Disclaimer: SM owns all things Twilight. I own the rest of the words, and brownie mix that's staring at me, begging to be brought to its full potential ;)

A/N: Thank you to my Beta, timeaovergain, for giving this the onceover. And huge thanks and mad love to my awesome pre-readers and hand holders, CatMasters, Hev99, and Nostalgicmiss. You are all rock stars!

Happy early birthday to Weezy (Nostalgicmiss)! This one's for you doll!

*W*A*R*N*I*N*G* This chapter contains violence

Chapter 26: Tattle Tail

EPOV

Once outside the office, my siblings scrambled to get out of my way as I hurried past with Bella's limp form. They may have even tried to speak to me but my sole focus was on the girl I carried, and getting her as far removed from the nightmare she just endured as possible. As I entered her bedroom I could just start to hear the commotion start up down the hall, so I kicked the door shut to block it out. My girl had had more than enough for one day.

She clung to my neck as I sat on the edge of her bed, but it was an unnecessary gesture; there was no way I was letting go of her. She was trembling, and her eyes were glossy, as if she was a million miles away. How could he have been so stupid as to touch her, when she was obviously in no condition to even be talked to? My anger bubbled as I thought of what Agent Dwyer did. I mean, logically I guess I can see that he felt bad about what happened to her and wanted to offer his too little, too late apology, but that's no excuse. He must've been out sick the day they taught the how to deal with trauma victims class at the academy.

Bella stirred and whimpered; the sound of which was so heartbreaking that it was all I could do not to lose the strength in my limbs. After a moment, I recovered and began to hum her song as I held just a bit tighter and rocked her. She seemed so small curled in on herself as she was, and my chest swelled in determination to keep her safe, so much so that I think I actually growled a bit when I heard the light knock on the door. I glared at the doorknob as it slowly twisted and prepared to fight whoever it was if they thought they were going to come anywhere near Bella, but my jaw unclenched and the air in my lungs was expelled as Alice's face peeked around the door. Her look of concern was not surprising, but I couldn't quite figure out why she also looked apologetic.

"How is she?" she whispered. I didn't want to disturb Bella, and I'm not sure I had any words to offer anyway, so I simply shook my head.

Alice sighed as she eased herself all the way into the room before passing along my head shake to whoever was out in the hallway. I could hear muffled protests as she began to close the door, but she silenced them with a look before she clicked the door shut. Turning back to face us, she scooted over to the bed and climbed up so that she could gently rub the back of Bella's hands in an effort to get her to relax her grip a little. My sister has amazed me with her compassion many times over the years, but seeing her with Bella, being so tireless in her efforts and how gentle and patient she is with her has raised her to a whole new level of amazing in my book. But why did she still look guilty? Still not ready to speak, I raised my eyebrows at her in silent question. I knew she understood because she looked away, but not before I saw her face betray an even deeper level of guilt that I had previously imagined.

"Edward, I'm sorry." Her voice was so small, but I could almost feel her revving up for one of her famous one breath rants. "It's just that Mom and Dad know about the intercom, and it's all my fault. They were talking about what happened and asked how you knew to come in, and I said that we heard Bella screaming, completely forgetting about the whole dad's-office-is-sound-proof thing like an idiot, and they said 'How did you hear?' and I knew we were busted so I just admitted what we did. I'm really sorry."

I shook my head slightly to clear the slight dizziness that always comes with Alice's lightning fast word slinging. But after seeing how bad she felt I could no longer stay silent.

"It's not your fault Alice, don't feel bad. The intercom thing was my idea and I'll take full responsibility. Besides, it's not like we really could've kept it a secret. How mad are they?"

"Hard to tell. They're being pretty reserved right now, which means it could go either way. With any luck, they'll be so wiped out from this afternoon that they'll just let it slide."

I gave her a skeptical look before we both said, "Doubt it," at the same time, after which neither one of us could help the small smirk on our faces. But as Bella stirred again, any trace of humor, no matter how remote, left instantly, and for the first time since she came in the room I could see just how upset Alice was over what we heard today.

"Hey," I said softly. "You ok?"

"How can I be?" There was such deep sadness in her voice, accentuated by the lone tear that rolled silently down her cheek. I wanted to comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be fine, but was it? I wanted to believe that, but I also knew that the haunted look in Alice's eyes was merely a preview of what mine must look like.

We sat in silence for a long while as the last few hours washed over us, I'm not sure what it was like for Alice (though by the look on her face it was far from pleasant), but for me it was like being bathed in acid, eating me from the inside out until I was nothing but a hollow shell. It was all so overwhelming to think about that I had to concentrate on not thinking at all. And if it was this hard for me, how hard must it be for Bella?

I looked down at her. She trembled slightly from time to time, which was an improvement, but her face carried that same empty look she had after she had first come here. Glazed eyes, a perpetually furrowed brow, pursed lips as if they were on constant guard to encase a scream. I kissed her forehead and rubbed my thumb over her tense brow, but there was no relaxing where she was. I wasn't sure where her mind had taken her. All I knew was that it was far away from here and it was killing me that I couldn't go in after her.

I watched as her eyelids blinked slower and slower, until finally, they simply stayed shut. Her breathing evened out and with the exception of an odd twitch here and there, she seemed pretty well under. As per her usual though, even in sleep her brow never relaxed. I sighed. With her now resting, it was like someone pulled the plug on my power source and I could feel myself slowly shutting down as my adrenaline drained. Alice looked exhausted too, so I asked her to help me get Bella settled into bed before she fell asleep as well.

Getting Bella settled turned out to be harder than I thought; because even in sleep she wouldn't relax the death-grip she had on my shirt. Alice and I made several attempts to loosen her hands, but each resulted in Bella panicking in her sleep. Not wanting her to wake up, we finally waved the white flag and I laid down next to her. She was facing me and curled in, and Alice, who had stifled more yawns than I could count, nestled down so that she was back to back with Bella. I know she stayed because she couldn't bear to leave her friend, but right then all I could feel was grateful that she stayed for me. I was scared of what would happen when Bella woke up and so I really appreciated that Alice would still be there when it happened.

At some point, my mom peeked in. She raised her eyebrows at the sight of me in Bella's bed with her, but I just gestured to her iron clad grip on my shirt and shrugged. She simply nodded and left without a word. Confident that mom would pass the word along that Bella was resting as comfortable as possible, I allowed my eyes to close.

BPOV

I stood just inside the door of my house, but it felt different somehow. This wasn't the cold, cruel edifice of recent years; it felt more like the warm, inviting and safe home of my youth. Still, it was with cautious steps that I moved forward slowly as my nose was suddenly infiltrated with the unmistakable scent of my gran's famous oatmeal raisin cookies. Cinnamon and sugar danced and swirled, filling me with joyful memories of long afternoons baking with my mom... Mom! My pace quickened and my heart pounded as I made my way towards the kitchen, daring to believe for just a moment that a miracle had occurred. And when I rounded the corner I was not disappointed. It was her, standing in her purple apron adorned with smaller versions of my hands in yellow paint, casually dropping small heaps of mixture onto the waiting baking tray and chatting with...Esme? That's odd, but I don't really care. My mom is here!

Wiping at my eyes to clear the annoying moisture that was obstructing my view, I took a step closer. Noticing my movement, she turned, her face breaking into the smile that lit my world for twelve years.

"Mom!" I cried as I ran the short distance between us and threw myself into her arms. Melting into her embrace, I could smell her floral perfume mixed with the cookies, and I began to sob. I never thought I would have this again. I instantly felt safe, and loved, as though the last five years didn't happen.

"Hey now, what's all this?" her voice soothed as she stroked my hair.

"I've missed you, mom," I whispered.

"Oh, sweetheart, I've missed you too."

I could've lived in her arms forever. I was completely lost in our euphoric reunion, so much so that it wasn't until I heard Esme say, "Don't worry, I've got it," that I even noticed the oven timer blaring its announcement that the next round of cookies was done. I looked up at my mom in confusion before she explained that she was teaching Esme how to make gran's cookies. I wanted to question why, but before I could, Emmett came crashing into the kitchen.

"I heard the timer, where are they?" he demanded. He had a wild sort of look in his eyes as he searched for his prey, and as he spotted the fresh tray of cookies I could swear he actually drooled a bit. I couldn't suppress my giggle at how ridiculous he looked, causing him to notice me for the first time.

"Oh hey, Bella! You know I love ya, but don't even think about getting between me and those sweet morsels of deliciousness."

"I wouldn't dream of it, big guy," I replied, holding my hands up in surrender.

"Don't worry squirt, I'll hide you some so you get more than the others," he said in hushed tones conspiratorially with a wink. "By the way, Eddie boy was lookin' for ya."

I looked at my mom with the frightened anxiety of a small child separating from her mother on the first day of school, and she chuckled.

"Honestly, Bella, what's gotten in to you? Go find Edward before Emmett eats all the cookies."

"Hey!" Emmett began to protest, before shrugging and nodding at the probable truth of the statement.

I didn't want to leave my mom for fear she would disappear, but as I looked back over my shoulder at her longingly, she just smiled and encouraged me to go to Edward.

"Go on sweetheart, I'll be right here. I'm always here."

Emmett rushed past me then, his arms curled protectively around a plate containing at least two dozen cookies on it.

"These are mine, suckers! Don't even think about touchin' em. Get your own!" he announced as he disappeared into the family room. Casting one more look at my mother, taking in the warmth she radiated, I saw her nod in encouragement. So with a deep breath, I turned and followed Emmett.

Walking into the family room, I was surprised to see it so full. Emmett was sitting next to Rose, who is probably the only person on who could've managed to get the cookie she was holding away from Emmett. He was stuffing his face with one hand and slapping away Jasper's hand with the other. Alice sat on the floor next to Jasper's feet flipping through a fashion magazine, completely disinterested in the football game on the TV. Carlisle stood in the corner talking animatedly with Dr. Masen about some new piece of equipment he'd finally secured for the hospital. But what surprised me most was seeing Phil on the other couch, cheering on his team with Marcus and Harry, the rest of Charlie's old squad. Even Agent Morrison was there, enjoying the jovial atmosphere. But even with all these people here, the only one I truly wanted wasn't among them.

"Has anyone seen Edward?" I threw out to anyone who would listen. It was Jasper who answered.

"He said he was goin' to check upstairs for you."

"Thanks," I offered as I headed back out of the room. My heart was joyful as I headed up the stairs. This was once again the house of my childhood, full of laughter and love. So lost was I in my thoughts of peace that I was taken completely off guard as I was grabbed from behind. All at once, one arm locked around my torso as a large hand clamped over my mouth. It took a moment for the shock to wear off before I began my futile struggle, as an all too familiar fear ripped through me. He was so strong, and as soon as I felt the badge digging into my back and smelled the stench of alcohol, I knew. Charlie.

I wanted to ask him why he was still so cruel when clearly mom was just downstairs, but I didn't get the chance as he pulled me into my room and pushed the door shut behind him. It was in that moment that my heart stopped beating. Edward was on his knees before me. One arm held by Alec, the other by Laurent. James paced behind him tapping his nightstick in his hand. It was once again covered in blood, but this time it was Edward's. He groaned in pain as James grabbed his hair and jerked his head up so he would look at me. When our eyes met, I could see nothing but fear. But it wasn't fear for himself, he was very clearly only afraid for me. This I know, because I was feeling the exact same thing.

"Look at her, Eddie," James hissed in his ear. "Your little girlfriend is nothing but my whore!"

Edward's face darkened with anger. His jaw clenched and his nostrils flared as blood ran freely from his nose and a gash above his left eye. I tried to shake my head, hoping he would understand that I wanted him to cooperate and not fight, but James continued to taunt him and I could see the rage growing within him.

"How does it feel, lover boy, to know you have my sloppy seconds? She was good lay though, I'll give her that." And then he bent down and whispered in Edward's ear, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "I love it when they fight."

Upon hearing those words Edward threw his head back into James' with a sickening crack. Blood began to pour from James' obviously broken nose. He growled in anger as he ordered the other two to hold him tighter as he began his assault with his nightstick. I began to scream into Charlie's hand, which only resulted in him twisting my arm painfully behind my back to the point that I thought it might break. But I didn't care. He could break my arm a hundred times if it meant James would stop hitting Edward. Every thwack of the rod was a dagger in my heart. Finally, mercifully, he stopped. Edward moaned in pain before coughing up a large amount of blood.

Tears rushed down my face as I once again struggled against Charlie's grip. They were all laughing now as they watched my desperate attempts to reach my love. Charlie's breath was suddenly hot on my neck as I heard him in my ear.

"Wanna see what happens when you tell?"

Then, to my absolute horror, Charlie nodded to James, who then removed his handgun from his holster and placed the muzzle on the back of Edward's head. Ice ran down my spine, as my eyes bugged out in terror. I was no longer struggling. I didn't want to give them any cause to do this, but it didn't matter. Edward raised his head just enough to give me a look full of love and remorse before I heard the shot. Warm liquid hit my face and body, and as I quickly registered that this was Edward's blood, I lost it. I screamed and flailed, but instead of just letting me go, Charlie shoved me down on top of Edward's now lifeless body. Clinging to him, grief poured over me like hot lava.

"You shouldn't have told anyone, Isabella. You have no one but yourself to blame," he said to me before turning to his men. "Finish them all."

The three others ran down the stairs. I was only confused for a moment before there was no room for misunderstanding. As the gunshots began to ring out, I felt the first lash of the belt land on my back as I lay over Edward's dead body. I screamed with my family until I was the only one left screaming.

But terror reached a whole new level as the intact half of Edward's head began speaking to me.

"Bella, wake up!"

A/N: Thanks for reading! :)