Blanket Disclaimer Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse are not mine; they belong solely to Stephanie Meyer and her publishing company. I don't even own the idea for this story; I am simply expanding on Stephanie's brilliant work. Nor am I profiting monetarily for the creation of this story. That being said, Edward Cullen and Jasper Whitlock are my addictions. Oh, along with James Potter, but that's in the wrong category here :)

Blanket Warning Later chapters will be rated M for obvious reasons; (self) abuse, the want/need to hurt/kill and angst. If this is inappropriate for some readers because of their age and/or mentality, you have been warned.

Flames are fine; if they're warranted, I'll take it into account and try to improve. If they're unwarranted, I will mock you… publicly if I'm in a sardonic mood. You have been warned about that, too.

Chapter Two – 06.00 Hours Missing
Edward's point of view

After two more hours of searching, Alice and I had gone back home, with me fervently repeating that we were not giving up, but merely changing our tactics. Rolling her eyes as I repeated it again, Alice sat down roughly on the couch and said, "I know we're not giving up, Edward! Or do you think you're the only one that cares? You're going through a hard time, I am too! She's the first friend outside our family – besides Tanya and her coven – that I was allowed to have!"

She's important to all of us, she continued mentally, in a softer tone, but in different ways. We all love her and we aren't going to give up and let her die. I flinched when she said 'die', but she ignored me. Please Edward, calm down. No one is going to find her with you as a raving lunatic; we need to think rationally.

Sighing, I muttered, "I hate it when you're right before I am."

She grinned impishly, back to her usual self immediately. "Well, someone had to go all Carlisle on your butt. You weren't going to calm down on your own, and without Jasper, I had to improvise." She sniffed, as though improvisation were exceptionally difficult. "I will never again take him for granted."

You know she won't stick to that.

We turned, both of us catching our family's scent at the same time. I saw Jasper slide in next to Alice, grinning slyly at her while she remained aloof, while everyone else made themselves comfortable in our living room. I looked at Carlisle and raised my eyebrow at him questioningly; tilting my head slightly to the side.

My adoptive father shrugged, a casual movement of his shoulders. "We hunted nearby, just enough to last us for the time being. You and Alice should go soon; preferably as soon as possible. The thirstier you are, the more you'll need to hunt, and the bigger the prey too. We can't afford to lose both of you for too long." I nodded my understanding, but didn't say anything; what could I say to that, really? Voicing the fact that I knew we couldn't afford to lose anyone right now didn't help my – our – morale.

We're sitting in our living room, Alice and Jasper resting against each other, Rosalie and Esme sitting on the bar stools, Emmett and Carlisle leaning on the walls behind their respective wife, and I'm leaning in what appears to be a casual, relaxed manner on the couch. The phone rings, Alice and Esme twitch. I stare at Carlisle, and evenly reach over to pick up the phone. "Hello?"

I glance over at Alice, who raises her eyebrow at me. Obviously the phone was about to ring; we're positioned exactly in the same way as we were in her vision, but who would be calling us now? Hope stirred in me as I thought of the people responsible for taking my Bella – I'd go along with the pretence of the ransom letter, but I swear, the moment Bella is safe, I'll kill them. Rip them to shreds. Murder them. I feel my incisors lengthening in anticipation just as the phone rings. Turning to look at Carlisle, I reach over and pick up the phone. If my heart could, it would be thumping wildly in my chest.

"Hello?" I try my best to keep my voice even, relaxed, as though nothing was wrong.

"Edward?"

The sudden rush of adrenaline, the feeling of anticipation that built as I waited for Bella's kidnappers to respond, suddenly came crashing down on me as Charlie's voice came through the receiver of the black cordless. "Charlie?"

Through the telephone, I knew him to be rolling his eyes. "Yes, is Bella there? She hasn't come back from shopping with Angela, and she isn't answering her phone. I'm actually quite thankful that you haven't left to go camping yet; I assumed you'd already be gone, but I must admit, I had to try." The relief in his voice nauseated me to the point where I couldn't speak. Knowing my family could hear our conversation, my eyes flitted towards Carlisle for help – how could I tell him that no, she wasn't here? Clearing my throat as it began to tighten, I wordlessly handed the cordless to Carlisle, who'd been reaching over for it, his mouth set in a grim, determined line.

"Charlie?" He was using his doctor voice – the voice he used when he had particularly bad news to tell his patients, or their loved ones. I couldn't meet my family's eyes as Carlisle recounted the story; this was all my fault. I should never have left Bella alone, or I should have at least seen this coming. Bella's ability to attract trouble was infamous within our household, I should have hunted earlier so she could stay with Alice or Esme while I hunted. I should never have let her be so open, so vulnerable.

Immediately I felt a soothing peace fall over me, and I relaxed unconsciously. Looking up at Jasper, I scowled, growling low within my chest; if I wanted to feel better about it, I'd ask. Right now, I deserve to wallow in my guilt. It is my fault, this is my punishment.

Jasper, appearing impervious to my anger, remained impassive, but it was Alice who narrowed her eyes at me, pixie-like face twisting into a scowl. "Don't." I directed this at Alice, not Jasper, and she set her jaw and narrowed her eyes even farther, her lips tightened into a thin line.

"Raving lunatic, remember? That also extends to guilt-consumed blindness." Her voice was hard, but I barely cared right now. Bella was gone and I could have done something – anything – to prevent it. Again, I cursed myself for waiting until every last member of our family needed to hunt; after Italy and with Victoria on the loose, I should have known better.

I could hear Charlie on the phone, asking things like 'are you sure?' and 'how do you know?' Good questions, both very hard to explain. We could always say things along the lines of, "Oh, you see Charlie, we're all vampires. And Alice here? Yeah? Well, she sees the future. Pretty cool, huh?" Somehow, the words 'insane asylum' would be involved, I know it.

Only just realizing that Carlisle had come up with an excuse while they'd gone hunting, I heard him relay it Charlie over the phone. "Yes, Rosalie saw it earlier. She got out of her car just in time to see Bella – and we think Angela before her – being thrown into one… a truck, I believe, though Rosalie can't be sure. It was rainy, she was tired, you know how these things are…"

Yes, I'm sure he did. We all waited, tense, while Charlie asked if Rosalie was sure it was actually Bella. Why Rosalie? I don't know; probably least likely one to care, and the whole town pretty much knew it. The thought stung, even as it came to me. "That's who we think it was, Charlie, and you did say she wasn't answering her phone…" Carlisle trailed off, his eyes locked on me like they'd been the whole time. Unfortunately, I refused to touch anyone's mind, specifically his and Alice's.

I didn't want support; I didn't deserve support. We needed to find Bella, and that was all that mattered.

After muttering a few more pleasantries, Carlisle hung up and left Charlie to wait for Bella, whom he was still in a small form of denial – though he did agree to keep his grand number of three police men on alert for any signs of her, so I don't know how small his denial was.

"Edward." I looked up into Carlisle's compassionate eyes, unwilling and reluctant, but with little hesitation. I refused to speak, raising my eyebrow at him instead, and he sighed. "Edward, we will find her." I looked away, my face remaining impassive and deadened. I don't know why everyone keeps repeating that – of course we'll find her, what other choice did I have? Bella is my whole life. It's simply the fact of if we'll be too late to find her that kills me – metaphorically, unfortunately.

"Seattle has nothing left for us to find, we need to think of something else, some other method." My voice, even to me, was devoid of emotion, and it sounded alien. I closed my eyes and let the fresh wave of pain overcome me, glad that Jasper wasn't interfering with that; it was something I deserved, something to keep me grounded.

Carlisle got up from his chair and walked over to me, "I think you should hunt first. Especially now, when we have no clues, or a method to tracking her." I started to protest and he raised his hand, "Do you think it will be easier to leave when we have a trail? Do you think you could let us handle things while you hunted?" Closing my mouth, I realized he was right; I needed to leave while we had nothing, because I wouldn't when we were so close to finding her.

Alice got up before me, having already 'seen' my decision, and belatedly, I followed her out the door, still silent. I could feel her giving me furtive glances out of the corner of her eye, but I ignored her, still plotting ways to inflict the most pain on Bella's kidnappers. "Edward," Alice muttered, "Don't do anything stupid." I didn't know what she was referring to, but refrained from touching her mind yet – I didn't want to see the pity, or, in any case, a vision of Bella that might pop up.

It should be my punishment, but I, in my selfishness, could not bear such pain. I had to find Bella before they could even touch her.

Nodding, I allowed myself to follow her lead as we hunted the deer in the park. I was rougher than I usually was with deer, quicker to kill, but more violent and messy – while I usually left no sign of my 'meal', tonight, I had to clean up the gore and spatter as I tore through the carcass, imagining the warmth of the deer as the warmth of that dark haired man who'd first taken my Bella. Alice watched me in silence; her eyes guarded as I fed more and appeared less… human.

The run home became tense, and, if possible, the silence was thicker with suppressed conversation. I was still refusing to hear what she was thinking; adamantly tuning her out – with difficulty, as she was practically shouting her thoughts at me. We were reaching the city limits when we caught the scent and immediately stopped; werewolves. At that, I broadened my mind and caught their combined anger – the pack plural made it obvious that they were still in their wolf form. Moving slightly deeper into the forest, but closer to our territory and not 'dead man's land' – mutual land that neither of the wolves nor we claimed.

One transformed; Jacob, and he walked out of the shadows to greet us. Our quick eyes noticed he was shaking with rage, and one thought was racing through his mind – Bella. When he spoke, his voice was thick with emotion and his black eyes were livid, "What happened?" Each word sounded difficult, as though he was trying not to attack us as he spoke, "You were supposed to protect her!"

I spoke calmly, my face without emotion in case I showed the filthy dog how much it hurt to know that she was my responsibility. "How did you find out?"

"Charlie." He spat out, his fist shaking with more force now. "Would you have even told us, bloodsucker? Or would we have had to wait and find out eventually?"

Contemplating the idea, "We probably would not have told you," I admitted, "At least not in the beginning; it's not like we're on good terms and you probably wouldn't have extended the same courtesy had our positions been reversed." I held up a hand to stop his protest that we both knew would be a lie. "As to what happened; Bella got kidnapped – we were supposed to be gone hunting and she was to go shopping with Angela in Seattle; believe me, if I had known this would happen, I would never have left her." I could hear my voice grow softer, and I could definitely hear the pain in my voice – shame grew in my heart as I knew that the dog probably heard it too.

Jacob stiffened, and nodded in Alice's direction, "What about her thing – you know, how she sees the future; why couldn't she see Bella being kidnapped?"

"I can only see something specific if it was planned; they obviously were just taking people on random and Angela and Bella happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was nothing I could see in time to prevent it." I closed my eyes at that statement.

He tightened his jaw and nodded in my direction now, "And you? What's your excuse?" He asked, rudely, but it was implied – I had no good excuse.

"I was too far away." My voice was faint, my eyes still closed with my pain. I sensed four more wolves on the fringes, the implication was clear; this was Jacob's confrontation, but he was not alone.

"Seems to be a bit of a recurring habit now, doesn't it?" He sneered, his voice cruel, but nothing less than I deserved. "You promised. You promised you'd take care of her! Not three months and she's already in danger! I should have known; parasites never keep their word. We're watching you, bloodsuckers." There it was again; pack plural. "If we find her first; she's never seeing you again. And you stay the hell away from her!"

He quickly morphed and ran through the trees, his pack members following him. My eyes still closed as I contemplated what he said; could I take it if the dogs found her first? I told myself yes, that as long as she was safe, it wouldn't matter if I never saw her; that it was probably better that way. But in my heart I knew that would never happen; that I would definitely never give up on her – the pack would never find a place on this earth to hide her from me.

Turning back to Alice, I quietly murmured, "Let's head home. Carlisle will want to know about this newest complication."

More of a filler than anything, and not very exciting. But at least it's up, and longer than the last chapter by like, two sentences! –fangirl voice– oh.em.gee! Anyway, next chapter will be much more exciting:

Coming up next:
Bella's point of view – Bella and Angela meet their kidnappers and talk about their loves. I'd say T-rated; nothing M for awhile yet… or is there? –giggles– sorry, it's late, I'm tired.

Reviews last chapter disappointed me; a few less. Well not disappointed really. Thanks to my dedicated ones :D I love the following people muchly:

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Don't let it steadily decline if you want fast updates. That's all I have to say. I can honestly tell you all that I'm very review-motivated. ... but I can also tell you that I love writing this, and if I only had the time, I'd update every day. Unfortunately, life catches me up quite often.

Still, thanks for following this thus far.

Bonnie -xx-