Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer definitely wrote this better than I ever will. I am using her already brilliant idea.

'Not tonight' turned into a few more nights than Bella expected. She should not have been surprised, however, because although she was convinced that Edward wanted this – someday – she was also entirely positive he was trying to find some other route that still involved 'Dartmouth' and 'September' in the same sentence. This thought was interspersed with the knowledge that Edward was not so petty as that and his real reasoning was partly fear and partly a lingering worry over Bella's future regrets.

No matter how many times she explained to him she wasn't going to have any.

It was, finally, Alice that brought it up, in full hearing of the entire family.

'So I've been planning and checking and I think I've figured out the best way to kill you,' she announced one evening near the end of May – apropos of nothing.

Edward growled at her and Bella shot him a half annoyed, half amused look until he stopped.

'Let's hear it,' Bella told her, resolved to treat the entire conversation as both serious and completely irrational at the same time.

Alice practically giggled. 'It has to be believable; that's our biggest problem. It can't be too improbable or Charlie will never believe it.'

'I was thinking car accident,' Bella put in, ignoring the horrified look on Edward's face when he realised she'd actually been thinking about ways of dying.

Alice nodded sagely. 'Yes, I thought that for a while too, since Charlie thinks we're going to Vermont. Lots of back roads, can be slippery in the rain. But Charlie also knows you're used to driving on slick roads and in a new car with much better tire grip.'

'Yeah, that's probably true.'

'So, we came up with another idea. It's a bit more…unlikely, but harder for Charlie to verify the details.'

Bella stared, hard.

Smiling, Alice went on to explain. 'Edward and I have already discussed this. We don't have to turn you exactly the day after we leave. We thought, if you'd like, we can travel a bit for July and then go to the island.'

'I don't know; should we be delaying this?'

'I made the choice already, and I don't see the Volturi kicking up a fuss at a few weeks delay,' Alice winked. Rosalie made a strange little noise that Bella couldn't distinguish, but continued to keep quiet during the discussion. 'South America is beautiful and you should see it in the sun, at least once. A few weeks of travelling and then we go to Isle Esme..'

'But what about my…death?'

'That's the slightly more…unique part,' Alice smiled. 'And it's not like we don't have many options. All the dangers in South America...' she trailed off at the glare on Edward's face. 'Right. We'll, we figured that small private jets don't have a perfect track record. The plane can go down somewhere over the rain forest in Brazil. Charlie will never be able to get there, the jet fuel will take care of most of the evidence and they'll be just enough left to 'identify' us.'

'Us?'

Alice nodded. 'Jasper and I will be with you.'

'Carlisle and Esme will lose four children,' Edward ground out, clearly displeased with how this was turning out.

'Yes, they will. At least to Charlie. But Charlie will look to them for help and support because of that. He'll take a lot of things at face value, which is exactly what we need to happen,' Alice said, getting to her point. 'There will be a minor investigation by Brazilian authorities. Carlisle and Esme will make a trip down to oversee, so Charlie doesn't have to. Everything will tie up nicely. They'll be a funeral in Forks. Carlisle and Esme will move to Vermont just like they planned, though a few weeks late and Charlie will be able to mourn.

Bella bit back the tears that were threatening to fall. 'You're sure this is the best way?'

'Yes,' Alice admitted, clearly not particularly happy having to recount the plan. 'The rest of the town will believe it was a tragic accident that can only happen to rich people and that you should never have fallen in love with a Cullen. Since we're leaving anyways, it doesn't matter what the town thinks, but that attitude will help Charlie to believe.'

'So, how does this work. Are you going to buy a plane just to crash it?'

'Well we already own one. I plan for us to fly down to South America in it. But we'll be taking a different way to Brazil, one that is much harder to trace. The flight plan and passenger identities will be filed and that's what the police will look to when identifying what happened. A few pieces of DNA to survive, and not even for all of us, and that will be all they really need. It's Brazil; they won't make much of an effort when it comes to foreigners crashing a plane in their rain forest.'

'Will Charlie really believe that?'

'Yes,' Alice said.

'How?' Bella pressed, before Edward stopped her.

'Please don't ask anymore. It will be believable and your 'death' will be proved by forensic evidence. Charlie will have no choice but to believe it.'

Biting back tears again, Bella looked at him, reminding herself for a moment that this entire conversation – and the result of it – was more than worth it. Edward reached for her hand, the first time he had touched her since Alice started talking.

'You're sure it will work?' Bella asked again.

Alice nodded easily. 'Positive. And you don't have to worry about anything.'

'I'll try not to. When will we leave then?'

'Rose and Emmett are going back to New York for a bit next week. They'll come to the island in the summer. Carlisle is leaving the hospital here the second week of July and is supposed to start his new position the following week. Obviously, Esme is going with him. The four of us,' Alice nodded to Bella and Edward as she laid a hand on Jasper's knee,' are leaving for Peru on July 5th.'

Bella knew most of this already. She had already given the story to Charlie that Esme and Carlisle were moving east because of Carlisle's new job – a date he had no control over – before the rest of them went. And Charlie still thought Rose and Emmett were on the east coast anyways.

'So, it's only a week after graduation.'

Bella didn't care one iota about graduation. 'Okay.'

'No,' Edward whispered and abruptly rushed out of the room.

Bella moved to follow him. 'Just give him a minute. This isn't easy for him.'

'It's easy for me?'

Alice winced. 'You've accepted it. Edward still hasn't. Just let me finish and then you can go after him.'

'Okay,' Bella admitted, settling back against the sofa where she was sitting.

'Carlisle and Esme will still be here to help Charlie when news of the plane crash reaches him. They'll go to Brazil for a few days, 'see' the evidence for themselves and the crash site and then report back to Charlie. They'll stay for the funeral, but Rose and Emmett won't fly out to join them. Rose will be inconsolable,' Alice finished pointedly. The vampire in question huffed in a way that Bella took to be humour. She didn't think it was funny herself.

'Okay, I guess that makes sense,' Bella agreed. 'Let me just...' she motioned out of the room in the direction Edward had gone.

'Go to him,' Alice told her. 'The rest is what you need to work out. No one's made a decision yet, so I can't see.'

Esme appeared in the doorway then. She and Carlisle had left the rest of them to discuss things, since Alice had obviously given them a rundown of what needed to happen earlier. In fact, Bella was pretty sure Edward had heard it already too, but was still choosing to make a big deal out of what had to happen.

'He's on the back deck, dear,' Esme told her.

Bella gave them all a short smile and went to find her boyfriend. He was standing in the light of the porch lamp, facing out towards the dark forest and river beyond. Bella crept up beside him and they stood in silence for a few minutes.

'You know that I'm not arguing against this. I just find it very difficult to sit there and listen to my sister recount your 'death'.'

Bella slid an arm around his waist and leaned into him. 'I know. It's not easy for me either, but it has to be this way. We don't want to leave any questions behind us.'

'We won't,' he assured her. Then, after a moment, he turned her abruptly to face him. 'Bella,' he breathed.

'What?' she asked.

'We need to talk about what happens when we get to the island.'

'Yes,' Bella agreed, happy that he had raised the point himself.

'But I don't want to talk about it. It should be your choice when it happens. When you're...ready.'

Surprised, she drew back. 'You mean that? If I wanted it the day we arrive...'

'Then...then that is when it will be.'

'Thank you,' she said, not sure what the moment called for. Leaning up she drew her lips to his, the thrill of it coursing through her when Edward responded. As always, he didn't let it go too far. Sighing, Bella rested her forehead against his cold chest. 'I'll tell you when I'm ready, but it won't be the day we get to Alaska.'

Above her, she was certain he smiled.

'But there is something I want. I know we haven't discussed it and we're probably both working on the assumption that Carlisle would be the one to...bite me.'

'But?' Edward said aloud, hearing the implication in her voice.

'But I'd rather it be you,' Bella whispered, as she looked up at him.

It was obvious he was surprised. 'Bella I...I don't think that is a very safe idea. I've never...'

'I know. And if you honestly think – or if Alice thinks – that it's a bad idea, then okay. But I would prefer it be you.'

'I'd like that as well,' he admitted, finally. Perhaps, Bella mused, he had thought about this. 'There is something I wish for as well.'

'Anything,' she said. The as long as you change me yourself, went unspoken.

Edward smiled so wide that Bella's heart skipped a beat.

'Marry me?' he asked her.

And her heart stopped altogether.