Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Author's note: Greetings from Disney World! Somehow, somehow I managed to write most of this in the last 3 hours after 12 hours of meandering outside amongst Harry Potter and minions. I hope this means the bout of writer's block I've been experiencing for the last month is over. Phew, finally got the damn words out!

Author's note II: For the second and last scene, listen to "I Giorni" by Ludovico Einaudi.

"You're asking me to do...what?!"

Bella resisted rolling her eyes and instead focused on remaining firm. Edward had his facts wrong. She wasn't asking.

Only ten hours had passed since she attended, albeit half a mile overhead, the tribe council's meeting. From the elders she had learned that Victoria and Laurent were prowling the surrounding area, that they were leaving corpses, and that the pack, despite their number, was no closer to eliminating them.

Bella didn't budge an inch. "Really, Edward. It's not that outlandish an idea. They'll probably welcome you into the fold."

Part of her felt a teensie wee bit bad...this idea of hers really was kind of nuts. Not to mention dangerous. But sympathy she did not have in spades at the moment, especially not for the bronze haired Vampire standing stupefied before her. Least of all for him.

"They won't buy it," Edward insisted. "Laurent might. But not Victoria. She'll sense the danger immediately."

"You're not trying to kill her," Bella replied. "You're only to collect information. Find out what they want. Find out what it takes to get them to stop. Where's the danger?"

Edward stared at her. "If there's no danger, why don't you ask Rosalie to go?" He hissed.

"She'd be missed," Bella hissed back. "And last I recall, you were buddy buddy with them."

He changed tactic. "Bella, this is madness," he pleaded. "If the wolves catch me they'll think I've broken the treaty."

"Then don't let them catch you," she said. "Don't travel on their land."

"I'd still be interfering in their affairs!"

Bella stood in silence for a minute before speaking again, slowly and carefully. "Harry Clearwater's two children are in the pack. If they continue to fight Victoria and Laurent, one of them could die. Now you're a lot of things, Edward, but I don't believe you want that to happen. You owe them. You owe me."

Funny how icy she felt when there was fire racing through her veins. Somewhere inside her she knew she should be horrified with what she was doing. If Edward didn't convince the others, then he could be in very real danger. Everything that he's done to her and against her aside...Bella should still feel a measure of sympathy for him. But the fact the she didn't...well, that was causing her more distress than actually sending him on this "mission."

Edward bore his eyes through her and Bella knew she had him. He may be a dick...but he's a dick with emotions, and one of them was guilt for his role in the James debacle. If there was one thing Bella knew more about than fire, it was guilt and how to live with it. In the heyday of her destructive powers, she managed it by running away and hiding. It was the only thing she could do and so she did it. Edward's guilt, she knew, was eating away at him. He needed to do something.

No reason why that "something" couldn't also benefit her.

"All right," he finally said.

Emmett breathed out a deep sigh as he settled down next to his mate and his favorite human…200 feet above ground. At least they had something solid to hold on to, in this case the thick branches of an extremely tall sequoia. He would've preferred a different location, but he had to admit the height thing was starting to grow on him. He always did like extremes, and though a fall wasn't going to kill him, a part of him that remembered the feeling of mortality and normal fears like a fear of height enjoyed the rush that hanging 200 feet in the air gave him.

"Bells, did you have a thing for heights before you discovered your wings?"

Bella, who was hanging upside down in midair, twisted back so she could look at him. She pondered on his question for a minute before answering slowly.

"Yeah I guess I did." She had a faraway look in her eyes. "Rooftops were a good place to sleep. And before…Before I liked to climb trees."

"So you could practice?" Rosalie asked from her perch.

"Yup, and so I could be alone."

Bella Bear without a care…or so she would have everyone think. She led a nomad existence for seven years…sometimes he wondered if she had never come to Forks, would she still be roaming the countryside in search of a quiet library and her next meal? If the unthinkable somehow were to occur and his family had to leave, would she go back to her lonely existence? Mostly he thought no. Having tasted family and friendship, even Bella would be incapable of going back. But sometimes…sometimes he'd catch a strange faraway look on her face…or she'd grow suddenly distant and aloof before she caught herself and reverted to the Bella they were accustomed to…or more disturbing, Jasper would catch from her strange feelings of self loathing, and he had no choice but to wonder just who is this girl who was mated to his wife.

"Come here, Bella," Rosalie beckoned her over, and the girl floated down to the closest branch without hesitation. His wife didn't mind indulging Bella's growing obsession with heights as long as she was tethered to something, and the branches up here did the job nicely.

Bella settled in on Rosalie's other side, yawning as she did.

"Sorry for keeping you up so late last night, Bells," he winked.

She shook her head. "That game was made by a vampire," she grumbled. "No way human reflexes can get past level 12."

"They can and they do, Belly Bear," he laughed. "You're just seriously off your game. If you commit to it like I do, you'll finally kick my ass."

Rosalie chuckled from in between them. "If by commit, you mean spending 18 hours a day in front of a television set, then don't count on it."

She thinks she's so high and mighty...ha!

Emmett punched her lightly (but not that lightly). "Excuse me, but who among us spent 2 straight days with her head inside a carburetor? Who decided to fly to Paris because she thought the 'closet was too trite?' Who took off all her clothes-"

"Enough, we get it!" Rosalie shouted.

"Um, no I want to hear that last bit," Bella grinned. "You took off your clothes and...?"

"...and if both of you don't change this subject immediately, neither of you are getting any for a month."

"Aw," both he and Bella pouted, but it was ok...he'd definitely tell her later. And if Rosalie found out, so what? Like hell she could last a month anyway.

He could still hear Bella giggling, and like him, he knew Rosalie was happy to hear her let go a little and act her age. She was supposed to be carefree. She was supposed to laugh at dirty jokes and take a little pleasure in someone else's cringe-worthy discomfort. Emmett had plenty of that and more when he was human, growing up with a number of older brothers. If Bella was going to join them soon (and he really, really hoped it would be soon), Emmett wanted to make sure she got at least a sampler of some human teenage normalcy before her heart stopped beating.

Ask her already, Rose! He yelled at his wife internally. Rosalie Hale, the ice queen who under normal circumstances stopped at nothing to have her way...who wouldn't hesitate to crush someone's hopes and dreams just to watch them squirm...was petrified at the prospect of talking to Bella. This past year was one for the books with it being so full of firsts for them, especially for himself and Rosalie...but damn if this wasn't actually happening right in front of him on a daily basis he'd be hard pressed to believe how much torture Rosalie was inflicting on herself.

She knew she was going to do it. He knew it, and he knew that she knew. And she knew that he knew and that all of them knew. The ifs had long given way to (quite persistent) whens. But...

But try getting Rosalie to stop questioning herself.

A cloud drifted in front of the sun, cutting off the light from their faces. Rosalie, whose eyes had been closed and was enjoying the heat, sighed sadly and tried to move her head, but the ray was totally gone.

Bella, who had noticed Rosalie's chagrin, looked up and asked, "does it really warm you up?"

"No," Rosalie sighed. "Not really. I mean, there's definitely a difference between a cloudy day and a sunny day. But it's not enough to actually make a difference in our body temperature. Mostly it's just because we remember what it was like to feel the sun on our face."

"So you're never really warm..."

"We're not cold either, Bells," Emmett added. "Well, we are cold...but we don't feel cold." He struggled to find the words to explain what no human being had ever felt. "We're not..."

"We're not anything," Rosalie finished.

Emmett sighed. Oh, Rose. Looking at Bella, he could see that she too took issue with Rosalie's matter of fact statement. Emmett often felt severely out of place in his family unit, seeing as he was the only one who didn't think it was a big deal that they were vampires. I mean really, what is the big fucking deal? As far as he could see, they had a pretty sweet thing going on. Immortality. Eternal youth. Kick-ass strength and speed and powers. I mean, come on!

Watching Rose struggle over the decades was supremely difficult. Though she'd never really made peace with her immorality, the years had gotten so repetitive...and there wasn't really a point to complaining...

But with Bella in their lives, the precarious house of cards that was Rosalie's feelings on the matter of their existence was suddenly thrown into disarray. To him, it was easy. But to her...

"Can I try something?" Bella whispered questioningly, and Rosalie nodded after a quick "just don't blow anything up," which made him smile.

A few moments later however, the smile was gone and replaced with a quizzical, then panicked expression as he watched Rosalie's face transform.

It was a tiny gasp at first. Rosalie, whose eyes were closed with happy satisfaction at her proximity to her two lovers, gasped suddenly and drew her chest inward in two quick motions. Emmett looked down in time to see her open her eyes, and what he saw...

Shock. Confusion. Fear. Elation. The four emotions lit up her face in quick succession and looped around over and over again as her breathing got louder and louder...as if she actually needed to expel air from her dysfunctional lungs.

He was about to call out for her when he felt it too.

Through his hand that was linked to Rosalie's, he felt it travel up his arm, his torso, and in a split second fill his whole body.

Warmth.

Warmth like he hadn't felt in decades. Warmth that filled him like a cup of hot cocoa used to fill him long, long ago in his memories. It wrapped itself around every muscle. Inside and out. And (and this was the really freaky part) it flowed through his dead heart and organs. At least he thought that was what it was...that strange sensation that felt almost invasive because of how long it has been since the insides of him felt anything.

Beneath his hand, Rosalie felt as hot to the touch as Bella did to him. The branches behind his back felt markedly cooler too...a strange sensation to one not accustomed to differences in temperature. The heat continued to pulse through him, stronger and stronger, pulsing like...my god, like a heartbeat. It wasn't a heartbeat-his heart was long dead-but he could've sworn it felt just like it. Could he even remember what a beating heart sounded like? Yes, he knew Bella's heart like he knew the colors in Rosalie's hair...and his body-somehow-was pulsing to its very familiar beat. His, and Rosalie's...Rosalie!

Rosalie suddenly wrenched herself from his grasp, and with her went his connection to the heat. With the link broken, Emmett had never felt so cold or empty in his life. The contrast was jarring especially because his perfect memory could recall every detail. He...truth be told, he wanted to cry.

But whatever he felt, its intensity and effect on him was nothing compared to Rosalie. A tenth of a second-that's all the time he had to see what Bella's gift had done to Rosalie, but it was enough. Before Bella could blink, Rosalie scampered down the tree trunk like the devil himself was after her. And she was gone.

"What...what was..." Bella stared down to the forest floor and back up at him.

"What the hell was that?" He asked her instead of answering her question.

She stared back like the answer was obvious. "My gift. It-it didn't hurt you, right? I mean I knew it wasn't going to hurt you...are you hurt? Is Rosalie?!"

"No, no. Stop, Bells. Don't go after her right now," he sighed, halting her descent. "We're not hurt. That was just...really unexpected."

"Bad unexpected?"

"Unexpected unexpected," he maintained. "It was amazing, Bella. I promise. A little too amazing, that's all."

He swallowed, and he too looked down to where Rosalie disappeared. "It felt human," he said quietly. "I don't remember ever feeling that warm as a vampire. I could feel all my organs, my heart. And it was a little hard to breathe."

"I'm so sorry!" Bella whispered, horrified.

"Please don't! I know it sounds bad, but to a vampire who hasn't felt those things since the transformation...you may not think so, Bells, but that was pretty fucking awesome. Thank you."

She still didn't look convinced, and who could blame her? Did she even see the look on Rosalie's face before she bolted?

"Be patient with Rose," he said gently, holding her hand. "I'm positive she liked what you did, but you know the whole human thing kinda gets to her. She'll come around in time."

Bella seemed to mull over his words quietly. She stared at the empty space between them that Rosalie had occupied for a while before speaking again.

"I wish she could see herself the way I see her..."

Emmett smiled. "And I wish you could see yourself the way we see you," he replied. "She gets it. Just like I know you get it. But getting it and 'getting it' are two different things. You've had 8 years. Rosie's been facing this for 80."

"I know. I just want..."

"I know, Bells. I know."

Rosalie would probably be gone for days, but Emmett didn't have the heart to tell Bella just yet. Their mate was a force of nature...captivating but also unpredictable and not to be contained. Disappearing so she could rebuild her hard shell was something he had long gotten used to. It was part of the package.

"Hey, Bella?" Emmett gulped and held out his hand. "Can you do it again?"

Author's note: My dearest readers, please drop me a line after you finish this. I promise I wasn't holding the chapter hostage or anything (I really did have horrible writer's block-I would never not update because of a low review count) but it does get really disheartening when it "seems" fewer people are reading and enjoying my hard work. I say "seems" in quotations because according to the stats, over a THOUSAND of you read a new update in 24 hours! Holy shit, that makes me so happy that so many of you are active readers. Really, it makes me want to cry. Won't you pretty please shoot me a review once in a while? Especially the 950 people who've never reviewed at all? I really does make my day. And it's a huge encouragement :))))

I really, really hope this block is lifted. Sooo frustrating! Tell me what you thought of this new aspect of Bella's gift! And what you think Rosalie will do/say/feel! And Edward!