AN: I have no excuses for the amount of time it took me to write 5000 words, other than I was just not happy with it. I re-wrote this chapter 4 times.

Thank you to both Melee03 and 6dlb5 for pre-reading multiple times. LOL.

Also thank you for everyone reading and reviewing, despite my lack of responding. :o( I do read every single review and appreciate them very much.

*If you read the original chapter 5 and remember it, the history is completely different. I've changed everything up.

~xoxoxoxo~

Chapter 5:

"I mean, I can't get pregnant. I'm sterile."

I stared at Bella, who let go of my chin so that she could swipe her hand beneath her eyes, smearing black across her cheeks.

"You can't. . . ?"

"No," she whispered.

I sat back and breathed out in relief. "Thank God."

Looking back up, I saw hurt. Or at least, I think I did. Bella was good at covering her emotions quickly.

"I'm sorry, baby, it's just. . ."

She waved me off. "It's okay, Edward. Let's talk about something else."

"Okay. How about you tell me about you."

"Tell you what?" She smiled.

"Who you are."

"Ahhh, but you know me," she purred, crawling across the couch and into my lap. Her knees straddled my legs and her breasts pressed against my chest.

"I know your body," I said, trailing my finger over her collarbone. "I don't know you."

"I'm not important," she whispered, closing her eyes.

I chuckled. "That's not what everyone keeps telling me."

"They don't know me either."

I pushed her hair back behind her shoulder.

"Tell me then."

"Edward," she breathed in protest.

"It's not a request, doll. You put me in a fucked up position with your father. I at least deserve to know what I'm putting my life on the line for."

"Fine," she acquiesced. "You're right. Where do you want me to begin?"

I thought about it for a second. She was unlike anyone or anything I had ever encountered. I wanted to know everything.

"How'd you end up here?"

"I was born here."

"Has your father always been in charge?"

"Mmmm," she hummed. "I guess I need to clear some things up. First of all, Charlie's not my biological father," she started.

"He's not?" I asked, surprised.

"Nope. When I was little, my mom used to tell me stories about my real dad. About how they were in love, but it was forbidden, so they ran away together and ended up here. She made it sound like a fairytale."

I leaned back against the cushions. I had a feeling I was in for a long story.

"As I got older, she told it for what it really was."

"And what was that?"

Bella shook her head. "A tragedy. My parents were really young when they met; kids, babies really. Their father's were partners in some big financial firm. The families spent every holiday together, vacationed together. Best friends. They thought it was cute when my mom and dad started holding hands. But. . .the company was one of the first to take a hit when the economy crashed. Blame was thrown in every direction and the families split apart."

"How old were your parents?"

"My mom was fourteen, my dad fifteen. They were devastated. Their parents forbid them to see each other, but they didn't listen. They had this stupid idea that if they got pregnant and had a baby, no one could keep them apart. They would have these secret rendezvous and it took them two years, but finally she conceived."

The sad look on Bella's face told me that the pregnancy was not exactly what her parents had hoped for.

"When my mom started showing, they tricked their parents into being at the same place at the same time so that they could announce the baby. A restaurant of all places." Bella rolled her eyes. "As if that would keep them from fighting. The cops were called within twenty minutes. Everyone was furious. There was more blame and screaming and name calling. The only thing they agreed on was that the pregnancy needed to end. My mom refused, but in the end, it didn't matter. She ended up losing the baby at eighteen weeks."

Bella's eyes glassed over with emotion. I thought she was going to start crying, but a moment later, her expression returned to being stoic.

"The maid found her on the floor of her bedroom completely unconscious and soaked in blood. They called an ambulance, but it was too late. The baby was gone. Her parents celebrated while she cried."

"She told you all this? When you were just a little kid?"

"No, not the details," she said quietly. "She wrote a lot. . . in journals. I've read them a few times."

I'd never thought to ask where her mother was now, but it was becoming clear that she wasn't around anymore.

"My mom was petrified that my dad wouldn't love her when he found out that she'd lost their baby. I think her parents thought the same thing, too. They believed. . . hoped that the miscarriage would solve everything, but they were wrong. My dad showed up one night and stole her away."

Bella flicked at her viper bites, hiding a smile.

"They ended up here, at the Hive."

She took a deep breath and continued. "Back then, it wasn't really a hive. There were only about a hundred people living here. It was. . . developed, I guess, by Nathan and Miranda Swan. He was an engineer, she was an architect. They were rich and eccentric and hated living out there." She waved her hand around in the air. "Too many people, too much crime, too dependent on technology. They hated everything. So, they used their resources, burrowed into the mountainside and moved in, bringing their son with them."

I narrowed my eyes. "Charlie?"

She nodded.

"Within a couple of years they had a following. People who wanted a change."

"Like a cult."

"Sort of, yeah, except it wasn't about religion. It was about organic living. They spent years expanding, digging, building, and stockpiling materials; doing everything they could to make the Hive self-sufficient. There are caverns upon caverns full of fabrics, seeds, and anything we might need to build, fix, create, and grow. They had no idea that the outside world would crumble so quickly; no idea that their home would be turned into a sanctuary, but that's what it became for so many."

"The outcasts?"

"Some of them." Bella nodded. "But like I said, some just wanted a new way of life; others were seeking asylum. My parents just wanted to be allowed to love each other. Nathan and Miranda didn't question them when they showed up. They welcomed them in and treated them kindly. They weren't concerned with their social status or wealth. They protected and hid them when the police came knocking, looking for the rich little girl who had been kidnapped by her violent and possessive ex-boyfriend. It was all fucking lies." Bella bristled. "This place became their home, these people . . . their family."

Bella was silent, lost in her own head before continuing. I found myself wishing I could read her mind.

"My mother had this. . . affect on people. Not like mine. At least, I don't think it was like mine. Everybody loved her. She was trained to be a nurse and midwife because she was kind, compassionate, and seemed to have a calming effect on her patients. She had the highest rate of successful live births and the lowest rate of postpartum deaths."

"Where did Charlie come in?" I asked.

Bella nodded, acknowledging my question.

"Charlie was two years younger than my mom, but he took an instant liking to her. She knew he had a crush on her, because he followed her around everywhere, but he was just a kid and she only had eyes for my dad. To her, he was just the spoiled son of the founders. He was everything that she hated about her old life, so she ignored him."

There was a slight breeze that blew through the room and Bella shivered. I pulled her closer, running my hands up and down her back.

"My parents continued trying to have another baby, but it wasn't easy. Every time they believed her to be pregnant, she'd start to bleed. It took them three years before they got pregnant with me. They were cautiously happy, but never allowed themselves to believe that everything would be okay. And it wasn't. As things started to deteriorate outside, more and more people flocked to the refuge that the Hive provided. Nathan and Miranda had to figure out how to accommodate so many people. They were always expanding and trying to develop a way to determine who to let in. There was a lot of drama and violence. Amongst the chaos, Charlie turned eighteen and started taking on an active role in development and selection. He became a sort of. . . head of security; a chief of police, I guess. He took care of the trouble makers."

Bella's posturing changed so slightly that I almost missed it. If I wasn't trained to pick up on everything, I wouldn't have even noticed. Her story was about to take a turn.

"I guess my father was one of them. When my mom was twenty-two weeks pregnant with me, my dad and Charlie got into some sort of fight. Nobody knows for sure what it was about, but there were rumors circulating that Charlie had decided to claim my mother for himself. My father was killed."

Bella swallowed and cleared her throat.

"Charlie has always sworn that it was an accident. He said that in the midst of him defending himself, he shoved my dad away. My dad tripped and hit his head against one of the jagged walls. Charlie said that when he went to help him up, he was already dead."

"Do you believe that?"

Bella shrugged. "I don't know. My mother didn't and she hated him for it. Charlie didn't give her a chance to grieve. He swore his life to her; promised to protect and take care of her. . . and me. Within a month, they were married."

"That doesn't make sense. If she was so in love with your father, why submit to Charlie?"

"In her eyes, it made perfect sense. She was afraid if she said no, she'd be kicked out. She was about to have a baby. She had no real education and nowhere to go. It's amazing what people will do when their desperate."

Bella wasn't looking at me, but her statement made me question if she knew more than she let on about who I was.

"Charlie knew that my mother didn't love him, but he believed that she would learn to love him, because he could give her back the status and power that she gave up to be with my father."

"I thought you said those things didn't exist here."

"Those things exist everywhere, Edward, whether people want them to or not. There's always someone bigger, someone stronger, someone more powerful. There is always a leader. Nathan and Miranda didn't care about those things, but even as a teenager, Charlie knew that he held a position of reverence. By the time he was eighteen, he was ready to take over; to take what he wanted. My mother was one of the things he wanted most, so he did what he thought he had to do to have her."

Bella started fidgeting, picking at her fingernails and then twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

"He didn't understand how deep her feelings for my father were. They were soul mates and not even death would destroy that."

"You believe in that shit?" I snorted.

Bella's gaze burned a hole right through me. "Yes, I do. Why shouldn't I?"

"Because look how it turned out for your parents," I snapped, immediately regretting it when her face fell. "Fuck."

She looked down again, tracing her finger over my chest.

"The rest of my mom's pregnancy was really difficult," she continued. "Both physically and emotionally. She was sick and couldn't gain weight. It nearly broke her. Her body just couldn't handle me. I was born at thirty-four weeks. She always said that I was the strongest preemie she'd ever seen."

I smiled a little. It didn't really surprise me. She was still tiny and yet she yielded such strength, such power.

"My mom said Charlie loved me from the moment I was born. I'm not sure that's actually true though."

"Why?"

"I think he despised me. He was never cruel, but he was never affectionate either. He merely put up with me, because I was part of her. The fact was, I wasn't his child. He was determined to have an heir. Preferably a male."

Bella rolled her eyes.

"The moment the doctors approved sexual activities after my birth, he began his quest. My mother never refused him, but. . . she never conceived. Charlie got more and more frustrated as the years passed. I remember a fight, when I was five. He blamed her; said that she had wasted her womb on me. I didn't know what he meant at the time, and when I asked my mom, she told me he was just upset because he wanted me to have a little brother or sister."

"Wasted her womb on you?" I scoffed. "What a fucking thing to say in front of a kid."

"He didn't know I was there," she shrugged. "And like I said, I didn't understand, so it never hurt my feelings."

I didn't even know what to say to her, so I didn't say anything. How could she even stand to look at that fucker?

"When I was eight, she finally got pregnant. Charlie was insanely happy. He doted on her, catered to her every want and need. Everything started out perfect. I remember her sitting on my bed with me, running her fingers through my hair and singing while I tried to feel the baby move."

Bella smiled sadly. "I was really excited for him. My mom was too, despite the fact that he was Charlie's."

"It was a boy?"

"Yeah. We still use quite a bit of technology. We tend to use it for entertainment purposes; music and stuff, but Charlie was really anxious that something would be wrong with the baby. They used an ultrasound machine to make sure he was growing properly and when they asked if they wanted to know the sex, they said yes. Everything Charlie wanted was within his grasp. He was powerful, respected, feared. After eight years, my mother was beginning to care for him in her own way. It was nothing like what she'd felt for my father, but their son was growing inside of her. A child they had conceived together, intentionally.

Bella closed her eyes and reopened them slowly.

"One night, they were being unusually affectionate with each other. He was kissing her and she was smiling at him. I was pretending to read on the floor, but I was watching them. They looked happy. I should have known."

"Known what?"

"That something would go wrong. She went into labor in the middle of the night. She was only twenty-five weeks. There was no way to stop it. The doctors and a midwife came to our quarters and delivered the baby. Charlie was freaking out; screaming at them to do something. My mother begged the midwife to help them, so once she thought my mother was stable, she left her."

"But she wasn't."

Bella shook her head, a tear slipping from the corner of her eye.

"I was sitting right there, holding her hand. I didn't know," Bella's voice cracked. "There was already so much blood. She told me she loved me. 'You will do great things, my sweet baby girl. Be strong'."

More tears slipped down my doll's cheeks. I reached up and wiped them away with my thumb.

"She died?"

"Hemorrhaged. Gone. . . so fast."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, the occasional sniffle slipping from Bella as she tried to regain her composure.

"So what happened. . . . after?" I finally asked.

"When Charlie came back in and found her, he went into this horrible rage. I just remember cowering in the corner while he destroyed everything. I prayed and prayed that he would stop. And suddenly. . . he did."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. He had a vase or something in his hand, raised above his head like he was going to throw it at me, but. . . he didn't. He just stared at me for a second and then set the vase down."

"Was it you?"

Bella nodded. "I think so. I didn't know it at the time, though. It wasn't until a few days later that I realized it was me."

"What happened a few days later?"

"The baby died," Bella murmured. "We were all there, the whole family and a few friends; mourning my mother. The doctor came to our quarters to tell us. He was just too early. We didn't have what we needed for him to survive."

Bella seemed to be holding back. I could feel her trembling, but her expression was flat.

"Charlie lost it. He attacked the doctor, beat him, blamed him. People were trying to pull him off, including Nathan. Miranda was crying and there was so much noise. It was just too much. I screamed at the top of my lungs and felt this wave leave me."

"Wave?"

"I don't know how else to describe it. It was this huge. . . pressure that shot through the room and everyone breathed it in. Everything just. . .stopped. Charlie knew it was me before I did. He made everyone leave. I was scared he was going to hurt me, but he just sat there studying me forever. He asked me how I did it, but I couldn't answer him, because I didn't know. After my mom and brother. . ." Bella paused. "Uh. . .after that, Charlie could barely function. She was his obsession for so long, he didn't know what to do without her. I was the only thing he had left of her. He spent all of his free time trying to figure out what I could do and how to cultivate it. He was fascinated. When I was ten, Nathan had a heart attack and died. Miranda only lasted a few months after that. I don't honestly know what she died of. She wasn't that old." Bella shrugged. "Her passing allowed Charlie to take over, though. He helped me learn to use my ability and when he needed it, he used it to his advantage. It was a game for him. I was his toy."

"You're still his toy," I growled.

Bella frowned. "I do what he asks."

"Why?"

"For the same reason my mother did. For the same reason that almost everyone here does. For the same reason you will. I have nowhere else to go."

I decided to change the subject back to what I wanted to know in the first place. My doll was treading on dangerous ground. I was nobody's puppet.

"So, he knew you could control emotions. When did he discover you could induce orgasms?"

"Ah, down to the meat," she teased, tugging at the trail of hair just below my navel.

"Careful," I warned in a low voice.

"Anyway," she said, rolling her eyes. "Where was I?"

"Orgasms." I smirked.

She pursed her lips. "Do you want me to tell you or not?"

I nodded, grinning.

"Fine then. Shut up!" She pressed her mouth against mine hard and then pulled back.

"When Charlie took over, he began making a lot of changes. He spent days, weeks even, looking over the vital statistics; births, deaths and such. He noticed that a large percentage of people were younger; breeding age, and yet the number of babies produced was low. He separated out the families and encouraged coupling and mating amongst the singles. Then he created the club and established new rules."

"What did you do?"

"I was ten. I went to school with the other kids," she laughed. "I learned about math and grammar, history."

"History? Of what?"

"Both ours and the outside's. We learned about the world and what was happening to them. The collapse of the financial world and the subsequent chaos and destruction of infrastructures was a huge part of our education." Bella paused. "So was sex education."

"Sex."

She nodded. "We learned about our bodies and the logistics of reproduction. And then they taught us about the decrease in conception rates as well as infant mortality. For us, that was just as important as learning to read. Maybe more so."

I opened my mouth, but Bella's fingers against my lips stopped me.

"I'm getting there," she assured. "Charlie waited almost two years before taking another lover. Or at least, before bringing one home. Sexuality was never hidden from me. Not when my mother was still alive and not after she died, but he gave me my own quarters so I could have a place to go when he was. . . . otherwise engaged. He said it was up to me, but I think he preferred for me to be away."

Bella's face broke out into a wide grin. "With me there, he felt like my mother was watching him. I accepted that he had to move on and for awhile, everything was fine. Until I hit puberty."

"I was twelve when I started to bleed. It wasn't a surprise. A lot of girls my age had already gone through it. I knew it was just part of life. What I didn't realize was the surge of hormones that came with it. There was a boy, Marcus. He was fourteen."

"You were twelve," I growled.

"It was exploration, Edward. If either one of us had thought it would go further, we wouldn't have been in Charlie's quarters. Marcus was my friend. We were goofing off, messing around on the lounge. I stole his book, he tried to get it back. We were laughing. It started off innocently enough, but then he touched me, under my skirt, but over my underwear. He knew right where to rub and it felt so good. I didn't mean to do it, but I couldn't help myself. I orgasmed really hard. My first. I wasn't even touching him, but Marcus' eyes rolled back in his head. He pulled away from me and started jerking and shaking and groaning. I thought he was having a seizure at first. I was actually kinda scared."

"When he calmed down, he stared at me like I was some sort of freak. Two minutes later, Charlie was there. He was pissed to say the least. Marcus' feet didn't even touch the ground on his way out the door."

"How did Charlie know?"

"He felt it." Bella's cheeks reddened a little. "It was embarrassing. No little girl wants to talk to her father about things like that no matter how open their relationship is, but I didn't have a choice. It wasn't something I could hide from, and I didn't have control over it. I'd wake up mid-orgasm. Eventually, Charlie sent me to my private quarters permanently. He couldn't handle it."

There was a sad sort of look in Bella's eyes that I couldn't interpret. She appeared almost regretful. When she noticed me studying her, she looked away and the emotion disappeared from her face.

"Life got interesting from that point on. Charlie kept close tabs on me. He wanted me to learn to control my sexual energy just like I did the others, but it wasn't as easy, because he didn't want to be anywhere near me when it happened. He also didn't want me to involve boys in my self exploration."

I gaped at her. I remembered the time my own mother caught me jacking off to a Playboy magazine. I was thirteen and completely. Fucking. Mortified. Bella continued.

"There was a spike in conceptions. Charlie noticed it, but it wasn't until I lost my virginity at fourteen that it became apparent that it was directly related to me."

"Fourteen?"

Bella shrugged. "I had no supervision. It wasn't something I planned, but it happened. Charlie was pissed at first. The boy, Michael, was a few years older and when Charlie found out it was him who had crossed the line, he tossed him out."

"You said at first. He got over it?"

"He was mad for awhile, but when the number of pregnancies jumped the next month, he realized that my activities were actually benefiting our little colony. He didn't necessarily encourage it, but he didn't discourage it either. The older and more experienced I got, the stronger I became. I learned to project it to others. It was like a drug for them. They craved it; they craved me. I am living, breathing ecstasy. Unfortunately, it also made me vulnerable. People didn't understand boundaries. Charlie had to find me a bodyguard, Emmett. He was eighteen at the time and was with me twenty-four seven. It was inevitable that he'd become my lover."

Motherfucker.

"But he couldn't handle me for very long. Men always think that there's no such thing as too much sex. I prove them wrong." Bella smirked. "I rarely take lovers anymore, Edward. I've had nine in total, including you, if you were wondering. Before I saw you in the club, I was determined to not take another."

"Ever?"

Bella swallowed. "I'm tired. I want it to stop. I want to be able to make love without everyone knowing. I don't want to be their queen. I've been working on controlling it, but you saw what happened. And of course," she smiled. "It appears that, with you, I have no self control at all."

"Maybe over time. . ."

"You will leave me, Edward," she interrupted. "Hopefully, before I fall in love with you."

I felt nauseous at her words. A gnawing, painful lump in my gut. I don't know if it was from the idea of leaving her, or the use of the word 'love'. I'd loved before, and lost. It wasn't worth it.

Luckily, I was saved from having to respond by a loud noise coming from the stairwell. Bella lowered her head and sighed.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked.

I frowned. "Go where?"

"I should have known Emmett wouldn't leave us alone too long. He doesn't trust you."

I snorted. Smart man. "He doesn't fucking know me."

Bella's lips twitched. She unfolded her legs and stood up, stretching her arms above her head. I watched the lean muscles beneath her skin contract.

When she noticed me appreciating her, she lowered her arms and walked over to me.

"Do you like?" she purred, dragging the back of her hand across my cheek.

I nodded. "You know I do."

"Do you want?"

I looked towards the door just as it slammed open to reveal her huge bodyguard, and ex-lover.

I snarled unexpectedly.

"I can make him go away."

"Yeah, right!" he laughed, strolling the rest of the way into the room and towards us.

I jumped up. "Get the fuck out!"

He stopped about two feet away. I pulled my jeans on and handed Bella my shirt. She just stood there.

"Put it on," I growled.

"Dude, she ain't got nothin' I haven't seen before." He scanned his eyes over my doll's backside. I saw them narrow and a flash of anger. "Except for these." He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around. I would have flipped the fuck out that he was touching her if it weren't for what was staring back at me.

"Wanna explain?"

Angry red scratches and scrapes marred the pale skin across her spine. It had to have been from where I took her against the wall.

"No, I don't."

Bella pushed him away and slipped my shirt over her head. "I'm fine."

Emmett glared at me.

"Aliiiice!" he yelled, without looking away.

The young girl with short black hair strolled into the room. She no longer had her huge gun, but what looked like a colt-45 was in a belt at her waist.

"Oh, my God! Why are you so loud?"

"Clothes," he demanded.

Alice slung a bag over her shoulder and onto the floor. Bella walked over to her. The two exchanged words I couldn't hear. Alice's eyes shifted to me and then back.

"I'll be right back," Bella announced, lifting the bag.

Once she was gone, Alice joined Emmett. It was almost like a stand-off.

"I think you're going to want to clean up as well," she suggested, her eyes focusing in on my stomach. There was still jizz everywhere. Dried jizz, but still jizz.

"Good idea," I agreed, taking a step towards where Bella had gone.

"I don't think so," Emmett said, blocking my path.

I considered if I could take him. I was already pissed at the fact that he'd been with my doll, but, on the other hand, he also protected her.

"Give her five minutes," Alice said softly. "Sometimes, she needs time alone."

I nodded. These people knew her better than I did and as much as I would have rather been with her, if her friend said she needed time, I'd give her that. Plus, Alice still had that gun. I was unarmed.

A few minutes later, Bella came out of the washroom. She was dressed in tight dark jeans that hung low on her hips. On the top she wore a sheer black shirt with a hot pink bra underneath. Her hair was pulled up, her make-up on.

"You hurt her, and there will be a long line of people waiting to see you suffer," Emmett said in a low threatening voice. "We know who you are and what you've done. I will give my life before I let you damage her."

"We all will," Alice added under her breath.

Bella was at my side seconds later. "Go. . . get cleaned up. Then I can show you around; introduce you to the rest of the family."

Oh. Fantastic.

~xoxoxoxo~

AN: If you're hanging in there with me. . . thank you! LOL.

To answer a concern that was raised a couple of times: Bella and Edward will not engage in any group sex. Can you REALLY see this Edward being okay with ANYONE else touching his doll?

If you have questions, I will do my absolute best to answer them. Some of them you are meant to have, but some I may have just not thought to answer.