A/N: When we last left, Fred had just announced that he'd met someone.

**-…-**

"What's his name?" Emmett asked with a loud guffaw.

"HER name is Amanda," Fred answered defensively.

Emmett laughed even harder. "Last name, Hugginkiss?"

"What are you talking about?" Fred glowered.

"Well, I know you've always been looking for Amanda Hugginkiss."

We all groaned at the terrible joke, although there was some chuckling mixed in.

"You're a moron," Fred stated.

"Takes one to know one. Oh, and while we're at it, neener neener neener."

"Emmett, give it a rest," Carlisle scolded him. "Yes, we met someone quite fascinating actually."

"Wait. Did you both meet her, or did Fred meet her?" Rose asked, the innuendo very clear in her inflection.

"I met her. Fred… met her," Carlisle answered with a smile.

"Oooohhh… way to go, Fred!" Emmett whooped as the two of them high-fived.

"So, I'm confused," Esme jumped in. "Why was she out there where you were hunting? Is she human or vampire?"

"Are you kidding? I could never be with a human! I'm not some crazy martyr like Edward," Fred responded with indignation, but then looked sheepish as he realized what he'd said. "I mean, no offense, Edward and Bella. I think you make a great couple and everything, but there's no way I could be that close to a human all the time and not… you know…." He trailed off, but snapped his teeth together, just in case we didn't already very clearly understand what he meant.

Esme still looked confused. "But why would a vampire from Volterra be out where you were hunting?"

"She was hunting, too," Fred answered like it was the most obvious thing ever.

"Hold on. One of the Volturi hunts like us?" Jasper puzzled.

Fred simply shrugged. "She sort of has to."

The room quietly erupted with speculation before Carlisle held up his hands. "Let me explain. Amanda has a gift, and it's a very strange one for a vampire, actually. Esme, remember back in the early 50's, I showed you a newspaper clipping about that healer in South Africa? People were flocking to some little abbey in Klerksdorp, like it was some kind of pilgrimage?"

"You mean the morning of November 19th, 1951, at 7:28 and 14 seconds, Eastern Standard Time, when you were wearing that tan sweater I hated so much and I was sitting in the rocking chair near the picture window? No, I don't have any recollection of that at all," she teased.

"Hey, whatever happened to that sweater?" Carlisle raised an eyebrow.

"You don't want to know, dear," she laughed. Edward chuckled, too, so it must have been good. Carlisle shook his head and smiled warmly at his feisty wife.

"But that girl… I thought they proved she was a fraud," Esme brought us back to the subject at hand.

"That's what the papers said, but there was something about the story that seemed entirely too real to me. I'd see a little blurb here and there every once in a while from all over the world, and I always wondered if it was the same woman. There were vague descriptions, but no real solid connections. I haven't heard anything for the past couple of years, but it's something I've been following for a long time."

"So, Fred has a crush on a 70-year-old nun from Klerksdorp that Carlisle's been stalking? Is that what I just heard?" Emmett joked. "And what the hell kind of name is Klerksdorp, anyway?"

"Need I remind you that we live in Forks?" Alice challenged him.

"Good point," he agreed, then returned his focus to Fred. "You do know, if she's a nun, she don't want nun and you ain't gonna get nun, right?"

Rosalie whapped Emmett. Hard.

He rubbed his head, looking quite perturbed. "Hey, I'm just saying what everybody else is thinking."

"I can read everyone's thoughts, except Bella's, and nobody was thinking that except you," Edward informed him. "And I doubt that's what Bella was thinking either." My nod confirmed he was right.

Carlisle's intercepted Emmett's next comment. "I'm not stalking her, and no, Emmett, she's not 70. From what I can gather, she was turned in the mid-50's. She told us she just recently came to Volterra to get away from all the people coming to be healed."

"That means she was human when you first saw that article," Esme mused. "So, her gift came through the change with her."

"Yes, but like most, it's a lot more powerful now."

"So, why was she out hunting animals?" I asked the obvious question.

"She can't bite people," Fred answered. "They heal faster than she can drink from them. She prefers human blood, but she can't get it the old-fashioned way."

"Can't she just drink it from a cup or something?" I inquired further.

I was answered with a collective round of gagging sounds, ewwww's and ugh's, and a room full of vampires looking at me like I'd just suggested we all sit down and share a nice tall glass of slug slime.

"Well, I don't know how these things work!" I defended myself. "Can't she take it from people with a syringe or something?"

"She said she did that for quite a while. When she got thirsty, she would find someone who needed healing and take a blood donation from each family member as payment. Even I thought that was creepy…" Carlisle said with a shiver. "Of course, she told people it was to restock the local blood bank."

"How is drinking it from a bag different from a cup?" I asked.

Carlisle looked at me with compassion, which made me feel like an idiot. "Bella, without putting too fine a point on it, think if the IV tubing as a long straw."

I'm sure my face went slightly more pale than normal as I whispered, "Oh…"

"Way to not put too fine a point on it there, Carlisle," Jasper taunted.

"So, why did she come here? I mean, if that was working for her…" Rose chimed in.

"A couple of reasons, actually," Carlisle answered. "Twitter and Facebook made it almost impossible for her to remain anonymous. Her 'patients' would agree to silence, but somebody would tweet their closest 497 friends and pretty soon she was bombarded with people rushing to see her."

"Couldn't she just leave before it got crowded?" I asked.

"That's the other reason – every time she heals someone, it saps some of her strength. If they have a hangnail or something simple, it doesn't take much, but if they have broken bones or cancer or something serious, it wipes her out. If too many people touch her, she can actually become incapacitated for a while."

"She could be enslaved very easily if humans knew how to go about it," Fred added morosely.

"OK, but I still don't get why she's here. What would Aro want with someone who can heal humans?" Rosalie pressed.

Carlisle sighed. "I guess that's the big question. She said she has a purpose here, but that Aro wanted to tell us about it himself. Apparently it's a surprise. Generally speaking, I don't like Aro's surprises."

"I still don't get why she hunts animals," Jasper jumped in. "Isn't the silly straw method good enough?"

"Blood diseases are becoming more common in humans, and even diabetes and high cholesterol cause her problems. The blood heals as it goes into her system, but it takes away her energy, too."

"And I don't suppose she can diagnose these things beforehand…" I pondered aloud.

"No, and actually, she was hoping I could do something like that. I guess my reputation as a physician has been augmented over the years, and while I do pride myself in having 'House-like' diagnostic capabilities, I can't touch somebody and know exactly what's wrong with them."

"Way Number 17 that Hugh Laurie is better than you," Alice teased.

Carlisle playfully chucked his daughter under the chin. "Watch out, little lady, or I'm going to start listing the ways 'Medium' is better than you!"

Alice looked positively scandalized, causing all of us to laugh.

"So, when do we meet her?" I asked. I needed to size up this Amanda girl to see if she was good enough for Fred, my newly-adopted-sort-of-like-a-brother-in-law-for-all-intents-and-purposes.

"We are expected in the Great Hall at 1:00 sharp. She said she would be there as well," Carlisle answered. "If anyone else needs to hunt, this would be a good time to do it."

**-…-**

Since we had a couple of hours to kill, Edward sat down at the piano in Carlisle and Esme's parlor. All our rooms were ridiculously plush and well-appointed, but their suite of rooms was bigger than Charlie's entire house.

I was nothing even remotely resembling anything similar to a musician, but I loved to hear Edward play. I leaned into Esme as we sat on the sofa together, allowing our minds to be filled with the breathtakingly beautiful pieces Edward chose – some spritely and playful, some intense and moody, others grandiose and awe-inspiring.

A tap at the door brought me back to Planet Earth all too soon.

Edward paused. "Come in, Felka."

The door opened a crack before Esme pulled it open to welcome the timid girl inside.

"Please, don't stop playing on my account. That was… amazing." It was then I noticed her eyes were wide and glassy, and I wondered how long she'd been listening.

Edward smiled and obliged her, playing a Chopin nocturne, which I knew because Edward said it was a Chopin nocturne.

"From my country," Felka sighed, placing her hand over her heart. Seeing her reaction made me love Edward just a tiny bit more, even though I'd thought that impossible. The three of us were nothing short of mesmerized by Edward's incredible talent. Not only was every note perfect, but his interpretation of the music brought tears to my eyes as well.

Only after he played the final notes and we gave him a hearty round of applause did Felka seem to remember why she was there. "Oh, dear! Your lunch! It's cold!"

"No worries," I said, waving my hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. You're looking at someone who's eaten a tub of cottage cheese for dinner. I wasn't kidding when I said I wasn't picky."

She tittered nervously and began setting out my meal.

"I do have one complaint," I stated matter-of-factly after taking my first bite.

She looked at me, horrified, until my face broke into a smile. "This food is so good and you bring so much of it, I'm going to gain 20 pounds by the end of the week!"

Once she truly realized I was only joking, she finally seemed to relax a little.

"More of you to love," Edward cooed in my ear. Felka and I looked at each other and broke out laughing.

"What?" he asked, actually seeming bewildered.

"With that logic, I should keep eating until I look like Jabba the Hutt!" I teased.

I could see him struggling for the right thing to say, which just made me laugh harder.

"It's OK, dear," I patted his arm condescendingly. "You still get full credit for being very sweet."

I leaned over and kissed his cheek. He shook his head slowly, clearly not realizing he'd just dodged a bullet.

Felka sighed and began gathering her things. "I should be going. Enjoy your lunch, ma'… I mean, Bella."

We shared a knowing smile.

"Perhaps by the time you're ready to leave, I will just be getting accustomed to calling you by your Christian name," she joked.

"It's OK, either way," I assured her.

"Yes, ma'am," she answered with a giggle and a wink on her way out the door.

Edward still looked deep in thought and quite perplexed. "So…, what should I have said to your 'Jabba' comment?"

"Oh, Edward, with as many minds as you've read, you don't recognize the 'woman trap' when you see it? There IS no good answer. If you agreed with me, you'd be in trouble for not liking how I look now, and if you disagreed, you'd be in trouble because it would imply that you wouldn't still love me if I gained weight! It's a no-win situation. I think you sitting there looking puzzled was the best answer possible."

Then he REALLY looked puzzled, for which he received a sweet kiss.

**-…-**

We arranged our processional in the hallway. Jasper, always the one for strategy, had decided a specific order for us to enter the Great Hall. Alice had agreed to the configuration, until Edward moved himself between Fred and me.

"No, Edward. Bella needs to be between you. Otherwise, she'll be exposed on the left side, which could be tempting to some of the newer guard members over there. The right side is even worse. She'll be safest in the center."

"Good lord, Edward," Fred groused. "Are you EVER going to trust me? Do you really trust the Volturi more than me?"

Edward gave him the once over and finally moved us back to our previous positions. "I'm sorry, Fred. You're right. You haven't thought of Bella as a meal in a very long time. I guess old habits really do die hard."

"I get it. I mean, I barely even know Amanda and I already feel like I'd want to rip anyone or anything apart that even might possibly hurt her."

"So you think she may be your mate?" Edward asked.

"I didn't mean that exactly…" Fred trailed off, looking a little self-conscious.

"Yeah, ya did," Jasper chuckled. We could all feel Fred's hope and longing amplified through Jasper's gift.

"I've heard loving a nun can be habit-forming," Emmett snickered.

"You've been waiting all day to say that, haven't you," I accused him.

"Not ALL day. Just since I found out Fred's girlfriend is a sister."

Fred grabbed Em by the shirtfront, ripping it, but obviously not caring. "Don't you dare embarrass me in front of her, Emmett. I'm serious. She's not a nun. If you tease her, so help me…"

In less than a blink of my eye, Emmett was writhing on the floor, but nobody else was affected at all. I wasn't the only one to notice.

"Fred, stop," Carlisle instructed calmly. Fred seemed to snap out of his anger and released Emmett, even offering to help him up off the ground, which was completely unnecessary.

"Sorry, man, I don't know what came over me," Fred apologized.

"I do. Vamps are always possessive with their mates," Emmett said, smirking as he brushed some dirt off his pants. "And now I need to get another shirt." He disappeared into his room and was back in just a second or two, buttoning up a rather loud, flower-laden Hawaiian monstrosity.

Now it was Alice's turn to fume. "You are NOT wearing THAT to meet the Volturi. You look like everything bad about Hawaii just threw up on you! Rose, back me up here."

Rosalie was already on it. "I told you not to even bring that stupid shirt. It's embarrassing! I mean, look at me and then look in the mirror. Do I look like someone who would be seen with someone who didn't know how to dress himself properly?"

I loved Rose, but seriously, she could make anything about her. Emmett looked confused and possibly a tiny bit hurt.

Alice decided to take a different approach, reaching her tiny hand to rest on his massive one. "Em, you know I love buying clothes for everyone, but I especially like shopping for you. Do you know why?"

He shook his head.

"Because you're the most challenging. Most guys aren't nearly as big and burly as you, so finding clothes that will fit and show off that impressive body isn't easy. It hurts my feelings when you go off and buy some rouge… 'thing,'" she grimaced as she touched the sleeve. "It's not even made well, and it makes me think you don't appreciate what I do for you."

Her hugely round eyes and perfect little pout reminded me of 'Puss in Boots' from Shrek. And it had the same effect.

"I'm sorry, Alice. I'll get something else. But can I keep the shirt?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes, I suppose you can keep it, but please just wear it to the beach, OK? For me?"

Emmett dashed off to get another shirt. Alice turned, smiled smugly and brushed her hands together. "My work here is done."

Rosalie scowled. "I could have gotten him to change his shirt, too, you know."

"Yes, but then he would have been sulking. Now he thinks it's a good idea," Alice chirped happily as Rose exaggeratedly rolled her eyes.

Once Emmett was properly attired and back in 'formation', we started toward the Great Hall. I was nervous, but it was nothing like the last time we'd been here. At that time, I had been very sure we were going to die, but now I was only about half sure we were going to die. That had to be an improvement, right?

Two vampires stood guard at the door. I didn't recognize either of them, which was always disconcerting. As the old saying went, better the devil you know than the devil you don't know. Since this place was full of devils, it was especially poignant.

As the massive doors opened, I saw some of the devils I did know. Felix, Demetri, Drivey, and Heidi stood on the main floor. Demetri, always the flirt, gave me a little wave. Edward stiffened immediately, a very low growl rumbling through his body. Needless to say, even if I'd wanted to wave back, which I didn't, I wouldn't have done it in consideration of Edward's reaction.

On the first step to the throne platform stood Jane and Alec, whom I considered to be the root of most evil. Remembering how she tortured Edward and ruthlessly ordered the execution of Bree, I once again wished I could rip Jane apart and burn her. She had to be the meanest, most vile creature on the planet. But then my eyes moved to the puppet master himself, Aro, and while he seemed infinitely more kindly and civilized, he was the root behind the root.

"Welcome, Cullens!" Aro brightly announced, effectively silencing the hushed whispers all around us. "I trust your stay so far has been pleasant? Everything to your liking?"

"Yes, thank you," Carlisle politely replied. "On behalf of my family, your hospitality is most appreciated."

The word 'family' had not gone unnoticed, as many of the vampires in the room shifted uncomfortably at the mention of it.

"Yes, yes…" Aro continued, his tone slightly darkened. "Well, now, I've never had the opportunity to meet some of your coven members. This must be your lovely wife, Esme. My dear, I've heard so many wonderful things about you."

"Thank you, and it's nice to finally meet you as well," Esme answered.

If anyone could sincerely mean that in reference to Aro, it was Esme, but I didn't know if even SHE could be sincere about something like that.

"Charmed, I'm sure," Aro continued. "And of course I know Alice. Lovely to see you again. And this must be your husband, Jasper? The empath?"

"Yes, sir, that's me," Jasper drawled.

"Tell me, young Jasper, what am I feeling right now?"

Jasper looked unsure, something I rarely saw with him. He smirked and shook his head.

"Oh, certainly you can afford one little demonstration of your gift to a curious old vampire?"

"Just remember you insisted," Jasper forewarned. "I sense a strong combination of confidence and fear."

Whispering broke out all around us. Caius was the only one to speak aloud. "Aro has nothing to fear, you arrogant boy. Who do you think you are dealing with here?"

"Caius," Aro threw a warning look at him, "I asked Jasper to speak his mind and he did. The fact is, fear of the unknown is quite normal, and we do have an unknown quantity in the room, don't we." His gaze practically pierced through Fred. "I do have confidence in the abilities of my guard, however, so Jasper spoke correctly on both counts."

Aro may as well have been carrying a neon sign warning Fred to be careful or else, and Fred seemed to know it.

"And you simply have to be Rosalie and Emmett. I thought descriptions of your beauty had to have been greatly exaggerated, and here I see that, if anything, you have been grossly underrated, my dear. And Emmett, as big as Felix!" Aro clapped his hands together in glee. "Tell me, if I were to pit the two of you against each other, who would win?"

Emmett looked disdainfully at Felix and replied, "Obviously it would be me. He may be close to my size, but I have the added advantage of intelligence."

Felix snarled. "Bring it on, little man." The two of them appeared ready to go at it right there in the Great Hall.

"Emmett!" Esme reprimanded him.

"Look, Emmy… you're mommy's calling."

"Felix, enough!" Aro snapped. Felix reacted immediately, straightening from his attack position.

"I'd rather be on her leash than his," Emmett commented snidely to his nemesis.

Aro ignored him and moved on. "Ah, Edward and Bella. I was surprised when Jane reported that you were still human, my dear girl. Caius wanted to send assassins immediately, but then we received your lovely wedding invitation with an explanation of your plans, so what would have been an unfortunate travesty was thankfully averted."

I glared at Caius, wishing my eyes could burn holes in him and that I could throw him onto the same bonfire with Jane.

Aro obviously noticed the direction of my glowering. "Caius does have an inordinate amount of love for the law. I'm sure it's nothing personal, my dear."

"Yes, I'm sure," I gritted through the fakest smile I could muster.

"Speaking of the law, I was also sorry to hear about your run-in with a newborn army. Tragic when some of our kind refuse to follow the few simple rules we implement to keep order. I still don't know how seven of you defeated twenty of them. That must have been quite something… yes, quite something indeed."

"If we'd had the kind of help you suggest, don't you think Jane and her party would have smelled them? Certainly Demetri could have tracked Eleazer and Carmen at the very least," Edward blurted in response to Aro's thoughts. I noticed then that he hadn't said we didn't have help… it just wasn't the help Aro had suspected.

"Perhap our friend Emmett is correct then. Brains can conquer brawn. It was nearly three to one in their favor, and yet you not only defeated them, but none of you even had a hair out of place."

"We also had experience, strategy, and gifts on our side," Carlisle added. "We used Bella's scent to lure them through our chosen path, which gave us a distinct advantage. Jasper is an exceptional strategist, and with Alice seeing it all play out in advance, we were able to position ourselves accordingly."

"Bella is quite the little strategist, too, I'm learning," Jasper added. I wasn't sure I wanted Aro to know that, but I trusted Jasper wouldn't have shared it if he'd thought it would be harmful.

"And that brings us to newborn number 21. Our friend, Fred," Aro smiled wickedly at our surprised faces. "Did you think I wouldn't have done my research? Did you think you could hide the fact that he'd been part of the newborn army?"

"We weren't trying to hide it necessarily," Carlisle interjected. "Fred didn't fight with them, so there was no reason to include him in the discussion. For all practical purposes, he wasn't part of their army."

"But he was turned as part of their army," Caius spat. "And that makes him an illegal creation. The law is very clear about this, and about the consequences."

Carlisle shook his head emphatically. "But he had no choice in the matter. He was an innocent victim in someone else's illegal plan. She's dead now. Everyone connected to her is dead, too. Fred was never part of this, except in the eyes of a certain crazed, revenge-hungry, red-headed vampire. When given the opportunity, he left the army and went out on his own."

"Yes, and now the entire world has footage of that little escapade," Caius jeered. "Another illegal activity, might I add."

"Nobody was identified and there isn't even a suspicion of vampire involvement. No harm, no foul," Carlisle shot back.

"Only after Aro sent someone in to take the blame. Who knows what would have happened otherwise!"

Now Carlisle was getting angry. "Precisely! We don't know what might have happened. We could speculate all day about things that might happen. Possible violations of the law are not actual violations. All we know in this case is that nothing came of it, Volturi involvement or not."

"May I speak for myself?" Fred asked boldly. More whispers went around the room. These Volturi guard members were certainly a gossipy bunch.

"Fred…" Edward whispered harshly. Fred turned to him, nodded, and a second later, Edward nodded for him to continue.

"I may never get over that," Aro smiled in appreciation of Edward's gift. "Yes, Fred, let's hear from you."

**-…-**

A/N: Doh!

Well, for some reason, this was a difficult chapter. The first half took me forever, and I probably deleted more than I kept. The second half basically wrote itself, however. It sort of scares me how easily I write dialogue for Aro and Caius. (I hope it's also GOOD dialogue!)

Thanks for reading. Love to get reviews, so please write early and often!