If you're still thinking what I think you're thinking, it's not going to happen in this chapter! Sorry, but Bella gets to be free a little longer. I'd say, oh...I don't know how many more chapters. I'll figure it out when I get there, but it's a very small number. I know I told a few people that James' coven wouldn't be in the story, but I figured they deserved at least one scene. Think of it like this: What would have happened if there hadn't been that gust of wind when everyone was in the baseball diamond. That, and the fact that Bella's blood is normal here. ALSO, if anyone is looking for a Beta, I'll do it! Pick me! Pick me! I need inspiration to write, and reading, writing, etc. helps. Also, I like reading stories with good grammar. LOL.

Really the only reason I haven't been updating daily is because I've been kind of lethargic lately. I blame myself totally, and I promise one day this weekend I'll get two chapters out. It probably won't be Saturday, because I have plans. But I'll try!

By the way, I really don't know all that much about baseball. Forgive me if I make any mistakes!

Disclaimer: The T.V. is gone. Gone, I say! LOL, but really. I can hear Looney Tunes music coming from the basement...

We had come to a large clearing, larger than the normal size of a baseball diamond. But seeing Jasper zip around, marking bases far enough away from each other that I began to doubt that even they could make it all the way around in one bat, I understood that they needed this much space to play.

I sat on a large, flat rock a couple yards away from the field, and watched while everyone took their positions. Alice ran to the pitcher's mound, while Jasper and Rosalie took their places in the field. Edward was up at bat first, and Esme would be playing catcher for the whole game.

"Call it as you see it," she told me.

There were a few times when it was hard to judge if someone was "in" or "out", but it was fun to watch. Emmett hit the ball the farthest, but Edward could run the fastest.

Rosalie hit the ball, and broke into a run. Emmett sprinted after the ball, catching it just as Rosalie passed second base. He threw the ball towards Esme, and I leaned forward, concentrating. Esme caught the ball about a millisecond before Rosalie slid home, and after a moment of indecision, I yelled, "Out!" Emmett whooped while Rose glared at him half-heartedly.

A few minutes passed, and Edward's team was winning so far. Carlisle had just hit the ball, and Edward and Emmett were both running for it. They jumped at the same time, and the sound of them hitting each other sounded like thunder. They both fell back to the ground, laughing.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice stiffen. She gasped, and immediately Edward was at my side."What-" I began to ask, before everyone was around me. They surrounded me like they were guarding me. Edward was next to me, and I looked at him questioningly.

"Vampires. Three of them," he whispered.

"They were farther north, but they changed course when they heard our game." Alice said.

Edward rearranged my hair so it was hanging around my face. I looked at the ground, but slid my eyes up when I heard a rustle.

Three vampires emerged from the undergrowth. A dark-skinned one was in front of the other two, so he was probably the leader of the coven. Carlisle was in front of all of us, sending the same message. The tall woman behind the dark-skinned man had fiery red hair, and the shorter man behind him had greasy hair, pulled back into a ponytail.

They approached us, stopping when they were a few feet away. "I am Laurent," the dark-skinned man announced, "and these are Victoria and James." He pointed to each of them respectively. "We heard you playing, and we were wondering if you needed extra players."

Carlisle replied, "No, we were actually just finishing. My apologies."

"It is just one game, surely you could stay for a few minutes longer?"

"I'm sorry, but we really do need to get home."

Laurent looked confused. "Home?"

"Oh, yes," Carlisle replied. "We maintain a permanent residence near here."

"How do you manage that?"

Carlisle and Laurent continued their short conversation, and I spent those few minutes in the middle of the huddle. Edward had slipped his hand into mine after a few moments, and was squeezing it gently every few seconds.

Carlisle ended their conversation by saying, "We ask that you do not hunt in the area. We need to keep up appearances, and humans suddenly disappearing would not help that cause."

"Of course. We will travel for a while before hunting again-we just ate in Seattle. Perhaps we may see you again sometime?" Laurent replied, turning to leave. I shivered as he said, "We just ate in Seattle."

"Perhaps." Carlisle replied. Anyone who didn't know him wouldn't have noticed the slight distaste coloring his tone.

The man behind Laurent, James, was looking slightly uncomfortable, like there was something he wanted, but he was afraid to ask. He turned to go at the same time as Laurent, as did Victoria, and they walked slowly in the direction they had come from.

A little more than a minute after they were out of sight, everyone immediately broke out of their protective stances. I breathed a sigh of relief. Edward pulled me into his arms, and I relaxed, my face buried in his chest.

My life was going to hell in a handbasket. It had been going there for a while, but the process was speeding up now. I could practically hear the clock ticking in the background.

"That was...close." Emmett said, not joking for once.

"No kidding!" Rosalie yelled, sounding close to tears.

I turned around, still in Edward's arms, to see a look of anguish on Alice's face. "I should have seen that earlier. As soon as they changed direction." she said quietly.

"Don't blame yourself, Alice. It's not your fault. We can all go around playing the blame game, but there's really only one person at fault here." I reassured her.

And that person was me.