Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any characters involved. No copyright infringement intended.

A/N: PLEASE READ.

One right after the other...

Let me apologize. I'm so sorry for not updating sooner but my brother was recently in a motorcycle accident and placed into the hospital. With that, I also have volleyball and cheerleading and this week is gonna be hell because it's homecoming and I'm also in Journalism/Yearbook. Lovely, isn't it?

With that being said, I don't know what I'm going to be doing for the sneak peeks since I'm so busy. As soon as I get a break around basketball since I will not be participating in it this year, I will start off just where I left off. :) Life just gets in the way sometimes. Anyway, this chapter is longer than usual and I hope you enjoy.

Please leave a review? Thanks!

Chapter 5

Ghost

I was still staring at Edward as he gaped at the child before us. He stared at her with amazement and fascination, totally drawn to her.

"Do you think…?" I whispered. Mentally I think I already knew the answer. What wasn't there to deny the fact that Vanessa was possibly one of Edward's descendants?

"Holy shit!"

I turned toward the girl who had suddenly turned pale. Her hand covered her mouth as her wide green eyes penetrated me.

"That's not possible…" She turned to Jacob, questions visible in her face. A shaky finger pointed at me. "She's…shouldn't she be…" Her eyes made their way back to me.

Jake quickly intervened. "Nessie, I'll explain it later…"

For a short second I wanted to question the nickname but then my anger suddenly and surprisingly flared. I narrowed my eyes at Jake. "What the hell were you thinking? Why would you do this to us? Do you know what this means, Jake? It means we have to…" I trailed off, my conscious kicking in and it was clearly obvious he was ignoring me.

"I need to sit," Vanessa choked out. Jacob swiftly scooped her into his oversized arms and glanced around for some natural seat. In the end he decided to just cradle her.

My fingers twined through Edward's and I looked back at him. His eyes had apparently never left the girl's face. Deep down inside of me I felt a pang of jealousy, but shoved it away just as quickly as I had felt it. "Edward," I hissed, "what are we going to do?"

He slowly turned his head back to me and blinked rapidly as if coming out of a dream. "What do you mean?"

"She knows our secret…she knows I'm alive." I watched the young couple interact by the tree; Jacob was soothing her.

Edward shrugged. "Nothing…there's nothing we can do."

"Alice…"

She looked at me expectantly and smiled. "I knew you had some questions."

I smiled sheepishly at her. "I can still remember bits and pieces from my human life…"

"Yes…that will happen normally, but sometimes vampires won't remember a thing - like me." She crossed her tiny legs on the sofa and patted the space beside her. "Come on, Edward won't be home for a while and I'm dying for a girl talk."

"Well," I continued, sitting down, "right before I changed, Edward and I had this talk."

"About what?"

"The Volturi…?"

No emotion was expressed on her face. "Oh yes, them…they can be quite the nuisance at times but mostly they just keep our race in line and undiscovered."

"Which comes to my next question…" I paused, thinking of how to word it. "Edward had said something about keeping your - I mean our - existence hidden…but I found out about it. I was just wondering what the consequences were because I want to know if I have to go to prison or something -"

"Oh Bella!" she exclaimed, resting her hand on mine. "You've already paid for the consequence!"

"What do you mean?" My brow furrowed.

She quieted down and cocked her head to the side. "I mean, you became a vampire."

"That would've been my punishment?"

"That," she quirked with a shrug, "or death."

"Edward…" I breathed as I slipped out of my reverie, settling a hand on his arm, "what about the law?"

Understanding washed over his features. "That…that would ruin our treaty with the wolves though…"

"What's wrong?" Jake asked as he led the now collected Vanessa back to us.

I shook my head. "You have to get her out of here. It's not safe."

Jake snorted. "What are you talking about?"

"She's right," Edward agreed. "You need to get Vanessa away and not tell her anything."

My best friend watched us carefully, trying to figure us out. "Bella?"

"Go, Jake," I urged, "I'll try to explain everything later."

"I'm confused," Vanessa piped up. "Will someone please tell me what's going on?"

I glanced at Edward as he looked at her with pain and I realized he was itching to inform her of the situation. I placed a hand on his arm, bringing him back into the real world.

All of a sudden Vanessa whipped her head to look at Jake. A wave of her scent smacked me in the face like a wake-up call and a low rumble escaped from me. I shut my eyes and opened them, focusing on the bag of blood and bones that stood before me like a prize. Just one little sip, I promised to myself as I crouched for the attack. Wanting to make the assault fast, I lunged as soon as I could but something jerked me back and threw me against a tree, causing it to break in half. It cracked loudly and fell to the forest floor. I retrieved my stance hastily though as I landed on the balls of my feet.

"Jake, get her out of here now!" I heard someone scream.

The voice stopped me in my tracks and my knees gave in. I covered my face hurriedly, stopping my breathing and counted to a hundred.

"Bella," Edward consoled. He pried my hands away from my face, brushing my strands of hair away in the process also. He forced me to look into his eyes.

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. I was so shocked and appalled at my behavior and actions I couldn't say anything. I gripped onto Edward and apologized with my eyes, damning the fact he couldn't read my mind at the moment.

"It's fine," he said with comfort. "She's okay."

Honestly I didn't believe him but I nodded anyway. He helped me up and pulled me into a reassuring hug. I sighed and immediately relaxed as his lips touched my forehead. When we turned to head back to the house, we found Alice and Jasper staring at us.

"We heard…" Alice began.

Edward nodded. "Everything's alright. Bella just had a slip up that's all. She stopped when she heard my voice."

"You stopped?" Jasper looked at me curiously.

"Uh, yeah…I guess I did." My throat still burned from inhaling Vanessa's smell making it a little difficult to speak.

He glanced at the other two in confusion and then suddenly became frustrated before he stalked back toward the house. Alice smiled apologetically and chased after him.

"What did I do?" I asked Edward when I hoped they were out of range.

Edward stared after them. "You're hard for Jasper to figure out, that's all." He smiled at me, a little twinkle in his eye. "You have a knack for frustrating men, don't you?"

I glanced away, a tad embarrassed but also frightful and worried and I just couldn't have Edward fuss over me about that.

He read my aggravation and anxiety despite my attempts to hide it. "It's alright, love. We'll get this sorted out."

"What about the girl? She's in danger now because of us. We have to fix this."

A contemplative look settled over his features. "Let's just take one step at a time and go speak to Carlisle. He can help us."

I nodded, my muscles relaxing as I thought of Carlisle coming to our rescue. Then I remembered something. "Edward…why were you…" I paused, chewing different words in my mouth that would explain this in the best way possible, "so engrossed with Vanessa?"

He froze and his eyes widen. "I'm…I'm not exactly sure."

"She's one of your descendants, isn't she?" I whispered, amazed.

"It's a possibility," he murmured, running a hand through his hair. "Masen…"

I glanced at our linked fingers. "She looks like you, you know. Is that what color your eyes were?"

"I would assume so. It was so long ago I hardly remember…" He lifted my face back up. "You're wrong, by the way."

I looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean?"

He shook his head, "She doesn't look like me…she's an exact replica of my mother."

"Your mother was beautiful," I complimented.

He sadly smiled. "Yes she was. She was also the kindest person you would ever meet, besides Esme. You and she would've gotten along fairly well."

"I'm glad to hear," I said as we started to step back to the property.

The walk back was a silent, but thoughtful one. I left Edward to reminisce in his memories; the ones of his mother and father in his human days. The mood around us was bittersweet; bitter because we were now in a situation where a girl's life was in danger and sweet because Edward had most likely just discovered one of his descendants. My mind wandered to possibilities of keeping the child safe. If she was important to Edward, she was also important to me.

When we walked into the serene house, Rose wrinkled her nose.

"Stupid mutts," she muttered. Emmett chuckled joyfully at her while he watched the sports channel. Alice and Esme spoke softly and quickly to each other, writing things down in the corner of the grand room and Jasper was looking outside. Carlisle approached us gracefully.

"Everything alright?" he asked, pure concern stamped on his face.

Edward shook his head somberly. "I'm afraid not." He stopped and looked at his father with slight horror. "No, she didn't. She stopped herself."

I turned my eyes from Edward to find Carlisle eyeing me carefully. Then I understood: he thought I had murdered someone. I averted my eyes shamefully and pitifully. To them, I was a time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.

I could feel Carlisle look at Edward in disbelief. "Extraordinary. Bella," he intoned, "please take this as my apology. It was wrong of me to assume such a thing but you have to understand, you're a unique newborn to us with your powerful control."

I bit my lip and slowly moved my eyes back up to him. "I just don't want to be a monster."

Edward's grip on my hand tightened. In my peripheral vision I saw a pained look shadow his features.

"None of us want to, my dear," Carlisle spoke. He patted my shoulder comfortingly.

"Carlisle, a human might know our secret of vampires roaming the earth." Edward changed the subject easily. I had felt his discomfort radiating off his body as we had talked about my new qualms. "Do you think the Volturi will intervene if she does find out?"

"It's hard to say," he replied, bringing his hand to his movie star face as he debated on the answer. "At times they're astonishingly attentive and at others it's as if nothing exists but them. If they were to come to us for some odd reason and see the girl knows something, they would definitely take this into their hands and it would become a problem for us. We'd be in some danger."

"Should we take any action now?"

My new father figure shook his head. "Let's see how this plays out. If Alice sees anything we can start planning, but right now I think we're fine." He smiled and looked at me reflectively. "This reminds me of the situation we were in only a few months ago. May I ask who the girl is?"

"Vanessa Masen," I finally said. I saw Carlisle's eyes flicker to Edward's face. "My parents found her I guess and took her in. She's Jacob Black's imprint." Instantly I regretted the last sentence. That wasn't my news to tell and for all I knew, it was one of Jake's tribe's passed down rules.

"Carlisle," Edward said in his velvet voice, "do you recall any family members of mine before you changed me?"

Carlisle shook his head. "I've only met your parents while I was caring for them. No one came to visit and if they did, it was while I was off. Patient visitors were a rare thing as the plague went around; we didn't keep hospital records like we do now to inform someone's family or friends. Family members hardly ever knew about one of their kin dying at periods like that."

Edward sighed and glanced away. I rubbed his hand with my thumb, encouraging him.

"Carlisle, don't you remember that week we spent in Manhattan?" Esme walked up and linked her arm through her husband's. "It was during Edward's rebellion and we saw that girl that you thought was his mother. You about had a fit as you followed her around, trying to figure out what her name was but you never did."

The blonde vampire nodded. "Do you think she was related to Edward?"

Esme shrugged. "I don't have the proof for it. I was just pointing it out."

I glanced over her shoulder to see everyone's focus was on us. Alice noticed me and hopped up from her seat to elegantly move toward us. Her spiky, black hair bobbed as she came to a standstill next to me.

"Alice could you -" Carlisle began.

She interrupted him, beaming. "Already done. The Volturi are now being watched twenty-four/seven."

"Thank you," he said graciously.

She nodded and then looked at Edward and me. "I'm sorry for not being able to tell you guys what would happen when you met up with Jake. I just can't see around that mongrel…"

Carlisle cleared his throat and looked at her pointedly. "Alice, in spite of your differences with the werewolves, they're a good ally and have been exceptionally understanding in the last few weeks."

"Sorry." She looked back at us to continue on but Edward stopped her.

"Alice, it's perfectly fine. We can't always rely on your visions to save us from dangerous scenarios." He said it with sincerity.

She smiled in relief and then distracted Esme with some questions I didn't quite catch. Carlisle assured us once more that everything would work out and then left for a shift at the hospital. I sighed and leaned into Edward's embrace.

"What do you want to do?" he asked into my hair.

"Let's go to the meadow," I suggested, looking up at him. "I can't remember a whole lot from going there before I was changed so I was hoping we could make some new memories…some good ones."

He latched his fingers with mine and guided me outside. We walked to the river that flowed pass the house and I stopped.

"What?" He studied my face fearfully.

I shrugged. "Nothing, I'm just kind of sad I'm not gonna get those piggy-back rides anymore."

He laughed out loud and easily jumped over the body of water. I quickly followed and soon enough we were already entering the circle of serene and beauty. I immediately sighed in content and made my way to the center to lie down. Edward was right behind me. He pulled me closer to him, holding me tight. I smiled at how perfect our bodies shaped around each other. We were like two puzzle pieces, effortlessly fitting together.

We gazed up at the stars, seeing ones that others couldn't. Every now and then I would see the occasional shooting star but I didn't need to make a wish. I had what I had dreamt of and wished for when I was human and I didn't need anything else. Soon enough though, my mind began to wander to the position my new family and I were in.

"One right after the other," I muttered in disgust.

"What are you talking about?" Even though I couldn't see his face, I knew his expression was that of confusion.

"I was just thinking of how we safely and scarcely get out of a bad situation, we suddenly get thrown right into another. We're never going to get a break and be able to just relax so I can start figuring out this whole vampire thing. I'm just worried we're never going to get a good beginning with our new lives so we can experience things together…" By now I was sitting up, staring at him.

He pushed himself up onto his elbow and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Love, you need to relax. You keep forgetting we have forever. There is no need to rush things."

I narrowed my eyes. "Then why are you always pushing me to marry you?"

"I'm not pushing, love. We can get married whenever you're ready…is it so wrong of me wanting to be bind to you? To make this official?"

"How can we make this anymore official?" I cupped his cheek and looked into his golden eyes. "It's just a piece of paper saying that we belong to each other."

"I want people to know you belong with me…to me." He kissed the palm of my hand.

"They do. I'll get a tattoo on my ass that says, 'Property of Edward Cullen: Anyone who so much as lays a hand on this object will be immediately terminated.'"

His eyes widened at my humor but then twinkled with mischief. "Love, I don't think a needle would even last a half a second on your skin."

I rolled my eyes. "You get the point…can't we just wait a few hundred years?"

"Why do you want to wait for so long?" I could sense a bit of irritation from him.

Because I want to make sure that you really are in love with me…because I want to just escape into the unknown with you for a while so we can be young, wild and free…because I think I'm not ready to get married…because what if something happens, and it turns out we were never meant to be…

"Bella?" he urged softly.

I looked away from the forest and shrugged. "I don't know…I don't like weddings…they're so…cliché."

"Then we'll elope," he said simply.

I shook my head. "I hate Vegas."

"Why are you so stubborn? Is it really that horrid to get married to me?" he grumbled.

I grimaced. "I'm sorry. And no, it's not. I would love to get married to you I just want everything to be calm when we get married. What if we get married in a stressful state…our whole marriage would be stressful and that's for the rest of our existence and who knows how long that'll be! I don't want to be miserable for a thousand years."

He gave me a queer look and started picking at the grass.

I sighed and pushed him onto his back. Before he could stop me I straddled him and planted my lips onto his.

"Bella…" he warned against my lips.

I pulled away. "I know, I know. I'm not gonna try anything. I just want to relax and be with you for a while without arguing about something. It seems like everything is out of whack and right now, we just need some us time with no worries or future plans."

He studied my face and then rolled on top of me. "I couldn't agree more."

I locked my fingers into his copper hair and grinned. "I love you."

Our lips met once again and we began where we left off. Soon enough we were lost in each other as usual and the world around us began to slip away. I started to really finally unwind and let everything go as Edward and I stayed intertwined. This was a perfect moment.

"Oh," someone in the dark gasped, "I didn't mean to intrude."