Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of these characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

I woke feeling sore and stiff, this was nothing new to me though. Countless nights spent sleeping on what passed for a bed in that hell hole, Volterra. At times it felt like I was sleeping on the floor the mattress was so thin. Stretching and opening my eyes, I realized I was free, the surroundings were familiar, but also strange at the same time. Then it dawned on me where I was, Bella's apartment, our apartment. The only thing missing from this was Bella. Looking around I couldn't see her anywhere, but the memory of last night kept me company, hearing her ask me to stay, even if it was in her sleep. I closed my eyes again, laying my head down on the cushion and drifted back into a peaceful sleep.

I was woken by the smell of coffee assaulting my nostrils. I struggled to get my eyes to open, they felt like lead. When they did, I was greeted by the sight of Bella kneeling down before me, a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Morning." I breathed, a smile forming,

"Huh, more like afternoon." She laughed.

Sitting upright I almost knocked the mug from her hand. "What time is it?"

Bella simply sat down on the couch, grinning at me. "It's just after one, why you got plans?"

"No, nothing. I just didn't mean to stay over, not like this. Shit! I mean, not that I wanted to stay over another time, just that I didn't mean to stay last night." The words came out in a mass jumble, all falling over each other and making no sense. I turned to face Bella and found her stifling a giggle. This was not the reaction I'd expected her to have, and this broke the tension that could've surrounded us.

My eyebrow quirked at her. "Are you mocking me, Miss Swan?" I teased.

She quickly removed the smile that'd played on her lips moments previously. "Certainly not Mr Cullen." Slowly, she got to her feet, moving until she was standing right in front of me. Her eyes fixed mine, but I couldn't work out what I was seeing as she stared at me, but there was something there. The silence between us was deafening, the tension in the air was palpable. I could feel it, and was sure if I reached out I would be able to touch and taste it. Her voice was barely audible. "You stayed with me, all night, I could feel you there. Even as I slept, I knew."

Continuing to look deep into her eyes, I was momentarily distracted as her tongue peeked out before it disappeared back into her mouth. There was nothing I wanted more than to kiss her, but would that be too much? Did she want this as much as I did, or was I misreading the signals that she was so clearly giving me. My hand reached up and cupped her cheek, relishing the feel of her soft skin against it, only it felt wrong to be touching her with hands that had beaten men to a pulp, and possibly even ended a life.

The memories caused me to pull away from her as if I had been shocked, I closed my eyes while I stood and moved away from her. Ashamed of what I had done, who I'd become. Walking away from her I went over to the large window and stared out, unsure of what to do next. I jumped when I felt Bella's hands snake around me, enveloping me as she pressed her body against mine.

"What's wrong?"She asked against my back.

Tears welled up in my eyes and I fought them back, as I found the words. "Nothing." I paused, collecting myself before continuing. "I should go."

Bella let go of me, and I missed the feel of her instantly, so I was relieved when she grabbed my arm, turning me to face her. "No. I don't want you to." Her hand reached out to touch my face, the action that had caused me to flinch, but this didn't stop her, there was no way I could resist her. Bella continued and stroked her fingers down my cheek. It was hard to breathe, part of me wanted to leave, run and never look back. Another part of my wanted this, wanted her more than anything in the world. There was no way to know which of these instincts would win out, all I did know was I had never felt so conflicted in my entire life.

"Edward, it's okay. I promise." She whispered. "I don't want you to go. Stay, with me."

All I could do was stand still as she moved closer to me, her hand continued to caress my cheek. I could feel her breath on me, she was so close. I wanted to kiss her, pull her to me and never let her go, but I couldn't risk it. I closed my eyes, thinking it would help, if I couldn't see her it would make it easier to resist. Then I felt her lips brush against mine. It was soft, gentle and felt like home. I allowed her to continue, afraid if I opened my eyes this would all be a dream.

Bella kissed me harder and the last shred of resolve I was clinging to was gone, so I began to move my lips against hers. There was a tenderness in our actions, as if the love and feelings we had for each other never seemed to have died despite everything we had been through. Her hands were pressed against my chest, gripping the fabric of my shirt. My hands were pressed on her back, keeping her close to me as our bodies reacted to each other once again. The noise someone hammering on the door broke through the bubble we were encased in.

Breaking away from her was hard and I muttered a curse under my breath wondering who on earth could be here, it crossed my mind to just ignore them. There was more knocking, which quickly turned into a steady pounding. "Ignore them." I growled out,

"It could be important, they seem quite insistent." Bella said as she walked away from me.

"Better be." I growled.

She turned with a playful smile on her lips just as she opened the door. It was like time was standing still, the door was pushed open wide, bouncing off the wall as three large men barged in. Bella was grabbed tightly, one arm wrapped around her body a hand covered her mouth, suppressing any scream that might come from her.

I froze in place as they made their way to me quickly grabbing hold of an arm each, stopping any possible movement I might have tried to make. Then into my line of sight, stepped a figure, whose presence made my blood run cold, and any thoughts of fighting back leave me. There before me stood James.

"Ah Cullen, I see the rumors of your survival were true. How stupid of you to come back here, to her, your whore. Predictable though." He sneered.

"No this can't be happening." I muttered just couldn't believe there were here. My eyes shot to Bella, she wasn't able to fight back, the man holding her was too strong. Her eyes pleaded with me and I saw the terror in them.

James walked closer to me. "Oh Cullen, you really have underestimated just how much we know, and what we are truly capable of. A huge mistake on your part." He let out a chuckle as he turned to the man holding Bella and took a couple of calculated steps toward her, a sinister smile playing on his lips. Seeing this sparked me into action and I rushed toward him, breaking free of the men holding me.

"No! Leave her alone, you bastard! Don't you dare touch her."

I was sent reeling into the wall from a backhander dished out by James.

"Sloppy Cullen, you have forgotten what you were taught already?" He didn't look at me, instead he moved closer to Bella. His fingers reached out and, gently stroked her cheek. She tried to pull away from his touch, but it was no use.

I got to my feet and tried to reach her, but was once again restrained. I struggled against the vice like grip, but it was no use. "Leave her alone, it's me you came for. Just take me." My voice carried bravery I didn't feel, but I would do anything to protect her.

James turned to me, a snarl on his lips. "No! You don't get to say what happens here, this is not your decision. We'll take you back to Volterra, and her? Well, I get her as a bonus for a job well done."

Bella fought even harder to be free, and I got free once again, running at James but he was ready for me. I found a gun, complete with silencer pointed straight at me, stopping me dead in my tracks. All I could do was hold my hands up in surrender. What I didn't see was how Bella got free from her captor, only that she had done and made a bid for freedom, running away from us. It was no use, James turned to her, aiming the gun and firing a single shot. I watched in horror as Bella fell to the floor with a sickening thud, blood pooling under her lifeless body.

A scream escaped from me, it didn't sound like anything I had ever heard before. My heart was breaking and I felt every single crack forming in it as the blood, and life ebbed from Bella.

I felt hands upon me, shaking me. I didn't want to look at her, I couldn't bear to look at the body lying before me, but I had to. This was my fault, and now they would take me away from her before she took her last breath and she would die alone.

"No!" I gasped. "Leave me alone, please!"

The hands became more insistent, shaking me violently by the shoulders, finally, a voice broke through.

"Edward! Please! Edward?"

It sounded like Bella, but I knew it couldn't be. Maybe I was dead too, and this was what waited for us beyond our time on earth, somehow we would be together.

My eyes snapped open and I found her leaning over me, very much alive. "Thank god! I couldn't wake you."

Sitting upright I was disorientated, but as I looked around the apartment I found I was on the couch, the night had not given way to dawn as yet, and Bella was here, she was alive.

The look on her face told me she was concerned, this was obvious when she spoke. "Are you okay? What happened?"

My chest was tight a I struggled to breathe, my hands scrubbed over my face. "They were here, they came for me. You… you." I paused, afraid to say the words, yet I found the courage, but could barely manage to whisper. "You were dead, he killed you."

"It's okay, it was a nightmare, nothing more." She attempted to reassure me.

"You don't understand Bella, it felt real. I tried to stop them, to protect you, but I couldn't do anything to stop him."

Bella pulled me into her arms. "I'm safe, you're safe. No-one is here, it's just me and you."

It might have been just a nightmare to her, but it felt real. I had lived through the sadistic nature of that man, I knew what he was capable of first hand. Truly, I believed James was here in the apartment. There was no way I remain here, not when I knew that my very presence anywhere in her life, not just the apartment could mean she became a target for them.

There was nothing I could do other than leave before the nightmare became a reality. Above all else I had to keep Bella safe, and alive. If that meant leaving her life, forever.

Authors Note:

Thanks go out as always to Leigh Warner for pre-reading this and talking me down when I talk myself onto the ledge. Updates will be quicker as I have been writing up a storm on this. Not sure how many more chapters there will be but, we are coming to the closing stages.

Thank YOU for reading and if you would like to leave a review, please hit the little button below. If anyone wants to find me on Facebook I am on there, Loopy Lou (look for the Fraggle) as I also have a group for my fics where I post teasers and pictures. New members are always welcome.