Disclaimer: I don't own anything Twilight or any of the songs I list at the end of the chapter.

A/N: I know that the last chapter was a very evil cliffie, but I saw some new names popping up. So to the lurkers and new readers, welcome to my little dog and pony show. Thank you for all of the reviews. And I can't say this enough, but the story is going to have some darker parts coming up. I'm sorry for what I'm about to do……

Of course, thank you to the most amazingly wonderful beta alive, oceanwaters2006, you rock my world!! Glad you're back and I hope you enjoyed your well deserved vacation ^_^

Chapter 14-

I had just finished talking to the police and was heading to the hospital. The images of Alice on the floor kept flashing through my mind. There was so much blood. I drove to the hospital with the radio blaring. I was afraid to be alone with my thoughts. Once I stepped into the emergency room waiting area, I was greeted by Rosalie and Emmett. Rosalie jumped out of her chair and hugged me tightly.

"Are you alright, Bells?"

"As good as I can be, I guess."

"We haven't heard anything yet. Jasper is in with one of the doctors right now. Hopefully we'll know something soon."

"It was real bad, Rosi. There was blood…everywhere."

Rosalie paled and looked at the floor. When she looked back up at me, tears were streaming down her face.

"I don't know if I can handle this, Bella. We almost lost you and now we might lose Alice. And what about the baby?"

Rosalie began to shake with sobs. Emmett enveloped her into his arms and held her as she cried. I felt numb. I couldn't even comfort my friend. I just watched as Rosalie sobbed into Emmett's chest. Emmett kissed the top of Rosalie's head and then gave me a worried looked. I didn't even have the energy to reassure him that I was okay. Rosalie wrapped her arms around Emmett and held him tightly. The image of the words on the kitchen wall flashed back to me again.

This won't stop.

The aching in my stomach began to spread. My head was swimming with worry.

What else do they have planned?

Rosalie pulled away from Emmett and kept her gaze on the floor.

"I'm going to sit down, I feel a little shaky."

Emmett looked worried.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, babe. There's just a lot going on."

Rosalie went to the other side of the waiting room and sat in one of the overstuffed chairs. Her eyes looked distant. Emmett ran a hand through his hair.

"How bad was it?"

"It was horrible, Em. There was blood everywhere. But the worst part is, they wrote 'this won't stop' on the wall in Alice's blood."

"Shit. That's fucked up."

"I know. What James said makes sense now. Do you remember him saying that they needed to get me away from her? He meant Alice. They're watching us. They knew she was alone and vulnerable. They sacrificed one of their own to send us a message. And who knows what they'll do next?"

Emmett swallowed hard, looked back at Rosalie, and then back to me.

"Bells, if anything happens to Rosi…I don't know what I would do."

"Nothing is going to happen to Rosalie. And those bastards seriously underestimated us. If they think attacking the people we love is going to stop us, they have another think coming. They are messing with the wrong people. Before, this was about doing my job and protecting innocent civilians. Now, it's personal. They crossed the line and I am more hell bent than ever to make sure I bring them down."

"At least we're on the same page."

The whoosh of the door opening caught our attention. Rosalie jumped out of her chair and came to stand next to Emmett and I. Jasper was walking towards us, looking drained and heartbroken. His eyes met mine and he fell apart, collapsing to the floor in tears. I rushed to his side and put my arm around his shoulders.

"What did they say?"

"They don't know if Alice or the baby are going to make it. I can't lose them. They are my life."

"Everything will be okay, Jasper. Alice and the baby will be fine."

"She lost a lot of blood, Bells. They have her in the operating room. There's a lot of damage."

"Alice will be fine. She's in good hands. The best doctors in the country are in this hospital. We just have to have faith."

"Thank you, Bella. You have no idea how grateful I am that you went to check on Alice. If you hadn't found her…"

"But I did. Everything will be fine. Come on, let's get you something to eat from the cafeteria. It won't do anyone any good to sit around and worry."

We went to the cafeteria, all of us sitting in silence and poking at our food. I had hoped that getting away from the hectic ER waiting room would help. All that it served to do was make all of us wonder what was going on more than before. Jasper's phone started ringing. He answered it while the rest of us held our breath.

"I'm just in the cafeteria, I'll be right there."

Jasper closed his phone and stood up from the table.

"The doctor needs to talk to me. I'll meet you guys in the waiting room."

We watched as Jasper ran out of the cafeteria. I almost didn't want to know what the doctors needed to talk to him about.

Ignorance is bliss.

The three of us slowly made our way back to the waiting room. When we arrived, Jasper was standing in a corner talking to the doctors. Seeing fresh tears running down his face made my breath catch in my throat. From where I was standing, I couldn't hear what they were saying. One of the doctors put a hand on Jasper's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. Jasper stood in the same spot as the doctors walked away. His expression said more than words would be able to. Staring at the floor, he slowly turned and looked up to see us standing there. He looked like he was trying to move, but his body wouldn't budge. The three of us went to him instead. I was afraid of what the answer was going to be, but I had to ask the question.

"What did they say?"

"Alice will be fine."

I giant weight was lifted from my shoulders. Alice was going to be okay. Relief left my body just as quickly as it came.

If Alice was going to be fine, why was Jasper crying?

"What about the baby?"

Jasper opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. More tears spilled from Jasper's eyes as his shoulders began to shake with sobs.

"She didn't make it. Most of the stab wounds were to Alice's abdomen. The damage was too much for her to survive."

I could feel my heart stick in my throat. I heard Rosalie crying and Emmett trying to soothe her. I couldn't feel anything. My brain was screaming, my knees were shaking, and my breathing was shallow. As much as I tried to, I couldn't move. I had become catatonic. So many emotions flooded into my body that I couldn't act upon a specific one. Hearing Jasper's strangled sobs snapped me out of my daze. I wrapped my arms around Jasper and his went around me tightly. I just held him as he sobbed. I had to be strong for him.

~*~

I shifted in the chair, wondering why any chair would be made without comfort being brought into the equation. It had been four hours since Alice got out of surgery. I waited patiently for the nurse to come and take me to Alice's room. Rosalie and Emmett were in the room with Jasper. My phone beeped with a new text message.

I just left headquarters. I'll be at the hospital in a few minutes.

Edward

Reading the words brought a calm feeling.

I'll be going to see Alice in about 5 minutes. If I'm not in the waiting room, that's where I'll be.

Bella

I put my phone back in my pocket. A flash of blonde hair caught my attention. Rosalie and Emmett walked towards me, both looking faint. I stood up when I saw the nurse behind them.

"Ms. Swan, you can go in now."

"Thank you."

I hugged Rosalie and Emmett before making my way to Alice's room. I arrived at the door and took a deep breath. I had to stay strong for Alice and Jasper. Opening the door slowly, I peeked my head in. Alice turned and gave me a faint smile.

"Hi, Bella."

"Hi."

I closed the door behind me and walked to Alice's bedside. Alice pulled me into a hug and squeezed me tightly. I could feel the tears start to form, but I blinked them away.

You can't cry now, you have to be strong. You can cry later.

"How are you feeling?"

"Groggy."

Jasper cleared his throat.

"I'm going to get something to drink. I'll let you two talk."

AS Jasper walked by, I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. A silent gesture for the things I couldn't say. Alice and I were silent until we heard the door click.

"Thank you for being there, Bella. I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you."

"You would have done it for me."

Alice looked down in her lap and her shoulders started to shake. When she looked back up, tears were running down her cheeks.

"They took my baby. My little girl is gone."

The pain in Alice's voice was something I had never heard before. The anguish and sorrow were indescribable. I squeezed her hand.

"We're going to find who did this. I promise."

"I just feel like I can't go on. The pain…I feel so empty. I keep waiting for her to move to reassure me that she's okay, but it never comes. She would have been so beautiful. I guess she just wasn't meant for this world."

"She's watching over us now."

"I know. I just don't know how anyone could do this. How could someone be so evil?"

"I wish I could answer that. But I promise, we will find who did this and bring them to justice."

Alice sniffled. An expression crossed her face that I had never seen on Alice before. Pure hatred.

"I want them to pay for this, Bella. I don't want them to be given a trial. I want them to suffer the same way they made me suffer. They took my baby away from me. They almost took me away from Jasper. What they did is unforgivable. I want them to pay in blood."

Never in the years that I have known Alice had I ever heard her utter a single word against someone. Seeing the fire in her eyes and hearing the venom in her voice was almost scary. But I couldn't agree with her more.

"I'll make it happen."

"I know I can count on you, Bella."

"They did this to try and stop us from digging into the Ghede virus. But they didn't take one thing into account. They can mess with me, but the second they go after my family and friends, they've gone too far. I'm out for blood. I promise, Alice. I will make them pay for what they did to you."

Alice nodded and leaned back into her bed.

"I should let you get some sleep. I'll come back tomorrow to check on you."

"Okay. I love you, Bells."

"I love you too."

I placed a gentle kiss on Alice's forehead. I started to walk to the door when Alice's voice stopped me.

"Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"I want them to suffer. Go slow. And don't tell Jasper about this."

I was shocked by her words, but I nodded my head and left the room. The door closed behind me and I let out a heavy sigh as I ran a hand through my hair. My heels clicked across the tile floor. The sterile smell of the hallway was nauseating. I was so distracted by my own thoughts, I was startled when I felt a hand on my upper arm. My head snapped up and I saw Jasper looking worried.

"Are you alright, Bella? You look sick."

"I'm fine. It's just all hitting me at once."

"Bella, I really can't thank you enough for finding Alice. I lost one of my girls today, but had I lost both of them, there would be no retribution great enough."

"I know, Jas. We'll take care of this."

"I asked the chief to pull me off of this case. I wouldn't be able to exercise proper judgment. I know that the moment I would find out where they were hiding, I would have no mercy."

"That's understandable. Just know that I'll take care of this."

"I know you will, Bells. But I want you to promise me something."

"Sure."

"When you find them, I want them to suffer. They killed my little girl and they almost killed my wife. There is nothing you can do to them that will ever make up for that, but I trust you'll exhaust your options. I know that it won't bring Reagan back, but it'll make me feel better."

"I will, Jasper. Trust me, I've already got some ideas. They fucked with the wrong people."

"You should go home, Bells. Go be with Edward. If there's one thing I've learned today, it's to not take my time with my loved ones for granted."

"Call me if you need anything. I'll come back tomorrow to check on you and Alice."

"Thanks, Bells."

"Anytime, Jas."

I gave Jasper a quick hug. His voice came out in a gravely tone.

"And, Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't mention any of this to Alice. She has enough to worry about. But I know that this is in good hands."

"I won't say a thing."

Jasper nodded and left for Alice's room. I shook my head. Jasper and Alice weren't the only ones hell bent on revenge. I pushed the doors to the waiting room open and let out a heavy sigh when I saw a familiar head of bronze colored hair. Edward stood from his chair and I all but ran into his arms. My internal battle coming to an end and the flood gates opened. I cried for Alice, for Jasper, for Reagan, and for myself. All of the pain and anguish that I had a death grip on slipped from my body in hard sobs.

~*~

By the time I stopped crying, I was completely drained. Edward wrapped his arm around my waist and led me to his car, saying something about how I shouldn't drive. I watched as the street lights flashed by. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of my apartment door. I don't even remember Edward pulling up to my apartment building, let alone the walk up the stairs. I unlocked the door and pushed it open. I trudged into my apartment and dropped my keys on the counter.

"You should get some rest. You've had a long day."

"I'm exhausted, but I don't know if I can sleep."

"Go take a shower and I'll make you some tea."

"I don't have any tea. I'm a coffee person and that wouldn't help."

"Well, just go take a shower then."

Edward kissed my forehead and I went to my bathroom to clean up. I flipped the lights on and gasped at my reflection. My face was pale and sunken in with black eyeliner smeared under my eyes. I started the shower and got out of my blood stained clothes. The hot water ran over my body and I felt my muscles relax. I scrubbed my body and washed my hair. I shut the water off and wrapped a towel around myself. I walked into my bedroom and smiled when I saw Edward sitting on the edge. He walked over to me and enveloped me in a hug. I sighed into his chest. I tilted my head up and kissed his chin.

"Are you ready for bed yet? Or do you want to talk about it?"

"We can talk about it tomorrow. I don't want to think about it right now."

"Okay, babe."

"But there is something I want to talk to you about. After today, I don't want to risk having something happen to me and not tell you this."

"What's that?"

"I know that this is kind of sudden and I understand if you don't feel the same way but, I love you. You don't have to say it back. I understand. But I just want you to know that…"

My words were cut off when Edward's lips covered mine in a sweet, gentle kiss. Pulling away, he smiled brilliantly at me.

"I love you too. I've never felt this way about anyone before."

I could feel the blush spreading across my cheeks. Edward kissed my forehead and carried me to my bed, shedding the towel along the way. As Edward put me down on the mattress, I remembered Jasper's words to me earlier. I wasn't going to waste any time with Edward. I love him and he loves me and I was more than willing to spend the rest of my life proving my love to him.

A/N: So I know a lot of you hate me now. But to be fair, I did warn you that it was going to be getting darker. I hope that I didn't upset anyone, but it plays a part, I swear! And that's why I threw that sweet little bit in at the end to try and make up for being an evil evil person. Let me know what ya thought! *love and hugs to all!*

Chapter Playlist- Familiar Taste of Poison by Halestorm, Through The Iris by 10 Years, Over the Line by Revelation Theory, Her Portrait in Black by Atreyu, We Are Broken by Paramore, Delicate by Operator