A/N: Hello my patient, wonderful ducks! Let's get right to it.

Edward was sore.

It was nothing new at this point. After trekking across the county day after day, especially along the mountainous terrain of the northern states, he was used to waking up aching.

These were different aches. He hadn't been out walking, after all, but out riding. And ridden. And...

Edward's soft chuckle at his own bad joke drew Bella's attention. She looked up, her eyebrow quirked in question, and he shook his head. His smile faded as soon as it had come. His gaze lingered on her, and the question in her expression fell. The air between them came alive. Everything he read in her face was a reflection of what he felt to the marrow of his bones.

He didn't want to say goodbye today. He didn't understand how they could.

Aaron, curled up in Bella's lap, whimpered. Bella looked down, going back to what she'd been doing—trying to get some food and water in the little boy's belly. Edward returned to rearranging his packs to fit some of the medical supplies they'd found. They were close enough to their destination that he could give up some of his other supplies in favor of bandages and birth control. His father, in charge of the medical center on the islands, would be pleased.

He would see his parents, his brother, by evening. The thought should have made him ecstatic and eager to be on the move. Instead, he was wrapped up in Bella, trying to find the right words. If he could get her to the islands, she would see. She would see they had a good thing going for them; a civilized society where she would be in less danger than she was wandering the world alone.

"You said you trusted me," he said before he could stop himself.

Bella raised her head. "What?"

This was a bad idea. Bella's whole problem revolved around men's inability to take no for an answer. "I'm not trying to be pushy."

Her eyes narrowed. "Edward."

"But this is it, right? It's... It might as well be a matter of life or death. I'm never going to see you again one way or another, so I have to try, don't I? I have to make every argument."

"You think I haven't had every argument in my head?"

"I think it's worth repeating if there's a chance you'll stay."

She held his gaze another few seconds and then nodded, looking back to Aaron. "Make your case." She eyed him over the baby's head. "But I swear to god, if you list your abilities in bed as a reason…"

He gave a startled laugh and shook his head. "No, that's the kind of thing that should speak for itself. If last night wasn't enough to convince you…" He shrugged.

She looked up again. Their eyes met, and her cheeks flushed a pleasing pink, her smile gone tender and intimate. "It's a tempting argument."

"But not enough."

She glanced at him with a sad smile but didn't say anything.

"So, like I said, you trust me, right?" He waited for her wary nod before he continued. "If you trust me, why don't you believe me when I tell you what life is like on the island? We have our problems, of course. Any group of people is going to have some issues, but nothing like what you're worried about. There are women on the council. We're civilized."

Aaron whimpered and reached for Bella. She took the boy in her arms easily, petting his hair to soothe him. "The islands aren't small. Something like sixty miles collectively, right? Can you really have a clear picture of what might be going on in the outskirts of your society?"

Edward frowned. "Maybe not, but the point is, if you had a problem—"

"What if I had a problem with someone important? Someone you need to survive. The town doctor?"

"My father is the town doctor," he reminded her. "He wouldn't hurt anyone."

"You know what I mean."

"I do."

For some minutes, he let the topic drop as they put on packs and adjusted straps. Edward frowned, putting his hand to Aaron's head when Bella passed the little boy to him. "He's still so hot."

"He's going to be okay. Especially when he can get some real rest after today." Bella grimaced when Aaron gave a sharp cry, muttering in babble at them. "Just… You have to try to keep him quiet. The closer we get to Anacortes, the port city, the more likely there will be people around. Natural ports like that are a draw, even if your islands are protected."

"I'll try to keep him awake for a while. Maybe we can get him to sleep through the last part. We just need our luck to hold out a little longer."

"Your luck." Bella's eyes, as always, tracked around them, ever aware. "I can't go much further now. It's about eleven hours to Anacortes by foot at the rate we're moving. I think I can stick with you for five hours. Maybe six if I push it."

His heart ached, and he swallowed hard. "Then I better start on my list now."

"As long as you're keeping up the pace."

Edward adjusted Aaron's pack, bouncing his step a little to settle the boy's soft crying. "Christmas."

"What about it?" Bella asked.

"We celebrate it. Christmas tree. Gifts. Apple cider and hot chocolate." Edward grinned with the memory. "Emmett will spike your cider if you ask."

"Christmas," Bella said the word wistfully.

"There's a lot of food. Just like old times."

"Really old times, I bet. Way back. Before electricity."

"All the cabins on those islands have fireplaces, it's true." Edward studied her out of the corner of his eye, wondering if he was making a dent.

Bella blew out a long breath. "What else you got?"

~0~

They were making good time. Closer to the coast, the trails were more obvious and the trees thinner. Their only obstacle now were the steep cliffs jutting out not far from where they walked.

Despite the heaviness in the air between them, the ache in his heart, it was a peaceful few hours. They bantered, Edward giving her every reason to come home with him, Bella countering with some version of, "right, but freedom."

"Home ownership without credit. Or money?" Edward said.

They were walking so close together their fingers brushed. On impulse, Edward curled his fingertips around hers. She didn't pull away but squeezed back. She sighed. "That's a nice thing about restarting society, isn't it? We all start at zero. No credit. Money is meaningless. Hah. Wouldn't that be great? If we were smart, we wouldn't try to do the whole money thing again."

"But since when are humans smart?"

She turned her head and shot him a grin. "And yet you want me to live among them."

"Well—"

Whatever Edward might have said was cut off when Aaron stirred. He whimpered on once and then let out a sharp cry. The cry crescendoed into a piercing wail.

It was bad timing. They were near a rocky gorge. It wasn't a particularly impressive gorge; not vast or deep. Still, they were walking close enough to it that Aaron's wails echoed. It was enough to set even Edward's nerves on edge though he wasn't nearly as paranoid as Bella was. He moved quickly to get the child out of his carrying pack. Bella put a hand to the small of his pack, guiding his trajectory so he didn't run into anything. She took them further into the trees, away from the echo of the gorge. They stopped in a small clearing where the light could still reach them.

"Get some water in him, and see if he'll eat something. There are crackers in the front pouch." She dropped her heaviest pack at Edward's feet. Without another word, she jumped, grabbing the branch of a tree and pulling herself up into it.

He sighed, watching Bella for only a second more as she scaled the tree. Then, he turned his attention to the baby. "Hey, little guy." He raised the canteen to his lips and carefully tipped it forward. "Come on. You'll feel better soon."

For twenty agonizing minutes, Aaron screamed while Edward did everything he could to calm him. Though he drank greedily for a minute, even his thirst wasn't distracting enough to keep him from crying.

"He's probably achey," Bella called from the tree. "I've been looking for baby tylenol but no dice. Give him just a swallow of the whiskey."

Edward balked. "What?"

Even from the trees, above Aaron's howls, Edward could hear her sigh. "He's in pain. There's no medicine and there's no CPS to worry about. You—"

"Yeah. I get it. I just forgot what time we were in for a minute." Edward sat cross legged on the ground, cradling Aaron on his legs as he searched through her pack. "I can see, in some version of the world, I would buy you your first drink, kid, but this is ridiculous."

In another fifteen minutes, Bella landed on the ground next to him. She scanned the trees, turning in a full circle, her features tight. "I didn't see any movement, but the woods are so damn thick in the Pacific Northwest."

It was why they'd been walking so close to the gorge in the first place. They were the kind of woods that could hide the sun completely. The kind of woods you'd expect to find supernatural monsters—mothmen, and jersey devils, and werewolves, and vampires; the kind of woods that seemed like they could swallow three inconsequential humans whole.

"Will you keep him?"

Edward started, not expecting to find Bella sitting at his side, a scant few inches between them. He spared a moment of chagrin—if she'd known what he was thinking, she'd have admonished him at how easy it was to sneak up on him even when he was in paranoid mode. He shook the thought away and tried to process what she'd said with little success. "What?"

"Will you keep him?" she repeated, reaching out to stroke a finger down the bridge of Aaron's nose, helping ease his way to sleep. The baby's eyelids drooped. "Like the old days. Find an abandoned baby and you just keep him; raise him as your own. There's no bureaucracy. How weird is that?" She looked up at him. "So. Are you going to be Dad?"

"Dad." Edward turned the word over in his head. He blinked hard, staring down at the sleeping baby. "I hadn't thought about it." He huffed. "Seems pretty obvious now; like it's something I should have considered. I guess it's surreal to think I might be home by nightfall. I haven't thought about the 'then what.'"

He took a minute to consider, really looking at the baby as he rocked him. He hadn't disliked it—taking care of him. He felt a connection, a tenderness, but was it that kind of bond? If not, could it become so?

"I don't think so," he said, a little sadly. "I think it's nice to be able to be what he needs. That's pretty rare these days, you know? Sickness aside, he's one of the few people on this planet I can make completely content. He doesn't know what we lost. He gets enough sleep, someone wipes his butt and gives him fish to eat and he's happy.

"But I don't think that's a good enough reason to claim him. Even in times like these when we're all just surviving, he deserves someone who wants to be a parent; wants more than just to make him happy for the novelty of it, so to speak." He looked up at her and smiled, wistful and wanting. "I haven't given up on the future I assumed would happen. I think I can still have it someday. A partner, a life we build together."

She held his gaze. In her eyes, he could see the possibility of what they could have been fading away. She sighed and ducked her head.

"Would you?" he asked, his voice thick. "All things being equal. If you could, would you take him?"

Bella reached out again and pushed Aaron's hair back. "No," she whispered. With a soft sigh, she pushed to her feet. "We should get going. Get your packs together and the baby settled. I'm going to do a quick scout."

She jogged off and Edward stood much slower than she had, careful not to jostle the congested baby in his arms. One handed, he started to rearrange his pack from the disarray he'd gotten it into trying to calm Aaron down.

As he set aside a few things they could eat while walking, he racked his brain, trying to find the elusive argument, the magic words that would make her stay. He set aside some food that could be eaten while standing—he knew for sure she wouldn't want to waste anymore time than they already had.

Lost in his thoughts, already missing her, he was caught completely unaware as a smooth, low voice said, "Don't move." The words came from too close behind him and they were accompanied by something hard pressing against the back of his skull. "Get your hand up."

Edward obeyed, his eyes darting everywhere, scanning the forest in front of him for a way out. He adjusted Aaron carefully in his one arm, making sure he had a good hold on him. "The packs are right there, man. There's some good supplies. I don't want any trouble. Just take them."

The man behind him chuckled. "Don't worry. We'll bring the supplies with us too."

Edward swallowed hard, "Wh—"

Before he could get a word out, the sound of a scream caught his attention. Bella. He automatically turned, took one step before a hand on his shoulder pulled him roughly back. "Settle down," the man behind him said. "Felix is just going to bring her to us. If she cooperates, she'll be fine."

A chill went down Edward's spine. He didn't like what he heard in the man's tone at all. Bella hadn't screamed again, and Edward didn't know if that was a good thing. "I got all the gear with me. You don't need to bother her." He took another step forward only to be yanked back again.

"I said settle down. There's been enough death, so don't make me go there with you." He yanked Edward back again as though emphasizing his point. "If you can be rational about this and not so selfish, you're going to see today is your lucky day. We have a good thing going where we are. You can be part of that."

"What do you mean if I'm not selfish?" Edward asked to keep the man talking. Inward, he searched, trying to find a plan. He needed to get to Bella; needed to see her in one piece. Yet he couldn't get aggressive easily; not with Aaron still asleep on his shoulder. It was what kept his stance so loose, the asshole behind him had been able to yank him around so easily.

"You already got what you need. Just like we learned in biology class. You ensured your genetic line. It's someone else's turn."

Edward's stomach churned. "You sick son of a bitch."

"It's not like that. You've got to let go of the world that was. We've got a good thing going for us, a good community. It's all very regulated. Only three men to a woman so there's no worry about incest later. And—"

Another scream caught their attention. Not Bella this time. It was a male's scream followed by a bellow. A name. "Demetri!"

Edward's anger had been roiling, twisting inside him since this bastard started talking. He was at a boiling point when the scream distracted his captor. His rage and fear for Bella coupled with the surge of adrenaline coursing through him had the effect of focusing his thoughts. In that instant, he dropped into a crouch. In the next, he stood, Aaron still secure in one arm and the knife he had strapped to his ankle in the other hand. Without a moment's hesitation, he plunged the knife deep into Demetri's leg and yanked viciously upward. The man went down, falling with a cry into a heap on the forest floor. His gun fell next to him. Edward kicked it away as hard as he could and took off in the direction of the other scream.

"Demetri!" the other man hollered again.

Following the sound, Edward burst through the treeline. "Bella!"

Bella was on the ground so close, too close, to the edge of the cliff. A monster of a man—big and broad with a heinous, furious expression—was pushing himself to his feet from some yards away. He held a hand to his chest where blood was spreading in an ever-widening circle.

Bella raised her head when he yelled her name again, beginning to run toward her. She pushed herself onto her knees, and he saw she had her father's gun in her hand. Her attacker started to run at her. She spared him a glance but just as quickly, her head turned back toward Edward. "Behind you," she yelled.

Edward turned in time to see Demetri—with the gun and limping—coming toward him, his face twisted in a snarl.

It happened quickly then and yet in slow motion.

Bella raised her gun. Edward gripped his knife, ready to attack though he knew Demetri would shoot him well before he was in range. Bella spared another glance at the man barreling toward her but turned toward Edward instead. A single shot rang out. Felix impacted, sending Bella flying backward but not before she grabbed him by the shirt. She brought the large man, screaming all the way, down with her as she disappeared over the edge of the cliff.

A/N: I know. I know. I've already started the next chapter.