So the previous chapter ran a little long, so it was cut in two.

Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, and following/favoriting. I'm so lucky to have your support.

Thanks to Fran and Mr G and Me for their help. (Any mistakes you see are my own.)

SM owns everything Twilight.

Suddenly, Jacob's face pops into view on the screen.

"Are you ready for us to kick your ass, Cul—" he stops, his mouth popping open in shock. "Bella. Hey."

In the background, I hear several familiar voices chorusing my name, asking a slew of questions, one over the other.

"Is she okay?"

"What does she look like?"

"Is she freaky looking?"

"How is she?"

"We wanna see her too!"

Jake rolls his eyes in annoyance, turning the camera around so I can see everyone; Paul, Jared, and Seth are sitting on the couch, their broad shoulders touching as they squeeze together on the small sofa.

"Hey, Bella!" They all cheer, waving with huge, bright smiles on their faces.

I wave, feeling a pang of sadness at all of them crammed together in my house, with Jasper in the middle. I wish I could be there with them, hanging out and giving them grief like normal ... but that won't happen for a long time from the look of things.

"How are—hey! Don't hog her!"

Jake ignores Paul and subsequent protests, the camera back on him as he walks into another room. From the looks of it, it seems like he's taking solace in the laundry room.

"You had us all scared; you know that? You're such a brat!"

I shrug a shoulder, not bothering to suppress my smirk. "Sorry."

His eyes narrow. "No, you're not."

"I am. Kind of. It wasn't really my fault."

His features soften. "Yeah, I know. Your dad explained a little bit of it, but I'm still really fucking confused."

"Language!" Leah snaps from nearby.

"You have to monitor your language now?" I ask with a snicker.

Jake rolls his eyes. "Yeah. With the baby coming, Leah's asked all of us to stop cussing."

There are grumbles from everyone in the room, and shortly after, Leah's irate voice can be heard.

"I don't want my baby's first word to be a curse word, you assholes!"

Mocking laughter erupts from everyone except Jacob, who's more covert about his amusement than the rest of them.

It's probably for the best, honestly.

Leah's never been one to screw with, especially when she's angry.

"How are you, Bella?" Jake asks, focusing on me.

"No, not yet," I reply, pointing at the screen. "Are you at my house? How did you get over there so fast?"

"We were on our way over when we got a call … a frantic call from Jasper, saying—"

"Saying my ass!" Paul exclaims with a chuckle. His voice is distant, and it makes me wonder if they can hear just as clearly as vampires can, considering he heard everything Jake just said.

Then again, he probably didn't have to strain too hard; Jake has no concept of an inside voice.

"He was ordering. Ordering us!"

Jake rolls his eyes at Paul's amusement, continuing. "That we better not hurt the Cullens or you."

Laughter sputters from my lips as my eyes widen in shock. "What? Really?"

"Yeah, he was pretty intense. I'm not gonna lie; he alarmed me," Jake admits, rubbing the back of his neck.

The image blurs as Jake protests against the action moments before Leah's face pops into view.

"Alarmed my ass. He was bat-shit scared. No pun intended."

I snicker at both Leah's honesty and the fact that she's the one cursing. "One, vampires aren't that cool. We can't turn into bats. Two, I'm sure he was. Jasper has always scared me from the first moment I laid on him. And third, nice language, Mom to be."

She grimaces, running a hand through her chin-length hair. "Yeah, I know. I'm trying to get everyone to curb their language so they can help me. We are animals, you know."

The boys in the background erupt in howls before it changes into loud, riotous laughter.

"We're the best kind of animal, baby!"

"Wolves are best! Ah-wooo!"

I shake my head at Paul's statement and Jared's answering shout of agreement.

"You guys good?"

Leah's eyebrows come together in confusion, her lips puckering in a frown. "Shouldn't we be asking you that?"

"That's what I was saying!" Jake loudly exclaims, causing her to wince. His answering apology is soft and tender, almost too low for me to hear.

"Are you okay, Bella? What happened?" she asks, moving so both her face and Jake's fill the screen. "From what I understand, the transformation typically takes three days; you were out for six … is that … was it normal?"

I snort a laugh, my smile sardonic. "Why are you surprised I'm not like everyone else? I'm a freaking snowflake! Unique and original, baby."

They snicker in unison, sharing an amused look.

"You're pale as one too. Shit," Jake says. "And your hair—"

Before he can say anything more, I shake my head, pointing at him. "I'll hurt you. I mean it."

He raises a hand in surrender, his eyebrows lifting high on his forehead and his lips stretched thin in a useless effort not to smile.

"I'm not saying anything."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

He smirks, while Leah simply looks annoyed … much like Rose does whenever we try to avoid talking about something. It's no wonder those two get along so well.

"Are you okay?" She asks, impatient and apprehensive.

Sighing heavily, I tug a hand through my hair, pulling at the ends with a disgusted groan as I spot the mahogany locks sliding through my fingertips.

"I'm as okay as I can be," I mutter. "Something … happened during the transformation."

"Like what?" Her eyes flicker to something above the camera but quickly move back to me.

I know she and Jake aren't alone in the room; I'm sure one, if not all, of my family is crowded somewhere in the laundry room, listening to every word I'm sharing with Leah.

"What's going on there?"

I don't expect her to answer me; for one thing, Leah is loyal to all of us, and if she feels Rose and Jasper need to hear something, she'll let them listen or tell them herself, so there's really no point in keeping secrets.

She presses her lips together, one eyebrow raising as her lips purse while she remains silent, waiting for me to resume speaking.

"You have the mom look down already, geez," I mumble, ignoring her triumphant smirk.

"Don't forget it. Now, what happened?"

"I don't know," I start with another sigh.

In my periphery, I see Edward staring at me, his eyes unblinkingly boring holes into the side of my face. It's then I realize the entire house has fallen silent as well, no doubt waiting to hear the unfiltered experiences I had during my transformation.

Biting my bottom lip, I debate about whether or not I shoulder filter what happened or just release it all. I don't want to worry anyone, and I definitely don't want to be treated like some freaky science experiment, waiting to be examined with a microscope.

I'd rather find out what my gift and that empty, void feeling were about, but I can't do that on my own; I have no knowledge of what being a vampire is like, let alone how vampire gifts work.

I'm sure I could figure it out, but how much time would that take?

Too long, in my opinion … and I can't wait that long to see my family and friends again.

"It was like … I was trapped in my head. I remember seeing … being in my house with my family around me. Their appearances changed; they first looked normal, and then like they hadn't slept for days. I couldn't leave my house, but whenever I tried, the door was hot … and it hurt. Like really fucking badly. And then, there was nothing. Just a numbness that pinned me down. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I could hear everyone, though … but I couldn't communicate with them. The only time I came close was when I sent my thought at Edward. I—I was really annoyed … and a little scared, to be honest. I didn't think I would ever be able to move."

Edward gives me a small smile, leaning forward to press his lips against my temple before pulling back and giving me a little privacy once more. I'm tempted to take the phone from him, to give him a break, but he's showing no sign of exhaustion.

His arm stays still and steady, like a statue.

Another perk to being a vampire.

Jake and Leah share a concerned look before returning their attention to me.

"What do you mean when you thought at Edward?" Leah questions.

"Exactly that; he can't hear my thoughts, but if I concentrate enough and imagine my words flying toward him, he can hear them."

Immediately, Edward disagrees, sliding backward with a smooth grace that has me a little impressed, if I'm being honest.

"I can't hear her exact words; just bits of it. Most of the time, it's static. Loud, annoying static that hurts … not gonna lie."

Guilt swims in my gut for a second.

I feel bad I had hurt him, but how else could I have gotten his attention and told him what was going on?

Maybe there's a way for him to read my thoughts without my static causing him pain.

Then again, I love the fact he still can't read my mind. At least it's something that's still mine.

"You can't hear her? Lucky," Jake grumbles. "What's your secret, Bella?"

"No secret. I'm just awesome."

Loudly, he laughs, throwing his head back like I had told him the funniest joke ever; but that's just Jake, though.

Carefree and light.

"That's scary," Leah remarks, not venturing off the path of my hidden thoughts with the rest of us. "At least that's over with now, and you won't have to go through that again."

I make a vague noise of agreement, catching Edward's worried eyes on me. It's a shame it wasn't just the one time I had been rendered immobile; after panicking when I think about the transformation, I feel that same empty stillness returning, ready to protect myself from that experience.

That's not going to happen again, though.

I'm okay, and I'm stronger now … not to mention completely stubborn.

If anyone can overcome weirdness and difficulty, it's me.

"And from what I gathered from Rosalie's grunted mumblings and red eyes, and generally acting mopey and pissed, is that you're not coming back anytime soon?"

"Screw you, Leah!" I hear Rose shout somewhere in the room.

Leah gives me an apologetic smile before rolling her eyes at Rose. I wave away her silent apology. I don't really care they heard what I went through. At least it'll be one less thing I'll have to share now.

"No, I'm not. I almost attacked the Cullens and kept them immobile with whatever freaky power I have when they got too close to me during hunting. I … felt so out of control, like I wasn't myself. It felt as if I was watching it happen from the inside out. I was upset because they were close while I was hunting animals. I wanted them gone. I didn't care who they were. In my crazy-ass head, I thought they were a threat I needed to eliminate. I was prepared to hurt them all, just for an animal."

Edward murmurs words of comfort to me when my voice cracks on the last word, regret and shame filling my stomach and prickling at my eyes. I expect tears to fall at any moment, and a burning spot of anger flares up in the middle of my chest at the thought of Jake and Leah seeing me cry.

However, nothing comes.

My eyes burn, and my throat tightens, but nothing falls from my eyes.

Thank goodness.

Edward sweeps his hand along my back in gentle, loose circles, his fingernails ever so lightly scratching at my shirt every so often.

I focus on the feeling, using it to calm my breath and my sudden mixture of sadness, guilt, and anger.

Clearing my throat, I continue. "If the bloodlust or whatever is that bad from animals, what will it be like if I smell a human? I … I don't want that to happen again, not with my family or friends around. I couldn't live with myself if I hurt them. So, that's why I'm not coming back; because I'm honestly too nervous to."

"But didn't you smell … you, or rather, your human you when you woke up?"

Taking a moment to think, I don't recall smelling anything delectable that I had to have. Even now, all I smell is the faint scent of artificial flowers, ammonia, and the strongest being Edward's scent of leather, cotton, and soap.

"No, not really," I reply, feeling a spark of hope.

If I didn't react feral upon waking, then there's a chance I could go home and see my family sooner than I thought.

I'd have to work on my temper and get this gift under control, but I'll do whatever it takes, even if that means practicing day and night, with no rest.

"We cleaned the area," Edward murmurs, sliding his hand into mine and squeezing. "Lessoned learned with me; when I woke up from my change and smelled my human self … it was—"

"A nightmare," Carlisle supplies from the other room. "A headache, too. It took me hours of trying to clean while keeping you still and calm so humans wouldn't ask questions."

"Thanks, Dad," Edward sarcastically replies, rolling his eyes.

"You're welcome, son."

Edward huffs a laugh; his lips curled in a small smile.

Witnessing this interaction is sweet; seeing Edward light and happy isn't something that happens too often, especially with his parents.

I know he still carries a bit of guilt with his departure from them and his subsequent imagined disapproval they had of him, but with moments like these, it looks like all of that is erased and forgotten.

From what I know about Carlisle and Esme, I know it wasn't an issue; I'm sure they didn't like his decision very much, but I truly believe most of all, they missed him.

It makes me miss my own father because spouting off some random, embarrassing story is just something he would do.

Jasper would egg him on, putting in his own stories while Rose would sit by like she wasn't interested, but I could always tell she was listening; she'd smile softly at whatever memory was brought up, her eyes going distant as she recalls her own perspective from that day.

When I would undoubtedly get ticked at Jasper for not knowing when to stop, Rose would jump in and tell him to knock it off before getting what was coming to him.

A strong sense of homesickness stabs me; my eyes tingle, and an oppressive wave of sadness envelopes me. I want nothing more than to jump up and run home, seeing my family in the flesh.

The only thing that stops is the clear memory of my actions earlier today.

Instead of the faces of the Cullens, I see Dad, Rose, and Jasper, frozen in terror.

Only, I'm sure, that situation would be much worse.

Most likely sensing my gloomy mood, Edward reaches for my hand, entwining his fingers with mine. There's a look of pity, sadness, and regret etched in his eyes and the half-hearted sympathetic smile.

I'm sure he understands about homesickness because despite his tough exterior, I know he loves his family, and he missed them while he was away living on his own and hunting humans.

Regardless, it's not really the same thing.

He didn't have to worry about easily killing them.

I meet his look with a glare, not wanting his pity looks or touches; I'm not sorry for what happened to me. The current situation sucks, but at least I'm alive … and I will get to see them again someday.

It just won't be today.

Edward jerks away from me as if my skin had burned him, his expression morphing into shock. I turn away, not wanting to deal with that right now.

"I guess it won't be entirely possible then if they removed my smell," I continue, my voice terse and tight, even to my ears. "Too bad for that. I was hoping."

Leah and Jake exchange a quick look, their eyes darting off to something—or someone off camera—before returning to me.

"Well, it won't be for very long. I'm sure of it," Leah offers a note of hopefulness in her words. "You're a Swan, after all; your mom handled it really well. You can too."

"Yeah, but—"

"You're her daughter," Jake says. "You can do it. For the moment, trust your intuition, Bella. If you don't feel comfortable, don't do it. When you do, you'll have a support system here to help you."

This is my best friend talking to me now; this is Jake, the newest leader in the Quileute tribe. This is the Alpha of the pack speaking now.

"Thanks, Jake. I appreciate it."

"No problem. We're here for you."

"And to kick your ass!" Paul jokingly shouts. "I'm coming for you, Bella!"

There's a burst of protests from Jake, Leah, and my family, telling him they'd like to see him try it, but the loudest comes from right next to me.

Edward's lips curl over his teeth, his eyes darkening to black as his face hardens and his body goes rigid. A deep, low growl starts to rattle from his chest, the sound growing into a feral roar. He moves close to me, his free hand gripping my thigh with surprising force as his eyes bore holes into the phone.

His hand tightens around the device in question, the plastic squeaking in protest. I pluck it from his hand, shaking my head in disapproval at the screen.

"Nice one, jackass," I drawl, rubbing Edward's shoulder in a vain effort to calm him. "You've woken the beast."

Jake berates Paul, whose voice grows closer as he comes to apologize. "Oh, geez. I'm sorry, man. It was just a joke, honest."

Edward's roar quiets to a low growl, but I continue to rub his shoulder in soft, soothing sweeps. His grip on my thigh doesn't loosen, but his shoulders seem less tense.

"Please; no one takes you seriously. You couldn't even win against me when I was human. Now? Pfft. You'll be on the ground in two seconds."

Paul's eyebrows rise, and a playful grin pulls at his lips, but I shake my head once, silently warning him not to say anything. Edward isn't in the mood for a joke like that.

Jake slaps Paul's shoulder, also shaking his head in warning before turning to me.

"You're going to be an awesome vamp, Bella."

"Well, I don't know about that. I still have a lot to learn."

"You're in good company," Jake assures with a small smile. "Carlisle is a good man, and anyone he trusts has to be good too."

Slowly, I see Edward return to himself. He takes a deep breath, and then another, and another, his chest rising and falling rhythmically.

I watch him, equal parts fascinated and worried, wondering if I'm going to see the animal in him, as he had already seen in me.

The dark possessiveness that had been clear in Edward's face fades now, though it still remains in the onyx of his eyes.

His grip on my thigh loosens until his it's just his palm resting there, though his fingers do squeeze me every now and then.

"Yeah, Carlisle's great. Everyone, really; they've all been welcoming."

"Like I said, the best."

Edward's gaze drops down to the floor, trying to hide his warm smile at the thought of our friend saying something kind about his father. I'm not sure why he's ashamed of it; I'm proud of my parents, too.

"Bella," Jake softly says, his thick eyebrows drawn together, his lips pursed in a worried frown. "He okay?" he mouths, being mindful of the vampire next to me.

Screwing up my face, I do a quick combination of a shrug and nod, because I'm not really sure, to be honest; he's more relaxed, , but his eyes are still dark and narrowed, his lips pressed together now that the smile he had is now gone.

Jake sighs, shooting Paul a dark look, who rushes off. He follows his departure, coming to stop on something, or more likely someone, standing off-camera.

"You'll be okay, and you'll be back here before you know it."

"I know I will. Can I talk to them?"

He nods once before he gives me a playful, shitty grin. "Behave," he tells me, pointing a finger.

Snorting a laugh, I flip him. "Or what? You're not going to do anything. I'll stop you before you even think of it."

"I wasn't thinking of anything. I was just—"

"I know what you were doing," I interrupt, giving him a smile. He's just being Jake; playful and a pain in the ass, like always.

I'm sure if I hadn't just been run over and my vampire boyfriend wasn't being extremely possessive and paranoid, he'd find the humor in all these 'threats' too.

"Yeah, go for it, all mighty one," Leah teases. "It's been a while since you've had your ass kicked."

He scoffs, waving her off. "That's never happened. And never will."

Leah and I exchange amused glances. I shoot her a quick wink before leaning forward, as if I'm trying to see something better.

"Hey, Jake? What's that?"

"What's what?"

"There, on your shoulder, is that a spider?"

It takes a second, but it's well worth the wait.

His eyes widen, and he jumps up, the phone going with him. Leah releases a string of curses, shooting him a dirty look, but it doesn't stay there long. She bursts into laughter, slapping a hand on the washer to remain upright as she watches her future husband try to fight off an imaginary spider.

"Where is it? Where is it?! Where'd it go?"

Jake swats at both shoulders, turning around in a circle, trying to see where the imaginary spider went.

"Big and tough and unafraid," Leah snorts through her laughter.

"For sure," I reply, amused.

In the background, I hear the guys laughing at him, telling him different spots where this spider is.

"This isn't funny! I hate bugs! Where is it?"

Edward laughs, the sound forced, but ever so slowly, the tension eases from his body. "I hope someone is getting video."

"You can count on it," Leah answers. "Paul will send it over later. Anyway, I'll let you talk to your cousins now."

The look she gives me is a mixture of sadness and sympathy, letting me know without words that they had heard everything I shared with Leah and Jake.

My responding smile is easy and genuine. I don't care they had heard everything; honestly, it's one of the few times I don't mind their eavesdropping. It makes it one less thing to relay.

Leah hands the phone over to my cousins, their eyes red-rimmed and puffy. I feel bad they had heard the struggles I had been through, but at least they know my extended stay here in Alaska isn't just because I can or because I don't want to see them.

"Hey," Jasper begins, his voice cracking as he rapidly blinks, trying to clear the glassiness from his eyes. "You're an ultra-freak now?"

Rose looks appalled and starts berating Jasper, but my reaction is the complete opposite.

Laughter bubbles from my chest, and loudly, I laugh, throwing my head back and falling into Edward's side as I lose my balance, thanks to the hilarity of Jasper's statement.

When my amusement slows, I'm finally able to form complete thoughts and words.

"Did you expect anything else?"

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Stay safe, friends.