This part is in Bella's POV. I hope that you all appreciate the wait was not as long this time, and really enjoy this chapter. I'm really nervous about trying to write as Bella, hope it works out.

As always, I love you all :)

Bella's story

Chapter seven

Denial

I shivered as he touched my face. I knew there was a good chance this was the last time he would, and I couldn't help thinking about that. It was all her fault...

As we drove Anne back to her coven, I couldn't help thinking about what she was thinking. Most of the time when I was around her she shared her thoughts with me, but this time she planned what she was going to say. I didn't get any extra information, and it worried me. We were pretty good friends now, or that's what I had thought. She had just decided to leave now. I knew that it was about Edward, and I felt so much guilt for it. I had been sharper than I should have been about the matter, and she wasn't used to that. I tried to be as kind as I could, but I couldn't help it. I sighed as she asked me more questions.

What the HELL happened there?! She almost yelled at me, and I decided to take the gentle approach to calm her down.

"You crossed the treaty line, Anne. We have a treaty. We forgot to tell you about that, since we break it most of the time." I told her softly. I thought about all those times we had worked out with Sam or Jake about breaking the treaty for emergencies, but I didn't think Jake would forgive me for this. He wouldn't let it go anytime soon. I sighed silently at facing that.

You forgot to tell me about it?! Forgot?! She bellowed at me, so loud it hurt my head again. I hated it when she did this. I steadied myself, and tried to keep myself calm.

"You were so locked up when you came with us; we didn't want to scare you more. We thought as long as you were with us, you would be safe. It turns out none of us thought to tell you when you left. We are truly sorry." I said quietly. She glared darkly at me. I felt a little nervous. I wished Edward was here, but it was better for him not to be. I knew how he tortured himself for hurting her, and I knew about this sort of thing. I would understand whatever choice he made. And it looked like he was just going to stay away before it got any worse. That was wise. I wish that had happened to me and Jake. He seemed very angry on the phone. I hope they hadn't hurt her; I knew that she wouldn't say even if they had.

"I just got almost mashed to pieces by some werewolves, and you're saying sorry?!" She screamed at me again. I sighed.

"Yes. I know it doesn't make a difference, but we're taking you home safely. We didn't mean for it to come to this. William almost had a heart attack when he heard what happened. That's not the easiest thing to do to a vampire." I smiled at her. "We wanted to give you a gift for the future. Whatever happens, we'll be there." I said gently, handing her the box we had all worked for, which inside contained a diamond bracelet with the word Cullens on it. Just so she wouldn't forget us, and she knew who to turn to in a time of need. She looked at it for a long time, probably deciding whether to throw it out of the window or to open it. I smiled encouragingly.

"Which way do we go from here, Anne? Right or left?" Emmett asked after a while.

"Right, then keep going until you find a row of lilies and then turn right again." She said, softly for the first time since we got in the car. She opened the box and she gasped. As she examined the bracelet, I saw an expression of sadness cross over her face. What was she thinking? I knew how Edward felt now. It was frustrating.

"It matches your eyes, Alice told us." I smiled at her humorously, trying to lighten the atmosphere. I could have used a little help from Emmett, but he remained silent. She was silent for a long time, admiring it. Then she looked at me, and hugged me fiercely.

"Thank you." She said weakly, and I rubbed her back. This was hard for her, I knew it.

"You're very welcome. Take care of yourself for me, Anne. We won't hesitate to help you when you need it. Good luck." I told her, smiling. I hugged her tightly, and then opened the car door. I watched her get out, and stare at the world around her. Then she gasped as she realised where she was. I grabbed her bags, and gave them to her. It was all silent, Emmett waiting for her to go. She gave me one last hug, and then ran to her shelter. She told me one last thing.

Thank you. Thank you for understanding, thank you for supporting me. I love you all.

I sighed again, and climbed in the car next to Emmett. Now, more softly, I heard my own voice in my head. Watch your back. I will get you... I frowned. I wasn't thinking about self-preservation. Emmett interrupted my confusion.

"Well, she was a handful." Emmett said, chuckling. Now he decides to lighten up... rotten timing.

"Yes, but it was worth it. I just wish we could help her more." I sighed, and it felt like my whole life sighed with me.

"You did all you could. Wrestling match when we get back; best of ten?" He grinned at me. He still loved the fact that I was weaker now; probably seeing what I was willing to bet. I rolled my eyes.

"No thanks, I'll pass just this once." I said sarcastically as he grinned at me mischievously.

"I'm sure Edward won't mind just one match." He said, laughing.

"Who said I wanted to see Edward?" I said curtly, raising an eyebrow.

"You practically yelled it at me." He chuckled. I glared at him, and he didn't say anything else. When the car stopped, I opened the door and ran into the house.

"Told you so, I don't need to read your mind to hear what you're thinking." He laughed as I checked to see if Edward was there.

"You know, Em, told you so has a brother. He's called shut the hell up."I snapped, looking at Edward. I saw him holding Renesmee's hand, smiling at her. He looked up when I walked towards him.

"Welcome back, love." He said, and hugged me. I nestled into his chest, exhaling with content. Renesmee tugged at my arm.

"Momma," She complained, reaching up waiting for me to pick her up. She was the average height of a six year old at age two, and had the intelligence of a teenager. We were both proud of our daughter, but feared for her safety. The first thing Anne had suspected about Renesmee was that she was an immortal child. I sighed as I cradled her in my arms. I inhaled deeply – his pleasure seemed to be radiating from his skin.

"Let's take her home." He suggested, taking my hand. I looked outside, and it was darkening. I agreed, wanting to distract myself.

"Okay." My voice sounded weak and had a little edge to it, but he didn't notice. As we settled Nessie down to sleep, I thought over what Anne had said, and what I had thought as I walked away from her. Maybe I was becoming paranoid, my imagination out of control. I didn't have time to think about that while Edward murmured to himself as we settled down in our bed, trying to sort his thoughts out. I confirmed to myself that this would be another sleepless night of comforting, and put my desire to the back of my mind – I was sure Edward wanted that least right now.

It was worse the next day, when the hunger and concern showed plain on my face. "What's wrong, love? You've been acting like this since..." Edward trailed off, guessing what was wrong. I didn't want him to jump to conclusions.

"Just sad she left so early when we could have helped her. She was so upset..." I was silenced when he kissed me. He was either trying to distract me, or telling me I was being silly and that I should stop worrying. I kissed him back, and then pulled away. Renesmee complained when I gripped her too tightly, trying to control myself. It was even harder when I heard his voice, rough velvet, silence her.

"Momma, put me down. You're hugging me too tight." She squirmed.

"Do you want anything, Nessie?" He asked. He took deep breaths to control his breathing, and closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were already returned to a butterscotch colour. It had seemed like years before my eyes even changed a tiny bit of colour from that horrifying red, but now mine were like his.

"No thank you, Daddy." She replied, and skipped away to find Rosalie. As soon as she let me go, Edward pulled me closer, whispering in my ear.

"We did all we could. We can't save everyone. One of them is actually still here relying on us. We have to concentrate on him now." He was trying to keep the conversation going, but when he kissed me the hunger was so intense I didn't reply. When Alice bounced in and complained that her clothes would be wasted, probably trying to get me to take them, Edward completely ignored her.

"Bella, will you take the clothes I so carefully arranged, for sake of my sanity?" She asked sharply, tugging on my arm. Edward stared at her coldly.

"Go away, Alice." He growled, and kissed me before I could say anything more. She snorted and whipped me away, dragging me to her room. On the floor were two suitcases full of silk clothes. I took deep breaths to keep myself from running back, but I didn't have to bother. Before I could even take a breath, Alice was keeping me from Edward, and Edward was trying to snatch me back. I frowned. I hated being fought over like a doll.

"Alice, don't make me hurt you." He growled menacingly.

"Don't I get a say in this?" I said in a quiet singing voice. Alice glared at me, and Edward's face softened at my voice, though his eyes were still charcoal black.

"Of course, love." He said, stepping towards me. I dealt with this nearly every day. Tossed back and forth like a doll, Edward wanting me all the time, and when I was otherwise busy he defended me, desire and need controlling his actions and thoughts.

"Alice, take the clothes over to our house later. Let me go, please." I said, afraid to make her angry. She grimaced and growled, not at me, but at Edward.

"One of these days, she's going to want a life, and when she does –" She started.

"Don't start that again, Alice. Edward is my life. Thank you very much for interrupting it." I muttered, and Alice turned to shut the suitcases. As soon as she let me go, Edward grabbed me. I was only too willing to let him carry me to our house. I had spent the whole of last night trying to calm Edward down because he was in a state over Anne, and he deeply regretted that now. We deeply regretted that now. Nevertheless, at least Alice didn't make me try anything on. She would be disappointed if we had torn her precious new clothes to pieces in less than five minutes. I spent half a second to look at which clothes I was wearing, just in case, but I found it very hard to look away from Edward's face. He saw my torn expression, and become worried. Like usual.

"What's wrong?" he whispered, stroking my cheek.

"Wondering what clothes I am wearing now. I can't look away from you." I admitted, kissing him again. This silenced him, and I pulled away to let him speak.

"Does it really matter?" He asked, perplexed.

"Um, what would Alice do if I destroyed one of her favourite outfits?" I whispered, grinning. He rolled his eyes.

"Nothing; I wouldn't let her. You know better than that." He said, kissing me again. But I hated to think of what Alice would look like, making me guilty.

"Would it hurt you so much if we decided to take an extra second apart?" I asked, laughing. I still couldn't get used to my perfect singing voice, like I was stuck on a record. He sat up, and looked at me carefully. Probably thinking I was distracting him.

"Yes, it would." The corners of his mouth turned down, and I worried. If it wasn't so heartbreaking at the time, it would have been funny. Would it really matter if it was one of Alice's favourites after all? "I can't believe I spent the last few nights apart from you just wallowing in my own self pity, when –"

I didn't let him finish. He was blaming himself, just like always. I hated to see him like this, when I knew it wasn't his fault that Anne was in trouble. He pulled away after a few minutes, and now I knew how he felt when Alice ripped me from him. It felt like letting a starved child eat only half a slice of bread, and then taunting it with the rest. It wasn't the best explanation, but it felt like that.

"I'm sorry, Bella love," He said grimly. I frowned at him. I thought he was past all of this. Anne was gone, so he had nothing more to worry about.

"Listen, Edward, you can't keep going on like this. It's completely and utterly not your fault. You can't keep blaming yourself, and if anyone get's the blame, it's m –" He was glaring at me, and I couldn't say any more because my lips were suddenly very busy. I knew this conversation would not be left half-finished, but I was certain to keep it away as long as I could.