A/N: This chapter revisits characters introduced in chapters 9 and 10. It was a long time ago, so if you need a reminder of who's who then you may want to go back and re-read. Thanks.

Chapter 35 – Family

"So Aro didn't give you any trouble when you first arrived?" Edward questioned Carlisle. The Cullens and their closest friends The Denali's were given an entire apartment building to share while they stayed in Austin, and I supposed that was where the wolves, Edward, and I would be for our time there as well, which I was grateful for. In a city full of heathenish humans, having the added protection of friendly vampires could only be a good thing.

"They weren't happy to see us at first, but once Aro touched me he calmed," Carlisle explained.

"He's clearly excited about the plan," Edward stated, but then turned to Alice. "Can you see anything?"

She shook her head no. "Those wolves are blocking all my visions…But being blind did tell me you'd all make it back here safely. Everything after that though…" she let her thought trail off.

"Well, since Alice's visions aren't doing any good here, I think we should hit the road," Jasper said abruptly.

"Wait, where are you going?" I asked with a level of panic I wasn't expecting. The Cullens had given me my first sense of family since my brother left the village, and I wasn't happy about the idea of separating from any of them again, especially since Emmett was still gone.

"Carlisle finally finished the poison," Alice explained. "We need to take it to the blood bank in Florida."

"Can't somebody else do it?" I asked like a moron, and for whatever reason, I reflexively looked at Rose, who had been sitting quietly in the corner.

"Oh, I see, you want me to do it, huh?" Rosalie asked bitterly, taking me aback. "Rose doesn't have a mate, and nobody would miss Rose if she was caught and killed. Well, maybe you're wrong. Maybe somebody would care!" she cried tearlessly before getting up and storming off somewhere.

"Uh…I didn't mean she should…" I stumbled over my words as I tried to defend myself from the disapproving glares I was getting from all the vampires around the room.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Esme assured me tenderly. "She's just been really missing Emmett, and since they never officially solidified the mating bond, I think she's just…overly-sensitive."

"Oh," I said, unsure how else to respond to that. I wasn't a vampire, so I couldn't truly understand the mating bond, or rather the lack of a solidified mating bond, but I did understand longing and the agonizing distraught over being separated from the one I loved, and I certainly understood what it was like to miss Emmett, so the last thing I wanted to do was upset Rose. "I was just hoping someone else could go to the bank, but I never meant she should be the one."

"Nobody else would be able to get in anyway. Alice and I are respected and trusted there," Jasper said evenly. "We have to be the ones to do it."

"Now, hold on for a minute," Edward interrupted. "You guys can't leave just yet. Those two demon kids are going to be newborns soon, and you'll be needed here to control them."

"I'm sure Aro and the others can handle them," Jasper argued.

"Right, but more importantly, once the bank is poisoned, the retaliation is going to be swift," Edward pointed out. "We need to wait until our battle plan is fully worked out before we do anything. Carlisle, how many weapons have you completed?"

"We have around one hundred weapons or so. But the humans here will need some time to learn how to use them."

"None of these people know anything about fighting," Edward told them. "In fact, they don't seem to know much of anything at all. They're like cave people…cave people who live in a broken city and run around with sticks and garlic around their necks. Aro has made them completely useless. It's going to take quite a bit of training just to get them to even pull the trigger competently on the flame throwers."

"Then we'll train them before we go," Jasper decided. "If we're going to have a chance at winning this, we'll need to make sure every aspect of our defense is at its best."

"Great. Sounds good. We can start human training first thing…tomorrow," Edward said, suddenly seeming eager to end the conversation. "Now, where are Bella and I sleeping tonight? And if you say on that grimy couch I'm going to rip someone's limb off."

Garrett, one of the Denali's, smiled mischievously. "Does that mean your inhuman strength is still with you?"

"Where would it have gone?" Edward asked irritated.

"Well we did theorize that it may wear off over time," Carlisle answered for him.

"Not only is my strength still supernaturally strong, but Bella is displaying abnormal bursts of strength as well," Edward replied smugly. "She took down a wolf in her village all by herself. It was absolutely incredible."

"So you didn't get any of those humans or wolves to follow you back here?" Jasper asked.

But Carlisle was more interested in the new bit of information Edward had just given. "You were able to take down a fully grown shape-shifter?" he asked me. "That is incredible. I'd like to run some tests to see what could have caused the surge of strength."

"Like I said before, Edward has given her a STD," Leah mumbled. "A super-human-strength STD."

Carlisle nodded as if she was serious. "That is definitely something to consider. Hopefully I can find some answers in her blood."

"Not tonight," Edward interjected. "It's been a long drive. We may be stronger than your average humans, but Bella's still tired and needs some privacy to rest."

"Is that privacy for rest, or for you two to fuck?" Garrett snickered.

Edward paused, and then smirked. "Both. Not that it's any of your business."

"There is a room right downstairs," Esme said hospitably. "There are actually three rooms down there, so please, make yourselves at home," she told the wolves.

"Thank you, Mrs. Cullen," Seth said with a big smile before skipping ahead down the steps. Jake and Leah followed behind him, but Edward held back.

"Go on down, love, I'll join you soon," he told me. I rolled my eyes. Obviously he wanted to talk to Carlisle or Jasper about something he didn't want me to hear, but at that moment, I just couldn't bring myself to care. He was right about the trip being long, I was definitely tired and I couldn't wait to actually lie down on a real bed again.

The three rooms downstairs were small, but it didn't really matter, all we needed was a bed; strangely enough, each of the rooms had a different sized bed – twin, full, and queen. "Okay, Jake and Leah, you guys take the queen, Seth the twin, and Edward and I will take the room with the full," I decided.

"Wow, thanks Bella. I was certain you'd jump for the queen," Jake said happily.

"Well, it makes more sense this way. You're bigger than Edward, and Leah is bigger than me, so..." I shrugged.

I went into my room and laid down, but the last thing I wanted to do was actually sleep. Edward would hopefully be in shortly, and I was practically aching for sex, but the next thing I knew, I was waking up alone to the bright sun shining through the little window. How did I fall asleep so quickly, and where the hell was Edward?

So I got up and used the bathroom in the hall, before climbing the stairs to look for him.

"Well, good morning," Esme said warmly when I came into view. "I have breakfast for you."

"And that's why you're my favorite vampire," Seth said as he ran up the stairs and grabbed the food out of Esme's hand.

"I have plenty," she said with a smile.

"Where's Edward?" I asked, hoping she'd have some kind of clue.

"Oh he left early this morning with Carlisle, Alice, and Jasper."

"Where did they go?"

"I believe they're discussing the plan more with Aro and the others. They all seem very excited about the upcoming battle," she said wistfully.

"It would be really cool if we can turn the world around," Seth said enthusiastically. "And battles are always fun."

"Except when many lose their lives," Esme replied quietly. "This war is going to be the end of many vampires and humans alike, and it's quite possible that we all end up dying. I just don't understand how everyone can be so happy about it."

I swallowed roughly. "It is going to be hard…But it's necessary. The life humans have now isn't a life, and it won't be long before both our species becomes extinct."

She smiled sadly and then took my hand and squeezed it gently. "I know, and that's what Carlisle keeps telling me. I just…I hate death of any kind."

I nodded. "Me too." I took a deep breath. "Thank you for making breakfast, but I'm not really hungry at the moment. I think I'm going to just go look for Edward. I know it's silly, but feel like I haven't seen him in a long time."

"That's not silly dear, you two aren't used to being apart for any length of time. But I really don't think you'll find him. The vampires in this city don't usually convene anywhere a human can easily find."

I sighed. "Oh…Okay, I guess I'll just go for a walk then; I've been locked inside a confined space for too long, I just need to get out."

"That's a good idea; you look like you could use some fresh air and a little sunshine. But please take Seth with you; I promised Edward I wouldn't let you leave here without me or one of the wolves. The humans in this city are just…scary."

I giggled. "Yeah, they are. Do you mind coming along Seth?" – Not that I couldn't handle myself, I just wasn't in the mood to piss off Edward unnecessarily. If I learned anything from my father that had any merit, it was to pick my battles, and a solo walk in the city wasn't worth an argument.

Seth grabbed a handful of eggs. "Sure, let's go."

We walked together silently for a while, but the further we went, the more curious humans emerged to get a better look at us.

"Wow, the people here really are as creepy as Jake had said," Seth commented.

"Yeah, well at least they're docile right now. When we were here before they were much less…controlled. They must know the vampires are still in the city."

"Did they really chain up Jake and attempt to butcher him?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Yep. I think they were just really hungry. It seemed like they hadn't had any food in a while."

"Well, now it seems like they have plenty," Seth pointed out while gesturing to what looked like a small marketplace where people were quietly moving about with baskets of produce.

"I wonder if Esme cleaned out her greenhouse and brought all the food here for them," I mused.

"I don't see how that could possibly be enough for the amount of people here. Man, I never thought I'd ever see so many humans in one place," Seth said in awe as we both looked around us.

"Makes me a little homesick," I murmured.

"There's probably more people in this area than could even fit in your entire village though."

"True… It is incredible, isn't it? Maybe we really can win the world back for humanity someday."

"Well, well, well, how did I know you'd return and bring with you nothing but trouble?" a man's voice said from behind me. I turned quickly and saw Amun and Kebi standing there looking rather irritated. "What have you done? The coven is now here during the day and never seems to leave. Next they will be demanding two sacrifices a night."

"Hush Amun," Kebi chided her husband, and then turned back to me. "Bella, I'd like to apologize to you for what happened the last time you were here. We didn't know Alistair would want to use you as that evening's sacrifice."

I put up my hand to stop her. "It doesn't matter at this point. I wanted to help you guys here, and instead of taking me up on it, you backstabbed me. Well, guess what, now you're going to be helping me…whether you want to or not," I said with way more attitude than I intended, and then I grabbed Seth's arm and pulled him away.

"Whoa, was that 'Bitch Bella' that Jake said you can become sometimes?" Seth questioned amused. "I didn't believe him, but man…that was awesome!"

I shook my head at him. "We have a big fight ahead of us, and it's important that everyone plays their part. We need to stay strong; otherwise these psychos are going to walk all over us."

"You know, to be honest, I didn't quite understand why you and Edward were a couple, but now I totally get it. You are just as cool as he is!"

"Um…Thanks," I said with a smile.

Just then there was a strange commotion coming from the northern part of the city, and when someone ran passed us screaming "Vampire!" I had a sudden déjà vu from my first encounter with a vampire back in my own village. Granted there were at least eleven vampires that I knew of currently in Austin, I had a feeling that the people were afraid of someone else, someone who had only just got there. And like when Edward came into my village, somehow I knew the newest arrival was just what I needed.

"Hey, where are you going?" Seth called after me as I began running in the direction that the scared humans were running away from.

But I didn't answer him, I just kept running. I fought through the hysterical crowd, slamming into several people as I went, and then finally he came into view and I almost exploded from happiness.

"Emmett!"

I had no idea how he got away from the vampires that took him, or how he found us, but he was there, he was okay, and I felt nothing but intense relief from having him close. Vampire or not, I truly loved him as much as I ever did, which for me was definitely an amazing feat…