AN: So this one is super long, but you will see why I didn't want to split it.

"I understand Aro," I said, still waiting for his response. For the moment he was simply staring at me. He seemed hesitant to speak, as though he himself was unsure of what to say. His thoughts were not much help either. He simply kept replaying my thoughts and memories. Her face, the touch of her skin…over and over in his mind. And then my family, my memories of them, my need to return to them now that I had finally seen them. It was true. Now that they were here I realized how fiercely I loved and missed them.

If Aro would let me, I would return with them to wherever they had come from. But more importantly, I wanted to take Bella with me.

"She has caught you, has she not Edward?" Aro asked. I nodded, laughing inwardly at the phrasing. It was a strange way to put it, but it was true. She had caught me. I remembered the feeling of powerlessness when she smiled at me. The ease with which she overpowered my judgment or decisions. Because I couldn't bring myself to stop her. I was weak. But I loved the weakness, relishing my helplessness.

"I wish there was an easy solution to arrive at Edward. But unfortunately, simple answers seem to elude us here. But let me pause for a moment. Do I also understand that you wish to return to your family? You wish to leave Volterra and rejoin them?" he asked. I nodded again. I heard the excitement in the thoughts of my father and siblings. But I hesitated in my happiness. I did not like where this was going.

"I hate to make this difficult for you. Bella is human, an interesting human as we have discovered, but as she knows our secrets, she cannot simply be allowed to leave. She must remain in Volterra. You, however, are free to go whenever your family leaves. You have done us great service, I see no reason why you should not get the respect returned that you have shown."

I could go home. I could be with my family. But I couldn't be with Bella. I swallowed hard, and asked one of the hardest questions in all the years of my life.

"And if I stay?"

"You may remain with this Bella. If you wish not to change her she may stay human. But she cannot leave here unchanged."

"So if I changed her―"

"Edward you misunderstand me. Bella is valuable, as both a human and a vampire. I think we would find it hard to simply let her go."

They had just asked me to make the hardest decision possible. Be with my family—my parents and siblings that I had missed so tremendously for years on end—or be with Bella, the girl who managed to capture each and every part of me in such a short amount of time. How could they expect me to choose between them? Carlisle turned and looked at me. His face was marred with concern.

Ask for time Edward. We can figure something out.

"Aro I need some time to think this over."

"Of course Edward. Take as much time as you need," he said. Then he turned from me, leaving me and my family to go. His thoughts still centered on Bella. He couldn't believe her, what she was, what she did to me. In his defense, I couldn't really either. It was unexplainable. And wonderful. And torturous. And wrong, in such an astonishing way.

I walked out of the hall, already feeling a fierce dichotomy pulling me apart. My family or Bella. Having to pick one was like asking someone to choose losing one of their senses—how are they supposed to decide?

We went back upstairs in silence. One of the underlings followed us there. He was showing each of my family member's their chambers for the remainder of their stay. Carlisle went to retrieve Esme as I stood in the hall, simply trying to get a grip. My family would be devastated if I chose to remain behind again. I wanted so badly to see them, to spend time with them like we had.

Was one girl really more important than my family?

I thought about it. I thought about her. She had made me feel something I never expected to feel again—human. She had touched parts of me I didn't even know still lived. It was so much more than simply the burn of her flesh or the smell that radiated from her. I wanted to stay with her, to explore the other lost depths of myself through her. I wanted to know what it would be like to spend time with her like we had this afternoon.

Esme stepped into the hall, smiling.

She is quite charming Edward. She didn't want to sleep for a while. We had a delightful conversation.

The memory if this conversation went through her mind and thusly into mine. Bella had told Esme some of her past, something she had been reluctant to share with me.

Her parents had gotten a divorce when she was small. She had lived with her mother for years after until she remarried. Bella, being the self-sacrificing woman I was beginning to realize she was, had sent herself away to live with her father. She didn't want her mother to be unhappy.

Shortly after arriving in a tiny little town called Forks she had met many people. The first suitor to come calling on her was a boy named Mike that she had admittedly dated for a month and a half. But that was all she could do. He cared for her far more than she cared for him and she was not willing to pretend to feel something she didn't. There were plenty of others that asked her out, tried to get her to date them or sleep with them in some cases but she didn't. In her words "it just wasn't there."

So she had graduated high school this past June, ready to go to college and enjoy adult life. But on her trip to Italy she had been taken. And now she was stuck here. She was trapped in this in-between. If I stayed she could remain human, but she would have to grow old here, never seeing the world or living the life she deserved. Or I could change her into the creature I was. But then she would be damned for the rest of eternity. Either way she was losing. It didn't seem as if either of us were going to get our happy ending.

She was scared stiff of what was going to happen to her. She remembered the look on my face when I told her the change would be painful but she would do it. The most beautiful martyr in the world was sleeping just through the door ahead of me. I sighed, gaining composure and control. As Carlisle walked down the hall, thinking a promise to me about talking later, I went into the room I had occupied for years.

The soft sounds of her breathing lulled me into a calm. I watched as she sighed in her sleep. I walked to edge of my bed, the one that had never been used before now (regardless of what ever lusty thoughts went through anyone's mind) and just stood next to it. I wanted to touch her, wanted to feel the softness of her skin beneath my fingers again. But I didn't want to disturb her sleep.

Before I could move away from her she twitched. Her eyes clenched shut and then opened, blinking rapidly. It was dark in the room, but there was enough light she could see me. She smiled, still tired. I think she meant to say hi, but all that came out was a yawn. She tried to sit up but I quickly pushed her back down.

"Sleep Bella, you're tired."

She paused for a moment and then lay all the way back down without a fight.

"You promised," she said, as though reminding me of something. I thought for a moment. Then I remembered. She had asked for a kiss before I left.

I leaned down, happy to oblige her. I took a minute to gauge my control. The scent in the air was strong and appealing, but not insurmountably so. I brushed my lips against hers, gently giving her what she wanted. She remained perfectly still, behaving herself as she promised she would. I sat up again, sighing.

"Sleep," I repeated. "I'll be here if you need me." I got up and she watched me go, her eyes shining in the dark. But then she settled back down, lying on her side. I thought of the vision Alice had of her sleeping content in my arms. I wondered if I could do that now. But as I worked up the courage to ask her I realized she was already asleep. So I let her go, hoping I would have another night in which to offer to hold her.

The night hours passed quickly. I simply watched her. I needed nothing more than to simply see her before me. The murmurs in her sleep her wholly unintelligible tonight. Nothing she said was comprehensible, which was unfortunate. The only window I had into her heart and mind was through this unusual quirk. Hearing her say my name in her dreams might have been what pushed me over the edge. She was beautiful, and she smelled wonderful. But her saying that was what attracted my attention to her with such force. She had no idea what her involuntary actions had done. What fate was this that had entwined us?

When she woke up the sun had risen. I had changed into different clothes, careful to change in the bathroom in case she woke up at an inopportune moment. I remembered the way she stared, her eyes roaming over my exposed skin the day before. The thought made me self-conscious and giddy at the same time.

Giddy. Was I really? I had to admit that I was.

When she sat up she looked around, searching for something. When she found me sitting in a chair she smiled.

"Morning," she whispered, her voice warm with sleep. I returned the smile, watching her stretch and then collapse happily back onto the bed. She sighed. I was at her bedside with such speed that she gasped when she saw me there so suddenly. But then she laughed and tugged me down to sit with her. When I was sitting she tugged on me again. She wanted me to lie down with her. There was no indecision in me at this point. It was one choice that I knew clearly what I wanted.

When I lay down beside her I was almost afraid. She had admitted that she hadn't dated much in high school, but her month and a half of a relationship was more than I ever had. I didn't really know what I was doing here.

But I was surprised how instinctual my reactions were. As soon as I was next to her my body reacted on its own. I reached out to hold her close, pulling her into my arms without knowing I was doing it. She rested her head against my chest, breathing in deeply.

"Bella?"

"Yes Edward?"

"There are some things we need to talk about. Obviously I went and saw Aro last night."

I paused here, not sure exactly how to continue. But in the end I pushed through the uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. I explained to her the ultimatum I was given, the impossible choice. When I finished explaining she propped herself up on one elbow, staring straight into my eyes.

"Go," she said quietly. I was shocked. Had she really just told me to leave her side? I remembered last night when I thought of her as a beautiful martyr. I didn't even know how right I was.

"Bella I―"

"They are your family Edward. I'm just a girl," she murmured. I shook my head.

"No, you aren't." I leaned into her, pressing my lips to her forehead. The warmth of her skin under my lips never ceased to amaze me.

"Yes, I am. I don't even understand what it is that you find so appealing about me in the first place," she confessed. I sighed. I was going to have to explain it to her.

"Besides the fact that your blood is incredibly tempting, you have no idea how…fascinating you are to me. How charming, beautiful."

I couldn't believe the words had actually come out of my mouth. Was I really saying this? Obviously I had. Her eyes widened, shock and disbelief crossed her face.

"Compared to you?" she asked, astounded.

"I am nothing in comparison. You are an angel. And I am…so much more―"

"Wonderful? Perfect? Stunning?"

"Well no, I was going for horrible, loathsome, and disgusting."

She sat up, her face almost indignant.

"Don't you dare say such things again," she commanded. I sat with her, feeling the loss of her in my arms already driving an ache in my body. She stared deeply at me, taking in my face as though trying to memorize it.

"I hope I will remember your face when you're gone," she whispered, her voice small. Her eyes had gone sad, displaying the emotion I could not hear in her mind.

"Bella," I began again. But she shushed me, her fingers over my lips.

"You can't stay here Edward. I wont let you. You miss them, I could tell when you were telling me about them, and it was even more obvious when they showed up yesterday. You love them. So go with them, be with people you love."

"I am." I hadn't meant to say that. My mouth had betrayed me, saying words without my consent. This time when she blushed it reached all the way down her perfect neck. The tinge spread over her whole face, the charming flush only making her more attractive. She gaped at me, trying to make words but finding none. I wanted to say something to rectify the situation but I was just as speechless. I didn't want her to hear it like that. I wanted to wait until it seemed a little less crazy to admit that I was in love with her, completely and inarguably.

"Oh Edward," she breathed. This was the part where she let me down easy. Where she told me to go with my family, to leave because I didn't belong with her. And how could I? She was a goddess and I was nothing. She was so…magnificent.

"Its okay Bella, you don't have to say it," I said quietly, rising from the bed. I didn't want to hear it. I was glad for the moment—the first and only moment—that I couldn't hear her thoughts. When we assumed someone couldn't hear us we were always far more cruel. I went to the window, feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. I closed my eyes, pulling in the heat. I heard Bella rise and come to stand next to me. Even with my eyes closed I knew when she was reaching out to me. I didn't open my eyes.

Her fingers touched the underside of my chin, tilting my face toward hers. Her lips mimicked what mine had done so recently, touching my forehead gently. I was such a fool. Of course she wouldn't want me. I was terrible, a monster. I could kill her, at times I wanted to kill her, and she knew it. She knew how hard it was for me to be around her all the time, and yet I was risking it. Risking her. It was unacceptable, unforgivable.

"Edward," she said again, her voice a quiet whisper. I opened my eyes then, staring into her face.

"What do you mean?"

"I…I am in love…with you. And it's so wrong and I know I shouldn't but I just cant―"

Her lips cut off my words, covering mine. I gave in to her kiss, afraid it was the last time something so miraculous would happen. I made sure to stay behind the lines of my passion, never letting it control me. I longed to let go and release it, but that was unsafe and unwarranted.

I was the one to pull away, breaking the kiss I so badly wanted to continue. Bella sighed.

"Why did you walk away from me?" she asked. I looked at her, noting her perplexed expression.

"I told you I loved you and you looked so…confused. It is okay; you don't need to explain yourself to me. I just needed to take a moment."

"I don't understand. You walked away because…I looked confused? Because I took a moment too long to answer you? Or because you didn't mean to say it?"

"Well all three really."

I noticed the sudden pain in her expression, which made me realize two things. The first was that when I said that I didn't mean to say it, she thought that I meant it wasn't true. And the second was that the thought of my not loving her was painful to her.

"No Bella listen. I didn't meant to say it because I was—am—afraid you will take it the wrong way," I said hurriedly. I wanted the pained expression to leave her face as quickly as it had appeared. I never wanted to see it again.

"I wasn't aware there is a wrong way to take love," she replied.

"That's not what I―"

"Edward, please stop babbling like a fool."

I shut up.

"I…it doesn't matter how I feel about you. That shouldn't affect your decision."

"It doesn't matter?" I asked, completely shocked. How could she think that?

"Edward…I have loved you since I first saw you. You looked at me and I fell so hard, so fast. And then you held me while I cried; you put me to bed, telling me I was safe. You were honest with me. You took care of me. How could I not love you?"

My mind stopped working for a full moment, reveling in the words she had just said to me. She never ceased to surprise me. Everything she did, every word, every movement, was unpredictable. I loved her all the more for it.

I wanted to tell her what it meant to me to hear her say that. I wanted her to understand what she had just given me. No matter how long I lived, no matter how much time passed between this moment and the one in which I finally died I would remember this. I would feel the same amazement, the same glorious joy, the same overwhelming love.

She smiled at me, unabashedly with such warmth I swore I felt my heart flutter. Obviously this was impossible but that didn't negate the feeling.

A sudden knock at the door shook me from my incredible epiphany. I called for whoever it was to come in. I didn't bother trying to read them.

Alice came into my room, Jasper and Emmett in tow. Rosalie had decided to remain behind. Typical Rose.

Alice looked at us both, the expressions on our faces, the proximity we kept, the body language and a smile spread across her face slowly.

She will be surprised when you tell her, but she'll be happy. She thought at me. I tilted my head.

That you're staying. That you can't leave her.

I breathed out a sigh. Had I already made that decision? I must have, or else Alice would not have seen it so clearly. And I realized that I did want to stay with her. I wanted to be near her always, no matter what. Oh Isabella, you have no idea what you do to me.

We talked for a while, the five of us. Bella instantly bonded with my family. I loved the way she seemed to fit so naturally with the joking and teasing and conversation. She seemed so at home. I knew I wanted to take her away from here, steal her from Aro and Felix and the others who wanted her to be here and be changed. There was no way it was going to happen if I stayed behind. When I stayed behind.

It would be difficult for her to be here and be human. There were a lot of vampires and she smelled incredibly luscious, not just to me. To have her be so tempting all the time would be near impossible for them to resist. They weren't used to having to try not to kill humans. Even I had difficulties around her, and I had been in practice for almost a century.

The danger of her remaining here, even with me to protect her was immense. As I had proven, I couldn't always be there to keep her safe. I couldn't always keep the world from hurting her. I wished I could convince the rest of the Volturi to just let her go. She didn't belong here. She belonged…with me, and my family. She deserved the chance to make her own choices about her life.

If I could only plead with Aro, make him see she was so much more than an asset to the Volturi. He had seen my feelings for her already, felt them for himself. Maybe I could make him understand. I had to try.

"It might not work," Alice said before I even made a move to mention my idea.

"The visions keep changing. In some of them he listens and understands. In others, he becomes furious. It keeps going back and forth."

"Should I even bother to try?" I asked, noting the very confused looks on the faces of the others. She nodded.

"Bring her with you. The intensity, the power of it will be staggering. It might help to convince them. But Edward, you know that if they let you take her, she wont be able to remain human."

I nodded my head. She might not even be allowed to leave, but if she was she couldn't do it human. The risk of exposure was simply too great. If it came to that, if I was lucky enough for them to be gracious I would worry about changing her. But for the moment I had to simply hope that I could be persuasive.

I rose reluctantly. I didn't want to expose her this way. She was weak. If something happened to her because I pushed her in front of their faces…

"Come Bella," I said quietly. She stood as well, looking puzzled.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"To meet fate," I replied, taking her hand in mine.

AN: Again, I thought of splitting this into two chapters instead of one long one but…I'm weak. I didn't want to stop writing. Read on ladies and gents…

Bella and I walked down the hall and onto the main floor of the castle. I could hear the thoughts of the vampires we passed, hardly able to know what to do with themselves. The incredibly tempting Bella walking down the hall, practically flaunting her still beating heart and delicious hot blood. There was no way I could keep her here human unless I intended to keep her locked away in my rooms. I had no intention of imprisoning her.

The main hall was quiet but occupied. Aro, Caius and Marcus sat as they almost always did, surrounded by other vampires. They took one look at Bella and I and dismissed the majority of them. Demitri, Felix, Alec and Jane were the only ones who stayed. Felix did not look at Bella or me. His thoughts remained on other things, with some effort as far as I could tell. I didn't care, as long as he didn't presume to even look her way.

"Edward back so soon! And with the lovely Bella," Aro said, rising form his seat. He stood at a fair distance, keeping himself from Bella's intoxicating scent. Even still, in his thoughts he was contemplating the taste of her blood. Her could recall the taste of her skin through my memories and savored the sweetness for himself. This was one of the many reasons I didn't want to let Aro read me, it was far too disturbing to hear my thoughts or see my memories in his mind.

"I come to plea a favor Aro," I said quietly.

"What kind of favor?"

I dropped Bella's hand and reluctantly stepped away from her, keeping her in my peripheral vision. I held my hand out to Aro again, the second occasion in such a short period of time. He looked mildly perplexed but touched my hand regardless. There as something like shock on his face as he heard my thoughts, my deliberations between the loyalty I felt to my family and my newfound love.

"Love Edward!" he exclaimed. I nodded as I stepped back. I looked over at Bella who was far too subdued to blush, for that I was thankful. She probably would have been attacked.

"You wish to take her," he said, clarifying my request to the rest of the room.

"Yes. I will change her, I know that is unavoidable. But I was hoping you would see the…depth of this situation. I want to be with my family but―"

"You refuse to be without Bella, is that correct?" It was Marcus that spoke this time. He was the one Alice knew would feel the intensity of our…relationship. I nodded again. He couldn't understand how I had come to love her at all, let alone so quickly. But he knew I loved her.

"Well Marcus, what do you think?" Aro asked. His face was still pleasant, his thoughts not anywhere near angry. I was hoping this would end as one of the visions Alice had where things worked out well.

"I must say it would be a disappointment to lose such a puzzling creature," he mused. Aro nodded in agreement. Caius for his part remained stoic and silent.

"However, perhaps it would not be a terrible idea to let them go. Poor Edward here has been alone for many years. I think this may be the first time I have seen him acting anything other than miserable," Marcus continued. He was mocking me but I would gladly suffer their mocking if they would let Bella come with me, come home.

"Begging your many pardons, masters, but I think his unruly behavior has yet to be addressed. It may play a part in this decision."

The one who piped up was Felix. I glared at him angrily. When this was over I was going to take pleasure in killing him.

"Unruly behavior?" Caius asked, speaking for the first time. Aro turned to him.

"I have forgotten to tell you! Edward threw Felix out of a window yesterday," he said, with a gentle wave of his hand.

"Why would you do that?" Caius asked.

"He was attempting to…violate Bella," I explained. Marcus raised an eyebrow, turning to Felix with a curious expression. Aro motioned for him to step forward. Felix did so cautiously. Aro took in his thoughts and memories form the day before. I didn't want to hear them, but Felix's thoughts washed over mine.

The ones Aro wanted to hear were the loudest and most prominent. His thoughts of Bella as she squirmed and shrieked. Her perfect skin under his mouth, how he longed to taste her blood. A growl escaped my lips unwittingly without intention. Bella took my hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. The strength that tiny gesture gave me was immeasurable. I didn't care if it made me look weak.

"Well Felix that was not simply not acceptable," Aro scolded. That was all the reproach he was going to receive for nearly…I couldn't even think about it.

"Well brothers, what do you think of this? Should we let poor Edward take his love along?" Aro asked. Caius and Marcus were thinking hard, their thoughts swirled in a mix and mass. I simply could not concentrate on any one thought they were having.

"What if he decides not to change her? The risk then would be too great," Caius said. I found myself hating him then for planting doubt. As if Bella would ever tell anyone about vampires. She would be locked in a mental institution.

"She should be allowed to make her own choice about her life," I said, trying to stress the fact that she was still here, still involved in this. But she was only human to them, nothing more than food. I hated that they thought about her that way.

"She is human Edward, her choices are not made the same way as ours are. She chooses what she wants for her short life, while we choose what is best for all in the long times to come. How can we be expected to consider her choices?" Marcus asked. Not him too. I thought perhaps he would feel this, see it for what it truly is.

Aro simply shook his head.

"I am sorry Edward. It looks as though we have come to a decision. Bella must remain here. I have seen how vehemently you cling to her humanity. It would be a risk for us to simply send her away with you, not knowing if you will ever change her."

"How can that be your decision!" I shouted. Losing my temper in the hall with the Volturi was a bad idea, but I was too furious to control myself. I felt Bella shrink back, afraid of something. Was it my anger, or the retribution to come that she feared?

"You can always stay here. That has not been removed as an option. You don't have to live without her."

"You cannot expect me to choose between my family and Bella," I said angrily.

"We do, and we are. Either you stay here with Bella, or you leave here without her. Those are your options," Marcus stated. His blatant disregard for what he knew to be true, what he felt was true made me perhaps more angry than anything. How could he just ignore this? I clenched my jaw in anger.

"Careful Edward, watch your temper," Demitri warned. I was trying. But it was so hard. Be with my family or be with Bella.

"I must insist in taking Bella with me," I stated, through gritted teeth. My anger was being carefully controlled, ever aware of Bella's human frame standing next to me. I didn't dare tell them I was taking her but I very much wanted to.

And then I heard a thought that drove away all my inhibitions about being angry.

I'll change her as soon as he is gone. And the masters will let me.

It was of course Felix. It was possible he was just trying to agitate me to the point of breaking the lines, but at that moment I couldn't even remember where the lines were.

"YOU WILL DO NOTHING OF THE KIND!" I roared, my anger coming out completely. I couldn't imagine causing her so much pain; the thought of anyone else hurting her so much was unbearable. She would need comfort during the change, someone to keep her company, to soothe her when the pain was at its worst. He didn't care enough about her to help her in any way. I wanted to hurt him, to kill him for actually being excited about hurting her.

But before I could say or do anything else pain exploded from nowhere. I knew as the white-hot knives of agony shook through me that it was Jane's doing. I could hear Bella screaming but she sounded so far away. She was begging for her to stop, her voice bringing all my suffering into the air. I refused to cry out and give them the satisfaction of hearing my pain. My eyes were clenched shut, my hands wrapped in tight fists to bear out the anguish. I could hear from Bella's shouted protests that someone was holding her back. For endless hours it seemed I controlled the urge to scream myself, misery beyond words wracking my body. Finally I felt Jane lessen her hold on me. Then I felt Bella next to me.

She slipped her hands into mine, as though offering them to me to squeeze if it hurt too much. I couldn't tell her that I would crush her tiny hands with mine if I even dared an affectionate grip at the moment. I was able to open my eyes a moment later, seeing the tears on Bella's face. She looked so scared, and to my surprise, angry. Fiercely full of rage she stood as I did. She glared at Jane, daring her to try it on her. Jane obviously wouldn't because she knew it wouldn't work on her. I felt a light spasm of pain shoot through me again. I winced, almost doubling over.

"Enough Jane," Aro warned. She sighed, as though bored with impatience. The memory of that pain still held me. It was so much worse than it had ever been before. I was so thankful Bella could not be affected by Jane's powers.

"Go now Edward. I will speak to you again when you are not so angry," Aro commanded, his tone leaving no room to argue. I slipped out the door with Bella, still shaking slightly. My body was recovering from the agony slower than it usually did. I managed to get up to my room, which had been abandoned by everyone else. I flopped down on my bed, which had been made while we were out, and closed my eyes. I tried to steady my shaking muscles, to cease the weakness in my whole body.

I felt Bella sink down next to me. She began touching my face again, stroking my cheek lovingly. Then she pressed her lips against my face, soft, healing kisses sending waves down to every part of me. By the time she drew away several minutes later, the memory of the pain was long since gone, the quaking had finally been quelled.

"Love me?" she asked, her voice shaky. The tears had finally dried on her face, but I could hear them in her voice.

"Always," I said immediately.

"Then go."

AN: I know, you hate me…don't worry; I won't leave you here for too long.