Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its sequel New Moon; I just like playing god with the characters. XD
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Edward landed in a crouch and let Bella transfer to his back so he could run more easily. Alice slowed, but did not stop running, and even so Edward caught up within a few seconds. Bella brooded over what Charlie's absence could mean.
"It's fine, we have him located I think, but I need to talk to Carlisle." Edward's voice penetrated the gloom of her thoughts and made her feel a little better if not completely reassured.
Within a few minutes, the two vampires slowed and trotted across a now-immaculate lawn stretching from the woods to the beautiful Cullen house. The image of the dead house, with overgrown weeds surrounding in a green wildness that spoke of her beloved's family's absence still played through Bella's mind on occasion and she squeezed Edward a little tighter to reassure herself that he wasn't going to leave her again. He let her slide to the ground and pecked her lips, wrapping an arm around her waist as they walked into the house.
Carlisle stood in the living room, with Emmett and Rosalie perched on the couch in front of him. Jasper rose from his seat on the staircase to greet Alice, looking into her eyes as he held her hand, barely noticing the presence of his brother and the human girl. Edward smiled and led Bella into the living room.
Carlisle greeted her with a fatherly pat on the shoulder. "Hello, Bella. We were just talking about you. Please, sit."
She turned, still wary and Emmett grinned and patted the cushion next to him. "Park it, human. You get to sit next to me." Rosalie flashed a tentative smile as well. They all seemed to be in fairly good moods. Except that her father was missing. Bella was not unaware of Jasper's calming presence leaving the room.
Edward noticed her mood and sat next to her on the arm of the couch, then turned to Carlisle, asking, "What about Charlie?"
"Oh, Esme is off creating a bit of a… disturbance. He's in no danger. Bella might be, however. Granted, graduation is not too far off, and if you have not changed your mind…" she shook her head. "Well then we have a few options to consider." He sighed and sat on the coffee table, forming his fingers into a steeple and resting them against his lips. " Victoria has found help. Sorry we kept you out of the loop Bella, but we didn't want you worrying, not with finals coming up within the next weeks. She doesn't seem to pose too much of a threat to Charlie, but it's preferable that he's not in the area tonight. Alice saw Victoria coming to Bella's house in the night, to distract Edward and take Bella. Victoria has been watching the last few nights, apparently using someone to whom Edward's mind is not attuned. Alice caught him when he decided to act on his own to take them. He's in the basement at the moment with Jasper, probably still out."
Edward rose and walked off, slowly for him, growling, "I'm going to see what I can find out," over his shoulder as he left. Bella had caught a glimpse of his eyes as he had stalked off. They were nearing black. Bella wondered absently if vampires could feed on their own and shivered slightly at the thought.
"Anyway," Carlisle continued after a long pause, "our options so far seem to be either changing Bella ahead of schedule, if she wishes, or moving on her coven once we can get a bit more information. Until either can be enacted, we will continue to watch the house and the humans, of course, and if we can scare them off for long enough, we may have no need to rush things." He looked pointedly at Bella, as if asking her opinion.
"Um… well…" Bella tried to keep the blood flow to her cheeks to a minimum as she responded. "There's a bit more to the deal than before. I need to talk to Edward. I suppose it depends on what info you can get from whoever you have there. I suppose I don't really mind what you choose. I'm just worried about my dad."
Edward chose that moment to reappear, a soft glower giving his eyes a dangerous look. He reseated himself on the arm of the sofa and folded his arms across his chest, propping his ankle up on the opposite knee as he did. He looked around at everyone staring at him and raised an irritated eyebrow. "What? I didn't kill him or anything." Yet is what he means. Bella placed a quiet hand on his arm, trying to calm him down a little. He looked down at her, his gaze softening as she blushed suddenly, wondering how they should present the new deal, to which she had not quite yet agreed, to the rest of the Cullens. Edward gave a little smile and relaxed visibly, letting his arm drop to his side in order to gently squeeze her hand, though he had no idea yet of the thoughts coursing like quicksilver through his little human lover's brain.
Bella caught Alice's eye and interpreted her grin to mean she already knew that Edward had proposed and bargained marriage for life as a vampire with him. Bella had opposed the idea at first, but his gentle persistence was hard to resist; after all, she did love him, and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, no matter what Renee thought. Bella grinned, all thoughts of her father's danger put aside thanks to Carlisle's calm reassurances and the new taxing subject on her heart. Edward looked slowly over his shoulder at Alice with a frown, following Bella's gaze, then spun to face Bella in almost the same instant as his eyes met his sister's, shock rearranging his features.
"What? What decision did you make? Tell me." Bella avoided his gaze and coughed, using the motion to bring her hair down around her cherry-red face. Edward hopped down from the couch with a boyish energy and brushed her hair back from her face. "Something happened. Tell me," he ordered again, more softly this time, his eyes gleaming. Bella caught the edge of his gaze and tried to look away, but he held her face there firmly. "Bella, what's going on?" He looked up at his sister after her silence began to frustrate him. "Alice, tell me."
"Huh-uh. Let her say it."
"She won't though! Look at her!"
"What are we missing?" Emmett broke in, face displaying obvious confusion.
"What were you just saying?" Edward demanded, anxious, but not angry.
"Bella said something about a deal, that she needed to talk to you. Why? What did she need to talk about?" Emmett asked, curious as hell as to what was going on. Carlisle seemed to have caught on because he smiled and politely averted his gaze, knowing that Bella knew he would hear no matter where in the house the family was.
Edward sank back onto his heels staring at his girlfriend in disbelief mingled with hope. He hesitated for just a moment before reaching to gently lift her chin with his fingertips. "You will?"
Bella chewed on her lip, staring at her fingers moving without purpose in her lap until the angle of her chin forced her to relocate her gaze to Edward's burning eyes. He grinned, his crooked smile lighting up his face when he looked into her eyes, and pressed his cool lips all over her warm face before finally kissing her lips. She was embarrassed, but amused at his giddiness. She gently pushed him away, conscious of Emmett and Rosalie sitting next to her. They could probably smell the salt of her tears as they coursed down her cheeks, mostly hidden from view of all eyes but Edward's. Her beautiful Edward. "You will," he said, a statement rather than a question, a hint of disbelief still coloring his awe-struck tone. She nodded and tried to huddle down to nothing under the eyes of his family. And soon to be her family. Edward kissed her cheeks, removing the stray tears still trailing slowly down her face.
"Edward said he'd turn her himself if she would marry him," Alice explained softly, sending Bella into another blush that compelled her to hide her face in Edward's chest as they both giggled with joy and he wrapped his arms around her. "And it looks like she'll be family soon."
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yay! 2 chapters. AND the plot thickens – dum dum DUUUUUMMM!! Fear makes love all the more important, doncha think? Next installment coming soon!
firedroplett