Most characters belong to S. Meyer. The rest belong to me.

QUESTIONS

BELLA

It was obvious that the young male been grabbed by the same group of males who'd tried to grab me. He had bruises on his wrists, his nostrils and mouth were red and raw and the sickly scent of soranth lingered on his breath. His eyes were disoriented and agitated and there were some bruises around his collarbone, but he seemed otherwise unharmed. He had tensely asked me to check if he had been assaulted and I saw the tears slide silently down his face when I reassured him that the exam had showed nothing, no bruising, abrasions or internal injuries of any sort. He tried his best to answer my questions on what he could remember, but the soranth had done its job and all I could do was leave him with some powders to aid with a speedier purging of the drug from his system. I spoke to his parents before leaving, promising to check in the next day. What the hell were those males doing?

I felt a sudden wave of dizziness, after effects of the soranth, and wasn't looking where I was going, which is why I cannoned into what felt like a brick wall, making me double over in pain.

"Bella? Are you alright?"

"Jacob." I straightened up slowly. "Yes, I'm fine." No, I wasn't. I was feeling the effects of my little morning encounter more. "What are you-" He was heading in the direction of the dwelling I was just leaving. "Ah, I see."

"What do you see?" Jacob said, looking mildly amused.

"Nothing. I'm glad Clan Intelligence is getting involved in these abduction-release cases, that's all." I said, taking great pleasure in the start he gave and the narrow gaze he fixed on me. "What, you think I didn't figure it out?" And once I had figured it out, I'd been very careful around him.

"I should have known." He sighed, frowning. "I won't ask how you found out."

"I'm smart, that's how. And don't worry, I haven't said anything to the Five Mouths of the Apocalypse." I said solemnly. He shook his head, his lips twitching.

"I take it you've just seen the latest abducSeth."

"Yes."

"And?"

"The same as the others. Signs of drugging, enough to scramble the memory around the time of the abduction. I'd say soranth." I slipped this in, the only way I could give a concrete clue without mentioning what had happened to me. "Minor bruising indicative of resistance. No other injuries. He's still disoriented but lucid enough to speak. I take it you'll be interviewing him, not the Guard?" He nodded briefly.

"Were there bruises around his collarbone?" He asked me suddenly. I stared.

"How on earth did you know that?"

"Then there were."

I nodded slowly and then frowned. My would-be captor, Number Four, had his arm across my collarbone when he'd held me, right before they'd been interrupted by the bear. They'd been about to check something...Something I wasn't remembering. What?

"Where will you be?" He asked, calling me back to the present.

"Karline's."

"I'll see you there once I'm done here." He nodded at me and continued to the dwelling. I watched him go and then headed for Karline's.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Ask her."

"You ask her."

"You wanted to know, you ask her."

"Oh please, you want to know as much as I do."

"I have better things to do than nose into my friends' personal business, Emily."

"That's rich, coming from the guy who gave Sam all that advice about mating."

"I was doing that poor guy a favour. You're wearing him out."

"And giving him graphic advice on how to use his tongue to wear me out first helps."

"Well, he does look better rested-"

"Way too much information, you two."

Enough was enough.

I stopped moving my hands around Karline's belly and raised my voice enough so they could hear me in the corridor where they were bickering.

"Louder, guys! The babe needs more details!"

There was sudden hush and then murmurs as they continued but more quietly.

I shook my head and concentrated once more on my examination as Karline chuckled.

"Sorry, Bella. I didn't invite them, they just showed up." She said apologetically as I moved my hand slowly to the next spot, feeling the babe move under my palm.

"It's fine if they just shut the fuck up." I muttered, following the babe's movement in the womb. "But that might be a concept those four aren't familiar with."

Karline chuckled again and then was silent as I completed the examination and prepped for her internal.

"What were they blabbering on about anyway?" I asked, trying to distract her as I parted her legs and began feeling her entrance and further in, ignoring the pain in my wrist from having been restrained earlier. "Ask who what?" She breathed in and out a little before she answered.

"They want to ask you about you and the Clan Leader's son. Ow!" She flinched as my fingers involuntarily tightened on her.

"Sorry, sorry." I apologised hastily as I continued on. "They really have way too much time on their hands."

"So go on then, what is going on between you and him?" She said smiling as she concentrated on the ceiling.

"Not a good idea to ask when I've got my fingers inside you, Kals." I felt around inside where the rupture had happened, finding the scar tissue.

"Stop avoiding the question."

"There's nothing to avoid." I said as I removed my fingers, straightened her robe and went to wash.

"Not according to what I've heard." I heard her sheets rustle as she sat up. "They're saying-"

"I'm saying don't believe any of it." I forestalled her. There was no way I was telling this lot about the kiss, what lead upto it, his arousal post massage, his innuendos...that would be like giving matches to a pyromaniac.

"But-"

I opened the door to the corridor to let the others back in, effectively shutting Karline up.

"She's fine." I said looking at Damian, who visibly relaxed.

"The babe too?" Seth, visiting from Arden, raised an enquiring eyebrow.

"The babe too." I confirmed. Emily and Leah both let out sighs of relief as I smiled. This was why we were crowded. They'd wanted to be there if the news was bad.

"Please tell me I'm not still on bed rest." Karline said as she eased her body off the bed and stood up.

"No but it's limited movement." I said as I repacked my satchel. "For every half an hour on your feet, it will be one hour with your feet up, either in bed or sitting on a comfy chair." I saw the face she made. "It's called payback. For the nasty commentary on my cooking." She groaned.

"You're a sadist."

"Come on, let's have tea outside." Damian said laughing as he slung his arm around her and escorted her carefully out.

I perched on the bench in the front garden, sipping my tea, half-listening to the conversation and trying not to wince. My mouth felt raw and I was feeling the pain in my torso and wrists increasingly, not to mention the lingering nausea. The tea was helping somewhat, but I could still taste that cloying sweetness.

"...so she says." The sudden silence made me glance up, to see all eyes on me.

"What?"

"Nothing going on between you and Edward?" Emily asked, a wicked glint in her eye, "Not even after we worked so hard to get him in your pants?"

"Not all of us are as randy as you are, Em." I said drily.

"It's such a waste, Bella." Leah said, sighing.

"I'm sure he isn't wasting anything."

"Not him, YOU." Leah retorted. "Here you are, in the prime of your youth, looking like that and completely oblivious."

"And perfectly happy." I gave her a look.

"That's the problem right there." Seth said, teasingly. I glared at him.

"Don't you start, Seth. They're bad enough as it is."

"You need to get those Grade A loins out there, Bella." Emily grinned at me as I choked on my tea. "Take them out for a spin, live a little."

"I'm prescribing you a sedative. If you get any randier, Sam will end up with a sprained body part."

"But seriously, are you telling me you weren't even tempted by Edward? You didn't want to warm the sheets with him at all?" Karline asked suddenly.

I cleared my throat and was about to answer when I saw her eyes flicker swiftly to a point behind me. A familiar scent tickled my nose. Oh no. How much of that had he heard? I turned around slowly.

He sported a wide grin, his emerald-green eyes glinting.

That would be all of it, then.

"Go on, answer her." Edward leaned against the gate, lips twitching. Jasper and Rosalie stood behind him, trying not to laugh.

"My Lord." I said deliberately, hand over my heart in salute. "What an unpleasant surprise."

"That's no way to talk to the Clan Leader's son." He teased as he straightened up. I noticed with a frown that, despite his smile, he looked tired.

"Oops, sorry. My Lord Edward. What an unpleasant surprise." I amended pointedly, making him laugh.

"Isabella." He reached out and placed a hand on my hair. "It is good to see you."

"And you, my Lord." I turned and gestured to my friends. "You know Damian, Karline and Emily. This is Leah and that's Seth." All of whom had been watching our exchange avidly, I knew, and by the look in Emily and Karline's eyes, they weren't going to let it go.

"My honour." Edward said inclining his head at Leah and Seth, smiling at the others. "I take it all is well?" He glanced at Karline and then at me.

"Indeed, my Lord, thank you." Karline replied easily, smiling.

"Will you join us for tea, my Lord?" Damian asked, gesturing towards the garden.

"I would be delighted." He surprised me by saying, entering at the gate and seating himself comfortably in between me and Seth, who had made room with a grin at me. Jasper and Rosalie stayed outside, talking softly.

"Don't you have things to attend to, my Lord?" I asked, looking at him meaningfully, trying to head off the inevitable interrogation later.

"I always have time for Clan. And my friends." He said, smiling as he accepted the tea Damian held out to him. "Besides..."

"Besides?" I glanced up at him.

"How are those grade A loins doing?" Edward asked, giving me an innocent look.

My cheeks flamed as the others burst into laughter.

"I have to agree with them, it's such a waste."

"With all due respect, my Lord, screw you." I gave him a nasty look, my cheeks still warm. He laughed.

"Promises, promises." He teased. "I want to hear the answer to Karline's question."

"I'm pretty sure Clan are bound to answer the Clan leadership, Bella. Am I right, my Lord?" Emily said, a grin on her face.

"You are, Emily." He said gravely. "It is the duty of Clan members to answer if called upon by the leadership."

"I didn't know you were so hilarious, my Lord." I retorted pleasantly.

"You dare mock the Clan Leader's son?" Seth said in mock horror and then groaning as I nudged him in the ribs hard.

"They won't stop, Bella." Damian laughed. "You'd do better to just answer them or this will go on." I rolled my eyes.

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry if this crushes your ego, my Lord." I glanced at Edward. "But I have not been tempted. You are my friend. Not my mate." I said the last word softly, deliberately. His face hardened slightly but his voice was casual, friendly even, when he replied.

"Your future mate is lucky to have one as loyal as you."

His words were a blow harder than the one I'd received in the morning.

"Ah, Bella, your mate wouldn't mind you having a bit of fun." Leah protested.

"They're probably out there doing the same." Emily said laughing. "No mate has ever rejected another just for their past relationships."

"No mate has rejected their mate ever, Leah." Seth said drily and I felt Edward stiffen next to me.

"True. God, wonder if that's ever happened. A mate rejecting another." Emily looked around at the group. "What would you do if your mate rejected you, Seth?"

"It's unthinkable." Seth shook his head. "Why would any mate do it? No Clan would give up their mate and companion."

"What if you had a mate who was a nasty piece of work?" Leah asked.

"You don't give up on your mate." Seth shrugged. "You work things through. Isn't that how relationships work?"

"But what if you ended up mated to someone you don't want?" Karline said contemplatively. "I've never thought of that."

"Because it doesn't happen." Emily said.

"What would you do if Karline suddenly decided she didn't want you, Damian?" Leah teased.

"I'd drag her kicking and screaming into the bedroom and claim her so thoroughly she couldn't move." Damian said, looking over at Karline in mock seriousness.

"Mmmmm, maybe I need to reject you more often." Karline said, wagging her eyebrows at him suggestively.

"I have to agree with Bella, the water in Forks makes you all way too randy." Seth sighed. Damian laughed.

"What would you do if your mate rejected you, Seth?"

"It would devastate me." He said quietly. "But I'd probably ask him to give us a chance, talk it through, come to a compromise initially that would allow me time to win him over. I wouldn't let him go, any more than Damian."

"I'd make sure Sam couldn't walk, much less run, away from me." Emily stated firmly.

"I always knew you had a violent streak in you, Em." Karline teased.

"Who said anything about violence? There are other ways to make sure he can't walk." Emily grinned.

"What about you, Bella?" Karline looked over to where I'd been sitting, eyes fixed to the ground, increasingly uncomfortable with the conversation.

"Hmmm?"

"What would you do if your mate rejected you? Ran?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. She gave me a look. "I haven't given matehood much thought." I couldn't bring myself to say anything else, for fear I'd give myself away. This was coming too close to home for me.

"You're no fun, Bella." She shook her head and then looked at Edward. "How about you, my Lord? What would you do if your mate ran?" I tensed as he looked up from the table.

"What would I do?" He asked quietly. "I would hunt them down. No one runs from me. No one." His voice was low and hard.

"I can't imagine anyone would, My Lord." Damian said, frowning as he saw Edward's expression. I put one hand on Edward's thigh softly. He turned his head to look at me and then exhaled, his muscles relaxing under my palm.

"I would find it hard to understand." He continued, his voice more casual than it had been. "It goes against everything Clan."

"Which is why it's never happened." Seth reiterated.

"Wasn't there a Clan Leader whose mate ran away? I seem to remember studying it." Karline frowned.

"Yes, but it all worked out in the end." Emily said. "And they lived happily ever after."

We all laughed.

"This has been fun, but I must be going." I said standing up. "Rest up, Kals. I'll drop by again."

"I'll walk with you." Edward stood up. "It's time for me to continue with what I came for." He gestured for the others to stay seated as Seth and Damian made to rise. "Blessings for the birthing, Karline." She smiled back at him.

I ignored Emily's not so subtle signs at me and hurried out the gate before any further comments were made, Edward on my heels.

"Escaping?" He teased as he matched my stride easily.

"Hell yes. They're impossible." He laughed.

"What brings you to Forks?"

"What do you think?"

I stiffened a little and spoke as casually as I could.

"You've heard more from Healer Charis?" He shook his head.

"Not yet. But I didn't get the chance to comb Forks when I was last here, because of the bear attack. So I thought I might as well cover that base and see if my mark darkens. It's a long shot."

"I see." I glanced over at him. "You look tired." He smiled wearily.

"I go in circles in my head. Wondering why, get angry, get sad, wonder why, round and round and round."

"I'm sorry." I said in a low voice, only I knew I was apologising for so much more.

"Nothing for you to apologise for." He said briefly. Oh, but there is. There is all of it. I wish I didn't have to hurt you to get my freedom. If there were another way...

He must have seen my troubled expression because he touched me on the arm, his voice gentle.

"Don't you worry. I know I'm close. I will find my mate." I was quiet.

"And when I do, I'll make sure they won't run from me again."

Phew! It was the longest chapter I have written.

Oh My! Edward is getting mad.

A/N: Thoughts?