A/N: Thanks for reading everyone. Here's the next installment!

(Previously):

The soft give of the upholstery near my feet signaled Alice's presence. "Now that you're all refreshed, you can help me with my work," she trilled happily.

"What work could you possibly have to do, Alice?" I replied sleepily, while Edward glared at her.

Alice rolled her eyes and began spreading a ridiculous amount of paperwork out in front of her, the sheets slowly creeping up to cover my body. "Inventory, of course – I've got to restock supplies before morning."

"Hey Alice, did you get my special order taken care of? It's pretty important," Emmett asked, his demeanor suddenly serious.

"Yes, Emmett I did. Those…things will be here tomorrow afternoon, and I should have them unpacked for you to pick up on Sunday morning. I had to really push for a Saturday delivery, you know. What a waste for something so…ridiculous," she added, shaking her head.

"Ridiculous? More like brilliant – you should hire me as Assistant Manager of your shop - I know what's cool, not to mention I clearly know how to solve a problem," Emmett deduced. What had he ordered? Perhaps it was best to leave it alone.

Alice was shaking her head in disagreement, and as the paperwork began to consume my feet and then my legs, I willed myself to ignore it and instead focus on Edward's velvety voice which was encouraging me to fall asleep as he fought to push the papers back at his sister.

Chapter 16:

When Edward woke me the following morning, I was a little tired but still thankful for his close proximity. As expected my sleep had been fairly restless with all the noise around me, including Edward's own relentless pleas to his siblings to keep it down. My mind had drifted in and out of consciousness as the surrounding scene unfolded repeatedly in an endless cycle: Emmett and Jasper fighting about who won what game, Edward trying to hush them, the sound levels from the electronics going up and down as he tried to fight his brothers for control of the assorted remotes, Alice in turn hushing Edward explaining he was just making it worse, and Edward telling Alice to go back to her Inventory duties - repeat. All things considered, it could have been much worse than it was…perhaps Alice had reigned herself in so that Edward wouldn't argue if I wanted to come back. Regardless, at least I'd been able to lie next to him last night, even though the constant presence of his family meant I couldn't really take any real advantage of our allotted time together.

As promised, we reached the campsite early enough the next morning before anyone else was up yet – well asidefrom those that never sleep anyway. As we entered the clearing, Emmett glanced up from his place on one of the benches surrounding the fire pit. "Glad to see you all made it in time," he began, glancing over at Mike's cabin. "The show's just about to begin," he said as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"Go on inside, Bella – you should be there when your campers wake up," Edward murmured, his gaze settling on Mike's cabin. He gently pushed me toward my cabin, and I proceeded forward wondering what on earth they were up to. Alice had already disappeared into her cabin, and Rosalie must have done the same, as she was nowhere in sight.

I was just standing next to my bed pulling the covers up, pretending to make a bed I'd never slept in when a terrified scream made me jump, ruffling any progress I'd made with the bed sheets.

"Arrrrgggggghhhhhhh!!" a voice cried out from outside.

Pairs of bleary eyes opened one by one, looking around in confusion trying to figure out what had awoken them.

"Good morning girls. Just stay here, I'll go see what the commotion is this time," I smiled and rolled my eyes, hoping to ease their minds.

Arms across my chest, I headed out onto the porch to take in what I could only assume was Emmett's latest plan for entertainment.

"Arrrrggggghhhhhh – it's everywhere, it's everywhere!" the voice screamed again, followed by a loud thud. The voice was coming from Mike's cabin, and definitely belonged to him.

I looked around the campgrounds to see what was going on. Emmett was standing outside his cabin door, his gaze still intent on Mike's cabin, fighting to keep a smirk off his face. As the rest of the counselors heard the crazed sounds coming from Mike's cabin, they too began to appear in doorways; the Cullens all looked amused, while Jessica and Angela looked confused and slightly frightened.

"It's eating me alive – it's gotten me! It's consuming me! Ahhhhhh!" Mike screamed, his cabin door flying open. He stumbled out into the campsite, clawing at his skin and pajamas.

His arms flailing, he fell over once, and then got back to his feet and went running in the direction of the main path, his screams drifting back to us in the otherwise quiet morning air.

Everyone stood still, silently glancing around at one another. Angela looked wary, but then Jessica muttered something about Mike having crazy nightmares ever since they'd watched some horror movie when they were younger and stomped back into their cabin, Angela following her. It sometimes baffled me at how easily the two of them would dismiss something so odd, but then again they thought they were just dealing with human teenage boys who could act bizarrely enough; they had no idea they were dealing with vengeful vampires.

Once they were gone Emmett gave the 'thumbs up' sign to Edward, giggling as he turned back to his cabin. Rosalie and Alice just shook their heads and returned to their campers.

"Well that should be interesting," Edward murmured.

"What just happened? Is he all right?" I asked, still trying to understand what had happened to Mike.

"He'll be fine…it's Emmett I'm worried about now," Edward replied quietly.

"Edward? Explain? Please?" I said impatiently.

"Well, you remember last night when Emmett said all that nonsense about a flesh-eating virus being in the stream to Newton , right? Mike didn't really believe him, but at the same time it made him a bit paranoid. Early this morning Emmett came back here and sprinkled itching powder down Newton 's pajamas while he was asleep – needless to say, Newton had a rude awakening. He thought Emmett had been telling the truth, and the virus had finally taken hold," Edward explained.

"Itching powder? Where did he even get that? And why did you say it's Emmett your worried about now?" I asked, struggling to keep up.

"Itching powder is relatively simple – it's not really a powder, and its only ingredient is actually found all around us," he said motioning with his hands to the trees. "The seedpods from Maple trees – you often refer to them as helicopters – are full of tiny hair-like slivers. You just have to remove those slivers - it's those that cause the itching sensation," he said. "As far as why I'm worried about Emmett…well, where do you think Mike was running off to?" he asked, raising his brows.

" Carlisle ," I sighed, knowing I had to be right. Where else would someone who thought their skin was being eaten off of them run to besides a doctor?

"Exactly. And when he hears about Emmett's warning of a flesh-eating virus and sees the evidence on Mike's pajamas, well…it won't be good," Edward finished.

Shaking my head in bewilderment, I returned to my cabin and used Jessica's assumption as an excuse, assuring all my campers that it had only been a counselor having a nightmare and that everything was ok.

Edward and Emmett both helped deal with Mike's campers, explaining the same 'nightmare' story, and ushering them along with their own groups. The rest of the beginning of our day was the same as usual - Mike's underwear, the Incredible Hulk boxers this time - was up the flagpole when we arrived, and Emmett and Edward snickered while the kids all laughed in clueless oblivion.

Breakfast felt slightly rushed; so much had happened last night and this morning that I didn't know how much more I could take; even just the discovery of the paradise that was hidden under the Maintenance cabin had my mind still reeling. At least it was quieter than usual, as Carlisle was absent while he dealt with Mike so he wasn't around to question everyone's plans for the day.

As I glanced down at my schedule, I noticed that we were up for swimming today. Well...at least Jessica would be life guarding so I wouldn't have all the responsibility, although I couldn't really be sure how well she did her job. Whose cabin would we be paired up with? My eyes searched through the list, and came to rest on Rosalie's name. Well that was sort of a relief – Rosalie took these kids so seriously, surely she wouldn't let anything happen to a single one of them. Maybe today would be a good day after all.

As if reading my mind, Edward leaned over and whispered in my ear. "You're with Rosalie today, Bella – she'll surely be watching out, so I think you'll be just fine." His hand rested slightly on my back, and suddenly I had to fight the urge to jump into his arms – I would be so thankful when we could go back home.

Just as we were preparing to gather our groups and head to our activities, the door pushed open and a disheveled-looking Mike wandered in. His skin was covered in red blotches which were in turn covered in some sort of thick cream, and he had a sort of dazed look on his face. At least he'd found the time to go back and put normal clothes on. Not far behind him was Carlisle, who glared over at our table – that was our signal, and we all hurriedly rushed our groups towards the doors seeking escape, even if it was only temporary.

When my group reached the pool, Rosalie was already there, her kids the perfect picture of neatness and order as usual. I glanced back at my own group, feelings of inadequacy creeping over me – until I reminded myself that none of them had fallen off a cliff yet, and to me that was victory. I smiled at Rosalie who was helping her campers into the water.

The kids had a great time splashing around, and Jessica was doing her part teaching them the basic different types of swimming strokes. Rosalie and I leaned against the chain-link fence behind the lifeguard's tower, watching the kids have fun. After around half an hour, one of Rosalie's campers climbed out of the water and padded over to us, looking pale.

"What's the matter Rachel?" Rosalie asked, concerned.

The little girl explained that she wasn't feeling well, so Rosalie asked me if I'd be all right if she took her to see Carlisle . She knew it was probably something harmless but wanted to be sure. I looked around, and seeing Jessica still in the water with the rest of the kids, I nodded and assured her it would be fine. She hurried off to see Carlisle , Rachel in her arms.

Not long after they left Jessica got out of the pool. "Play whatever you want, the lesson's done," she said to the kids. She lazily climbed up onto the lifeguard tower, crossing her legs. "So Bella, are you like, going to have a lot of bridesmaids?" she asked. Obviously she was irritated that I hadn't asked her. It wasn't that I didn't like Jessica – I almost even felt bad for her. She was so blinded by the desire to be popular that she often didn't seem to even think for herself, she just followed behind whoever was leading the new regime. I'd experienced that side of her myself once, when Lauren had taken a particular disliking to me and I'd distanced myself from everyone…but I didn't want to think about that point in my life anymore.

"Not really," I mumbled, concentrating on my toes. My hands wove their way through the links on the fence behind me as I pressed myself into it, as if I were trying to disappear. I hated uncomfortable conversations.

"Bella, Bella! Look at what I can do!" Sophie called out from the pool. She waited to make sure I was watching her, then began turning in underwater somersaults. She flipped around and around, but when she roughly bumped into another kid she came to the surface, coughing.

"Oh! Jessica – she's having some trouble, maybe you should get her out," I said, watching Sophie nervously. I knew firsthand that things with Sophie could go from harmless to disaster within a few seconds.

Jessica looked up from picking at her nails. "She's just coughing, Bella. I think she's all right."

"You don't know Sophie – its best not to take any chances," I insisted. Jessica merely glanced up again and then shrugged.

I sighed in frustration, and catching sight of the lifesaving ring hanging on the fence next to me, I grabbed it. "Here, Sophie – in case you need it," I called out, flinging the ring into the water. Of course my aim was horrible and instead of gently drifting into the water beside her, it smacked her in the head, catching her off guard. She blinked in surprise, but at least her coughing fit was letting up.

Noting the time, I realized we were approaching lunch hour. At the same moment I glanced up from my watch, one of the balls the kids had been tossing around flew out of the water towards me. Instinct took over and I stepped sideways, swatting it away. As I did, my foot caught on the edge of a small table next to me and I began to lose my balance. Crap.

I overcompensated for the stumble and veered too far in the opposite direction, throwing the weight of my body way off. My arms were flailing, and it was as if I were moving in slow motion. The table tipped over, chasing after me in the air as I began stumbling the other way, trying to find something to grab onto. Jessica was on her feet atop the tower, her expression full of horror.

"No, Bella – no! Watch out!" she screamed – as if I had any control at this point. I crashed into the tower full-force, and it began to rock unsteadily. The kids in the pool were swimming to the far side desperately, screaming with water splashing everywhere. After what was probably only half a second but what seemed like forever my impact took its toll and the tower toppled, sending Jessica flying into the deep end of the pool, with the tower and me right behind her.

When I came to the surface I was surrounded by silence. All the campers were at the other end of the pool in the shallow end, and Jessica and I were floating in the deep end surrounded by the fallen lifeguard tower and the table that had followed me, which I now was grasping to stay afloat. The ball that had started it all bobbed in the water beside me, mocking me.

"You like, really need to do something about your coordination problems, Bella," Jessica said as she gasped for breath.

"I'm working on it," I spat, looking forward more than ever to when I'd be a vampire and hopefully gain all the grace that came with it.

I glanced up as the faint clinking sound of the metal gate sounded. "Oh! I'm too la – I mean, wow, Bella, what happened here?" Alice said, the surprise in her voice overemphasized.

"The usual, Alice ," I muttered. What was the point in explaining – she'd already experienced it in her head once.

"Hmm. Well, let's get you and the pool furniture out of there," she replied lightly. She told the kids to get out of the water, then pulled me out, and began fishing the table out too. When she got to the tower, she told us to leave it and that Jasper could get it later. I suppose it would have raised suspicions if the tiny pixie girl just hefted it out of the pool herself.

"Sorry Bella, I tried," Alice whispered. "That idiot Newton kept asking questions…I had to tell him I was going to throw up just to get him to agree to watch my campers for me," she added, wrinkling her face in disgust.

I smiled half-heartedly at her. "Don't worry about it, Alice – thanks for trying."

She nodded sympathetically. "Let's run you and all the kids by Carlisle 's just to cover our bases, ok? Nobody seems to be injured, but you've got some small cuts on your leg from the table, and the kids may have some scratches too. They were clawing at each other pretty good in my vision…it reminded me a lot of that awful horror movie Piranha."

I wearily waved the campers ahead of me, and Alice walked along with us to the physician's cabin. When we arrived, Carlisle 's eyes widened at the sight of all of us; I couldn't blame him, it's probably what he'd been waiting for – I'd finally managed to be responsible for sending nearly twenty kids to the doctor at once. At least Rosalie wasn't still here – he explained she'd taken her camper on to the mess hall kitchen to get some crackers for her stomach since she was feeling better. Thankfully nobody had anything worse than a few minor scratches, and a small bandage on my ankle was enough to take care of me. Carlisle offered me a towel to try and pat my clothing dry – I'd not worn a swimsuit as I'd had no intentions of joining in on the swim lessons. On our way to the mess hall I couldn't help but feel like a survivor from a shipwreck…my clothes continued to drip water despite the towel wrapped around my shoulders.

Once again, Edward took in my sopping wet appearance warily, then glanced at Alice and saw what had occurred. He sighed. "I'm sorry Bella…I really thought you'd be fine if Rosalie was there. I was stuck with Emmett at crafts. You're not hurt at all, are you? That tower could have hit you," he said, looking me over carefully.

I reassured him that I was fine, and we continued with our usual lunch routine – the rest of the Cullens came in, asked what had happened, then tried to nonchalantly pretend that it could have happened to anyone – except for Emmett of course, who slowly lowered himself into his chair while assessing my appearance again.

"You know, Bella…if you're going to go swimming, most normal people change into a swimsuit before doing so. I mean, I know you're modest and everything, but this is really taking it a bit far, even for you," he chuckled, while Edward glared defensively at him.

Carlisle made an attempt at lecturing us about our treatment of Mike, but I could tell Emmett wasn't listening, as I think Carlisle and Esme could tell too. After a while he gave up, seemingly at a loss for the moment. I could only imagine the plans for punishment he was likely focusing on for when we all went home.

Following lunch, the kids went to enjoy their free time with their friends throughout the campsite, catching up on what they'd all done that morning. While they were doing that, the counselors began the tedious task of filling water balloons for the following day's contest. Standing in the bathhouses trying to steadily hold the balloons under a stream of water at the sinks was not on the top list of my favorite things to do, but we didn't have much of a choice. Of course Alice and Rosalie made it look effortless.

After we'd gotten through dinner, the nightly fire and snacks, I had just managed to get my campers to settle into bed when I heard the commotion outside my cabin – it was like a scurrying sound accompanied by thudding footsteps. What now?

When I got to the door, I was met with the image of Alice and Edward wrestling with one another, apparently in competition to reach my door first.

"I've had it Edward – she had a great time last night, and she wants to go back, so you're not stopping her," Alice hissed, slipping out of his grasp with some sort of complicated turning move. She landed gracefully right at the threshold of the door grinning eagerly at me. "She's already decided anyway, so let it go. Bella – grab whatever you need and we'll be on our way back to Jasper's for the night," she whispered.

Edward growled quietly behind her. "No – you don't have to go, Bella. I know you're tired, and its best if you just stay here and get your rest. Don't worry about what Alice says," he insisted, glaring at his sister.

I sighed. "Of course I'm going back. Why wouldn't I Edward – you saw the place. I can't wait to use that shower again," I said quietly, looking over my shoulder to make sure the kids were still asleep.

"Bella – you don't have to do this. You know it's not likely you'll get much sleep, and tomorrow's a big day," Edward pleaded.

"It will be fine, Edward; and I'm much more likely to get some sleep if you're there with me. Now quit worrying so much and just accept it – you know as well as I do you were relieved to be away from listening to Mike's thoughts last night," I said seriously.

Edward cringed as he looked back toward Mike's cabin.

"See? Now just give me a moment, and we'll be on our way," I whispered.

Edward sighed in defeat. "All right, we'll wait for you out here, love."

A/N: Do not pity Newton - only Edward knows what he's been thinking and I assure you he deserves everything he gets! Please review.