A/N: So sorry guys... my internet was down... 333

No personal responses in my hurry to get this up... sorry.

But attention! Everyone should IM me on aim x plasticastle & add me on myspace! 20

Lily snaked her arms around Edward's neck, & he cringed inwardly, while fighting the instinct to pull away & blow his cover, summoning her reinforcements to burst through the door.

Now, he thought, would be a good time for Carlisle & Emmett to help. Where the hell are they?

"I don't want you to be concerned about our differences in diet, darling," Lily said, pressing her frame against Edward's.. If he were human, he would have thrown up. "It's quite possible for us to be together & eat differently. It's insignificant, when you think about it. But we have all of eternity to work out these minor differences, now don't we?" He forced a sigh. "Oh," she sighed. "All of eternity. That's the lovely thing about being a vampire. We get to spend all of eternity together! Doesn't that sound wonderful, baby?" Darling, baby? Who did she think she was? Did she actually think this was cute?

"That does sound quite wonderful," he said robotically, lying through his razor sharp teeth. His voice lacked sincerity, but it was the best he could muster. Normally, he was a very good liar, but this was different. This was the worst form of blasphemy. Lily was attractive, in theory, but to Edward, she could never hold one-hundredth, no, one-thousandth, of the attraction Bella does for him. They're soul mates, & Lily couldn't come between that. A woman's body pressed against his, it should feel nice. Her hip bones were pressed firmly against him, her breast on his chest... & all it made him want to do was die... or at least run away, run right to Bella's arms. But he resisted running away, remembering the reason for this whole charade. The only thought that made him stay, was knowing that she would soon be dead, & Bella would be in his arms.

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Bella screamed when she saw the two men in the hotel room, but everyone else was ready to attack. Clearly, she was in way over her head. She was way too frightened to attempt to fight, though she knew full well she was capable. She watched in horror as more than half of her family tried to fight these two men off. Rosalie was right - their ability to synchronize their movements helped them a great deal. They threw Esme, Jasper, Rosalie & Alice into the wall, all hitting at the same time - they each used one hand for each vampire they tossed. Bella wasn't posing much of a threat because she was cowered in the corner, too afraid to fight. They all got up, unscathed, & came back for more. The men were trying to get through the rest of them to Bella, but it wasn't easy. Frederick threw a lamp at Bella, after ripping it up from the table it was bolted to. It shattered against her granite skin, but it sliced into her arm from the sheer force. She ripped it out of her skin, surprised at how she didn't feel any pain from it. The gash in her arm was light pink in color, & held no blood. It closed up, revealing a fresh layer of skin within seconds.

When Bella looked up from her arm, she saw one thing - Augustus - lunging at her. Frederick had somehow managed to occupy everyone else, leaving him free to achieve his main goal - Bella's demise. She screamed & raised her arms above her head for protection, but the blow she had been anticipating never came. The two men had literally dematerialized before her.

Esme spoke, though slightly worm from fighting.

"Carlisle & Emmett. They took care of them. Their other forms. They killed them."

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Carlisle & Emmett raced back to the house after killing the two men. There was one more to deal with. No matter how many times one kills a vampire (which wasn't very many for either), it's always disturbing. Even the most gruesome & painful human death seems like a walk in the park compared to the demise of any immortal, but especially vampires.

Tearing them to shreds isn't a huge feat (for other vampires, that is), especially when they've already been pinned down, but humans, or even vampires, who can stomach watching it are few & far between.

The smell of human blood within the vampire is vile. Stale & rotten, mixed with the fact that one then must burn the pieces... it isn't the most enjoyable thing in the world.

It was merely 5 minutes before they arrived back at the house, swung the front door open, but found their mission was complete already.

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At the hotel, everyone was worn from exhaustion, or in Bella's case, fear. Alice laid down on the bed, her head on a pillow, her eyes closed. To one that might not know any better, she would appear to be asleep. Laying down, of course, isn't what they all needed, but it would have to do until they could hunt & renew their strength.

Alice very suddenly sat up, & shook her head. Her face looked pained.

"What did you see, Alice?" Bella inquired, but Alice didn't answer. "Is it about Lily?" Again, no response, but the look on her face answered for her. It was about Lily.

But how was Alice to explain what she saw? The man that Bella loved, kissing an evil vampire?

"Um, I... I think we'd better get back to the house. Before anything... bad... happens." Bella was worried, but for the wrong reason. She was worried about what Lily might do to Edward, not with him - that he might get injured, or worse. She couldn't imagine how one female could take on Edward, Emmet, & Carlisle, especially since Frederick & Augustus were dead. They all packed in the car, except Esme, who stayed at the hotel to check out.

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Edward was growing more & more uneasy by the second. He knew that he couldn't take on three vampires alone, but he certainly couldn't go on with the charade. He felt guilty, like he was cheating on Bella, although the whole point was to save her. He sucked in a sharp breath when she started leaning in to kiss him. He couldn't do this, no matter how good his intentions were. He could never kiss her. Her lips were mere inches from his. At that moment precisely, Carlisle became close enough that he saw his thoughts. Her backups were gone. Just as she thought she was about to be kissed, he ripped her in half, & preceded to rip those pieces into smaller ones. Usually it holds some level of difficulty, but since she was caught off guard, it was easy. Bella burst through the door as he was doing so.

Edward stopped instantly, his eyes meeting Bella's. Her mouth was hung open in shock. He felt as if he had been caught doing something wrong, though he hadn't. Emmett & Carlisle stepped in after her, & offered to take over, letting the two of them be alone, & the rest of the family stood outside, speaking quietly.

Edward took Bella's hand & led her upstairs. He spoke first.

"I'm sorry that you had to see that, Bella." he whispered. "You know that's the only way to be sure."

"I know," she murmured. He took her in his arms

"I missed you, love. I was so worried." She melted into his embrace, breathing in his scent. He pulled back slightly, his arms still firmly around her waist, so that he could look into her eyes.

"I love you, Bella." She looked back into his eyes, liquid gold.

"I love you, too." How could she not? He risked his life for her. Even if he hadn't, there was no way to resist it. She loved him with every fiber of her being.

His lips met hers in a kiss so pure, so real, that Bella knew once & for all that she had found where she belonged.