So I realize once again it's been a long time since updating. Since posting my last chapter my life has been in full throttle. Moved, got married, had a baby-you name it, I did it. That being said, my end goal has always been and will continue to be-finish the story. Thank you to SashaLee29 , who's review has pushed me to start back up on this. I don't have a beta reader so any grammar/spelling mistakes I do apologize for. As always please review, favorite, anything to let me know you're reading. XO

Bella POV

Edward was driving impossibly fast as usual, the air was palpably uncomfortable as the new threat of Maria hung in the air. I felt a little left out, being the only member of the Cullen's to have never met her. Edward always assured me this was for the better, but these situations always reminded me there was so much of their lives I had missed out on.

"Are we going to be okay?" Renesmee broke the silence, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. She had been through so much already when the Volturi had threatened our family over her presence. I know she wasn't the only one who questioned when our luck would run out with the Volturi. It seemed like we just couldn't rest-there was always something impending upon our family.

"Of course," Edward assured her, his voice smooth and sharp. It even made me feel at ease somehow.

"But what about the Volturi. They have that new member and now Maria…what would she even want anyways?" Renesmee was still just an inquisitive child, despite her accelerated growth and maturity. Edward sighed and I couldn't tell if he was frustrated or scared.

"It's hard to say," he quickly composed himself and that velvet in his voice came out again. "We've only met her once before, she stopped by when we lived in Calgary. I'm not even sure of her intentions back then. I think once she saw our numbers, she was amenable to leave once Jasper asked her to. Judging by Amber's visions it seems like she knows of her existence. We need to be prepared for a fight. She still defends her Southern territory and though her armies are smaller they are still strong." I was slightly surprised Edward was blatantly laying out the truth to the kids, but he sounded genuinely concerned about Maria.

"Why is everyone so interested in me?" Amber's voice piped up now, and I turned towards the backseat to see her little eyes shining with worry.

"Because you're special," I assured her, "you and Renesmee are some of the most special creatures in existence and everyone handles that differently. Some people are merely curious, some are jealous, and others are frightened."

"I just don't want anyone to get hurt," her little lip trembled. I thought of all the scary visions she had and the pain she had experienced and I couldn't even imagine what was going on in her little mind.

"Well it's a good thing you have the best family there is. I know your parents have told you they won't let anything happen to you. We all just want to protect both of you. We've been in so many unfavorable situations-and always come out stronger," Edward had seen his family go through even more than I had. His reassuring tone told me even if he was worried, he knew that we would all get out of danger's grasp somehow.

Alice POV

We heard the car slowing down as it approached the house. Jasper had gone through a range of emotions since we got the call about Maria. I knew he felt somewhat responsible that she was even a threat to us to begin with. They had ended on somewhat reasonable terms last time he saw her-asking her to leave us alone as politely as he could. However, he knew Maria was unpredictable and that was the cause of his worry now. We didn't know how close she was or what she would do. I had tried to search for her but I could tell she was being smart; playing with the holes in my vision. Luckily she couldn't do that to Amber, but her visions were more uncertain; just a cavalcade of possibilities. I rubbed my temples in frustration. Sometimes I felt so useless, I knew my visions had a big weakness. Eventually she would have to decide to make a move, but by then it could be too late. Jasper and I had tossed ideas back and forth about what she wanted. Was she jealous that Jasper had been able to create a family with me? Was she interested in Amber strictly for the possibly of creating vampire children, or did she want Amber for her powers? There were so many uncertainties here, including the numbers Maria had in her forces.

"Mommy," my focus instantly snapped to Amber as she was already pulling me towards the door before Edward swung it open. She leapt into my waiting arms, her ringlets bouncing with her step. Thank you, I thought to Edward as the family gathered back in the main room. It was hard to believe only hours ago we stood here discussing Rosalie and her rash decision, and now the mood had completely shifted. I know we needed more information but I hated to keep prying at Amber, I was worried she could get thrown into a vision that could hurt her. We had been working hard on controlling it, but it wasn't perfect.

"What exactly did you see?" Jasper asked-he got right to the point-he was obviously under distress.

"Out loud," Carlisle smiled, "If you don't mind, I think all of us are anxious to hear what we're dealing with."

"I didn't see much," Amber pulled her face out of my shoulder, "the flashes were almost all the same. I saw a man going up to a hooded figure and telling her about us, he called her Maria. The differences were her reaction. I almost always saw her face, but sometimes she was in shock, or angry, or curious. One time she even punched the man." We all processed this, I didn't think it sounded terrible but we also had no idea what she was going to do from here.

"Amber?" I asked, my voice came out slightly higher pitched than I intended. "Do you think you can look again. Just focus on Maria, maybe she has had time to process it. She may not be making a firm decision on purpose but we may be able to see some options." Amber nodded and took a breathe-unneeded, but she was using it to try and focus. I didn't take my eyes off of her the whole time. Finally I noticed her face change, her eyes went blank and twitched rapidly. I braced myself for screams, for anything that she may react to. Luckily there was nothing, her eyes regained their sparkle and she looked up at me.

"I think she's coming here now. She was always on the move when I saw her. She was running, swimming, but it was already snowing where she was, definitely not the South. The number of people varied from fifty , to ten, to two. Maybe some of them are behind or maybe some will leave part-way through. I'm not sure, I'm sorry." Amber looked slightly disappointed. I held her closer to me.

"No one knows, it's okay. I know you did your best, we're already asking so much of you," I tilted her chin to look at my eyes. I needed her to know she was doing enough, especially at such a young age.

"Should we start preparing then?" Emmett clapped his fist on his hand and looked eager.

"We have no idea what she wants Emmett, let's not assume it's a fight," Carlisle cautioned.

"It's Maria, what proof do you need?" Jasper scoffed. He knew better than any of us what Maria was capable of. Sometimes I wonder if he regretted not killing her when she sought us out before.

"She has stayed away up until this point, I don't think we can accept that," Carlisle tried once again to be a voice of reason in this situation.

"Still, I think it would be a good idea to prepare," Edward seemed to be guarded and cautious as well.

"We have no idea when she will show up, could be tomorrow or in a week," Rosalie whined a bit now, we knew she had other things on her mind.

"Well we know how fast our kind can travel, but she does have others with her. It could take her two or three days," Carlisle mused.

"Maximum," Jasper said cuttingly. His jaw was still tight and I knew he would not back down on this.

"Let's just relax for the night. Tomorrow we can regroup and prepare. Jasper and I will discuss and figure out the best course of action," I tried to find a common ground, and let Jasper feel my calm nature and reassurance. I saw his face ease up slightly.

"Thank you Alice," Bella quickly darted upstairs with Renesmee. Suddenly Jasper was next to me holding my hand, Amber had a proud smile on her face.

"Daddy, we're going to be okay," her sweet voice was so soothing and angelic, it was hard not to believe her.

It had been exactly 38 hours. The atmosphere had been bleak and the whole family was anxious. Finally, I had a vision-something concrete to cling to. Maria was close, only another hour to go. I could see she had about five others with her. We outnumbered them, but if they were well-trained newborns we could be in trouble. Bella and Edward had made arrangements for Renesmee, leaving her with Charlie, Sue, and Seth. As much as I wanted to try and hide Amber away, I knew this was about her, and I recognized her power was an ally. We were waiting, all holding our ground, back at the same snow-dusted field where I had been attacked so many months ago. It seemed like a lifetime ago; a time when Amber wasn't even a thought in my mind. As much as that day was filled with pain and unease, it also caused the injuries that allowed Amber to exist. I looked to either side of me and saw Rosalie looking around the field as well, possibly thinking about her plans. I'm sure sometimes she wishes it was her who had been attacked that day. Everyone okay? I thought to Edward. He nodded, it was slow, not a complete affirmation but enough to settle my worry. Amber was in Bella's arms, next to Jasper. Neither of us wanted to hold her- just in case Maria was brash and lunged at one of us first, in blind rage. She had never even formally met Bella, it was the safest place for her until we knew Maria's agenda. The time crept by steadily, we held conversations between one another, talking only so our family could hear. It wasn't long before another vision took over me.

Maria was walking quickly but with purpose, a red hooded jacket covered her long brown hair. She was short in stature compared to all the male vampires surrounding her. They all had blood-red eyes and varying builds. Some very muscular, some skinny, various ages too. There was only one other female with her and she was walking in the back, close to one of the other males. She looked fiercer than some of the men, an era of confidence surrounded her long icy blonde hair, her skin completely pale and her eyes were more of a maroon shade.

"They're here," my eyes snapped back to reality, and I felt Jasper's arm on me. I saw my family lean slightly forward, more protective, more assertive. It wasn't exactly snowing but frost was falling from the sky, a rain/snow mix. The ground, already patchy with white from the last few days of powder.

I heard the crunch of their footsteps before seeing them approach us. They appeared in the same formation as I had seen just moments ago in my vision. They were moving at a human pace now and stopped about 12 feet in front of us.

"Maria," Jasper's voice was deep, dark, almost threatening as he stepped forward ever so slightly.

"Jasper," she answered in a much different tone. Friendly, flirty, almost demeaning it was so pleasant. She lowered her hood and I could finally see her red eyes, her olive-toned face and brown locks clearly.

"I thought I asked you to leave us alone," Jasper's voice was still flat and authoritative.

"You know I could never leave you alone completely," her lips crept up in a small smile. "You will always mean something to me Jasper, you're the one that got away."

"From you killing me," he finished her provoking sentence.

"Exactly," she even laughed a little. "I'm still always amazed you got the courage to do it, to betray me. It still impresses me." Jasper couldn't help but growl a little at her flippant tone. "I've always had tabs on you, I'm sure you saw him a few times, I know he's not the sneakiest." She rolled her eyes and pointed a finger to her right. "This is Mateo, an excellent tracker. I've taught him well, no point in tracking for food when you can do so for power. He has helped me keep the South under control very nicely, and of course keep tabs on my favorite soldier." I knew exactly what she meant, I had sworn a couple of times that I had seen someone watching us but had never been able to see them clearly. Mateo was an older vampire than most of family, most likely in his late 30's when he was turned and an average figure. His arms and legs were quite muscular but he was not built anywhere close to Emmett. He had the same olive-hue to his skin and black hair that fell back behind his ears. It was greased down heavily and parted in the middle.

"So if you have always known where we are, why come now?" Jasper was still the only one speaking, I had a feeling the rest of the family was waiting for permission in a way, they knew the history between him and Maria. She let out a full, deep laugh.

"Really Jasper? You didn't think I wouldn't notice a random new addition to your little 'family'. You Cullens have added quite a few additions lately, first the human girl, then the hybrid and now her," I noticed her eyes glistening a little as she shifted her gaze to Amber.

"Don't even think about it," Edward spoke with a low growl, obviously responding to Maria's thoughts.

"The mind reader," she sighed, "doesn't that get annoying?" "I wasn't actually going to do anything. You think I want to die?" she laughed again. "I just came to see it for myself. It's a pity really. Just think how perfect our baby could have been mi amore, bello. It was my turn to growl, I couldn't help it- the jealous and protective instinct over my mate kicked in.

"Alice, it's okay," Jasper sent me love and calming emotions.

"En cualquier Caso. How did you do it?" Maria's tone finally got serious. "We're not supposed to be able to have children. Sure not every vampire is coupled up but plenty of us fuck around." She winked at Mateo then focused back on us. "Did the doctor finally figure something out the rest of us haven't? Did the Volturi tell you something?" her voice was getting faster, she was getting antsy, her curiosity getting the better of her. Edward had to snort at that.

"The Volturi hates us just as much as they do you."

"Fair enough, so how then?" she snapped at Jasper.

"Why would I tell you Maria? What do you care? Since when do you care anything about having children?" Jasper challenged her, his voice raising in slight annoyance. Her lips pursed a little.

"I don't want them for some little family fantasy. But think of the possibilities for an army of children. Not illegal because they change and grow, smart enough to be taught and reasoned with, and very powerful," her voice seemed ethereal, lost in thoughts of clout.

"That's not the point of children," Edward snarled a little. "And even so, it's not some science we have perfected. It's still completely unique and as far as we know, nonreplicable."

"It's dangerous Maria. A life of war is not one for a child. Would you really want that for your own kin?" Carlisle offered, trying to reason with her.

"Who says I would have any? I can recruit newborn females and have them supply my army," her eyes turned a sinister shade of dark red, hungry for destruction.

"No Maria," Jasper was firm, standing his ground. "That's exactly what we didn't want people to do with this knowledge. These aren't just some newborn vampires who will do your bidding for some blood. They are children who need to be cared for, taught, and loved. Amber couldn't even walk or talk at first. She was as helpless as a human baby for a time."

"It doesn't matter, I can work around that. Do I need to make you tell me?" Her eyes were burning now, a disturbing flame of greed and peril.

"You are outnumbered here," Edward reminded her, gesturing to her small entourage.

"I am," she smiled, "but I'm afraid I have somewhat of a secret weapon you are unaware of." My anxiety picked up, I wasn't sure what she was talking about but she seemed cocky. Before I had time to process anything that she was saying, a series of events rapidly played out in front of me. First, I heard Edward fall to the ground, clutching his head in pain, Bella responded by shielding the family, an instinctive protective reaction. Then they fell. Maria, Mateo, they all hit the ground, screaming, tugging their arms out of their sockets.

"What…did…you…do!" Maria managed to gasp out through her screams of agony.

"Make it stop!" Mateo begged her, "leave it…" his sentence was cut short, his hand was creeping towards his throat. His eyes bugged in horror and I started to realize what was happening. Maria was trying to raise her hand in surrender, I could tell it was strenuous and it kept being pulled back to her arm.

"You…win," she could barely breathe. All at once, it stopped. I could tell Bella was still focused, still shielding us, and Edward had long since gained his composure and was holding Bella's hand in support.

Maria stood up, frightened, confused, I had never seen her look so powerless. I could tell she wanted to say something but she shook her head instead. She turned her back, and gestured for the rest of them to follow her. The blonde girl held her gaze on us longer than I would have liked, finally the man next to her tugged on her hand and they departed. Just like that they were all gone in a swirl of misty air. We waited briefly to make sure they were far enough away. Gone? I thought to Edward, making sure their thoughts were no longer readable. He nodded slowly. Amber burst out, dry tears racking her words.

"I'm sorry, I had to, they were going to do something to Uncle Edward." My gaze shifted to my daughter who Jasper now had nestled up against his chest. I had heard of the violence, Carlisle told us about it when he took her hunting, and I had seen pits of pieces of it since then. But that sheer takedown of so many people, their helplessness, it was terrifying.

"It's ok," Jasper soothed her hair, I could tell he was upping the reassurance, I could even feel some of the waves coming off of him. Everyone seemed to still be in shock, unsure of what just unfolded. Only Edward seemed to have any idea what was going on.

"Let's all go back to the house and discuss there," Carlisle could sense the family's unease. We all just nodded, and took our own paths, running back towards our home.

Once inside, the family scattered momentarily. Rosalie went upstairs to shower and change (she hated feeling wet or dirty even as a vampire), Emmett followed. Bella and Edward went over the piano and tinkered around to fill the silence. Carlisle went up to his office briefly and Esme sat on a lounge chaise reading. Jasper and I had taken Amber up to our room, deciding to shed our wet clothes as well.

"They're all scared of me," she whispered, while I brushed the droplets out of her hair.

"No, I think they're just surprised," Jasper tried to ease her worry. I could tell in his face he was lying a bit.

"I had to. You didn't see what I did," she was becoming upset again, her lip trembling.

"No we didn't. We all want to know what you saw. Let's go downstairs and you can tell everyone okay?" I kissed her forehead and scooped her up in my arms, Jasper followed behind us as we descended into the living room. We settled down on the long white couch and waited as Emmett, Rosalie, and Carlisle joined us.

"Would you like to start?" Carlisle offered Amber gentle encouragement.

"I'm sorry I hurt them like that. Maria was serious that she had a threat. I saw them using it on uncle Edward, manipulating us, hurting us, it was awful. I had to stop it from ever starting," Amber was overwhelmed trying to explain her motives.

"That girl, the blonde one. You know the Volturi's new guard member? That is her sister. They offered her a spot as well, but she refused to leave her mate-he has no powers. We thought the ability to shut off a power was bad; this girl can steal them," Edward explained, obviously what he heard in their thoughts.

"Didn't it say in Aro's letter her sister had been killed"? Bella wondered, remembering when Aro sent out his notice, what seemed like ages ago now.

"Aro always has been one to bend the truth when it suits him. He knows this is woman has a power he wants on his side-not used against him," Edward explained, lips pursed.

"I thought that kind of power was a myth," Carlisle was most surprised. "Aro was always worried someone would use it to steal his gift."

"It's real and we just saw living proof," Edward continued. "She can't keep the gifts for herself, she must transfer them to others, they start to eat away at her and make her insane if she keeps them. She keeps looking for a gift to give her mate so they can join the Volturi together. Maria told her she could steal mine." Edward's jaw was tight and his eyes were heavy.

"It sounds like you saved him," Bella's face relaxed and she brushed her fingers over Amber's shoulder.

"It also sounds like we have a serious threat to deal with," Jasper reminded everyone. "Maria knows about all our powers and now she just saw Amber's. I would bet this girl isn't going to stop until she gets a power from someone."

"So you think they'll be back?" Esme looked concerned as she stood closer to Carlisle.

"Did you hear any inkling of that in their thoughts?" I asked nervously, remembering how she looked at us before leaving.

"Nothing concrete," Edward shook his head, "but I don't think it's over, I didn't hear any thoughts about her giving up."

"What do we do?" Bella asked sheepishly.

"We can't just sit around waiting for people to attack us," Rosalie argued. "We already know the Volturi are after us, now Maria and this other girl. We're sitting ducks if we stay and do nothing."

"Where can we go? We just moved here not too long ago, and it's not like they won't find us again," Jasper pointed out, thinking of Maria's tracker.

"So we fight," Emmett spoke up now, arms crossed, looking ready for battle.

"You know how I feel about fighting Emmett," Carlisle warned him, his voice still gentle.

"This isn't going to end if we don't," Edward affirmed. He didn't usually disagree with Carlisle but I could see the worry was wearing him thin. "We might not be able to take care of the one in the Volturi guard, she's protected and if we attack her they will not take it lightly. The sister though-being associated with Maria, it's an easy justification." I was slightly taken aback hearing Edward talk about blatantly killing another vampire, we usually didn't unless they outright tried to hurt us. She had surrendered, at least for the time being.

"How do we stop her then?" Emmett liked more riled up now.

"How does she steal the gifts?" Carlisle wondered.

"By touch," Amber offered, her voice was quiet and scared. "That's what I saw in my visions. I saw a lot of different ways they tried to do it, but in the end they were trying to trick uncle Edward into fighting her. Once she got her hands on him it was over. As she steals the gift, the victim can feel it leaving them, it hurts-that's what happened to uncle Edward. I projected that onto him by accident, the pain of losing his ability. Edward seemed to shutter thinking about that.

"I felt so weak, it felt like my mind was being split in two," he explained. "Anyone in that position would not be able to fight back or stop it."

"I don't see how then," Emmett sighed, "none of us have Alec's or Zafrina's power." I noticed Edward's eyes dart up in surprise and look at Amber.

"Morbid, but I think it would work," he nodded and I could see a plan forming in his head.

"Ugh, you know we hate the silent conversations," Rosalie complained. Edward just smiled a little and looked at Jasper and I.

"Amber just had a thought, a great idea actually."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Jasper asked, a slight downturn on his face.

"She didn't want to sound gruesome," Edward smirked again.

"I could have her take her arms off. Then she wouldn't be able to touch anyone. While she struggles to regain her parts-someone can finish it," Amber spouted out her thoughts, a little more confidently with Edward's smiles and encouragement.

"It won't be pretty. I'm not one for unnecessary torture," Edward explained. "But I think we have no choice in this case."

"Are you forgetting something?" Rosalie questioned. "She has a mate. Sure he has no powers but he is not going to take us killing her lightly. He could even run to the Volturi for help. They're always looking for an excuse to take us down."

"So we take out both of them," Emmett said matter-of-factly.

"Stop!" I looked over in surprise, Carlisle almost never yelled at us. "Who are you all right now? Our family does not just go around killing as a precautionary measure. We killed James when he hurt Bella, Victoria and her army when they blatantly tried to kill us, and that's it. Could we have chased down and caught Victoria sooner? Maybe, but that is not what we do." Esme was the only one who looked unsurprised at his tone, and rubbed his shoulder while he spoke. Emmett looked like a child who had just been chastised but seemed to back down easily. In fact, everyone seemed to be solemnly nodding in agreement. Everyone except Jasper and Edward.

"Exactly Carlisle, we defended ourselves against them when they went after Bella. They are coming for us. My daughter and Jasper's daughter are in danger and you want to just sit back and wait," his teeth were baring, Edward rarely got angry, even more rarely at Carlisle.

"These two vampire sisters sound extremely dangerous, they have powers that even we can barely combat. Unless you plan to rally all of our more powerful friends again, we have to take this into our own hands," Jasper was surprisingly more calm, but very calculated. I recognized this side of him, his early days planning military strategies for Maria demanded action and ambush.

"Well we don't need all of them to come. But that isn't a bad idea. Maybe just the Amazon and Irish coven. Even Benjamin couldn't hurt, and you know we can always count on the Denali's," Esme tried to turn the sneer into a legitimate suggestion. She wanted her family to stop arguing with each other and tended to sway more towards pacifism.

"You really think they would help us?" Bella wondered, remembering how several vampires came together to help protect Renesmee.

"Then they would also know about Amber," Jasper argued. "We don't want everyone in our world to know this is possible. If I could hide her from the Volturi forever I would. Just think what they could do with this knowledge. Create heirs so that they can never be challenged, steal other gifted vampire children to join their guard. Our entire world would change." I paused to take in what Jasper was saying. He was making a point I never thought about. If having a child really could be replicated, maybe not with one hundred percent accuracy, but enough to allow other vampires to experience it, our world would never be the same. I shuddered to think what some people would do with the knowledge, but it also made me happy to think about people like Kate and Garrett, Carmen and Eleazar, and of course Emmett and Rosalie who deserved more than anything to have a family of their own.

"That's where we are at now," Carlisle had fallen back into his normal cadence. "This happened, and there is no way to hide from it. We can't control what anyone else does, but the more we keep our information a secret, the more others will come to seek it out." I sighed, knowing he was right.

"We could always just say it's impossible for anyone else, that it was a one-time thing," Bella suggested.

"Aro would be able to tell from Amber's visions that's not true. She already saw, no matter how small the chance, that it is possible," I reminded her, thinking of Rosalie's many plausible fates.

"I'm going to do it," Rosalie jumped in, bitter, angry. "I'm never going to give up," she was on the brink of dry tears now. Rosalie usually never let us see this side of her.

"Until you get hurt- or worse," Edward snapped back angerly.

"She saw it Edward!" she practically screamed, gesturing to Amber. "I will never be able to erase that from my mind. There is a future out there where I get to hold my own baby."

"She also saw you practically dead!" he raised his voice to match hers. Rosalie scowled at him and raced outside, slamming the door behind her.

"Rosalie!" Emmett yelled, close on her heels.

"Why is she always running off," Edward rolled his eyes, annoyed, angry, exhausted.

"You know I'm not one to take sides," I started, "but Edward, you will never understand. The feeling of being a mother, carrying your own child is indescribable. Rosalie has wanted that her entire life. Before Emmett, that's the only thing she thought could bring her happiness." I tried my best to describe the feeling that came with having a child. Sure, he had Renesmee, but it was different for a woman.

"I have never felt emotions that strong coming from her," Jasper even jumped to her defense. "I know part of it is selfish, but wanting to be a mother is engrained in her very soul, almost like an ability. Imagine knowing you could read minds but never being able to make it work. Like always seeing a fuzzy thought, causing a migraine lasting an eternity." My heart swelled at Jasper's explanation and empathy for Rosalie. Edward closed his eyes, paused. Bella grabbed his hand instinctively. I thought he would never unfreeze, but he looked up at us after some time.

"I'm sorry," his eyes were darkening and filled with remorse. Esme ran over to hug her adopted son, I joined in, and we all surrounded Edward. I would always forgive my favorite brother, and I knew we were all high strung right now. I embraced the scent and calmness of the moment when my vision snapped. I was sucked into a scene, set in the forest. Rosalie was emotional, dry-sobbing, shoulders heaving. "Please Emmett," she begged. "I can't wait any longer. Carlisle already told you what to do. Just do it, please." Emmett looked so pained, as if he was going to cry as well. "Hit first, then bite," she reminded him. He swallowed hard, then backed up. Rosalie stood across from him, and even though she knew what was coming she smiled. Emmett held his breathe, he started to run towards her-fist out.

So there you have it, Chapter 23. I think that was the most action yet, and it was very fun to write. I am so excited to see the future of this story unfold and just know I am never giving up on it. As always make sure to comment, favorite, anything to let me know you are reading.