A/N: Okay I know it's been over a week… I'm sorry :( Real life has been kind of crazy on my end. I honestly don't think I'll post again until after Easter… but if the reviews are amazing who knows? ;)

This chapter is crazy long to make up for the brevity of the last one… enjoy :)

Once again… Stephenie Meyer's characters… not mine

Chapter 20 - Revelations

I had remained in my zombie-like state for three days before it was broken by a knock on the door. Mechanically I got off the floor and opened it. There, on the other side, with a blinding smile on her face, was my little one. I threw my arms around her and hugged her tightly against me. I had missed her so much. Ness giggled and wrapped her arms around me. I had forgotten how hot her skin was against mine. After a few moments, I pushed her away from me slightly so I could get a good look at her. My little one was glowing. Jacob was doing wonders for her. I could see the love radiating around her. I still couldn't believe that she was marrying one of my old friends. The idea was somewhat strange to me, but I knew that since Jake was a werewolf he wouldn't age as long as he was phasing regularly.

Finally, Nessie said, "Mom, you look horrible. Aunt Alice would kill you if she saw you like this."

Nessie gave me a look of feigned horror and I returned one of surprise. She was calling Alice her aunt? After a moment, it sunk in that the family had welcomed her as one of their own with open arms. I was happy that even though Edward and I were no longer together, they loved my little one enough to treat her like family.

I finally said, "Ness, how many members of the family know who I am?"

Ness smiled guiltily and said, "Just dad and Aunt Alice. No one else knows - yet."

Finally, I took in a couple of deep breaths and said, "Ness, I am not exactly working to be a runway model. Right now, I am finally allowing myself to deal with the pain that I put off for so long. Edward's little performance in Paris has not helped that one bit."

Ness hesitated for a second and then she said, "Mom, I need to show you something."

I took a huge step back and growled out, "Ness, I don't want to see anything your father wants to show me. I know that he lied in Paris. I know he doesn't really love me. I know he doesn't – want me"

At the last two words, I broke down again. Ness tried to come over and comfort me but I pushed her away.

With a heavy sigh she gently said, "Mom, I'll be back. I love you."

With that, she walked across the room and gently shut the door behind her.

About an hour later, I heard a frustrated and hard pounding on the door.

I growled out, "Come in," and the door swung open to reveal the whole council and my daughter looking down on me.

Their expressions surprised me completely. Jane was ecstatic with a giant tooth-baring smile spread over her face. Alec had a small tight smile on his lips but pain and agony in his eyes. Marcus looked down at me lovingly like a father with a sweet and gentle smile over his wise face. Ness was almost vibrating from excitement.

I looked at them all warily and said, "What is going on here? I'm not exactly in a good mood."

Jane looked at me and her smile intensified as she said, "You aren't in a good mood now, but you will be. The council has decided. You have no choice. You will allow Nessie to share what she has come here to show you."

Something about their determination terrified me. My daughter was going to show me something that was going to change everything for me. I knew this from the look on their faces. Whatever it was, I could tell that they all thought it was a good thing. However, my version of something good and theirs were vastly different. I was not going to allow anything that might cause me even more pain than I was already feeling.

I stood up with a determined stance and said, "No, you cannot make this decision for me. I will stop this here and now. I will not allow anything else to make the pain worse. I can tell from all of your expressions that you think this will be a good thing, but usually when someone thinks something will be good for me, it ends up being very bad."

Unbidden my mind traveled back into my weak human memories and the day Edward left me for my own good. I could remember the disaster of that fateful birthday party, waking up in the hospital to find my ring missing and watching the DVD that had ripped my heart apart.

Suddenly, I had three pairs of vampire hands holding me down while Nessie came down towards me, conflict raging in her eyes.

Slowly she said, "Mom you need to see this. I will force it on you if I have to, but I would rather you watched this willingly. Believe me, this will not hurt you. In fact, I think it may heal you. Please mom, just trust me. I wouldn't do this if I thought it had any chance of hurting you."

I saw the pleading look in my daughter's eyes. She truly thought that what she was doing would help me. I knew that I had no choice in the matter, really, and decided that I would rather save myself some dignity.

I scowled at the three vampires holding me down and said, "Jane, Alec, Marcus - let me up. I will watch this."

A triumphant look spread over everyone's faces except for Alec, who turned and ran from the room. Jane looked back slightly and a pained looked flashed across her face for her brother. I sat up and Ness walked towards me with her hand outstretched. Wordlessly, she touched my cheek.

Suddenly, I was looking through Edward's eyes. It's my birthday. I can hear his thoughts and the voices around him, including my own. I can also hear the thoughts of the others. Startled, I backed away. Ness looked at me with a frustrated expression.

I shakily said, "Ness, how did you do that?"

Ness paused a moment, and then a smile blossomed on her face as she gently said, "Mom, Alice saw that I would be able to develop this use of my power. It only works with dad as far as I know. Alice knew that if you saw everything through his perspective and thoughts you would finally understand. You need to watch this mom. You need to know the truth – finally."

With that Ness stretched her hand back out towards me and the onslaught of Edward's memories began again.

At first it was flashes of the months we spent together before he left.

The first day in the cafeteria. I don't know why, but I feel the strangest impulse to protect Isabella Swan from Jessica. That poor girl has no idea how vile Jessica really is. How frustrating that I cannot hear her. Not that I would ever be a good protector for her. A vampire helping a human - there's a laugh. If I got that close to her, I would probably kill her.

The first day in Biology. I will not hurt this girl. She is innocent.

Edward lying in the snow in the Denali wilderness. I will face this. She is just a girl. I will not let a girl keep me from my family. I will not hurt her or her family. Besides, she is just far too interesting to lose. Never mind the fact that her face is all I can see in my mind, and all I have been able to see since the day I left.

The lunch when he came back from Alaska. I am focusing on her because I want to be ready for her scent to hit me. Not because I find her completely fascinating. I will go to biology today. I can handle it. I am very curious about this girl. Maybe my curiosity will keep her alive. I can do this.

The first time we talked in biology. I will introduce myself and attempt to erase her memories of me from last week. "Hello."

Bella is going to look at me, maybe her eyes will help me to - my God, I can feel my hatred of her for existing dissipate. I don't know how I could ever hate someone this sweet and fragile and –beautiful. No, even though she is beautiful, it's better than just being beautiful; her face is interesting. This lab is easy for her. She is intelligent, then, for a human, of course that does not surprise me for some reason. She hates the cold and wet; maybe she should go back to where she is from? She would be a lot safer there. I'm just not sure that is what I want. If she left, I don't know if I would be able to keep myself from following her. What? What is going on with me? She is just a simple human girl!

She sent herself here? What does that mean? Wow. This girl is completely selfless. She considers others far above herself. Amazing. I want to take away the pain that is on her face. Of course, touching her would be completely impossible. I would kill her. For some reason, it is agony to know that I cannot touch this girl. I cannot afford to find this girl fascinating and already I want to know everything about her. She cannot afford me to find her fascinating.

Hunting with Carlisle after that first day back. I should leave again. This is not safe for her. I can leave for a year or two. Then she will be gone. She will move on with her future; go away to college, get married - I can see the whole thing in my mind. Her walking down the aisle on her father's arm, dressed in white. Whoa. The image of her getting married is painful. Odd. I don't get it. I am going to leave again. I just want to see her one more time, one more day with Bella.

Arriving at school that next morning. Where is she? I need to prepare myself for her scent. Right, whom am I fooling? My whole existence is centered on this girl now and not myself anymore.

The incident with the van. NO, not her! Not her! Focus Edward, you need to be concerned about damage control and exposure here, not how amazing her body feels against yours. What is going on with me? Somehow, in this instant, I shifted from her potential killer to her protector and it feels right somehow that I would protect this girl. Wait! No, I cannot think this way. I will kill her if I am around this girl too long.

She is too observant! She saw everything! I am going to have to lie and then ignore her completely, and the thought of that kills me. I hate having to lie to this girl, but I have to protect her from my world and I have to protect my family.

"Why did you save me then?" - Bella.

The truth for once, "I don't know."

Agonizing. I will commit her face to memory. She really is heartbreakingly perfect. I need to go. Now.

Back at school after the accident. I should be setting her up to protect my family from scrutiny but I just can't. She is too honest and it would be unchivalrous of me to slander this girl, especially when she has proved to be so trustworthy.

Home that evening. Jasper and Rosalie want her dead? I will not allow this. Would I fight against them though? Yes, I would fight against my family to protect this girl. I could take her away so they wouldn't have a chance to touch her, but could I be around her that long without killing her? The idea of killing this girl though, it would kill me too. Carlisle will stop Rose but Jasper-

"That is not what I was going to say. I was going to ask you a favor. I know you love me. Thanks. Nevertheless, I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't try to kill Bella. First of all, Edward is serious and I don't want you two fighting. Secondly, she's my friend. At least she's going to be." – Alice.

Wow, Alice's vision is sure - arm in arm with Bella. Ugh, Alice is calling my name in her mind.

"Edward, I love her too. Or I will. It's not the same, but I want her around for that." –Alice.

WHAT?

I hear my voice said in shock, "Love her, too?"

Then visions flashed in front of my eyes. I did not love Bella Swan, yet, but it would be so easy to fall in love with her. Fighting it was going to be difficult. I did not love her yet, but unless I did something, I would and I couldn't sentence her to death by becoming that close to me. I would not hurt this girl. I- damn it's already too late-I love her. I have to get out of here now! RUN!

The days and weeks after the accident. Just one look. I want to look into her eyes and figure out what she's thinking. It is so maddening to have her sitting here next to me and I can't even look at her. Every day it gets harder. The pain is overwhelming. The longer I ignore her, the harder it becomes. I was no longer just in danger of loving this girl. I loved her, but I could not act on it. I would kill her and I would never be able to live with myself if that happened. I will not destroy her future. Who am I fooling? She may not notice me and I may not talk to her but I hang on every word she says, and I am in the minds of others watching her through their thoughts all the time. Pretending to ignore her is the limit of what I can do.

Mike Newton asking me to the dance. I was suddenly insanely furious at this boy. Even if she said no to him now, she would say yes to someone, someday. I can see her whole future before me and I can't stand it. I don't want her with anyone else. Alice was right, I am not strong enough. I feel envious of this boy, or whatever boy she would prefer. I am jealous. Damn! Newton noticed me paying attention to their conversation; Bella will notice too. She's not going with him? I feel relief at those words. But now I am considering my rivals. I do love this girl. Mike turned away, I can't see her anymore. I am going to look. I can't take this. It's like a sharp relief, as if I haven't breathed in far too long. I could get permanently lost in these eyes. Looking at her feels as if I have triumphed rather than lost for some reason. I know the guilt is coming and I should not allow it, but I can't resist her.

The conversation after Biology.

"You could have saved yourself all this regret." –Bella.

"Regret? Regret for what?"

"Not letting the stupid van squish me!" -Bella.

How could she think that? Saving her from that van was the only decent thing I've done since the day I've met her.

I saw everything. The day in the meadow, when he decided he wanted me more than my blood. Slowly, as I saw his thoughts of our time together, it hit me over and over in larger and larger tidal waves and it sunk down into my very soul. He had really, truly loved me. That changed for some reason later, but I could not doubt anymore that Edward had at once point really loved me. I saw everything up to my dream the night before my birthday party.

Suddenly, Nessie stopped and I looked at my little one. She was exhausted from sharing all that with me. Her whole body was shaking from fatigue. This form of memory sharing was very hard on my daughter. It reminded me of the effort it took to take down both parts of my shield and use other's gifts. It was a skill I had developed but once I had mastered it, due to the levels of energy it took, I rarely used it.

After a few moments to catch her breath, Nessie whispered out, "Mom, I need to rest. I am exhausted. These were the lighter versions of dad's memories. The next few I have are much more intense, and in a lot more detail. You are going to see every piece from dad's perspective with one exception. They are going to take a lot more out of me. I need to rest and feed before I can show you."

I nodded silently at my little one and slipped out of the room so she could sleep. I had so much to think about and I knew I desperately needed to finally know all of it. I needed to know what could change so abruptly in two days that made him stop loving me.

I wandered the halls of the immense castle, only breaking my reverie to politely greet others as I passed them. The more I considered it, the more in awe I was. In two very short days, Edward had gone from loving me completely to telling me that he didn't want me. I wondered what exactly it was that had changed everything for him. I hoped that the night we had spent together was not the cause of my loss. I would hate to think that the creation of our beautiful and perfect daughter was the event that had caused him to stop loving me. I could not believe that could be it. His change had to have happened after that event. I could not reconcile that he would have made love to me like that if he hadn't loved me in that moment. However, a small nagging voice kept bugging me with the idea that the experience had been so horrible for him, that he had stopped loving me. The only thing I could combat that with was the idea that he had still asked me to promise to marry him. The voice came back nastily with the idea that he had done that out of duty. His old-fashioned morals had demanded it, since he had taken my virginity from me.

A couple of hours before the sun rose, Alec stopped me in the hall. The look on his face was one of confusion, pain and frustration. I wondered what was affecting him so severely.

After a moment I said, "Alec, what's wrong? I can tell something is on your mind. My friend, what has your thoughts so occupied?"

The look of agony on Alec's face intensified and his eyes burned through me searching mine for something.

Finally, the pain evident in his voice, he choked out, "Bella, I have to do this. I know what you will say, but I still must. Bella, you know I'm in love with you. I want to remind you there is another choice, another option. I know that you'll choose him, but I needed to remind you."

With that, Alec looked down at the floor dejectedly and stood there in silence. I knew exactly how Alec felt about me. I thought he had accepted that there would never be anyone else for me besides Edward. I would never truly get over him. I wanted to hug my friend and try to take his pain away, but I knew that would only make things worse for him.

I carefully and gently replied, "Alec, you will always be one of my dearest friends, but I love him. I always have and nothing will change that. Even if I spend the rest of my existence alone, I will always love him and I won't be able to be with anyone else. I wish my heart had room for more, but it doesn't. I'm so sorry, Alec. I didn't want things to be this way."

Alec looked at the floor for a few more moments and then slowly lifted his face to look at me. His mouth held a small controlled smile, but his eyes were full of pain.

Finally, with a controlled voice, he said, "I figured that was the case. I just had to try one more time before you went back to him."

With that, Alec swiftly turned and walked away from me as quickly as he could without breaking into a run. I then wandered into the night, strolling through the high walled gardens that surrounded the castle and wondered why Alec was so sure that I would end up with Edward. I tried not to hope, but something inside me wondered if I had it all wrong and that Edward had really meant what he said. Either way, I was about to find out.

When the sun finally broke over the horizon, I slowly made my way back to my room. I was hoping that Ness would be awake and ready to continue with what she had come to show me. Now that I had seen so much, I had to know the truth finally, no matter how painful it was. I walked into the room and looked over at the bed. Ness was just starting to move around. As she began to pull out of deep sleep and head towards a waking state, I heard her talk lovingly of Jacob. I smiled at my daughter's sleeping form. She truly loved him. I was thrilled to see that they were meant for each other. I could tell as she mumbled into her pillow that she truly loved him. I was glad that one of us would get our happy ending.

Eventually, Renesmee's eyes blinked open slowly as she adjusted to the light level of the room. She looked around for a moment until she located my face and then she broke out into a smile.

Ness took in a deep breath of air, and then brightly said, "Alright mom, let's go hunting. I want to get this finished so I can go home to my Jacob."

As she said the last part, her face turned a bright tomato red and she looked away from me with embarrassment.

I laughed at her and said, "You know, your father used to turn my skin that exact shade as well."

Suddenly, my mind threw me back into a mixture of his shared memories and my own dim human ones. The pain of reliving those moments was overwhelming. It took me a good five minutes to compose myself enough to open my mouth again.

Before I could say anything, Ness looked at me inquisitively and said, "You still love him very deeply, don't you, Mom?"

I couldn't get the words out and so I looked at my daughter and nodded twice before looking away. I did not want her to see the painful expression that was developing across my face.

Once I composed myself, I turned back to her, with false enthusiasm, and said, "Let's go hunting, shall we?"

Ness gave me a hard look and then smirked at me before nodding.

As we approached the gates, we saw a rather large group waiting at the entrance to the ancient castle. Jane looked up, and upon seeing me, smiled and beckoned us towards her. I walked swiftly to her and motioned for Ness to follow me.

Once we reached them, Jane smiled and said, "Bella, we would like for you to go hunting with us. I think it might be interesting to see you hunt this way, since this comes to you naturally, unlike the rest of us."

I looked around the group and saw Alec and Marcus looking at me, along with a large amount of the original guard that I had served with. Now, instead of their previous disgust at my hunting preference, they looked at me with hope and excitement. I think they were looking for a way to make this hunting style easier on them.

I softly chuckled and said, "I don't know how much help it will be to join us, but I am more than willing to have the company. Hunting is always more fun in larger groups. Where are we going to go so that our activities won't be too obvious or effect the environment too much?"

Jane smiled at me again and motioned for Ness and I to follow her. Behind me, I heard the whole group fall into formation as we moved swiftly away from the castle and into the wilderness. Once we reached the forest line, we moved at vampire speed through the trees and went further into the forest than I had ever been. As suddenly as we had started moving, we stopped and the group centered around me again. I was suddenly reminded of all the times I had worked as part of the guard. Part of me contemplated the idea of rejoining the guard now that the council was full of members who had good motives. However, a large part of me knew that for many reasons I could not make decisions like that until I had seen the rest of what Ness was here to show me. I broke from my thoughts and focused on the group standing around me.

I took in a slow deep breath and said, "Again, I don't know how much this will help you, but I am willing to try. Realize that a lot of the reason I hunt the way I do is because I remember being human and could not stand the idea of hurting someone else, someone like me. Every human has a life story; one that they deserve the chance to live. We should not be ending their lives prematurely. That is the real reason that I chose to hunt the way I do. I also knew that living this way was possible, long before I became a vampire, which was also a help to me. Now, I am going to hunt. Feel free to watch from here or follow me. I will not give myself over to my senses to the point where you would be in danger."

After my long-winded speech, I stopped for a moment, waiting for the guard to organize themselves. I realized, in that moment, that everything I had said echoed the tenor of conversations Edward and I had had about me remaining human. He had not wanted me to change because he was concerned for my soul, but also because he didn't want to cut my life short. In this moment, I finally realized that I now understood where he was coming from. I would not want to hurt him if he were human. I would have just as hard a time turning him. I gasped at my realization and shook it off, shifting into hunting mode.

Silently I ran through the forest, giving myself over to my senses. I had to constantly remind myself that the vampires following me were doing so to observe and would not disturb my hunt. After a couple of moments, I came up behind the mountain lion I had been tracking. I paused for a moment and then sprang at him, snapping his neck while I was still in the air. I quickly bit into his artery and drank the blood while it was still warm. The sensation of the thick liquid coursing down my throat made me happy and dulled the constant ache. Finally, once I had drained the beast dry, I stood up and turned to face the hunters behind me. They all looked at me in shock and awe.

Marcus spoke up and said, "Bella, how do you hunt using your senses without turning and going after human blood?"

I sniffed the air cautiously and finally noticed the smell of human blood in the air.

I snickered and then said, "I give myself over to my senses completely but only once I have found my target. Once I have given myself over to my senses, I only track through the animal's heartbeat and not their smell. I do not breathe until I recompose myself. Not breathing helps me keep from switching targets."

The whole guard who had followed me looked at me with amazement, and I began to hear hushed excited whispers from individuals anxious to try the new hunting technique.

Four hours later, one by one the guard had experienced my way of hunting. For many it was great improvement for them. Only two members almost slipped up when they accidentally took a breath, however we were there to stop them from allowing anything tragic to happen. Finally, once the whole guard had satiated their thirst, we headed back to the castle. It was time for Ness to finish sharing Edward's memories.

The trip back to the city seemed to take forever, especially once we left the forest and were forced to run at human speeds. Ness sensed my impatience and laughed at me quietly. I turned and gave her a stern look, which only set her off even more.

Between giggles, she burst out, "Mom, you are hilarious. You know what memories are coming next. Seriously, I don't know why you are so anxious. By now you should know that Dad loves you completely."

At her last statement, she smiled at me and moved slightly faster towards the castle gates, which had just come into view. I looked after her. How could she think that these next memories would make such a difference? I knew that at some point I would find the memory of Edward leaving me because he no longer wanted or loved me. How could she think that after I saw that, I would ever want to go back to the Cullens again? I shook my head, moved through the gates, and followed behind Ness, returning to our room.

Once we got in and settled, Ness walked over to the bed and sat across from me with her expression serious.

Finally, she said, "Mom, Dad did skip over one specific memory. He said he thought you would understand him not wanting to share something so private between the two of you. I also had no desire to see my conception. So, we'll be starting with the next morning."

I looked at my daughter and smiled. I could completely understand her discomfort at the idea of having to watch the intimate details between her father and I. I was glad he had not shared that memory with her. It was the memory of Edward that I held most precious above the rest. It was almost sacred in my mind. As much as I wanted to see his side of it, the idea of my daughter having such intimate knowledge was enough to keep my curiosity at bay.

I smiled at my sweet, innocent daughter and said, "Ness, I don't think I want you seeing that particular memory anyway. Too awkward, for both of us."

Ness smiled widely and mumbled her relief that Edward had not given her that memory so softly that I could not make out what she was saying completely. Then she reached out with her hands and touched me, flooding my head with more memories.

I saw everything through Edward's eyes. I heard everything he heard in those two crucial days and I sat watching with disbelief. After Ness finished showing it to me, I begged her to show me the memories again. She smiled and happily obliged. As I looked at them a second time, my mind began to wrap around the impossibilities I was seeing. The love flowing out of him as he asked me to be his. The triumph and joy he felt when I agreed to wear his promise ring. The excitement for my birthday and the anticipation for the CD he was going to give me; a CD I would never get to open. The tragedy that was my birthday party. The pain he felt as he watched me pass out and had to fight his brother to keep me safe. The agony and love he felt as he decided on his terrible course. The feeling of his heart breaking as he slipped the promise ring from my finger and the determination of his course as he walked away from me. The love he felt for me through all of it. The full 24 hours it had taken him to record the DVD and the frustration every time he had to start again because he broke down in the middle of it, not able to lie to me. The pain at having to lie to me about how he really felt. The agony at sealing the envelope and sending the DVD off that would allow me to move on with my life. The pain and agony he felt for years afterwards. His inability to be around anyone in his family because of their love for each other and his decision to leave them for so long. Him desperately trying to distract himself by hunting Victoria in South America. His decision to come back for me and tell me the truth. His tortured pain at the fact that I had disappeared and was possibly dead. The pain and betrayal he had felt at the idea that I had become pregnant with someone else's child after hearing about it from Kate. The envy and hurt at the idea that someone else had been able to give me what he couldn't. His disgust at Tanya's attempts to make him forget his pain. His profound relief to rejoin the family. The extreme suffering at the idea that he had permanently lost me. The decision to look for me. The devastation in his heart when he lost my trail and all trace of me had vanished. The desire to end his life at the thought of my death. The sliver of hope that kept him from going to Volterra. The hatred at the Volturi for their obvious attempt to get him to join them ten years later. The shock at the familiarity of the hooded figure's scent. His hatred for the unnamed girl in his meadow, marring his memories of me. The shock at the sight of my hair. His odd desire to protect Ness and care for her. His disgust at Jacob's imprint on Ness. His confusion at his almost father-like affection towards this half vampire girl. The nagging whispering thought at the idea that I might have been pregnant with his child and the repeated dismissal of this idea, not wanting to consider the pain that would have put me through. His conflicted response to Nessie's request to walk her down the aisle at her wedding. The agony of the idea of seeing someone in a wedding dress who reminded him so much of me and his inability to be in that situation which would remind him too much of what he had lost. The hatred he felt towards himself at having to say no to Ness and seeing the disappointment on her face. His annoyance at Alice's insistence that he tell her the whole story. The pain of telling our story to someone else. His shock at Nessie's mental slip. The overwhelming feelings of the idea that he might not be delusional. His harsh questioning of our daughter, not being able to believe her, not willing to hope. His awe and hope that finally bloomed once he realized he could not doubt her. His overwhelming love for his daughter. His all-consuming hope at the idea that I might still love and want him. The rejoicing at the knowledge that there had never been anyone else. His overwhelming joy at seeing my face again. The all-powerful love I felt radiating through him as he told me how much he loved me. His pain at my rejection. His determination to make me see the truth. His hope at Alice's predication that this would be the way for him to get me back. His hope and fear as he sent Nessie to me. Then finally, it all stopped and I slowly looked up into my daughter's face.

Ness looked at me for a moment, smiled and then walked silently from the room. I was thankful to have such an understanding daughter. She could see my need to be alone and process everything she had shown me. Once I heard the door close behind me, I collapsed onto the bed and began to process what I had seen. I knew it had to be the truth. Ness could not lie through her thoughts. I also knew that Edward wouldn't be able to lie this way either. Nessie's gift would prevent him from portraying false memories. The idea that he had left to keep me safe, and because he loved me, was completely overwhelming. I looked at everything I had seen from him in the past year and saw it through a different light. The pain that had been so evident on his face was not for another girl. There never was anyone else. He had not tossed me aside and been hurt by someone else but had been in pain because he loved me and I was gone from his life. He had been hunting Victoria in South America to keep me safe. Kate had told the truth, but in a way that she knew I would misinterpret. I really couldn't blame her after the lie I had told. He thought I was probably dead and that I had been pregnant with someone else's child. What had we done to each other? I knew that if I had to go back and relive my experiences that I would have made the exact same decisions again, but it hurt to know that I could have been happy with Edward so long ago. We did not need to go through all the pain we both had been put through. Part of me was somewhat angry with him. He had left me because he wanted to keep me safe. He underestimated my love for him. However, now that I had lived as a vampire for so many years, I could understand how he could feel that way. It was so easy to trivialize the lives of humans. They were so frail and weak and their lives were so short and insignificant when compared to the eternity that I had stretched out before me. I could understand and see how Edward could think it was his place to make such a decision for me. His decision was not right, but his motives were completely pure and based out of love. He had underestimated my love for him. He had no idea how much his leaving had hurt me. I knew someday I was going to have to have Ness show him what I was like without him, but I knew that would be much further down the road. Suddenly, I was hit with the realization that I knew what I needed to do next. No matter what pain he had caused, I loved him with every fiber of my being and I needed him. I had only run away from him because I loved him and thought he did not love me. However, now I knew the truth. Edward truly loved me as much as I loved him. He truly wanted me and he had never stopped loving or wanting me. With that realization, I ran across the room at full vampire speed and began throwing my things back into my suitcases. I was going home to my Edward. He loved me and I was going home to him.

A few minutes later, I threw the door open and found Nessie on the other side. She took a quick look at my face and a smile bloomed across her features.

Quickly, with obvious excitement, she said, "We're going home, aren't we?"

I beamed with joy at her and simply nodded my head. Ness walked past me into the room and started to giggle as she pointed at the already packed luggage.

I smiled with slight embarrassment and said, "What? I'm going home the second I say goodbye to the council. Edward really loves me and I'm not spending one more second than necessary away from him."

I realized that my statement was a bit over the top but I didn't care. I was still completely overwhelmed by the fact that he really truly loved me.

Sarcastically, Ness shot back at me, "Mom, are you sure you are going to be able to handle the flight home?"

I laughed at my little one and said, "Only because I know that flying is faster than swimming and running there."

She looked at me with wide eyes and smiled.

Then she softly said, "We both get our happily ever after, don't we?"

I nodded and ran from the room for the great hall. It was time to leave Volterra behind for good.

I ran into the large room and saw three pale white faces beaming at me. Jane and Marcus looked at me with joy all over their faces. Marcus was happy to see someone get the kind of love he had lost at the hands of his brother-in-law. Jane was thrilled for me because we were friends and I knew she was trying very hard to keep thoughts of Eleazar far from her thoughts. Alec's smile was genuine because he loved me and knew I was getting what I wanted.

However, the pain in his eyes was still there and after a couple of moments, he walked over to me and whispered so low that only I could hear, "Bella, I am happy for you. I love you always. Be happy. Goodbye."

Then Alec moved as quickly as he could from the room. I looked at Jane and Marcus. They each hugged me in turn and said their goodbyes after promising to visit whenever they were near. I, in turn, promised to keep in contact and I jokingly told them that I would keep an eye on them.

They both laughed and Jane said, "Bella, your plane is waiting on the runway for you. Take it with our gratitude. We are so happy for you, dear one. We will see you soon."

With another round of hugs, I walked from the room and ran the rest of the way to grab my bags. I was going home to Edward.

Okay and there it is…. You can guess what the next chapter will contain… but these kids aren't done yet…. I intentionally only gave you glimpses into Edward's mind. I have a ton of Edward's perspective for the other side of this story… I hope this answers some of the many questions you had :)

By the way… anyone else excited that Stephenie Meyer has a new book coming out?

Review please :)