Note: I have two words for you: poor Edward.

Edward:

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you are in?" Jasper said quietly.

"Thanks, Jazz, I think I have a pretty good idea," I snapped. "I can read his mind, remember?"

"Yeah, but you can't read his emotions. I've never seen him this upset, Ed. You really screwed up this time. And before you ask, Carlisle has already told me not to tamper with his emotions, or yours. You're on your own with this one."

I swallowed convulsively. Apparently, I was going to get the full treatment. We had reached the car, and Emmett, who had yet to contribute a word, opened the trunk and started unloading it, throwing the bags at me with enough violence to let me know he was pretty pissed off himself. Not that I needed any outward signs; his thoughts were practically screaming at me.

"You got a problem, Emmett?" I said, catching the bags and dropping them. He slammed the trunk and strode toward me, getting up close and personal.

"Yeah, I do," he said, in my face. "The last 24 hours have been Hell because of you. Esme is a wreck because of what you did to Bella, and Carlisle has been ordering everyone around like a drill-sergeant since she managed to get away from you long enough to call. I don't appreciate being separated from Rosalie and forced into this little junket because you always have to have everything your way."

"Well excuse me for disrupting your sex life," I snarled, pushing against him to get him out of my personal space, "but Bella's life is a little more important to me than ensuring you have access to your girlfriend at all times. Besides, I'm not the one who made you drive down here."

By the time I had gotten all the words out, we had both grabbed on to fistfuls of the other's clothing and were scuffling with each other. We didn't get far before Jasper came between us. I tended to forget that Jasper, being older than both of us, was even stronger than Emmett (though not by much), and was able to separate us relatively easily, especially given the fact that our altercation was minor. We weren't actually trying to inflict any damage on each other. Yet.

"Have you guys lost your minds?!" he hissed. "Stop it! Do you want Carlisle even more pissed that he already is?"

Emmett and I glared at each other, but wisely stopped arguing. The three of us picked up the assorted bags and carried them into the house. I dropped everything inside the door, leaving Jasper and Emmett to deal with it and get settled in on their own. Grabbing Carlisle's medical bag, I went upstairs to bring it to him. He was busy bandaging Bella's foot up again when I entered the room.

She shot me an angry look, which I was not expecting.

"I told Bella about Alice's vision," Carlisle explained, seeing the confused look on my face. "She is upset with us for not telling her."

She glared at me. "Is there anything else you are keeping from me, Edward?" she snapped.

I was not able to hide the guilt on my face fast enough, at least not for Carlisle. He looked at me intently.

"Edward?" he said quietly. "You did tell her about Victoria, didn't you?"

I didn't need to answer. Bella's cry of surprise was all the answer Carlisle needed.

"What? What about Victoria?" she squeaked. "You told me it was over, that everything was ok!"

She looked at me, expecting an answer. They both were. Carlisle, understandably, was going to let me dig my way out of this one all by myself.

"The newborns were destroyed, but Victoria got away," I said reluctantly. "I…" I stopped.

I expected anger. I was braced for it. I didn't expect the look of hopelessness and defeat that crossed her face, or the way she seemed to shrink into herself. She just sank back down into the bed, curling into a tight ball beneath the covers, her back turned to us.

"So it's not over, and nothing is ok. You lied to me. Again," she whispered, her voice breaking.

My heart broke along with it, and guilt flooded through me. Her shoulders started shaking. I took a step toward her, opening my mouth to speak, wanting to comfort her, to tell her it would be alright, I would protect her, but Carlisle held up a finger.

Not now, Edward…Please. She is not ready to deal with you yet. She needs some time alone to process everything. Wait for me downstairs. I will finish up here, and then deal with you. You can come up and see her afterward.

I tensed, angry at being kept from Bella. She was mine. Mine to comfort and take care of. If it had been anyone else but Carlisle…Though he wasn't my biological father, he was my father in every other way, every way that mattered. He was more than worthy of my respect, and I just couldn't bring myself to defy him. I owed him more than that. Besides that, he probably had a point; Bella had been through a lot in the past few days. Time was something I had plenty of; it was the least I could give her. I reluctantly turned on my heels and went downstairs.

Japer and Emmett were in the den, arguing about which of my DVDs to watch when I joined them. Emmett turned to me immediately, looking apologetic.

"Hey bro…I am sorry about what I said out there. It was kind of a long and stressful trip."

I interrupted him. "It's ok, Em, really. I probably deserved it."

You did, Jasper thought. You ass.

I looked at him, but his expression was not unkind. Turning away, I seated myself at the piano, playing softly as I waited to be summoned. I caught Emmett's and Jasper's amused thoughts, and realized I was playing Chopin's Funeral March. Laughing, I stopped immediately, launching into a ridiculous silent-movie-era suspenseful piano riff. Emmett guffawed.

Our levity was short lived. All too soon, I heard my name spoken quietly from somewhere within the house. It was Carlisle, summoning me to the library. I sighed, standing. Jasper and Emmett looked at me sympathetically. We had all been there before at some time or another.

It was time to face the music.

Carlisle was standing at the window looking out when I entered the room, his hands clasped behind his back. I moved to one of the armchairs and slumped into it, waiting.

"I did not give you leave to sit," he said without turning, setting the tone. I stood up again, and waited some more. This was going to be exactly as unpleasant as I had imagined it would be.

He finally turned to face me, his expression serious. "I am very disappointed in you, Edward," he said wearily.

Ouch.

"Furthermore, you have upset Esme, and that is unacceptable."

Double ouch.

"If you were human, I would try and convince Bella to press charges against you. At the very least, I would take a strap to you, seventeen years old or not." I didn't need to read his mind to know that he meant what he was saying, on both counts. I was surprised, because it seemed a little extreme to me. But Carlisle didn't say anything lightly. He weighed his words carefully, and never said anything he didn't absolutely mean. Therefore, his words also gave me the first inklings that, just maybe, I had made a really big mistake.

I didn't have time to delve much into this unwelcome thought, because Carlisle wasn't done with me by a long shot.

"Kidnapping is a serious offense. It is a felony, usually punishable by jail time," he continued. "Being vampires, and therefore out of reach of the law by necessity, does not give us the right to play fast and loose with human rules. We have to abide by them just like everyone else does. That is a lesson you seem to be much in need of learning since you met Bella, because what you did was unconscionable. I figured you had probably taken her under protest, but I never dreamed you would actually stoop so low as to snatch her from her home, her father, and her life, in the dead of night, and against her will. I assumed she was reluctantly willing, at the very least."

He went on and on, chastising me in that gentle tone of his, a tone laced with disappointment and sadness, and also that hint of steel that kept us in line so well. He used just the right combination of words and timber to totally undo me. His description of the way all this had affected Esme alone nearly broke me. If I had been human, my face would have been flaming with shame right about then. I could barely look him in the eyes. I didn't know he had moved to stand before me until I felt his fingers under my chin, gently but firmly tilting my face up to look him in the eyes. I noticed for the first time how drained and worried he looked. My feelings of guilt became almost unbearable.

"You will always be a part of this family, Edward. But if you want to continue living with us, you will have to abide by human rules and mine as well. You will stop restricting Bella's freedom. She loves you too deeply to ever leave you, but you must curb your overbearing nature because it will make her unhappy eventually. I know you don't want that. And above all, Edward, you must stop lying to her."

He paused as if searching for the best way to say something. "You can't be her keeper and her lover at the same time; that is a recipe for disaster. Lovers must be equals. Bella does need protection given that she doesn't fully understand the dangers of the world we live in, and tends to be careless of her safety as a result, but she will need time and guidance to come to terms with our world and her place in it. Let me be the one to provide her with that guidance. When she joins us she will become my daughter in a sense anyway, so let me take that responsibility away from you. She needs you to be her lover, her friend, and her companion through eternity. Let me be her guide, her keeper and the bad guy that corrects her behavior when necessary."

I felt a strange sense of relief as he spoke, like a burden was being lifted. To lay off the mantle of father protector that I sometimes wore around Bella, to put that side of my relationship with Bella into his capable hands…it was tempting. It would be difficult to let go, especially if I disagreed with some of Carlisle's decisions, but I could see that he was right. I could see it so clearly, now. When Bella was turned, she and I could truly be equals. Let Carlisle deal with her stubbornness and her strong will; he was far better equipped to handle it than I was anyway. He did not have the problem with his temper that I had. He also happened to be the only other person in the world I trusted with the job of taking care of her.

I nodded and he smiled, sensing my relief. Then his expression hardened again.

"You will apologize to Bella, but not right away. I want you to think about it first. I want you to make sure you truly comprehend how wrong you were before you do. You must be genuinely sorry about what you did. Furthermore, you'll do it in front of the family. I'll want Jasper to let me know your regret is genuine. You will also apologize to the family, especially Esme when she gets here. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," I said, pleased that my tone was even and strong.

He smiled again. "You can drop the 'sir', Edward. It isn't necessary.

I grinned. "I couldn't help it, it just came out. You can be pretty intimidating, when you choose to be."

He laughed, ruffling my hair. "Go to her now. She is probably fighting off sleep waiting for you. Explain to her about Victoria. Make sure she understands that she is part of the family, and safe with us."

I headed for the stairs and then turned. He was back at the window, looking out again.

"Carlisle?"

He turned to look at me.

"Thanks. For everything," I said sincerely.

"You are welcome."

I left the room shaken, but feeling lighter than I had in ages.

Bella was indeed still awake, sitting on the bed hugging her knees to her chest, too nervous and full of questions to sleep yet. I climbed onto the bed and sat, cross legged, facing her.

"What did he do?" she asked, typical Bella, worried more about me than about herself and any danger she might be in.

"Exactly what I thought he would," I said. "He made me feel like I was five years old and very, very sorry for a great many things."

Without giving her a chance to respond, I launched into my apology, the first of many. "Bella, I am sorry I lied to you about Victoria. I didn't want you to worry and be afraid. I was wrong to withhold that information from you, but I did it with the best of intentions, not that it makes it right."

"Oh, I know you did, Edward!" she cried out softly, holding out her hands to me. "I know you've never done anything without having my best intentions in mind. It's just the things you do…"

"I know. I know, and I am sorry," I said fervently, holding the back of one of her hands to my cold face. "This is all so new to me Bella. To love someone the way I love you…it is frightening. It makes me see the dangers of this world in a whole new way. I am terrified of losing you. It…it addles my brain, and makes me treat you in a way you shouldn't be treated, at least not by a boyfriend, if at all. Please accept my apologies for the way I have acted toward you. And please be patient with me. I know I can be overbearing, but it will take time for me to change, and I may have relapses. Oh and by the way, I am going to have to apologize to you again, in front of the rest of the family. Carlisle's orders. I just wanted you to be prepared."

"Oh, no…" she muttered, burying her face in her hands, knowing it would make her the center of attention and hating it. "I'll talk to him about that," she said, looking at me again. "That isn't necessary."

"He thinks it is, and don't talk to him on my account. I will do whatever he thinks is necessary to make amends."

She climbed into my lap and hugged me, comforting me. I wrapped my arms around her, pressing my lips against her temple, sighing in contentment. "It will be alright, Bella. We will not let Victoria, or anyone else, hurt you."

"I am not worried about being hurt by Victoria. I'll be one of you soon, and I will be safe. I am worried about who she will hurt trying to get at me." She pulled back to look me worriedly in the eyes. "Is she going to try and create a new army of newborns? How many more people will have to die before she is stopped?"

"We are keeping tabs on her. The wolves are protecting everyone in Forks and La Push, and Esme, Alice and Rosalie are tracking Victoria. We are monitoring the news for new serial killings. It is too soon to know for sure, but we don't think she is going to try that again. I have a feeling she will try more covert tactics next time. We will get her, Bella, if it is the last thing we do. We will make sure no one can suffer at her hands again."

"Good," she said tremulously. "I don't know how I am going to live with the guilt as it is."

"What guilt?" I said, alarmed, seizing her face with my hands and watching in horror as the tears welled up in her eyes and her face crumbled.

"All those people, dead because of me," she sobbed. "All their loved ones, in pain, because of me."

"No!" I said vehemently, seizing her shoulders and giving her the gentlest of shakes. "No…not because of you! This is Victoria's doing. None of this is your fault. Don't you dare think this is your fault!"

I cradled her as she wept, cursing the day that James and his coven had come to Forks, yet unable to deny that this event, along with many others, had brought us to this moment and my acceptance of Bella becoming one of us. I was not happy with the idea, but no longer could deny that it was the only course of action that solved everything. And it was Bella's choice, in the end. Carlisle would have a long talk with her about what to expect, and then she would make her decision. We all already knew what her answer would be.

Bella's breathing had evened out into sleep. Standing with her in my arms, I gently laid her down on the bed, tucking her in. She whimpered wordlessly when I smoothed her hair away from her face, along with her worried frown. I waited for her to relax into deep sleep, watching her beloved face, and then silently left her to her dreams, seeking out the others. There were things we needed to discuss as a family.

To be continued…

Another note: My apologies for the delay in getting this out. I discovered Midnight Sun the day before yesterday, and another really good story, and all I have been doing since then is reading. Midnight Sun made me realize my kidnapping idea wasn't as original as I thought, but then neither was it as out of character as I thought, since Stephenie Meyer made Edward consider the idea first.

The other story is called In the Blink of an Eye, by thatwritr. It is amazing. It is not, at times, a comfortable read, as it deals with difficult subject matter, but I find it immensely enjoyable and satisfying because of its realism, and also it's stronger and more independent Bella. In a nutshell, Bella was seriously injured in the cliff jump, and the story diverges from there. She reconnects with the Cullens ten years later, and as in real life, people have evolved and feelings have changed. Bella and Edward will end up together, but it is taking time to get there, as it should.