Hey all! Thanks so much for all the reviews! You guys are awesome, and I really appreciated all your comments! So, here's the next chapter – originally it was shorter, but I kept getting errors when I tried to post it, so I just kept writing. I hope you like it!

The characters are from Twilight by Stephenie Meyers, and thanks also to Twilight Lexicon for their in-depth info on the book (boy, was it helpful!). Oh, and a few borrowed characters from Harry Potter, just for fun (minor spoiler in here if you haven't read Half-Blood Prince – I'm warning you now, so don't get mad!).

"John!" I vaguely heard Sarah shout as she ran past me.

But I only had eyes for Edward. I felt more than heard the deep, enraged growl that came from him. His fury was a palpable thing; I had never seen him looking so capable of brutal violence. His flashing topaz eyes locked on mine and took my breath away. I couldn't move. I could see faint lines across his chest and on his arm where his shirt had been torn open, as if someone had clawed him, but had been unable to penetrate his flesh. His hair was a wild, wet tangle, and there was a drop of blood on the corner of his mouth where the sprinkler had not managed to reach. As if sensing my thoughts, he reached one perfect pale hand to his lips and wiped the offending stain. He was an avenging god, glorious in his untamed beauty.

"Bella," he called, raising a hand to beckon me.

Wordlessly, I moved to comply, my eyes locked with his. As if in a trance, I moved slowly forward to where Edward stood. But before I could reach him, Murdoch launched himself at Edward from behind with a piercing howl.

Edward, focused on me and caught off guard, buckled under Murdoch's weight. Murdoch used his split second advantage to sink his teeth into Edward's left thigh. Edward roared in pain and rage, twisting his entire body to get under Murdoch and toss him off his body. Murdoch landed with a resounding crash, crumbling the drywall around him as he landed. Surprisingly quick for his bulky frame, he was up again and ready to attack Edward. This time, however, it was Edward that had the advantage, blocking Murdoch up against the wall.

Then suddenly, Murdoch glanced in my direction, and his eyes took on an evil glint. I froze. Sensing Murdoch's intention, Edward turned murderous, his roar terrifying. He lunged at Murdoch, pinning him to the floor. Murdoch thrashed in Edward's grip, but he was no match for Edward's strength.

"Bella," Edward hissed, "leave NOW!"

"No way, Edward! I'm not leaving you!" I shouted stubbornly, glaring back at him. I knew he only wanted to protect me, and I also suspected that he didn't want me to see him so out of control, but I had come too far to turn back now. Besides, given all the water streaming down the hallway, there was a fairly good chance I would slip and cause myself serious bodily injury anyway. I was definitely staying put.

Edward turned toward me to argue, clearly unwilling to accept my refusal. But before he could say a word, Murdoch used Edward's distraction to twist his face and bite into Edward's right arm. Then he doubled his thrashing and kicking, trying to find a way out of Edward's grip. Edward's growl was deafening, and he seemed to forget I was there. He turned back to attack Murdoch, but in the downpour from the sprinklers, Murdoch managed to slip from his hands. I tried to move back as Murdoch made a leap for me, but of course, I slipped and fell with a thud onto the floor. I scooted away from them as fast as I could, but Murdoch managed to grab my ankle.

That was the last straw for Edward. With a growl I felt down to my bones, Edward launched himself onto Murdoch, turning him around as if he were a rag doll, and in one violent motion, throwing him down onto the floor. Then, with a savage grace, he sank his teeth deep into Murdoch's neck. Murdoch continued to thrash around, fighting with all his strength, but gradually his movements stopped. Edward looked up at me his eyes filled with rage and despair, pleading silently with me for understanding, but all I could see were his perfect lips and beautiful white teeth covered in Murdoch's blood. My eyes widened as I realized what was about to happen. As the smell of blood filled my nostrils, I made an attempt to steady myself against the wall. It wasn't enough – my stomach rolled, my head began spinning, and I slipped the rest of the way onto the floor in a faint.

When I awoke, I found myself cradled in Edward's strong, cold embrace. We were still on the floor, but the sprinklers and the alarm had been turned off. Edward was staring into the distance, deep in thought. Tentatively, I reached out my fingers to touch his face. I had missed being able to touch him so much, though I knew it must have been less than 24 hours since we had been apart. Edward looked down at me, and gave me a sad smile. He gently stroked the hair framing my face.

"Hello Bella," he said quietly.

"Edward," I breathed, noticing that all the blood was gone. Instinctively, I looked back to where I had last seen Murdoch, but he was gone. For a second, Edward's hand paused, then he began stroking my hair again.

"Emmett moved him for me," Edward answered my unspoken question.

"Everyone is okay then?" I asked, content to simply lie in his arms as he stroked my hair.

He nodded and said, "Yes, they've all cleared out of the building."

"Can you tell me what happened?" I asked shyly, embarrassed by my fainting episode.

"Bella," Edward whispered in anguish, as if my question had caused him pain.

"What is it, Edward?" I asked, sitting up in alarm. He said that everyone here was okay, but that still left Renee, or Phil - or even Charlie – who could be in trouble. My anxiety began to grow, and I pressed, "What's wrong?"

He looked at me and said, "I wish I could tell you what happened, what went wrong. All I know is that I never meant for you to see me like that, Bella. Like an animal, a monster. But when Murdoch touched you, laying his filthy hand on you, I couldn't control myself any longer. I lost it – I just couldn't think. Those guys in Port Angeles, James – I felt the same way, but I was able to keep the monster in me at bay. This time, I had been out of my mind with worry, and not knowing what those werewolves were thinking, what they were doing to you, was driving me crazier than I would have thought possible."

He grabbed my hands in his and looked at me imploringly, "Bella, I am so very sorry that you had to see me that way, and I understand if you feel you can no longer be with me. But even though I have no right, I'm going to ask you to stay because I simply cannot imagine my life without you."

"Edward, what in the world are you talking about?" I asked thoroughly confused, and a little alarmed that he thought I could ever not want to be with him.

"You don't have to pretend, Bella," he said softly, "I saw your face after I killed Murdoch – the horror in your eyes when you saw what I could do. I warned you that I was a monster, but I suppose seeing it for yourself was enough to finally drive the point home."

So that was it. I shook my head at how dense he was being. "You know, you like to call me silly, but right now you are the one who is being downright absurd. Yes, I think that is what I will call you from now on – Absurd Edward."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, confused.

"Well, my dear Absurd Edward, the face I made at you wasn't because you killed Murdoch – he got exactly what he deserved, if you ask me. No, what you saw was me horrified by my inability to withstand the smell of blood. I couldn't believe that as you fought bravely to protect me, I was about to hit the floor, unconscious. That is the look you so horribly misinterpreted."

"Let me get this straight – you weren't horrified that I killed someone in front of your eyes, you were horrified that you were going to pass out in the middle of a fight?"

"Well, I wouldn't call Murdoch a 'someone', more of an 'it' if you ask me, but yeah, basically, that's it."

Edward shook his head in amazement, "Bella, I don't know whether I should be grateful or throttle you for your completely illogical responses."

"There's nothing illogical about the way I think," I said annoyed.

"No, of course not," Edward readily agreed, his good mood restored. He took me once more in his arms and lifted me up like a child. I wrapped my arms around his neck and lay my head on his shoulder.

"Are you ready to go then?" he asked, heading for the stairs. I just nodded, and a yawn escaped before I had a chance to stifle it. Edward chuckled. "You are still my Silly Bella. Go on, close your eyes, your body knows you need to rest even if you're too stubborn to admit it. I'll be here to watch over you. In fact, I don't think I'm ever going to let you go."

"But I want to know what happened – how you found me, where everyone is, everything," I protested, even as I yawned again.

"I promise to tell you everything as soon as you've had your sleep," Edward agreed. Then he began humming his sweet, lilting lullaby and I drifted off to sleep.

I was wrapped in a cocoon of warmth, and I could still smell Edward's scent on my pillow as I woke up. It took me a minute to realize I wasn't at home, but in a hotel. I stretched lazily, then looked to see where Edward had gone. But instead of Edward, Alice was sitting in the chair beside the bed.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she said with a mischievous grin.

"Morning, Alice. Have I been asleep long?"

"No, just a few hours. Though I can see now why Edward likes it when you sleep so much. The way you were calling his name, and moving in bed – that must have been some dream," she said teasingly.

I blushed scarlet to the roots of my hair. Surreptitiously, I looked around the bed and saw that Alice was right, all the sheets and the comforters were askew – I must have been moving pretty wildly across the bed. I pulled the covers over my head, and resorted to hiding.

Alice giggled at my antics, then lithely came to sit on the bed next to me. "Come on, Bella. I'm sorry for teasing, it's just too easy with you sometimes. I picked up a few things for you and laid them out on in the bathroom, and Edward went to get you something to eat. Don't you want to make yourself pretty for him before he gets here?"

I pulled down the covers and glared at her, but that just made her giggle even more. I sighed, and pushed myself out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

The first thing I noticed as I stepped into the bathroom and looked in the mirror was the huge bruise right in the middle of my forehead where Murdoch had hit me. Great, I thought, touching it gingerly. Surprisingly, I felt only a slight twinge as I touched the spot, remembering the throbbing pain from when I had first woken up. Shrugging, I resigned myself to the fact that I would probably always have bruises somewhere. I noticed that Alice had picked up all my favorite toiletries, so after a hot shower and a chance to brush my teeth, I felt like myself again. I even experimented with the expensive make-up Alice had picked out for me, and was able to do a fair job of concealing the bruise.

I put on the blue chiffon sundress Alice had picked out for me, and admired myself in the mirror, turning to check and see if the back fit me as well as the front did.

"I never could understand Alice's obsession for shopping, but I must admit, she knows what she's doing," Edward said appreciatively, lounging by the bathroom door.

Instantly color flooded to my cheeks, as my pleasure at Edward's compliment mixed with my embarrassment at being caught checking to see how my posterior looked in the dress.

In a second, Edward was standing behind me as I looked in the mirror, and as if reading my thoughts, he put his hands on my hips and whispered seductively in my ear, "It looks delectable by the way."

Electricity shot through my body, as I gazed at our reflection in the mirror. Edward looked up too, and my breath caught as our eyes locked in the mirror. With a wicked grin, he stepped in a little closer, his hands still on my hips, until I could feel the whole length of his cold, hard body against mine. He breathed deeply against my neck, and the sweet smell of his breath intoxicated me.

"Bella, you drive me crazy!" he whispered, and I gave a choked laugh at the absurdity of his statement. My body was reeling from an overload of sensations from the proximity of his luscious form, and he was accusing me of driving him crazy?

"Edward! Bella!" Alice called, as she skipped into the bathroom. She stopped short when she saw us, and grinned at me as she stared at us unabashedly. "Oops, sorry for the interruption."

"Go away Alice!" Edward growled, his lips moving to find the nape of my neck. Shivers ran down my spine as his cold lips touched my skin.

"Sorry Edward, but everyone is gathered in the other room, and Carlisle sent me to see if you two were ready. Everyone is waiting, but if you want me to go back and tell them you guys are indisposed, I suppose…"

Edward glared at her, but Alice just giggled and left the room. Then he sighed, resigned, and stepped back from me. I reached out my hand and he took it in his.

"Later?" I asked.

"Later," He promised.

'Later' turned out to be a longer wait than I had anticipated. Edward and I were finally on our way back to Forks. Unfortunately, we were taking the red eye back, but being in first class made the trip bearable, and snuggling next to Edward made it flat out pleasurable.

As I sat back, I reflected on everything I had learned that afternoon. I found out that as Edward was waiting for me to come back to the Cullen house, he had reached out into Charlie's thoughts to see how much longer I would be. When he heard that I had said 'help', he raced to my house, but Murdoch had already taken me away. Neither he nor Alice could tell where I was, though Alice was able to see that I would be safe with Sarah.

By then, John had learned from the Council that the lead about the Shenandoah Valley had just been a ploy to throw them off the real trail. He came back to the Cullen house just as Edward came back to tell everyone I was gone. As they tried to figure out where Murdoch could have taken me, John remembered that Flint had once suggested that members of the test subjects' families should be watched as an incentive to ensure their cooperation. Although the Council had balked, he didn't think that Murdoch would have a problem with such a tactic. They agreed that Jacksonville would be the most likely place for Murdoch and Flint to take me, though Esme agreed to go to Alaska to keep an eye on Charlie.

Once in Jacksonville, Carlisle and John began calling any contacts they had in the area, while Alice and Rosalie went to check on Renee and Phil. Sure enough, they found two members of Murdoch's gang trailing my mother. Not wanting too tip off Murdoch, they decided to wait until they could find out where I was being kept to take care of those two.

Meanwhile, Edward, Jasper and Emmett began driving through streets trying to find a place that would fit with Alice's images of where I was being held. Edward reached into people's minds looking for images of Murdoch or Flint that he had gotten from John. Once he made his way to the warehouse district, he found just what he was looking for – a real estate agent worrying about the deal he had made with Murdoch. Then Jasper was able to persuade the agent to tell him all about the property Murdoch had purchased, even managing to get a copy of the building's blueprint. The rest was history.

In the end, Murdoch was the only one killed, with the rest of his gang being captured, or surrendering once the news of Murdoch's death reached them. Flint was inconsolable, throwing himself on top of Murdoch's dead body. Edward joked that he was surprised Flint's howls didn't rouse me from my faint. I jabbed him in the ribs, forgetting in my annoyance that they were marble hard, then had to endure his chuckles as I rubbed my hurting elbow.

The Council knew that they owed the Cullens a great deal for helping them out with Murdoch and Flint, so they extended the Quileute treaty to cover any area where the Council had influence, which covered a surprising amount of territory. They also tentatively agreed to work together on areas of mutual interest, though not all members of the Council were convinced that this was a good idea. I was just glad that the Cullens were finally able to see something so positive come from all the trouble they went through for me.

The Council also decided to suspend all their testing, meaning that Fred, George, Ron and Ginny were free to go home. It turned out that Fred and George had spent much of their time in captivity torturing the guards with the various pranks they had devised. Now that they were able to do what they wanted, they thought that creating pranks for everyone to enjoy sounded like great fun, and decided to go into business together. Alice, seeing a bright future ahead for them, convinced Carlisle to give them the start up capital they needed.

Ron, on the other hand, decided to go to London to look up his best friend with whom he had lost touch. He was worried that his friend might get into trouble without him. It turned out that Ron's best friend also happened to be Ginny's ex-boyfriend, so she decided to tag along. I hoped they would be okay, even though I didn't care for Ron's views on dating.

Sarah and John were inseparable during the impromptu get together at the hotel. I knew exactly how they felt – I refused to let go of Edward's hand the entire time. Carlisle and Edward had put together an impressive buffet, though their guests seemed a little reluctant to eat at first, with their vampire hosts watching. Then Edward dragged me over to the food, piled a plate ridiculously high with restaurant's finest delicacies, and sat me down to eat. Everyone had a laugh at Edward's over-protectiveness, but it broke the ice and everyone began to loosen up and enjoy each other's company.

As the rest of the party began planning on ways to leave Jacksonville, I knew I couldn't go without seeing my mother. Edward agreed, and after the others had left, we went to look for her. She and Phil had gone out to celebrate the team's victory with his teammates and their significant others. I hadn't seen her since I left the hospital in Phoenix, and I longed to run up to her and give her a hug. But I knew if I let her know that I was in Jacksonville, that it would raise more questions than I had the time to answer. So, I contented myself with watching her dance with Phil, and sparkle as she mingled with her friends. Edward whispered in my ear that she really was happy, and that she was truly enjoying her life. I squeezed his hand, and touched as always that he knew exactly what I needed to hear.

Now, as I lay back in Edward's arms, I thought nervously about the one thing that I hadn't discuss with Edward – the conversation I had with Sarah about the possibility of my being addicted to human blood if I were to become a vampire. I thought of the danger I could be putting all the Cullens through, as one thing Sarah said kept playing in my mind – was I willing to risk it all to become a vampire?