A/N: I was going to make this story longer, but my life seems to be slightly busy now, so I decided that this will be the last chapter, plus an epilouge, which, again, will be up next week. But i am writing another James & Bella story. I'll post it when I have about 5 chapters already written, so it should be up by the end of July, but no promises. Thanks for reading, and please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, or any of it's character.

Chapter 12

BPOV

James yanked her off of me. Alice was thrown into a tree.

"Don't touch me. I was just hugging her," Alice spat towards James. She turned to me. "Bella, I'm so glad that I found you. We knew that you wanted to stay with him, but I thought that I could persuade you. I saw you here, and I followed you, but the others don't know I came. Not even Jasper. Please, come back. We all miss you so much."

"I can't Alice; I have to stay with James."

"You have to or you want to?"

"Both. I love him. I can't leave him."

"Please. Edward would want you to..."

"No. you probably blame me for his death."

"What? We don't hold you responsible for James' doing. The thought never even crossed our minds."

"Ok, that's enough. She doesn't want to go with you; she wants to stay with me. Let up about it," James interrupted our conversation.

"Stay out of it. She has to make her own choice." Alice glared at James, who stood behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and kissed the top of my head.

"Alice, I want to stay with James. I'm not changing my mind." I was sure of myself.

"Bella, just come back to the house. They are so worried about you. You can leave soon after." Alice looked near to begging.

"No, Alice."

"But, please, ju-"

"She said no. You should go back, if you want to so much," said James.

"Bella, just come back to visit. You don't have to stay. Please." Alice ignored James.

"I-I don't know. I can't-"

"Just for a few minutes. Please."

"I..."

"She made her choice; just leave." James was getting annoyed.

Alice turned around disappointedly. I couldn't stand to see her like that.

"Wait!" I called out after her. "I want to come back, but I know I can't, and I shouldn't."

James stared at me in amazement as Alice turned around, looking happy.

"What?" I asked him.

"If you go back, what do you expect me to do?"

"Oh..." I hadn't thought about that. "You could come back with us..."

"Bella, they probably don't blame you for his death, but they have to blame me. You honestly want me near them, with the odds in their favor?"

I thought about what he said. He obviously couldn't come with me to see him, and I couldn't leave him alone. I was too afraid that he would leave if I wasn't there to hold him back. But I could live without seeing the Cullens...I had been doing it great up to then.

"Alice, I can't go back. I need to stay with James."

A look of pure rage crossed her face. I had never seen her look that way. She launched herself at James, slapping him across his face. He shoved her off, and pinned her arms behind her.

"Bella, go. I can take care of her."

"No. James I'm-"

"Bella, get out of here. Now. I really doubt you want to see me kill your 'friend'."

"James, no, you can't. She'll see what you are going to do, and then kill you first."

"But I have her now. Unless you want to do the honors?"

I shook my head. "James, stop. We can leave now, and be done with her."

"Don't go yet. I still have to repay you for stalking me in the asylum, and causing me to get changed," Alice spoke up.

I was seeing a whole new Alice. I never knew she could be so...bitchy. She pushed free of James' arms, and jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist. Her hands went to his head...what the crap was she doing?

"No, Alice don't!" I cried, and pulled on her arm. She fell to the ground, not expecting me to fight against her. She was trying to kill James. I couldn't let that happen, even if it meant killing her. She was my friend, but I loved James more. I couldn't live without him. I tackled Alice, but she sprung back up. If we could just get her pinned... We were stronger than her, but she could see whatever we chose to do. I couldn't lose James. Alice and I were circling around each other. James snuck up behind her, but she saw his move. Alice spun around and kicked James in the stomach. He doubled over in pain. I leaped at her, but she moved at the last second. I grabbed her arm, and she pulled away, but not before her hand came off. Now missing her right hand, Alice looked frightened.

"Look, I'll leave, and I promise you'll never see me again, if you just give me back my hand."

I turned to James. "Should I give it back?" the hand moved in my grasp. I shuddered, and threw it at James, who caught it.

"Nope. Just go, and you'll be lucky if we don't burn it. You'll get it back eventually."

"No! I want my hand back!" Alice wailed.

"Just run on back to your 'family'. Maybe, some day, you hand might find you body again." James taunted.

"Just go, Alice, please." I was worried about James' temper. If she didn't leave soon...

"Fine. But this isn't the last time you'll see me, or the rest of my family. Jasper will get you back for this," Alice threatened as she walked away.

"Yeah, you'll have to sic your mate on us cause you can't kill us yourself," James called after her.

I smacked his arm. "Don't edge her on." we started running in the opposite direction of Alice. "Are we burning the hand?" I asked.

"It's up to you."

"No, we shouldn't. Can we just throw it in an ocean or something?"

"Or do you want to bury it?"

"Sure...will it dig it's self up?"

"Yes, probably." James leaned down to bury the hand. After he finished, I tackled his to the ground. I pressed my lips to his. Letting my legs fall to either side of his body, I ground my hips into his. I lifted my face from his.

"James?"

"Hmm...?" he mumbled.

"Before, when I was human, Edward said that my scent appealed to you. Not as much as to him, but did it?"

"Yes, it did, but not that much more than any other human. Your blood just seemed to be like that."

"Oh."

"Not the answer you were looking for?"

I shook my head. "It's just that...sometimes I feel like we know nothing about each other."

"I know about you. I had access to your school records, remember? I know every detention, every driving ticket, every failed class. I know."

"You really sound like a stalker. And besides, I've never gotten a ticket. My dad was a cop."

"What do you want me to ask?"

"Just... basic questions that you should know."

"Favorite... gemstone...?" He sounded uncertain.

"Topa-" I was going to say, but caught myself. "Garnet." I fixed myself with the correct answer. "What about you?"

Our questioning went on like that for the next couple of hours. We ended up sitting against trees, next to each other. I learned so much about what James remembered from his human life, and his life as a vampire until he met me. I told him about my seventeen human years. Childhood injuries, pets, friends, the one boyfriend I had who meant nothing: Edward. He nearly got my killed multiple times. That subject got James pissed relatively quickly.

"I love you more than him, and I always will," I reassured. We had stripped each other of our clothes by then.

"I know. I love you, too. More than you know, and will ever know," James whispered as he slid into me.

The years flew by rapidly. My newborn strength was long gone. Before we knew it, ten years had passed. We had no more run-ins with the Cullens, the wolfs, or Victoria. Nothing much happened. We had a pretty uneventful life- or, to use the proper term, existence. But I still couldn't get over the fact that the Cullens had given up on me so easily. Maybe they hadn't. James was a tracker, after all. I guess I didn't really care. If I did, then I knew where to find them, if I wanted to. Unless they moved. But that's what James is for. But I didn't want to find them. I was perfectly happy in my own little world with James. And our food, of course. It was all I needed and all that I would ever need to survive. I was satisfied with what we had going between us. We both tried hunting animals- it was disgusting- so we stuck with humans. I never felt regret, or felt guilty killing innocent humans. They were my way of living. They thought they were the top of the food chain, and they were so wrong.

I never mourned for Edward; he lived one-hundred years without me, and I could do the same, but longer. Especially since I had James. I could live without Edward; without the Cullens. I just needed the one thing I loved the most: James.