Bella:

I came awake slowly, lingering for quite some time in that state of semi-awareness that comes right before complete consciousness. I noticed that I wasn't lying completely flat, and I also detected faint movement, but it took an agonizingly long time for the fact that these two things weren't normal to penetrate. I shifted, feeling something soft beneath my cheek; something soft and drenched in Edward's sweet scent.

Edward. Movement. I am not in my bed. I crashed the rest of the way into wakefulness, lunging upright. "Edward?" I slurred.

"Shhh, Bella…I am right here."

I looked from him, his face a pale smudge glowing faintly in the light of the dash, to the dark countryside flying by the windows. "What the hell…Where are we?"

He said nothing, turning back to face the road. Fumbling for the controls, I brought the back of my seat upright again. I looked down at myself, pushing the comforter away. I was still in my pajamas. "Aw, crap," I swore, "I was right! You were planning on kidnapping me!"

"What?" He looked at me quickly, startled.

"About a week ago, in my bedroom. That night you almost killed me. For a split second, I had this crazy idea you might try to kidnap me to keep me human." I said, remembering the look of cunning on his face. "I dismissed the thought immediately, it was just too ludicrous."

"Yes. Well," he cleared his throat. "That was the original plan. Right now, it is only secondary to keeping you safe until the Seattle threat has been taken care of."

"And then?" I asked.

He was silent for so long, I thought he wouldn't answer. "I asked you for a few years," he finally said succinctly. "You refused. I am taking them anyway."

"I don't understand. Are you saying you are going to keep me human against my will?"

"Yes."

"And how do you propose to do that?" I asked evenly.

"I have a few places I can take you. I haven't decided where, yet," he replied, looking at me.

I raised my eyebrows questioningly.

"Alice," he said by way of explanation. "Once I decide, she might see it. Anyway, these places are in remote locations. When you can read everyone's mind, you sometimes need a place to get away from it all. We will stay in one of them, maybe move between all three."

It sounded quite heavenly, in fact; just Edward and me, in some remote wilderness, in a house that was probably pretty amazing. It sounded like the perfect place for me to complete the change, except that wasn't what Edward was proposing.

Wait a minute. "You are going to keep me your prisoner for a few years?" I squeaked incredulously.

He shot me a look, feigning offense. "Prisoner? I thought you wanted to be with me forever."

"Of course I do. That's not the point, and you know it," I snapped. "I don't want to wait a few years. Take me back home."

"No."

"Take me back!"

Silence.

I tried to reason with him. "Edward…We have to go back," I pleaded. "We can't just leave your family and the pack to fight the newborns alone. This is my fight, I should be there. And they need your help"

"They will manage perfectly well on their own, Bella. Trust me, they don't need us. It will be easier if they don't have you to worry about. That's my job, anyway."

"And what about Charlie?"

"Charlie will probably think I kidnapped you…"

"Preposterous," I interrupted sarcastically.

"…but everyone else will think we ran off together," he continued, ignoring me. "You have graduated from high-school, and you are legally an adult. There isn't much anyone can do."

"Unless I tell someone I have been kidnapped," I threatened.

"True," he said, with irritating equanimity. "Even if you don't, Charlie could still make trouble."

"Exactly," I finished smugly. "You had better take me home."

"I have a better idea," he said. "We have a few more hours until morning, and then you can call him."

"And what, pray, do I tell him?" I sniped.

"Well, you could tell him the truth, for one" he replied. "I did kidnap you, after all. There is no getting around that. Or, you could tell him we decided on the spur of the moment to take a year off to travel before going to college. It's up to you. I'm sure you'll think of something."

Damn him for leaving it up to me. I could either tell Charlie the truth and unleash a whole lot of trouble on the Cullens, or I could lie, and assist Edward in my kidnapping.

"I'll make you a deal, Edward," I said suddenly. "Your remote getaway sounds like the ideal place for me to go through the change. I will go with you freely, if you promise to change me within the next six months."

"No deal," he said curtly. "You are going with me anyway, freely or otherwise. And you are staying human."

I was suddenly filled with a bright, clear, righteous anger. How dare he dismiss my wishes so casually? It was my choice. If he didn't want to do it, fine. But he had no right to try and stop me from getting it done by someone else. Well, I had a few tricks up me sleeves he wasn't aware of. I was prepared to endanger my life to force his hand, and I was going to prove it to him right now. Filled with grim determination, I released my seatbelt. At the same time, I opened the car door and prepared to throw myself out. I knew Edward would stop me long before I had gotten so much as my head and shoulders through the open door, but my actions would prove that I was not to be underestimated. Sure enough, I barely got my butt out of the seat before he had grabbed me by the back of my pajama top with a bellow of outrage.

"Bella!" He yelled, hauling me back into the car. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

"Trying to hurt myself so that you will be forced to change me," I snarled, thrashing around like a landed fish and kicking at the comforter tangled around my legs. I knew I had no hope of freeing myself from his grip, but that wasn't the point. I didn't want to throw myself out of the car; what I wanted was for Edward to think I would, and give in to me.

"Bella! That's enough!" he roared, still with a death-grip on the back of my top. "Have you taken leave of your senses? Stop it! Bella!"

Amazingly, he had barely swerved throughout the struggle, and only slightly decreased his speed. But when I wouldn't stop squirming and clawing at the door, he smoothly pulled off onto the shoulder and came to a stop. His hand left my back, and then immediately immobilized me by the simple expediency of grabbing on to a fistful of my hair at the back of my head. I reached up with my hands, trying to dig my fingers into his wrist and swearing. I succeeded in breaking a fingernail, but that was about it.

Muttering darkly under his breath, he searched the door pockets and then the glove compartment, until he found what he was looking for. I then found myself pushed forward and held down, chest pressed against my knees, barely able to breathe let alone struggle. Edward shifted, putting his forearm against my back to hold me in place, and tied my wrists together behind my back with a silk tie. I shrieked in outrage, straightening up as soon as he let me go.

"Untie me. Now," I gasped, breathing heavily.

"Not until I can trust you not to do anything that unbelievably stupid again," he ground out, absolutely furious.

I tugged at my bound wrists, straining with the effort, but was unable to free myself. Reaching across me, Edward opened the door and slammed it again, making sure it was properly closed. Then he fastened my seatbelt, engaged the locks just to be on the safe side, and pulled back onto the interstate.

I slumped back into my seat, seething. We drove in silence, Edward rigid with anger and focused on the road, while I sulked, looking out of the passenger window and discretely trying to work free of my restraints. After about an hour of this silent stand-off, I began to feel the call of nature. I also needed to think about getting out of my pajamas and into something a little more appropriate for the outside world. If Edward had even brought anything of mine with us, that is.

"I need to go to the bathroom," I said, breaking the silence.

He looked at me suspiciously, and I felt a surge of annoyance. "Hello! Human being over here. I really do have to go to the bathroom."

"Alright," he said reluctantly. "I'll pull off at the next gas station. There are some clothes in your backpack," he continued, answering my unspoken question. "I'll untie you when we get there. And remember, I am stronger and faster than you are. If you run, you won't get far. I will catch you."

I didn't need to get far, I thought. Just as far as the nearest phone, so I could call Alice.

***

Edward pulled into a dark parking spot so I could change in relative privacy, and untied me. He rolled up the tie and tucked it in his pocket. "I may need it again," he threatened, seeing me notice. He handed me my backpack and I rummaged through it, pulling out a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and my black flats. Freeing my legs from the comforter, I bundled it into the back seat, and shimmied out of my pajama pants. Then I put on my jeans, lifting my hips so I could pull them up. I slipped on the shoes, and was about to peel off my top, when I remembered the bruises on my arms. If Edward noticed my hesitation, he probably put it down to natural modesty. I stuffed the t-shirt back into my pack, deciding that my pajama top looked enough like a long sleeved tee for me to get away with wearing it outside.

When I had changed, Edward pulled up to one of the pumps to top up the gas tank. "No funny stuff," he cautioned me with a hint of warning, taking a hold of my face with one hand. "If I have to chase after you, I will be…irritated."

I nodded sullenly, shouldered my pack, and headed off to find the ladies room. I used the facilities, taking the opportunity to change my underwear, and then washed up, brushing my teeth and tidying up my hair. As I was getting ready to leave, I decided on a whim to stick my head out of the window at the other end of the bathroom, above the changing station. I had to jiggle it to get it open. It looked out over a parking lot full of semis, and to my extreme good fortune, there was a bank of three payphones right next to the bathroom window. I looked quickly right and left down the dimly lit walkway, but it was the middle of then night, and no one was about. Dropping my backpack out of the window first, I swung a leg over the sill, carefully climbing out. I was amazed that, clumsy as I was, I didn't fall and break my neck. I hurried to the phones, scrabbling in the pockets of my pack for some change as I went.

I deposited the correct amount, and was just dialing Alice's number, when a hand descended in front of my face and pressed the disconnect button. I dropped the phone with a muffled shriek and spun around, to find Edward looming over me, looking gaunt and sickly in the flickering fluorescent light.

Shaking slightly, I turned and picked up the phone, returning it to its cradle. "I didn't run," I said lamely. "I was just calling Alice."

He frowned, and a faint growl rumbled through his chest. Then he reached out and fastened his large hand around my arm. Unprepared, I was unable to suppress the sharp cry that escaped me when his fingers closed painfully over my bruises.

To be continued…