The walk to the meeting was silent, and slow. Bella spent the entire time lost in her thoughts. She suddenly felt very old. Had it really only been a week ago that she was getting ready for college, and fretting about sending a letter? So much had changed in such a short amount of time. She realized she would never wake up in her father's house again. She would never be enticed from her bed by the smell of pancakes cooking, or the sounds of some sporting event on tv. If her plan succeeded she would be cut off from her father completely. She was prepared to do what she had to, in order to keep her father safe. Even if it meant never seeing him again, but there was an ache, deep within her. The guilt of being the cause of the mess she was scrambling to clean up, and the finality of the situation made her now ridiculously light steps feel heavy. The scent of wolves alerted her that they were getting close. She took a deep breath, and steeled herself.

As Bella and Leah reached the clearing they found Sam waiting for them, with Paul, Embry, and Jared flanking him. They approached the small group and stopped with a small distance between them. They were quickly joined by Jacob and Seth on either side of them. Bella was touched to see Seth standing with her, and offered him a small smile. For a moment, neither group spoke, as they seemed to size each other up. Then, both Bella and Sam took a few steps forward, and Bella broke the silence.

"Hi Sam. Thank you for agreeing to this meeting. I understand that this is probably... weird for you."

"Bella" Sam nodded slightly before continuing. "Jacob filled me in on your...situation. What is it that you want?" She could see the caution in his eyes. The blatant distrust. Still, it was better than the flat out hate in Paul's. At least Jared and Embry looked conflicted. She was relieved to see that they didn't all immediately hate her. That would be important if everyone was going to get out of this.

"I know that this situation is complicated, but honestly, I just want to make sure that my father stays safe. I don't want him to be hurt anymore because of me."

"Well maybe you should have thought about that before you..."

"Shut up Paul! Let her speak". Bella was sure she had never been so happy to hear Sam's voice before. He spoke up just in time too, because she could feel her anger boil when Paul spoke. She took a focusing breath and continued.

"I'm here to propose a deal".

"We can't alter the treaty in any way without a Cullen here."

"I'm not talking about the treaty. I don't speak for the Cullens. This is something entirely different. I understand that you are bred to hate and distrust vampires, but I also know you to be reasonable and rational."

"What do you want?" Sam repeated.

"The vampire who changed me is cruel and ruthless. She's not done with me, and she's definitely not done trying to hurt me, physically and mentally."

"This is the red haired vampire who's been evading us?"

Bella nodded. "I'm hoping that if I leave, she'll follow me, and move the fight to wherever I end up. If she's too busy following me, she wont go after Charlie, and she'll leave this area alone."

Sam's curiosity finally seemed to get the better of him and he couldn't help but interrupt. "How are you doing this?" he asked.

"Doing what?" Bella replied, confused.

"You honestly seem to care about what happens to your father, but that's impossible. Newborn vampires are the most bloodthirsty, selfish creatures in existence. How can you even remember who Charlie is, let alone feel any kind of emotion towards him?"

"I don't know. I honestly don't know much about this process, but from what I'd heard you're right. It usually takes a while to... get a hold on yourself. To even have a rational thought. I don't know why I'm different, but it's not just the memories and emotions."

"What do you mean?"

"She resisted human blood" Leah spoke up. "Her fathers. After that vampire changed her, she starved her for three days, then cut her father's skin in front of her to entice her, but Bella resisted. She got him out of there, and to safety."

"Bullshit!" Exclaimed Paul. "There's no way in hell this little leech resisted anything."

"It's true." Jacob cut in. "I took Charlie to the hospital and spoke to the doctors myself. He had a deep wound in his neck, caused by a sharp object, possibly claws, but no bite marks and it was the right amount of blood loss for that kind of wound. You know I wouldn't say it unless it was true. She's different."

"Whatever. You're her friend you'd say anything to help her out you traitor".

"Don't you ever call me a traitor Paul." Jake was starting to move toward Paul, then tension becoming thick when Sam broke in again.

"Knock it off! I believe you Jake. Paul, if you're still unconvinced you can call the hospital, but we're going to move on."

"Did you really ask the doctors if he lost the right amount of blood?" Leah asked Jake quietly.

"Yeah. I had to be sure. And yes, they looked at me like I was crazy. But this is probably not the time for this conversation."

"Right, right. Sorry. Go on Bells."

"As I was saying," Bella continued, "I don't think she'll stay in this area if I'm not here to torment, so I'm going to leave. But I have to make sure Charlie is safe, so I need you to agree to watch out for him. To keep him from harm. For the rest of his life. He deserves that much. I wont come back here, ever, as long as you swear to protect him."

Sam's expression turned from cautious to intrigued. "You would do that? Agree to leave this place, and never return?"

Bella struggled to hide all of the emotions boiling toward the surface. She had to appear calm and collected if this was going to work out. If she appeared unstable or irrational she had no doubt that they would attack, and even if her newborn strength would allow her to take out a pack of wolves, how could she live with herself? She swallowed the lump that was growing in her throat as she thought about never seeing Charlie again. "If that's what it takes to keep him safe, then yes. I will leave. I didn't ask for this, but I'm the only one she wants to hurt, so I will do whatever it take to spare any collateral damage."

"Where would you go? The Cullens have been gone for a year, have you kept in touch?"

Bella looked down, once again trying to get a hold of her emotions. "No, I haven't. But I know of at least one other family that is similar to them in their lifestyle. I know roughly where they live, I might even have their address. My plan is to seek them out and ask them for guidance in the animal-only diet plan."

"You don't know exactly where they live?" Sam looked conflicted.

"No"

"I can't just let a newborn vampire wander around the country alone. It's dangerous."

"Aw come on! She's already shown that she can control herself. What's the problem with trusting her?" Seth spoke up from behind Bella. Sam started to answer, but was immediately cut off by Paul.

"Because, little Clearwater, what happens when she gets halfway there, and decides to make a happy meal out of some small town? All those deaths would be on out heads. I don't want that kind of guilt." Any honest impact of his words was shattered by the self satisfied smirk on his face.

"She's given you no reason to distrust her." Jacob said.

"She's a newborn vampire. That's reason enough". Jared, who had been silent until now, seemed almost reluctant to say it.

"I think we should give her a chance." Embry spoke up.

"You're all crazy! She's a freaking newborn vampire! We should just take her out now!" Paul shouted. The tension in the area was rising. Sam heaved a labored sigh, and Bella started to get a bad feeling about what was going to happen.

"Bella, this situation is...complicated. I understand that you want to keep your father safe, but we have a responsibility to the humans of this area, and you, just by existing, put every human you're near in danger. Paul's been speaking in anger, but his words have merit. If there was someone to take responsibility for you then maybe we could allow some leeway, but under the circumstances...I don't know what we can do." Bella felt the warmth rising around her the same way it had when Victoria cut her father. She let it surround her and felt safe. It was similar, but it wasn't as explosive as before. It felt more comforting than anything. She was starting to panic when another presence in the clearing made themselves known.

"I can take responsibility for her". They had all been so involved in their conversation, that no one noticed the new vampire who had come upon them and spent the last few minutes listening to the conversation. At the sound of the voice every wolfs head snapped in that direction, but Bella kept staring straight ahead. She knew that voice, and once the scent hit her she realized she could've picked out that scent anywhere. Slowly, she turned her head and braced herself as she made eye contact with Alice Cullen.

She looked exactly the same, of course, and Bella couldn't help but feel her heat swell at seeing her again. All of the other emotions were there too of course; confusion, anger, hurt, but mostly she was relieved. She had to fight the urge to rush across the clearing and hug her fiercely. Alice was meeting the gaze of each wolf, confidence and determination on her face, until she met Bella's eyes. Her features softened and she looked hopeful and guilty, and just as happy as Bella to see her friend. She offered a small wave from across the clearing. She casually walked across the clearing, reestablishing eye contact with Sam.

"You're one of them, aren't you" Sam asked, his face cautious and wary.

"I'm Alice Cullen. We haven't met, but when we moved back you briefly met my father, brothers, and husband."

Paul snorted, but was silenced by a look from Sam. "Yes. Are you here to negotiate Bella into your treaty? Because I'm still not comfortable changing the terms without your leader here" Bella felt annoyed at the direction the conversation had taken. She suddenly felt like she had no control of her own fate and it made her want to scream.

"I'm not here to change anything in our treaty. I'm only here to stand with Bella. I believe she made her plans known to you. I've been a vampire in control of my thirst since 1921. Bella," she turned to Bella as she continued, "can choose to come with me to my family, or I can escort her to Alaska, if that's what she wants" she turned back to Sam as she finished "You said she needed someone to take responsibility for her, and that's what I'm here to offer."

"You understand that a slip anywhere under our protection would result in a war not only on her, but on you as well?" Sam asked.

"I do" Replied Alice without missing a beat. Paul was fuming.

"You can't seriously be considering this."

Sam's face showed that he was indeed considering it. He thought for a moment, then finally spoke. "The deal remains the same. She must leave, and not come back. As far as we're concerned, her business with the red haired leech is her own, and we don't want any unnecessary violence on our lands. We will protect Charlie. Forever.". Bella felt her heart constrict at the thought of never seeing her father or friends here again, but reminded herself why she had to. It was the only way to keep the peace, and the only way to keep her father and her human friends safe. Alice looked over to her, silently asking for confirmation. Bella offered a small nod.

"Agreed. We'll leave before dawn."

"So be it." Before Jacob and Leah could say anything to Bella, Sam spoke again. "Everyone get back to the reservation now. We need to have a meeting with the tribe." Jacob, Leah, and Seth each hugged Bella tightly before following the pack into the woods. Leah whispered into Bella's ear "Write me when you can" As she turned away, Bella could see her swiping at a tear. Soon Bella and Alice were the only two left.

For a moment they both just stared at each other, but Bella finally broke the silence by enveloping Alice in tight hug, which Alice returned with enthusiasm.

"Oh Bella, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"You're here. I can't believe you're here. I've missed you so much." Alice broke the hug as she pulled back sightly.

"I missed you too. But we should head to the house. We have a lot to do, and we have to leave in...six hours."

"Yeah," agreed Bella " We have a lot to talk about".

Back on the reservation the wolf pack sat around a campfire going over the latest developments, with a few of the tribes elders sitting in.

"I can't believe you just let her go Sam!" Paul fumed.

"We had no reason to kill her Paul. She hasn't harmed a human, and she wasn't changed by one of the Cullens."

"She's Charlie Swan's baby girl. Could you look him in the eye knowing you murdered his daughter?" Billy Black spoke up from where he was sitting next to Jake.

"She's a filthy bloodsucker!"

"Why do you hate her so much?" Leah asked.

"Because all of this is her fault. She brought all of this trouble on our heads. She caught the eye of one of those leeches, and even knowing what he was she still threw herself at him. She's the reason those others are here too, she said it herself, they're after her. Maybe she threw herself at them too. Maybe she's just a tease."

"Watch yourself Paul." Jacob's tone was low, and full of warning.

"All I'm saying is that she is the common denominator in all of the trouble. When's the last time there's been a vampire presence this big? She's the reason there've been so many of us."

"That's crazy! It's not her fault!" Leah yelled.

"Shut up Leah. just because you have a soft spot for leeches now, doesn't mean I'm gonna let you defend her. Sam, you have to see that I'm right."

Sam squeezed his eyes shut and pinch the bridge of his nose. "What would you suggest Paul?"

"I say we take her out. The other vampires will scatter, the Cullens will stay gone, and we can go back to normal. Well, relatively normal anyway."

Leah stared at him, flabbergasted. "Are you insane? You honestly think there wouldn't be any consequences? Forget about breaking her father's heart, what about the Cullens? You think they'll just let that slide? you've lost it."

"She's not one of them! They didn't even come to speak for her!" Jared added in.

"Alice came, and I'm telling you, you're talking about starting a war with that whole family."

Paul was yelling now. "They are not a family! They are a coven! Just a group of bloodsuckers who travel together. They don't care about anyone! They can't think past their next feeding! And since when are you on a first name basis with leeches?! Maybe you're a traitor too!"

"Enough!" Sam's voice rang all around them. "Paul is definitely too emotional about this, but he has a point. There is one person that all of this keeps coming back to, and that is Bella."

Now Leah was shouting. "That's not her fault!"

"Maybe not, but maybe taking her out is the right thing to do." Sam looked thoughtful and a self satisfied grin spread on Paul's face.

Leah grabbed Jacobs hand and squeezed. "We can't let this happen" she was close to tears.

"Paul: you, Jared and Embry follow them as they leave. When you see an opportunity, ambush them. Be careful. It is imperative that you keep the attack a surprise." Sam ordered.

"I'm not gonna let you do just made a deal with her! She agreed to leave! What more do you want?" Jacob said, feeling a new power start coursing through him.

"It's done. And that's final."

"No it's not." Jake was starting to tremble. Bella didn't deserve this. He knew that he was supposed to hate her now. That she was his enemy now. But she had stood there, resisted blood, done everything she could to protect her family. There was right, and there was wrong, and this order was wrong. He could feel himself fighting against it. Struggling with the compulsion to follow this order, and his basic understanding of right and wrong. He could feel the conflict tremble within him, growing like the anger that sometimes caused him to shift.

"I'm sorry Jake but yes it is."

"No. It's. Not" Suddenly Jake's voice was coming from all around and within all of the wolves with a sense of power and finality. Sam fell to his knees, feeling as though he just had the wind knocked out of him. Paul, Embry, and Jared froze where they were. The mood surrounding them changed. Everyone looked to Jacob, to Sam, and then back to Jacob again.

"What did I just do?" asked Jacob.

Leah brought herself out of her daze to answer him. "I'm pretty sure you just took your place as the alpha of this pack."

A/N sorry about that weird post, hopefully this fixes it :)