A/N: sorry for the long wait. Thanks to my awesome beta ACEMCKEAN. She has three great stories right now that have me chomping at the bit!!

The Cullen Brothers: What happens when Bella, Alice and Rose meet the members of a famous group, after winning a contest to meet them. Will there be love? Will everything work out? Will Bella and Edward get their happy ending?

Marital Bliss?: Bella and Alice are best friends who are both ready to get married to the men of their dreams- Bella with Jacob, and Alice with Jasper! But what happens when Edward, Bella's former crush and ex-best friend comes back, what will happen?

The Protectors: Bella was a rich, spoiled socialite who needed to be protected. Follow the events as they unfold and the quasi-drama that happens when you have our three favorite bodyguards Em, J and E

THESE ARE AWESOME STORIES THAT I LOVE TO READ!!! Well written and oh so yummy!! So read them, and send my girl some luv cuz she ROCKS!!!

I also have another story in the works ONCE UPON A STORMY NIGHT. Chapter 4 is posting today!Let me just say it has an M rating for a reason!

ENJOY!!!

Chapter 57

Carlisle's POV

We all heard the sick sounds of Victoria's torment of Charlie. The sick snap of the bone and the scent of his blood. It pained me to have to wait to help him, but we couldn't leave Victoria and Caius long enough to help him.

Edward sprang to the trees at his first opportunity, reaching Charlie in seconds. I dashed for my medical bag and prepared to help him.

I heard Edward soothe Charlie, as he reached him. "It's okay, Charlie. We're going to get you out of here. You'll be fine."

I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking everything would be fine when I heard Charlie's heartbeat grow erratic and finally stop.

Bella screamed, "Dad! No!!!" Then she flung herself, and the twins, into the trees to find him and I dashed along the ground to their location.

"Bella, Love," Edward called. "It's bad. We need to get him down so Carlisle can help him."

"Tell me how to help," she sobbed.

"Can you do this? There is a lot of blood," he told her.

"I can honestly say I have never been more in control of that side of my nature than now," she sniffled.

"Grab his legs. Let's get him down," Edward said, and seconds later they had him on the ground. No more that fifteen seconds had passed since his heart gave out.

As soon as he was on the ground I surveyed the damage. His spine was snapped, meaning he would be paralyzed from the waist down, he had a large gouge taken from his neck, a wound made with a hand.

"Edward," I directed. "Apply pressure to his wound while I begin CPR."

We set to work quickly, needing every ounce of our vampire abilities to save him.

"Bella, if we get a heartbeat, the only way to save him will be to turn him," I told her.

"I can't do that. I can't choose for him. I don't know what he'd want," she said, as the tears streamed down her face.

Esme came quickly and wrapped Bella in a warm embrace as Edward and I worked to restart Charlie's heart.

"What do I do, Esme?" she asked.

"Honey, I can't decide for you," she soothed.

Jake took off into the trees as I worked at a feverish pace trying to get Charlie's heart to restart.

He was back in a minute in human form.

"You have to save him, Bella," he said. "Turn him if you have to, but we can't let it end this way. If he dies then Paul died in vain... and we can't allow that. If you get the opportunity you have to change him."

"Alice, what do you see?" Bella called out.

"I can't, Bella. I can't see anything," Alice responded.

She looked down to Arriel and grabbed her tiny hand. She obviously didn't get an answer from Arriel either.

"Please, Arriel," she asked her.

She looked at Edward, pain evident in her eyes. Finally she understood Edward's point of view.

Just as I was about to give up, just as I was about to say that there was nothing more I could do, Charlie took a deep gasping breath. His heart picked up and began to beat on it's own, weakly.

"Daddy," Bella called, dropping to her knees at his side.

"Bells," he responded in a raspy voice.

"Here, Daddy," she said, placing the wolf necklace in his hand. "Billy sent this to keep you strong."

"Bells, I'm dying. I can feel it," he said, fighting for breath.

"Yes. I'm so sorry, Daddy." I cried.

"It's not your fault, My Girl," he told her.

"Charlie, we can save you. Change you, as we are. If that's what you want," I told him.

"Me, a vampire?" he asked.

"Yes, Daddy," Bella told him. "We could change you. But only if it's what you want."

"Charlie, you need to decide now. You haven't got much time," I told him, in desperation. His heartbeat was beginning to stutter.

"I want to be there for you, Baby Girl," he said to Bella. "I'm not ready to let you go."

"I love you, Daddy," Bella cried.

"Who's gonna do it?" Esme asked. "Carlisle?"

"I can," I told them. "It's going to hurt like nothing you've ever felt before, Charlie. But in three days, it will be over."

"Three days," he acknowledges weekly. "I can do three days."

Bella moved from his good side so I could get into position. She went to his other side and sat next to Edward, holding Charlie's hand.

"Jacob," I called. "This does not break the treaty right?"

"Of course not. Do it, Doc. Save him," Jacob said silently.

"Thank you, Jake," Bella said.

Charlie closed his eyes, his breathing coming in short pants. His heart started to beat erratically and I knew the time had come.

As I leaned over Charlie, ready to change him, my mind was filled with a vision. A vision of Jace turning Charlie as everyone gathered around. I looked around as everyone stared at little Jace. Obviously, everyone else had the same vision.

Within seconds, all l the wolves and vampires gathered around, even the four outsiders, Charles, McKenna, Athenodora and Mathilda.

Bella handed Jace to me, since it was I who was holding him in the vision. I took my grandson and placed him next to Charlie's neck.

"I love you, Daddy. It will be over soon," Bella said to him.

Jace moved a little, and bit down on the soft flesh of Charlie's neck.

Charlie gasped in shock as the bite pierced his neck. He groaned slightly, and his heart pounded quickly in his chest. Jace moved his head from Charlie's neck and I could see the tiny puncture marks that his tiny teeth had left.

"Bella," I asked her, as I handed Jace back to her. "Do you have a scar from where Jace bit you?"

"No," she answered. "Should I?"

"We all do. It is the one scar we carry to our new lives. Are you sure?" I asked.

She carefully lowered her top some, and touched the flesh at the top of her breast. "I don't see anything. Do you?" she asked.

I examined her flesh quickly and turned to look at Eleazar. "Have you ever seen anything like that, My Friend?" I asked him.

"Never," he said.

"Nor have I," said Athenodora. "And I have lived for thousands of years."

"I don't know what to make of this," I said, as I moved Edward's hand from Charlie's wound, ready to dress it with a gauze wrap.

The wound which had been large and gaping just moments before, was nearly healed.

I stared at Eleazar in shock. I had never seen a mortal wound heal that fast.

Edward, sensing our confusion, pulled Bella into him so that the twins were cuddled between them.

The others now had a chance to revel in the victory we had won. And cheers were raised. Couples found each other, some sharing passionate kisses and others tight embraces. Bella and Edward just stood, foreheads together, just staring into each others' eyes. Somehow looking at them, felt a million times more intimate than viewing the passion filled embrace of Rosalie and Emmett.

There were some, however, that did not celebrate at all. Mathilda and Athenodora milled about, almost uncertain of what to do. Leah, now in human form, sat on a rock and surveyed the battlefield silently. Irina stood off to the side and I noticed for the first time since the battle had ended, that Laurent was not here.

Once I was certain that Charlie was okay, I turned to find Irina. Esme quickly took my place at his side, with Alice falling in on the other side.

Irina was walking slowly across the field towards the fire and I quickly fell into step beside her.

"Where is Laurent?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said calmly, but the sadness in her voice told me she knew more than she let on.

"Let me help you find him," I said to her. "Where is he?"

She looked at me, almost seeming to have missed what I said.

"Irina," I said, forcing her to look at me. "Where is Laurent?"

"On the other side. He is..." she started to say.

"What happened, Irina. Is he injured? Bring me to him so I can see if I can help," I told her.

She led me slowly across the field. I didn't need Edward or Jasper's power to sense the dread in her.

"It's bad, Carlisle," she whispered.

"Don't give up hope until none remains," I told her.

"The wolves might have...." she said, motioning to the young wolves who were on clean up detail. Worried, I guess, that they had disturbed Laurent's remains, making it impossible to piece him back together.

"They knew our scents, Irina. They wouldn't have touched one of us," I soothed.

She nodded in response and lead me to the area where Laurent had gone down. From the moment I arrived, I could tell it was not going to be easy. Shredded, would be a good term to describe Laurent. I motioned for the others to come and help.

They all stopped what they were doing, to help. Esme, who stayed with Charlie, Bella and the not sleeping twins, flitted all over the field. She went between Charlie, Edward, Leah and Irina. Seemingly trying to comfort everyone who might have needed her.

Piecing together Laurent was going to be a slow process, one I wasn't entirely sure would be successful. I would have rather done a five thousand piece jigsaw puzzle blindfolded.

Bella and Edward had made their way over to a small sheltered area, close to Charlie as the twins wanted to eat. Edward had placed himself on the ground against a log and made room for Bella between his knees so she could comfortably feed the twins.

The scattered pieces of Laurent were in a pile and Eleazar and I were working to try to put them together. His head and face were relatively easy, but his torso and extremities were mangled.

"I just found him," Irina said slowly. "I have waited three hundred years for a mate and now I am destined to only have months."

Alice rushed to her side, and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Alice," I said to her, knowing that she would know what I wanted. I wanted her to look into Laurent's future.

"I wish I could see!" Alice exclaimed from her position at Irina's side.

Time moved slowly and quickly. All the vampires that had helped in the recovery were now actively trying to piece Laurent together.

Jacob assembled his pack, and I knew without him speaking, what was needing to happen.

I stopped my task and turned to Jacob.

"Thank you, My Friend," I said to him.

"And, I thank you. You had no reason to stay after Bella was safe, but still you did. We need to bring Leah home and do what needs to be done for Paul," he said.

"I understand, Jacob. We have a few needs as well. I would like Bella and the babies to have a place to stay, as well we would like Charlie to awaken in a controlled environment, not on the edge of this field," I said.

"Both are welcome on the reservation. Brady has volunteered his home. It is set apart from anything nearby, and would house both Charlie and Bella with the twins," Jake said. "As well as anyone else that needs to get away from here."

I nodded.

As it turned out, when the wolves departed they took, Bella, the twins, Charlie, who was carried by Edward, Irina, Alice and Athenodora, who insisted on staying for a few days.

I outlined our demand for Athenodora. She may stay, but she was not to touch human blood until she had safely returned to Volterra.

To my surprise she agreed.

Those that stayed at the field had two roles, most were piecing together Laurent, while still others were taking the huge pile of ash, and spreading it. The wolves had taken some back to the reservation for their own purpose.

"Carlisle, do you really think Laurent could survive this?" Esme asked as she stood by my side.

"I can't know for sure... I don't even know if we have all of him," I said.

"Irina needs him," Esme started.

"I know, and I can't bear to see her in pain," I said.

"Laurent surprised me. He was so committed to our lifestyle. He didn't have any pull at all for Charlie, even when his blood was fresh in the air. Considering he wanted Bella as a snack not even a year ago...It was pretty amazing," Jasper added.

My son's gift for reading emotion was most useful.

We sat in silence, working on Laurent. I prayed that Laurent would recover, and not only for Irina.

Athenodora's POV

Two thousand years. That's how long I had been stuck with Caius.

Sadistic. Cruel. Soulless. He was a true monster.

A complete and total animal, worried more about appearance than anything.

He thrived on the pain and misery of others.

Even in feeding... he mangled the human before he ate. His meals always died the most horrific painful deaths.

He couldn't even understand the concept of mercy. Not to another vampire, and especially never to a human.

There were only three good things that he ever did... and two of those were suspect, probably more for his benefit than anyone else's.

The first was almost a thousand years ago. He forbid Aro from touching me. Protecting me from his mind reading abilities. Giving me privacy of mind, at the very least, he had said. In all honesty, I think he did it more for him, because he wanted to confess, no to revel in, his misdeeds. And there was no way he wanted Aro to know about all of that.

Then there was Victoria, four hundred years ago. He had found her as a small child, alone, and decided that we would raise her. The one thing that I had always regretted was my inability to be a mother. I believed at the time that Caius had made this 'sacrifice' for me, to make me happy. I always wondered about how she happened to be alone, when she was still in diapers no less. After she was changed, at age 21, she was taken from me. I think he knew something of her gift and was trying to exploit it. At the time I was just happy to be a mother. Of course over the years I watched first Caius, then James poison her mind, turning her into a pawn for their evil games.

The third was his death. I was finally free.

I had heard whisperings in Volterra for many years about Carlisle Cullen and his group of vampires that refused our traditional diet. I had always been intrigued by his choice of diet as I grew tired of the constant parade of humans that we needed to feed. Not that anyone was aware, but I had taken to feeding infrequently, once every two months or so, as I just didn't have the stomach for it anymore.

Maybe I could go vegetarian.

I was slightly disturbed by Aro summoning me to return to Volterra. That man was almost as insane as Caius. I was certain he wanted me for information. Once he saw all that I knew about Caius' activities, he was certain to have me killed.

And he would do it to. Aro was truly no better than Caius, maybe a little more humane.

He was the one responsible for Didyme's death after all.

Didyme, my true sister, in both human and vampire life. I wonder what excuse Aro and Caius gave Marcus for her death. All I knew is9was) that I was forbidden to speak of it by Caius and for more than five hundred years I kept that secret.

Didyme and Marcus were true mates, soul mates. And it was for that reason that I had initially stayed with Caius. I couldn't bear to part with my sister. But she was stolen from me by Aro, with the support of Caius. Marcus barely spoke at all after her death, and never smiled. Five hundred years of heart ache.

Didyme had convinced Marcus to leave Volterra, to travel the world and experience life. She hated Caius and Aro with a passion. She wanted happiness. She wanted love... and Marcus was going to do it. They had everything planned. She confessed it to me one night, just before Marcus went on a mission to Africa, to quell a vampire uprising. It was to have been his last mission.

When he returned they were going to leave. To tour the world.

How Aro and Caius got wind of the plan was beyond me.

One night, as I was sitting in my chambers with Sulpicia, Aro's mate, we heard Didyme's screams. We both ran from our rooms to the main hall. Aro stood over Didyme, with his small flame thrower in his hand.

Aro ordered Sulpicia away. She looked at me in horror, but turned on her heel, leaving me there.

I begged Aro and Caius to let her go. They both laughed. I begged them to kill me too. They refused. My sister was screaming in pain as Aro burned her. I tried to attack Aro, to make him stop the torture, but Caius held me firmly in his hands. I was powerless. Didyme refused to tell them the plans she and Marcus had made. She refused to allow Aro to touch her. She died, a little at a time. I watched, powerless.

Marcus' grief has not dimmed in all that time. He never smiled. His soul was ripped to shreds and I was forbidden to tell him. I watched as he was comforted by his sadistic murderous brothers and I shut my mouth.

Even Sulpicia refused to acknowledge what happened.

Now that I was free of Caius, I had no desire to return to Volterra. I would simply be trading Caius' control over me for Aro's.

I wanted freedom... and now, now that Caius was gone, I would have it.

Even if I had to blackmail Aro.

I was interrupted from my musings by Edward, the father of the half vampire babies.

"Too dangerous," he said.

"What's too dangerous?" I asked.

"Blackmail," he said quietly.

I stared at him in disbelief. How could he have known anything about that? Was he a mind-reader?

"Yup," he said, quietly.

That didn't explain how he could read my mind. I had certainly never touched him. How could he know?

"I am both more powerful than Aro, and more limited," he said.

"Explain," I said out loud.

"Aro's gift is more powerful because he can see every thought you've ever had. I am limited to what is in your mind at the time. I am more powerful because I do not need physical contact, proximity is enough," he explained.

Oh, shit!!!

"What are you going to do?" I asked him, afraid that he would say something to Aro.

"Aro is no friend of mine. He and Carlisle may be close... but I have seen too much to believe that he is a good guy," Edward said.

"Does he know about the babies?" I asked.

"Apparently, Carlisle mentioned them during the conversation about Caius and Victoria," he said, obviously not impressed that Aro knew about them.

"So these are your biological children?" I asked, my curiosity finally getting the best of me.

"Yes," he said. "Bella was my mate before she was turned. They were conceived and born while she was human."

"Amazing! And how did you manage? I mean intimacy with a human has to be difficult," I said. "If the human is to live when it's done that is."

He growled under his breath before answering.

"Love," I answered.

"And her transformation?" I asked.

"My son transformed her within an hour of his birth," he answered.

"Wow, that must have been difficult to watch," I said.

Again with the growl. His mate answered instead.

"Due to a misunderstanding, it was just the babies and I," she said, squeezing his hand.

"It must drive you nuts to have a mate that can read your mind. Absolutely no privacy," I shuttered at the thought.

"He can't read my mind," she said.

"What?" I asked, shocked.

"Mental shield," she answered.

These Cullens were a talented bunch.

"You don't know the half of it," Edward said.

"Meaning?" I asked.

"The twins each have extra talents, as well as Bella, myself, Jasper and Alice," Edward explained.

"Which is why Caius was so threatened by your coven," I said.

"We aren't a coven. We are a family," Bella said.

"Explain," I said again.

"Covens are together for convenience. We are together because we want to be. We choose to be together," Edward said. "We truly love each member of our family."

"So Chelsea would not be able to affect your relationships then... if they are based on love rather than convenience," I said.

"That is what Carlisle believes," Edward said. "Not that it has been tested."

"But our family and friends showed their stuff today, coming up against all that Caius threw at us," Bella said.

"I would do the same for any of them... wolf or vampire," Edward added.

"What are these wolves?" I asked.

The wolves truly intrigued me. I had been witness to many werewolves over the years but had never met any who could be in proximity with each other, let alone work in conjunction with vampires. Not only that these wolves phased at will.

"We are not true werewolves, but shape shifters," Jacob said, suddenly joining the conversation. "It is only by chance that we took the form of wolves."

"Thank you," I said to him.

"So are you, like, vampire royalty or something?" he asked.

"I guess that would have been how I was thought of by most, although it is not a role I desired or sought," I said.

"So it was handed down to you?" he asked, I guess trying to understand.

"It was claimed over a millennia ago by my... by Caius and his two brothers. As their wives, we were treated as royalty. Didyme, my sister, and I never wanted that. We were born to a simple family. Raised to work for what we wanted and to take only what we earned. That has not been a life I have lived in too many years and I long for a simple life. I don't truly ask much," I said.

"So, if you could, what would you hope for or wish?" Bella asked me.

"A simple life. No uncomfortable clothes and doing things simply because they are expected of me. I want to choose what to do, what to wear, and where to go. I want to have a mate, a soul mate, that loves and respects me, one who sees me as an equal. I don't want people to bow or cower in my presence. I don't want to take or to watch another human life taken. Of that, I have seen too much," I said.

"So you are willing to try the 'vegetarian' diet?" Bella asked.

"I have not hungered for human blood in centuries. I have simply fed when absolutely necessary and in the most humane way possible. Watching throngs of people being led to a painful terrifying death, over and over again, has horrified me. If I had known more than rumor of your family, I would have tried it sooner," I said.

"So, Edward, how is it that you met your mate?" I asked. "I mean, how did you come to meet a human?"

He explained that his family kept up permanent residences for long periods of time. Fitting themselves into the community and mingling with humans.

"Although, Bella is the first person that didn't have a natural fear of what we were," Edward said.

"Very brave," I said with a nod.

Sooner than I imagined, we arrived at a rocky beach. The waves crashed against the rocks and I could smell others nearby. Humans.

They did not hold any appeal for me. Well not in the food sense anyways. But, this would truly be my first time meeting a human that was not destined to be a meal, other than my daughter, who I met as a tiny baby. Children didn't truly have enough blood to be appetizing until they reached puberty, and by the time Victoria was there, we were desensitized to her.

"For the sake of our friends, I ask that you stay near me while we are here. I do not wish you any harm, but if you so much as think a threatening thought about those I consider friends, I will tear your head from your body without a second thought," Edward said, not in a menacing tone, but I knew he was serious.

"I have no intention of offending your friends, nor having them for dinner," I assured him.

"Then we should have no issue," he said.

It looked like I was going to deal with a lot of firsts during my stay with the Cullens, and I couldn't help but to be excited by that fact. It is not often that a two thousand year old vampire does anything for the first time.

ARO's POV

I almost did a happy dance when I hung up the phone after my conversation with Carlisle Cullen.

Caius was dead. I had been trying to accomplish this for years.

Athenodora would be returning to Volterra with Mathilda soon, not that either woman would live long, I just wanted to get my hands on their memories before they were destroyed.

Carlisle's coven was becoming an issue for me though. He had three gifted vampires in his coven, as well as two human/vampire hybrids that may be talented too, and their newborn mother. They were uncommon in our world, but there were a few in existence in South America. They were generally no more dangerous than regular vampires, but one could never be positive.

I needed to be certain that Athenodora was returned to Volterra and that she hadn't shared any of her knowledge with the Cullens. I also wanted to be sure that the tiny Cullen twins and their newborn mother were not gifted. It would not do to have them have too many gifted vampires on their side.

I would not stand for that.

I decided to assemble a visiting party to ensure Athenodora's compliance and to ascertain that the Cullens were not too powerful.

Now the only question was who to bring. I would need to bring a strong team, in case the Cullens needed to be dealt with, but I didn't want an all out war.

I would decide tonight... and we'd leave in the morning.

I was going to visit Forks, Washington.