Disclaimer: I am not Stephanie Meyer. I do not own Twilight
Chapter Twenty-One
I hopped out of the truck Monday morning and slammed the door behind me. Paul was right behind me, his face drawn into a scowl. I glared at him as he tried to follow me into the school. Without a word, I pointed to the forest. He growled at me before turning and disappearing into the trees.
The entire pack was tense today. Tonight, we were meeting with the vampires to practice and Sam was the only one who thought I should be there. Even Jake had argued that it was too dangerous.
"Hey, Bella. What's up? You okay?" Angela asked as I opened my locker.
I glanced over to see her leaning against the row of lockers, giving me a concerned look. I sighed and started pulling out my books.
"I'm alright. Just having some trouble with Jake," I admitted, frowning into my locker.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Angela asked cautiously.
I knew she wouldn't push me if I said no, but I really did want to talk to her about it. The problem was, I could only tell her so much.
"Jake's having trouble with the Cullens coming back. He's worried about me getting hurt. He's trying to keep me from seeing them," I sighed.
It wasn't a complete lie.
Angela frowned at the ground, thinking about how to respond. We started walking towards class, the silence not uncomfortable.
"Maybe you should give Jake the benefit of the doubt. I mean, Edward did hurt you. I can see why he'd be worried about you," Angela finally said.
"Yeah, but does he have to keep me from the rest of the family just because Edward made a mistake?" I asked.
"You're right. I'm just saying, Jake probably has his reasons for worrying," Angela shrugged as we came to our first class.
I glared at the desk as I sat down, knowing Angela was right. Jake had a really good reason for wanting me to stay away from the practice tonight. A vampire and werewolf fight, no matter if it wasn't a real fight, was dangerous. If anyone from either species lost control, I wasn't as durable as the rest of them. I would be the one getting hurt.
But then, I had a good argument, too. I was the Omega of the pack. If something happened, it would take nothing at all for me to draw on the pack strength and defend myself. Plus, I highly doubted any of them would hurt me, even if they were completely focused on the fighting.
As class started, I focused on taking notes and ignoring Paul's persistent attitude that I remain as far away from the practice as possible. It was really starting to make me mad. I would be in that clearing tonight, no matter what anyone said.
Paul was glaring at me as I walked out to my truck after school. Without a word, he held out his hand for my backpack. I took it off and practically threw it at him, beyond pissed at the way his thoughts had been all day.
After my first class, his thoughts had wandered to how he was planning on keeping me from the meeting. When I found an out to every one of them, he had thought about how to get Jake to convince me to stay home. From there, he'd considered how to convince Sam to order me to stay home. By the end of the day, his thoughts were all jumbled with plans.
"Get in," Paul grumbled, opening the passenger side door for me.
"It's my truck. I'm driving," I snapped, opening the driver's side door.
Paul growled and yanked me over into the passenger seat.
"I'm driving because we're not going to your house," Paul ground out.
"Where are we going then?" I asked, frowning as he took my previous seat.
"Sam's," Paul answered bitterly.
I glared at him and folded my arms across my chest. He ignored me as we pulled out of the school parking lot, his eyes focused on the road.
"Stop glaring," Paul spat.
I huffed at him and turned to look out the window. I recognized the signs of La Push coming up and was relieved I'd be able to get away from the flea bag sitting next to me.
The second we pulled into Sam and Emily's driveway, I was out and slamming the door of my truck shut. I didn't bother looking to see if Paul was following behind me. I just ran up the steps and into the house.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the rest of the pack was clustered around the living room, but I was in no mood to speak with any of them. I continued past them and into the kitchen where Emily was putting the finishing touches on a pineapple cake.
"Hello, Bella. Bad day at school?" Emily smiled as I collapsed into one of the chairs.
"Ha. What was your first clue?" I asked mockingly, my forehead making contact with the table.
"The way the guys have been acting all day," Emily admitted calmly.
I turned my head to look at her quizzically.
"What do you mean?" I frowned.
"They've been tense and jittery all day. I had to distract Sam at least five times today and you know how calm and collected he is," Emily smirked.
I groaned and turned my face back to the table, unwilling to hear anything more.
"Seth practically phased in my living room when he walked in. He said he'd had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach all morning," Emily continued.
I felt a sickly feeling start up in my own stomach and whimpered.
"Leah's actually been cleaning. It's a habit she picked up from her mother. Whenever she's nervous, she cleans," Emily informed me.
I felt the nausea gain and pressed my face harder against the table.
"Jake was the worst, though. Sam and Jared had to physically restrain him at one point he was so far gone. Sam had to use his Alpha command to get him to calm down and even that wasn't enough to get him fully calm," Emily added.
"Please stop," I moaned.
Emily turned to smile at me.
"We called Billy after Jake lost it to try and understand what was going on. He said your Omega connection with the pack was informing them that something was wrong with you. Their instincts were telling them to go to you," Emily explained.
I just moaned again in response. The knowledge that I had caused my pack that kind of pain was too much and I jumped out of my chair, racing to the bathroom. Emily was right behind me and rubbed my back as I threw up into the toilet.
"What happened?"
Jake's voice was dark with worry and I clutched the toilet as Emily told him what had happened.
"Go away," I implored as I hung my head over the porcelain.
"You know I can't do that, Bells," Jake murmured as he took Emily's place behind me.
I heard the door close as Emily left the bathroom. I reached up and flushed the toilet before turning and leaning against the bathtub. Jake settled down beside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me against his side.
"Sorry," I mumbled, snuggling into his chest.
"What for?" Jake asked softly, rubbing my arm.
"For making trouble today," I sighed, closing my eyes.
"It's not your fault, honey. Paul shouldn't have been egging you on. Sam's ripping him a new one as we speak," Jake chuckled, kissing my hair.
I sighed again and pushed against his chest, standing up and blinking at the mirror. Jake watched me from the floor as I pulled out the toothpaste and used my finger to clean out my mouth. After I spat in the sink, I turned and looked at the floor between our pairs of feet.
"I have to go tonight, Jake. I need to make sure nothing happens. I want to see for myself that everyone is as prepared as possible for this fight because if we lose anyone, it'll be my fault," I said quietly, tears already running down my face.
I saw Jake stand up and felt him pull me against his chest. I sobbed as he rubbed circles up and down my spine. He made shushing noises in my hair in-between kisses. I clung to him, completely helpless, as the guilt crashed over me.
"Honey, this is not your fault. Just because some leeches get it in their head that there can only be one Omega doesn't make it your fault. These sickos need to be taken out and we're just the werewolves to do it. Everything is going to be fine. We're not going to lose anyone," Jake assured me.
"Promise?" I whimpered, knowing good and well that he couldn't promise something like that, but needing to hear it all the same.
"Promise," Jake whispered, tilting my head up.
The tears kept falling as I looked into his dark brown eyes. His face was taut with worry over me and I wanted to smooth out his frown lines. My fingers ran over his brows and his face relaxed. He closed his eyes and leaned into my hand.
"You have me worried today. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew you needed me. I thought maybe…" Jake trailed off, his eyes blinking open to connect with mine.
I gave him a sad smile and leaned up to kiss him briefly. He tightened his hold as I pulled away.
"What did you think?" I asked quietly.
I watched as his Adam's apple bobbed. His anxiety from the day had yet to fade, but he was trying not to let me feel it.
"I was worried something had happened with the Cullens," Jake admitted.
I shook my head at him, still smiling. I buried myself into his chest and folded my arms between us, my palms against his skin. He laid his head on top of mine and breathed deeply.
"If anything had happened with them, you wouldn't have had to worry about coming to get me. I'd already be running to you," I told him.
His entire body froze at my words and I could feel the slight tremors of his muscles beneath my hands. His heart was pounding away beneath my ear.
"I love you," Jake whispered.
"I love you, too," I responded.
We were silent for a few moments until there was a knock on the door.
"Jake? Everything alright in there?" Embry's voice floated in.
"Yeah. Be right there," Jake called back.
I sighed and pulled out of his embrace. He gave me a small smile and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Ready?" Jake asked.
I nodded and took hold of his hand. He gave it a squeeze and led me from the room. The pack was situated around the living room and looked up when we walked in. The tension on all their faces nearly had me running back to the bathroom. It was my fault they had been so stressed all day. It was my fault they were going to this meeting tonight. It would be my fault if any of them got killed.
"Oh, God," I whimpered, leaning against Jake as my legs started failing me.
"Easy, Bells," Jake murmured, lifting me up and carrying me to the sofa.
He sat down and settled me on his lap. Seth came and sat beside Jake, taking my feet in his lap and patting my leg. I felt tears well up as he tried to comfort me.
"Jake. We can't do this. It's too dangerous!" I exclaimed brokenly, looking around the room.
"Bella, calm down. We still have time before the actual battle. We will be fully prepared. Nothing is going to happen to anyone in this pack," Sam said sternly.
I sobbed and buried my face into Jake's neck, clinging to him for dear life. The entire pack shifted at the exact same time, all leaning towards me. I knew my emotions were causing them to get nervous. Their instincts were telling them to take care of me again.
Jake was completely tense, his entire body trembling as I sobbed against him. As my imprint, he was even more eager to take care of me. It was his job more than any of the others. I felt him forcing his body to relax as his shoulders curved around me protectively.
"It's alright, honey. Shh. I've got you. Everything's going to be okay. I promise," Jake assured me, rocking me gently.
"P-please. Don't d-do this," I whimpered.
"Would you feel better if you came tonight? You could see us all in action. It might help," Jake offered.
I stopped sobbing and pulled back to look at him. The tears were still running down my face, but I ignored them.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yes. I don't want you doubting us. We can handle this, honey. If watching the practice tonight helps ease your mind, you can come," Jake submitted.
"Thank you," I breathed, throwing my arms around his neck.
"You're welcome," Jake sighed.
"Cakes are ready! Get 'em while they're hot!"
I laughed as Emily stood in the doorway to the kitchen, waiting for the pack to make the usual mad dash to the food. As I laughed, the tension in the room vanished and the pack was able to relax for the first time today.
"CAKE!" Quil screamed and ran for the kitchen.
"Pups," Sam muttered, shaking his head.
I laughed again and leaned against Jake's chest. The dynamic nature of the pack was back and I wasn't as worried about the upcoming battle.
My eyes were glued onto my wolves as they mock battled with the vampires. I was sitting as far away from them as possible while still being able to see them clearly. I watched as Sam and Jasper fought against each other, the two working on the perfect technique of defeating a vampire. They were completely focused on each other. When one moved, the other moved at the exact same time. It was mind-blowingly beautiful.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were checking out my mate," Alice chirped as she sat beside me.
"Not quite," I laughed, glancing at her briefly.
She was smiling as she watched Jasper flit around the field with Sam.
"He really loves this," Alice said softly.
"I can tell. It's a good thing we have him. I don't know what we'd do without his military expertise," I told her.
"Your wolves are pretty fast learners," Alice commented.
"They can't help it. They share the pack mind. It's instinctual to learn things as one and share it with each other," I shrugged.
"Are they talking to each other?" Alice asked eagerly.
"Most definitely. I'm not listening, though. I'd only distract them," I chuckled.
Alice laughed with me, folding her arms over her knees.
"I'm really glad you're happy, Bella. I missed you so much while we were away. I wish things hadn't happened the way they did. If Edward hadn't made us leave, you'd still be a part of our family," Alice sighed.
"I'll always consider you a part of my family, Alice. Even if I'm bound to the pack, I still care about you," I assured her.
Alice smiled and wrapped her arms around me.
"Thank you, Bella," Alice murmured.
"No need to thank me. It's the truth," I told her.
"Are you excited about shopping this weekend?" Alice asked, getting excited.
"Not exactly," I laughed.
"Oh, come on! I know you'll have fun," Alice encouraged.
"And how do you know that? You won't be able to see with Leah coming," I reminded her.
"I don't need my vision in order to see that we'll have fun together. And, I promise, I will try to be nice to the female," Alice teased.
"Alice! She has a name!" I mock scolded.
Alice giggled, knowing I didn't mean it. I shook my head at her and turned my attention back to the fighting.
"I really hope you can bring us all together, Bella. I think it would be nice not to have to worry about the treaty anymore. Carlisle really wants the wolves to trust us," Alice informed me quietly.
"I'm going to try my best to make sure that you're brought together. I have to if we're going to win this thing," I frowned.
"We'll win, Bella. We have something the Volturi don't. We have something worth fighting for. Everyone on this field has something worth fighting for," Alice said strongly.
"What's that?" I asked, grinning slightly.
"Love. Family. Friends. A home," Alice listed off.
"What makes you think the Volturi don't have that?" I asked, sitting up straighter.
"Trust me, Bella. Even if the Volturi had one of the things I listed, the way they feel about it doesn't even come close to how we feel about them," Alice snorted.
"Why?" I pushed, curious now.
"Because they drink human blood. It takes away their humanity. True, some of our friends here drink human blood, but they still have maintained more humanity than the Volturi. They feel a stronger connection to their families than the Volturi do," Alice explained.
I bit my lip and turned back to the fighting going on in front of us. Alice fell silent and watched as well.
My eyes sought out a certain russet colored wolf that was fighting with Emmett. I smiled as Jake barked a laugh, dodging Emmett's assaults. He was enjoying himself immensely as he fought with the strongest and biggest vampire we knew. I laughed when Jake actually managed to pin Emmett, causing the large vampire to growl angrily and shove Jake off him. Jake bounded away, barking out another laugh.
"Your wolf seems to be having fun with Emmett," Alice giggled.
"I noticed. He better watch that tail of his, though. Emmett keeps eyeing it," I grinned.
We watched as Emmett reached out and yanked on Jake's tail, causing Jake to yelp and jump away. Alice fell over, laughing uncontrollably. I was laughing, too, at Jake and at Alice. Jake looked over in our direction and growled causing Alice to lose herself in another fit of giggles.
"Alice," I tried to scold.
The laughter in my voice didn't deliver the intended message, though, because she just continued to laugh. I sighed and shook my head, turning my attention back to the field.
Everyone was stopping their fighting. Sam was standing by Carlisle in his human form. Paul and Jared were on either side of him, protecting their Alpha. The rest of the wolves were making their way over to me. Leah came over and nudged me with her snout. I grinned and stood up. Jake was on my other side, mock growling at Alice.
"Oh, hush, puppy. You know it was funny," Alice grinned.
Jake snorted in her direction before turning to me. I laughed and threaded my fingers in his fur. He was ignoring Alice, watching Sam instead.
"I think your mate is mad at me," Alice pouted.
"I'm sorry, Alice. I'll punish him later," I promised.
Jake's head whipped in my direction, his eyes wide. I didn't need to be in his mind to know the direction his thoughts had taken. I smacked his shoulder and glared at him.
"And he won't enjoy it!" I added.
Jake whined and lowered his head, giving me the puppy-dog eyes, literally. I rolled my eyes and looked at Alice. She was struggling to keep in her laughter.
"Bella! Come here."
I turned my attention to the field and saw Sam watching me. I moved out of the crowd of wolves around me and walked towards him, frowning slightly. Jake was right beside me, my fingers still wrapped up in his fur. He pushed me so that I was behind Sam instead of beside him, not wanting me to be close to the vampires. I rolled my eyes at him, but moved to where he wanted me.
"What's up, Sam?" I asked.
"Carlisle wants to talk to you about something," Sam nodded towards the vampire in question.
I turned and smiled at Carlisle, waiting for him to speak.
"Bella, in light of the recent discovery about your shield, I thought it would be a good idea if you were to come over to the house after school to see if we can develop it further. Kate would be more than willing to use her power to assist us," Carlisle explained.
Jake growled and the fur on his back rose along with every other wolf in the pack. Sam was the only one who didn't growl, but he did start shaking.
"I think you might want to rephrase that, Carlisle," I suggested lightly.
Carlisle looked around at the angry wolves and quickly elaborated.
"What I meant was, Kate would shock someone else, not Bella, and Bella would attempt to shield that person. Edward has offered to stand in as the guinea pig," Carlisle indicated Edward who was standing behind him slightly.
"No offense, Doc, but I don't think that'll work," Sam frowned.
"Why?" Edward asked sharply.
"For one thing, why would you getting shocked effect Bella? She doesn't have any tie to you anymore. Second, I don't want you anywhere near her," Sam growled, leaning forward.
"Sam," I warned softly.
He took a deep breath and came down off the balls of his feet. I waited until I was sure he had himself under control before I spoke.
"I think Edward will do fine. Will tomorrow be good?" I asked, smiling slightly.
"That would be fine," Carlisle agreed.
"You sure you don't mind getting repeatedly shocked?" I asked Edward, still smiling.
"If it helps you gain control over this power of yours, no, I don't mind," Edward admitted, returning my smile.
"It's your body," I shrugged.
"If that's all, Carlisle," Sam trailed off, obviously in a hurry to return home.
"Actually, I wondered if you would be willing to go through a few experiments, Bella. Just so I can see how your abilities affect the rest of your body. I'd like to run a few tests on your blood, maybe have a few physical challenges for you. I want to know the extent of your capabilities," Carlisle requested.
"I don't see why not," I nodded.
"Perfect," Carlisle grinned, clearly excited.
I laughed slightly and shook my head at his doctor coming out.
"Anything else?" Sam asked, his arms crossed.
"No. Thank you, Sam," Carlisle bowed his head.
Sam nodded once before turning around and phasing. Throwing his head back, he let out a howl. The rest of the wolves joined in and I felt shivers run down my spine at the beauty of it.
"See you tomorrow," I murmured as the howling came to an end.
Carlisle simply nodded, his eyes distant. I noticed the wolves' howl had a similar effect on the vampires. That caused me to smile as Jake lowered himself to the ground beside me. The rest of the pack was coming to stand around us, shifting impatiently.
"Bella, wait. Can I please talk to you for a minute?" Edward pleaded, taking a step closer.
The entire pack was immediately between us. Jake leapt to his feet and started growling. Edward backed up, his eyes locked on mine. I bit my lip and debated.
"What about, Edward?" I asked, sighing.
Edward frowned and furrowed his brows.
"Look, if this is about me and Jake or me and you, I don't want to hear it," I started off.
"It's not about that," Edward grumbled, glaring at Jake briefly.
Jake snarled in response.
"Please. It'll only take a few minutes," Edward pleaded.
I sighed and looked between Jake and Sam. Sam snorted and shook his head roughly while Jake continued growling softly.
"Fine. You have five minutes," I told him, moving through the wolves towards him.
"Thank you," Edward breathed, relaxing his shoulders.
Jake reached out and took hold of my shirt with his teeth. I jerked to a stop and turned to look at him. He was still growling softly and was glaring at me.
"It'll be fine. We're not going too far away," I assured him.
He growled once more for emphasis before letting go of my shirt. Edward frowned at Jake as we walked away.
"You realize I am going to tell them whatever it is we talk about, right? And this doesn't exactly give us privacy because everyone can probably hear us anyway?" I asked, not looking at him.
"I know, but it gives the illusion, right?" Edward smirked.
I huffed a breath and came to a stop a few yards away from the others. I turned to face him.
"What do you want to talk about?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"Are you seriously considering fighting in this battle?" Edward demanded.
"Yes," I answered, frowning slightly.
"How can you be so stupid? You do realize that we are going up against vampires? Human drinking vampires? They wouldn't think twice about draining you dry," Edward growled.
"Stupid? You did not just call me stupid! I can't believe you!" I shouted.
"Bella, that's not what I meant," Edward tried to back pedal.
"No! That's exactly what you meant. You know, what, Edward? It doesn't matter what you think. This is my fight! Not yours, not your family's, not even my pack's. This is all on me! And if I want to fight in it, then I will!" I snapped furiously.
"You're human, Bella! I could kill you right now with just a touch! Do you want to die?" Edward asked angrily.
"I'm not arguing with you over this," I muttered, spinning around to walk away.
Edward reached out and grabbed hold of my arm. Without a second thought, I tapped into the pack's strength and spun around, punching him right in the nose. There was the sound of rocks crashing together as his head whipped back and he released me. We were instantly surrounded by the pack and the Cullens. Everyone was hissing and growling at each other.
"Stop! Now!" I yelled.
Instantly, the wolves fell back. Once they did, the Cullens came out of their protective crouches.
"This is between me and Edward," I ground out.
Edward stared at me, his eyes wide.
"You need to realize something, Edward. I can defend myself. Just because I'm human doesn't mean anything. I can tap into the pack strength and do the same amount of damage that you can," I explained as calmly as possible.
"Fascinating," Carlisle murmured, eyeing me appreciatively.
I grinned at him before turning my attention back to Edward.
"I'm not your responsibility anymore. You can't protect me. It's not your place," I said.
"I can't just stand by and watch you get killed, Bella," Edward frowned.
"I'm not going to get killed. Just because you think I'm helpless, doesn't mean I am!" I cried, throwing my hands up in the air in frustration.
"I just want you safe," Edward continued.
"You need to back off, Edward. You are the one who left me, remember? If you feel like I'm being reckless, you have no one, but yourself, to blame," I pointed out.
Edward flinched as though I'd struck him and the pain in his eyes almost made me feel bad for him.
"Look, let's put this off until later, alright? I'm tired, my pack is tired. We've had a rough day. If you still want to hash this out after tomorrow, fine. Right now, I'm going home," I sighed.
I noticed Jake was beside me and placed my hand on his side. He took his cue and lowered himself to the ground, his eyes focused on Edward. I climbed up onto his back and he stood. He turned us towards home without a backwards glance.
I focused on the trees passing us by as we flew towards Forks. I tried not to think about what Edward had said or what was going to happen tomorrow. I knew Charlie would be waiting up for me and I needed to be okay before we got there.
By the time Jake stopped by my door, I had calmed down considerably. Jake let me slide off before running into the woods to change. He came out a few seconds later, taking my hand and kissing me briefly.
"Go put Charlie to bed. I'll meet you in your room," Jake murmured, pulling away.
"Okay," I agreed, moving towards the front door.
Charlie was sitting in his armchair, watching TV. He looked up as soon as I walked in. Relief was evident on his face.
"Hey, Bells. Meeting go good?" Charlie asked, standing up and stretching.
"As good as can be expected," I told him, following him upstairs.
"Everyone's still in one piece, right?" Charlie asked.
"Yes, Dad. Everyone is still in one piece," I smiled, steering him into his room.
"Kay. Night, Bells," Charlie yawned.
"Good night, Dad," I called, walking into my room.
Jake was laid out on my bed, smiling at me. I returned his smile, grabbed my pajamas and walked to the bathroom. After completing my nightly ritual, I returned to my room to find him staring at the ceiling.
"You alright?" I asked quietly, climbing into bed beside him.
"Yeah," Jake sighed, rubbing his face tiredly.
One of his arms wrapped around me instantly, holding me tight.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
Jake frowned at the ceiling for a long time before rolling onto his side to look at me.
"Maybe Cullen is right. You could get hurt during battle. Hell, you could get killed. Maybe you shouldn't fight," Jake murmured, frowning at me now.
"Jacob Black, do not make me punch you, too," I threatened.
"Bells, be serious," Jake groaned.
"I am!" I insisted.
"Do you have any idea what it would do to me if you got hurt? Or killed? Bells, I couldn't bare it. I need you," Jake choked out.
"Yeah, well, I need you, too. And I'm going to be in that field when the Volturi arrive and I'm going to fight alongside you and the rest of our pack. We're in this together, Jake. You promised me we wouldn't lose anybody. I'm holding you to that," I reminded him.
Jake just continued to stare at me, his expression pained.
"Go to sleep, Jake. We'll talk more at the Cullen's tomorrow," I sighed, rolling over so my back was to him.
I felt Jake shift around behind me and frowned when I didn't feel his arms wrap around my waist. I sat up and turned to look at him. He was lying on his back again.
"Um, what are you doing?" I asked.
"Letting you sleep," Jake answered, not looking at me.
"How am I supposed to fall asleep if your arms aren't around me?" I questioned.
His eyes moved and caught mine. I arched a brow at him before lowering myself back onto the bed, my back still to him. He shifted around again, but this time, his arms snaked over my waist and pulled me into his chest. I snuggled against him and sighed contently.
"Much better."
"Good night, my Bella," Jake chuckled, kissing the back of my neck.
"Good night, my Jacob."
AWWWWWW! So cute, right?!? Hahaha! Okay, so this chapter took a little longer than expect! Sorry! Hopefully the next few will come out quicker. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to make this story. I'm thinking we might make it to thirty, or we might not. It depends. I don't think it'll go on for much longer, though. Sad, I know. But, not to fret, my dearies! We aren't done, yet! Next chapter will be Bella practicing at the Cullen's and a little shock therapy for Edward! Haha! Fun, fun, fun!!