Friday 26th November

Bella pulled back the curtain and peeked out the window, terrified. Outside, a police car had just pulled up, and an officer was stepping out.

"Renesmee, honey," she said, swallowing audibly. "Can you go to your room and stay there, please. Don't come out until I tell you to."

"Why? What is it?" Renesmee asked.

"It doesn't matter. Just please, stay in your room."

Hearing her mother's pleading tone, Renesmee nodded and walked to her room, shutting the door behind her. Bella went downstairs to see Edward stood in the hallway, frowning.

"Why are the police here?" Bella asked, nervously.

"They want me," Edward said. "For questioning."

"Questioning? About what?!" Bella cried, almost hysterical.

"Shh, Bella, calm down," Edward said, wrapping his arms around her. "They want to ask me what I know about Sarah's disappearance."

"What will you say?"

"That I flew with her to Canada where she said she was to meet a friend. I left her with him at the airport, and then stayed in a house in Anchorage for a few weeks, before returning home."

"Him?"

"Timothy Blakewell," Edward said. "He's one of the missing people from Monday. I saw him name in the news report. He and Sarah must've known each other."

There was a knock on the door. Calmly, Edward strode towards it and swiftly unlocked it.

"I'm Officer Fernsby," the woman standing there said. "I'm afraid you're going to have to come with me."

Edward's eyes widened, as he pretended to be surprised. "May I ask why?"

"You're wanted for questioning about the whereabouts of Sarah Lyngstad."

"Of course." Turning back to Bella, he said, "I don't think I'll be too long, Bella."

Bella nodded, trying not to let her face betray her panic. She watched as Edward was led to the police car, and as they drove away, she shut the door, leaning back against it, eyes shut. A few minutes later, someone banged on the door, shaking her out of her reverie. She jumped and spun to unlock the door.

"Bells!" Jacob cried. "Care to explain why I saw Edward get driven away in a police car?!"

"They want him for questioning. About Sarah's whereabouts."

"Does he have a cover?" Jacob asked, alarmed.

"Yes. Hopefully, they'll believe it. If they don't, I don't- I just- they have to believe it!"

Jacob placed a reassuring hand on Bella's arm. "They will believe it, Bells. Don't worry," he said, comfortingly.

"I hope so."


Edward was sat in a small, plain room, opposite Officer Fernsby. Her long brown hair was tied in a bun under her hat; her eyes seemed to look right into your soul, and Edward felt slightly fearful that she knew what he was and what he'd done, even though he knew that was impossible. Neat piles of papers and files were stacked on the desk, and Fernsby pulled the top one off a stack, her eyes skimming over it.

"You are Edward Masen Cullen?"

"Yes."

"On Wednesday 5th of October, you boarded a plane to London International airport in Canada from Heathrow?"

"That is correct.

"You were with a woman named Sarah Lyngstad?"

"Yes."

The officer placed the papers on her desk and leaned forward slightly. "What happened once you arrived at the London International?"

"I rented a car and drove to Toronto. We waited in a café there for her friend to arrive. When he did, I left her with him and drove to Anchorage in Alaska. My family own a house there."

"I see," the officer said. "And who was this friend?"

"I believe he's called Timothy Blakewell. Sarah was going to stay with him. Or that's what she told me, anyway."

"And why did you go to Anchorage?"

"My parents asked me to check the house, make sure everything is in order. We'll likely be spending a few weeks there over the holidays."

"You stayed there how long?"

"Around a month and a half I should think." Edward had a distinct feeling Fernsby knew he was lying.

"Why did it take so long? And the holiday's aren't for another month yet. Why go now?"

"There were lots of things that needed replacing and cleaning. We haven't stayed there for a few years now. As for why I went then… I have the most flexible working hours out of everyone in my family, as a piano teacher. The lessons for the next two months were cancelled due to my student's personal issues."

The officer raised her eyebrow, disbelievingly, but she didn't say anything. "Would it be possible for us to visit your home in Anchorage? After all, Lyngstad is now missing, as is Blakewell."

"I'm sure than can be arranged," Edward said, trying to mask his panic. "You should talk to my parents, though."

"Hm. Just one more thing. What day did you return home?"

"Monday. The 22nd."

The officer's eyes narrowed slightly. "That will be all for now," she said.

Edward nodded and allowed himself to be led outside. He knew Officer Fernsby was highly suspicious of him, and he was not sure how they'd explain the half destroyed house. He was walking along a very dangerous path.

Since it was already dark, Edward ran back to Littleworth. The door was already open once he got there, and Bella, catching sight of him, flung herself into his arms.

"You're back!" she cried, relieved. "Did they suspect anything?"

Edward sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yes. As good a liar I am, the entire situation is quite suspicious. They asked to see the house in Anchorage, so I told them to contact Carlisle and Esme about that."

Bella's eyes widened. "But the house is almost completely destroyed! We don't have enough time to repair it."

"I know," Edward said, wearily. "I don't know what we're going to do about that. But Bella, whatever happens, I want you and our whole family staying out of this as much as possible. This is my mess to deal with, and I don't want you brought into this any more than necessary. Promise me, Bella. Promise me you'll stay out of this."

"But-"

"Bella."

"Fine," Bella said, reluctantly. "I promise."


Saturday 27th November

"Carlisle?" Edward asked, picking up the phone.

"Why did I just receive a call from a certain Officer Fernsby, requesting I come down to the police station at six pm this evening?"

"Uhm, well, that would be because yesterday, she took me to the station for questioning. I'm their prime suspect in Sarah's disappearing. You might have seen in in the news."

There was a few moments silence, and Edward was beginning to wonder if Carlisle had gone into shock.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Carlisle shouted, at last. "How could you keep this from us? This is important! The entire family could be implicated!"

Edward winced slightly. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. But I'm going to do everything I can to make sure the family can stay well out of this." He sighed, regretfully. "I'm sorry. I should have warned you. If you don't know yet, yesterday, after I was questioned, Officer Fernsby said she wanted to ask you about seeing our place in Anchorage."

"Well that's just perfect, isn't it?" Carlisle roared, infuriated. "The place is half burned down! How are we supposed to explain it? None of us can fly over there, since by now, the police must be keeping tabs on us, and we can't call the Denalis to ask them to do something about it, because our phone lines are probably being kept an eye on too, and we can't drag them into our mess!"

Edward sank down into the seat in Bella's office, picking up the photo on the desk and gazing at it.

"If they gather enough information against me- enough to have me arrested- I will go down alone. Bella's promised me she'll stay out of this as much as possible. I'm asking you to do the same."

"It's not that simple, though. You're a vampire! You're immortal! When you don't age, they'll only get more suspicious and we'll be attacked by vampire hunters again," Carlisle pointed out.

"I'll escape. I'll break out. Not even Emmett would be able to erase all evidence against me, all my records, and these people won't forget. They'll know something's up."

"You intend to become a fugitive?" Carlisle asked, baffled.

"If that's what I have to do to protect my family, then yes."

There was a pause. "Have you told Bella this?" Carlisle asked.

"I have."

Carlisle sighed. "I trust you, Edward. I just hope you know what you're doing." The line went dead.

Edward placed the phone down on the desk and leaned back, staring at the ceiling. Although Bella constantly reassured him none of this was his fault, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was. Granted, there were influences in his past that he could not have prevented. But those influences shaped him and made him the person he was- and that person got the family into this mess.


"You are Carlisle Cullen and Esme Platt?"

"Yes."

"I understand you recently divorced after… ten years of marriage."

"We did," Carlisle confirmed.

"You own a house in Anchorage? Why did Edward spend a month there?"

Just before Carlisle and Esme left for the station, Edward had called to inform them of the cover story. "We asked him to check on the place, see how everything was. Replace anything that needed replacing."

"I see. And when your entire family- and by that, I mean you two, Rosalie and Emmett McCarty, Jasper and Alice Whitlock, Jacob Black, and Isabella and, uh, Renes- Renesmee Swan- all flew to Canada on the 22nd, what were your intentions?"

Carlisle's grip on Esme's hand tightened, as he struggled to quickly find a plausible excuse. "We were checking in on Edward, wanting to see if he was alright. We hadn't heard from him for a few weeks, and were getting worried. The whole family came because there was, uh, some miscommunication."

Officer Fernsby eyed Carlisle, sceptically. "I'm going to have to send a team to investigate your house. Following the disappearance of Sarah Lyngstad, Edward Cullen has become prime suspect. Surely you have seen it in the news."

"Yes, we've seen it." Carlisle hesitated for a moment. "We understand your reasons for suspecting him, but the Edward we know would never do such a thing as to abduct or murder anyone."

"Mmm. But your opinion of the matter is irrelevant. For all I know, you could be accomplices of a possible murderer. Well, I would like the address of your house in Anchorage."

"The house is, I suppose you would say, in the middle of nowhere. But I should think I'll be able to give you directions there." The officer slid an open notepad and pen across the desk. Carlisle took them and quickly wrote down simple directions for how to reach their house.

"Thank you," Officer Fernsby said. "I shall contact you again in a few days. Now, this station is small enough. I'm sure you can find the way out by yourself."


Thursday 2nd December

Carlisle and Esme, for the second time in a week, found themselves sat in a small room, opposite Officer Fernsby, who was once again rifling through papers and files, stacked neatly on her desk. The day had only just begun and they both knew it was going to get much worse.

"Our team came back from investigating your house in Anchorage yesterday, and I must say, they found some rather… interesting information.

"Interesting? How so?" Carlisle asked, carefully.

Fernsby didn't say anything; she pulled a few photos out of a file and pushed them towards Carlisle and Esme. They were various different shots of their home, burned and destroyed.

"I- what happened to it?" Carlisle cried, pretending to be horrified.

Esme's eyes widened. "What- how- how could this happen?"

Fernsby narrowed her eyes. "I believe you can answer those questions yourself."

Carlisle stiffened slightly, becoming just barely noticeably tenser. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

"Oh, I think you do," Fernsby said, a hint of triumph in her voice. "I have enough information to convict Edward Cullen, and as soon as I have the necessary evidence, I shall be convicting you and your entire family under the grounds of being accomplices to a murderer."

Esme gasped and Carlisle froze.

"What kind of evidence do you have?" Carlisle asked, nervously.

"I know the circumstances in which Bella Swan divorced Mr Cullen." Fernsby smiled, coldly. "As I'm sure you know, as well protected as they are, computer files are never completely safe."

Carlisle nodded, grimly. Somehow, Fernsby must have found a way to see the records of them by means of J. Jenks. Hundreds of faked identities, driver's licenses, passports.

"I've seen the faked identities, driver's licenses, and passports," Fernsby said. Standing up, she continued, "And as soon as I found out what you really are, don't think for a second I will have any qualms with exposing you."


On Friday 3rd December, Edward Cullen was arrested for the suspected murder of twenty-five people. He is now awaiting trial.

It has been discovered that on the 22nd of November, a Cullen house in Anchorage, Alaska, was set alight, the same day twenty-four men were reported missing after having been last seen going to Anchorage. Further inspection has shown that a small nearby cabin has access to water, and was most likely used to put out the fire.

Later, the bodies of those men were recovered, found buried deep beneath the ice. Many are shown to have suffered severe burns and various injuries. On some, pinpricks were found in their necks, looking much like a snake bite. The destroyed building and area is undergoing further examination.


Saturday 4th December

"We're lucky, you know that?" Jasper said. "We're lucky the death penalty has been abolished here, otherwise we'd be in an even bigger mess."

"We're already in a big mess as it is," Bella said, bitterly. "I don't see what we can do."

Jasper looked down. "That's because there's nothing we can do," he said, cautiously. "Edward told Carlisle he'd break out. He'd become a fugitive, so save us from being further implicated. He's going to take the sole blame. Bella, we can't do anything."

Sighing, Bella leaned back against the wall. "I really wish we knew who it was that Dunstan told of our existence. All Edward got was that he's called Sigmund."

"I agree," Jasper said. "Fernsby's on the hunt for clues as to what we are, and it would be so easy for this Sigmund to tell her. If he did…"

"The entire world would know what we are," Bella finished.

"The Volturi would be brought in, and you know how that would go. We'd all be executed. Their laws against exposure are very valid, and whether intentional or not, we violated them." He paused for a moment. "Well, Edward violated them. At the very least, they'd kill him." Frowning, he looked up at Bella. "How are things between you two?"

Bella stayed silent for a few moments. "We're… okay, I guess."

"Define okay."

"He's explained why he… well, did what he did, and I understand it," Bella began. "But I haven't quite forgiven him yet. Is that- is that wrong?"

Jasper shook his head. "Definitely not," he said, firmly. "Considering what he did, I'm amazed you're not furious with him. The rest of us certainly are."

"You are?" Bella asked, surprised.

"We are," Jasper confirmed. "Of course, we've forgiven him for the way he treated you… all of us. That was out of his hands. But for cheating on you? He made that choice, and he has to suffer the consequences, as far as we're concerned. Honestly, some of us think you're being too kind to him."

"Some of us being…"

Jasper hesitated. "Well, all of us, really. But especially Jacob, Nessie and Rose."

Bella looked down. "I know. Part of me doesn't want to forgive him for what he did, but at the same time, I just can't stay mad at him."

Jasper watched her, thoughtfully. Over the years, he had always scrutinized Bella, outwards appearance and emotions, trying to work out what she was feeling. He'd often been appalled to feel the insecurities she'd felt around Edward, but he had never actually confronted either of them about it. He felt bad about it now, obviously, but he couldn't regret it. If he'd confronted them, maybe they would never have had this much needed chance to sort out their issues.

He, alongside the rest of the family, had noticed a huge change in Bella when she had split up with Edward. She'd truly come into her own and showed them all her strength and courage. But now that Edward was back, she seemed to be turning into the shell of a person she was before, and Jasper didn't like watching that happen.

They needed the space. As Bella had said, when Edward was under Sarah's influence, before they had got the divorce, the two of them needed space. They needed to face their faults and change.

Edward had confided in him some of what he and Bella had discussed in an attempt to somewhat mend their relationship. Of course, he hadn't given all the details- but it was enough for Jasper to realise that while Edward had poured his heart out to her, facing his mistakes and recognising his faults, Bella hadn't exactly done the same.

Edward had done terrible things, Jasper wouldn't deny that. But at the same time, he knew that Edward had always tried so hard for Bella. Now, it was Bella's turn to try for him. Because they couldn't truly have a healthy relationship otherwise.

Bella needed to face her own faults, and embrace them just as she did Edward's. And while Edward may have found comfort in sharing his with Bella, Jasper knew she would not feel the same. With all her insecurities, being forced to bare her soul to Edward, whom she had always felt unworthy of, would do her no good. She needed to talk to someone else first, and acknowledge her issues.

"You need space," Jasper said, simply.

Bella snorted. "Isn't that exactly what we have now? Edward's going to end up stuck in prison, and we won't know how or when he's going to break out."

Jasper shook his head. "Not quite what I meant. I mean, you both need time alone, apart, to figure yourself out. You need to face and accept the harsh realities of who you are. You may not like what you find, but it's necessary."

"We've already done that."

"No," Jasper said, softly. "You haven't. Edward has. But not you. Bella, you need to accept who you are. You've accepted Edward, why can't you accept yourself? Let's face it," he said, hating himself for what he was about to do, but knowing he had to. "When you're around Edward, you're weak-willed. "You're submissive and subservient. You never go against him. Around Edward, you're nothing but a weak, childish girl, running from your problems, for all you say you have sorted them out."

As Jasper predicted, Bella deflected his accusations. He braced himself for the onslaught of emotions that was surely to come.

Bella's head snaped up, and she glared at Jasper, furiously.

"You don't know anything about me! You don't know what I told Edward that night! Maybe you're just like Edward, believing me to be lesser than I am. You say I'm running from my problems, but what of you? I don't see you and Alice working through your issues! And believe me, I know you have some."

Jasper couldn't deny that last part. Bella and Edward's divorce had been a wakeup call for them all, and Bella was right in saying he and Alice hadn't sorted their issues yet. But Bella thinking even for a moment that he believed her to be lesser… it felt like she'd slapped him.

"Edward told me about that night," Jasper countered. "Not everything, but enough for me to know that you're not facing reality."

Bella's eyes widened and she seemed to crumble. Jasper wondered for a moment what he'd said to cause this. Then he realised he'd finally got her to break.

That didn't sound like a good thing, he knew. But he also knew she needed this.

"Everyone," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "Everyone I trust throws that trust back in my face. I trusted Edward not to tell anyone what I'd told him. I don't want everyone to know!"

She was getting close, Jasper could tell. She was furious, which was exactly what he wanted. There was something she wasn't saying. Oh, she knew she had mental health issues, alright. But she wasn't saying it. She wasn't truly acknowledging it, or accepting it, and until she did, nobody was going to be able to help her.

"Well they do," Jasper said. It was a lie- only he knew- but he had to bait her. It was the only way. "They know that you have mental issues. They know you're weak. They know you run from your problems, expecting everyone else to figure them out for you. And you know what? They're going to think you're even weaker and more pathetic if you can't pluck up the courage to admit it!"

"Fine!" Bella shouted. "Fine! I'm weak! I'm submissive! I'm childish! I let other people sort out my problems for me and run my life! All because I have abandonment issues, and little confidence in myself! Are you happy now?"

She'd said it. As Jasper watched her, a small smile appeared on his face.

"Yes," he said, quietly. "Yes, I'm happy. Because that's what you needed to say. That's what you needed to admit. And now we can help you."

On the outside, it wouldn't seem like Bella had low self-confidence, or abandonment issues. But when were these things ever obvious? To Jasper, they were. He knew how her confidence had greatly improved once Bella had become a vampire. But he had also watched it dwindle as time wore on, until it reached the point where she was only herself when none of the family were around.

At first, Jasper couldn't understand why she hadn't retreated into her shell when Sarah was around. Then he realised that Sarah's power was mental, not physical, and therefore, would not affect Bella. The indignity of what Edward was doing seemed to draw her out. It was improvement. A strong Bella was in there somewhere, and that was what gave Jasper hope.


Tuesday 7th December

Bella sat in her room alone. Jasper had called the school to say she wouldn't be in for a few days due to a family dilemma. Neither Renesmee nor Jacob had returned home.

Edward had been sentenced with a lifetime in prison. While horrified, Bella wasn't surprised. The murder of twenty-five people in quick succession was serious. The courts didn't know that the entire family had been a part of it, nor did they know that it had been necessary.

But now a part of Bella was deeply regretting what she had done. Edward being imprisoned made this all the more real. She had killed people. Granted, they wanted to kill her- and almost succeeded- but she had still killed them first.

She hadn't seen Edward since he had first been convicted. When he was given his sentence the previous day, she hadn't seen him. She couldn't face him, not yet. Instead, she'd asked Jasper to go and explain it to him. Jasper had done so, and told her that Edward understood. Bella knew Jasper wasn't telling her how tormented her mate had been, and how it must have been made worse by the fact that she couldn't face him. Bella wasn't sure what Jasper had told Edward, but she hoped he'd explained it so he wouldn't get the wrong idea.

Now alone with only her thoughts, she was thinking about Saturday, and what Jasper had told her. He said that now he would be able to help her, because she'd said what she needed to. But Bella couldn't understand how he meant to help her. After all, Edward was a prime example of personalities and maturity becoming unchangeable once one became a vampire.

None of the family were entirely sure of what they would do after Edward escaped prison and became a fugitive. None of them knew what to do about Fernsby's threat. But what they all were aware of was that it would take a long while, and lots of effort from each of them, to make everything right again.

If it could even be made right.