Disclaimer: I do not own any of these recognizable characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Note: Hey guys! Well I'm staying ahead of posting schedule, just barely. I may have to drop back to once a week soon because between busy weeks, active kids, and other things that have been coming up, I just can't keep the momentum. I will do my best to drop off to no less than once a week! I hope you guys like this one.

Also, I posted a new oneshot on TWCSlibrary. It will only be posted there, so you must go there to check it out, which I hope you do. It was in response to the TWCS challenge The Sport of Love. They encouraged us to try writing outside of our usual fandom, so I decided to spread my wings by writing a Vampire Academy fic about Rose and Demitri at the Olympics. Hope you go give it a look-see!

Thanks as always to my beta AgoodWITCH for her beta work! I hope you enjoy this one. I have one more chapter already completed which I will post Wednesday, and then we'll just have to see how it goes from there.


United Front

I stayed in the hospital one more night before the doctors agreed to release me into the care of my in-laws. They took me back to Edward's house, settling me into bed before bringing me some lunch in bed. I was extremely grateful for the home cooked meal. Esme and Carlisle doted on me the rest of the afternoon as we all waited for everyone else to arrive. They had informed me that morning that everyone was upset and had every intention of making sure something like that never happened again.

Esme worked all afternoon to cook a big supper for us all to enjoy in the large dining room once the work day was over. I heard the door open and close and the sounds of conversations float up the stairwell to my room as I dressed cautiously before making my way to the staircase.

I was halfway down to the ground floor when Carlisle noticed and rushed up to help me the rest of the way down. I sighed in resigned frustration. If I thought I was treated so though I were made of glass before, that was nothing compared to the situation now.

We all settled at the table as everyone tried to make small talk, but I was tired of the superfluous discussions everyone seemed to insist on having with me. I needed to know what was going on. I was done with the stall tactics.

"Enough. It's time you guys tell me what's going on. First off, Marcus, what happened with the meeting."

He sighed taking his napkin from atop his plate and resting it upon his lap. "Nothing. The meeting was postponed because my father and uncle weren't able to push past our lawyers on the guidelines thing and without either the two of them or you there, we didn't have a quorum. The meeting has been reset for next Tuesday."

I smiled at him. "So they didn't get their way huh? I assume that's why I had my not so lovely little visitor?"

Marcus frowned, running his hand through his hair. "I am so sorry, Bella. James somehow got under the radar. If it's any consolation, he's been arrested and has rolled on my father and uncle. The three of them are all in cells down at the Cook County Jail pending a hearing."

I reached across to rest a hand on top of Marcus'. "It isn't your fault, Marcus. Nothing that they do is. You had no way of knowing, and even if he weren't my driver, that didn't mean that he still wouldn't have come. It's not as if this house is inconspicuous. I'm sure many people know it belongs to Edward."

He sighed with a shake of his head. "When I think about what might have happened, Bella. Edward would be furious with me for not taking better care of you."

I chuckled. "Marcus, Edward himself could not have prevented this. He will be furious, but I don't believe it will be with you."

Ready to move on to another topic, I turned to the rest of the table. "Does anybody know how Sue is doing?"

Carlisle nodded with a smile. "She is home and doing much better. She's chomping at the bit to get back here to you, but I've ordered her to rest for a week before she can come back. She's not happy at all. She has ordered Esme and I to stay and take proper care of you in her absence."

I chuckled, taking a drink of my water with a nod. "Sounds like Sue alright."

"Speaking of Sue," Carlisle said from the far end of the table. "She's made a suggestion that we all think you should take under advisement. Her daughter's boyfriend, Sam, has worked in the past as a security guard. He has some guy friends that have worked with him that she thinks we should look into hiring them to keep you safe. She says there are five of them, so they could rotate shifts and keep an eye on the place for you 24/7. Sam has been out of work for a while and could really use the money, and none of us like the idea of you and Sue being alone here anymore. What do you think?"

I swallowed hard past the lump in my throat. "Do you think they might try something else?"

Carlisle shook his head. "We really don't know, but we definitely don't want to risk either you or the baby on a hunch. At least this way we can all rest easy knowing you are safe and protected."

I sighed with a sad nod. I hated all this fuss being made over me, but I certainly didn't want to endanger the baby over my own pride. The rest of the dinner was more comfortable as we talked quietly while enjoying the delicious meal Esme made for us. I worried what Edward would think of my less than stellar cooking someday when he returned home and I was in charge of meals, like on weekends. I was definitely no Esme.

Once dinner was finished, everyone rushed about to clear the dishes while making me go sit with my feet up in the living room. Before I realized what was happening, I woke up to find my father-in-law carrying me up the stairs, his wife leading us quietly. The two of them settled me under the covers and bid me a good night's rest before shutting off the light and closing the door behind them. Within moments, I had drifted off into the peaceful darkness once more.

I'm not sure how long I had been asleep when the peaceful silence melted into a scene unfolding before me in my mind terrifying me to my very core as I watched the planes twist and twirl in the cloudy sky in front of the glass of the cockpit. The only thing that kept me from panicking completely was that I could feel Edward, like was there with me. No, more than that, like he was inside me, or I was inside him…I'm not sure which.

I couldn't see him, but I could hear him as one of the hands on the stick in front of him lifted to his neck as he spoke before he let out a curse. The other hand still on the stick pulled back sharply causing us to go straight up toward the sun before it was pushed back forward and to one side. The world twirled on its axis through the front glass as we did a roll before pulling out and turning sharply left. I heard a whizzing sound followed by a loud metallic 'tink' that resonated through the cockpit around me.

Edward swore again, jamming the stick forward to dive down. Below I could see a silver looking plane chasing one that I recognized as American. I held my breath as the hand on the stick shifted to press a button that sent bullets raining from the front of the plane down on the cross section of the tail of the plane below us. The plane instantly began smoking black plumes as the plane began to fall at an alarming rate. The tail broke away just as the hand on the stick pulled up and made a sharp turn.

I noticed that the body tensed as Edward's voice got louder and more angry. "Oh no you don't, you Kraut mother fucker. You are not keeping me from meeting my fucking kid!"

My stomach grew nauseous as we did another series of spins and turns as I once again heard the bullets whizzing past us, occasionally hitting the plane's shell with a loud hollow bang. His breath started to get more ragged as we continued to spin and twirl in the sky, desperately trying to find an advantage over the pursuer behind us.

I could feel the tears pouring down my face as I began to panic for Edward. He was in such danger…so much more danger than I was. "Please, baby, please stay safe. I love you, baby. Fly your heart out." I choked out as my vision began to grow dizzy from the constant motion.

"Oh God, Bella. I'm doing my best, baby. I love you, baby. SON Of A BITCH!" He yelled out as he pulled the stick hard before doing a hard left and coming directly back down. Somehow, he had gotten the advantage and quickly pulled the trigger taking out the plane that had been in pursuit.

He was breathing hard into the cockpit as his hand rose to his neck again. "Victor Tango, do you read me?"

A crackling voice came across the speaker as I noticed a shudder in the plane. Edward cursed before pushing at his neck again.

"This is Alpha Six, all clear in sector seven, but I think I've been hit."

A new cracking voice spoke up. "Alpha Six, this is Alpha nine. I have eyes on you and it looks like you've lost a quarter of your rear stabilizer. You should be able to limp in, but you're going to have to take it easy. I'll take your six while Alpha Seven takes your wing."

Edward sighed, his hand reaching up to caress a small square on the control panel I hadn't noticed yet…one of the last pictures of me, my nearly six month stomach displayed in one of Alice's bulky sailor dresses.

"Copy Alpha Nine. Thanks. That was a close one."

"Copy that Alpha Six. We've got your back, you lead the way."

The plane continued to shudder as it headed back, eventually directing itself toward a tiny dot on the water's surface. As it grew closer, I realized it was the carrier. I gasped, feeling the panic rise in my chest. How on earth did they do this day in and day out…and not only that, how was Edward going to do that with an injured plane.

I could feel his tension as we came closer and closer, the shudder becoming worse and worse the slower that we flew in on our approach. Edward was grasping the stick hard in this hands, fighting the rumbling jerks.

"Come on, damn it. I just have to land this sucker and then it'll be okay. Come on…COME ON!"

A second later there was a screeching sound followed by the plane being jerked into an abrupt stop. Edward let go of the stick, his hand trembling noticeably as he reached out to pull my picture from the place where it was wedged into the edge of a gauge of some sort. He held it in front of him for a long time, stroking my face and my stomach.

"Another day home safe, my love. Just a few hundred more to go."

A second later his cockpit was yanked open and he took the hand of Jasper who assisted him to stand and exit the plane.

He took a deep breath. "Thanks , man. Thanks for the escort home."

Jasper smiled putting a hand around his shoulder. "Thanks for shooting that kraut off my six. That guy was stuck to me like glue. I just knew I was done for. And besides, I've gotta get Papa Bear back to Mama and the cub or my Alice would string me up by my toes."

They both laughed as they walked away, but Edward turned back to look just as they reached the edge of the prep area. I gasped as I saw the damage to his plane. The fact that he made it back at all was amazing to me. I felt the tears flowing again, as my heart ached.

Emmett walked up just about then with a goofy smile. "Cutting it close, Ed, but I've seen you come back with worse. Glad you made it back."

Edward sighed, running his hand through his hair as he gripped my picture tightly in his other, looking down at it. "Me too, me too."

The three men walked inside leaving me to stand on the deck in abject horror as I stared at the plane. He had come back with worse? Good Lord, how often did he barely scrape by with his life out here? I watched as another plane came in as slowly as the laws of physics allowed before touching down on the runway and being pulled to a stop by the pulley system in place, as my heart raced in my chest.

I woke up to a pitch black room. I was laying on my side clutching the other pillow which was now completely soaked with my tears. I fumbled it he dark for the bedside lamp, pushing the button and yanking my favorite picture of Edward off the night stand to stare down at his image. I couldn't help but wonder how much of my dream was real. Was it really that dangerous? Of course, I knew the answer was yes. All I had to do was look at all the friends Edward already lost to know it was that dangerous.

My fingers traced his beautiful features trapped behind the glass as I thought about my Edward. I spent the next hour crying for him between my numerous prayers for his safety. I did eventually lay back down, leaving the light on the night stand on as I cuddled up with the picture of my husband, finally falling asleep while staring into his beautiful smiling eyes.

The next morning, I woke up with a pounding headache from all the tears I had shed the night before. I cleaned up quickly, sliding into one of my tent like maternity dresses, before going downstairs to find everyone sitting around the table. When they looked up they all froze with looks of concern on their faces. I must have looked much worse than I thought.

I sighed, grabbing a glass of milk from the fridge before sitting down next to Esme and pulling two pancakes from the stack on the middle of the table. I looked up to see every eye on me. I set down my fork with a sigh.

"Relax. I just had a rough night. Bad dreams."

"About James?" Esme asked as she rested a hand on my shoulder before sliding two pieces of bacon onto my plate.

I shook my head taking another long drink. "No, I dreamed about Edward. It was really realistic and extremely scary."

Everyone looked at me waiting for me to continue, so I sighed and told them about the dream of being in the middle of the dogfight with them. They all listened with sympathetic nods and expressions full of interest. When I was done, I turned to Carlisle. "Is that really what it's like up there?"

Carlisle sighed, running his hand through his hair in a very Edward like fashion. "I wouldn't know from firsthand experience, Bella, but that sounds very much like what I have heard other pilots tell. I'm sorry you had such an intense dream, Bella. But it was only that…just a dream…a psychological manifestation of your fears exacerbated by your own recent attack. I wouldn't fret about it too much, sweetheart."

I sighed with a nod as I poured a small bit of syrup on the hotcakes and began to cut them into bite sized pieces, humming as I took my first bite. We all ate breakfast in relative silence. I could tell that everyone was reluctant to leave to go to work. Carlisle really needed to return to his shift, and the girls were needed back at the office, but none of them wanted to leave Esme and me alone.

The slowly worked their way toward the door, finding excuses to stall until a loud knock came at the door. They all looked apprehensively at it before Carlisle walked over to answer. He opened the door to reveal a smiling Sue standing there with a group of four rather large boys standing behind her. The group was invited in as Sue rushed to hug me and apologize.

I tried to tell her that there was nothing to apologize for, but she couldn't let it go. Finally, she introduced her crew of large guys to the rest of us. I chuckled when I realized she had forced her way in early and brought reinforcements. She suggested we settle into the living room as she introduced them one by one.

Sam, her daughter's fiancé was the largest and most determined looking one of the group. I could tell he was really close with Sue and felt protective of her. It made him very angry that anyone had hurt her. The rest of the group was then introduced by Sam. I smiled at the young boys, not much more than teenagers stepped forward one by one to shake my hand. Along with Sam, Jake, Quil, Embry, and Brady would be my security service for as long as was deemed necessary.

They all seemed like very nice young men. They were all very respectful and polite, bending over backwards to take care of me. I rolled my eyes internally as I realized I was now going to have five more people around treating me as if I was made of fragile spun glass. Once the introductions were complete, we all agreed to hire them, with a generous salary.

Once the security was in place, Rose, Alice and Carlisle disappeared into the Chicago afternoon, while Sue settled in next to me with a bright smile. She stayed the rest of the day, helping Esme despite her protests. My two mother figures took care of me while my new massive body guard watched on with an amused expression on his face from across the room. I offered him the option to read any of the books from the library to pass the time, knowing that his job had to be incredibly boring, and telling him to help himself to the radio.

The remainder of the day bled into a busy night full of dinner and laughing, all of us feeling just a bit more relaxed knowing that not only were James and the Volturi brothers were in jail, but we also had a body guard to help keep everyone safe.

Just before bed, Brady came to replace Sam. I set him up on the couch since all of the guest bedrooms were currently taken and slept better than I had the night before. I had another dream, but it was not nearly as scary. Instead, it was incredibly calming. I felt warmth flood my soul as I sat next to Edward on a part of the deck near the back of the ship as he wrote on a piece of paper. I smiled knowing it was to me. The thing that got to me the most though was the tender loving look on his face. Even when I wasn't there with him, he still loved me, just as I loved him. We both had to stay safe, and if we could accomplish that, then we would be together again soon.