I am looking for a BETA to go through all previous chapters. I will upload once a week, as always, but old chapters will be proofread and re-uploaded. You might wonder why I don't BETA the newest chapter before upload, but that's because I am too impatient and BETA-ing isn't high enough on my list for future chapters. I know I am doing it in the wrong order, but *shrug*…

Is anyone interested? I know it's quite a bit, since the story is so long, but if there are multiple people, I can give you each a few chapters… You can even offer to just beta one or two chapters only. Whatever floats your boat xD

Chapter 36 – Emotional chaos

The following weeks were intense. Carlisle's subconscious slowly seemed to stir, and so did Eleazar, Emmett, Irina, and Tanya's, while the rest were still lagging behind – unconscious and unaware – from what I understood.

Jasper and Edward were both becoming more vocal mentally, but it seemed to happen for only short periods of time. After that, they seemed to need some form of rest. I had no idea why they needed to rest, and they didn't seem to know what I was talking about when I asked them. Of course, what little mental faculty they had seemed to be mostly confused. To them, it seemed, they had merely blinked, though in reality hours and even days had passed. I tried to keep that information from them for the time being, as I had felt them stressing about the mere question about what they did when they seemed to sleep.

Being vampires, they had always been aware of everything, and suddenly not knowing seemed to freak them out. Being rational and discussing it with them was, at this point, not possible, as their awareness flickered, as well as their strength. I knew they felt like hell, and I knew they were scared, worried, and confused. I also knew they felt guilty for leaving me – this was mostly Edward. I yearned to hold him and love him, and it almost hurt me physically to be unable to do it.

Alice? Jasper's mental voice, which was the strongest, was once again calling for Alice.

"She's alright, Jasper. How are you feeling?" I asked Jasper. "Can you feel this?" I gently prodded different place on his body, but getting no reaction.

Should I? Jasper wondered. I sensed a hint of confusion and worry. His emotions and his mental thoughts were becoming more and more correlated, whereas before Jasper would feel emotions randomly, and only occasionally would they correlate with his thoughts.

"No, I was just testing something," I lied easily, not wanting to admit that I had been poking different places on his body. "You should rest…"

Why? Jasper's curiosity was peaking. His unwillingness to do what I told showed another level of consciousness. Before, he had done what I asked, too tired or confused to understand why, but somehow trusting me enough to do as told.

"When you're better I will explain. Please trust me," I asked him. I made it easy to trust me, since I could use his gift against himself. He fell silent.

Bella? Edward's mental voice called for me. I had kept him subdued because he was asking too many questions.

"I'm here," I whispered and slipped over to him. I let me fingers run gently through his hair.

That's nice, Edward whispered mentally. I looked at him, startled.

"You can feel this?" I wondered, surprised.

Of course… Your touch is wonderful. His emotions were all over the place. I could tell he was curious, but I could also tell that he was worried and scared. All of them seemed to share this underlying fear of the unknown. I felt bad for not revealing things to them, but I worried that they would go full-out vampire and hurt themselves. Jasper's gift was great, but I didn't dare to rely on it yet.

As my family stirred, I became more intimate with my gift.

Both Jasper and Edward had been really freaked out when they had felt the vague of awareness from their family, so I had to keep their gift constantly reduced to touch only themselves and me. This meant I couldn't really leave to hunt or gather venom. For a long time, I had to rely on the smell of my neighbors. Summer was luckily on its way, so people were more out. Still, it was nothing to the hospital, and I gathered far less venom that normally. I found myself frustrated by this immensely. Gathering venom had been my purpose since I had been changed; I was good at it, and I had to gather to help them, but now I was failing at my main objective. I was failing at helping them the best way possible.

Despite my frustration, I worked my gift on my family tirelessly, and I learned more about it. For so long, I had had no vampires to test my gift on, but now I had several, and I was eager to learn.

I was getting Jasper's gift under control, and so I realized how many emotions vampires could truly feel. My family might've had pleasant thoughts, I could tell through Edward's gift, but through Jasper's gift I felt their emotional state, which flickered between so many stages: frustration, fear, happiness, relief, and, perhaps most uncomfortably of all: pity and regret. They felt so bad for me, and they pitied me. I tried to ignore this, and be strong. I had felt their guilt when they had first realized I could feel their emotions, so I had tried to ease it up by making them calm. I didn't want them to be uncomfortable, not ever. I had taken care of them for so long, and I would rather hide my emotions and pretend that everything was fine, than to have them feel guilty.

I dreamed about communicating with Edward non-verbally. I trained hard to push my gift from me, and allow him to read my mind. However, the one time I did manage something akin to it, I ended up pushing my entire gift from me, thus losing control of all their gifts. It brought a bit of chaos the first time, since they had all become aware that it wasn't just one of them and me, but there were more vampires in the room.

Still, I tried. I hoped that in the end, I would be able to pass on a gift to others. I could borrow Edward's gift, but wouldn't it be great if I could lend it to Jasper as well? That way, we could all speak together mentally. Of course, my gift might not even work like that, but I had no idea what my limitations were until I tried.

I didn't have much success, but I figured that was due to me being unwilling to take the chance of losing my gift and thus scaring my family. Not only that, but if I truly managed to push my gift from myself, Edward would be able to read my mind, and this was a truly terrifying prospect. I think seeing my mind would scare him back into oblivion.

However, where I did succeed, was in maintaining my gift on them while moving further away. At first, I had been able to move around the house while maintaining my ability and borrowing their gifts, but as I was driven to gather venom, and thus forced to hunt, I had found I could, with a little work and training, extend it to the yard as well. This had been great when I had seen a squirrel and I had needed to kill it. There wasn't much blood in squirrels, but I couldn't leave my family aware – not without explaining what was going on, and certainly not while they were in this weak state.

I was unwilling to explain, since I worried what it would do to them, especially since their minds seemed so weak and confused. I couldn't answer any of their questions – I was too worried about their reactions. I knew I would have to own up to it, soon, but I needed them to be calm. Jasper, however, came to my rescue.

You can tell me… Jasper mentally told me. You can read my mind, and I think you can feel my emotions as well. I don't know how, but I've felt calm when I know I shouldn't have been, so I know you can emulate my gift – somehow.

"Yes." My reply was vague; I didn't know what to say.

Are you worried about my reaction? His observance surprised me.

"Yes," I replied once more.

Tell me, but keep me calm. I've done that to others. I will be able to be calm on my own once I've processed what you have to say…

I considered his idea. I would have to tell him – them all, and do like Jasper and keep them calm.

"I need to hunt, and then I will explain," I agreed. Jasper was right, it was a great idea to explain and keep them calm until they could focus. I hoped their still vague minds would keep them from going into full vampire-rage, and that I could control them with Jasper's gift.

My gift had been trained and expanded enough to give me 2 yards of hunting ground. The forest lay ahead of me, but I couldn't yet enter, and I would need at least 50 yards in order to get any good game. Until then, I would have to make do with squirrels and foxes in the nearby bush-area. At night, I left out the meat from my previous kills to attract new game. It was weak, but it worked – somewhat.

With summer on the rise, the humans were out more often, and I used their smells to gather venom. It was nothing next to the hospital, but I had no other choice. I felt it was draining me, and what was worse was that I could no longer hunt and gather strength. I felt like I was truly living on the edge – producing venom and giving everything in me, yet unable to really sustain myself. Had I been human, I would probably have died. I looked like Hell – my features seemed almost gaunt and truly vampiric. My eyes were deep black, making me look more of a demon than anything resembling human. The amount of blood I managed to scrape together did nothing for my appearance.

I looked underfed, but I was strong mentally. I could do this – I would just have to push my body harder.

"Okay," I said out loud. I had told my family, the ones awake, that I would explain. I fiddled a bit, trying to figure out what to say. "You've obviously realized that you're not alone here, well, except for me, of course. You've heard me speaking to others. And right now I am speaking to more than just you…"

Their mental voices assaulted me.

"Please, don't ask questions," I begged. I felt drained, right now. Emotionally, venom-wise, and food-wise. Yet, I tried to focus and gather my strength.

"I know you have many questions – I can tell, because with my gift I can borrow your gifts. I can read your minds, feel your emotions and use your ability as well, Eleazar," I explained. Eleazar's gift was strange. I felt an acute sense of any vampire I met and their gift. I turned Eleazar's gift off, but was forced to endure all their emotions and their thoughts, as I needed to keep an eye on their emotional and mental states. It was tough, and I knew Jasper and Edward had been years in learning how to use their gifts.

Bella, please… Carlisle's anxious voice was imploring me to continue. I could sense their impatience and Edward's anxiety and love for me. I calmed them all, or tried to.

"The Volturi is dead," I explained, thinking I would have to start with this. I kept them forcibly subdued. This way, I was letting them know, and think, but not feel too much. Later, I would allow them to feel a bit more, and then more and more, until they had processed it all in a safe manner.

"I killed them. My gift is to borrow other vampires' gifts, or share. You were all but killed by the Volturi. You were torn into pieces and readied to be burned. I stopped the Volturi. I used Alex's gift to subdue them all, and then I killed them all. I couldn't handle your deaths, and I suppose I denied that you were dead, so I taped you up and tried to heal you…" I took an unnecessary breath as a way to calm myself.

"For the last 2.5 years, I've gathered venom and healed your wounds. Only Jasper's venom production has slowly started working, and both Edward and Jasper can feel touch – now. I've made many theories regarding the health of vampires…" I stopped myself, not wanting to delve into all my theories just yet. It wasn't the time.

"Carlisle, Jasper, Edward, Tanya, Irina, Eleazar, and Emmett are mentally awake…" I could feel spikes of fear, obviously fearing those who weren't awake. I tried to calm them. "Rosalie is almost stirring, and technically, Tanya isn't entirely awake – I am not sure she can hear me. Her mental voice is rare. It's like you sleep, or hibernate…" I trailed off.

"I know you have questions, but it's difficult to answer right now. You've come a long way, and I am certain that the others will awake soon…"

I eased up on the forced tranquility I had put on them. I could sense their fears and confusion bubbling. There were so many questions. Most noticeably was why.

"Why," I said, catching their attention - not that I had ever lost it. "Carlisle, I am so sorry," I said, sorrow coloring my voice. "Aro was never your friend. In his heart, he was a jealous man – jealous of your natural leadership and your defiance to, what Aro believed, was the epitome of vampires. Your defiance, and interest in learning, bothered him to such a degree that he harbored a hatred for you ever since he met you. I saw his mind – I accidentally used his gift on myself while touching him, and I saw so much…" The last was said with quiet sadness.

"He was a vile man, and for a long time he wondered how to get rid of you. You hadn't broken a law, but Aro hated when something didn't suit him, so he often sought to eradicate whatever it was by using his position. When he heard about your family, he was angered. If you remember Alice saying that it seemed that I wasn't the reason, but rather the excuse? Well, it was just that. Aro felt he had found the perfect excuse to eradicate you. Despite he himself fell in love with a human – just like Edward had – and probably many other vampires…" I shook my head. I could feel Carlisle breaking Jasper's ability. He felt so hurt. I tried to tranquilize him further, but his distress was too much, almost.

"Please, Carlisle," I whispered. I gently stroked his hair in quiet love. "Aro was a monster, please do not blame yourself," I begged. "Please be calm…" Carlisle tried to calm himself, but I could tell he was mourning.

Carlisle, ever the scientist, insisted I tell him what I had learned so far. All those awake wanted to know, of course. I knew it was a mixture of curiosity, but also because they felt bad for leaving me alone. I told them that I was fine, but they didn't believe me.

It was probably because they experienced our first, shared magazine day. I brought in the magazines like any other day, and I went on my rounds, reading and commenting. It never occurred to me to do things different. My family was unmoving, so I continued to gather venom and read out loud.

I also washed them and tended their hair, keeping them neat and pretty. They took it in silence, perhaps observing me at first. Later, I realized, feeling a form of utter shock at how routine my life had become. How utterly strange my life was.

Of course, right now I was glad that their eyes were closed and they didn't have enough control over their bodies to open their eyes, because if they were unsure about the truth when I said I was fine, then they would really doubt me if they saw me.

Carlisle tried to break me from my routine by insisting I analyze the situation they had been through.

"From my observations, I think you dried up," I explained. "Venom, I've noticed, is very elusive, and when your heads were torn off… I think…" I hesitated, but I could feel their questions. These were thoughts that were coming to me as I spoke, as if I was hypothesizing out loud. In a way, though, I think it was the truth. "I think I could've saved you faster, had I not been so distraught. You were torn to pieces for so long – I kind of went catatonic. Had I been faster, you might've been better faster as well..." I trailed off as regret flooded my system.

Thinking back, it felt like I had made so many bad decisions. If I'd been better, then they would've healed faster. Instead, I just dallied around.

You couldn't have known that… Edward loving mental voice was insistent. The others offered me similar sentiments. I didn't listen, since I was convinced of my own failure. They hadn't been there and seen how many days I had spent on just whining and wasting away, instead of helping them. I could've been stronger, but I hadn't been. That was my regret. One of them.

I moved on, not wanting to dwell on the depressing thoughts of not being enough… "Whatever creates venom in you, was severed when your heads were torn off. Of course, we can't actually know what creates venom, not without severing a vampire, but that's stops the creation of venom… I've looked at some anatomy books, and I can definitely say that the salivary glands must produce venom, since we 'salivate', though ours is venom… I am sure there are more glands that has turned into venom factories, but I can't locate them – not until we find a way to do surgeries on vampires…" I explained as best as I could, trying to be as objective as possible. "I think they work together, though, in some way. Human bodies are a huge factory as well, and if you remove vital components it all shuts down…"

"When your heads were severed from your body, something broke – your venom production. There has to be a link inside of us. Humans die if they lose their heads as well and once you lost your heads, you effectively died. Losing your heads meant that you dried up, and you couldn't heal yourself, because healing required venom. I had to heal your bodies to ensure that the venom's vessel, you, could actually contain the venom without it escaping, and once I did that, I had to 'fill you up' enough to awake you, but also kick-start your own venom production…" I continued thoughtfully.

"Vampires are nothing without their venom. Where we earlier thought venom was this all-powerful thing, I've come to realize that it's not. It's flammable, obviously, but it's also highly elusive. Not only that, then we need blood to kick-start the process of changing… This is also, I think, why it has taken such a long time for you to heal…"

"With humans, they have their blood and their heart to pump venom through their veins, but once you're changed you don't have that anymore. There's no heartbeat to pump venom through our veins, and there's no blood to carry it… I think it's kind of like a human chain, like you pass on something to the next person, and so on. But you can't have a chain with only one person. The same goes with venom. It only works when there's enough of it. Sure, in humans only a small amount is needed to change the human, but venom gets so much help from the pumping heart and the blood. In you, it got nothing…" I trailed off, thinking over my observations.

"I think there must be several factors regarding venom. We can lose a hand or an arm – even a leg. At some point, though, since our wounds doesn't close, where we lost a limp our venom will have to fight to stay inside of us and not evaporate… Or whatever it does…" I considered Corin, and how she had simply ceased to exist from one moment to another.

"Corin, a Volturi guard, came to look for her masters, and I removed all of her limbs in order to keep her around me, as she had a pretty good gift. She died after a while, but she had had no legs or arms. I kept her in a backpack for quite a while… She just stopped existing; I didn't notice a decline in heal or anything – it just happened from one second to the next…"

It was only because I was borrowing Jasper's and Edward's gift that I realized I had made a mistake. I was assaulted by a strange feeling, like a mental gasp. Everything stopped for just a second, as my family realized what I had done.

Would they see me as a monster now? My emotions wavered.

"I did it for you," I whispered, trying not to choke up.

No one's blaming you. We love you, and we're grateful. We're just so sad we couldn't be there for you… Carlisle's mental voice was kind.

Bella, I love you more than anything. What you have done for us is more than I could've hoped for… I love you. Please forgive me for not being there for you… Edward's voice and emotions were full of regret. I was getting a better understanding of Jasper's gift, I understood that he, like Carlisle, regretted not being there.

I spent a lot of time talking about the road to recovery. I was honest about what I had done, but also very objective. Despite their numerous assurances, I tried to detach myself when I spoke – I tried to ignore the pain.

Carlisle, especially, was curious about what I had observed in them, but I think he was trying to pretend he was my therapist, and also, secretly, trying to avoid his personal issues with Aro. I knew it lay heavily on his mind, but he seemed to be avoiding speaking about it. For Carlisle's sake, I avoided the topic, even though Aro had done a lot of things I would've liked Carlisle's take on. Carlisle, however, was my patient and I needed him to get better, so if not talking about Aro made him better, then that's what we would do.

"I tried burning venom-vapors to see how elusive and flammable it is," I revealed.

I've done that as well, Carlisle revealed with pleasure. He felt excited that I had concluded some of the same things as he had – with the few resources we had available.

"I was surprised at just how elusive it is. That's also around the time I realized that you might've dried up…"

As we entered July, the rest of the family started to stir. Rosalie was the first, and Emmett felt so relieved and excited. He found the whole ordeal fascinating and was eager to joke that I was now his new sire. I wondered if this was true. There was a special bond between a sire and his progeny, but I didn't know if it was an emotional, subjective thing, or an actual thing. I guess I would find out. I was certainly protective enough to be a sire, but would they feel the same bond to me? Perhaps we were bad examples, since we all were bonded to begin with. And perhaps the sire-bond wasn't an entirely real thing, since I had known of numerous vampires who had been left to deal with their own new existence.

Rosalie's consciousness had just woken up, but her mind was weak, especially without nurishment. None of the others could talk yet. Their venom production was slowly starting, but food was scarce, since I couldn't leave them, and getting critters was becoming increasingly difficult, as all animals seemed to understand that they had to stay away from my garden. I was beginning to wonder if I should murder human – for the sake of my family. I knew, however, I would be a bad idea – on so many levels. It would disturb the peace in the neighborhood, as I would have to take one of them, and I semi-knew them. Not only that, police would investigate, and I also doubted that my family would appreciate it.

"We're out of food," I admitted. "You're far too unstable to leave alone. None of you can control your gifts, and it would hurt you," I revealed. I could tell their discomfort, but I made them feel calm. "I know what I am about to propose might seem crazy…" I took a deep breath. "While I am not interested in killing humans, I worry about your health, and eating a human could be a really good thing for you." I cringed at my own words. I had tried to make it sound as calm, innocent and reasonable as possible.

Please no, Bella, Carlisle whispered mentally. I could tell his fear. I could hear in their minds that they wondered how many humans I had eaten. I felt not disgust from them, just quiet guilt. I tried to make them feel better.

"I am only asking because it's ethically correct to do. But, were you human vegans and sick, you would likely be fed meat by the hospital to get your body going again…" I theorized. "We don't have anything else…"

Let it be chaos then, Edward begged, fearing that I was truly interested in taking a life.

I can handle chaos, Eleazar assured me. All of them preferred to avoid harming a human. I found myself frustrated with their choice. Sure, I didn't want to harm a human, but their progress was slowing and they needed nourishment. My venom production wasn't enough, and I wasn't getting any food, so I produced even less now.

I kept a growl to myself. My thoughts swirled around my family, and how I could help them the best way possible. I knew harming a human would be bad, but I had to do something.

"I will practice my gift, then," I suggested. I tried not to sound frustrated, not wanting to burden them. I felt their relief and their tiredness.

I spent my days trying to extend my gift to leave the property. My progress was slow, but I became more intent than ever when I found that I couldn't produce enough venom to give away. I gave the few droplets I managed to produce to Edward, but it was far from enough. What I produced now was so little, and I wasn't getting fed. I hadn't eaten in so long, and it was making me unable to help my family.

Forcing my shield to bend to my will became my new main-objective. I felt tired and uncomfortable at working with it – It felt like pushing against the universe. But I had to do something.

It took until October to finally reach a bush-area. It almost physically hurt me, but I was driven by a kind of blood-lust. I had to protect my family, so I had to keep their gifts under control, but I also had to leave them to gather food. I had almost managed 30 yards, which allowed me entrance to a forest-y area. There wasn't much food here, but much more than in my yard. Here I could leave out carcass for other animals, and have larger game, such as foxes, come by.

I spent the majority of time outside. I worried about my family, but since I kept them calm, I knew they weren't really under any stress.

"I think Rosalie will respond soon," I revealed. We were nearing December and nothing good had come from my months without food. Still, no one had regressed, they just hadn't progresses – except for Jasper, who was very, very slowly producing the slightest of venom.

Now, however, I had managed to get enough venom and food from all the critters near the entrance of the forest. I even went so far as to steal my neighbors' food and trash to attract more animals. I did whatever I could to get venom and animal blood.

It had been a particularly trying week. Food was scarce again, the animals in the wood hiding or whatever they did, but the neighborhood was throwing a birthday party as someone was turning 40, and they were having an outdoor barbecue with an entire pig in large tents. The pig was whole, so once the men started cutting and preparing, the blood flowed.

The blood was nowhere near anything delicious – to me, at least. But to several vampires, who had been starving for a while, who hadn't eaten really in years, and whose primary source of food had been animals, this turned out to be utter torture.

What I had dreaded the most happened – they freaked out. Their bodies were so weak, still fighting to produce venom and get started, but their blood-lust was complete.

I was terrified at the mental screams coming from them, and several of them, Jasper and Emmett, tried to rise from the coffins. Their bodies were weak, but their movements were uncoordinated, making them a real hazard to themselves.

I had to force them into submission with Jasper's gift. It went to such an extent that I effectively trapped them in their minds.

I hate being here, Emmett whined, once the party was over and the smells had disappeared. I felt a jolt of pain – wishing I could help him better.

"I know," I replied.

I'm grateful, but the smells are torture… Emmett continued.

A good thing that came from it was the Emmett, Edward, and Jasper were now able to move. I brought sun-chairs into the basement for them to sit in – this way they could see more and communicate better.

I had forgotten how I looked, and when I opened their eyes for them, and they saw me, I saw their horror. Despite their weakened bodies, they were still vampires and fast. I had surprised them so much that they couldn't even consider hiding the emotions that swept across their faces when they saw me, nor could they hide their horror and pain. I felt their pity, but also their deep sense of love. I truly looked like a monster. I had never felt that vampires were monster, but I certainly looked the part. I was whiter than ever, more bruised around the eyes, and my eyes had a permanent color of pitch black. I looked like a demon sent from Hell.

Bella… Edward, like always, tried so hard to make me happy and let me know that he loved me. He felt so guilty for leaving me alone, and I tried to negate that guilt.

"The world isn't on your shoulders, Edward. You'll be better soon, and then everything will be better…" Even to my own ears, it sounded like a lie. They had heard me talk aloud to myself, pretending to talk to them and make up silly replies. Their pity and worry reverberated in their minds, and I felt like such a damaged freak. I kept those emotions safely hidden away, knowing that Jasper would feel even worse, and worrying that such emotions would hurt his progress.

"I-" Edward faltered. I stared at him with my mouth open. The word had been quiet, and had I not had my amazing hearing, I would've missed it. His eyes widened just a bit. I love you. I want to say it, but talking feels… unknown.

What's happening? Jasper wondered, curious. He had heard something.

"Edward almost spoke," I said out loud, for the benefit of my family. "He says it's difficult to speak, as it it's unknown to him.

It feels like I have yet to unlock the ability. Trust Emmett to make a gaming reference.

"Emmett says it feels like he has yet to unlock the ability…"

Fdsfhisdfhdsuifds****

Rosalie came to just before Christmas. Since a lot of my family was awake, I focused on giving venom to the ones waiting.

What's going on? For some reason, Rosalie seemed to become aware as I was feeding her with a tube – I still did this in order to get the food all the way down into their stomachs. Unlike the others, she could sense that I was doing something to her body. I wondered why this was. Briefly I recalled a story about how she became a vampire, and I wondered if the feeling of having your body taken from you made her that much more aware. Was she feeling violated? Had the violation of her death heightened this sense?

"Rosalie, it's Bella. Be calm…" I told her.

Emmett… As always, her first thought strayed to her mate – just like the others' had.

"Emmett is fine," I assured her.

What happened?

As I cleaned Rosalie and brushed her hair, I told her what had happened – keeping in mind to keep her subdued with Jasper's gift. She, like the others, rebelled despite understanding the necessity of not harming herself. I could tell she was angry, but she felt better knowing I had killed the Volturi.

Garrett called in January. He had news, but not good. Things were getting chaotic – vampires were regrouping and it seemed that an all-out war was likely to happen. There were several vampires who were staking a claim for the throne, and none of them were sane.

"Many believe that exposure won't matter – they think that in a hundred years we will be fables again." Garrett's words were disbelieving. I agreed with him, as it showed that the vampires were lacking a sense of understanding of the human world.

"We have to fight," Garrett said. "I have no idea who I am with. I guess the Egyptian Coven would be best – they're only ten or so, but very powerful, and they don't believe in exposure…"

"Why we even need to select the least horrible coven is beyond me… There has to be another way…" I growled in frustrating, albeit quietly. I hadn't told my family about the development in the vampire world. Frankly, I was surprised that they hadn't asked. Perhaps it hadn't crossed their minds yet.

"Well, we can't exactly go make our own…" I could almost hear Garrett shrug. "Anyway, things are tensing up – I don't know for how long I will stay…"

"Stay safe… Contact me if you need anything, or if you leave Europe…"

I wondered if I could let Garrett know where I was. With Jasper and Edward awake, I would be able to control him. I would know of his plans.

The question was, could I chance the safety of my family for Garrett's safety?

I decided that I couldn't, not unless Garrett was truly unsafe, as in someone would be after him.

Of course, questions regarding the state of the vampire world eventually started to appear. When Esme awoke, and I had gone through the cycle of telling her what had happened to her, I also told them all about Garrett. True Esme-style, Esme, despite her lack of strength and movability, immediately insisted that we should protect our friends.

Perhaps I was just too paranoid, but my family didn't seem to share my hesitance about involving anyone. It kind of made it very obvious of how protective I was of them.

We're getting closer to the end. Thank you so much for your awesome reviews :D