Eclipse and all the characters of the Twilight saga belong to Stephanie Meyer. I'm mixing and matching here; this chapter contains direct quotes from Eclipse. Some of you might notice that I gave Esme a bunch of Bella's lines lol.

I let Bella sleep in longer than she usually liked to, knowing she needed the extra rest. She spent too many nights kept up past the appropriate bedtime hour entertaining her sleepless vampires, and last night was no exception. Around nine, she began to stir, making a few small sounds. I helped coax her into consciousness with a deep kiss. "Good morning."

"Good morning." She yawned and stretched her arms up, "How are you?"

"I'm great. I'm reading one of the books you brought," I quirked an eyebrow at her, "Don't worry. I won't tell Alice you brought your own entertainment to her party."

"I'm sure she saw it when I made the decision to bring them," Bella muttered, working to settle into a comfortable position around my reading posture, "Besides, I bring a book with me lots of places. You know that."

"That's true. But you brought four," I chuckled, "I can't believe you brought four books to a sleepover."

"Well, I can't believe you went through my stuff. Actually," she yawned, "I can. You're crazy."

I tugged at the strings on the hoodie I dressed her in during the night to bring it to her attention, "You were shivering. I chose cuddling and a minor invasion of privacy over simply moving to the sofa."

"Hm," she pressed her body against mine, "I can get behind that reasoning."

"So why the books?" I pressed. Despite knowing her for over a year now, and my insatiable curiosity about this girl and the inner workings of her mind had not ebbed.

She shrugged, "I've never been to a vampire sleepover before. I wasn't sure what to expect. The poetry was in case there were short bursts of inactivity. I brought Wuthering Heights because I've read it so many times, reading it is basically white noise at this point, and I could read it while doing anything. And Vanity Fair is new, and I brought it in case there was a silent reading portion planning for the evening."

I chuckled, "Silent reading time?"

"I know. Wishful thinking," she sighed.

"And the fourth?" I asked.

"I'm going to lend that one to Esme and forgot to give it to her."

"Oh," I made a mental note to take it out of her bag if she didn't before she left.

"Which one are you reading?"

I held the book closed with my finger to show her the cover, "The Oscar Wilde poetry. When did you get this?"

Another yawn, "Charlie got it for me for Christmas. I've only read two of them so far."

"It's very sad," I noted.

"Yeah, I don't think he knew what he was getting. Have you read it before?"

"Yes," I nodded, "But not since I've fallen in love with you. It really changes everything doesn't it?"

"Mmm," she hummed, "I know what you mean. Thirteen-year-old Bella had no idea why Catherine was making such a fuss over Heathcliff," she wrapped her arms around my torso, "To eighteen-year-old Bella," she squeezed tighter, "it makes perfect sense."

Like it did all too often, my heart sank instead of singing at Bella's words. Out of all the fictional characters she should relate to, I did not want Catherine Earnshaw to be one of them. I said nothing, and soon, Bella's breathing slowed and steadied as she fell back to sleep.

I placed the book on the bedside table and turned towards Bella. Even in her sleep, she adjusted herself to account for my movement. I stared into the face of my love—beautiful because of her human imperfections, not despite them. I tried to imagine how her features would change when she turned; there wasn't much the venom would have to do. Her lips would become a bit more proportional to her face, I guessed.

I sighed. I missed them already.

I had meant what I said to Bella last night: although there was nothing I wanted more for myself than to keep Bella forever, I couldn't bear the thought of her giving up her entire life for me. But Bella looked at this life and saw love. She saw the happily ever after she read about in her books—spending the rest of eternity with me. She refused to see the blood and loss she would face when she turned. As much as I wanted to be, I was not her Mr. Darcy—I was her Heathcliff or her Romeo. With me, Bella was trapped in a tragedy. Our love would lead to her death.

After another hour of additional sleep, she stirred once more. My kiss was a bit softer this time, and I let my lips linger on hers as I whispered, "You should be getting home to Charlie soon."

Her only response was a small grunt.

Downstairs, I could hear Alice growing restless and scheming up ways to drag Bella out of bed.

The perfect leverage.

"If you don't get up soon, Alice is going to come up here."

That got her moving. Her eyes flew open and she immediately swung her legs over the side of the bed. The movements were too quick for her terrible balance, but I caught her before she could tip over and fall into the nightstand. The kiss meant for her temple was just a brush of the lips, for she was off for the bathroom in a hurry to take care of all her human needs.

Alice appeared at the door. "Please don't use my presence as a threat anymore," she requested.

I smirked, "I'll stop when your presence is no longer threatening."

Bella stumbled back into the room. Her hair was still mussed from sleep, but she had changed out of her pajamas into her standard flannel and jeans. Alice had grabbed the bag of toiletries from Bella's hand and stashed it into her overnight bag. Before Bella could even blink, she was packed and ready to go.

"Edward?" she asked.

She didn't have to finish the question. "I'll be at your house before noon," I tilted her chin up for a goodbye kiss, "I'll take you to lunch."

"Okay," she allowed.

I followed the girls downstairs, where they met with Esme in the kitchen for their goodbyes. The three of them laughed about a few inside jokes from the previous evening, Bella remembered to give Esme her book, and then Bella and Alice were off to Charlie's.

Once we were alone, Esme sighed adoringly, "I love her, Edward."

"I know the feeling."

Esme smiled and took my hand. The two of us walked out of the kitchen, towards Carlisle's thoughts where he was reading in the living room.

"Have you seen today's headlines?" my father asked when we came into the room, "The murders are accelerating, and the perpetrators are making no attempts at covering their tracks. Something is bound to happen soon."

I sat on the sofa across from the armchair Carlisle was settled into. He threw his newspaper on the coffee table. I picked it up and read the first page.

Murder Epidemic Continues—Police Have No New Leads

In the last three months, the death toll had risen to thirty-five bodies found in the streets or floating in the Puget Sound. Some were missing limbs; most had crushed or fractured bones; all had been drained of their blood. Random acts of violence—overturned vehicles, broken plate glass, large fires—accompanied the deaths. No witnesses were ever found.

Sloppy work, he thought.

"Very sloppy," I agreed. "Young and crazed? Or a death wish?"

"It's getting worse," Esme commented, reading over my shoulder from her perch on the armrest.

"It's baffling," I mumbled, "This can't be the work of just one newborn vampire, can it?"

Carlisle shrugged, "It depends on the newborn. Remember how hard it was to reign Emmett in as a newborn? Some need a little more… support than others."

"Maybe they were abandoned…" Esme mused, picturing yet another young teenage vampire in need of a mother which the already large Cullen family absolutely did not need.

"That's possible," Carlisle agreed, "They obviously don't know the rules, or they wouldn't be this reckless."

"Or maybe that's the point," I suggested, "Maybe it is multiple vampires, and someone is creating them simply to wreak havoc," I suggested. That scenario wasn't exactly uncommon. All it took was one petty, power-hungry person turned into a vampire to create a disaster such as this one.

"Who would want an army of vampires?" Esme asked, "The Voltari?"

Carlisle kissed her ring finger, "This is exactly the kind of thing they routinely wipe out—immortals who threaten to expose us. They just cleaned up a mess like this a few years ago in Atlanta. Remember the postcard Aro sent us?"

Esme nodded, "He addressed me as Emily."

"And it hadn't gotten nearly this bad," Carlisle continued, "They will intervene soon, very soon, unless we can find a way to calm the situation."

"We cannot let them come here." If they were close, they might decide to check on Bella to see if she was still human.

Carlisle pursed his lips, "I'll send Emmett to Seattle to do some surveillance," he said, "Perhaps if we can talk to these young ones, explain the rules, it can be resolved peacefully."

"Maybe I'll go.." I said, thinking how useful it would be to read the minds of the perpetrators. Then, my mind went back to Bella as it always did. "Maybe not. Don't let Emmett go alone, you know how he gets."

Carlisle looked at me disparagingly, "Of course not. Rosalie will go with him. She keeps him in line."

"That'll work," I nodded, "Where is Emmett? When will they be going?"

"He and Jasper were showing Rose the rules of some new game they made up. They're not far out—possibly just out of your range if you can't hear them. I'll send them off as soon as they come home."

"In that case, I think I'll bring Bella here tonight," I turned to Esme, "In case Emmett and Rosalie need me, I want Bella to be here with you, Alice, and Carlisle. If that's alright."

Esme ran her hand through my hair, "Of course, baby. I'm going to take any chance I can get with human Bella, now that her days as a human are limited." She grinned at me.

"Yeah," I stood up from the couch, so I could give my mother a proper glare, "You and Alice did some work last night. Did you also tell Bella we fed gold-plated candy to babies?" I asked, sarcastically.

Esme was unapologetic, "We simply answered her questions truthfully, with no motives or hidden agendas."

Before I could respond with another snide comment, we heard Alice turn down the driveway—my cue to leave.

"I'll see you both later tonight," I kissed Esme on the cheek, "Thank you for all that you do."

She nodded, "I love you. And I love Bella."

"I know."

I walked out the front door as Alice bounded up the porch steps. The wolf was already at Bella's, waiting for her, Alice informed me as we crossed paths.

I sighed. Of course he was.

Don't worry, Alice showed me her newest vision of vampire Bella—she stood in a snowy forest, her skin sparkled with the snow, she's not going anywhere. The vision was supposed to make me feel better, but instead, it made my impermeable skin itch.

Now that I knew Bella was alone with Jacob Black, I swerved down the mountain roads with a little more haste than usual. Jacob's old car took up my usual spot in front of Bella's house, so I was forced to park a little way down the street, behind the trees. I walked up the path but stopped short when I crossed an unfamiliar scent. Not one of a human, or even a werewolf. But one of my kind.

Panicking, my scenes searched for signs of Bella immediately. I heard her heartbeat, then her laughter, and let out a shaking breath. My love was fine. She had no idea she was in any danger. Jacob's laughter rang soon after hers, and I knew she would be safe while I eradicated the threat.

Before I even told myself to follow the scent, I was running. I willed myself to go faster, faster, as the trees around me blurred until the vague shapes became changing colors. I tried to find the thoughts of the intruder in the forest around me, but all I could hear was my own panicked wheezing. For the longest time, it crushed every other sound, until I shoved a hole into my fear, allowing the other noises to break through. Raindrops tapping in the leaves. Branches rustling overhead. A stream ahead, and crows in the trees, their wings cracking the air as they took flight. Something scurrying in the undergrowth. The thump of rabbit's feet.

Then, I heard the internal muttering of two creatures ahead of me. I couldn't focus on the exact words they thought, but it didn't matter. Whoever they were, I needed them dead. No one was going to get near my Bella and survive long enough to tell the tale.

Nostrils flared, teeth bared, I sprang at the figures, ready to kill.

The next second, I was laying on the ground flat on my back with Jasper's forearm pressed hard against my neck, restraining me.

Oh.

It was only my brothers. I was so overtaken with fear, I hardly noticed.

"Calm down, Edward." Jasper released a calming wave around me; it barely made a dent in my fear. He released his hold and the two of us stood. Emmett watched from the side—his thoughts solely focused on not laughing out loud at how quickly I had been brought down.

"What are you doing here?" The words came out in a rush, as I was losing valuable hunting time standing here with my brothers.

"Alice told us to meet you down here," Jasper explained, "She saw you run into the forest the moment you left the house. She didn't know what caused it, but she sent us to help."

Alice, I swore her name to myself like it was an oath. How could she not see this coming? How could she not smell it for herself?

"Well, she knows now," I growled, "You see this, Alice!?" I shouted into the trees like she could actually hear me through one of her visions, "I smelled the vampire sent to kill my girlfriend! Maybe if you weren't so focused on when pixie cuts were coming back in style, you would have actually seen that!"

Emmett's damn had burst into a bout of laughter —he hadn't seen me act this crazy in decades.

Jasper released another wave of calm, "Chill, man."

The last thing I needed to do was chill. What I needed to do was kill. Once again, the love of my life had been threatened while I was away from her, clueless and helpless. I ran desperate fingers through my hair, "Do you recognize the scent?"

"No," he frowned. "No one I know. Maybe Carli—,"

I didn't let him finish the thought before I was racing down the trail again. It led me Northwest to the Sol Duc River, which I leaped across with ease. There was no scent immediately on the other side, so I followed east for a bit, hoping to pick up the scent. When there was nothing for a mile or so, I turned and went West, only to find the same thing.

"Arg!" I screamed. I fisted my hands into my hair and fell to my knees.

Emmett emerged from the trees a few feet away from where I was kneeling, then Jasper. I stared at them with wild eyes. Emmett raised his hands as he stepped towards me, like an innocent man approaching a savage beast, "Edward, dude, let's think of a plan,"

"The plan is to find the monster and kill it," I growled.

"I meant, like, a good one," Emmett clarified.

"Well, he has to come out of the water at some point. Emmett will go west, I'll go east," Jasper instructed, "The others are down south, go meet up with them."

"No!" I argued, "I have to find him! I need to find him!"

Jasper crossed his arms across his chest, "No you don't."

"He was in her house!" I snarled, "He could have killed her!"

"Which is exactly why you need to let us handle it!" Jasper's voice remained infuriatingly calm, "It's too personal for you—it's ruining your better judgment. Look how easy it was for me to take you down you just now. This vampire isn't going to go as easy on you."

"Think of Bella, little bro," Emmett added, "She needs you intact."

After taking a deep breath, I slumped my shoulders and relaxed my tensed muscles. I hated when logic was used against me.

Jasper could feel my irritation, and thought of a compromise, "When I find him, I will only disengage him. I'll let you finish him off. How's that?" Jasper offered.

Not preferable, but I understood where Jasper was coming from. I nodded.

"Go to the rest," he pointed south, "Emmett and I will find him."

Feeling like a dog with its tail between its legs, I complied. My sisters, mother, and father were waiting for me where Jasper said they would be. They were horrified by the near-miss but were also anticipating my reaction. When I saw them standing there, affirming the danger, my panic exploded as anger, directed at Alice.

"What happened?" I fired at her, my hands curling into tight fists.

"I have no idea," Alice answered from her perfect stillness, arms folded protectively over her chest, "I didn't see anything."

"How is that possible!?" I roared.

"Edward," Esme cautioned.

"It's not an exact science, Edward," my father chastised.

"He was at her house, Alice!" I shouted. "He could have still been there—waiting for her!"

"I would have seen that," she disagreed, turning her nose up.

"Really? You're sure?" My voice cracked as it flew up two notches—an embarrassing quirk that I will never grow out of because of this damned immortality.

"You've already got me watching the Volturis' decisions, watching for Victoria's return, watching Bella's every step," she listed them off her fingers, "You want to add another? Do I just have to watch Charlie, or Bella's room, or the house or the whole street, too? Edward, if I try to do too much, things are going to start slipping through the cracks."

"It looks like they already are," I seethed.

"Stop it, Edward," Esme demanded.

We stared each other down for a moment or two before I conceded. "You're right, Esme. I'm sorry." I turned to Alice, "Forgive me, Alice. I shouldn't be taking this out on you. That was inexcusable."

"I understand," Alice moved her hands to her hips, "I'm not happy about it, either."

"Where's Bella now?" Esme asked.

"Safe at her house," I answered, "The one time the wolf's obsession with her is advantageous; no vampire will go near her if a werewolf is present."

That eased the fears of both of my parents.

"Where's Emmett now?" Rosalie asked, growing aggravated over the fact that her husband had to go after the mysterious vampire, while I stood here, safe and protected by the family.

"The scent went dead at the Sol Duc. Emmett and Jasper split up to see where the scent reemerges on the opposite bank."

"Victoria?" Carlisle guessed.

I shook my head, "No. I didn't know the scent. He might have been from the Volturi, someone I've never met…" that was my best guess at the moment.

"Aro hasn't sent anyone to look for her yet. I will see that. I'm waiting for it," Alice said.

"You're waiting for an official command?" I confirmed, silently speculating.

"You think someone's acting on their own," Carlisle gleaned, "Why?

"Caius' idea," I concluded with dread. Aro might let things ride for a time, but Caius would keep his promise to check on Bella and to take action against us if necessary.

"Or Jane," Alice added, "They both have the resources to send an unfamiliar face."

She was right. "And the motivation," I added. Bella had bested and belittled Jane in front of the entire guard without even trying.

"It doesn't make sense, though," Esme interjected, "If whoever it was meant to wait for Bella, Alice would have seen that. They had no intention of hurting Bella. Or Charlie, for that matter."

That was the important point. The visitor had come and gone, clearly for some purpose.

"But what was the point then?" Carlisle speculated aloud.

"Checking to see if she's still human?" Alice offered.

"Possible," Carlisle agreed.

"What do we do now?" I wondered aloud.

"Turn Bella," Alice declared, like it was obvious.

She could not be serious. "What?"

"You think someone is checking to see if she's still human. So, make sure they're wrong."

"She's not ready," I snapped.

"That's not what she said last night," Alice disagreed.

I took a different route. "I will not have Bella turn while she is being threatened!"

"It makes the most sense, Edward," Rosalie agreed.

I could not believe what I was hearing. Now Rosalie was against me? Rosalie?

Memories of conversation from the prior evening flashed through Rosalie's mind: the tragic stories of what led to their vampirism, the discussion of bloodlust and how it feels to take a life, the pain for all of eternity by denying that bloodlust. Bella's dedication to me and to turn remained strong throughout the entire experience.

She knows it all, Rosalie concluded in her mind, and she still made her choice. She has every right to make the choices in her own life, and you cannot take that away from her, Edward.

Of course. She absolutely hated Bella's decision, but if there was one thing Rosalie cared about more than humanity, it was respecting a woman's right to choose. Something that had been taken from her even before she had lost her humanity.

"She's not ready," I repeated, with a little less force.

"She's not ready," Rosalie challenged, "Or you're not ready?"

Rosalie had a knack for finding the questions that knocked me down from the knees. Truth be told, I was not ready for Bella to turn—not in the least bit.

It was simple for Rosalie. She did what she could to save Bella's humanity, and now that she had done her part, she could wipe her hands clean and move on. I did not get the same luxury. If Bella came to regret this decision it would be all my fault. I was the reason behind her decision, after all. So, I needed to fight for what was best for her, and what was best for Bella was to stay human.

Carlisle came to my aid, "We had already agreed to not touch Bella's mortality until after graduation. The least we can do is give Bella a proper goodbye to her father and her friends."

Rosalie's eyebrows shot up, "Oh, like the rest of us had?"

"Rosie…" Esme started, empathetically.

"No, no," Rosalie waved her hands, "I get it. What Bella wants, Bella gets. And the rest of the family gets to risk their lives and their husbands' lives so she can say bye to her daddy." She struggled to bring her own father's face to her thoughts and failed.

Carlisle flashed to Rose's side and took her into his arms; she immediately tucked her head into the crook of his neck, "We give to others what we would want for ourselves, Rose."

Rose wanted to argue but thought better of it and instead wrapped her arms back around her vampire father.

"What do we do, while keeping Bella human?" Esme clarified.

"Eliminate the threat in Seattle ourselves," Carlisle concluded, "We make sure there is no reason for the Voltari to visit."

He turned to Esme, "Call up the Denali's, see if they will help." She nodded.

He looked to me, "Edward, stay with Bella. When you hunt, Esme or I will stay with her. She will not leave our sight until she turns."

"Thank you, Carlisle," I whispered.

"Rose, Alice, go find Jasper and Emmett and help them with the scent. If you find the intruder, Jasper will take care of them."

But-," I started, but was silenced by a single raised eyebrow from my father.

"Jasper will take care of them," Carlisle repeated. You stay with Isabella, Edward.

As we were about to spilt, something popped into Alice's mind—she quickly covered it up with an article on boot-cut jeans she read recently. "Edward, did you say anything to Bella when you got to her house?"

"No…" I didn't like where this was headed, "The scent caught me by surprise. I took off the second I smelled it."

"So… you were supposed to be at Bella's house thirty minutes ago, and you didn't show?"

"Yeah… I was hoping that I could catch up with the vampire—," I stopped abruptly, realizing what Alice was trying to say.

Oh no.

Alice winced, as the other two times I had accidentally arrived late to Bella's house played in her memories. Both times, Bella had reverted back to her semi-catatonic state, convinced I had left her again. It was gut-wrenching to see her in that state, and both times, I swore to myself I would never let it happen again.

I wanted to tear all of my hair out. My thoughtlessness had put Bella at risk twice already that day, and it was barely twelve-thirty. I tore back through the trees before Alice had time to tell me to get to Bella.

"You don't think she still thinks Edward would leave her, do you?" I heard Rosalie ask Alice.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. With the wolf present, Alice was unable to check up on Bella, "But I really hope not."

I need to apologize. I am so sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. Feb/March was rough for me… and tbh reading Eclipse wasn't making me feel better. However, writing about Bella as a mermaid did make me feel better, so that's why my attention really fixated on that for a while. However, the sun is shining again, my friends and I are all getting vaccinated and I'm able to see them, so I'm in a much better mood now. And after a few exercises of writing about the Cullen kids in school, I'm back in the proper headspace for this fic. Again, I am really sorry for the long gap, and I'm hoping it won't happen again. I have about ten chapters partially written as well as an ending I am really excited about, so I am in no way abandoning this fic.