Hey! So here's the resolution to the semi-cliffhanger I gave you guys last week. This and the next chapter or so are really important with weaving these new strands to the plot, but then again I should stop saying that. I think just about every chapter is really important to the plot; I'm just a bit biased :-)

Hope you enjoy! I'm taking a holiday this weekend so I'll get a lot of writing done!

Nathan

Even though I didn't believe in hell, if hell did exist, the past twenty minutes would have been worse than the hottest pits of it. Sure I wasn't an expert on visions, but the fact that they were called visions… as in something visible had always lead me to believe that they didn't transcend that boundary. To say the least – I was surprised.

It was like there was a movie actively playing in my head that I couldn't escape. There were no pause buttons in the world of metaphysical voyeurism. I watched both Edward and I from a third person perspective. The bouncing emotions were initially difficult for me to understand, and then calculating Edward's unnatural thirst for the taste of my blood…well that complicated things even more. Whenever he told me how badly he thirsted for what was flowing through my veins I thought I understood the pain he was going through…but I had no idea. Nothing could have prepared me for the scorching sensation that blurred my perception of reality.

After just a couple of seconds of my vision the only thing that I could understand what the burning sensation that started in my throat and quickly followed through my entire body. I coveted the blood that flowed through all of the humans in the classroom, just thinking of that warm liquid filling my mouth made me want to writhe in ecstasy as if it would be the peak of my existence. Edward could have killed every single person in the room before I would have even had time to react – but I would have gone to him willingly – a small part of me…wanted to be food, anything was worth the price of touching his supple skin.

It was like I was a vampire and the thirst that Edward had described so many times was very real. I knew that it wasn't impossible – but what other reasoning could there be? The burning lingered as the vision slowly faded away rather than the abrupt ending of my other visions. During this time I was vaguely aware of my physical body, I wasn't sitting anymore but moving…where wasn't clear. Nothing was clear but the inferno that seared every inch of my mind.

I was thankful for the arctic arms covering every part of me; easing the fever that touched me to my very core. Nothing was clear, but I was willing to bet that they were Edward's arms embracing me right now. Where were we? I saw a pair of big yellow eyes looking over me in concern.

"Nate?" Jasper asked carefully.

I was coming to my senses now, we were in the Volvo… driving a lot faster than was probably legal, Alice was driving with Jasper in the passenger seat eyeing my every movement, and Edward behind me sitting perfectly still. And then I realized it, Edward's arms were different. Embrace would be a word I would have readily used, but right now…Edward was restraining me.

"What?" I tried to turn around but Edward's arms held me down – clenching just tight enough to become uncomfortable. "Edward you're hurting me, what's going on?" I asked – trying not to panic. Edward's grip eased up just enough so I could turn around and look at him. Suddenly my vision seemed completely significant, why was Edward acting in so weird?

Edward's expression remained unmoved, seeing his topaz eyes so careful hurt more than I expected it to…

"Edward…?"

"Are you okay?" He asked, his jaw still set in a rigid line.

"I'm fine. What's wrong with you?"

"His eyes are back to normal" Jasper commented

"My eyes?" I asked, but no one answered.

Edward allowed me to see the pain in his eyes but quickly looked away – I wanted to pry but it didn't feel right with Jasper and Alice sitting so close. My eyes carried to the window, we were pulling into the Cullen's drive right now. Why did we leave school?

"Why are we going to your house?" I turned to Jasper – since apparently Edward wasn't going to answer any of my questions.

"You don't know?" Jasper asked

"Uh. No."

"You started to freak out. We had to get you out of there before you made a scene" Alice explained – looking at me through the rearview mirror.

I freaked out? I guess it was possible….but just seemed so unlikely, how could I have 'freaked out' if I wasn't even aware of my own body.

"What?" I demanded incredulously

"Lets go inside and talk about it"

I looked to Edward again and was faced with the same unmoving expression, I turned back to Jasper and Alice with a new, more irritated look in my eyes.

"I need a second with Edward, alone."

Jasper looked behind me to Edward for permission – of course my temper got the better of me. I hadn't slept well in weeks, seeing things that not only that I didn't want to see but I was much more attuned than just seeing, and now I'd spent the past hour or so experiencing a pain that wasn't at all human. It was only a matter of time before my patience got the better of me.

"Don't look to him for some sort of permission." I snapped, getting out of the car in a huff hoping that the fresh air would ease my sour mood.

It took them longer than necessary to get out of the car while they discussed something; probably humoring me. I watched the trees intently until Edward was facing me out of nowhere – I didn't hear Alice or Jasper leave but I knew they'd be gone. Edward's hands hung at his sides loosely but his eyes were molten hot.

"Edward…talk to me…please." I begged. What did I do wrong?

"You did nothing wrong, Nathan…Don't ever think that."

"Then why are you looking at me like that?"

"What you saw…you must be disgusted. I watched everything."

"You know my thoughts…nothing matters to me but you."

Edward sighed and closed the distance between us and took me into a very tight hug. He said nothing and I let my hand stroke across his back; it was obvious that Edward needed the comforting not me, which was a rare situation, in fact I'd never encountered it before. Edward was breathing fiercely in the midst of whatever he was feeling.

"What are you thinking?" I whispered so quietly it wasn't even audible.

"I lost you."

I tried to pull back so I could see the expression in his eyes but he wouldn't let me, he was hiding his eyes from me. Even with his discipline he couldn't keep the emotion out of his face as effortlessly as he had with the tone of his voice.

"I'll always be here."

"I thought you were gone…and it would be all my fault." He continued, breathing heavily into my ear.

"Shhh" I did quietly in his ear and rubbed his back "You'll never lose me. Lets go inside so we can figure out what just happened."

Edward shrugged and reluctantly pulled back so I could see the echo of anguish that was remained in his dark-yellow eyes. He looked at me like he was surprised I was still here. I'd always be there for him – forever and ever – that I was sure. Because he wouldn't lean in for a kiss I took the initiative and gave him a kiss that lasted less than a second.

My vision was haunted me as Edward and I treaded into the dining room where everyone was seated at the antiqued dining table – this couldn't be good. I remember the last time that everyone was congregated in such a formal fashion, and it definitely hadn't been on good terms. But none of it mattered, not really. I couldn't shake the idea that Edward was always in the pain that I felt, and how it couldn't possibly be bearable. There was no way that I was worth such a price.

"More than worth it." He smiled at me.

I didn't return his smile – I just kept his hand in mine and fought a groan. His confession didn't help the emotions that were running through me, it had actually made it much worse. Guilt poured over me thinking that I was the reason he was in such a difficult situation. I watched him frown at the direction my thoughts were going and wished I could close them off, but I just didn't seem in control of anything anymore. It was a very uncomfortable feeling.

"Even if its…unpleasant, I'd rather know what you're thinking."

"That makes one of us." I grumbled, and sat down with the rest of the Cullens, Edward's hand in mine.

Everyone spoke so quietly and so fast I couldn't understand a word they were saying, it was like white noise but trying to pick apart their sentences was quickly giving me a headache. I could feel the annoyance slowly building in the pit of my stomach once I realized they weren't going to explain anything to me. Why was I even here? Maybe I should just go home and call my mother – atleast I'd know what the hell she was saying.

Edward hovered close to me and whispered "Shh..they're just discussing what we should do."

"I still have absolutely no idea what happened that everyone seems so spooked about." I admitted – not even trying to keep the irritation out of my voice.

Jasper looked toward Edward for a moment and then back to me, I sighed knowing exactly what was about to happen. It felt like a cool water was rushing over me, every my muscles relaxed and loosened out of the strain I'd been putting them through. I wasn't annoyed anymore – and the fact that I wasn't annoyed anymore started to bother me but quickly dissipated. Once I was sufficiently relaxed everyone finally seemed willing to speak to me.

Edward leaned in to whisper something in my ear, I knew he was just humoring me. At this distance everyone at the table would know exactly what he said.

"You're cute when you're angry."

"Liar. You know I'm terrifying."

"I'm beside myself in horror." He teased

We both grinned. The crisis was passed us and now we moved on just as if it was any other day. The problem was it wasn't just any other day, and I still didn't know what happened. Edward gave me a quick kiss which oddly enough made me more aware of my surroundings. I'd never been one for public displays of affection, and you couldn't really get any more public than his entire family looking at us.

I sat there, mortified and bright red while Edward chuckled to himself. Emmett let out a whistle which quickly earned him an icey glare. "Can someone please tell me what happened?"

"Well it was obvious you were having a vision. And I guess you can't hide your thoughts from Edward when you're seeing something. We didn't really know how to react since none of us knew how long it would last, but you started to dig your fingers so deep into the table that you left two gashes in the metal so we had to get you out of there before you started a scene. Good we were overly cautious…." Alice explained

Edward growled wordlessly in Alice's direction causing her to stop her sentence abruptly with an apologetic smile.

"Didn't know you were that strong." Emmett added.

"Me either." I shrugged. "What happened then? How did I get in the car?"

"Edward carried you."

I turned to Edward who was already trying to guise a grin at my shock. "Did anyone see you?" I hissed.

Edward rolled his eyes but Esme answered for him, "Edward has always been very fast." She beamed.

"Got it. Onto 'freaking out' part?"

"Well, you were fine until a couple of kids ditching passed the car before Jasper and I got there. If Edward hadn't been there – well…None of us know what would have happened. He had to restrain you. We'd all seen it before, you smelled their blood and in all likeliness would have tried to kill them. It's a miracle no one noticed you… with the noise you were making." She sighed

I was…acting like a newborn vampire? I still didn't know much about vampire kind but from what I'd picked up newborns were quite similar to predatory animals – no human was safe in their presence.

"Why?" I asked – still somewhat dumbstruck.

"None of us know, but that's not quite it Nate…You looked like a vampire. I mean, of course you smelled human, well, mostly human. And we could hear your heart beating. Your skin went pale like yours and your eyes were red. So of course we were all worried – since no one had bitten you."

"Oh…

"I'm sorry for all of the trouble. You guys shouldn't have to deal with this, you have enough of your own quirks to have to worry about mine."

"Quirks" Rosalie mused.

"You know this doesn't bother us – we're family…we always protect each other. Everyone knows you would do exactly the same for one of us." Esme smiled

Edward's thumb rubbed my over my knuckles back and forth while he remained quiet as he usually did during the familial discussions. I couldn't help but smile when she included me as family, I'd probably never get used to it. Was this warm sensation normal for people who had close attachments with their family? I have no idea; but it was definitely preferable to the inkling of fear I felt whenever I thought of my mother.

"In your visions Alice, do you just see things like a movie? Or do you like….experience everything the people are feeling and doing?"

"Its mostly just visual. Why?"

"That's what went wrong…" escaped my lips.

"What?" Edward asked me – his face going from amused to deathly serious at my words.

But I couldn't pay attention to him, I was too busy with my revelation. Sure it was a long shot – but these visions of mine, was it possible that I had taken on…characteristics of the vision while riding it? It's the only logical reason that I would have acted in such a way – and we'd never really dealt with it before because I've always been asleep. The only things I've seen while awake wouldn't have affected me in nearly as strong of a manner as what the vampires went through.

My mind drifted off to what I'm pretty confident was my first vision ever. It was during Catcher and the Rye in English class – it seemed like a daydream only intensified. In an intimate position like that Edward must have felt some sort of thirst, he'd explained that the sensation never truly went away; like a constant reminder. I hadn't felt anything then…So maybe I was just reading too far into things.

"They could be getting stronger." Edward suggested.

"Or just coincidence."

Rosalie sighed "What are you talking about?"

Edward refreshed everyone on our little mental conversation which lead to an intense discussion on both the ramifications and the benefits if this were true. Naturally Emmett's first considering was how useful I would be if there was a battle which incited a growl from Edward. But no one was planning a fight any time soon, who would want to fight with a family of pacifists like the Cullens anyway?

It was plain to see that Edward was agitated – he started speaking fast enough with his siblings that I eventually just stopped trying to listen. Edward also had a habit of leaning increasingly closer to me as if he was protecting me from some unforseen villain. I sighed and tried to comfort him, but mostly let him snap at Emmett so he would get over it.

"I'll be right back." Getting up from my seat took a lot more effort than it probably should have, I felt impossibly drained like I'd been running the entire day and finally found an opportunity to rest. I'd not only been sitting complacently most of the day, but I also engulfed a massive cup of coffee; there was no reason for me to be tired right now. My hand squeezed Edward's affectionately to let him know everything was alright before I got up and strolled outside.

I tried to keep my groans to a minimum on my way out – there were enough reasons for this splitting migraine that it wasn't even worth considering all of the options. Maybe it was just wishful thinking but the fresh air seemed to be a solid solution to my problems. I'd always been against modern medicine, I don't even know if most things would work on me, surrounding myself with nature was a consistent remedy for any ailment. I guess it made some sense – supposedly I was just an embodiment of the goddess, or as humans call her, mother earth. Getting to my roots was practical, right? No pun intended.

Lately I'd taken to the comparing the differences between vampires and sidhe. Especially after the catastrophe of my most recent vision. Seeing the future sounds pretty cool but I'd give it up in a second, so far there wasn't a single vision that was either a.) completely irrelevant or b.) painful and something I didn't even want to know. The biting cold that made my breath leave a trail of icy remnants reminded me of a consistent motif between both my kind and Edward's. Hot and cold. Me and him.

I'd never had to worry about the elements, after all, the connection that my kind had with nature was closer than any other sentient creature. It wouldn't make sense for creations of nature to be held back in our own environment would it? Just thinking of what it felt like to have the sun's rays dance across my skin like any other day instantly conjured a physical reaction. I literally manifested the sun's warmth across my skin when I did this – it took a little effort and focus just like most of my little tricks. I guess you could say I had to work at it while Edward was just innately comfortable in any temperature, I coveted not having to separate my attention to hundreds of little adjustments on a daily basis.

I was too frazzled by everything that had happened to conjure any warmth in my body but I was oddly thankful. The winter chill helped me focus and shake off the fatigue that has been steadily building. What were they talking about right now? Were they making some sort of plans for me?

That made me nervous. Not that I didn't trust all of the Cullens implicitly, because I did However none of them had any experience with sidhe before meeting me, with the exception of Jasper, and with Jasper's expertise…his only learned skills were how to kill them, not recover from some sort of traumatic mental handicap.

The answer was so obvious but I fought the unavoidable truth. There was only one person that would know exactly what was happening and how to deal with it.

I heaved a sigh watching it evaporate into the freezing air second later, and dialed a familiar number.

"Hi, mom."

She replied in Gaelic which meant that she was in mixed company. Typically her assistant was the only one who had a vague idea that we weren't human but we never made it clear enough so she could put something together. People working for our family quickly learned to endure bizarre tasks and occurrences without asking questions. She sounded relieved to hear my voice; that rarely happened.

"How are you?"

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, this abrupt desire to be around my mother overwhelmed me. It was an emotion I never quite felt before – but now I felt like I needed her more than ever. People think puberty plays with your emotions? Puberty has nothing on this.

"Bad." I choked.

"What happened?" I heard distantly as she pulled the phone from her head "No, go away" and I could just picture her shooing away some lowly stylist from her office like a fly.

"It wasn't just a vision, I can't explain it. I was like…like in Edward's shoes or something. I felt what it was like for him, what the thirst is like. They got me out in time but I guess I went a little crazy while I was riding it."

"When did it happen?"

"An hour or so ago."

"Not the vision, but what you saw." She snapped impatiently.

"Oh. It was the first time I saw him, so the first day of school in Forks... Why?"

"Well you know Erika could only see into the past, and I can only see into the very immediate future. This can mean a lot of things."

I wasn't sure of 'a lot of things' were good or bad things. It was actually pathetic, all that was circling through my mind was if any of these situations could take me away from Edward. In the end that was the only thing I couldn't handle.

"Like?" I asked, making no attempt to mask my frustration.

"I take that back. It could be plenty of things….But I'm fairly certain that you're –"

I interrupted her. I'd heard this phrase so many times in my life it seemed so obvious, and yet I hadn't even considered it. Whenever it had been brought up in the past it was always the fact that I hadn't or wouldn't come into my power.

"Coming into power." I finished.

"Yes."

This 'coming into power' is more of just an age thing. With Sidhe coming into your power is like a right of passage – you didn't simply grow into it. It was both a spiritual and emotional journey that no one can possibly explain in words, or so I've heard. From what every little I've experienced so far, I don't really think I could accurately describe the array of emotions that were strewn through my brain. But coming into power also meant one special perk…one that had no influence on any of my decisions until I met Edward.

"Does that mean I'll be…"

"Immortal."

It was like the word was a trigger to shut my legs down, any feeling I had in my lower region just went numb when she very clearly reminded me of what I'd wanted more than anything for the past several months. I knew I was falling, but made no movement to try to save myself.

And there was Edward, cradling me with his arms all the while staring deeply into my eyes, the cold uncertainty that was there before was replaced by melted topaz raging from his irises. I couldn't be sure because I couldn't read thoughts like Edward…but in my heart I knew why he looked at me this way. Our eyes connected in the heated passion now that one impossible puzzle had been solved…I wouldn't have to go through the pain of aging and he wouldn't have to watch me slowly waste away. We would be together forever; a perfect existence.