It is wonderful to see Emmett again, despite the circumstances. His hug lifts me up off my feet, and he immediately shows me to the room where he has taken my meager collection of possessions. Rose and Emmett live in a spectacular two-story apartment overlooking Central Park. Even without asking, I can tell Esme has had a hand in the design. The floors are covered in rich Persian rugs, and the walls are decorated in deep warm reds and mahoganies. It is masculine enough to accommodate Emmett, and warm enough to thaw Rosalie's frozen demeanor.

"Thank you," I sigh, collapsing down onto the bed. Emmett sits on an overstuffed chaise opposite me, the fading sunlight lighting up his striking features. "You didn't have to do this, you know. You could have just sent me back to Carlisle and Esme."

"Would you have gone?" he asks, genuinely curious.

I gnaw ineffectually at a fingernail, staring at the ceiling. "Probably not."

"You think that you're the only one who has been through this, but you're wrong. After my change, it's fair to say I had a bit of trouble with the rules." He smiles ruefully at the memory. "Edward had his hands full."

My eyebrows shoot up at the mention of his name, but Emmett is unapologetic.

"My brother is being a douche right now. You know it, and I know it. But there's no point in tiptoeing around it, and no point in you throwing yourself in front of the Volturi because of it. It would be a total fucking waste." I realize I've missed his straightforward manner.

"I like the digs," I manage to grit out through a clenched jaw. I want the subject changed. No one talks to me about Edward, I don't want them to start now.

Emmett looks around the room as if he's seeing it for the first time, and then shrugs. "Rosie likes the city. It's a pig of a place to live because it takes so long to get anywhere to hunt, but we come here every now and again. Whatever makes her happy."

I snort. I can't imagine anything making Rosalie Hale happy.

"You got her all wrong, Bella. When you've both calmed down a bit, she can explain it to you."

He ambles out of the room.

Rosalie stomps in and throws a towel at my head. "Wash. Several times. And then throw everything you are wearing down the garbage chute. There are new clothes in the closet from Alice." She's gone before I can even open my mouth to protest.

The shower is a revelation. I stand under it for what seems like an eternity, washing every ounce of this year from my body. I feel strung out, hollow. Mostly I feel like a failure, and yet some small part of me is so infinitely glad to be back with my family that nothing else matters. Not even Cruella de Hale.

Opening the closet, I discover Alice has been unusually restrained. I dress in a comfortable pair of jeans and a Jeter t-shirt and head downstairs. Rosalie and Emmett are sitting at the dining table. I guess that it's time for the family meeting. I try and head off some of the seemingly inevitable acrimony.

"I really am sorry," I say firmly to both of them, "and I'll apologize to Carlisle."

I realize then that Rosalie looks really weary, and a little bit unsure. The shadows beneath her eyes are a dark purple. She twists her engagement ring around and around on her finger. Emmett reaches out a hand to still her movements, and she smiles at him gratefully.

"Bella," she says to me finally, "did Edward ever tell you my story?"

I shake my head. "Only that Carlisle thought you might be..." I hesitate. The idea still makes me nauseous, even after all this time. "...a companion for Edward."

Emmett roars with laughter. Even Rosalie manages a small smile.

"Yes," she smirks, "Carlisle was a little deranged."

So we sit, the three of us, while Rosalie tells me of her life during the Great Depression, her family, and her desperate wish for a child of her own. She tells me about Royce King. I notice Emmett's face cloud, and his grip on her hand becomes tighter. Her voice stays steady, as she tells me of her last night, of Carlisle's act of salvation, and of her subsequent revenge.

"Bella, you think that I hate you, but you're wrong. I hated the idea of you in Forks. I thought Edward was taking an unforgivable risk, and jeopardizing the whole family's safety."

I nod slightly. I hadn't understood, before my change, just what insane odds Edward was running. His own willpower notwithstanding, even a papercut could have driven Jasper over the edge.

"I saw the way you looked at him. I knew that you wanted forever with him, and I knew you didn't have any idea what forever really meant."

I think about the way the last ten months have slipped past me without my really being aware of it. Christmas seems like yesterday. I have no idea what forever means anymore.

"I didn't have a choice about this life, Bella. If I could have stopped you becoming like us, God knows, I would have. And it wouldn't have been because I didn't like you, or because I didn't think you were right for Edward. It would have been because I didn't want this for you. For anyone."

I grasp Rosalie's other hand, and she looks up at me with wide eyes.

"But I would have chosen it, Rosalie," I surprise myself with my certainty, my vehemence. "I would have. Then ... now. Knowing everything that I do. I would have chosen this a hundred times over if it meant being with Edward." A dejected laugh escapes me. "It doesn't really matter now, though, does it?"

Rosalie looks conflicted, her eyes flickering from Emmett to me and back again. Emmett shakes his head a little, and gets to his feet. "C'mon, little B. You're about as hungry as I've seen a vamp. I'm taking you to the Poconos. BEARS!"

Rosalie gives my hand a squeeze, and whispers, "I'm genuinely glad you're okay, Bella."

We drive West, Rosalie handling her sleek new Audi R8 with ease. I feel unsettled, even with Emmett singing loudly and off-key in the front seat, as I try to assimilate this new version of Rosalie. She swings the car off the highway into a rest stop, and the three of us slip swiftly into the woods.

I realize how long I've disobeyed my thirst after felling three white-tailed deer in quick succession. Emmett grins widely, and offers me a high five. Rosalie gives him a withering smile and takes off into the night.

We hunt for hours. Eventually I sink to the soft ground and lean back against rocky outcrop. Emmett has run on ahead a mile or so, chasing one last black bear. Rosalie emerges from the trees to my right, wiping her hands on the backs of her jeans, and sinks to the dark soil alongside me. I've never seen her like this, her face flushed from the hunt, hair wild. There is a smear of dried blood across one high cheekbone, and a filthy streak of mud across the arm of her sweater. She looks a mess. She looks...almost human.

"Feel better?"

I nod as I try and tug my own errant mane back into some semblance of a ponytail. I feel sated, comfortable. "Are you sure about this? About me staying with you guys for a while? I can always go back to Chicago."

Rosalie re-laces her boot, plucking at at a clutch of tiny leaves that seem to have attached themselves to her sock.

"The others have had plenty of time to get to know you, Bella," she says, with a small smile. "It's our turn now."

Relief and gratitude flood over me. I realize that I want to stay. I want to get to know my fierce, complex older sister.

"Besides. Every girl has to live in New York City at some point in her life, and you've definitely been doing it wrong." She gets to her feet and tugs me up to join her. "C'mon. Let's go find that idiot husband of mine and go home."