Thank you to my beta, Dazzle Me Again, once again for the effort you put into this! I couldn't do this without you!

I'm astounded by the response I've gotten for this story!! I do believe it's my best yet! Keep the reviews flowing, guys!!

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Previously: Something along the lines of 'what the hell?' was all I could think about.

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Chapter 4: Reunion

I stared out the window, trying to keep calm. But how could I when Jasper was kidnapping me? I hadn't even had time to write Charlie a note before I had left, as if that were enough... Well, at least last time I had run across the country unexpectedly, I had told him. This time, I didn't even know where I was going. Even if I'd had any clue as to our destination, Charlie still didn't know what was going on, and would probably file a missing persons report as soon as he could.

"Jasper, you realize that Charlie will think I've been kidnapped, right?" I asked, still a bit mad.

"I took care of it. I left a note on the dining room table explaining everything. He'll expect you back in a week." Why does that sound familiar? Oh, yes, that had already happened, I only hoped the outcome of this trip was better than the last one.

"What exactly did you tell him?"

"I told him that I was taking you to go and straighten things out with my brother. He knows that you're with me, and that you're safe—well, as safe as you can possibly be in a house full of vampires—but he doesn't know that, of course."

I glared at him, but suddenly felt very tired—I didn't know if it was Jasper's doing, or if I was really tired. I tried to keep my heavy eyelids open, but it wouldn't work; it wasn't me, he was doing this on purpose. I started to fall asleep, and knew that the battle was lost. I attempted to glare one last time, but couldn't keep focused enough.

I awoke to the sound of a door opening. I stirred, and felt a pair of cold, hard arms hold me. I looked up, and saw Jasper's face. I immediately wanted down. I started to struggle, but suddenly, Alice was standing beside me. "I wouldn't struggle if I were you. If you do, you'll fall, and hit your head on the ice."

I stopped struggling, and let Jasper put me down. I looked at my surroundings and saw Alice. I hugged her quickly as soon as I was on my feet. Oh, I had missed her so much! After that, Jasper and Alice led me to the house; I walked quickly, stumbling over my feet as I went.

I saw a beautiful, familiar blond female standing by the door. Rosalie glared at me, then turned on her heel, and stormed off. Even though I wouldn't admit it, I was glad she was here, too. I walked a bit further into the house, and saw Emmett standing in the shadows. I smiled apprehensively at him, and was answered with a huge grin. My face broke out in a huge smile, and I walked over to him.

"Hey," I said shyly. He grabbed me, and wrapped his arms around me in a huge hug.

"You don't know how much I've missed you, Bella," he said softly.

"Emmett…seriously, I can't… breathe…" I gasped. He let go of me. "I missed you, too." He then led me to the living room, where the rest of the Cullen family was assembled, along with five other honey-eyed vampires, one of whom I recognised from the previous spring—not the most pleasant memory.

"Bella, this is Tanya, Kate, Irina, Eleazar, and, of course, Laurent," Carlisle said from behind me. I turned around, and felt a huge grin take over my face. I wrapped my arms around Carlisle, and felt the tears rolling down my cheeks. I felt his arms wrap around me apprehensively, and one of his hands stroking my hair. I looked at him, and he smiled tentatively back at me. I turned around, and saw the other five vampires looking away, trying not to intrude on the exchange.

"Where's Esme?" I asked excitedly.

"She's out hunting right now. Alice was kind enough to inform us that Jasper would be bringing you here, and she thought it would be a good idea to feed before coming in contact with you." His answer made sense. I knew that they wouldn't have to feed as often now that there wasn't a human around constantly.

"Everybody, this is the Bella that we've told you about," Alice said, as she appeared behind us. I was greeted with a round of 'hi's' and 'hello's'. I smiled at them, and went to go explore the house. I roamed the house, in search of the washroom, and the kitchen—just that, I wasn't looking for someone. Nope, I was not—those would be the two most important places for me to locate. I felt a presence behind me, and turned to see Jasper standing there.

"Would you like some help? You're confused and curious. It's quite the…odd sensation, feeling multiple emotions from one person at once…" he trailed off, and stared at me intensively.

"Um, yeah, sure, why not? I need to find the bathroom, and the kitchen. And where am I going to sleep?" I asked curiously.

Jasper showed me the lay of the house, and brought me the bag that he had packed for me the night before. He explained that Alice had called saying that I needed to get up to Denali. The fact that I had frustrated him was just the icing on the cake. He would have brought me up here soon enough anyways.

"Well, why didn't you just ask? If you had said something that morning, I would have packed up, and came with you."

"I'd like to believe that you would have, Bella, but we both know that you would have been too upset to make the trip. Trust me." I stared at him for a moment, and reluctantly agreed. There was no doubt that in my mind that I would have broken down again, and likely cry myself to sleep. This ended up happening almost every day anyway.

"Whatever. Where can I get some food? I'm starved," I said, trying to break up the tension. Jasper chuckled, and led me to the kitchen.

"Alice remembered that you needed to eat human food, so she went to the grocery store. We've got everything from chicken and rice, to pizza, and spaghetti. What would you like?"

"Hmm, I think some Kraft Dinner would be sufficient," I said.

Jasper went to the cupboard, and pulled out the KD. He turned on a pot of water to boil, and sat down at the table with me. "You know, I could have done it myself," I joked. He chuckled, sensing the lightness that was coming form me.

"I could dump the water, and put the noodles back in the cupboard, if you want..." he said, laughing. I laughed once, and then fell quiet.

"You know, you're awfully cheery for somebody that is in a house of vampires, and has been depressive for the past few months," he said without meeting my eyes.

"Haven't I always been calm when around you guys?" I asked. He nodded, and sighed. A door opened, and I hear somebody start to shuffle in. Then the shuffling stopped. I heard a very recognisable voice say a few choice words. I stiffened, knowing what was about to happen next.

Suddenly, he was standing right in front of me. Edward stood there, unmoving, just staring at me. It was almost as if he thought he was hallucinating. He reached out his hand to lightly touch my face. I blacked out when his skin made contact with mine.

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