A/N: Um, I honestly have no idea what to say, other than... Holy shitballs, Batman. I had tears in my eyes reading your reviews. You gals and guys are so amazing. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for your support and well wishes, you have no idea how much they mean to me. I was going to reply but thought you deserved something more, so here is the next chapter. It's actually two melded together to make it longer. I have the best readers on the planet! Seriously. I'm... in awe. Thank you!

Check out the awesomesauce banner IllicitWriter made me here - http : /tinyurl . com/6mbjpz7

Many, many thanks to Belindella who read through this and whipped it into shape. If it weren't for her, Edward would have been much more... sappy, lol. I know a lot of you don't like him right now, but he's just trying to protect his son :) Hope you like and much love Xox

EPOV:

I took a step closer but her eyes honed in on the gun, and she began to shake even more.

Mid-step, I stopped.

"Remain non-violent and I won't hurt you," I said as I lowered the gun, watching for any sudden moves.

Even though she looked small and fragile, huddled in my kitchen, it didn't take much energy to pull a trigger or inject a needle full of HIV.

Where the hell were the cops?

"What's your name?" I asked, hoping I could get some information out of her, but her eyes shot to the ground. Her vibrating was vibrating my nerves. Anthony was still terrified in the bedroom, and I wanted this over so I could comfort him.

Frustrated, I tugged my fingers through my hair trying to think of something, anything to say. Maybe, if I offered something of myself, she would reply.

"My name's Edward," I said. She didn't speak but she did make eye contact. Better than nothing…

It was then that I noticed, not only was she clutching a small bag to her chest, but that there were crumbs on the sides of her mouth and on her t-shirt.

Had she broken in simply because she was hungry…?

"Can I ask what's in the bag?"

Her shoulders slumped as she loosened her grip on her bag and tipped its contents onto the floor. Food and medicine. Children's pain relief and cold and flu syrup. Bread, peanut butter, and apples.

"What the…?" How had she missed the Rolex watch and Alice's purse on the counter? "You're really bad at being a thief." Either she was too high to know what she'd been taking or… she was some kind of fluffy bunny.

I looked up to find her watching me intently, and I took the moment to study her in return. The long-sleeved tee she was wearing was full of holes. No bra. Her long pants were covered in mud, and her sneakers weren't faring that much better.

What was this poor girl's story? Curiosity got the cat, I had to remind myself.

She was still giving me the once over—or rather tenth over—and I glanced down at my bare chest and pajama bottoms.

"Sorry I'm not better dressed for your visit, but you didn't knock on the front door and I didn't have time to put on a shirt."

A hint of a smirk twitched at the corner of her lips, making me feel a bit smug that I could pull that quality of sarcastic humor out at such a time. Jeez, I could be an asshole.

"What's your name?" I asked again.

An unfamiliar emotion passed over her face; shame?

She opened her mouth and brought her hand up to her throat, making a slicing motion back and forth – was she trying to communicate?

She repeated the motion as awareness dawned on me.

"You can't speak?" I asked gently. Tears welled in her eyes as she shook her head.

I had no idea who she was or where she came from – or if she was just a great actress… but something inside me panged with the want to make her safe.