A/N: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight & Co.

Epic thanks to OCD for starting the Twilighted board & saving me from failing all around!

twilighted(dot)net/forum/viewtopic(dot)php?f=33&t=2878

**

The Next Day

Bella POV

I pressed my foot further into the pedal, willing my truck to comply.

**

After we had left the basement last night, I had curled up on the couch, finally letting my muscles relax. Initially, I had thought that there would be no way I could sleep. However, after several minutes of reflecting on the events that had taken place throughout the evening, I found myself drifting off. I welcomed the break from reality.

I had been awoken a few hours later by Esme, asking if I was able to go to school. I knew if I ditched class there would be no way Charlie would let me come back here tonight, so I mustered all the willpower I could find and lifted myself from that couch.

The rest of the day had followed in a similar fashion. I was in class, but I wasn't really there. I couldn't make myself focus on anything except regaining my vampire's trust. I thought of all the ways I could approach him but I found faults in all of them. What if he never trusts me again? I knew I had to do this the right way, I just couldn't decide which way that might be.

When the bell rang, releasing me from school, I nearly sprinted to my truck. I was amazed at how much energy I seemed to have now that the end was in my reach. I hopped into the truck and found Alice already sitting in the passenger seat, a tentative smile on her face.

"You need to stop at home, Bella," she said confidently.

"I know," I sighed back. This was one of the things I had been considering all day. I knew I had to go home to leave dinner for Charlie and a note explaining my absence for the evening and then I'd be free for the night. I sighed longingly at the thought. "Are you coming with me?"

"Yep, I'll help you make dinner for Charlie. I actually wanted to talk to you a bit anyway."

Here we go. I nodded. "What's up?"

Alice had gone on to warn me of all the different ways this situation was unpleasant. She made sure to tell me that she'd support me in any way that she could, but that I needed to be aware of my own needs: food, sleep and hygiene, all of which had been neglected since dinner last night.

"So," she continued, "I'll fix something for Charlie and you can get cleaned up?"

"Fine."

She raised an eyebrow and half-smiled. "Bella, maybe you should take a nap, too?"

"I'm alright," I attempted to snap, but my yawn ruined the effect.

She chuckled, holding up her hands in surrender. "Just a thought," she nearly whispered.

When we got to my house, I had nearly run up the stairs to the bathroom. After cleaning up and rejoining Alice in the kitchen, she sat me down and shoved a plate of spaghetti into my face.

"Eat," she said with a smile, pulling out the chair next to me. I complied, my stomach eager for the sustenance. "So…" she began.

I looked up from my bowl. Just spit it out, Alice.

"Why…"

I rolled my eyes. "Why what?" I could already guess what, but I wasn't going to let her off quite so easily.

"Why'd you do it?" I cocked my head to the side. "Do you realize how dangerous..."

"Yes," I cut her off. "I don't know exactly why I did it, Alice. He's just so alone and afraid and... what kind of person would I be if I hadn't tried to help?"

"A person who sees the value of their life?" She smiled. "I just want you to be careful, Bella. We talked a lot last night about what to do and in the end, we, for the most part, agreed that it'd maybe an okay idea for you to come back tonight. I mean, we all know you won't quit until we give in, but I want you to know that you…basically... have our support."

"Really?"

"In the sense that we're planning to let you back into our home, yes. I can see that we're not going to let you into the basement alone, but I can also see you creeping down the steps again," she said, a small smile playing on her lips. "Right now I see Esme with you, but that seems to be changing often."

I nodded quietly and changed the subject. For some reason I just didn't want to talk to Alice about what was going on with me.

We talked for the next half an hour about nothing of importance. I could see her little hints throughout the entire thing, but I was desperate for the light-hearted atmosphere that came with petty gossip. Every time I dodged one of her blatant attempts to bring the conversation back to my vampire I could see her eyes grow a little more frustrated.

When I finished up with dinner the mood change was actually palpable. I was suddenly left with the knot in the pit of my stomach that had been eating away at me throughout the school day. Time to face the music. I sighed.

I had left a note for Charlie telling him we were working on a large project that was due on Friday and would be out late, but that I would call him when I knew he would be home.

**

Now, as I stomped harder on the gas pedal, my nerves began to get the better of me. My mind kept replaying every look and movement from the previous night, trying to prepare a plan of attack for tonight. I couldn't help but frown every time I saw that look of betrayal in his eyes and I made it my personal goal to keep fighting for him, no matter how much he hated me. I owed him that much.

"Bella, you can't force this truck to go any faster than it wants to go, you know that."

I glowered out the window and pushed my foot to the floor, the only reaction out of my ancient vehicle being a disgruntled clunk. My fingers tapped furiously on the steering wheel and I willed my nerves to relax. I thought back to this drive almost twenty-four hours ago; I was nowhere near this nervous that time.

"Has anyone been down there?" I asked, eager for the distraction.

"Well, Carlisle tried to go down a few hours ago..." I anticipated a very different response, so when Alice answered my eyes immediately snapped up to meet hers.

"What?" I shook my head in a vain effort to clear it. "Really? What happened?"

"Umm, well..." she began slowly before it poured out. "Carlisle didn't want to try to feed him with you there because then you'd have wanted to be in the room, and while the general assumption might be that you would understand the danger in that, you don't seem to see the danger in any of this."

"So he ate?" My whole face lit up and I could feel a huge weight taken off my chest. I was brought back down to Earth when I noticed Alice's sullen attitude.

"Umm... well, no," she replied softly.

"Alice, what happened?"

"Well, Carlisle got blood from the hospital this morning like he promised you," she began, "and then we decided to have Jasper go downstairs and see if he'd eat it. But, because of last night, I think, he wouldn't even let Jasper get all the way down the stairs before he started the crazy growl, so Jasper stopped – tried to calm him down some – but as it turns out, the vampire was so worked up that he was affecting Jasper and not the other way around..."

I sighed, the hole opening back up in my chest. He didn't eat. He didn't let anyone near him.

"… so Jasper left the blood on the foot of the staircase and we all sort of hoped that, since he feels better when no one is down there, he'd be more comfortable eating it. But when Esme went down an hour later the blood was still there. It's not surprising, really. I saw that he isn't fed when you go down there this evening, I don't know why they expected anything different..." She was in full ramble mode now as I began trying to clear my head.

Why wouldn't he eat? Although my vampire knowledge was somewhat inadequate, I was always under the assumption that if a vampire smells blood they eat it. If a vampire is thirsty and smells blood then there's almost no way for them to prevent themselves from eating it. He was making this so much more difficult then it needed to be.

I finally reached the long driveway and pulled in, completely oblivious to what I was going to do about my vampire.

**

"Bella," Carlisle smiled while Esme pulled me into a hug.

"We're glad you came back, honey," Esme chimed into my ear.

"Of course I came back." I glanced around the living room at the wide-eyed figures, trying to decide what exactly they had expected me to do. "Where's Jasper?"

"Oh, he left a little after," Esme shot a questioning look at Alice. After Alice's answering nod, she continued, "after he went downstairs earlier. It's all been so difficult on him, and now it seems like when he's anywhere near the basement… well, it takes its toll on them both."

I nodded.

"Are you planning on going back downstairs, Bella?" Carlisle asked.

I wasn't sure what their game was, but that particular question caught me completely off guard. "I… had... yes…?"

"We've each given this whole thing a lot of thought, and Alice says that he shouldn't try to hurt you tonight. So we were wondering – hoping – that, with you there, he'd let one of us into the basement as well? Sort of… try to get him somewhat comfortable around one of us so that maybe we'll be able to get him to feed soon? This afternoon he wouldn't let Esme or Jasper anywhere near him, but maybe if we can get him to feel a little more secure with one of us he'd be a little less anxious when we approach him alone?"

I shrugged. It sounded like a fine plan, save for the fact that their presence would add to his desire to eat me. I suppose we weren't trying to think in those terms just yet.

"Okay," Carlisle nodded. "Would you like some dinner?"

"No thanks," I said softly, my heart accelerating at the dread of what was to come. Honestly, I wasn't afraid at all of him hurting me physically; it was the idea of absolute rejection that was horrifying. I knew that the only option I had was to try again.

As I walked toward the basement, I felt Esme's hand on my shoulder. "Be careful," she whispered.

I nodded and with one last deep breath, I slowly opened the door.

**

The feeling of déjà vu crept into my mind as I made my way down the staircase, hoping that he would let me be with him and knowing that I wouldn't be able to stop until he did. Alice was sitting on the top step as Carlisle had yesterday, remaining still and quiet. Her eyes were closed as she leaned against the wall, giving me a false sense of privacy.

With one last deep breath to tide me over until I reached the floor, I began maneuvering the steps. As I slowly made my way down, I recognized that I had no clue what I would do when I got there. I briefly contemplated crawling over to him again, but decided that I'd just do what felt... natural, I guess.

I nearly cried out loud when his body came back into my view. I don't know what I had expected to change overnight, but my heart fell when I realized that everything was the same. Not only was his physical condition no different than when I had left, though, but his disposition hadn't changed at all either. His head was still buried between his knees, his frame still trembling at the sound of my approach. The atmosphere around me immediately darkened, any lightness that had been gathered throughout the day disappearing with my ignorance.

I noticed his back lift as he inhaled sharply. His whole body tensed in reaction to what he smelled. His trembling faltered briefly, but it was enough to give me a little bit of confidence. He remembers me, for better or worse. I nodded my head to myself.

I wasn't exactly surprised when he started growling, but it was still disappointing. I had expected it, known it was coming, but still found myself hoping that it wouldn't.

Ignoring his growls, I decided to try something different for the moment.

I made my way to the wall several feet from the corner and slid down it, my back resting and my legs outstretched in front of me. I put my hands on my knees and sat still for several minutes, contemplating what I would do with this new dynamic.

His face was still hidden from my view and his body still shook, but I hoped that the distance I left between us would help him become more comfortable.

We were both startled when the basement door opened, and Alice gave me a small smile before exiting, closing the door behind her.

Huh. Interesting.

They had told me that they wouldn't leave me down here alone, so the fact that she just up and left had me reeling. I pushed it aside; there were more pressing matters I was dealing with right now.

I turned my head to look at him. He was still growling softly, still hiding from me. I thought back to what I had done yesterday. On a whim, I decided to speak.

"I don't… I don't know if you can understand me. Really, I don't even know if you can hear me…" I whispered to him. I stopped speaking then, gathering my thoughts and figuring out how I wanted to approach him.

After several seconds of nothing but growling, I spoke again.

"I'm Bella," I whispered. My voiced cracked, but when his growling let up some I decided to keep going. Can't hurt…

"I… I don't want to hurt you." Images of the last ninety times I'd spoken this line flashed in my mind and I cringed, but continued, "I wish I knew your name."

I closed my eyes. For a brief second I felt foolish for talking to someone who clearly couldn't understand me, but as quickly as the feelings came, the guilt followed. So I began reminiscing about my childhood aloud. I tried to take myself out of that basement, back to Phoenix, so I could share my happy stories and have them be believable.

I told him about my mom, I told him about my first best friend. I told him about my pet goldfish and wanting to put food coloring into his tank. I told my vampire about when I learned to play Heart and Soul during my only piano lesson, and I told him that I had quit because it hurt my fingers. I remembered my ballet class when I was six, and how proud my family had been when I mustered all my bravery and danced like there was no tomorrow. I told him about my twelfth birthday party and my first crush.

The memories flowed in a continuous stream as I tried to remain tranquil, and I'm not sure the exact point that it happened, but somewhere along the line he stopped growling.

I opened my eyes and found him looking at me, his black eyes devoid of emotion, as they had been all night. But at least they were open. And at least he wasn't growling.

I smiled, elated with the small victory, and stared into his eyes for several more seconds without speaking.

He seemed conflicted about how he felt with my presence, so I decided to be bold.

I crawled closer to him, trying to ignore the reemergence of his growl. I had to be patient, I knew this going in.

I repositioned myself so that I was sitting on the floor next to him, my legs crossed beneath me. His eyes closed as his body trembled, but his growling stayed low and even. I moved my hand to his arm, tracing the veins down his wrist until I met his fingers, tightly clutching his calves.

I understood that he likely wasn't really listening, if he was even capable of it, but I still wanted to choose my words carefully. I sat next to him with my fingers covering his clenched fist, contemplating what I should tell him.

"The Cullen's are good people… really, they are. I know you can't see it yet, but I think one day you might. Everyone just wants to help you and we're all sort of floundering around. We don't understand what happened to you, but we're trying. And we just... we just want to help you."

I gently squeezed his fingers, trying to reiterate my meaning through touch.

His eyebrows pulled into an expression that gave away his raging internal conflict, his black eyes staring directly into mine. I wasn't sure what the battle was, or which way he was swaying, but I could see his trembling growing violently, his shaking hand forcing tremors through my entire arm.

I gripped it firmly and whispered, "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you." I tried to make my smile as warm as possible, but I know he could see the pain underneath it. "Hey," I whispered. "I'm... I'm sorry... about last... about last night." I took a deep breath, waiting to see if he understood.

He didn't show any outward signs of understanding and I felt myself frowning. "I'm so sorry," I whispered, closing my eyes again. "I... I didn't know. I didn't know that it would be like that. I just... I just wanted to help you... I'm sorry."

I made sure to maintain eye contact so as not to startle him and slowly, I brought my hands up to his face. His body naturally recoiled, as I suspected it would, but when my fingers contacted his skin his eyes closed. He trembled softly but otherwise allowed me to caress him. I pushed his hair from his face, as I had last night, and was unable to contain the smile that was playing on my lips.

He was so beautiful. I couldn't wait until he was healthy.

I moved my hand to the back of his neck, sweeping the hair there away from his skin. I let my fingers graze his neck and jaw, down his arm, up his back. Where I touched him, the tremors followed, but it ceased to matter. We were okay, and I couldn't help but let the weight lift from my shoulders.

I'm not sure what came over me at that moment, but I couldn't stop myself. Watching his body react to my touch and knowing that he didn't hate me triggered something. Slowly, I rose to my knees, closing what little distance there was left between us. His body withdrew further into his corner, but I didn't back off. I raised my other arm to the side of his torso and tentatively attempted to lead him closer to me. His frame jerked at my touch but he otherwise complied with my silent request. I rearranged my legs from under me so I could have better access to him, and carefully, avoiding as many wounds as possible, I wrapped my arms around his waist.

With his body pressed so closely to mine, I could actually feel the growling emanating from his chest, but he didn't pull away.

I thought I would die from the excitement of him letting me do this. His arms hung limply at his sides for several seconds, but eventually, I felt them slowly lift. We were both shaking so hard that I couldn't tell which tremors belonged to which person, but I didn't care. I had my vampire in my arms and we were both safe for the time being.

I could feel his body shaking with broken sobs, shuddering fearfully, but it didn't matter at that moment. My own body was reacting similarly. My eyes welled with tears of excitement and anxiety but I couldn't force the smile from my lips. I snaked one hand up his neck and to the back of his head, forcing his weight onto my shoulder.

"I don't want to hurt you," I sobbed against his hair, knowing, in that moment, that he already knew that. He knew I wasn't his enemy, and he was willing to let me be his ally. I smiled as I held his head, shaking from joy and fear and sadness.

I held his trembling frame for several minutes, telling him in as many ways that I could think of that I wasn't here to hurt him. When my whole body became numb, I shifted. I maneuvered my legs so that they were out in front of me and I was leaning into his corner, never once loosening my grip on him. He didn't fight me.

I guided his head downward until it rested in my lap, and upon contact, he let out a long, shaky breath. He never relaxed, never stopped trembling, but never once did he try to distance us.

While my vampire lay shaking on the floor next to me, I stretched my body and snatched the blanket from last night. I covered us both, and began stroking his quivering face with care that I didn't even know I possessed.

**

A/N: Review! I was ELATED with the response from last chapter, keep 'em coming!