A/n We're a bit shorter this time but I felt like the stopping point was organic and went with it. Edward has now officially caught up with Bella and I hope to write "The Freshman" in tandem with "The TA". I know that this makes some of you very happy. It may also mean that there are some delays for "The Freshman" that those of you who have started with this POV aren't used to having to deal with, I'm sorry but writing the two together really will be easier for me and "The TA" seems to be more popular.

At any rate, if you cry easily – you may want some tissues.

Twilight and all related characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. I hope to be cool enough to own characters that people want to write fanfic about someday.

Music:

ColdPlay - Lost

No no no no no no no no no no! Edward! I could hear Emmett as soon as he saw my body lying on the ground. "Jasper! Edward's down and Bella is nowhere in sight!" He called as he raced to my side.

He did not just say - "What do you mean she's not there?" I heard Jasper's voice come from behind me.

"There's - she's not here Jasper, just Edward. The little freak stunned him too." Emmett's voice was filled with panic as he pulled my body up to a sitting position next to a tree. Jasper's footfalls grew louder and stopped close by.

"He laid her down right here." Jasper pointed to the pile of pie straw that had been Bella's bed during the fight. Why did you stop running Edward? Adrianna can only incapacitate you if she touches you. It would have been better to keep running.

"Why would they take her instead of just draining her here?" Emmett mused.

"Ari likes to play with her food." Which is both good and bad, it buys us some time but I don't know what condition she'll be in when we find her. Jasper began to walk around the small clearing until he detected the direction that Mark and Adrianna fled. This way. "Edward should be around soon. I'm going to run ahead."

"Are you sure that's a bright idea?" Emmett looked up at Jasper's back.

I was completely unable to react. Any attempt to move my body resulted in nothing. However, if I had been able to move I would have been running. I wanted Bella safe in my arms again where no one could harm her. It was my fault; I should have run faster; I should have gone to her sooner.

"I won't engage them but the trail needs to be followed while it's still fresh. Edward can hear you but he has a few more minutes before he will be able to respond. Carlisle needs him back at the other clearing as soon as he's up." Jasper rubbed his arm where a new bite mark puckered on his skin and gave me a pointed look before running into the trees. I'll find her Edward.

Alice shot through the clearing after Jasper. Her short hair kicked up in the breeze and her clothes billowed slightly behind her. Alice was determined to make the most of any help she could offer. She and Jasper made an excellent team.

Don't worry, Jasper and I should find her in no time. Her reassurances were just as much for herself as they were for me. She was relieved to put her ability to use again and she had already begun searching the future as she chased after Jasper. She found something before she was out of range and tried to suppress it to protect me but her control slipped and revealed a vision of Bella.

Bella lay unconscious on a concrete floor in only her swimsuit and my T-shirt. She was injured and her arm remained wrapped in the pressure bandage that Brady had put on her. It was apparent that she had not received medical attention, but she was still breathing and for that I was grateful. Bella shivered and twitched before she called my name in anguish and the vision cut off.

It's not good enough; I can't see where she is. Alice lamented just as she left my range.

It should have been me chasing after her. It's not that I didn't have faith in Jasper and Alice's abilities, as a matter of fact, they were probably better suited to tracking the coven that attacked us than I was since he knew them and she had a chance of seeing their future but Bella was my mate and this was my job. An ache built in my chest and threatened to over take my body. If I could have moved, I would have taken off behind them. My existence was so wrapped up in Bella that I couldn't be separated from her again. The thought of her at the mercy of these monsters that liked to 'play with their food' incensed me.

Emmett continued to sit over me and watch for my ability to move to return. He sat on the soggy ground next to me and rubbed the bark off of a stick using his hands. Emmett was nervous and frustrated. Arianna had incapacitated him as well and he wanted nothing more than to chase her down. He hated feeling weak and that's exactly what she had done to him.

It's rough not being able to move. She came up behind me when I got the upper hand fighting her sister. He fed me images from their fight. Emmett, Quil, and Rachel had taken on a female who looked exactly like Adrianna only her hair was pulled back in a thick braid instead of hanging loose around her face and a red haired male. I assumed that the sister and the male were Ari and Colin whom I had heard earlier. Seeing them in action was intimidating. They fought as a team and it was blatantly obvious to me that they used whatever telepathic link they had to watch each other's backs; they were unstoppable. It was blatantly obvious to me that I would be the only one with a chance at fighting the two of them and I might need Alice's assistance. That would make Jasper unhappy, he would want to watch his wife's back. The scene of Emmett's fight unfolded before me; he and the wolves had been able to separate Ari and Colin. Emmett was very close to ripping Ari limb from limb when Adrianna ended her fight with Jasper and Brady and turned on Emmett to save her sister. She came from behind and laid a bare hand on his neck. Emmett instantly dropped to the ground. Jasper had been stunned too and Brady lay in a still crumpled mass a few feet from him. The fight was effectively over. Adrianna took off in the direction I had departed and the other two vampires made quick work of incapacitating Rachel and Quil. They didn't have time to guarantee a kill because Emmett and Jasper would only be down for a few minutes and they didn't want to face the two of them alone.

"According to Jasper we're only alive due to 'professional courtesy'; they typically dismantle vampires after Adrianna stuns them." He paused to flick his now bare stick into a nearby tree; it nicked the bark and rebounded. "Jasper thinks that it's likely that they're looking to take the southern outlook on territory up here and try to carve out a piece of the northeast as their own." His face was grim.

The entire situation irked Emmett. He set his sites on Adrianna and fully intended to rip her limb from limb; he just couldn't decide how to do it without touching her skin. Gloves might work but then I'll have to rely on brute force to tear her apart, no teeth.

The feeling returned to my fingers and I twitched them. My body felt like it was encased in a thick layer of dried mud. Visually, there was no flaking or any other symptom but it felt like my skin was cracking as I stretched each part of my body. I was stone coming to life.

"Crazy, isn't it?" He smiled grimly and flicked a pebble into a tree, embedding it there. "It feels like you're actually a rock. It'll subside in a few more minutes though."

"I'm going after them." I found my voice.

"No, Carlisle needs you." Emmett held me to the tree I had been leaning against with a hand on my shoulder. "Jasper and Alice are tracking them and they will contact us when they have information. But you are the only one who can help Carlisle."

"Emmett, if I can get close enough I can hear what they're thinking and find a way to get her out." I pushed my fist into a large rock by my side causing it to shatter.

"I know, but they still haven't finished following the trail and Carlisle needs help tending to the wolves." Emmett's face softened. I understand. Edward, Bella means a lot to the rest of us too and we're all going crazy with worry about her. I want to destroy them but first things first.

"The dogs will be fine." I snapped.

"Edward, what would Bella want you to do?" He crouched in front of me, both hands held me to the tree.

"What Bella wants is irrelevant in this case, she has no sense of self preservation and she's not here." I could feel myself nearing the breaking point.

"They're her friends." Emmett gave me a stern look. "Do you want to tell her that you didn't help them when you could have?" She might not forgive you for that one. She may very well be the most forgiving creature we on the planet but this she might not be able to let that go. "Do it for Bella."

"Fine." I agreed grudgingly. I felt like Emmett had used my own emotions and my love of Bella against me to win and I resented it.

"Let's go." He released my shoulders and gave me a hand up to a standing position. Emmett led me silently back through the trees to the large clearing where the fight had taken place. His memory did not prepare me for what I saw as we left the trees.

Rachel and Quil had been able to phase back but both lay on their sides unconscious. Rachel's limbs stuck out at awkward angles and her entire body was covered in large purple welts the shape of fists. Quil looked a little better, he was pale and only one limb appeared broken. Carlisle was kneeling with Rosalie next to Brady. A large pool of blood had soaked into the ground next to him and his legs were crushed. His face also appeared to be broken severely and a crescent shaped bite mark stood out on his shoulder.

I don't think he's going to make it. It would appear that our venom kills their kind instead of causing a change. Carlisle reached over and patted the young wolf. His heartbeat was faint and strained. I can make him comfortable, but that's all I can do. Carlisle put on a weak smile and patted the creature gently in one of the few places that held no injury.

"Brady, I'm going to make you as comfortable as I can but I fear that there's not much that I can do to help you." The wolf made no indication that he understood except for a large tear that trickled down his cheek. His thoughts were of LaPush and a dark haired girl running along First Beach with her hair trailing behind her. Carlisle injected him with morphine and the boy faded into sleep.

Rosalie took Carlisle's position next to the wolf and was met by Emmett. They knelt next to him.

He's just a kid. Rosalie thought as she stroked the fur behind his ears. She had a rare moment of being concerned completely for someone else. Emmett wrapped an arm around her and they sat with the boy and waited for him to pass.

Carlisle moved quickly to Rachel whose wounds were the next most severe. I knelt with him next to her broken form. She breathed in and out in soft, shallow bursts.

"What do you need me to do Carlisle?" I stopped him. His topaz eyes were filled with sorrow as they met mine.

I'm so sorry we lost her again. He placed his hand on my shoulder. "I need your help setting these bones before they heal improperly. They're both sedated but I'm not sure how long it will last. Werewolf physiology is a bit different from that of a regular human."

"Emmett," I called over my shoulder. "We need splints. Can you go harvest some straight pieces of wood from the forest?" I pleaded with him and he reluctantly left Rosalie and set to work acquiring suitable wood to splint the many injuries that the remaining two Quiluetes had sustained.

Carlisle and I worked together to right the young woman's body as best we could. She whimpered softly as we pulled her bones into the correct position. We had to re-break her leg because it had healed in an incorrect position. Her body very nearly shot up off of the forest floor as we did that. Carlisle injected her again. We splinted the newly set bones and she remained still and peaceful after the ordeal. Tending to Quil proved to be significantly easier. He had shifted into human form more easily than Rachel and the bones that had knitted themselves back together had done so correctly. That left only one leg that needed its position corrected in order to heal properly.

It was after we set the final bone that Brady's heart began to slow to an almost imperceptible thump. His heart was barely pumping. With the rest of our work completed Carlisle and I wandered over to the seemingly peaceful wolf to pay our respects. He was completely unconscious but we couldn't let his passing go unnoted. His thoughts were like that of a small child as he passed, they were bright colors and emotions, he dreamed of the girl again. This time her remembered her scent; it was woodsy and gentle like a bonfire next to the ocean. She smiled at him and took his hand. His last clear thought was running down the beach with her. My eyes stung as I knelt next to his head and stroked an ear as he followed her. His body shifted back to human form and his last breath came as a sigh before his heart came to a complete stop.

Thank you Brady. Carlisle covered the boy with an emergency blanket from his bag to protect his naked form. I seconded his thanks.

The clearing was too quiet without the boy's thoughts. I dropped my head into my hands and ran my fingers down my face. I willed my fingers to claw the skin, to inflict some sort of damage. Bella was still in danger and another one of her friends had died. The pain in my chest was unbearable as the world crashed down on me. This was entirely my fault. Had I never left Bella, or had I come back sooner none of this would have ever happened. She would be immortal and forever eighteen by my side. All of her friends would still be alive and all of this heartache could have been avoided. Why had I been so foolish and self centered to think that everything that was wrong in her life came down to me? I should have stayed and protected her. My reasons for leaving although they seemed noble were blatantly narcissistic.

I stood and made my way over to the trees. My anger enveloped me and I rammed my fist violently into a tree. It splintered as my fist crashed into it. My fingers were clearly visible in the indentation left behind. I screamed and dropped back down to my knees; the impact shook the ground. I sobbed tearlessly and continued to scream intermittently until Carlisle finally came for me with news.