A/N: Hope you enjoy! Please review! Oh, and I keep forgetting to put in all that stuff about how I don't own these characters, etc. :-)

Chapter 16

"Yeah, you're right," Fred sneered. "I do need to think twice. I let you bring me here with all these promises of help, and now you're just throwing me to the wolves."

I snorted. "If we were throwing you to the wolves, you'd know it."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Never mind. The point is, your little conspiracy theory only makes sense if we needed to earn your trust to get you to Italy. The Volturi guard doesn't care about your trust. It's full of gifted vampires who could basically do whatever they wanted to you, whenever they wanted."

"You mean like Edward, Jasper, and Alice?" He raised an eyebrow in challenge.

"Seriously, Fred, exactly how could they benefit the Volturi living out here in the middle of nowhere Washington?" I asked, exasperated. "If Aro could get his hands on them, he'd be using their abilities in his courts with the rest of his talented vampires. And he certainly would have turned me by now. He already thinks my closed mind could be useful to him someday," I added.

"There's that word again. 'Useful,'" he said making quote marks in the air. "According to Carlisle, apparently this Aro person thinks I might be useful, too. I don't want to be used. I've been used my entire vampire life, which I realize hasn't been long, but I hate it. I won't go back to that."

"I understand," I said softly, seeing my first opportunity to get Fred to calm down. "I haven't experienced it, so I don't really know firsthand, but I can only imagine how that would feel."

"I didn't choose this life, but now that I have it, I want to live it the way I want to."

"Don't you see, Fred?" I asked, risking taking a step closer to him. "We all want the same thing. That's why the Cullens live in Forks. They didn't choose this life either." I took another step, and then another. "None of them did, but they're trying to make the best of their situation… trying to be true to their beliefs and values." I carefully took one last step before reaching out to gently rest my hand on his arm.

He looked at my hand, then into my eyes. "How is it that you're not afraid of me, Bella?"

"Do you know how many vampires I've faced? I guess I'm sort of getting used to it… as much as someone CAN get used to it," I chuckled.

Fred deliberated for a few moments before he finally spoke. "You know, I could just run and take my chances…"

"Yes, you certainly could," I answered with an internal sigh of relief. He seemed to be calming down even more. "And we'd wish you the best of luck, but don't do it on these terms, Fred. Don't burn your bridges. Everyone needs friends in this life. And at some point, you have to trust your own instincts. Deep down, I think you know we're not the enemy, despite what Riley told you."

Eventually, he seemed to concede. He dropped his head and mumbled, "I'm sorry, Bella, I shouldn't have" but his sentence was cut off as Edward flew at him. The two bodies rolled a few times in a blur until Edward landed with his knee in the middle of Fred's chest. Edward was pummeling him before I could even register what had happened.

"Edward! Stop!" I shouted as I started to run toward him. Carlisle intercepted me and carefully held me back. I glared at him fiercely. "What are you doing?" I yelled, trying to look past him to see what was going on.

"You dealt with Fred very well, Bella," Carlisle whispered. "But now you need to let Edward and Jasper deal with him."

"Jasper? Is Jasper keeping him from defending himself?"

Carlisle nodded.

"But Edward's going to kill him!" I screeched.

"No, he's not. Remember what Jasper said about discipline with newborns? Well, sometimes it's not pretty, but Fred needs to understand there are consequences for what he did. He disabled us and threatened you, and that can't be allowed."

I couldn't believe my ears. Was this really Carlisle Cullen speaking? Peace-loving, fatherly, compassionate-to-a-fault Dr. Cullen?

Then I heard a sound I didn't want to ever hear again. Metal tearing, along with a blood-curdling scream. I looked past Carlisle to see that Edward had ripped Fred's arm off and was now beating him with it.

"Edward! Stop this instant!" I shrieked, tears welling up in my stinging eyes.

I wasn't sure if it was my impassioned plea, or if he was just finished, but Edward stood up and threw Fred's arm at him. "Don't you EVER threaten Bella!" he snarled. "Listen carefully, boy. If you ever do something like that again, you'd better be prepared to kill me because mark my words… I. will. kill. you."

Carlisle let me go and I ran toward Edward. He opened his arms to me, but I glowered at him as I passed and knelt down at Fred's side. "I'm so sorry, Fred. I didn't know…" I sobbed almost incoherently.

Fred looked at me in shock, which I took to be his reaction to Edward's viciousness, but instead he asked, "Are you crying… for me?"

I nodded, unable to speak.

"Oh, Bella, you really are one-of-a-kind," he attempted a laugh through his pain. "Don't be mad at Edward. I probably deserved that."

"'Probably' my ass," Jasper hissed. He was perhaps angrier than Edward, if it were possible. Jasper was accustomed to being the authority figure with newborns, so being incapacitated by one must have been especially difficult for him.

Fred used his one good hand to brush a tear from my face. "I'm sorry, Bella. Don't cry. I was being stupid… and like you said… paranoid."

"Are you… gonna be… OK?" I asked, sucking in breath between my words.

"Yeah… Would you believe it if I told you I've had worse?" he coughed and his face was contorted with what looked like agony, but he still managed a half smile.

"No, I wouldn't," I answered.

"Well, you'd be right."

"Bella," Edward called quietly. "We need to go."

I turned to glare at him. "Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Which will make you less mad at me?"

"Neither!" I snapped, turning away again.

Fred's detached arm floundered around at his side, seemingly trying to find his shoulder socket. I cringed at the sight, although I felt like I should have been more sickened or alarmed or something. This was definitely a sign that I really had become immersed in vampire culture.

"Bella, you need to understand something. You can't read my mind, but he can. Some of the things I was thinking… well, they weren't pretty. I can't really fault him for doing this, although beating someone half to death with his own arm is just wrong," Fred chuckled.

"I don't see how you can make jokes… at a time like this," I sniffed.

"This is the perfect time to make jokes!" he laughed, causing him to grimace as he wrapped his arm across his chest. His voice became strained. "If ever there was a 'if you don't laugh, you'll cry' moment, this is it."

"But you can't cry…"

"All the more reason to laugh," he grinned as his voice got raspier. "Really, Bella, I'll be OK. Once I get this arm reattached, I'll be good as new. I really have done this before. Riley ripped my other arm off once. That's how we found out I had a gift, although I don't think he would have called it a gift at the time…"

Fred's demeanor changed suddenly. Gone was the smile and levity. He stared deeply into my eyes. "I'm gonna be fine, OK? Go with Edward. And Bella? Thank you, no matter what else happens."

I nodded, fresh tears springing from my eyes as Edward walked over and offered me his hand. I stared at it for a long moment, not sure what I wanted to do. He noticed my uncertainty and started to pull away, but I wasn't quite ready to let him do that either. Part of me wanted to slap him. I was still really mad. Another part of me wanted to hold him as close as possible and never let him go.

I finally stood up on my own. I gave Fred a little wave and what probably looked more like a frown than a smile, but it was all I could manage. Carlisle was already attending to him, so I knew he was in good hands.

I crossed my arms tightly over my chest and began walking. I still wasn't sure if I wanted Edward to follow me or not, but he did anyway.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I'm sorry you had to see that. What you must think of me…" he trailed off.

"Let's just go. I don't want to talk about it right now," I whispered. He started to pick me up, but I shook my head. I didn't want to be carried. I didn't want to be touched at that moment.

He nodded to his family and then we walked towards home. I kept my eyes fixed on the path ahead and Edward fell in line behind me. The silence was deafening, but I couldn't seem to get my own thoughts straight, so I wasn't sure how I was supposed to explain them to him.

"Bella, I…" he started once more, but I held up one hand to indicate I wasn't ready to hear it yet.

When I estimated we were about halfway there, I quietly said, "Edward, stop." He did so immediately.

"Are you OK, Bella? Are we OK?" he inquired gently, obviously concerned about my silence.

"Can we talk here? I mean, can anyone else hear us?" I answered his question with a question.

"No, we're out of earshot, unless you're going to yell at me. Even then, I don't think anyone else will hear you."

"OK. First, I want to tell you that I love you, and nothing changes that, OK?"

He nodded, appearing somewhat relieved.

"Second, I don't understand what happened back there. I've never seen you do something like that. I don't even know who that man was back there! I mean, when you fought with Victoria, you were defending yourself and me, but this…" I paused, not quite sure what to say. "This was a savage attack. I didn't know you were capable of being so… so brutal, and it kind of scared me," I confessed.

"Bella, honey…" he started, but then didn't seem to have a follow-up. I waited, knowing he needed to get his thoughts and words straightened out in his head. After a few moments, he continued. "You don't know what was going on in Fred's mind. I remember thinking such depraved thoughts as a newborn, so it's not that I don't understand it… he just needed to know there was no way we were going to allow those thoughts to go unanswered. He's lucky I took him down and not Jasper, or even Alice for that matter."

"That bad, huh?"

"Yes, that bad. I'm reasonably sure they were just fleeting thoughts. I don't think he was planning to act on them, but he needs to understand in no uncertain terms that pinning us down with his gift is unacceptable. If he has questions or concerns, he needs to talk about them, not jump to some wild conclusions and attack us. And when he mentioned that you were unprotected… I tried so hard to fight against his power, Bella. I tried so hard. If he had done something to you…" His shoulders slumped in helpless defeat.

As I looked at him, my heart tore at the thought of what it must have been like, being held on the ground, trapped and utterly vulnerable while I was left standing to face what could have easily been my untimely demise. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down until his forehead was resting on mine. "I know, sweetheart. I know… I'm OK. Nothing happened…"

"I didn't want to scare you, Bella. I'm sure I looked insane attacking him like that, but you don't know the things I heard… the things I thought might happen," he said just above a whisper. "I could have lost you today. I can't even think about it… And the way you handled it…"

I stared at my feet and shrugged. "I just had to talk him down from the ledge. That's all."

"You are far too brave for your own good," he smiled, pushing a few strands of hair behind my ear.

"Well, I didn't really have a choice…"

"I know, and that sickens me. I could hear everything, but I couldn't do anything. You don't know how badly I wanted to kill him," Edward said through gritted teeth.

"I'm glad you didn't. I wanted you to kill Victoria, but not Fred, so I'm glad you held back. I'm sure it was hard for you, though..."

He held my shoulders at arms length, making eye contact. "So, are we OK? Please tell me if we're not because I'll do anything to make us OK again."

I smiled shyly. "Anything…?"

"Bella, you are incorrigible!" he exclaimed, once he caught my meaning. "OK, almost anything."

"Can I tell you a secret?" I asked.

"Of course, my love. You can tell me anything!"

"But what if it's something that makes me a bad person…"

"Like you could ever be a bad person, Bella. Seriously."

"Oh, never mind. I can't say it anyway. It's too embarrassing!"

Edward chuckled. "Now you HAVE to say it. You can't just start something like that and not finish it. You'd never let me get away with that and you know it!"

"Alright, fine! But after this, you can never say I'm anything but a bad person. Got it?"

"I'm sure it's not that bad," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"It's just… when you went after Fred…? It was really terrible and unforgivable and wrong," I said rapid fire. He waited for me to continue as I watched my hands wringing together.

"And…?" he coaxed.

"And…" I'm sure I was blushing every shade of red known to man. "And it was kinda hot."

I peeked up at him from under my lashes. He looked stunned, but then his face broke into a huge smile as he threw his head back and laughed heartily. It took him a while to settle down, and even then he would look at me and start laughing again. I wasn't sure if I should be mortified or equally amused.

"Stop it!" I mock protested. "I told you it was bad!"

"Oh, Bella. That's just the last thing in the world I expected you to say. You always surprise me." He pulled me close. "You are not a bad person and furthermore, I just love you so much, I don't know what to do with myself sometimes."

He kissed me passionately, pausing every so often to smile or snicker.

"That," I sighed.

"That, what?"

"Kiss me. That's what you can do with yourself," I giggled.

He kissed me again and before long, we were laughing and carefree once more.

"I was wrong earlier, you know… Chivalry is not dead. It's alive and well right here," I placed my hand on his chest over his heart. Even if it didn't beat, his was the warmest heart I'd ever known.

"If I'd realized I'd get this reaction, I would have beat somebody up a long time ago. Where's Newton when you need him?"

I started to give Edward a smack on the arm, but stopped myself before I hurt my hand again. "Edward?"

He looked put out, but dutifully slapped himself on the arm. "Is that sufficient, my love?"

"That'll do quite nicely, thank you." I squeezed his hand and we laughed and talked all the way back to the house.

When we arrived, I was surprised to find everyone already there. Edward and I hadn't strayed far from the regular path, so Alice must have known we needed some time and decided the rest of them should go home using an alternate route. I'd have to remember to thank her for that.

I was even more surprised that everyone was sitting at the dining room table, which meant one thing – family meeting.