I held the smooth stone in my hand for a moment before aiming it carefully, and letting it loose. I watched as the rock skipped across the crystal face of the water, disturbing it and making little sparks of silver flash into the air.

"One, two, three... four," I counted, smiling to myself as the stone finally dunked, slipping into the cold water of the creek to stay for years, until it would be noticed and unburied by another stranger eager to skip stones.

I was crouched by a small creek behind Elijah's place, a little ways into the woods. It was a day and a half since the struggle with James. I'd spent most of it alone, making sure to not get too close to anybody. Elijah was alive, and perfectly fine, currently in the hospital, resting. Bella was fine.
James was dead. Elijah's house- or at least, his living-room- was ruined. Everything had happened quickly, and ended as fast as it had started.

I had tasted Elijah's blood. It had been hard to stop, but I'd stopped, because I knew I wanted him alive far more than I wanted his blood. But I couldn't look at Elijah.

I glanced around. It was dusk, and for once, not rainy at all, but cool and relaxed outside. The forest was pretty up here, with signs of fall coming, and the creek was beautiful to watch. Skipping stones was always a great way to pass time, anyways.

But I wasn't just here to pass time. I was meeting someone here.

There came footsteps from behind me, ruffling in the leaves and shrubbery. Crouching on the bank of the creek, gazing out at the cold water, I didn't turn to greet my visitor. He spoke first.

"You were expecting me, Nessie?"

I sighed, and closed my eyes briefly before standing up, and putting a hand in my jean's pocket as I turned to face the old man. "Yes, actually."

He looked exactly the same since I'd last seen him. Hands in his pockets, old eyes peering over his thick glasses, the wrinkles on his face like crumpled paper.

"Do you understand why I'm here, Renesmee?"

I stared coolly at him. "You have a story to tell me, don't you?"

He smiled slightly. "That's right," he murmured, walking towards me until we stood on the soft ground of the creek's bank. We stood there, gazing out at the glittering water for a moment.

"I had a dream. About Elijah... except he was older. And he told me... "this is what could have happened, if you'd chosen me". What the hell kind of sentence is that?"

The old man shook his head. "Not a sentence at all, but a riddle. He's telling you everything you've been begging to know about since you got here, and yet you're not listening."

I stared at him, beginning to shake with anger. "Alright. Look at me. I've had to ward off a father unknowingly intent on committing incest, deal with my pale, hormone-driven pre-vamp mom, kick a vampire's ass, and suck the blood out of my best friend. So, I'm sure as hell not in the mood to deal with you."

He smiled briefly. "And yet here I am."

I looked away. "I don't know how much time I have left here."

"The watch will let you know when time is up," he responded simply.

I stared at him, frustrated. "What's that supposed to mean, grandpa?"

He glanced over at me, eyes cool. "It means, you shouldn't underestimate me. There's a lot more to this than you know."

"Exactly," I sang. "And it would really be swell if you could help me out on that. And besides, I don't underestimate you, old man."

He smiled, a twinkle in his eye. "So you'd agree that I could skip a stone farther than you?"

I crossed my arms. "I'm the best stone-skipper here. You're dreaming."

The old man shook his head, a half cough, half chuckle, as he began walking away. I sighed and followed him.

"I don't even know your name, old man!"

He smiled sadly. Glancing around, he at last spoke, in his rough, weary voice. "Names matter not, Renesmee."

I locked my jaw, staring at him through eyes that were done with lies. "It matters to me."

The old man shook his head, and then bent down, taking a small, smooth stone in his soft old hands, the perfect choice for stone-skipping, and looked out at the creek, aiming the stone briefly before letting it go. I watched as it skipped. One, two, three, four... five.

Eyes wide, I looked over at the old man, who smiled, if not a little smugly. "Never underestimate. Never assume. There are many things in this world that you could understand... if you just listened."

I swallowed hard. "I'm listening."

The old man studied me for a long heart-beat, undecided. Coming to a decision, eyes serious, he offered a crooked smile. "You are ready, Renesmee."

I frowned. "Ready for what?" I murmured.

Voice strong, yet somehow pleased, "For a story."

"Hey, pussy-cat."

Elijah was in the door-frame of the guest-room. I looked up, startled.

"Elijah? They released you?"

He shrugged. "What can I say. My charm gave them no choice."

I smiled uncomfortably, slipping the watch I'd been toying with into my pocket. "That's great. How do you feel?" I murmured, getting up from the desk and moving over to him.

"Well... pretty good, actually. Considering you sucked my blood out the other day," he quipped.

I gave him an exasperated look, and took his arm in my grasp, flipping it over to gaze at the small crescent-moon scar on his wrist. My fingers brushed over it, and it was a few degrees colder than the rest of his skin. It was the bite Bella was supposed to have, not Elijah.

"I feel terrible about this," I breathed.

Elijah smiled lopsidedly. "Don't feel too bad. I don't think it's scary that you bit me. I think it's... sexy," he decided.

I rolled my eyes, dropping his arm. "Really now?"

"Really now."

I sighed, and draped my hands over him, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. "I'm glad that's all over. I... I really missed you."

"You too," he said fondly, touching a hand to my cheek when we pulled away. "Why didn't you come visit me, you jerk?"

"I just... couldn't."

He shrugged. "Well, okay then."

Sighing, I turned, and glanced down the hallway. The house had been pretty smashed in from the fight, but we'd called in some private workers to rebuild the living-room, and it was coming along quite nicely. They'd quit for today, but would be back soon. Carlisle had kindly offered to pay for it.

"Michelle's going crazy. She blames you for this whole mess, yet still refuses to come home."

I shook my head, smiling. "Let her be crazy. I don't care."

Elijah agreed, and broke away to the kitchen, to warm up some food. He claimed he was starving, and that the food at the hospital had been dreadful. "So what have you been up to all day?"

I leaned against the counter in the kitchen, watching him stab the numbers into the microwave. "Oh... nothing much."

He heard a strange note in my voice, and stopped dead, turning to look at me. "The old man visited again, didn't he?"

I flinched just slightly, and pursed my lips. "Maybe."

Elijah dropped the food he was making and walked over to me, staring into my eyes. "Nessie, what did he say? What's wrong?"

I shrugged away, shaking my head. "Nothing. He acted like he was going to tell me something, then opted out, and disappeared. The ass," I growled.

He frowned. "You sure?"

I glared openly now. "Why would I lie to you?"

Elijah put up his hands like a criminal might when a cop aims a gun at him. "Sorry, sorry, just asking." He returned to heating up his food, and I hesitated before slipping away, back to the guest room, where I shut and locked the door.

I got a call later from Bella.

"Hey, Abigail," she said, sounding happy.

"Hey, Bella," I sighed into the phone.

"Look, I was wondering. Edward is basically making me go to the prom this year- I know, stupid- but it's hard to deny him anything. And I wouldn't want to go alone. I think it would be okay to, uh, double-date. I mean, it was Edward's idea..."

I frowned into the phone. "You mean, like you go with Edward, and I go with-"

"With Elijah, yeah."

Silence. I gazed out the window, at the gray wetness, and knew that wasn't a good idea. "I don't know. I'll think about it."

"You okay, Abigail?" Bella asked quietly after a moment.

I cleared my throat. "Yes, great. I'm just tired... and since the thing with James... it's been hard," I lied. Yes, James was some of it. But not all of it.

"I know. I understand," she told me seriously. "But I think a dance would be a great place to unravel, and... I dunno, have fun. Put this behind us. Celebrate things," she added with a giggle, and I knew she meant Edward.

She sounded really chipper, and happy, for once. I was glad for her. Edward was the best thing that ever happened to Bella Swan, period. "Well,
I'll see. Thanks for asking. I'll see you guys soon."

"Oh, okay. Bye, Abby."

Abby. My name.

"Bye."

I can't apologize enough for taking such a long time to update. My excuse? A hella lot has been going on, and trust me, I pull all the emphasis known to man-kind when saying "hella lot". Basically? I have had no time to sit and write, which is shame on me. I hope this new chapter makes things a little better (:

Oh, and before one of you comes and shoots me for leaving you at that cruel cliffhanger last chapter, I apologize again. You might wonder why I chose to fast-forward from the moment Nessie touched Elijah's blood, to a day later. I just felt the plot needed to move along, and the craziness of hospital scenes would only slow things down. And I wanted to get the scene with the old man published, too. Things are becoming clearer, but I can't give away too much. Not yet(:

Review, please, loves, I'm anxious to see what you think so far. Has anyone called you awesome yet today? Because you sure deserve it. (: