My eyes widened, and I turned most of my attention over to Alice, trying to see whether she was upset or excited

My eyes widened, and I turned most of my attention over to Alice, trying to see whether she was upset or excited. Her face was unreadable.

"What is it, Alice?" Edward asked somewhat urgently. I could tell that he was frustrated with not being able to read minds. Alice knelt down beside me and eyed him before speaking.

"I saw you both. Edward was… badly injured." Edward winced and I grabbed his hand, giving it a little squeeze. "And you," she turned to me, "showed up looking horrified and carried him off. He wasn't moving at all. It looked like he was barely breathing." I shuddered.

"What does that mean, though?" Edward asked. His eyes flitted from me to Alice and back. Alice shrugged nervously. "I have absolutely no idea."

"This is bad. Very bad." I murmured.

"Just keep an eye on him. That's all we can do right now. I've already talked to Carlisle, and that's what he said." She turned to Edward. "Try not to do anything stupid, will you?"

He glared at her. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you, Alice." She sighed. "Just try, okay? I'm being serious."

He looked like he wished he could do something to her, but he obviously knew better than to waste his efforts on trying to catch her when he was this slow, so he just nodded angrily. She smiled and returned her attention to me, gesturing for me to step far enough away that Edward wouldn't be able to hear us.

Edward watched, eyes alight with curiosity, as we moved to the other side of the room. "What is it, Alice?" I whispered.

"I saw something else, too, Bella, and I don't know how to explain it," she whispered back.

"What was it?"

"Edward did wake up, but it wasn't like it was Edward moving and talking. He was saying all sorts of things he would never say and struggling against all of us when we held him down. It was like he was… I don't know, possessed."

I felt my knees weaken in shock. Alice looked concerned. "Bella, I don't think we should tell him. It's not like he doesn't have enough to worry about as it is." I nodded weakly. She was right.

"What was he doing in the vision?"

"He… cursed. At all of us, calling us leeches and insulting us. He was acting as insane as insane gets, Bella, and he said some things to you that he would normally die rather than say." I bit my lip, knowing full well what those things might be.

"Just don't tell him, okay? Calm down, I'm sure he'll be fine."

I steeled myself for the interrogation I was likely to get and got myself under control. Alice smiled encouragingly and disappeared upstairs. I turned slowly and moved back to where Edward was waiting, still sitting up. His expression immediately became concerned as I approached. I stopped breathing, nervous.

"Love, are you all right?" I grimaced and sat down beside him. He watched me expectantly.

"I-I'm fine," I stammered. Wow. I was more upset by this than I'd thought. He scowled at me. "No, you're not. Please tell me," he pleaded. I sighed and turned my head in the other direction. He put his hand on my shoulder, and I shrugged it off. He drew his hand back, obviously hurt.

"Bella, love, what's wrong? Are you mad at me?"

"No, no. It's not you, Edward. It's just something else Alice saw." I figured that it couldn't hurt to tell him that much. I was wrong. He tensed up instantly.

"What was it?" He was pleading with me, and his voice alone was dazzling. I continued to face the other direction, afraid that I'd crack and tell him if I saw his face. He stood up and moved to my other side. I sharply drew in a breath when I saw his expression. It was worse than when he was a vampire. He smiled pleasantly at my reaction.

"Stop it! That's not fair!" I hissed. He chuckled.

"Please just tell me, Bella? I can handle it, whatever it is." I opened my mouth to tell him, but shut it again. He looked at me, disappointed. I groaned. "You say that now, before you know what it is that you're asking for."

"We won't know until you tell."

I glowered at him. He didn't back down. We stared at each other for several minutes, his expression pleading, mine stubborn and angry. But, of course, I caved first. "Fine, but only if you promise not to lose your temper, go insane, or any of that," I said reluctantly. His expression brightened considerably. "Promise."

"You were going to wake up, but… well, Alice said you were cursing and insulting all of us, struggling against us… like it wasn't you, it was someone else controlling you." His expression was unreadable.

"What… what did I say, exactly?" His voice shook ever so slightly.

"Alice didn't tell me that. You weren't even supposed to know this."

"No, it's okay. I'm alright, just confused." He was lying. I could see pain and horror in his eyes. He was trying to cover it up, but it wasn't working well.

I pulled him to me. He didn't fight it, or, if he did, I couldn't tell. We remained silent, and I listened to his heart beating wildly. I laughed quietly. He knew what I found funny, and I felt his face heat up.

When I finally pulled away, he scowled and muttered, "I really hate being this weak." I giggled quietly. He smiled, unable to stay angry. Carlisle came down the stairs then at a vampire speed looking very worried. My muscles tensed automatically. That wasn't like him.

Edward didn't notice our visitor until he stopped right in front of us. He jumped, and then blushed when he saw who it was. I smiled and grabbed his hand, lacing our fingers together.

"I'm sorry," Carlisle said softly, his forehead creased with worry. Edward nodded and shifted uncomfortably on the couch.

"We were all talking, and Rose thought of something that may apply to what Alice saw," he continued softly. Clearly, he knew that I'd told Edward everything. Alice had probably seen it. Edward smiled, happy to get any new information about what was going on.

He gave Edward a funny look before continuing. "She suggested that the few vampires that escaped yesterday might have had a member capable of controlling others' actions, and that they recently decided to make you," he gestured at a wide-eyed Edward, "go to them. We'll just have to really watch you, and as long as you're human, we'll be able to stop them from getting you away from us."

Edward grimaced at the word human, shuddering slightly. He couldn't really be that upset by the whole human thing, could he? Carlisle watched him, concern plain on his face. "Are you okay, Edward?" He nodded, smiling slightly. It was a faux smile.

"I believe she's right. If that theory of yours is correct and we do take our strongest traits into the… afterlife, then such a power could come from something like being skilled at manipulating others." He shrugged stiffly, making an attempt at nonchalance.

Carlisle nodded. Just then, Esme slowly walked into the room, making an effort not to scare Edward. I felt his frustration at this, but he smiled a bit more naturally at her. She frowned and moved a bit faster. "Edward, you look awful. You really need to eat something."

He blushed and I smiled in spite of myself.

"Esme, dear, let him eat when he's hungry." Then, more quietly, he said, "the only reason he looks so pale is that he's had a lot of shockers lately." I knew Edward didn't have a chance of hearing that. He glared at them both. Esme sighed apologetically and stroked his forehead. He relaxed a bit. I could tell that he was getting tired again, but he was resisting the urge to lie back down. I gently pushed him back onto the cushions. He scowled and tried to get back up, but I held him firmly down. He sighed in defeat.

"It's okay, you can sleep. We'll be watching you, so nothing can happen," Carlisle said softly.

"I'm fine," he murmured tiredly. I heard someone walk to the head of the stairs, and instantly Edward shut his eyes. "Jasper," he growled before falling asleep again. I heard Jasper laugh before he and the rest of the family joined us in the living room.

A/N: Not the best chapter ever, but that's because it's just gearing up for some real meat. It's the longest chapter so far. Sorry for the delay. More schoolwork. Mostly studying for finals. Soon school will be out, though, and I'll be able to update more often. Oh yeah. And I don't own the Twilight series. Just don't sue me! –shields face with hands-