I was surprised by how many of you thought that it was Victoria. No one got the fully correct answer, but two people got close by guessing Alice and/or Emmett. Congratulations to you, Razhelxox and karnythia. Thanks to everyone who reviewed.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I STILL do not own Twilight or any of its amazingness.

Bella POV

When I realized it was futile to scream, I gave Emmett my best impression of the death stare. He laughed at me, but refused to slacken his grip. My expression changed to confusion, again, as Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie followed him through the door. I tried to mumble something and Alice laughed.

"Let her go, Em," she said. "Trust me, it's worth it." He grudgingly released me, and I immediately backed up until he was out of my personal space. Alice gave me a pointed look, and asked, "Now, Bella, what were you trying to say?" I felt my face flush, then repeated my question.

"Don't you have to be invited in?" My blush deepened at their howls of laughter, but Jasper contained the emotion long enough to reply, "Myth, Bella, purely myth."

Luckily for me, their attention span wasn't much longer than that of a small child, and the laughter quickly subsided. I glanced curiously at Rosalie. It had been months since I had last seen her, and her beauty still took my breath away. Out of all the Cullens, her presence surprised me most. I had always been close to Alice and Emmett, and I understood that Alice hated being away from Jasper, but Rosalie's dislike of me was still apparent in her demeanor. She noticed me watching her and sighed in exasperation.

"Don't look so surprised to see me," she complained. "I'm only here for Edward." I winced at his name, something that would have gone unnoticed by most, but not with them. Jasper whispered something in Alice's ear, no doubt about whatever my emotions were at that point, and I knew that Rosalie and Emmett understood him perfectly. Darn you vampires with your supersensitive hearing abilities.

"Am I allowed to know what I'm feeling right now?" I asked angrily. "Or is that being added to the list of what I don't know?"

"What else are you curious about?" Alice replied, perfectly avoiding my first question. I rolled my eyes, but went along with her anyway.

"It seems like anytime I ask about something, I can never get a straight answer," I told her candidly. "All I'm asking for is the truth."

"That's reasonable, I guess," Alice allowed. "Go ahead and tell her Jasper."

"Besides the obvious acute physical pain," he started, "there is surprise, uncertainty, doubt, and hint of…" he paused, testing my reaction,"regret."

"Well, I'm surprised that you all are here, but I'm not really sure why you came back, which accounts for the doubt too because I don't think you'll be staying long." That just about summed everything up. Except… ah. "So that's it." I turned to Alice. "You had a vision." She nodded. "Of me and," I stumbled over his name, "Edward." Another nod. "And you guessed that I would be unhappy with how it all turned out, and you came back to check on me." It all made perfect sense now.

"Not exactly," she confessed. "I saw how Edward would respond to your little conversation, and I'm not about to let him do anything stupid. He considered Italy, for goodness' sake." Her eyebrows furrowed, as she concentrated intensely. "Luckily for us, he seems pretty stable at the moment, but that doesn't mean he won't change his decision again." I could feel all of their stares on me as I sorted through what Alice had said.

"Italy?" That had come up in one of our conversations, a long time ago, and I struggled with the details. "You mean, he was going to get himself killed?" That was pure insanity.

"Bella, you are the only thing that he's been living for since he met you." I was surprised at Rosalie's outburst, but let her continue. Alice dragged Jasper and Emmett out of the room, knowing that this conversation was meant to be private. I heard her turn on the radio full blast, blaring some heavy metal garage-band type music. "Do you think we would have come if all that was at stake was your relationship?" She spat out the last word.

"What relationship?" I retorted angrily. "Or didn't Alice tell you that it's over?"

"She told us what you both said, and we all agreed that it was far from over."

"That isn't any of your business."

"It becomes our business the instant Edward decides to off himself because you won't let him in your pathetic little life." Ok, that last part stung a little, but I agreed whole heartedly.

"I still don't see what any of this has to do with me." I was exasperated now, desperately searching for a way to be left out of it completely.

"You are the only one that can stop him, make him change his mind."

"And what if I don't want to? What if I just want to be left alone?"

"Then you might as well be his judge, jury, and executioner," she hissed. "Could you honestly live with yourself if you allowed the man you loved to kill himself because he couldn't be with you?"

"That's not my fault!" Hot tears were leaking out of my eyes, but Rosalie smiled.

"But you do love him," she said proudly. "Admitting it is the first step to recovery, but refusing to deny it works just as well." She paused as Alice reentered the room, towing Jasper and Emmett behind her, all three of them looking extremely smug.

"That is why she really came," Alice admitted. "If anyone could worm a confession out of you, it's our Rose. I, obviously, am the only one that knows what's going on. Emmett was supposed to restrain you from doing something else stupid. We needed Jasper to make sure that you didn't go catatonic on us again." She noticed my raised eyebrows. "Yes, we know all about that. Esme made me promise to check up on you periodically, even if Edward forbade it. I watched him too, so I knew the moment he cracked and came back."

"Why didn't Carlisle and Esme come with you?" I wondered aloud.

"Carlisle is working and Esme didn't want him to have to stay alone," Alice replied smoothly. "I'm still not sure how long this will take."

"Speaking of time, I'd like to get this show on the road," Rosalie said. "The rain is getting worse by the minute, and I didn't bring an umbrella." She glared at Alice, as if she should have been warned about the weather. Alice simply shrugged.

"I was focused on Edward and Bella," she apologized. "But you're right, we don't have time to waste." She tried to concentrate again, then frowned. "Bella, why did your future just disappear?" Before I could react, the phone rang. I ran to the kitchen to answer it.

"Hello?" I asked breathlessly, hoping to God or whoever else was listening that it was him, calling to beg me to reconsider.

"Bella?" Jacob didn't try to hide the urgency in his voice, and that only made me more worried. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" I asked carefully.

"Can you meet me outside?" he asked hurriedly. "We need to talk."

"Sure, I'll be right out." I didn't ask why he wouldn't come inside; I'm sure that the presence of vampires didn't help his self control. When I hung up the phone, Emmett was by my side in an instant.

"Bella, we need to get you out of here," he told me gruffly. "I can't explain now, but…" I cut him off before he could continue.

"Yes, I know there's a werewolf in my front yard." His face was shocked, but he quickly regained his composure. "And if I'm not out there in ten seconds, he's going to think I'm being held against my will and barge in here to rescue me. None of us want that, right?" I glanced at the others, who nodded slowly in agreement. "I'll make it quick, I promise." I was thankful that they didn't try to stop me as I turned to go.

For those of you that didn't watch Buffy or Angel, that first part might not make sense. Basically, part of the vampire myth according to them is that vampires can't cross the threshold someone's home unless they are invited in. I hope that clears up any confusion.

I must say, writing that part between Rose and Bella was the most fun I've had in a while. Sneaky little thing, isn't she? I am so proud...

Thanks for sticking with me so far, but the journey is only just beginning. What will Jacob say about the vampires' return? Does he really have anything to worry about? What happens if he decides to confess his feelings to Bella, again, before she goes to see Edward? gasp That could end badly. And if you think I wouldn't do it, then you must not know me very well… All of these questions will be answered in the next chapter, I promise. Until then, please review :)