Finally, we entered a building that almost looked like the lobby of a hotel. We were led through another series of hallways to two very large double doors. A human woman greeted us as we passed and I looked at Edward with the questions obvious in my eyes.

"Yes, she's human and she knows. At some point, she will either be changed or…taken care of." He tried to sugar coat what I already knew. She would be changed or killed; just like me. When we entered the room I naturally tried to shrink behind Edward, but his grasp on my hand prevented it. I was in a room full of vampires and I knew that I was only safe with two of them. Alice stood slightly behind me as a way of offering comfort.

"Ah, I see and hear that Bella is alive and well after all."

"Yes, thank you for denying my request Aro." Edward spoke formally, but I could tell he didn't respect these vampires at all.

"I couldn't very well rid the world of a gift like yours, now could I?" Aro had been walking toward us throughout the exchange. I tried to shrink even further back, but Alice's hand on my back stopped me. I watched as Aro took Edward's hand from mine and he concentrated. He looked up at me and then him.

"She is your singer and she's still alive? How do you stand it?"

"I love her. I overcame my thirst for her with great effort."

"I see. I also see that her mind is silent to you. Do you find that frustrating or peaceful?"

"Both." He focused on me and I felt the tension that Edward was exuding. I could tell that he was using every ounce of energy he had to stay where he was instead of moving to protect me.

"May I hold your hand for a moment, young Bella?" He asked, but it was obvious that it was a demand. I slowly reached out and placed my hand in his. He looked at me with confusion and frustration in his eyes.

"You are silent to me as well. Let us see if you are immune to other influences as well." I was thankful that my mind was silent to him, but confused about his statement. Just as I was about to open my mouth I heard Edward shout 'NO' and move in front of me. At the same time, Aro looked at the young woman that had come to collect us in the alley. She smiled at Edward and I watched in horror as he crumpled to the ground, writhing in pain.

"No!" I rushed to his side, but was prevented by Aro.

"NO! Stop! Please stop!" I cried out; my voice laced with pain.

"Enough." Aro said and Edward immediately sagged against the ground. Now I knew why this girl was so well respected. Aro turned me to face her.

"Go ahead my dear." He directed. She looked at me and smiled. I waited for the pain to begin, but nothing happened. Aro started to laugh and released me. I rushed to Edward and helped him up from the ground. He held me close to his body and I gripped his waist with all my strength.

"She truly has a gift and it is amazing to see in its human form. What will we do?" He looked at me.

"Surely since you know about our kind, Edward told you the rules?"

"Yes, he did. I've known for over a year and I haven't told anyone." I replied with as much confidence as I could muster.

"Yes, well, rules are rules my dear and it was clear from Edward's mind that he has no intention of changing you, so that leaves us with only one other alternative." He motioned over to the largest vampire in the room. Edward spun me into Alice's arms and attacked. The fight was a blur to me, of course, but it ended with Edward about to lose his head.

"NO! STOP! PLEASE!" Aro held his hand up to spare Edward a few more seconds.

"Don't kill him, kill me, not him."

"Bella, no." Edward begged from his position. I sagged my head forward.

"It is such a waste; you would have been a powerful vampire." Aro leaned in to sniff my neck. I felt him brush my hair out of the way and I tilted my head to aid in his meal.

"Wait! Bella will be one of us. She wants it. I'll even change her myself." Alice finally spoke up.

"Let me see this vision you've had." Alice placed her hand in his. I watched them both carefully as Alice shared the vision she'd had of me.

"Make it so. I will be coming to visit soon to verify that she has been changed." Aro promised.

"If it's alright Aro, can Bella graduate from high school first? My family is with her pretty much twenty-four hours a day. We will make sure she keeps the secret. She will be one of us before she turns nineteen." Aro though for a moment and then nodded.

"Agreed. Please keep me informed of the date you intend to change her. I will arrive shortly after that. Keep in mind that we do not offer second chances. If you fail to change her by her next birthday, we will come for all of you." I sighed with relief that I at least get to go home, but once again, I felt the pressure of the ticking clock. Edward looked crestfallen; this is exactly what he didn't want.

"I must advise you to take your leave; we are due to have our evening meal in a few moments and I wouldn't want Bella to get lost in the mix." Edward was released and he carried me as he and Alice rushed out of the room at vampire speed. It still was not fast enough for me to see the group of people herded into the room, or for me to hear the screams. We were forced to wait until dark before we could leave, but rest assured we were out of there as soon as humanly possible (excuse the pun). Alice had to steal a new car and this one was large enough for Edward and me to huddle together in the backseat. I figured now was as good a time as any and pulled out my cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Dad?"

"Bella, I was getting so worried. Alice called me but said she was unsure of how it would turn out." I felt Edward tense next to me.

"Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that all three of us are on our way."

"And the bad news?"

"I have to be changed by my next birthday or go six feet under."

"We knew this was a possibility."

"I know, but we got to Edward in time and so therefore it was worth the risk." I knew Edward was fuming beside me. I did warn him that our talk wouldn't be pleasant.

"Are you staying in a hotel or jumping right back on a plane?"

"We're coming right back. I do have to go back to school."

"Good point. Call me when you land in Seattle."

"I will. See you later dad."

"Bye Bells." I hung up and the three of us sat in silence for five minutes or so.

"Alice, pull over please." Edward whispered angrily. She did as he asked and hopped out of the car.

"I'll be back in an hour." She said and took off running. Edward and I crawled out of the car as well, knowing that we would need some space between us.

"What the hell was that phone call about?"

"I called my dad to let him know what was going on."

"How does he know? When did he find out?"

"He's known for two days. I nudged him in the right direction when he came to my room for the fifth time, trying to get me to move to Jacksonville with my mom. He got tired of seeing me depressed and in so much pain. The day you left, I foolishly tried to chase you and I eventually tripped in the woods. That's where Sam Uley found me. Ever since that day, I've only left my bed to use the bathroom and go to school. I kept my grades up, but it was mindless effort. My heart was with you and my soul was broken. Three days ago, he came to me, trying once again to get me to live my life. I asked him what he knew about you and gave him a book that helped me put the pieces together. I told him that he needed to know what was going on so that he could understand my pain. He took it really well. He figured it out over night and called me out of school yesterday. We talked until Alice showed up. I told him the things you said on the day you left and he figured it out right away that you lied. He called you a dumb ass for leaving me." I saw the corner of his mouth briefly turn up at my dad's accusation.

"Edward he had to know because he was surely going to ship me off to my mom when I told him that I would welcome you back with open arms even after all these months."

"You just put his life in danger, you know."

"I know and so does he. Who knows, maybe he will want to give your life a try once he gets to know you. I didn't tell him about you nightly visits, but I did share pretty much everything else." Knowing that he wanted to know exactly what I'd said, I kept talking. "I told him all about your extra gifts. I answered him honestly when he asked if we were being safe. I told him about the day we met, the van, the baseball game, and what happened in Phoenix." Edward was stunned into silence.

"I knew that my fate as sealed when I jumped on the plane, Edward. I'm glad that he knows so that he would be able to understand if I didn't come back. Now, we can get closure together and he will understand when I can't see him for a while. He won't be in the dark. It was nice being able to talk openly with him and you know that I don't like to lie."

"What will you do if the Volturi find out and give him the same sentence?"

"I would support whatever decision he chooses to make. If he wanted to die, then I would go make my peace with him and if he chooses to be a vampire, then I would be there to help him live the life of a vegetarian. Who else was I supposed to talk to? You all left. When you see my dad, you'll understand. Look through is head and see what the last six months has been like for me." I pleaded with him to understand the pain that I went through. He would finally understand when he saw my dad and all the memories of me existing in my room.

"It was so bad, that I stared at the knife block, wanting to end the pain. I was about to do it too, but then Jake and his dad showed up for dinner. I cooked and served the meal, and then retreated to my bed. Look at me, Edward, look at my body." I could see comprehension sink into his features. I watched him scan my body to see just how much weight I've lost. Edward finally knew the pain that I was in.

"Oh Bella, I'm so sorry. I've been miserable without you. I only ate every few weeks, when I couldn't stand the hunger any longer. Even then, I didn't eat enough to satiate my hunger. I was trying to track Victoria. When I got the call from Rosalie, I was in Brazil. Oh, Bella, I've missed you so much. I was so wrong to leave you. I felt like there was a huge whole in my chest because my heart leapt out to stay with you."

"That's how I felt too." I confessed on the verge of tears. Edward was at my side in a flash crushing me to his chest. That's when the dam burst and I sobbed. He curled is body around mine absorbing my pain and sharing his with me.

After a few minutes, he lifted my chin up and kissed me. It wasn't a kiss born of passion, but of love. He broke away with a smile.

"You really told him about how intimate we have been?"

"Yes; he asked. He said that he didn't want to know when anything changes, but just to make sure that we were safe. I told him about your fear of hurting me."

"I love you."

"I love you too. Don't leave me again."

"Not a chance." He assured me. He looked around.

"Alice is on her way. Shall we go home and tell the family about what's going on?" I nodded. Alice arrived just then.

"I've already called Carlisle. They're on their way back to Forks and we'll call Charlie when we land so we can tell them all at the same time." She said as we all climbed back in the car. I barely clicked my seatbelt and we were once again speeding down the highway toward the airport. I snuggled contentedly in Edward's arms, happily exchanging the random kisses we shared. I knew he wasn't big on letting anyone see his affection for me, so I greedily took what he offered. He tried to coax me to sleep, but I refused, saying that it was silly to sleep now since I'd have to wake up again at the airport. He didn't argue with me after that.

He carried my bag for me, which I thought was silly since it was only a backpack, but whatever makes him happy. When I reached in it for my money, he asked me what I was doing.

"I'm going to exchange some of it so I can get my lunch before we get on the plane."

"Put your money away. I will buy you lunch." He pulled my hand up and left my bag with Alice.

"It's really not necessary and I think it's kind of silly since you won't be joining me." He whirled me around and smashed his lips to mine. This time, it was me trying to break the kiss. I wasn't big on displaying my affection in public either, and there were way too many people around.

"What is it?" He asked.

"There's too many people watching." I whispered. He smiled and I knew he would understand.

"Let's get you some food. We'll be boarding in fifteen minutes." I decided not to fight him anymore. I picked a lunch that was easily wrapped and took it on the plane with me to eat. Of course, I had to wait until we were at cruising altitude, but that's why I only got a sandwich and a drink. Edward tried to make me get more, but I refused.

"I will start re-nourishing my body when you do." I argued and after that, he stopped trying to get me to get more food. I told Alice that I could handle Edward. I thought smugly to myself. I ate my lunch slowly while I thought about the last three days. Edwards sat silently next to me; as if he knew I needed time to decompress and process everything. I was surprised, he usually bugged me to know every thought I was having when I was silent like this. I ended up falling asleep against his stony shoulder before I even finished my sandwich. I think I vaguely heard him wrapping my leftovers for when I woke again.

A/N: Reviews are wanted and appreciated. Have a great day!