Hey guys! There were a few people who said that they were going to die of curiosity so I am SO sorry that I havent updated! I have been totally swamped with homework and softball and I've just gotten over a phase of writers block. I kept trying to, but I always felt like the stuff I was writing was really crappy. So I took a break and I think I got over it. I hope u like it!

But first, let me clear a few things up...

Jacob is NOT going to kidnap Bella!!!

Let me say this one more time. I am not going to make Jake do something stupid. As much as it hurts me to admit this, Jake is a charming, caring, good person. He is not stupid.

But this isn't going to be a Bella x Jacob fanfiction. Jacob imprinted. It's 100 percent Bella x Edward. But I will tell you that Jacob and Abbey have very significant roles in this story.

P.S. The last part of this chapter is in Edward's POV.

Chapter 8: Preparations

"What is it?" I asked wearily. No one moved except for Alice, who turned her head ever so slightly and looked at Carlisle sitting on the other side of the large living room. He nodded once as encouragement. She turned back to look at me. Embarassingly, I was beginning to hyperventilate, but I didn't care. Her expression was blank, completely calm, and that was very unsettling. Her golden eyes flickered to Edward beside me and then back to me.

Finally after what was probably just a few seconds, but seemed like forever, Edward put his stone hands on my shoulders and turned me towards him. He looked andgry for a split second, almost hostile, and then calmed his expression.

"Bella," he said, but then hesitated. Please don't say it, please don't say it, I begged in my mind. Please, please don't say it. "Bella... the Volturi," he whispered.

My stomach turned over. He said it. It was what I was afraid of, it was what I had been dreading all along. But no matter now much I didn't want it to, I knew that this day would come eventually.

"They're coming?" I whimpered.

No one answered. No one had to.

"When?" I asked, closing my eyes. I wasn't even sure that I wanted to know the answer.

"A little more than two weeks," Alice answered in monotone.

My knees started to feel weak and I began to sink to the floor. Edward caught me and pulled me against his chest. I was barely consious of my own sobbing.

When I opened my eyes after a few minutes, we were o longer in the living room. Edward and I were in his room alone. He was still cradling me gently in his arms. "Shhh... It's ok, Bella," he soothed.

I wiped my eyes and hugged his neck, kissing him on the cheek. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Don't be sorry, love," he said tenderly.

"What are we going to do?" I asked weakly, my voice cracking. He had a hard look on his face, but suddenly, it became soft. "Do you still want to marry me?" he whispered.

I felt offended by the very question. "Of course, I do," I answered, puzzled.

"Do you still want us to... keep our deal?"

"Yes."

"Do you still want to be changed?"

"Yes, Edward," I said. As if I really had a choice anyway, I finished in my mind. I would never say that out loud, especially in front of Edward. Even if I didn't want to be changed, I would have to be. There was no point in thinking about that, though, and I kicked my self inwardly. I had never wanted anything more, besides of course Edward himself. But what was with the sudden interrogation? "Where is this going?"

He smiled half-heartedly. "We have to have the wedding tomorrow."

Alice came into the room at that moment, as if on que, and sat down on the large round bed. "Don't worry, Bella, I will take care of all the preparations."

I turned back to Edward. He leaned his forehead against mine lovingly and we just stood there, looking into each other's eyes. "Are you sure?" I whispered, so low that a human wouldn't have been able to hear it.

"That I still want to marry you?" he asked, incredulous. He waited for me to nod. "I've never wanted anything more in 100 years," he said as he leaned in a few inches and kissed me softly. He pulled back to look at my face.

"We have to change you the day after the wedding." He watched my reaction, as if trying to assure himself that I truly did want this. I tried my best to keep my face calm. I didn't want him to think that I was having second thoughts. That would just create even more unecessary problems. I was extremely nervous, but an anxious kind of nervous. I was anxious to be tied to Edward in every way possible.

"Are you sure it won't be any touble?" I asked, turning to Alice. She smiled.

"IT won't,Bella, I promise. I'll call everyone and tell them about the schedule change right now," she said lightly, skipping out the door and into the hall.

"Alice, wait," I said quickly. She turned back around and stood in the door way. "Who exactly is everyone?" She had never actually told about the guest list. I hoped she didn't have too many people to call.

"It's not much, Bella," she said.

I gave her a stern look.

"I'm not kidding! It's just us, your parents, and Jacob with his new girlfriend," she said emphasizing the word and giggling. "... and Tanya's coven."

My mouth dropped. "Tanya's coming?" I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about that. She, along with her sisters, were in love with Edward before he met me. I wondered if their feelings had changed. I could never be able to compete with them.

"It's alright, Bella," Edward said. "Her haircolor hasn't changed."

I laughed, remembering Edward's 'preference for brunettes'. It felt wrong to laugh, considering the current situation.

"What?" Alice asked, puzzled. "What does haircolor have to do with Tanya's coven?"

"Nothing, Alice," Edward said with a smile, even though he still held a hard look in his eyes. "Just go call people or something."

She walked out of the door with a small "hmph," pouting.

Edward and I were alone again. I sighed and sat down on the foot of the massive bed. "How could this happen, Edward?" I finally asked, fresh tears threatening to escape. "Everything was going so perfect."

He was on the bed next to me in a flash, kissing my hand. "We will have to try to avoid the Quillettes. They have no way of knowing that you are changed unless they see you with their own eyes," he reasond. "We don't want to have to deal with the Volturi and the treaty at the same time." He played with the ring on my finger, turning it around and wiggling it.

I kissed him on the lips, taking him by surprise. "I can't wait to be your wife," I told him.

"And I can't wait to be your husband."

That night, I layed there in Edward's arms, hoping desperately that sleep would find me. We were in my bedroom at Charlie's house. It would be the last night that I would sleep there. If I could get to sleep at all.

The Volturi were coming. They woul be checking to see if I was still human or not. But it was much more complicated than that. What if I had a power that they were interested in? What if they took me away from my family... from Edward? What if my new family tried to protect me? What if they got hurt? What if... Edward got hurt... ? A single tear ran down my cheek and dropped onto the pillow. Edward heard it with his sensitive ears and reached around to wipe away my tears away with his thumb. He kissed my lips tenderly, sweetly, softly... a kiss that held so much passion that it made my heart ache.

And then I realized. I would be getting married tomorrow to the man that would do anything for me. He would die to save me. I stifled a soft sob. He would stand by me no matter what happened, no matter what the consequences were. He would protect me, from anything, like he always did. I cried soundlessly for a while until finally, sleep enveloped me.

(EPOV)

I watched helplessly as my beautiful Bella cried herself to sleep, and I couldn't do anything but hold her. I listened to her heart as it slowed, every beat bringing her closer and closer to unconsiousness. I savored the wonderful sound. It would stop soon. Too soon. But I couldn't do anything about it. She would be in danger if I didn't change her and I knew, against my better judgement, tha it was what she wanted.

"I'm sorry..." my angel mumbled.

At first I thought that she had woken up, but then realized that the words were too slurred and that she must be dreaming.

"I can't help you... ... I can't save you," she said, and even in her sleep, she sounded distressed. She must be having that nightmare again. I wondered what it had been about and why she couldn't remember it. Or perhaps she did remember it and she didn't want me to know. No, that couldn't be it. My Bella was an aweful liar. I would have been able to tell, either by her voice or by her fluttering heart. It gave her away everytime.

I listened to her talk all night, trying to dissect her words and figure out what she was dreaming about. But she always said the same thing: "I'm sorry... I can't save you." Beads of sweat formed on her forehead and plastered her hair to her face. I put my cold hands on her head in an attempt to cool her down, but it didn't help.

Then, she said something new: "I'm sorry... I'm only a human..."

My dead heart began to hurt for her. That must be it. She always felt held back by her being human. She always felt so weak, so helpless. My poor Bella. As much as I wanted her to stop hurting, I was still afraid that she would feel even worse when she was one of us. My poor, beautiful Bella.

There it is, and up next, the wedding!!! It will probably be extremely cheesy, corny, and whatever food adjective you could come up with to describe it as really mushy. Be prepared for fluff. Big-time.

Have you heard?! They casted the entire Cullen family!!! I'm so excited, the release date is December 12 of this year. It won't come soon enough... sniff...

If you want to see the pictures, I have a link to the Twilight series' official website and it has pictures of the Cullen family, you just have to scroll down a little bit. When I see Robert Pattinson in those pictures, I know that he will be a wonderful Edward. He certainly looks the part!

R & R!!!