A/N: Sorry for the long delay. I just haven't been home much. Don't tell anyone, but I actually resorted to writing a little here and there at work. They clearly don't understand my need to write fanfic… you'd think they would welcome the opportunity to pay me for doing something other than my assigned duties…

So, we left Felka bleeding out on the floor and Bella with a plan. Here we go!

Chapter 39

I made the mistake of watching as Carlisle put the needle in my arm. I didn't like needles and I didn't like seeing blood and I especially didn't like seeing my blood. I was a firm believer that blood should remain on the inside. I also held a strong belief that, for as important as blood was, it gave up way too easily. It should fight to stay in its body.

At this moment, however, I was thankful that it flowed freely through the tube as Carlisle provided suction. Fred fed the end of the tube into Amanda's mouth. I only hoped that fresh human blood would strengthen her enough, and in time.

"Don't let her take too much," Edward once again reminded his father.

"Of course not," Carlisle softly replied. "I'm monitoring it very carefully. Trust me."

"I do... I'm sorry… it's just..." Edward trailed off.

"No need to explain, son."

After a few minutes, I began feeling lightheaded, but I wasn't about to stop with Felka's life on the line. I was starting to wonder if this was going to work at all, as Amanda hadn't moved a muscle and I didn't know how much more I could give before Carlisle made me quit.

Suddenly, she twitched. Fred held her as she began to recover. She started to reach for Felka, but Carlisle stopped her. "You need to touch Bella first," he directed.

"No! I'm fine. Take care of Felka!" I insisted.

"I know you're fine," Carlisle said calmly, "but Amanda is going to need to drink more, and if she doesn't replenish you, I'll have three patients on my hands."

"Oh, OK," I acquiesced, realizing he was right.

Carlisle had to remove the needle because the puncture wound would heal over it otherwise. Amanda took my hand and I instantly felt 100% better. Carlisle reinserted the needle and Amanda began to drink in earnest at that point. It was an odd feeling. It didn't hurt, but the sensation of being drained was alarming.

Carlisle removed the needle again. Normally I would consider this procedure a half-step away from hell on earth, but Felka needed me and this was the only idea anyone had. Also, it seemed like it might actually work.

Amanda reached out to touch me, and then touched Felka. Again they both reacted like electricity had passed between them. And again, Amanda went limp afterward. Fred held her, ensuring the IV tube was still securely in her mouth.

About the time I started feeling dizzy again, she came to. Then it was out with the needle, touch me, touch Felka, in with the needle again. We continued this process twice more before Felka finally opened her eyes. I gave Amanda another pint or so, then she replenished me again and gave Felka one more touch before the ordeal was finally over.

I didn't know what to expect from Felka. I mean, she had just attempted suicide and we brought her back from the very brink of death. I couldn't imagine it would go over well, but we couldn't let her die right in front of us, either. Not if we could prevent it.

Felka stood and looked around her, bewildered by the massive pool of her own blood at her feet, and looking at her red-soaked shirt with a gaping hole in the middle. As realization settled in on her, she began to cry. In earnest. Esme held her.

I wanted to go to her, but I imagined I was among the last people she would want comforting her right now. She might prefer Jane to me. OK, that was going too far, but she probably would have preferred Chelsea or Rose at least.

Felka was trembling, so Alice took Fred's jacket and wrapped it around her. She didn't even seem to notice. Her entire being was focused on the three thrones in front of her.

"You won't let me live," she pointed at the Brothers accusingly, "and you won't let me die," she said in the same manner to Carlisle, Amanda and me. "What am I supposed to do?" Felka wailed.

"Do you see, Aro?" Carlisle asked angrily. "She would rather die than live the life you're proposing. And she would have accomplished it, too, if this had happened any place but here. You can't force her to live. Even if you monitored her 24/7, there are a thousand ways for a human to die. If she wants to end her life, she will eventually. It may not happen on the 20th or even the 200th attempt, but it only takes one success and your entire empire goes out the window."

"I will do it," Felka hissed with determination. Her tears continued to flow, punctuating the sincerity of her words as much as the macabre sight of blood dripping from her clothing. "I won't be a vampire and I won't live here as a prisoner. If those are my choices, then I will choose death and you won't be able to stop me."

"Now, Felka, my dear child, be reasonable. Surely you see why we can't have you, a vulnerable and fragile human, walking around with full knowledge of the Volturi's inner workings," Aro attempted to reason with her.

"First, I am not your dear child, and second, I don't have to know anything about the Volturi's business. I don't even want to be your lawyer, because unlike you, I have principles!" she cried out.

"Wow, a lawyer with principles? Maybe she should be in a zoo," Emmett quipped under his breath, causing Rosalie to elbow him.

"Please calm down, Felka," Aro said as soothingly as he could. "Tempers will only make matters worse."

"Make matters worse?" she laughed incredulously, wiping tears from her eyes. "How much worse could they be? I just tried to kill myself. I don't think it gets much worse than that!"

"Maybe we could come to some kind of agreement," Aro offered, trying to maintain the appearance of control.

"We tried that," Carlisle interjected. "You proved that you can't be trusted, and NOW you want to come to an agreement? You took away the only option she wanted. As much as I value human life, I think of the two choices you're offering, she should take Plan C!"

She turned to Carlisle, her entire expression softening, imploring. "Then why didn't you let me die?"

Carlisle had to stop to think about that. "Because, when it comes down to it, I'm a doctor and I can't help myself. I still feel there might be a chance for you, but if you decide to do it again, I won't intervene."

She looked into his deep butterscotch eyes, and I knew what she would find. Compassion and truth. "And if they force me to become a vampire? If I want to die, will you help me?" she asked.

"No, he most certainly will not," Caius hissed.

Carlisle spoke to Felka, but his eyes were locked on Caius. "Yes, I most certainly will. I believe in the sanctity of choice, especially when it comes to making this change, even if those who purport to enforce the law refuse to keep it themselves."

"We only need her alive until she gives the interview," Caius spat. "After that, whatever becomes of her is not truly my concern."

"The interview. The interview? Oh, yes! I'd be happy to give this reporter the interview of a lifetime!" Felka laughed again. "I'm sure he'd love to hear all about the vampires of Volterra draining scores of people, including his cousin. He might even win a Pulitzer Prize!"

"You'll tell him no such thing!" Caius yelled.

"And what are you going to do? Kill me? Go right ahead," Felka challenged him. "Maybe you can do a better job than I did."

I suddenly remembered what Amanda had said about Felka – that she was a very sweet girl, but could also be a fierce adversary. I had a feeling this brush with death made her a little less sweet and a little more fierce.

"Without the threat of death, what more do you have?" Edward asked.

"We can always kill the people she loves," Caius murmured viciously. He was like a cornered animal.

"My entire family is dead. My brother is a vampire. I have a fiancé who's told me he doesn't know how he can go on without me. You have nothing to control me with anymore. I guess in a way, I'm free after all. In fact, I think I may just walk out the front door right now."

"You can't do that," Caius sneered.

"Really? Because I think I can," Felka said confidently.

"You'll be dead before you cross the threshold," he threatened.

"OK, we can do it that way if you want to," she called his bluff, or at least what I hoped was a bluff. "I mean, based on what you said just a minute ago, I was under the impression you still needed me for this interview, but if not, we might as well get the killing done with sooner rather than later."

"Wait," Aro interrupted. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Are you saying you would still be willing to do the interview?"

"Maybe..."

"Using our… script and not your own?" he asked.

"I guess it would depend on what you're offering..." she responded.

Aro looked uncomfortable. He was accustomed to having the upper hand, and now he had lost it completely. Felka held all the cards, and Aro was going to have to play her game.

"Make me an offer," he answered, taking the chicken way out.

"I asked you first," she replied coquettishly.

Caius looked like he was about ready to come out of his papery-white skin. Aro's eyes burned with frustration and anger, although the smile never left his face, and I caught another little smirk from Marcus.

"We had an offer on the table," Aro said in a business-like tone. "If we remove the provision that you become a vampire or return to Volterra, would you still be interested?"

Felka thought about it for a few moments. "Here is the problem. Obviously once I give the interview, I'm as good as dead. You would have no reason to keep me alive and every reason to eliminate someone you see as a liability. With that in mind, I think I will need some form of life insurance. And please don't waste everyone's time by giving me your 'word' again."

"I see," Aro dropped his fake smile. I guessed he didn't like having his 'integrity' openly questioned.

"How about if we all take a break?" Carlisle intervened smoothly. "These two lovely ladies have human needs to attend to, and we wouldn't want them to be uncomfortable, of course."

"Of course," Aro deadpanned. "You may take your leave and return in two hours."

"Thank you," Carlisle replied before ushering us out the large doors. He put his finger to his lips, so we all walked in silence toward our suites.

"I'll catch up with you," Alice whispered. "Bella, I'm trusting you to give Felka appropriate clothing."

I started to giggle, but quickly realized she was dead-serious.

Once back in our room, I retrieved a new outfit for Felka, led her to the shower in my bathroom, and then joined the family in Carlisle and Esme's room. The chairs were still arranged in a circle, so we all took our seats.

"OK, what's going on" I asked.

"Well," Edward began, "I had to get us out of there because Aro was about to lose what little control he'd been holding onto. Felka's next words would have sent him over the edge and Alice's vision didn't hold much promise after that happened."

"What was she going to say?" Esme worried aloud.

"The 'life insurance,'" Edward made quotes in the air, "she wanted was hard evidence that vampires exist."

We all took a collective gasp. "She can't do that!" Rosalie growled. Of all the Cullens, Rose was always the most protective of secrets, especially the kind that could ruin lives and lifestyles.

"Yes, I know, which is why we had to get out of there before she said anything," Edward grimaced. "We need a suitable plan for her to offer Aro, and we need to figure it out before she joins us in…"

"Eight minutes, 53 seconds," Alice answered as she popped into the room and took the seat next to her husband.

"If she had this evidence, what would she want to do with it?" Jasper asked.

Edward sighed. "She wanted to put it in safekeeping, and then if something happened to her unexpectedly, the information would be released to the press and the United Nations."

"I think Felka watches too many movies…"Emmett commented.

"I was wondering what was so urgent that we needed to make such a hasty exit," Carlisle mused. "When you gave me the Bat Signal, I thought I'd misread it."

"Bat Signal?" I questioned.

"No time to explain, but we've all developed signals for communicating with each other when we're around other vampires," Edward explained despite the fact that he'd just said there was no time to do so.

"OK, obviously she can't expose us all to the world," Jasper reasoned aloud, "so, in lieu of that, what information can she have that would hurt the Volturi enough to prevent them from breaking an agreement with her?"

"Can we use the Romanians somehow?" Fred offered.

"That's a good idea," Edward answered, "except that anything that will hurt the Volturi automatically helps the Romanians, and I'm going to guess there is one group of vampires Felka hates more than the ones around here."

"How about…" Jasper started, but then paused as he gathered his thoughts, "… instead of finding something to hurt the Volturi, we offer them something they want?"

"OK, I'm with you," Edward nodded encouragingly.

Alice bounced in her seat. "That could work!"

"Please tell me I don't need to remind you yet again that we're not all privy to everyone's thoughts," Carlisle groused.

Jasper chuckled before explaining. "Felka's brother still has connections with the Romanians. I wonder if Idzi would be interested in continuing to infiltrate their ranks? He could do a lot of damage from the inside..."

"OK, but the Romanians will know that Idzi's sister was with the Volturi. Wouldn't they assume she'd know who really killed her family and tell her brother?" Emmett asked. I didn't realize he was paying that much attention.

Jasper nodded. "It would be a dangerous game, but Idzi could tell the Romanians that the Volturi were trying to blame his family's deaths on them, and promise them occasional bits of information that he could only get through Felka. As long as he gave them credible sounding intelligence, they would want to keep Felka alive. Idzi could actually be gathering information about the Romanians, which is something that would definitely interest Aro and Caius, but would only do it as long as Felka lived as a human."

I was impressed, but skeptical. "If that worked, she would be the safest human on the planet. If it didn't, she would be the deadest. And Idzi, too."

"It's a good idea," Carlisle agreed, "but it does sound incredibly dangerous. For all we know, the Romanians might have a gifted vampire who could tell if Idzi was loyal or not."

"Also, there's nothing preventing either side from turning her into a vampire," Emmett added.

We all sat in silence contemplating this problem.

Amanda was the first to speak. "Idzi could tell the Romanians about me… if they knew Felka could only continue to gather information as long as she was a human blood donor, they wouldn't be so eager to turn her."

"No," Fred immediately responded as he reached for Amanda's hand. "That would put a target on your back. If they knew how important you are to the Volturi's new way of life, they'd stop at nothing to get to you, not to mention they'd want your ability for themselves."

"True, but what if…" Jasper pondered, "…the Romanians got a different story, like some vampire named 'Bob' or something can restore blood in humans, but that's all he can do. They don't need to know who Amanda is or what her abilities actually are."

"They would still try to go after 'Bob the Vampire,' wouldn't they?" Edward asked in all seriousness, even though his question sounded rather silly to me.

"If they haven't attacked Volterra yet, I doubt the existence of 'Bob' would be enough to lure them in. They're powerful, but they'd be crushed in a full-on attack and they know it," Jasper explained.

"Felka's coming. Act normal," Alice whispered.

I snorted out a laugh. "This IS us being normal. This is about as normal as this bunch gets."

The door opened and everyone stopped talking immediately. "So much for acting normal, guys," Rose said, giving her signature eye roll.

"So, I guess you were all talking about me?" Felka tittered nervously.

"Well, of course we were talking about you," Alice laughed. "Did you see anyone else stab themselves in the Great Hall? Because I didn't. You're kind of the 'it' girl at the moment."

"That was pretty badass," Emmett agreed. I wasn't sure he should be praising her for trying to kill herself, but I let it go.

"Well, I guess I can't expect too much anonymity after that," she answered with a chuckle, seeming to relax a little.

"Trust me – they'll be talking about that little stunt for centuries," Carlisle confirmed.

I patted the chair next to me, inviting Felka to sit in on the family meeting.

"Thank you, but I don't want to intrude. Besides, I just came in to get your lunch order, Bella."

"Oh puh-leeeese!" I exclaimed in disbelief. "Sit down. Esme was kind enough to order up lunch for both of us."

"Oh, well, thank you..." she mumbled as she took a seat. I wondered where Felka, Warrior Princess had gone, but this was the side of her I knew much better.

"So, I have a question," Carlisle the Perpetual Scientist started. "Neither Alice nor Edward knew you had a knife, and they had no idea you were going to use it. How did you manage that?"

"Oh, that was actually easy," Felka waved her hand indifferently. "Edward and Alice told me how the Volturi avoided their gifts, so I just did the same thing. I put the knife in my pocket thinking about using it later to cut up some vegetables. I didn't know how I was going to not decide to use the knife, if things were going badly enough that I would use it, but then Jane attacked Edward and nobody was paying attention."

"Clever girl. Not that I condone suicide, mind you," Carlisle admonished her. Finally, somebody said it, at least.

"I don't either," Felka answered. "It's just… I didn't know what else to do. I wasn't exactly left with many options."

Carlisle nodded, if not in agreement, then at least in understanding. "I know. I'm just glad you weren't successful. I hope we can work this out so it doesn't have to come to that. What you did in there took a lot of guts, and I know because some of them were hanging out of your abdomen," Carlisle quipped.

"Gross!" I exclaimed.

He chuckled. "Sorry. A little gallows humor there. Anyway, I was surprised and I'm sure the Volturi were shocked. Even though I don't approve, it did give you some leverage. I have to admit, you are far more formidable than I would have anticipated."

Felka blushed at his compliment. "Honestly, I just figured I didn't have anything to lose. If it worked, the problem would be solved, and if it didn't, I'd be no worse off than I was before."

"As much as I'd like to argue with your logic, you're right," Carlisle conceded. "But now that you've shown you're serious when you say you'll kill yourself, I would imagine the Brothers are quite busily mulling over their options as we speak."

"Yes, about that…" Felka said quietly. "I was certainly glad for the break, but it happened so suddenly. May I ask…?"

"Actually, before you came in, that's exactly what we were talking about," Edward answered.

"Oh?" She looked down at her fidgeting fingers.

"I understand your need for insurance, but no vampire in the world would allow a human to have proof of our existence. Even we would say 'no' to that. It's nothing personal. Humans just die too easily for our secret to be left in their vulnerable hands," Edward said a little too harshly for my taste. Felka'd already had a very hard day.

I gave him a withering glare. "I think what Edward is trying to say is that proving the existence of vampires would hurt all of them, not just the Volturi. We need a plan that's specifically targeted."

"That's pretty much what I said," Edward replied a bit defensively.

"Aside from that fact that it's not even remotely what you said," Jasper ribbed him.

"Well, it's what I meant..." Edward grumbled.

"So, do you have a plan?" Felka asked.

"Well, m'lady, I reckon we may jes' have a lil' somethin' up our sleeves," Jasper said with a thicker-than-usual drawl. He smiled at Felka and tipped an invisible hat.

**-…-**

Our lunch arrived by way of Drivey. I wasn't sure why a vampire was delivering human food, but Felka didn't seem too put out by it, so maybe he was an OK guy after all. She called him Baothghalach, which Edward later informed me was Gaelic.

Once Baoth...gh... Drivey left and was out of earshot, Jasper explained his idea to Felka. She was understandably apprehensive, especially because the plan was largely dependent on her brother. She felt he may be volatile once he learned the truth about his family's deaths. If he went back to the Romanians with revenge on his mind, the entire plan would be blown.

"We'll try to downplay that whole 'vengeance is mine' aspect and focus on Idzi as the 'inside man who can bring down the enemy' part," Jasper said making air quotes to emphasize his points.

"I understand what you're saying, and I agree in theory, but the reality is that Idzi very well might not go along with this. Then what? I'm once again good as dead," Felka said with a disturbing lack of emotion for someone who was talking about the potential of being on more than one vampire hit list.

However, with no other options on the table, we decided to go with what we had and hope for the best.

"Bella, if Edward thinks we need another break, I want him to touch your palm with his finger, and then you announce that you need to use the bathroom," Carlisle explained.

"What? That's totally embarrassing!" I hollered.

"Really, Bella? That's your big concern? A bunch of vampires are going to think you have to pee?" Emmett chided.

"Oh, shut up. Why don't you tell them you have to pee?" I snapped back.

"Because as much as I've tried, Edward won't hold my hand," he laughed, "so he can't give me the 'I gotta pee' signal."

"Oh, I'LL give you a signal," I retorted, shaking my little fist at him.

"Hold her back, Edward!" he yelped. "Don't let her unleash her all-powerful rage on me!"

"You just wait, little big brother," Edward warned. "When she's a newborn, she'll be stronger than you and she'll remember this."

"No she won't," Emmett answered confidently. "Newborns don't remember much of anything."

"I'll remind her," Edward mock threatened.

"OK, kids, enough," Carlisle intervened. "Time to put our game faces on. Jasper, I want you with us this time."

He headed for the door followed by Alice, Jasper, Felka, Edward and me.

And Emmett.

"Ummmm… Em? You're not going with us, son," Carlisle said as nicely as possible.

It didn't stop Emmett from whining. "Why not? Jasper gets to go."

"We're not doing this right now," Carlisle responded gently. "I need Jasper's experience and it will help if he can get a read on the Brothers."

"Fine! I'll just stay here and play Mario with Fred," Emmett pouted.

"No can do," Fred told him. "I promised a certain lovely lady that we'd take a walk this afternoon."

"Abandoned! Well isn't that just great. That only leaves one thing. Rosie?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows at his wife.

"Oh, I'M your last option? I don't think so, mister!"

We left them with what was sure to be an epic battle. I would have preferred that one to the one we were about to face.

**-…-**