Bella

"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry Bella!" Alice gasped as Edward bundled her back out of the room at speed, muttering something incomprehensible under his breath.

He followed her out of the bedroom and pulled the door closed behind them, leaving me alone, blushing from head to toe and gasping for breath. I tentatively unwrapped myself from the sheet, listening for the telltale click of the door handle, quickly retrieving my tank from the floor and pulling it on over my head.

It appeared that, once again, my self-control had failed me when it came to Edward Cullen. I wondered whether, if Alice hadn't appeared when she had, things would have gone even further. I doubted that I would have stopped us but would Edward have? I knew he worried about hurting me not that, in the throes of passion – as Renee would call it, urgh - I cared about a few bruises or pains.

The door creaked open again and Edward's dishevelled hair entered closely followed by the rest of his head, peeking around at me sheepishly.

"It's ok, I'm decent," I smiled, indicating my reclaimed top. He grinned and slipped back in to the room. He tried to push the door shut but met with resistance – Alice's hand was pressed up against the outside.

"I'm so sorry Bella," she grimaced, "I didn't know…"

"Al, please, you're just making things worse," Edward groaned.

"It's fine Alice, no worries," I replied, "is everything alright? Are the others in some kind of trouble?"

Ignoring Edward's protests his sister barged her way in to the room then, darting over to sit on the edge of the bed. She twisted a large diamond ring on her finger absentmindedly.

"From what I can see it's all fine, of course Carlisle knows Aro and his cronies well enough to know how to deal with them. And Jasper should be able to help things…" her voice trailed off and I could see that despite her outward confidence she was worried for Jasper.

"I'm sure he'll be fine Alice," I soothed. I wasn't in the least sure of course but it seemed to be the right thing to say.

"I know, I know," she sighed, shaking her spiky head, "I just hate being away from him. I know that they all rely so much on Edward and I. The thought of them being without us when Aro and Caius and Marcus are there…" she seemed to shiver at the thought.

"Alice can't see the outcome of the meeting," Edward explained. Leaning against the wall, as arms folded over his naked torso he looked, utterly, utterly hot. I shook my head in annoyance at myself – so not the time Bella.

"I can only see that they'll arrive within the next twenty-four hours, but until they've spoken to Carlisle and the others I can't know what they'll decide to do, what information they might get out of them."

"They've no information to give," Edward interrupted, "they don't know where we are, even using his powers Aro can't find out."

Alice rolled her eyes, "I'm sure that they'll just give up Edward, it's not like they can track us or anything."

"Track us?" I asked, suddenly feeling very much like a deer in the forest being chased by hunters with big old shotguns.

"Hmm," Alice sighed, "trackers have their own special abilities. They can find anybody, anywhere. No matter how hard we try to hide they'll find us."

"Then why are we even trying?" Was Alice really saying that this whole trip was completely pointless?

She glanced at Edward who ran a hand through his already untidy hair, "we have unique abilities between the two of us…no tracker has ever tried to find either Alice or I before…"

"Edward thinks that between us we can stay one step ahead."

"And they'll eventually give up?"

There was a silence, Alice staring at Edward, an eyebrow raised.

"I…I hope so…"

"To be honest Bella all we've really done is buy ourselves a little extra time," Alice whispered, "the Volturi don't really give up."

My mind was whirring with questions. I had been under the impression that we were escaping, finding somewhere safe to stay until all this blew over.

"You might have all the time in the world to play hide and seek but I don't."

"Exactly what I've been telling Edward," Alice widened her eyes in his directions.

He pushed himself away from the wall and began stalking the length of the room liked an angry caged lion. A hot, angry, caged lion.

"I know Alice," he raised his voice, "I'm thinking alright?"

"Fine," she huffed, standing up and making for the exit, "but we haven't got long. I mean it Edward, we need a plan and we need one soon."

After Alice swept dramatically out of the room I fell back in to bed, sheepishly asking Edward to lie with me. Although my mind was full of horrific images of angered law-making vampires and spooky Egyptian mansions I somehow slept extremely well pressed in to the cool stone of his side, my head on his chest, rising and falling with his breath. The last thing I remembered feeling before I drifted in to my dreamless sleep was his lips moving against the top of my head, as if he was silently singing me to sleep.

Emmett

"No Emmett, I do not want anybody out there alone until the Volturi are done with their visit," Carlisle was totally eyeballing me from across the table.

"Fine," I crossed my arms over my chest, flexing a tricep or two for effect, "but know that I'm extremely insulted."

"Sweetheart," Esme started stroking my arm lightly, eliciting a sharp look from Rose. Euwwww, Esme was like my mom. Sometimes my girl totally took the jealously thing too far. "I'd feel much safer having you with me when I'm out hunting, or with Rosalie."

Oh, smooth.

Rose tutted, "I don't need protecting," she huffed. Huh, not so smooth after all.

I grinned at Rose, ruffling her perfect hair, "but I wouldn't leave my poor little girl wandering the forest alone while the big bad vampires are out there would I now?"

"Urgh," she screeched, batting my hand away angrily, "get off me you…you caveman!"

"Gees, kidding baby!" I chuckled, pulling my chair closer to her, "would you rather I didn't care?"

She softened visibly, scooching over to perch herself on my lap, grinding a little bit on purpose. Niiiice.

Jazz raised an eyebrow in disgust while Carlisle continued laying down Cullen law.

"Just because you're not getting any man," I whispered in Jazz's direction.

"Enough Emmett," Carlisle shouted. He didn't often lose it but I had to admit that when he did it was usually with me. Oops.

"Sorry," I muttered, not very sincerely.

"Emmett, this is a dire situation, please take it seriously."

"I know, I know…I just need to get out man," I was whining a little bit but I was getting real hungry.

"Jasper needs to hunt too," Carlisle pointed out, "go together but please, please be vigilant."

Jazz stood and saluted, soldier style. I scoffed at the move, he could be such a douchebag sometimes.

"Come on then Sergeant Major Doofus, let's do this!" I raced him to the door, catapulting myself out in to the garden and quickly in to the woodlands beyond, already aware of nothing besides the sounds and smells of the wilderness, the town already a faint murmur in the distance.

We hunted separately but kept tags on each other, sometimes crossing paths, fighting it out over the odd animal – not because there wasn't enough to go around but because Jazz and I both liked a bit of competition from time to time.

So full of warm animal blood I was sloshing I watched as Jazz finished off a last moose, crouching over it on the ground while I swung from the branch of a tree, watching him.

"What do you reckon on this whole Volturi deal then?" he asked, wiping his sleeve across his mouth.

"I dunno dude, Carlisle's totally losing it on this one. Do you think they care about Edward that much?"

He shrugged, swinging up in to the tree above me, the drained moose carcass dragging behind him from under an arm.

"They might do Em," Jazz knew more about the Volturi guys than I did, he'd been in all sorts of shit with them over the years, "Edward's going to have seriously pissed them off with this one."

He hefted the dead moose over his head and aimed, launching it between trees towards the lake in the distance. We both listened for the telltale splash before hopping down from the tree and taking off at a run, this time side by side.

"But Edward's stuff isn't anything to do with us," I complained.

"As far as the Volturi are concerned we're his coven. His mistakes are our mistakes."

"Edward's such a douche man, I mean all this Bella stuff it's so damn weird."

"Yeah but he's our brother, he looks out for us, we look out for him…"

Jazz trailed off, slowing up to a jog all of a sudden. I started to ask him what was up but he put his palm up, stopping me before I said anything.

Then he stopped, crouching down close to the damp ground. I followed Jazz's lead and it was then, crouching like a pair of idiots that I noticed it – the smell - beyond the leaf mould and the moss was a distinct aroma.

"Other vampires?" I hissed, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end, thrill pumping through me.

Jazz nodded, "the Volturi," he explained thoughtfully, "I recognise Aro…Marcus…and Caius. Definitely."

"There are two others," I told him, confused, it wasn't like him to miss things like that.

"I know man," he whispered, "I don't know who they are though."

Ah.

"So three old vamps and two others? Let's finish it once and for all dude," I raised my hand ready for a high five, "don't leave me hanging Hale!"

"Even if we could – and we have no idea who the other two are by the way – Carlisle would kill us Em."

Damn it! How was Jasper always right about shit? I knew he wanted to take on the Volturi as much as I did but he was working his zen thing, all 'doing the right thing' and 'thinking it through'… still, he was right, Carlisle would totally freak out if we took out the old guys.

"So what then Yoda?" I hissed, "do we head back and warn the others?"

Pushing his hair back in to a ponytail and pulling a band round it – one of Alice's pink ones I noticed, filing the information for future ribbing – Jazz indicated that I should follow him, moving forward, low to the ground.

We kept out of the way of the approaching vamps, circling them at a distance as they moved West, towards Bethlehem. We jumped in and out of trees, laid low in bushes and slipped in to streams to avoid detection, always keeping their scent at arms length, pretty sure that we were off their radar. Jazz was good at that stealthy stuff so I just followed his lead. My instinct was usually to storm in like a Grizzly being poked with a stick. It was a useful talent when someone needed shitting up but in this case it was probably better to go down the Captain Jazz route.

"They're getting too close to town," he hissed, after we'd been stalking for maybe an hour.

"So what?"

"So I think we need to get back to the others, let them know what's going on."

I saluted, "whatever you say Oh Wise One."

We ran, top speed, back to the house, keeping silent until we reached the gardens. I grimaced as I barrelled through a rose bush, knowing that Esme wouldn't be too impressed with the mess I'd made. I stopped a moment to try and put things back where they were and kind of…puff up the plant a bit to fill in the gaps. It was pretty useless so I just scuffed the dropped pink petals in to the ground instead and followed Jazz inside.

He was already debriefing when I hopped through the door, brushing leaves and dirt off of me as I went.

While Jazz filled them in on the situation – how fast the Volturi were moving, how many were coming and from which direction – Carlisle paced the room, running his hands through his hair nervously. He was normally all cool and collected so it didn't look to be a great sign.

Esme was still as a statue, her face all kind of…nothing…while she listened to Jasper really carefully. Rose, who I leaned up next to was sat on the kitchen counter, swinging her legs, frowning and, I could tell, super pissed. For a change. She was still pretty angry with Edward, more so than the rest of us. There was a long history between the two of them, all of it involving one being pretty heavily ticked off with the other and Edward had definitely not helped matters with his big Bella Swan flip out.

I was pretty sure that Rose would stand by him in front of the Volturi but there was a possibility, just a small one but a possibility none the less, that he might have burned all his bridges there.

"I suggest that we head them off at the pass, I am not in the least happy about having Aro and his ilk so close to town," Carlisle was mobilising the troops already, "please let me do the talking, stay calm and please, please don't antagonise them."

Was he looking at me? Like I'd…ok, I'd totally antagonise the Volturi given half a chance.

"We don't have any information which will help them to find Edward and Alice so we needn't worry that we're in any danger, is that right Jasper?"

I caught Carlisle's meaning – he wasn't checking that Jazz agreed but making sure that he hadn't gotten in touch with Alice.

He hadn't of course, Jazz would do anything to keep his girl safe, even if she was the most irritating, high pitched little pixie in all of the continental US.

"Let's do this!" I whooped, leading the pack back out of the door, Rose right behind me while Jazz took the rear, behind the old folks.

We took it easy, not wanting to look too panicked in front of the Volturi, Carlisle giving us titbits of information as we ran – it was mostly stuff we knew; how Aro's mind reading worked, that Caius was probably going to be the hardest to keep from wanting to do something drastic, which members of the guard they likely had with them.

It didn't take long to catch up to them.

"Carlisle, what a surprise!" Aro spoke as if he was delighted to see us emerge from the cover of the trees.

I half listened to their exchange as I took in the five vampires in front of us, sizing them up. Aside from Aro, Marcus and Caius, who I could snap like twigs, there was a little boy hiding under a hood – no problemo – and another guy.

The dude was huge. Like, me-huge, and all muscle and steel. Man, if only Carlisle would give the nod I'd have loved nothing more than a little one-on-one, mano-a-mano with the guy. But, of course, Carlisle was busy being polite.

"A surprise Aro? I had assumed that you were in the area to see me."

Aro chuckled lightly, which was kind of spooky, "ah, you see right through me as always Carlisle."

He was peering at each of us one by one, looking for something. Caius stood to one side, his face twisted in to a nasty smile while Marcus just looked really damn bored. Volturi-Emmett was glowering at me, checking over the old muscles and weighing me up. Good.

"In fact," Aro moved closer to Carlisle, grasping his hand in a tight hold, "though it is wonderful, truly, to see you again old friend and your beautiful wife," he leered at Esme who smiled tightly, like she might knee him right in the balls if he touched her, "I had hoped to speak with your son…"

He trailed off looking at first me and then Jasper, "although I see that the one I require is missing…"

"Edward?" Carlisle asked innocently.

"Hmm," Aro mused, "two are missing from your midst Carlisle. Has the coven split?"

"Edward and Alice aren't with us at the moment, no."

I caught sight of the sneer on Caius's face, his nostrils flared wide and he bared his teeth, I stared him down, widening my shoulders in a nice, subtle threat.

"Such a shame, they're always so…" Aro searched for the right word, "entertaining."

"They knew we were coming," Caius snarled, "do they think they can hide?"

"Forgive me," Carlisle shook his head in pretend confusion, "were you looking for Edward for a particular reason?"

"I think you know that we are Carlisle," Caius was getting really angry, his fists curling in to balls at his side.

"I'm afraid that we are here on official business," Aro confirmed, his voice still friendly, "we will need to see Edward as soon as possible."

"Ah, I suppose you're here about his…shall we say, slip?"

"You are aware that there is some talk amongst humans then Carlisle? Talk about Edward?"

Carlisle nodded sadly, "yes, unfortunately mistakes have been made. Of course we are more than willing to make amends where necessary."

"Where is the boy Carlisle?" Marcus droned, looking like he wanted to get it all over with and get home in time for the game.

"I'm afraid Marcus that, just at the moment, Edward is not with us."

"Is he at your home? Perhaps you could lead us there?" Aro patted Caius's hand lightly, looking as if he might be trying to calm him down.

"Actually, Edward and Alice have left us," Carlisle explained, "and while you are of course welcome in our home I'm afraid that I won't be able to give you any information on their whereabouts."

"Is that so?" Aro looked doubtful, "are you to have us believe that they've left without a forwarding address? And your sweet little psychic without her mate?" he indicated Jasper.

Carlisle stepped forward, holding his hand out, this was the bit that gave me the willies – Aro could see all your thoughts, ever, just by touching you. It was like Edward times a hundred and even creepier.

Aro met Carlisle half way, grasping his proferred hand between both of his own. They stood in silence, staring in to each others faces, Carlisle's the picture of serenity, Aro's a study in impassiveness.

I watched as the Volturi leader's expression faltered. Moments later he dropped Carlisle's hand and turned his back to him.

"Well my dears, it appears that our friend speaks the truth. These five can give us no information on the whereabouts of their lapsed member."

Suddenly the small boy spoke – or the hooded figure I'd taken to be a young boy – the voice was high and reedy and distinctly feminine.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance?"

Aro looked at her…or him? Whatever it was, "no, no dear one. I'm afraid there's no need for you to intervene just now."

The small person stamped a foot in frustration. Definitely a girl then, it was a move that I'd seen Rose and Alice pull a thousand times before.

"You see the problem I have I'm sure Carlisle?" Aro had turned back around to face us, "Edward has, as you're no doubt aware, broken our most important rule. And there is, I now realise, more danger than we first realised. Does your son have a problem with keeping secrets?"

"Of course he doesn't!" Esme suddenly spoke, angry at the suggestion.

Aro held both his hands up in surrender, "do accept my apologies Esme – as stunning as ever if I may say so – but you must be aware that we have more to worry about than just the gossip I originally desired to speak about."

"Shit," I muttered, we knew he'd find out but that didn't mean we hadn't hoped that it would pass him by.

"I see that your merry band of two has recruited a third member?"

"Quite true Aro," Carlisle confirmed, "but she is of no threat to any of us. She is as committed to keeping the secret as any of us."

"What's this?" Caius growled, his eyes narrowing.

"It would appear," Aro drawled, a smile playing at the corner of his lips – God, he was such a shit! "that the mindreader and the psychic have made a friend. A human friend."

"What?" Caius's bellow bounced off the trees, making Rose wince next to me.

"She is Edward's mate. It really appears to be quite a fascinating situation."

"As such," Carlisle noted, "it is perhaps forgivable? I am absolutely positive that Bella poses no threat to any of us Aro."

"Rules are rules," Marcus sighed.

"I quite understand. Perhaps we might discuss this back at the house?" Carlisle offered, beginning to turn back.

"I'm afraid, Carlisle, Esme, that while nothing would please me more than to – what is it that these American's say? - shoot the breeze with you, it appears that we have rather more work to see to than first anticipated."

Aro's meaning was clear. I bristled at his words, moving slightly forward. The big Volturi vamp matched my movement. Dude was good.

"If you're sure?" Carlisle deflated a little bit but continued, "do let me assure you, my oldest friends, that I can vouch for both Bella and Edward. Neither have any intention of breaking any rules."

"I'm afraid the rules have already been broken Carlisle, the Swan child aside."

Esme whimpered, knowing that Aro intended to make Edward pay regardless of Carlisle's assurances.

"What if he agreed to change her?"

Jasper and I both gaped at Rose. What the hell was she on about?

"If Bella was one of us? Then no rules would be broken."

Aro considered for a moment, "no, I suppose that we could be satisfied that Miss Swan posed no threat. But I'm afraid that it would not resolve the original issue of the New York publicity."

"But…"

Aro held his hand up to silence Rose and she raised sarcastic eyebrows at him. I wanted to do her right there and then, my girl was so hot when she was feisty. I saved it for later though, thinking that a porno floor show probably wouldn't be all that popular just then.

"Please, Carlisle, should you hear from Edward please do contact us as soon as possible. Although regardless, I shall be on the lookout for him myself – Demetri I think?" he smiled around at his little group – whoever this Demetri dude was he didn't sound like good news for Edward. Jasper's slow head shake confirmed it.

"Of course," Carlisle maintained the friendly tone he had used throughout the exchange, somehow, "and of course if we can help in any other way please don't hesitate…"

"I'm sure we shall be together again very soon," Aro made his meaning pretty clear, "now if you'll excuse us we have some business to attend to in New York."

Esme turned her head away so the Volturi couldn't see her close her eyes in pain. We all knew that the girl from the paper, Edward's one-that-got-away was about to meet a sticky end.

Throwing out some fake farewells, Aro and his creepy coven melted back in to the forest, on their way to dish out some 'justice' Volturi-style.

Carlisle visibly sagged as they left, pulling Esme towards him. She buried her face in his chest, letting a sob leave her body as she did.

"You rocked it babe," I slapped Rose on the ass, totally proud of her.

"Whatever," she replied, "I just didn't want to look at their disgusting faces any more."

We started back towards the house, Jazz and I hanging back behind Esme and Carlisle and Rose who seemed eager to be out of the forest all of a sudden.

"What's Demetri dude?" I whispered, swinging myself over a fallen tree.

"He's the Volturi's best tracker," Jasper grimaced, he kicked a boulder, hard, and it split in two, right down the middle, "fucking Edward!"

"Woah!" I stopped, placing a palm on his chest to stop him from causing any more damage.

He sank to the floor, his hands covering his face, "how the hell is Alice going to get out of this one? I don't even know where she is."

A/N: please please leave your reviews - I do read them all even though I don't have time to reply! I'd love to know what you think of Emmett, I really enjoyed writing him!

I know a few of you had doubts about Alice and Edward doing a runner...hopefully you can see know that the Cullens are clutching at straws a bit, coming up with a plan isn't always that simple is it? EQ xxx