Disclaimer: All things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer. I own the rest of the words that I blasted out a very large writer's block.

A/N: **IMPORTANT** PLEASE read the A/N at the bottom. Thank you.


Chapter 28: Belonging

EPOV

On the day my grounding came to an end, I was sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast. Bella was still asleep and everyone except Alice had come down to grab their various meals before we headed off to school. It was still brutally hard to leave Bella everyday to join the masses of naive students who lived fairy tale lives where monsters don't exist. They had no idea that the evil of their nightmares lived right in their own backyards, and the sound of their inane chatter about parties, clothes, and the latest trend in anything was enough to make me want to scream. And to think that these pathetic little vermin had placed themselves as stronger and more important than Bella in the world of hormones and football scores was laughable. They didn't have a clue what was truly important or what true strength was. Bella had more strength in her little finger than the rest of the school's population combined.

"Yo, Ed," Emmett said while waving a hand in front of my face. "What'd that fork ever do to you?"

I blinked a couple times as I was brought out of my thoughts, and looked down to see my hand gripping my fork so tightly that all the tendons in my hand were visible. Sighing, I released the fork and flexed my hand a few times to get the blood flowing again. I waited for Emmett to make some sort of snide comment, but instead he just shook his head and returned to shoveling his food in. Rosalie was watching him with a sickened look on her face before she rolled her eyes and turned to me.

"Edward, I've been thinking... Seriously Emmett! You have teeth for a reason. Use them!"

"Sorry, babe," Emmett mumbled with his mouth full. Rose made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat before returning her attention to me.

"Anyway, as I was saying before being overcome by Emmett eating out of his trough, I've been thinking. And I think it's time to get Bella out of the house."

I just stared at here dumbly for a moment. "You mean like what? Taking her out for walks or something?"

"No, doofus. I mean like taking her out, out. You know, like out? To dinner or a movie or something?"

"Like a date?"

"Who's going on a date?" Alice asked excitedly as she danced lightly across the kitchen to pop a bagel in the toaster.

"Well," Rosalie started as she got up to take her plate to the sink. "If we can reduce the density of Edward's skull, I'd like to think that all of us are."

"Oooh! That'd be awesome!" Alice exclaimed, kissing Jasper on the cheek as she passed him to get some juice.

"I'm just not sure that's such a good idea, Rose. I mean, I'm not sure Bella's up for it." I countered.

"Trust me, Edward. She needs this, whether she thinks she does or not. And quite honestly, we could all use the break."

I had to admit, the thought of taking Bella out was very appealing, but was she really ready? She still seemed so afraid of her own shadow, how would she handle being outside of the walls that had protected her these last few weeks? My brow furrowed as I tried to think through all the possible scenarios.

"I know that look, Edward." Rose's voice had a bit of an edge to it now, her patience already having been tested by Emmett's lack of table manners. "Stop over-thinking this. I know what I'm talking about, because I made this same mistake. The more she stays locked away in this house, the harder it's going to be to get her out. And I'm not talking about shoving her out the door by herself; I was thinking the six of us could go somewhere together. You know, safety in numbers and all that?"

"Yeah, but what about her dad and the rest of Forks' finest? Shouldn't we wait until they're all locked up?"

"You heard what Agent Dwyer told us," Rose said. "It's going to be at least another week, probably two, before the lab in Quantico can process the evidence. The arrest warrants won't be issued until then. If we're careful, there's no reason we can't go out. She needs this, Edward. Her anxiety about leaving the house will only increase the longer we wait."

"I understand where you're coming from, but I can't make this decision for her, Rose. However, I will ask her after school."

"Fair enough."

School was just as terrible as I thought it would be. The absurd blather that filled my ears all day was like a beetle burrowing into my brain. My only break was lunch, but even that was filled with Rosalie pestering me about how and when exactly I was going to talk to Bella about going out. My promise to talk to her about it as soon as we got home, and a much appreciated distraction from Emmett, finally afforded me a few minutes peace.

Mercifully, the final bell rung and released me from Penitentiary High, and after making my standard round to collect Bella's assignments I met my siblings in the parking lot. They all looked expectant, but wisely stayed quiet as we climbed in our cars and headed home.

The familiar ache of separation in my chest converted quickly to a pull of deep longing as I sped towards my love, and as I pulled up in front of the house I was nearly vibrating with anticipation. Rushing in, I found her curled up with a book on the couch in the movie room, and at the mere sight of her my whole body relaxed. Closing the book around her finger to hold her spot, she looked up and smiled a shy smile in silent greeting. One day her smile would not be so shy, but for now, I would take anything I could get.

"Hi," I said, crossing the room to sit beside her.

"Hi," she replied quietly, a slight blush to her cheeks.

"What are you reading?"

"Um, Romeo and Juliet. Isn't the essay due next week?"

"Actually," I started, but hesitated, unsure of how she would respond. "That essay was due two weeks ago. You're a little behind," I said a bit timidly before hurrying on. "But you can get caught up, no problem. Alice and I can help you."

"Oh," was all she said. I cautiously watched her as she sorted out what I had told her, and saw her start to slip into a disheartened state. Slowly, I placed my hand on her chin (she barely flinched anymore when I did that), and gently lifted her face until she looked at me.

"It's ok, Bella. We'll help you, and you'll be caught up in no time. I promise it's ok."

She took a deep breath and nodded minutely. I was about to respond, when a throat clearing in the other room told me someone seemed to think that it was time for me to ask Bella about going out. Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, and irritated that they were actually right about this being the perfect time since I had her full attention, I sighed and looked at Bella's now curious expression. Subtlety was not this family's strong suit.

"Bella, I...well, we actually, were wondering if maybe you would want to go out and do something fun tonight?"

I'm not sure what I was expecting her reaction to be, but it wasn't this. In a split second, her face turned ghostly white and she began to visibly tremble. My heart rate started to increase as I tried to quickly head off the on setting panic. Scooping her onto my lap, and wrapping my arms around her, I began to rock her while she clung to me with all her might.

"I can't...I'm sorry...I can't, I can't," she rambled.

At the sound of her distress, my loitering family began entering the room. Alice quickly joined us on the couch, rubbing Bella's back, as Rosalie strode over and knelt down in front of us. She reached for one of Bella's hands, coaxed it gently off of my shirt and held it in both of her own.

"Of course you can, sweetheart. You can do anything you want to," Rosalie declared fervently.

"No, you don't understand." Bella's small voice quivered with her body. "I'm not allowed. He'll know and... I can't. Not again."

Pain stabbed me through the heart as a rush of anger heated my face. How could I have been so stupid? Of all the different scenarios I had considered, not once did I think she would believe she still had to answer to her father. As soon as she said it though, it made perfect sense. Every time she'd gone anywhere with us before, she'd had the crap beaten out of her. Of course her mind would be conditioned to think it would happen again.

My first instinct was to gather her up, run for her room, and make her feel safe and protected by any means necessary. To tell her she never had to go anywhere if she didn't want to and that her miserable excuse for a father would never come near her again. But as much as my heart was screaming this to me, my mind knew that Rosalie was right. Bella needed to get out and start to function again. Her reaction proved it to me, and I was now determined to prove to her that she could go out, and come back, and am safe. But my fragile resolve nearly shattered as the diminutive whisper of, "Please don't make me," reached my ears. Closing my eyes, I took a few shallow breaths before opening my eyes and silently beseeching my brothers and sisters for help.

"Bella, listen to me," Rosalie said, stepping up to the plate. "I know this is scary, but I promise you won't get into trouble for going out with us. We'll go to Port Angeles. No one will see you there. We can go to a movie, or get ice cream or both if you want."

Emmett cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Uh, Bella?" At the sound of his voice, Bella lifted her head just enough to see him through her hair. "I swear that you will be safe. I will personally protect you from anyone. Biker dudes, skanks at school, and even your old man. He won't come anywhere near you with me around."

"That goes for me too, darlin'," Jasper added.

"And me," I whispered in her ear.

"We'll all be there, and we won't leave you for a second," Alice avowed.

"Do you promise?" Bella whispered so softly that I almost didn't catch it.

"We promise," Rosalie answered her, as she continued to hold her hand and look into her face. "We won't let anything bad happen to you. You can do this. I know you can."

Bella sniffed and let out a long breath before whispering, "Ok."

BPOV

Slowly dropping my robe, I gazed at my body in the bathroom mirror, inventorying the changes. I had gained a little weight, and my skin was nearly even in color all over. It was pale, but healthier looking, devoid of major bruising for the first time in years. My hand ghosted over my abdomen, my brow furrowing slightly as I took in the oddity of this new body. I twisted slightly. Huh. No soreness. From the front, with the exception of a few old scars, I actually looked pretty normal, whatever that means. At least that's what I thought before I noticed my eyes. They were dark, and hollow looking, almost zombie like. I've heard people say that the eyes where the window to the soul, and if that's so, then my soul looks as if it's been imprisoned. Turning slowly, I could see the markings that label me what I am, and what has bound and gagged my soul. New, bright pink angry lines crisscrossed old thin white ones creating a pictograph of terrifying memories. I turned back quickly, closing my eyes and taking a few calming breaths trying to keep the images at bay. My stomach churned and I had to fight for what was real. If Charlie was right, then all the Cullen's' efforts had been wasted on a worthless piece of trash. But if Edward was right, then against all odds I had some sort of value. I knew who I wanted to believe, but that still didn't make it easy. I squeezed my eyes tighter, trying to focus on Edward's face in my mind, imagining his arms around me, and took some deep breaths. Soon I began to feel a little calmer.

After a moment I slowly opened my eyes and leaned closer to examine my face. The small pink scar on my lip was the only real evidence of what had happened, and I didn't think it was very noticeable, which was good. I'm not sure why I agreed to go out tonight, but I knew I couldn't afford people noticing anything wrong with me. I had already broken Charlie's number one rule of keeping the secret when I told the Cullen's and the FBI, I couldn't afford for anyone else to be suspicious before Phil had his warrants. I know Edward and his brothers mean well, but they don't understand; if Charlie wants me, he will get me.

My face slowly faded away as the steam from the shower over powered the mirror, and as I stepped in the enclosure, warm water cascading over me, I felt as if I was washing away my emotions as well. It wasn't going to be bravery that would allow me to go out tonight, it was going to have to be numbness. Going through the motions, I showered, got dressed in the clothes that Alice had lain out, and dutifully sat while she and Rosalie dried and pulled my hair back in a simple headband. Thankfully, they skipped the make-up, deeming me perfectly suitable for a movie theater.

We walked downstairs and met the boys by the front door, Edward immediately coming to my side and snaking his arm around my waist.

"You look lovely," he whispered in my ear. "Everything's going to be great, you'll see."

"Now remember what I said," Carlisle spoke up to the group of us. "Straight to Port Angeles and back, no stops in Forks. Have fun, but try to keep a low profile."

A chorus of "Yes, Dad's" filled the entryway. I tried to convey my gratitude for Carlisle's instructions with a small smile; his returning sympathetic smile told me he understood and before I knew it I was wrapping my arms around him.

"Thank you," I whispered to him. "For everything."

"You're welcome, child," He replied quietly as he hugged me back gently and kissed the top of my head. Letting go of Carlisle, I hugged Esme next, who seemed to be fighting tears, before returning to Edward's arms and allowing him to lead me out the door.

My plan to stay numb wasn't working out so well as I felt the familiar flutters of panic in my chest as we drove through the gates of the Cullen's' estate. I felt exposed even though I was well insulated in Esme's SUV and surrounded by friends. Edward reached over, taking my hand and squeezing it in gentle reassurance. He had insisted on driving, claiming that everyone else lacked the appropriate skills necessary to maneuver the over-sized vehicle, but I knew the truth. Edward was nervous too, and driving helped to calm him.

The drive was tense and without much conversation until we had left Forks behind without incident. And then it seemed that every mile we put between us and the town increased the energy in the car until it was the same jovial group that I played games with a lifetime ago. The music played and laughter filled the car. They did their best to include me in all the conversations, but didn't seem put off by my silence, and even offered me warm smiles when I couldn't help but laugh a little at their antics. I still felt as though I was a little on the outside looking in, but for the first time since Edward had mentioned doing this, I wanted to be here too. It was dangerous yes, but also exciting, and I wanted nothing more than to be with this family.

I felt even more tension dissipate as we passed the "Welcome to Port Angeles" sign. And I even allowed myself to feel some anticipation at the evenings plans.

"What are you thinking about, beautiful?" Edwards asked as he pulled my hand to his mouth and kissed it.

"Um...Well, I guess I'm trying to remember the last time I've been to a movie theater," I began hesitantly. "I think it's been at least six years."

"Well, then it's long over-due," he said with a crooked grin before kissing my hand again.

I couldn't help but smile at his nonchalant response. I had been expecting some kind of reaction of disbelief, or inquiries that would have confirmed again how much I have missed of life. But he had no idea how his easy statement, like it was no big deal, freed me tonight. He didn't look at me like I was a freak or that I was something to be pitied. He looked at me like he expected me to be there, and that it was right that I was. And then it hit me, that's how they all looked at me. Not as an interloper, but a welcomed guest. Not as a burden to their lives, but a contributor to them. I still didn't quite see how this was possible, but tears stung my eyes as the truth of it clicked in place. The love I had for this family became magnified by my awe, and as one lone tear escaped I realized that I felt something that has eluded me for many years... I belonged.


A/N: First of all, thank you so much for reading. Second, it is with deep regret that I tell you that I may no longer be able to stick to my posting schedule of every Friday. That writer's block that I mentioned at the top has been hanging around for the past several weeks and has ground my production to a slow crawl. I am still writing and I promise I will finish, I just can't promise to keep the updates as consistent as they have been, but I will do my best. Thank you for understanding.

Thank you to my Beta, timeaovergain, for always making me look good.

Huge thank yous to my girls CatMasters, Hev99, and Nostalgicmiss who are very much responsible for the fact that I have been able to post as much I have. Thanks ladies for keeping me reasonably sane. ;)

Thanks again for reading! I appreciate you all so much! :)