In the brightness of the clear night I ran, with Bella tensed uncomfortably in my arms. To her, this would be a terrifying experience; not only was the night a black one for her, but she was being moved and she was not in control of it. As she grew to trust me not to let her fall, she grew more comfortable with the idea of being carried and driven places, but it would be a long time, if ever, until she could relax and let me spirit her away. I was taking time, looking at the beautiful and unusaual biodiversity around me. Insects, and mammals that I was unfamiliar with, even rocks and plants that were new to me, or that I had only seen in print, and never in reality.

It had been an amazing two days. I had enforced generally limited contact with my family, choosing to instead delight themwith stories when I returned home, and so had spent the entire time in Phoenix listening, watching, and learning. Over the first night I had googled an entire library's worth of information on the flora and fauna of Arizona. I had also spent some time fishing through some albums of childhood pictures, committing as much of Bella's life to my memory as I could. Even within the confines of the snaps of her childhood images, as a child Bella seemed cautious and lost. There were plenty of pictures to go through, but in most of them Bella had some sort of injury, and was rarely laughing to the fullest. It appeared that her dappling into incessant optimism and humor was perhaps a new phase, brought about by the latest of many tragedies in her life. To see how she had grown was beautiful, and enchanting, and I wished I could share the same insights into my past with her.

Tonight I was taking her into the mountains, to let her see her city from a unique perspective, to be far away from people that would interrupt the peace I had with her. The calamity of such a large city was mentally taxing to say the least. I had stolen her away, into a desolate location in the mountains. One, that only a vampire could have easily ferried her away to.

And that, as it turned out, was almost exactly the problem. We had stopped for only a few minutes when I felt them. I was busy admiring the landscape before me, and the heartbeat of the desert we were standing in.

"It has a very different beauty to Forks. Although both locations pale in comparison to yourself of course." I had remarked, noting how her heart raced as I complimented her.

"Anything to eat around here?" she had responded. Nothing of particular nutritional value aside for some desert foxes. The dry heat couldn't sustain anything large enough to be entertaining. This was however the perfect opportunity to slip in Bella's favourite type of joke – a morbid one.

"Besides yourself?" I had chuckled. It was in that moment that I felt a tug on my mental horizon. A point of focus that I could not ignore. A thought stream, a mental presence much stronger than the people I had been dealing with in the past few days. A vampire.

"Again, anyone listening would assume that's a totally different joke." I heard Bella say. If I had a beating heart it would have frozen again. The presence who had previously been following my scent, now had a sound to link them closer to us. They would be here in seconds. And what to do with that? They sounded curious, but not thirsty, not hunting, although determined to follow the scent of me, and what they assumed was undoubtedly my prey.

"Edward? I'm just joking." Bella said, and I heard a soft crunch as she stepped on a dry piece of bush, moving, to reassure me. "Edward?"

I quickly moved to hold her, standing slightly behind her, locking my arm around her waist, and my hand gently over her mouth. If I needed to, I could lift her and run. The last thing I wanted to do right now was scare Bella, or annoy the intruder. She froze, stopped breathing, waited. Her heartrate didn't even increase. My Bella. Unafraid of danger, to the end. In the brief moment where I was searching the landscape for our guest, I remembered just how dark it was for Bella out here. I quickly fumbled with my phone, turning on the flashlight, and spinning it gently to the ground. As it fell, my guest came within view, and cautiously approached.

Interesting. The mental voice rang out, and a tingle of familiarity buzzed inside my mind. Was it…

"Garrett?" I mumbled aloud. He froze, stock still as the cactus beside him. He looked closer at me as I relaxed my hold on Bella, ever so slightly.

"Edward? Carlisle's boy, right?" he asked. We had only met briefly, a very long time ago. In those days it had been only Carlisle and I. I nodded once, briefly. He started to laugh.

"I wondered how long it would be before you caved out of that ridiculous lifestyle." He chuckled. "What, eighty years?"

"You have me mistaken Garrett." I explained calmly. "Carlisle, his wife Esme, and my four siblings, are all still following his original teachings."

"Four siblings? Carlisle has a coven of seven now?" Garrett was totally shocked. His mind recalling only flashes of us. Bella shifted her weight uncomfortably. She was still calm, collected, her heartrate not indicitive of any stress.

"Before we continue reminiscing," I interrupted Garrett, as his brain buzzed with questions. "I would like an assurance of peace."

Of peace? I'm not one to stand between a man and his meal.

"Of course." He said aloud. "I will not challenge you Edward. My good standing with your father shall remain intact."

I slowly released Bella, stepping casually in front of her to illuminate myself, so she might be able to see what was going on. I was still guarded, but more at ease now.

"Garrett, this is Bella, my… mate." I hesitated for a moment before relaying the word. It was the vampire equivalent of wife, or girlfriend. And more apt.

Mate? The human? A human with a vampire?

"Sorry, I must have misheard you…" he started.

"You didn't. She is with me. We were sightseeing tonight. I was unaware there was a claim on Phoenix, or we would not have strayed from the safety of the city."

"There is a claim, but not by me. And he's over in the Roosevelt district currently. He's fine with nomads passing through, as long as we don't stay too long." Garrett said absentmindedly, as his mind filled with questions again. He was filtering out what exactly it was that he wanted to ask first. He slumped into the cactus beside him, leaning on it casually, running a hand through his beard.

I turned slowly to look at Bella. She was still frozen as I had left her, watching Garrett tentatively. I wondered if her eyes could even see him properly.

Would you like to go home? I can return and talk to Garrett later, when you are safe.

I'm fine. She responded, as I knew she would have. I'd rather be with you.

What the hell? A mental voice interrupted our conversation. Is that sign language? Are they speaking in code? What has Carlisle been up to? Seven of them? Is he amassing some kind of force? For the moment, I ignored him.

It might get confusing. I told Bella.

It's already confusing. Bella retorted, and I smiled. I gestured that she could sit on a nearby rock to wait. She complied, but her body language was anything but relaxed.

"Garrett. To answer one of your multitude of questions," I turned towards him, speaking loudly enough that I hoped Bella was catching it. "Bella is mostly deaf. In the dark, where she cannot read lips as easily, sign language is an efficient communication device. Usually I have to speak very loudly and clearly for her to hear my voice at all."

"That's why you threw down the light." He mused. "I was wondering."

"It's hardly fair to have a conversation when one of us can barely see." I affirmed. "Regardless, you had other questions."

"I'm not entirely sure in the order in which I wanted to ask them."

"I can pick out most of them. Would you like me to begin with my own narrative?" I asked. Garrett reeled for a moment, and then relaxed.

The mind reader. I had forgotten that tidbit of information.

"Yes, I can read your thoughts. It will help in telling my story if you mentally formulate queries as I speak. I can alter the narrative to explain in a more full fashion." I said.

Well then. Start at the beginning. Where I last left you would be helpful.

I began signing, and speaking. I told the brief stories of collecting Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett into our coven, and the discovery of more of our kind in Alaska. I told the story of the general lives we led, with the younger members attending schools, while Carlisle worked as a doctor, and Esme most often as an architect. I briefly told of Alice and Jasper 'finding' us, while avoiding mention of talents and abilities. Eventually I got to our move to Forks, and my finding of Bella. Bella shifted uncomfortably during that segment.

"We are in town visiting family. We've been remarkably blessed with the overcast skies, and so able to explore the city more." I ended lamely. Garrett's mind was remarkably blank for a moment.

"So are you going to change her then? Is that why you brought her out here?" he asked.

"No. We were sightseeing. Looking at the city from afar." I said, not bothering to sign that time.

"You do realise that you can't keep her human right?" He asked. The Volturi would descend upon you like wolves to the slaughter.

"I am aware."

"Alright," he held up his arms in abeyance. "Not my fire to throw fuel to. You may want to get on it soon though."

"So far, only trusted individuals know." I retorted, trying not to emphasize the word 'trusted' too much. Garrett laughed.

"Point taken." Though I make no promises if Aro manages to get his hands on me. He'll read it as though I'd taken out an advertisement in the paper.

"Just try to avoid Italy for a few years then." I smiled, dangerously. Garrett stood, sloughing off the needles that had taken hold in his jacket.

"I probably would have anyway." He shrugged. "Never a fan of that pompous crowd." Maybe I'll find myself a human girl to change all my own. A mate would be nice, although I don't think I could do the breakable edition.

"Perhaps you should go exploring for the Alaska coven. Three of them are unattached females." I pointed out.

Not a half bad idea Edward.

"Goodnight." He said, saluting gently with two fingers at Bella. She smiled back.

"Go in peace." I responded, mirroring the words of my father. Garrett nodded, and disappeared into the mountains. I retrieved my phone, and a small scorpion beside it, showing Bella the dangerous little creature before placing it well out of her reach.

You okay? She asked.

"I'm alright. We should head back. Your mother will miss us."