Author's note- this took awhile so sorry! enjoy!

R&R

Disclaimer- i own only the telling of this story

The mere impact between Victoria and the front hood of the car shattered the windshield. Glittering splinters of gooey safety glass littered the interior seating and floors as I instinctively threw myself around Bella, my body a makeshift cage from the dangerous things around us.

I snapped my gaze towards the fiery face over the hood and as if she were able to feel my eyes, she turned her face to me. Our eyes held each other's, an intensity surging across the threshold. Emmett tried to maintain control of the car and Carlisle struggled to remain in his seat as he clawed at her. And then a thunderous crack split the earth.

A relentless ringing whined in my ears as I frantically scanned around the car searching for Victoria. She was nowhere.

"What in God's name was..." Emmett stopped mid-sentence, his attention drawn to the shoulder of the road.

"JASPER!" Alice cried from the driver's seat of the still-moving Mercedes. The passenger door hung open.

Jasper was on top of Victoria, pinning her body to the highway. Her arms and legs sliced through the air, attempting to grab hold of her captor. A terrifying roar from Jasper bit through the thick, sticky air.

"Alice!" Carlisle's booming voice was sure to be heard thanks to the shattered window of the Porsche and open door of the Mercedes. "Don't stop!" The air was waterlogged with the hostility that pulsed from our bodies.

I could hear Alice's dry tears of panic pounding through her head.

EDWARD!Carlisle's thoughts screamed to me. Listen to me, and do exactly as I say.

"Emmett! Stop the car and help Jasper hold her off for as long as possible!" A small shiny object landed in Emmett's lap as Carlisle shoved the door open. "Keep the cell phone with you at all times! Chase her as far away from us as possible!"

Somehow between the first day when Bella awoke the murderer within me, the day that should have been the end of her, and today, Bella's fate and mine had been braided into one. The fact that she was even near me was ill fated. She was put into harm's way because of me…

But what about all the times I had interfered with fate to save her…when Tyler's van had nearly crushed her, the four stalkers in Port Angeles, James' venom.

What if destiny had stolen away from the path that fate had set for us? What if instead of being Bella's condemner, as originally intended, I was to be her savior? Her protector?

Bella and I? Destined to be together…

Was Bella then destined to be something like me…to be with me forever…for our paths to be intertwined until the end of eternity?

The lovely thought was interrupted by Carlisle's mental demands.

You must keep her as steady as possible, do not let her bounce around too much, any exaggerated movement will tear open the delicate stitches that her body has put in place to hold her wounds together.

As the car skidded towards a stop I reached towards the door handle, "Kill the bitch Emmett." The car halted in the center of two lanes six hundred yards from where Jasper and Victoria were shredding the asphalt to pieces.

We are going to run Edward. Run as fast as you can.

I pulled Bella into my chest, and bolted towards the speeding black car ahead. Alice slowed remotely, allowing Carlisle and I to enter through the open door. Carlisle shifted to the driver's seat as Alice climbed into the back with Bella and me.

Alice whipped towards the back window and searched the horizon for the threesome; she began to whimper in fear. "Alice, you must calm down, Jasper will be fine. They destroyed her mate and they will dispose of her as well." Carlisle's paternal words blended into the wind as Alice's voice grew loud and harsh.

"Jasper!" She yelped helplessly, all I could do was stare on in horror. I had never seen Alice this hysterical before…she had always been confident in Jasper's abilities, Emmett's strength. Then the truth began to dawn on me and I cringed as Alice's voice climbed to a roar. "No! You don't understand! Rosalie is close to death right now because of her!! She is nothing like James! She can…can…do things!"

That last sentence made the emotions that had been circulating through my body freeze. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and a jolt of terror rolled through my spine. Alice had kept something from me as well.

Carlisle spun warily around in his seat so that he could look at Alice. "Alice, what kinds of things?"

"She can, I don't know exactly, it's like her hands get really hot." She furrowed her brow and scrunched her eyes closed, focusing on what she had seen.

An unnerving vision played through her head. Esme attentively patrolled the grounds surrounding Charlie's house, she was beginning to get worried…she hadn't heard from Rose in a couple of hours. But of course she couldn't leave her post so she just waited.

Rosalie and Victoria circled each other around a small clearing in the forest. The damp vines and greenery draped around the trees contrasted vividly with the heat of the confrontation beneath them.

They were hissing words through their malignant jaws but none of those could be heard. The debris of the forest that was caught in Rosalie's hair made her appear nearly as wild as the demon in front of her. She suddenly fell to a crouch and bore her formidable teeth.

All that was seen next was a flurry of hair and teeth. Their manes of fire and honey swirled with one another as their claws ripped at the other's body. Abruptly, Victoria's back was pressed to the wall of a tall cliff. Rosalie's hand was forcing Victoria's neck through the sandstone and Victoria's hands rested upon Rose's arms. For some reason, their words suddenly became audible.

"Ah, looky here…the little priss has got me against a wall…" An eerily confident smile snuck towards Victoria's lips, "Whatever will I do?"

Rosalie's fierce snarl made Victoria flinch. But then her smile only grew wider.

"Feisty? Are we?" Victoria's eyes lit with a fire that burned from within. Rosalie's face crumpled in horror and a screech of alarm erupted from her mouth.

"STOP! STOP!" Rosalie's cries made Victoria's wicked expression grow.

"I think you underestimated me, my dear." Victoria had released Rose as she swiftly retreated into the forest. Victoria pursued her prey with excitement. As I watched Victoria approach Rosalie, my heart fell to my feet. Rosalie had two black, ashy marks charred into the skin of her arms, both in the shape of Victoria's merciless hands. I forced the vision from my mind as Victoria charged the cowering figure.

I cradled the fragile human in my arms as I lifted my legs onto the seat, resting my shins against the back of the passenger seat. I placed Bella in my lap, into the lap of her stronghold, and lifted her face towards mine. She still appeared to be asleep. Her safety had been entrusted to my hands and I embraced it with unquestionable surety and enthusiasm, I would be there for her…forever. I sought comfort from the horrible vision within her deep rhythmic breaths, and the delicious scent of her exhalations.

Carlisle sped towards the first exit heading southwest.

"I can't believe I didn't see her coming…" Alice spoke her thoughts aloud. "I could have done something…I should have known…I should have been paying closer attention." Her voice cracked in agony. It was just like Alice to blame herself for everything. I moved my hand to her thin shoulder in a gesture of comfort. She buried her face into her hands and sobbed.

I noticed a feathery movement beneath my nose and peered down towards my love. A warm tingly sensation oozed from my heart and dripped into my abdomen. That face could break the heart of even the cruelest creatures.

Bella's eyes began to flutter some. My expression rose to a smile. "Bella?" I whispered softly, "Bella? Are you awake?" Her unfocused eyes opened somewhat. "Carlisle! Carlisle I think she's waking up!" My voice was much louder than necessary but it was no use attempting to mask my joy. He twisted backwards to glance at us.

"Edward?" Her pleasant voice reached my ears and I let it soak into my mind.

"I haven't heard your voice in much too long." I complained with a loving smile still secured to my mouth. She was so tired still. I could see the medicinal drowsiness all over her face.

"We've missed you Bella." Alice's voice quivered some. She was still upset over Jasper. Bella smiled in response, but it was a sleepy smile, one that slipped and slid around until it quickly fell. I almost reached out to catch it before it hit the ground, but I was too focused on the way her lips were moving.

A metallic ring filled the car before the phone was against Carlisle's ear. I could hear Emmett's gruff voice on the other side.

"She's gone." Emmett voice was riddled with anxiety.

"As in dead?" The car swerved casually around an unorthodox twist in the road.

"No. She ran. We have no idea where she is. I have never seen anyone run that fast. Ever." A wave of panic flooded my chest, my stomach bent into an uncomfortable knot.

"Did she run in our direction?" Carlisle's knuckles had a debilitating grip on the steering wheel. No, no she can't follow us. What if she gets to Bella? No. Even the thought threw a web of sorrow over my heart. I would never let that happen. I was Bella's safe house. I would die before I left her side.

"Not at first, but Jasper thought he smelled her heading that way after we lost track of her." I nearly crushed Alice as I slid in the back seat because the car was flung onto a small dirt road to our right. A small wooden sign announced "Sonoran Desert National Monument."

My ears combed the air flying by the car for any evidence of her presence. But my eyes focused on Bella's face, she had fallen back asleep. Sleep, Bella. Sleep through this horrible nightmare. Sleep until I can assure that you will awake safe and sound. I begged her with my mind. I tucked a tuft of hair behind her left ear.

"Emmett, meet us soon; we're in the Sonoran national park. Call us once you get close." Carlisle's smooth voice was plagued with intense worry.

Alice pressed her fingers into her temples and wrinkled her nose in concentration, "Why can't I see anything?" Her mind was clouded with frustration and fear, and completely empty of any windows into the future.

As the vehicle raced through the hills of endless sand and bare vegetation, I realized that my hands were holding tightly to Bella's hips. My grip on Bella's sides let loose slightly and I let her settle into the curves of my arms. I didn't want to cause her any discomfort.

I stared adoringly at the flawless angel that slept in my arms; my mind and heart heavy with worry and fear. The sands of the sandman swirled and sifted quietly through Bella's conscious as the night's darkness settled in as a passenger among us.

Lord, keep us safe from the devilish treachery that endangers the ones we love tonight. Hold us closely in your righteous hand as evil befalls us. Lend us your strength tonight Lord and place courage in our hearts.

In your son Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

I whispered Carlisle's prayer as he thought it, and we both willed it towards the heavens above us.

Author's note- let me know any fixings that need to be made :) i hope you liked it...let me know