Sorry for the long delay, folks. I'm waiting for this story to be validated elsewhere, and didn't want to get too far ahead.

Thank you for the amazing reviews! For those of you who are wondering how Bella knows about vampires, read on!

DISCLAIMER: All characters here are the property of their respective owners, and no copyright infringement is intended.

CHAPTER 3: Alice

Edward wondered idly if vampires could go into shock. How the hell did she know so much about vampires? Bella looked human. She certainly smelled human. But her mind was silent, and for some reason she still wasn't afraid of him, even when she knew that he wanted to kill her. She indicated that she trusted him. What was happening here?

"I don't want you to leave either," she told him. Her self-preservation instincts were clearly all wrong.

Suddenly he detected a strange, sweet scent. Another vampire? He was instantly on the alert. It wasn't James, but it wasn't his mate either. How many vampires were there in Seattle, for crying out loud? The instinct to protect Bella kicked in again.

Abruptly, a high, melodic voice sounded in his head. "Don't worry, Mind-reader," it teased. "It's just Alice, Bella's friend. I'll be there in two minutes and twenty seconds."

Soon, Bella was opening the door and a lively pixie-like woman bounced in and very gently hugged her friend. She looked to be about twenty years old, with short spiky black hair. Trendy too, judging by her skinny jeans, art-print T-shirt, and short jacket with the sleeves pushed up.

"How are you feeling, Bella?" she asked.

"Fine."

Alice rolled her eyes. Golden eyes. Like his. "You always say 'fine' when it's bad."

She looked directly at Edward, who was now protectively standing behind Bella. He knew that she'd taken in the gash on Bella's forehead and the bruising, and was worried about a concussion. "It could have been much worse," she thought to him. Images of James flashed through her mind.

He inclined his head in a slight, grim nod. She then stuck out her hand to him. "You must be Edward," she said brightly. "I'm Alice. It's nice to finally meet you."

He raised his eyebrows in amusement, returning the handshake, as Bella suppressed a chuckle. "Alice has been one of my closest friends ever since I moved to Seattle four years ago. Edward, I suspect that you two have a lot in common."

Alice was regarding him quizzically. "Are you OK?" she inquired. "You seem a little dazed."

He gave himself a mental shake. "This whole afternoon has been somewhat…surreal."

"I'm not surprised," responded the pixie-like vampire sympathetically. She looked back and forth between Bella and Edward.

"Angela will be here in about twenty minutes. I asked her to run an errand for Bella because I wanted the three of us to have a talk before she arrived." She waved her hand artfully toward the sofa. "Shall we sit down?"

Bella and Edward obligingly sat, while Alice perched on the coffee table. "Well," he commented dryly, "At least I now know how she recognized what I am."

Both women smiled faintly. "I'd like to straighten out a few things here," Alice remarked, her tone abruptly business-like.

"Edward, I saw you appear in Bella's life a few seconds before the accident." Actually, she thought to him, it was when James made the decision to attack her. When will you tell her about James?

"Soon," he murmured, too low for Bella to hear.

"I've been wanting to meet you and your family for several years, but the timing was never right. You are all animal-eaters like me, right?"

Edward's eyes widened slightly. This was getting more surreal by the minute. He nodded slightly.

"Bella says that you see subjective visions of the future," he commented.

"Yes." Alice looked at him pointedly. "Do you also have a gift?"

He sighed. He wasn't used to being put on the spot like this. He was a vampire, superior mental functioning, top of the food chain. Yeah, right.

A slight frown marred Bella's smooth forehead. Edward knew she wasn't going to like this.

"Well, yes," he admitted. "I can read minds."

Bella looked momentarily panicked. "You can what?" He was right, she didn't like it.

"With the exception of yours."

"Seriously?" Alice thought to him. "You can't read hers?"

He smiled ruefully. "Seriously, Alice."

Bella was digesting this piece of news. "Why not? I always suspected there was something wrong with me."

"Bella," laughed Alice, "only you would be confronted by a vegetarian vampire who can read minds, and think that something is wrong with you!"

Bella smiled, rolling her eyes. "There must be. I don't know anyone else who seems to be running into vampires all the time."

"Like I said, Bella, you're a danger magnet." Edward was frowning again. In the vampire world, there was only one rule – to keep the existence of vampires a secret from humans. The Volturi, the vampire "ruling class," would kill both the human and all vampires involved if they caught wind of it.

"I didn't tell her Edward," Alice volunteered.

"Then how…?"

In response, Bella raised her lifted her hand, palm up, and pulled back the thick strap of her watch. Under it was a pale, semi-circular scar. Edward sucked in his breath. It was a vampire bite.

"It happened about a month after I arrived here. I was walking back to my apartment one night when a student with long red hair stopped me to ask a question. The rest was something of a blur. All I remember was that she dragged me behind a building and started to go for my neck when Alice suddenly appeared. Alice managed to get her away from me, but not before she bit my wrist."

Edward was horrified. Bella had been attacked by one vampire, and almost attacked by two more today, including himself. What was it about her that seemed to draw them? Perhaps her blood was as tantalizing to them as it was to him.

The thought made him groan and run a hand through his already tousled bronze hair. "Oh God, Bella. I'm so sorry you went through that."

"Fate seems to be sending guardian vampires to her just when she needs them," Alice commented. "The female ran off. I tried tracking her later, but she disappeared."

One detail puzzled him. "How is it that Bella wasn't changed?"

"I sucked the venom out."

He looked at Alice incredulously. "That would take an unbelievable amount of self-control." His respect for Alice grew exponentially.

The tiny woman merely shrugged. "Bella is my friend. Besides, I'd never tasted human blood before that. Have you?"

Edward suddenly felt ashamed, and looked at the cream-coloured rug under his feet. "Yes."

This peaked Bella's curiosity. "Really? But you have so much control now."

Recalling the incident in the kitchen not half an hour earlier, he felt even worse. "Not as much as I thought, apparently," he told her grimly. He forced himself to look up at her. "There's something about your blood, Bella. I've never smelled anything so…tempting. How could you be so calm, having already lived through a vampire attack, knowing that I almost killed you?"

A shock ran though Edward's body when Bella laid a comforting hand on his arm. It wasn't painful, just warm. Pleasant, in fact.

"You didn't," she told him softly. "And before that, you carried me, bleeding, and drove me to the hospital. In fact, I don't think you'll ever harm me, even unintentionally. I trust you."

Alice was watching their exchange, a satisfied smile on her face. Before Edward could say anything, he heard a familiar voice in his mind, saying Bella's name.

"I hope Bella is OK," it thought. He surmised it was Angela. The tone mirrored that of the recorded voice he'd heard through Bella's cell phone. Listening to her plans for making Bella her favorite blueberry muffins to help her feel better, he could tell that she was a genuinely nice woman. Bella was fortunate to have friends like Angela and Alice, even if one of them was a vampire.

"Angela is here," he informed the others. "Do you think I should leave?"

"No!" Bella said quickly. "I mean…um…unless you have somewhere else you need to be." She was clearly regretting her impulsive response. "I don't want to keep you. You've wasted so much time on me already today."

That made his frown return. Why did this intelligent, interesting, attractive young woman insist on putting herself down all the time? "Will you please stop thinking that I want to be somewhere else? I like being with you."

There it was, that blush again. She really did look lovely when she did that. He hastily squashed the impulse to gently trace her cheekbone with his fingers. For some reason, his internal monster wasn't even taking notice any more. Hopefully, this was a good sign.

Soon they heard the key turn in the lock, and Angela, her arms full, pushed open the door with her toe. Edward was immediately beside her.

"Here," he offered, "let me help." He grabbed all four grocery bags and put them on the counter. Angela blinked at him, stunned.

"Wow," he heard her think. "Nothing like walking into your home and having a gorgeous guy help you with your bags. This must be Edward."

"Thanks. Hi guys," she greeted them brightly. "Bella, how are you? I'm soooo sorry that I wasn't able to pick you up!"

Bella grinned, observing her friend's expression as she looked at Edward questioningly. "No problem. Ang, this is Edward. He drove me home."

"Lucky girl," Bella's friend grinned, pushing her long, light-brown hair out of her eyes before shaking Edward's hand.

"Hmm, cold hands, warm heart."

Cold hands, dead heart, corrected Edward silently. He liked her immediately. At almost six feet, she dwarfed both Bella and Alice. Statuesque, he decided, with light brown hair and attractive, kind brown eyes. Not as lovely and enticing as Bella's, of course. She was also very open, the kind of person who didn't feel the need to hide anything.

Angela was asking Bella for details of the accident, and so her friend launched into the story once again. She's making more of my intervention than I deserve, he thought. He suddenly remembered that Bella never had her cup of tea, and got up to make it for her.

Alice followed him to the kitchen, giving him instructions as to how Bella liked her tea and setting up the mugs. Angela noticed the preparations, thinking that she should make herself one as well. Edward picked the details from her mind, and started boiling the water.

"We need to work together to keep her safe," Alice began in a voice too low for humans to hear. "I see the red-headed female, the one who attacked Bella, running with James. She's his mate. James won't give up, will he?"

"Not until he captures his prize," he told her grimly. "This is all a game for him. He was here earlier. I could smell him outside in the parking lot. With us protecting her, the chase is all the more interesting."

Alice looked pensive, playing out different scenarios in her mind. Edward followed each of them with interest. "Unless something changes drastically, we don't have a choice," she stated.

He nodded in understanding, seeing the only vision that didn't result in Bella's death. "We have to kill them both."

"Will you tell her?"

Edward looked over at Bella, happily chatting with Angela, and sighed. "Yes. She needs to know, so that she keeps her guard up."

Alice eyed him thoughtfully as she put teabags in the mugs. "And how do you envision your role in her life?"

Edward knew the question was coming, but he still wasn't prepared for it. He hadn't thought about his relationship with Bella beyond keeping her away from James. She didn't seem averse to having vampire friends, he thought wryly.

"I'd like to be her friend, if she'll have me," he admitted.

"Nothing more?" prompted the pixie. Honestly, she could be quite intrusive.

"I'm a vampire and she's human. There can't be anything more between us. I'm too dangerous to her." There was a hint of bitterness in his tone, although he wasn't sure exactly why. Surely he didn't actually want "more" between them, did he? She was human, his natural prey. On the other hand, it would be nice to actually have the option of a relationship with Bella. It was at times like these that he hated being restricted by his own inhumanity. He and his family tried so hard to fit into the human world. They were very good at it. Now he was reminded that no matter how much they tried, they could never fully be part of it. It was all a pretense.

Alice didn't say anything, and all Edward could get from her mind were images of some of her fashion sketches. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"What are you hiding from me, Alice?"

"Nothing that you need to know now, Mr. Nosey." She grinned mischievously.

The kettle whistled, and Edward immediately poured the boiling water into the two mugs. The women in the living room had turned to look at him.

"Ouch," Angela mentally winced. "That steam must be scalding his hands."

Sure enough, his hands were wet where the steam condensed on his frigid skin. He quickly dried them and carried the ceramic mugs to the coffee table. Bella reached to pick up her drink and hastily snatched her hand away, shaking her fingers. Edward noticed that she'd burned herself and casually sat down next to her. He met her eyes and glanced down at his open hand on the sofa seat. With a small smile she took it.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Much better than an ice pack."

Edward smiled back down at her, for once glad of his cold skin.

"Thanks for the tea, Edward," Angela was saying. "Bella tells me that this is your first day here. Where are you living?"

"Actually, I don't have a place yet. I thought I'd stay in a hotel while I went apartment hunting."

"You can stay with Jasper and me," Alice promptly offered. Edward gathered from her mind that Jasper was her husband. Her thoughts toward the tall, honey-blond vampire were warm, so say the least. Having lived in a household with at least one mated vampire pair for ninety-odd years, he decided that he'd prefer the hotel.

Alice saw his decision, and grinned. "We'd try not to disturb you," she informed him cheekily.

Edward rolled his eyes, but returned the grin. This irritating little vampire was starting to grow on him.

Bella and Angela were having their own silent communication. He saw Angela look pointedly at his hand, still holding Bella's, and wink. Her hand twitched nervously in his, but she didn't let go.

"Ben's taking me to a concert tonight," she informed her audience. "We're getting back late, so I'd planned to spend the night at his apartment." Angela's blush was almost as bright as Bella's. No wonder they got along so well. "Maybe you can stay here? Bella doesn't like being in our apartment alone at night."

Clearly Bella was about to protest that she was fine on her own, but Alice forestalled her. "That's a great idea!"

"And it would also let you keep an eye on her without you loitering outside her building like some sort of stalker," she added.

He could see that Bella was hesitating. Who wouldn't hesitate at the idea of a strange vampire being in their home whilst they slept? He slowly released her hand. It felt warm from her skin, and he resisted the temptation to see how the warmth felt against his cheek.

"I generally don't stay overnight in young ladies' apartments." If he could blush, he'd probably be redder than Bella at the moment. Another part of his vast vampire mind registered that his internal monster still hadn't taken notice. Interesting.

"Bella would probably be uncomfortable with a strange man sleeping here." It looked like she needed a graceful way out. "And what if she has a boyfriend who wouldn't approve?"

"Way to be subtle about it, Edward," Alice teased him. "She doesn't have a boyfriend."

Angela's thoughts were similar. She was trying to assess how Edward felt about Bella. In her mind there were two paths, just friends or romantic. The third, casual acquaintance went out the window when he made tea for her. Now, with the hand-holding and comment about the boyfriend, she was now putting him firmly on the "romantic interest" path. Edward had to admit that, if he were human, she would probably be right. But he wasn't human. Just as before, he found the impossibility of a romantic relationship with Bella depressing. As if she'd have you anyway, he admonished himself.

"I don't have a boyfriend," Bella was informing him shyly. "Actually, if it doesn't bother you, I'd like you to stay."

Edward's amber eyes widened. She wants to have a strange vampire in her apartment. What was wrong with this woman?

"I mean," she added hurriedly, "You could have spent the afternoon finding somewhere to live, but instead you wasted it with me. I really don't like the idea of you having to stay in a hotel because you chose to be a Good Samaritan."

"Bella," he practically growled, "I keep telling you…"

"Good, it's all settled," Alice interrupted, shooting a warning glance at Edward. She stood up. "Well, I suppose I'd better get going. See you tomorrow, Bella!"

"You'd better keep her safe, Mind-reader."

Edward nodded slightly. He intended to.

"Oh, I just thought of something!" squeaked Angela suddenly. Bella almost spilled her tea. "There's a vacant apartment on the third floor! It's a two-bedroom. Would you be interested, Edward? Good apartments can be hard to find near the University at this time of year."

Edward's eyes flashed to Bella, trying to determine how she felt about having him living in the same building. She was smiling.

"The realtor's office is still open. You could probably take a look at it this evening." Yes, it seemed she liked the idea. So did he.

Thirty minutes and one phone call later, the realtor was unlocking the third floor apartment for them.

"It was just vacated last week, Dr. Cullen," the pleasant, middle-aged lady informed him. "You and Ms. Swan just look around. I'll wait here by the door."

"It's almost like mine," Bella commented, walking over to one of the bedroom windows that boasted a lovely view of Mt. Ranier. "In fact, it's at the opposite corner from mine, isn't it?

Edward scanned the small rooms with their hardwood floors and original structural detail. Like Bella's, it was a corner apartment. It had been tastefully remodeled, and he could see the Space Needle from one of the windows. The walls were newly painted, judging from the smell. Overall, it was a little smaller than he would have liked, but it was cozy…and he would be close to Bella.

"I'll take it," he announced, looking to Bella for confirmation. She smiled happily.

"Excellent, Dr. Cullen!" The realtor has obviously happy too. They hashed out the details quickly, then went up to Bella's apartment to sign the lease papers. Edward managed to charm the keys from the realtor immediately. After she left, he sank down on the sofa next to Bella with a sigh.

"Well, that's taken care of."

"You dazzled her," the chestnut-haired woman next to him accused.

"Hmm?"

"I said, you dazzled her. Surely you know the effect you have on people. She wasn't going to hand over the keys until tomorrow morning when the paperwork could be made official, but somehow you have them now."

"I dazzle people?" Yes, he supposed he did. The realtor's thoughts were somewhat incoherent when he looked pleadingly into her flat gray eyes. Hmmm…he wondered if he could do that to Bella, too.

"Do I dazzle you, too?" He had to know.

"Frequently," she admitted. Interesting. That may explain the short periods when she seemed to zone out and her heart rate increased. He just assumed that it was anxiety. That he could dazzle her pleased him, and he smiled at the thought.

"You're doing it again," protested Bella. Her heart did skip a beat as he watched her.

"Sorry," he grinned, unrepentant.

"Liar," she teased back. "You like that you can do that. It must be a vampire thing." She made a show of pondering the situation. "No, I think it's just an Edward thing."

He laughed. He was amazed that she could mention vampires so casually. They sat talking for over an hour. He asked Bella about why she was in graduate school, and what she was studying. She explained that she was doing her Master of Arts in English, along with the Master of Arts for Teachers. When he asked her why she was working toward both degrees, she told him thoughtfully,

"Well, at this point I'm not sure if I want to teach English in high school or community college, or go on for my Ph.D. so that I can teach at a university. I'm keeping my options open."

"So you're working on your thesis now?"

Bella grimaced. "Sort of. My advisor is trying to get me to enter the doctoral program, so we are building toward a potential dissertation. It's on social realism in fiction, from the perspective of the Brontës and other female authors. It's an expansion of my MA Essay, but it's going a bit slowly now, as I had to take off a couple of quarters for…family reasons."

"Family reasons? You have a family back home?"

Her face, which was so lively when she spoke about her research, abruptly closed. "I used to have a family."

Edward instantly regretted reminding her of something that was obviously painful.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's OK." She took a deep breath. "They all died this year." Edward took care to conceal his shock. All of them were dead? How?

"Anna and I were so close, like sisters. A couple of years ago, Anna started exhibiting symptoms of schizophrenia. She would hear voices…" Bella hesitated and ducked her head, her hair concealing her face. "Sorry. My mouth runs away with sometimes. I can't seem to shut up around you."

Ah, Edward thought. Here, perhaps, is a piece of the mystery. He didn't want to push her to confide in him. She barely knew him, after all. On the other hand, he could smell the tears that she was hiding from him. Damn, now he'd made her cry. Some friend he was.

"Bella? Come here." He scooted over to her and gently folded her in his arms, mindful of her injured ribs. Oddly, she didn't seem to mind that his body was like cold marble. She sniffled, and he could feel the tears soaking through the front of his shirt. Holding her, rubbing her back soothingly, he didn't understand his fierce desire to take away anything that caused this innocent creature pain. It reminded him of when he discovered from the mind of a six-year-old patient that the boy's uncle was physically abusing him. Edward had immediately wanted to tear the monster apart.

Did he feel that same way about Bella that he felt about the child? This need to protect her from anything that would harm her? Feeling her shudder against him as she fought to control her emotions, he had to admit that he definitely didn't think of her as a child. He recalled his earlier conversation with Alice, when she asked him how he envisioned his role in Bella's life. Yes, he finally admitted, "more" than a friend was accurate. Impossible, but accurate.

"Oh God, Edward, your shirt! I'm so sorry." Bella winced as she tried to pull away from him. He let her go immediately. "I can't imagine what you think of me! I never cry all over people, especially men I've just met."

Edward smiled at her crookedly. "Feel feel to cry all over me any time you like. I don't mind. In fact, I think I like it."

He was rewarded with a watery laugh. "OK, enough of this maudlin stuff. I want to know about you. Do you have a family? I mean, a coven?"

Edward explained that his family, all "vegetarian" vampires, lived in a small town in Washington. He told her about his father Carlisle, who was a physician at a local hospital, his mother Esme, his brother Emmett, and his sister Rosalie, Emmett's wife. When she looked shocked at brother and sister being married, he explained that they weren't really siblings. They were all "sired," or changed, by Carlisle, and so were essentially adopted by him and Esme.

"So they are mates?" Bella asked. "Like Alice and Jasper?"

"Yes."

"So you are the odd man out? That must be difficult."

Edward grimaced. "Some times more than others. Vampires, especially mated ones, are quite, er…"

"Lascivious?" Bella offered helpfully, grinning.

He laughed. "I was going to say 'passionate,' but 'lascivious' is probably more precise in this case."

Suddenly Bella's stomach rumbled, and she quickly covered it with two hands as if to shush it. Edward glanced at the clock on the microwave. Eight o'clock already? Where had the time gone?

"Sounds like dinner time for the human," he teased, standing up and heading over to the kitchen. "What would you like?"

"Whatever you're having." Hmmm…Bella's mind was obviously occupied elsewhere. That sounded like an automatic answer she'd give Angela. He quirked an amused eyebrow at her and waited.

"Oh! Oops." Would he ever tire of seeing Bella blush? He doubted it. "Sorry Edward, that's not what I meant. Um, I'll just get myself a bowl of cereal."

"You need more sustenance than that," he protested. No wonder she was so thin. He performed a lightning-fast inventory of the cupboards. "How about chicken marsala?"

"A vampire can cook? A male vampire can cook?"

Edward grinned. He enjoyed surprising this captivating human. "Food Network," he responded with a wink, already producing the cutting board and dicing onions and mushrooms too fast for a human eye to follow.

It was one of the most pleasant evenings he'd spent in his long existence. Bella sat on a stool across the counter from him as he cooked, chatting with him while she devoured an apple.

The chicken was ready in twenty minutes, and they stayed where they were, Edward leaning casually against the counter, observing Bella as they talked. He never realized how interesting it was to watch a human eat. In fact, he was caught off-guard by the emotions that shot through him when she took her first bite and moaned with delight at the flavor.

"This is amazing!" she informed him, her eyes closed and a smile on her face as she chewed.

A while later, when she'd finished and insisted on washing her own plate, she turned to him and asked, "What about you? Don't you need to eat too? I don't have any large game stashed away, but…"

"I'm alright, Bella." In truth, he realized that if he intended to stay around Bella he needed to hunt. He just wasn't sure how he'd accomplish it. He didn't want to leave her alone.

As if on cue, Bella's cell phone rang.

"I'm coming over to spend some girl time with you," Alice announced. "No boys allowed. Tell Chef Edward to go play somewhere else for a while."