Soooo I've finally updated! Sorry its been forever - but there just hasn't been time to write this summer. But now that all of my responsibilities are almost done I can start writing this again! Sorry again I know I've been so slow!

So we're finally moving back to the real plot of the story - I think a lot of you will enjoy this chapter. Well, I hope so! :)

Enjoy!


"Unchain him and lets see him out." An unfamiliar voice commanded.

There was a series of clicks coming from around me. With each new 'click' a weight was being lifted from me. I began to flex my fingers. It had been so long the movement felt incredibly unfamiliar. My arms were next. They flexed of their own accord and I couldn't help but grin, perhaps manically, at my new-found mobility.

"Lets get you some clothes" one of the soldiers whispered and pulled a sheet over me. It was only then that I noticed that I was completely nude standing in front of at least thirty men. I wasn't bothered by this – maybe even a little amused. My power had grown significantly – so much that the illusion of my youth and helplessness was unintentional. It would explain the strange kindness coming from a military-man.

A pair of soldiers went to escort me out, but I remained unmoving.

"Wait" I whispered

"What?"

"I need you to leave me alone with him for a minute." I said with complete confidence. My voice sung with a sound that wasn't at all human. My simple desire was enough to have the human obey the command. At first it looked as though the soldier was preparing to argue, only to have his eyes glaze over calmly seconds later. Looking into my very human eyes briefly, he turned around and yelled "Everyone out!"

In the midst of the ruckus of the private's exiting the small room, I made my way through the crowds to a familiar face.

"Hello Nick." I whispered, staring into his terrified brown eyes.

"Please don't kill me" He plead; fresh tears growing from those human eyes.

"I won't kill you." He smiled at my sincere words.

"You're going to kill yourself." I continued

"Wha….?"

I looked deep into those very human eyes and watched that lingering fear slowly fade away. His mouth drooped just slightly before his posture turned stiff and eyes glazed over.

A small pinch in the back of my neck warned me of the upcoming vision.

Nick.

Dead.

Blood everywhere.

Then a young boy, eight years old.

He was standing over his father's bloody mess of a corpse.

I turned away from Nick without another thought; his body may be warm now, but he was as good as dead.

Edward

The vibrating of my cell phone buzzed incessantly from inside my pocket. No one had this number aside from my family, and yet I couldn't bring myself to make the smallest movement to pick up the phone. The vibrating stopped only to continue seconds later – I knew it was the same ring as last time yet it felt as though my phone had a new-found vigor. With much hesitation, I lifted up the phone and saw Alice's name on the touch screen.

"What?" I hissed

"Its about Nate." Alice said with great apprehension, as if she was waiting for me to hang up.

I'd given Alice very clear instructions that she was not to look into Nathan's future anymore. We'd done enough damage already, her meddling would make things even more difficult for him. She had understood my request, so why would she do this?

"I told you not---"

"He's going to find you.

"What? How?…" I whispered

"I have no idea, but I just saw him with you."

"When?" I said urgently

"I'm not sure, its jumping all over the place. He doesn't know how he's going to find you yet but everything leads up to it. Within the hour so don't board your flight."

"I'll be waiting. Call me when you see something. Anything." I demanded.

I wondered if Alice had any the level of impact her simple phone call had made. Its been years since I've seen Nathan, but not a day, not even a minute has passed that he hasn't been on my mind. It became too heavy of a burden to carry – I left everyone and everything behind. Alice told me that just like us; Nathan heeded our advice and left Forks within a week. The woman who had been charged with his care maintained the room just as it had been. After a year of misery I succumbed to the temptation and returned to Forks.

When I walked into Nathan's old room – seeing everything unchanged...I was not prepared for the onslaught of emotions that resurfaced.

From then on I ceased all contact with anyone; including my family. I had hopes of distracting myself with silly unnecessary tasks – even considered changing my dietary habits as a poor attempt to eat away the darkness that was growing in me.

But now after all of these years I had to wait only an hour to see Nathan.

….

I felt a sudden burst of relief when I felt my cell phone vibrating through my pocket; making no attempt to move at a human speed I reached for it and answered before the second ring.

"Is everything alright?" I spoke so fast that no human could understand, even Alice had some difficulty deciphering my words.

"I think so…I'm not sure." Alice sounded confused.

"What do you mean? What happened Alice?"

"He's at the airport – I don't know how."

"You said he was an hour away."

"That's why I'm not sure." Alice muttered

"Where is he in the airport?" I asked while simultaneous scanning thoughts of the humans around me for any visions or sights of Nathan.

"South Entrance. He's going to need to see Carlisle as soon as possible."

"What's wrong Alice?" I said with a renewed urgency.

"Its nothing. I've got to go, you have one minute."

Despite the frustration with my sister, I rushed toward the nearest attendant selling tickets. She had all of the quintessential Italian features that gave her the attention of any man she desired. I didn't need to hear her thoughts to notice the confidence radiating from her…and once her deep brown eyes shadowed over me she found a new target. The attendant continued with her prolonged stare before our eyes connected and she looked away; her embarrassment bringing a subtle rouge to her cheeks.

I wonder if he's single…

I took advantage of her fantasies and strolled toward her with a smile that looked absolutely sincere. Tilting my head and resting my arms on the counter I leaned in carefully with no fear of looking her straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry this is completely last minute – but I have a family emergency and need two tickets to Juno as soon as possible. Is there any chance of a flight boarding any time soon?" I mused in an intentionally desirable tone.

The woman stared at me blankly for ten seconds before pulling herself back into reality. Vera do your job she reminded herself.

She focused intently on the computer screen in front of her and tapped her recently manicured fingernails on the keyboard. Her recent infatuation with me made her all the more eager to find this flight. So then why was it taking so long?

"You're in luck! I have two seats on a non-stop flight to Juno, it begins boarding in fifteen minutes."

Only first class available, I wonder if he's rich too? I don't see a ring so he can't be married…maybe the extra seat is for his mother or something.

"However…the only seats we have available are first class cabin, would that be a problem?"

"Not at all" I handed her a credit card and two pairs of passports which she seemed very eager to look over. The attendant opened first opened up my passport and then Nathan's.

Nathan Lokken…maybe it's a business partner. He can't be…I mean. Look at him!

Three years ago – the happiest time of my life – Esme had a second passport for Nathan in the case that we needed to disappear. At that time Esme…all of us assumed that Nathan would be joining us should there be a reason we had to leave Forks.

"Enjoy your flight Mr. Cullen." She beamed and handed me two boarding passes, which I promptly shoved into my pocket and briskly walked toward the southern entrance.

The moment I turned the corner toward the southern most terminal was when I saw him. I wasn't surprised that Nathan stood out amidst the crowd of humans – my eyes went to nothing but his figure in front of me. His skin was just as pale and supple as my memory served me. From a distance I noticed a distinct difference from last time…there was a faint glow to his skin that almost sparkled as I looked into deeper detail. Unlike the active luminescent glow that used to develop this appeared to be passive – a part of him just like all of the very un-human traits.

It wasn't his glowing skin ,his fiery eyes, or the perpetually changing hair color that made me focus so intently on him. Nathan was barely clothed in the middle of the airport; the only thing he wore was a pair of boxer shorts. The sight of his unclothed body provoked a renewed lust that was much more potent than our last encounter. Perhaps lack of exposure to this ethereal aura (that now filled the entire terminal) made it more powerful, but just like his skin there was something different…more intense…aggressive even. It wasn't an undertone of sexual desire but an up-front urge that covered me from head to toe.

This beautiful man – he was perfection personified, was half nude in a gargantuan room filled with people and not a single one of these humans even glanced at him.

I never finished my thought.

There were his eyes…the second I saw the true brilliance of his eyes both of us stopped in our tracks. Looking into his Sidhe eyes it was as if I was seeing them for the first time. Those multi-faceted green and gold orbs staring at me made everything else invisible. It was just Nathan and I standing alone in this large atrium. I don't mean this figuratively either…there was literally no other within ear or eyesight; which had to be several miles.

Every inch of me wanted to look around in disbelief but I wasn't sure if I was capable of doing so while looking into Nathan's eyes. How did everyone disappear in an instant? Not that it mattered – I would be content if it was just Nathan and I for the rest of eternity.

"Edward…" Nathan whispered breathlessly

Because we were alone I made no attempt to move at a human speed. Walking at a human pace would have felt like an eternity now that he was standing right in front of me.

In less than a second I was an arm's length away staring into his emotionless face and noted the subtle differences. He hadn't aged a day since that day I broke his heart out in the forest, with the exception of the skin being slightly tighter across his face. Nathan was right here…just thinking the words made me feel weak from the euphoric rush.

But I couldn't smell him. There was mild in the back of my throat from the thirst despite him standing less than a foot away. The air was clean of any human trace…there was nothing…

"Is that you Nathan?"

"I'm sorry…" He whispered – looking away from my eyes in order to hide a certain emotion.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Nathan…don't ever say that." I went in to hold him, I could wait no longer, I needed to touch him and feel the warmth that radiated off of his skin for the first time in three years. In the midst of my action his pearly white hand reached out to stop my movement. Nathan's hand pushed forward faster than I had ever seen from him…nearly as fast as a vampire. The heat that radiated off of his palm – even through my tshirt – was almost too much to handle. I closed my eyes under his touch. It was the first physical reminder that Nathan was here. He was actually here. This was no illusion…he found me even after what I'd done to him.

"I understand…" I nodded, fighting to hide the stinging rejection that I felt.

"You can't see…" He sighed and looked down to the floor.

"What do you mean? What don't I see?"

"You don't see anything…I see it all." Nathan whispered

Whatever had happened to Nathan seemed to affect him much deeper than I could have ever imagined. The pain of seeing him so..unstable hurt more than the intial separation. Was this what Alice had mentioned?

I changed the subject – told him the words I was thinking every minute of every day for the passed three years.

"You need to know how much I love you Nathan…I love you so much. I only left because I thought you would be better off without us….Did you actually believe what I said?" I asked – the emotion in my voice surprising even myself

"Are you lying now?" He asked – but a look in his eyes actually made me investigate my own motives – as if he knew something I didn't.

"No…I'm never going to lie to you again."

A glowing intensity erupted through Nathan like a bomb exploded in his skin. There was no precursor to this unnatural tendency that was multiplied ten fold. My first instinct was to hide him from the general public so we could maintain an illusion or normality before remembering that we were all alone in this very…very occupied place. The glow from his skin was so bright that there was a small shadow forming on the tile floor of the Santa Fe airport. Most of his features were drowned out by the growing shine except for his eyes, which intensified with the glow of his skin.

"I came here to die…"

I fought the question of 'why,' and instead said the one truth that came to mind.

"I can't live without you Nathan…You are my life…please come home with me…"

"You destroyed us both." Nathan said quietly, and then glanced at his chest and arms for the briefest moment before looking back toward me and nodded weakly. We walked together toward the gate without me needing to lead the way. He already knew exactly where we were headed, and he hadn't seen our boarding passes yet.

The two of us walked about a foot apart from one another through the desolated airport. An airport was always somewhere humans rushed off without thinking, there was nonstop chatter, and luggage sprawled about in every corner. But now everything was empty, the only sounds we heard other than the roaring planes were the intercoms announcing each flight leaving.

"Nathan…Where is everyone?" I asked carefully.

"They're here. You just don't see."

"I don't smell them" I said tersely.

"People only see what they want to see." He sighed, and wiped a fresh tear from his cheek without another word.

The flight was mostly silent other than me badgering Nathan to eat something. I considered it a lost cause even though he looked seconds from passing out throughout the entire trip. Once we were seated on the plane whatever Nathan had done in the airport faded and I could smell, hear, and see everyone file in one by one. No one paid any attention to us though, they even skipped our seats when serving the meal. Only at my intense insistence did Nathan eat one of those foul meals that they serve there. He engulfed the food within minutes and when I jokingly asked when the last time he ate was his answer was 'I don't know."

Esme, Carlisle, Alice, and Jasper all met us at the airport – I wasn't sure how I felt about the welcoming party with Nathan in such a state. I had no idea how would react to all of them. In his current state I had no idea how he would react to anything. It was only natural that he felt betrayed by what I've done to him but all I could do was speculate; his thoughts were a mystery to me.

"Please take my sweater." I asked for the third time.

"You don't want your family to see me like this." He said airily.

"How long have you known they would be here?"

"Since we got on the plane"

"I don't want to worry our family."

He considered it for a second or two but then nodded allowing the first traces of a smile to escape his lips. I handed him a cashmere V-neck sweater and he lifted the sweater over his head and stood in it uncomfortably. Looking at him fidget in the sweater made me smile even despite our current circumstances. But just having him around brought me to a state of peace that couldn't be compared to the false-calm that Jasper would put me under.

I leaned in for a second time and kissed the top of his head briefly and let my hand linger in the depth of his hair. It felt like silk – unlimitedly softer than any human or animal hair I'd felt. Nathan didn't pull away this time but looked at me with a conflicted expression, and then walked at a slow pace toward my family.

There's Nate! He looks awful…

What's wrong with him?

That isn't what he looked like in my vision…

"Hi Nathan!" Alice beamed and went in for hug but Nathan took a step back once he foresaw her next movement. Nathan clenched his fists his frustration and took a deep breath. He fidgeted and looked at me with guilty eyes – he wanted to tell me something but couldn't for a reason unknown to me.

"Just let me hear your thoughts." I whispered into his ear.

"You can't see…"

What does that mean? He continued that phrase over and over as if it was the answer to every difficult question I asked. I see. I see everything, I hear everyone's thoughts but his. What could I not see? I tried to understand but it seemed impossible through his psychic shields. He's changed so much except for the occasional glimpse into the Nathan that I knew so well…

"Nate has been through a lot…how about we get him home?" Carlisle suggested.

Did something happen Edward? In my vision Nate was a bleeding mess but he looks perfectly, well mostly healthy right now.

"How far are we?" Nathan asked absently/

"About an hour away."

"30 minutes the way you drive" Esme interjected which earned her a very small smile from Nathan.

The group of us walked out the exit where both of the cars were parked with several onlookers gauking at Rosalie's Porsche. Why would Alice drive the most ostentatious vehicle in our garage to such a public venue like the airport? Every one of my family's thoughts were focused on Nathan and what was wrong. We all walked as a single unit, even Nathan walked in tandem with us.

"We took two cars, who are you going to drive with?" Carlisle looked to me.

"Alice and Jasper."

Do you want me to put him to sleep once we're in the car? His emotions are all over the place I have no idea how he's appearing so calm.

"Yes" I whispered so quiet that Nathan couldn't hear.

"We'll see you at the house" Carlisle said before closing the door to his Mercedes.

We were weaving in and out of traffic at 70 mph within seconds. Alice tried to keep her thoughts focused on the road ahead of her to hide her true feelings from me.

I was looking at Nathan through the corner of my eye once I realized that Jasper was starting to physically relax him. At first there wasn't a recognizable difference but within seconds his blinks were growing longer and more drawn out.

"No! Jasper. Stop." Nathan clearly fought the relaxing sensation of Jasper's power. Even his voice sounded startlingly calm, but Nathan's true panic showed through his eyes. His shoulders began to slink and he took slow drawn out breaths that occur just before one falls into a deep slumber. Jasper ignored his pleas and focused even more intently on easing Nathan's worries.

Nathan fought with his seatbelt and went to grow grab Jaspers shoulder in desperation. "Jasper! Please don't do this."

"Just relax Nate…its not a big deal." Jasper said casually.

Nathan turned to me with fresh tears ready to escape from his eyes and took my hands in his. This was the first time we had direct flesh to flesh contact – the heat of him swallowed the rest of my body and lit me from my very core. The emotion of it all was overwhelming;especially for such a trite gesture…and yet he held my hands so passionately with this small request. "Edward don't let him do this. Please. He doesn't see, none of you see it!" He screamed this time – holding my hands so tightly I was beginning to feel the first traces of pain.

"What don't we see? I need to understand if I'm going to help you." I grabbed his hands with just enough force so I wouldn't hurt him…but he needed to be reminded that I was here for him. That I would be here for him the rest of eternity.

Nathan shook his head and let little crystal droplets fall freely. His expression shifted from the weight of the turmoil he was facing. "It doesn't stop bleeding. Days and days and it doesn't stop." He choked a sob and let go of my hands to rub himself fiercely; as if washing away dirt. Nathan looked down and let go of himself only to refresh his sobs "I can't let you see" and began to cry hysterically in an array of wordless sounds

"What's going on? Nate talk to us" Alice demanded from behind the wheel."

"His emotions are all over the place, I'm trying to calm him down." Jasper whispered to us both.

"How close are we Alice?" I didn't dare take my eyes off of Nathan while he sat there sobbing. There are many stories of humans seeing Fae only to look away for a brief second and they were gone. They may be only stories – but I wasn't willing to risk it anymore.

"I hide because it isn't safe." He whispered. His breathing and pulse were beginning to relax of their own accord – his episode was almost over. I thought Nathan always felt safe with my family and I? We never had anything but his best interest at heart…what would make Nathan think that he wasn't safe in our hands? In this car – there was no safer place in the world for him.

"Safe? Whose in danger" I asked in a short tone.

"You're all in danger." He sighed.

"From what?"

Nathan looked at me wearily as if he was considering what the best answer to give would be. He shifted uncomfortably and stared into my eyes with a conflicted expression. "I want to tell you the truth."

"You can always tell me the truth." I pleaded.

"Alice saw it" he admitted.

It was clearest before I coaxed Nathan into wearing a sweater…looking at his pale body there was an array of red that glittered down his body from neck to toe. Each individual mark was precise and exactly the same shape, although they seemed to vary in depth; the ones on his arms and legs leaving an extensive series gashes. From most of these incisions there was a ruby trail spiraling down his body – the bleeding was so intense that a human would have been leaked dry within hours but Nathan walked around as if he couldn't feel it.

Or he was ignoring the wounds.

It couldn't be possible for so many reasons. Nathan should be dead from blood loss by now – and more importantly…how was he in a car filled with vampires and none of us could smell or see the Sidhe's blood?

An illusion. But he wasn't able to do something of this strength before.

I couldn't even formulate the question. In fact it was utterly comic for a vampire, who lives in fear of smelling the aroma of human blood, to have to ask if someone was bleeding. I swallowed the humor because now was certainly not the time for it – especially if we had come to the right conclusion. In such a confined space it would be certain death for Nathan if we were attacked by the smell. I would resist and maybe Alice; but there would be no hope for Jasper…especially with the exuberant nature of Nathan's blood.

"You're bleeding?

He nodded weakly "I wanted to tell you from the beginning…but I don't want your burning to start…and then we would meet up with the rest of your family. Couldn't put them in that position. Never." Nathan began to mumble to himself toward the end of his sentence.

All of this effort and strange behavior just to salvage the burning in my throat? That was part of my existence; something that was accepted decades ago. There were much more serious things to consider. How could he be bleeding for such a prolonged period? Even a human's wounds would have scabbed up and began to heal after this much time; with an exception of a few the wounds weren't very deep.

"That's why you can't touch me. When you touch I can't focus."

I felt a rush at his words – an epic sense of relief throwing years of tension out of my body. Now I knew why Nathan had been so distant – all of his small rejections since we'd bee reunited was because of his concern for me of all people. Of course he was wrong, after being apart from him for so long there was nothing that could make me even consider harming him; even these animalistic instincts engrained in me held no merit against my love for him.

Through all of this Jasper's thoughts had taken a very dark turn – he didn't trust himself if the situation came where he would smell Nathan's blood in its purest form. But he was nervous; and rightfully so. Jasper's control over our lifestyle barely allowed him to manage through a typical day surrounded by humans.

Nathan nodded then turned to Jasper "When we get close all of you should leave. Blood leaves a trail."

I know Nathan might be a little nutty right now, but he's gone through a lot! So just give him some time to get back on track!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter :D