his side. "What's the matter?"

"We have to leave," he said through gritted teeth. "He knows who I am."

"He knows?" I whispered to myself. Damien. "But Edward, I can't leave. We're leaving your family vulnerable. I can't let him hurt your family."

With fire in his eyes, Edward hissed at me. "He doesn't want anyone but you, Bella. It would be selfish if we left you here. I'm not letting you stay here."—he snapped his head to his sister—"Alice, tell mom. We need a car, warmed-up with gas."

She nodded feverishly. "Carlisle should be pulling in soon. He has tinted windows."

"Good," Edward sighed. He moved away from me, heading over to his shelf of music. He moved aside a couple of CDs, and pulled out a little box—a jewelry box. He came back to me with a heart wrenching look on his face. "Bella, I love you so very much. I want you to have this. Use it to buy your life if you have to."

Instinctively, I touched the ring on my necklace, tucked under my shirt. "No, no, no."

"Bella, you have to." He pressed the ring box into my hand. "Use it."

"Okay." The tears were filling my eyes, but I kept them back. He slid into my finger while I got a hold on myself. I inhaled a deep breath. "Okay."

Out in the garage, Edward was discussing something with his father in a hushed voice while I sat in Carlisle's idling car. Already, the car was packed and ready for the road, but Edward was finishing up some final details.

They couldn't see me in the car. Out of my sideview mirror, I could see Carlisle hand Edward a bundle of bills and a thin item—a card. Carlisle patted his son's shoulder and gave him a hug. It looked like Edward didn't want to let go. Alas, they released each other, and Edward walked around the nose of the car, throwing open the driver's door. Smoothly, he slid in, changed gears and pulled out.

Out into the unknown.

Music played softly in the background.

Our scenery wasn't changing much. Darkness with the lamination of trees and asphalt. I lost track of time, but I knew it had been too long.

I twisted the ring on my finger, thinking about my situation, while Edward drove on. I knew my life was in danger, but I couldn't fully register that fact. My life was always in danger, so Damien didn't seem to faze me.

Why wasn't I afraid?

Not to long ago, he used to be the root of my nightmares. Not to long ago, I ran from him, fleeing his control. Now, I was more concerned about my loved ones' well-being than my own.

"I…love you, Edward," I whispered hesitantly. "I mean, I really love you. It's not everyday that someone gets as lucky as have in my life. To meet someone like you is once in a lifetime.

"When I was little…I always imagined that I would marry you. You would work as a doctor and I would be a teacher and take care of the babies. We would have the dog, named Spot."

I saw a smile, hinting from the right corner of his lip, illuminated by the light from the dashboard. "Let me guess, the children were named Dick and Jane?"

I chuckled softly. "You remember? We would have a big house. With lots and lots of room. They highest we could count when we were little. It would have to be a big white house next door to our parents so they could see their grandchildren."

"We would have to have nice cars, better than the hot wheels Emmett and I had," Edward mused.

"I was never a fan of cars. I rather walk with a stroller to put the kids in. Much simpler that way."

"Suit yourself. I want the car."

"You would," I sighed. "Where are we going, anyway?"

He shrugged, coming up on a sign. "I don't know. Carlisle told me to get out the state. So, that's where I'm headed."

A set of headlights were seen in the distance.

"Then, what are we going to do?"

"Get a hotel room and await further instruction."

"So…you don't know what you're doing?"

"Not a clue," he confessed. "We're in this together. Wherever you go, I go."

"Well, I'm going to sleep. Wake me up if I so I don't miss any of the action," I spoke lethargically. I curled up, getting nice and comfortable on Carlisle's leather seats, before letting my brain relax and my eyes close.

--

"Bella, wake up, love. Bella…"

"Huh?" I stirred, rubbing my eyes I sat up. The body was much too relaxed. I looked down to see my hand, sliding over soft sheets. "What did I miss?"

Edward's green eyes were alive and playful. "Nothing except for me speeding down the highway at hundred miles an hour. I did a donut into the parking lot and checked in. Then, I carried up to the room where you slept the whole night."

I ignored his joke. "The whole night? Did Charlie call? Jacob? Damien?" My voice sounded panicky.

Edward chuckled, moving to turn on the room TV. "You're losing it. Charlie called this morning. I told him you were sleep. They are following a lead, a tip coming from the one and only Betsy."

"Betsy?" My attention peaked as a smile crossed my face. "Female intuition is something."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it appears she reported some suspicious activity. They said the guy's name was Harold—that creep, who called my phone twice—who they believe is Damien. The whole state is on alert."

My stomach grumbled, communicating with me. My cheeks flushed as I smiled sheepishly back at Edward.

"What would like?" Edward asked, clutching car keys.

"Surprise me."

"I'm on it." Before he was out the door, he turned back around. "Oh…I want to give you this." He placed a phone in my hand. "It's a prepaid phone. I bought it last—well, early this morning, so you can call whoever without running up a hotel bill. There's about five hundred minutes."

"Thanks." I gave him a quick kiss, and he was out the door.

Alone, I looked around the room, noting that there were two double beds. Edward's seemed to not have been touched. I hoped he slept. There was a nice table in the corner, two chairs on either side. A curtain was drawn, keeping out the sunlight (or lack there of). I laid the new phone on the nightstand and hoped up, knowing I didn't have much time before Edward came back.

I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and sat down to watch cartoons. It was Dora the Explorer, a kid show, the only thing really on in the mornings, but I watched it nevertheless.

Dora looked straight towards the audience, as if she was speaking directly to me. "I don't see the blue mountain? Do you see the blue mountain?"

"It's right behind you," I mumbled aloud, the remote still in hand.

"There it is! Now, we have to get in the hot air balloon and float to the top."

I was about to turn when I saw an orange fox in the corner of the screen. He looked sly; he was a bad guy. The sneaky music started playing and I knew he was going to sabotage the Dora and Boots' journey.

"Uh oh, it's Swiper the Fox. He's headed for the hot air balloon! Oh no! He has a scissors. We can't let him get to the hot air balloon, or we'll never get to the mountain. Now, we need your help to stop Swiper the Fox. Just say 'Swiper, no swiping. Swiper, no swiping. Can you say 'Swiper, no swiping'?" Dora and Boots told Swiper to stop. "Swiper, no"—it wasn't enough; their voices dropped and enthusiasm deflated—"swiping."

"You're toooo late!" Swiper exclaimed after he let the weights off the side of the hot air balloon. It floated up very slowly, causing Dora to gasp in astonishment. "You're never going to make it to the mountain now." The Swiper did his farewell, maniacal laugh and scampered away.

"What to do?" I asked myself when Edward came into the door with a familiar smell of greasy fast food. McDonald's. I wasn't really a fan of the fast food franchises, but I was hungry. Desperate times, desperate measures.

"Sorry it took so long," he apologized, setting down two cups of coffee on the table. "First, it's Sunday, and everyone and their mother decided to leave for church at the same time. Then, I didn't know what to get you when I did get there, and it was just a big fiasco."

I got up from my bed and walked over. "Why didn't you just call?" I questioned, popping the lid off of the coffee. It smelled freshly brewed. I started to pour in lots of cream and sugars into the black drink. "Aren't they supposed to make your coffee for you?"

He sighed. "Yes, they are, but I didn't know how you wanted it. And I should've just called you."

"It's okay," I assured him as I took a seat.

Edward took one look at the TV and laughed, sitting down with me. "I leave you to get food, and what do I come back to? Dora the Explorer."

I shrugged when a thought struck me. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion when I realized the flaw in Edward's speech. "Why do you know the name of this show?"

Just opening the takeout bag, he froze, probably thinking about how he should word his answer. He opened his mouth, then, closed it. "I'll take the Fifth."

I giggled and took a sip of my coffee. Of course, I was overzealous and ended up scorching my tongue.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked, trying to come to my rescue. His eyes were widened in worry, his tone approaching apprehensiveness.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Edward."

"Sorry," he whispered. He didn't move away from me until I took another sip, making sure this time I didn't harm myself. He exhaled a long breath and went back to his chair, pulling it up alongside me. "Now, this food isn't anything like Betsy's, but it's the best we can do right now."

I grinned and kissed his cheek. "I'm just glad you tried."

To my amusement, Edward started quoting Dora from the show. He and Emmett weren't that much different in this aspect. At one point, I could even bite into my hash brown with bursting into laughter. I stayed away from the coffee, thinking it would be much safer to wait for the next show to come on.

The day passed slowly. Edward received a call from Charlie, checking on me. It was happy to hear my father's voice. I sat on my bed with Edward finding a spot next to me.

"How are you holding up, Bells?"

"I'm fine, Dad. Edward is taking care of me."—I flashed a brief smile to Edward—"I want it to be over, though." That made me frown.

"I do too, hon. I do too. I spoke to your mom."

"Really? How is she?"

"She fine. A little pissed. She's on her way here to town. She wants to be with you."

"Mom…" I whispered into the phone, letting my mom ruminate on her. "When you see her, tell her that I love her very much. Tell her that I am safe, and that she doesn't need to worry about me."

Charlie chuckled. "You are always putting others before you. We're still going to worry. You're our only Bella. It would be a shame if we couldn't protect you. Don't you worry. Everything is going to be fine. I feel like we are getting close. It should only be a couple of days longer. Your old man is going to catch Damien, lock him up, and throw away the key. If he tries a thing, he'd better hope I don't have my gun on hand."

"Dad," I smiled. "Don't say those things when you don't mean them."

His tone softened. "Bells, I do mean them. I love you, though I don't say it enough—don't want to sound like a broken record." We both laughed, trying to pass a serious moment with comedic relief. "We're waiting for him to just mess up once. Then, we're pouncing, asking questions later."

"Remember that he's a broker. He has lots of connections."

"We checked out all his former clients. None of them have left their designated cities or have spoken to Damien since your…encounter with him. We checked out his family. His father has been dead for several years. Mother has remarried, living with her husband in New York. He has a brother named…"—I heard papers being flipped in the background—"Scott in California. Released on parole three years ago after serving a sentence for grand theft auto. Hasn't spoken with his brother in ten years. And get this…over a girlfriend issue. Apparently, Scott was dating a girl that was Damien's ex. The brothers had a huge fight, and the girl ended up calling the police to break up the disturbance.

"Damien also has a sister named—"

"Glenda."

"How did you know that?" Charlie's voice clicked from informative to curious.

"Damien talked about her a lot. He said she was pretty, but useless in his father's eyes." I recalled Damien discussing his sister with Renée, after mistakenly calling me by his sister's name.

"Glenda lives in Michigan with her two children. We tried to speak to her, but she didn't want to have anything to do with her family. She was trying to move on from their traumatic childhood just like they were."

"Wow…"

"We did some digging on his parents. We found out that Damien's father was an alcoholic, very abuse with his sons. Glenda was never physically abused by her father, but was verbally assaulted. Their father Jonathan owned a brokerage, hoping that one of his boys would rise up and take it over. Damien's mother reported that it got so bad when the business slowed, that she got divorced and moved left for New York. She remarried, but Damien didn't like his stepfather and rebelled, so he moved back with his father, enduring the violence in exchange for education and the business. Damien's father died suddenly of heart failure, leaving Damien to inherit everything—the business, cars, home."

"Yeah, I knew his father died. But he didn't take about the abuse with Renée. What happened?"

"Nothing. And that's scaring me. Damien flew underneath the radar for years, getting his records in order in the preparation to meet someone special…your mother. While Damien was dating Renée, there was speculation that his business wasn't as honest as it should have been. The day his business fell into government hands was the same day he came over and assaulted you. Renée filed a report, but Damien had fled town. She didn't want to worry you, but she kept watching, still filing for a restraining order. She had called me to inform me on the status of Damien when you answered the phone that one day."

"Oh, I remember." That was when Edward and I were fighting after I had kissed Dan. The big blow-up.

"Anyway, we're going to catch him. Your father is going to catch this guy who has mistreated you."

"Thank you. Love you, daddy," I whispered, feeling like a little girl again. I just wanted to be the little girl who could hide behind her father's leg, watching him shoo away a neighbor's scary dog.

"Love you, Bells."

Breathing deeply, I handed the phone back to Edward. Something wasn't sitting right with me with Damien's story. We had the abusive father, the mother who remarried, the lost love. We had the reason why he was so crazy and clingy. But something was out of place. Just like a puzzle, something was refusing to fall into place.

Edward rose from the bed, turning the T.V., trying to find something to occupy his time. "That guy is crazy. All those things that happened to him, and he takes it out on a young girl. I am surprised he didn't hit your mother. I mean, I'm not saying that he should have touched your mother, but he shouldn't have touched you."

"Yeah." My voice was with Edward but my thoughts were my own. "It's kinda scary in a way how he just disappeared. No one can track him. No one knows the full extent of his history. Fights with his brother. His sister isn't talking." What was wrong? This question was eating at me when a solution popped into my head. "Edward…" I spoke slowly.

He kept his eyes on the glowing tube, bored with the selection. "Yes, love?"

"Do you…do you think we can fly out to Arizona?" I asked tentatively. Maybe wasn't really listening to me. Maybe was going to ignore what I said, passing it off.

Quickly, almost too fast, Edward snapped his eyes, fixing them in a cold stare at me. Maybe he did listen. "What?! Have you gone mad?!" he retorted.

I shook my head, ignoring his outburst, staring in the distance like Alice. "No…" Damien was here. I would be safe. He wouldn't suspect a thing.

"Then, why would you insist on going out to Arizona?"

I swallowed. "Edward, I need to do something."

A/N: I am ready to finish this. This mystery thing is too interesting to let hang. The next chapter is already in progress. More than 2,000 words in...and not half way done.