Edward's POV:

The whole ride to Tanya's, about six and a half hours even speeding as Tanya was, I was thinking about Alice's vision. I had to tell Bella to stop worrying, but she knew I was lying when I told her it wasn't that bad.

"Bella, please, whatever you do, don't make Alice tell you her vision. I love you and I don't want you to worry about this. We'll handle it, I promise. I just don't want you going through and using your powers for evil and not good." I realized what I had just said and added, "Cliché as it may sound, I mean it."

"Edward. We've always been honest with each other and now, even when you're not honest, I know. I can make you tell me everything you don't want to. Even if you do get mad at me. I want to know Edward, and I will find out." She turned her head to face out the window and started ignoring my pleas.

"Bella, please. Be reasonable. I just don't want you to worry. Alice and I will take care of things and I don't want you having any doubt in us. You always seem to doubt us when it comes to any kind of intense situation. I cannot lie to you, this situation is pretty intense, but it hasn't happened yet, and Alice and I are not going to let it."

"Hmpf," was all I heard from Bella the rest of the ride home. Thankfully, Alice had chosen to ride with Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett in Kate's Cheyenne Turbo. These SUV's are supposed to be the fastest SUVs ever made, but they seemed to be going pretty slow right now as I tried to get Bella to talk to me. Tanya, Carlisle and Esme were deep in conversation and completely oblivious to Bella and I.

When we finally got to Denali, we all shuffled into Tanya's house. Irina and Carmen greeted us at once with hugs and speedy stories about their lives up until now.

Eleazar was the one to notice Bella. He stepped back a few feet after I shook his hand. Bella wouldn't let me touch her and in fact was avoiding me quite thoroughly.

Eleazar asked me, Is that her? When I nodded, he turned to her and said, "Isabella Swan. Oh, I am so pleased, so very pleased, to meet you." The whole room fell completely silent. Kate and Tanya looked at Bella, smiling warmly. Carlisle had apparently told them everything they'd missed on the ride over; from the time we went back to Forks, up until the decision to move here.
Irina and Carmen had been so pleased to see Rosalie and Alice that they had forgotten completely that Bella would be coming with us.

"So I see your transformation went beautifully. You are simply breathtaking." Eleazar said with a wide grin. He reached for her hands and she held them both out; he pulled them to his face and kissed each one, smiling and still holding them as he turned to Carmen. I knew Eleazar was more than devoted to Carmen, so I took his kindness very well. Bella seemed offended that I had let him kiss her, but also pleased. She probably guessed that I was about to burst with anger and she herself burst when I did not.

"God, Edward!!" She yelled and stormed up the stairs to choose one of the bedrooms as her own. I'm not sure how long it took her to realize that there were only eight rooms. One for each couple, except Tanya, Kate and Irina. They had their own rooms, they still hadn't found their mates, but they seemed happy enough. I hoped she would realize which room I had claimed the last time I was here; she had to have realized we were sharing. I couldn't help it that there were no extra rooms and soon, everyone would be escaping to their own fortresses to relax.

Carmen was stunned by Bella's outburst and actually staggered back a few feet. Tanya looked incredulously at Kate but Kate kept her expression blank and Tanya looked over to me.
"I still can't read her mind." I threw this piece of information out as everyone looked at me for the answer. I simply guessed at her reasoning.

"She wants all of your attention, Edward. It baffles her that you aren't there the way she needs you right now. And she's pissed that you let me greet her as I did and you didn't so much as blink. She wants you to be honest with her and for you to be with her." Eleazar chimed in as everyone's gaze dropped at my remark.

"You know this all because…?" Carmen voiced, still stunned and blaming herself for Bella's outburst.

"She just said it. You all don't pay much attention. You didn't hear her whisper this all to herself on her way upstairs?"

"Apparently, we were still in shock about how Bella reacted to Carmen's first step towards her." Carlisle paused before continuing to introduce Bella. "But either way, that, is Bella Swan. An-"
"Cullen if she'll have him." Rosalie interrupted glaring at me. It seemed odd that Rosalie was so structured about Bella now. She used to hate Bella to the core, mostly because of her insane jealousy, but her hatred relaxed almost to respect since leaving Italy a little over a month ago.
"Yes." Carlisle gave me a wary look and finished, "She's not usually so moody, but I guess having been cut out of some very important vision of Alice's, which we will discuss in just a few moments, she has her rights."

"No. You don't understand." I interjected; turning to whisper to Alice, "Write it down, I don't want Bella to overhear."

She nodded and did just that, after Irina returned from the kitchen with a legal pad and a pen.
Everyone sat in the living room talking. After my suggestion, Carlisle told Tanya and everyone else about Herrod and his horrid actions in Italy. Alice sat in the kitchen writing down her vision so that we wouldn't disturb her as she replayed it over again in her head. About two minutes later, Alice was in the living room showing Carlisle the pad first.

Charlie, Bella's father, has been kidnapped. Or, will be. Whenever Herrod and Victoria meet and team up. In the vision, they were torturing him, claiming he knew everything about Bella being a vampire and knowing exactly where she is. This is all new information to Charlie. He still thinks vampires don't exist and he really has no idea where Bella is. They were beating him in a cave somewhere. Herrod just got banished and a few guards just escorted him to a plane going to Tokyo. I'll keep tabs on him for when he comes to the U.S.

"I wrote parts of it so that everyone else would know who is who." Alice said as Carlisle read the page.

"I understand," he mumbled and continued reading. He gasped as he read the most important parts and when he finished, he passed it on to Esme to read and pass around the room.
Once everyone had finished reading, Emmett took the paper and the few behind it- Alice had been pressing down too hard when she wrote- and went out the front door. The room Alice confirmed Bella to be in had a window facing out to the frozen back yard. He tore the paper to shreds and buried it in the snow.

Everyone pretended that they had no idea about the vision let alone what it was of, and when Bella came to talk to everyone, she didn't suspect a thing.

She peeked around the corner and scowled at me. "I'm very sorry for how acted earlier. I should not have lost my temper and I meant no offense to anyone," she whispered as she came into full view.

I opened my arms wide to show her I was fully welcoming her to sit with me. She ignored me and introduced herself to everyone she didn't know. She talked to each of them for a few moments before moving to the next person and got so caught up in it that she even reintroduced herself to Rosalie.

"Bella- oops. Sorry Rosalie. I didn't realize it was you." She looked away smiling to herself.
"Bella, please at least look at me. Acknowledge me in some way or another? Something?" I pleaded. She acted as though not a word had been spoken.

"Well, I am exhausted from the trip and I'm going upstairs to rest for a while. Call me down for dinner, please."

She stayed in Rosalie's room kicking Emmett out to stay with me. She and Rose had been getting along very well and we often heard them gloating to each other about how beautiful they both were. I felt that Bella was changing her personality to get along with Rosalie in her attempt to ignore Alice and I. She ignored me for about a week, until I finally exploded.

"Isabella Marie Swan! What the hell is your problem? I've always done what's best for you and I've always cared for you with everything inside me! You know I'm protective of you and you know that nothing is going to change that, not even your being just as strong and able as I am! You know I love the hell out of you and I know you love the hell out of me! Why won't you just push away your damn pride and realize that I only want the best for you?!" I barreled through Rosalie's bedroom door around one in the morning startling both of them; they had been sprawled across the floor in their undergarments.

Rosalie ran past me and into my own bedroom doing only God knew what with Emmett.
Bella merely sat up and looked at me for a moment as though she was the one trying to read my mind.

"Well, really, Edward, was all that shouting necessary? Rosalie and I were talking and you had no need to interrupt us like that."

I glided across the room and picked her up by her shoulders. This startled her and her expression went from mocking to confused in a second. I kissed her hard, crushing her into me and instead of kissing me back, she pushed me off of her and backed herself into the post of Rosalie's bed. Her face was now showing off a lethal-looking anger.

"Don't you ever think you can lie to me and keep something from me and expect me not to be angry with you. I was merely putting on this act to get you to tell me the truth, but I see it's not going to work. I love you. You know I do. But you're being irrational. I just want you to be honest with me." She seemed to be calming down but then pushed her way past me and headed for Alice's room.

I was very angry and I ran out the front door, heading south.

After a few hours, my legs started getting tired and I slowed to a walk. I didn't even care how much time had gone by. Bella was acting very strange and nothing like the Bella I fell in love with. By the next afternoon, I was away from all cities to avoid being seen in the warmth of the sunlight, I was leaving the southernmost tip of Alaska. I noticed some familiar signs telling me where I was and when I realized I was approaching a city, I ran west and dove into the water. I came up only to look around to be sure I was still headed south. When I was sure, I dove under the water and swam and swam for miles on end.

I came out of the water and lay in a field drying off. I got up and instead of running, I walked, still south. The next evening, I had returned to running and I heard a car approaching very quickly. Edward Cullen. Stop where you are right now and get in this car immediately. Alice was very stern when she thought this and I turned around in time to see the flash of an apparently stolen car coming through the twists and turns of forest road.

She stopped instantly in front of me and I got in the passenger side. "What?" I asked because she had blocked me from reading anything other than her strict command.

"They've met. They're on their way to Forks now. We've got to talk to Charlie." She had sped off in the direction I was going. I hadn't intentionally decided to go south. I just ran straight out the front door and to avoid going back, I continued south.

"You were already headed there weren't you?" Alice asked me as I left my train of thoughts.
"Maybe subconsciously…" I let my thoughts drift to Alice's vision. I tried to imagine that Charlie could stick up for himself, but with Victoria there with her long held grudge against Bella, and Herrod's new grudge against her, I let my hopes die.

"She made me tell her." Alice whispered with a little embarrassment in her voice, several minutes later.

"What? Bella wouldn't… would she?" I started out strong, but when I realized how Bella had been acting towards me and how different she had been, I saw that yes, that's exactly what Bella had don't.

"She came in my room just when you were leaving and I avoided telling her by avoiding her eyes. It helps, not looking into her eyes, but as soon as you catch her eye at the most unlikely moment, she locks your gaze and forces whatever she wants out of you. She got it from me the next morning, we went out for breakfast. The buffalo this time of year is marvelous, Edward, really. Anyway, I told her that that's where you'd gone. I saw you heading south and I believed it myself. I think if you honestly believe the lie, she can't tell the difference. I think she can just feel the tension you feel when you lie. That's how she knows."

"Maybe…" I looked out the window and realized that within the next several hours, we would be in Forks, Washington.

We didn't talk much unless Alice felt a vision coming on. We switched seats and I was driving when she felt the first one.

"They're just outside of Forks. Herrod thinks they should wait until the next day. Go search the house for clues while Charlie is at work, and then take care of him when he gets off."
I pushed the pedal to close the inch of space between it and the floor. By the end of the hour, we were in Port Angeles and I knew we had only about fifteen minutes to go. Alice sat back and relaxed, watching for Herrod or Victoria to change their minds.

Just before we got into Forks she spoke. "Victoria is at Charlie's. Herrod is at the school checking for records in case they had some of us all switching schools. He's on his way to Newton's to ask the last time they've seen us or Bella. He'll go to the hospital next."
"Bella still loves me. Right?" I slowly asked, hating the idea of my possibly believing it. "She's just… She's not Bella. I'm worried."

"Edward, she loves you more than you can imagine. She's just pissed at you. Even more too, now that she knows what my vision was. It'll be okay, Edward. I already saw you two. You look quite comfortable together." She smirked as I pulled on Charlie's road.

I parked far enough away from the house so that if Victoria looked out, she couldn't tell we were there. Alice ran next to me as we decided to find and hide Charlie.

As we ran, Alice stopped dead in her tracks, eyes closed with her hands on either side of her head. I stood next to Alice, waiting. "Herrod's got him. He just asked to speak with him outside and now Charlie's blacked out. He's coming back to Victoria."

We turned back to the direction of the house and ran straight through the front door.
"Ah. I've been looking for you two. How are you both? Ready to die, I assume?" Victoria's smooth chilling voice rang throughout the house. Having been here as much as I had, I knew she was standing at the top of the stairs. I could barely see anything; my eyes were almost adjusted to the thick unnatural black inside.

When my eyes did adjust, a second later, Alice was at my side growling and Victoria was in front of me, ready to fight Alice off instantly, growling twice as loud.

Less than two seconds later, when Victoria had walked in a circle around us, Herrod was in the doorway with a knocked out Charlie behind him.

Without thinking, I leapt for him and he went crashing onto the driveway beneath me. I punched him repeatedly as I sat on top of him. I heard Alice and Victoria crashing around inside and once I picked up and knocked Herrod's head against the pavement, I threw him aside like a rag doll as he crashed into several trees. I went back inside to be sure Alice was winning.

She wasn't. Victoria had a choke hold on Alice, pinned against the mantle and I felt it necessary to remind her, "We don't need to breathe, idiot." I grabbed her as I spoke, surprising the hell out of her and decided that since I had so easily hurt Herrod, I would use the pavement to disengage Victoria as well. Thankfully, the pavement had cracked quite a bit and I used the jagged edges to smash Victoria's face into.

I heard Herrod getting up and Alice running at him.

"He-ey, sweetie. Have you come to rescue me? I wouldn't mind being the heroine in this case, so long as you're my hero…"

"Shut it, asshole!" Alice screamed as she knocked him out again. "Edward! Look out!"

I hadn't realized that I had let go of Victoria and she was reaching for me. After my head hit the pavement once, I retaliated. I rolled over on top of her and pinned her beneath me with as much strength as I imagined Emmett used everyday without a problem.

"Ah, now, Eddie, we wouldn't want to make little Isabella jealous, now would we?" Victoria said just before I punched her in the jaw. She shut up instantly and tried to fight back.

"What the hell is it with you two and sex? Herrod has to try to take advantage of the love of my life and you are trying to get with me as I am trying to kill you!"

"Oh, you know you're enjoying yourself, Eddie." Victoria said dismissively after she popped her jaw back into place. "I won't tell her anything, don't worry. I'll just kill her quick. Or, I could kill you; she'd love me for that. Now, my options are open. Kill you, now. Or continue to search for her and kill Isabella. Right now, killing you seems easiest, but then we would never share this passion again. I think I'll go for her."

Throughout this speech, we were rolling around the driveway and the sun was setting, carrying my mind to Bella. I remembered the first day in the meadow and the night that followed. I realized I needed to stay in the present when I felt a rock hit the back of my head. I started to get dizzy and fell to the side.

Alice had Herrod in a headlock, smashing him repeatedly into a tree stump made by him just five minutes earlier. Victoria lit a lighter and threw it at the house, cautious not to let it touch her. I realized she didn't want to do me in herself; she wanted to weaken me and set me on fire. I gained back all the strength I could and grabbed her by the neck, throwing her into the house now engulfed in flames. I noticed Alice had done the same with Herrod. I saw Charlie's legs hanging out the front door and I ran to get him.

I was very careful and grabbed him as quickly as I could. I noticed that Herrod had tried to break out of the kitchen window but Alice caught him and threw him back into the fire.

I carried Charlie to the hospital and told Mrs. Pelt that I needed to get going, and that I had found him at his house beaten and unconscious, which was, partly true.

As Alice and I left the hospital, Alice had another vision. Bella wasn't in Alaska anymore. We had a terrible feeling she was coming here and ran to stop her so that no one she knew would see her; they all thought she was dead by now.

We ran to the car and drove quickly along the road we had come, the quickest way from Alaska. We drove for an hour and realized that we weren't going to see her. She hadn't come this way. Alice couldn't tell where she had gone and my guess was Forks. We went back to the hospital and to Charlie's house, now being extinguished by several fire trucks.

Alice focused again and when she told me what she saw, I knew exactly where Bella had gone.