I had seen this earlier, Edward's display of his superhuman speed and strength, but carelessly I hadn't looked for what led to the moment. I cursed myself for not checking as I darted through the forest, the dappled light giving my skin an unearthly green glow. I couldn't look properly while going at this speed, now was not the time to run into a tree, so I relied on the memory of my vision, going over it again. Had I missed anything? Bella leans towards Edward, and all I see is his face twist in pain before the image freezes and fades. Edward hadn't yet decided how to react to such a situation, and neither option was strong enough to rule out the other. Brilliant- she had a fifty-fifty chance of death. The only reason I had seen the few minutes after that moment was that Edward was so determined to keep her alive. That determination, however, was not enough to determine the outcome of Bella's rash movement.

I was only half a mile out from Edward's clearing now, so I stopped and flung myself into the future. It was only forty three seconds away now, or thereabouts. I couldn't be entirely sure; I had to rely on nebulous instinct to guess at the timing. I replayed the vision frantically, shouting Edward's name in my head at the same time. He said he could hear minds within a mile's radius, and he was more attuned to me than most, so he should hear me now. Unless he was concentrating too hard on Bella.

Suddenly unsure, I made my way closer, limiting the distance to a quarter of a mile. Still watching, I couldn't tell if Edward had heard me. I mentally screamed at him again, and then panicked as my forty three seconds became five. I darted right to the perimeter of the meadow just in time to see Bella's eyes flutter shut as she leaned towards her vampire love.

Get out of there! I silently begged him.

Abruptly caught and absorbed in the future, I gasped inaudibly as I saw him reach forward and fasten his lips to her throat. No!

Contrarily, it was this vision that saved her life. Edward saw the picture as clearly as me, his face contorted in horror at my thoughts, and suddenly he had ripped his hand from hers and was standing directly across the meadow from me.

In the same instant, the future suddenly shifted back to my visions of this morning and I sighed in relief. Edward, however, was still struggling.

Edward? I asked at the same time that Bella said, "I'm… sorry… Edward." Poor girl. I could see her profile and she looked distraught as the realisation of what proximity could do settled in. She also seemed disappointed, at herself, I thought. Maybe she thought she should have been more careful.

"Give me a moment," Edward said to both of us.

There was a long pause before he regained control and walked slowly, controlled, back towards her. Not wanting to push himself too far, he stopped a couple of yards away from her. He sat, cross-legged, looking much like a schoolboy who's done something wrong.

"I am so very sorry." He smiled apologetically. "Would you understand what I meant if I said I was only human?"

I smiled at him reassuringly, but Bella was only able to nod jerkily, and I could smell the adrenaline racing round her body. Finally, some survival instincts!

He heard me think that. "I'm the world's best predator, aren't I?" he said, mockingly.

Edward, I thought warningly.

It didn't stop him. I think he wanted her to be aware of the danger she placed herself in. I knew he also wanted to prove to me that this could not go on. So ill-matched, it just couldn't happen.

But she loves you! I exclaimed. He raised one eyebrow a fraction of a millimetre. Bella would never notice, but I could see his reply.

He was saying "Really?" I sighed in exasperation.

"Everything about me invites you in."

Oh stop it, Edward, she didn't go for your looks. Well, I don't think so. Well, not much, I thought.

"My voice, my face, even my smell!"

Ironic, that, I thought cheekily. Maybe she's a vampire already. Love at first smell.

Edward's eyes grew serious, despite my teasing. "As if I need any of that."

He leapt to his feet and circled the meadow at full speed. I could feel the air brush against my face, disturbed by his passing. The light shining from his skin reflected off every angle of Bella's silent form, highlighting the red in her hair.

"As if you could outrun me."

I heard the double meaning. Edward was faster than me; if he ran off with her to kill her, I couldn't catch him

Then he tore a branch off a spruce tree, easily two feet in diameter, and hurled it against a thick, solid pine. The branch splintered and shattered, and the tree quivered as if in fear.

"As if you could fight me off."

Show off, I muttered. Anyway, Edward, think of your poor girlfriend. She's sitting there petrified out her mind! And of course she loves you, she's still here.

Both of us looked at Bella, who was still completely unaware of my presence. Her breathing had sped up, as had her heartbeat, and I could see slight shivers shaking off her skin.

"Don't be afraid," Edward murmured softly, and her shaking slowed and stopped.

"I promise…" he began.

Not the best word, I interjected. You also promised to stay away from her.

He frowned. "I swear not to hurt you."

"Don't be afraid," he repeated. I expected Bella to lean back as he advanced, even just slightly, but she stayed completely still.

"Please forgive me. I can control myself. You caught me off guard. But I'm on my best behaviour now."

Still Bella remained silent and unmoving.

"I'm not thirsty today, honestly."

He closed one eye in a jaunty wink. I grimaced, but Bella laughed. She still sounded terrified out her wits, but still, she laughed.

Edward relaxed slightly. He was so attuned to her moods. "Are you alright?" he asked softly. Lovingly.

Gently, he lifted his hand and placed it back in her grasp. There was a short pause where both Edward and I held our breath, then Bella carefully resumed running her fingers over his skin. The smile that grew on Edward's face was one I had never seen before. He was radiant in his happiness. His joy filled him entirely, and shone out of every pore of his sparkling skin. Bella glanced up, with a timid smile of her own, and had to blink at his brilliance.

I smiled in harmony with the pair of them. I'll go now, I told Edward. I knew he'd be fine after this. Not that I was going to give up watching, of course. I could have explained that by saying there was still a faint possibility, that it would be lax not to, but in reality it was pure curiosity and excitement now.

Edward didn't respond to the buzz of my thoughts, so I guessed that he was fine with that and left.

I ran slower now, not needing to hurry. Esme would need to know what had nearly happened, though, so I couldn't exactly dawdle. I laughed to myself; how cliché, a mother telling her daughter off for dawdling. I doubted you could find less clichéd circumstances, though.

Sure enough, Esme was standing at the top of the porch stairs, waiting anxiously for my return. When I came into view she dashed down the stairs and caught me by the shoulders.

"What happened?" she asked frantically. "Is she alright? Is he?"

"Mom, it's fine, calm down. Nothing happened." We 'children' rarely called Esme mom, generally only when we had done something wrong or to get her to relax. Like the time Emmett and Jasper had been fighting and had accidently destroyed her Louis XIV dining room table. Boy, had Jasper been working overtime then.

It worked now. She let out a shaky breath. "So why did you go dashing off like that? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

I raised an eyebrow.

"It's a figure of speech, young lady. Now tell me what happened."

It's always a bad sign when Esme calls someone a young lady/man. I launched into a description of Bella's tiny mistake and Edward's reaction. I conveniently left out my teasing and downplayed how close it had been, while hamming up how she had forgiven him and Edward's smile. Esme's soft features visibly relaxed in relief, and I could see how happy she was for them. So I was suitably surprised (well, as surprised as I ever could be) when her fingers tightened on my shoulders and she glared at me.

"Alice Cullen! Do not scare me like that again! Next time you will check in good time to tell me exactly what is going on before you go and run off to prevent it. Do you understand me?"

"Mom-"

"Don't 'mom' me. Do you understand me?!"

"Yes, Esme." Not the best time to elaborate on the limitations of my imperfect visions, I surmised.

"Good. Now get back inside and watch!"

I took the hint, flitting inside and curling up on the loveseat again. Rosalie had retreated back upstairs with Emmett, for which I was grateful. I wasn't in the mood to argue with Rose right now; I'd much rather focus on Edward. Like the teenage girl that I (probably) was (I'd never been sure of my age; I could have been anything from 12 to 23), I wanted the gossip of the latest love scandal.