A/N: Surprise! Two chapters today! I want to say thank you for all your great ideas - I wish I could use them all! Special thanks to ACompleteNerd, sibaruneko and Leila. I mashed all three of your ideas together and this is what I got. (its in the next chapter) Enjoy!

EPOV

I tried to ignore the knot forming in my stomach as I slipped out Bella's window. Her request had shocked me, and I had been totally unprepared to answer her. Even when the worst had happened back in March, and I was pursuing James, my goal was only to return her to her human life unhurt. When I had found her in the ballet studio, broken and burning, my goal had been the same: to rescue her from the venom, and restore her humanity. Alice's suggestion that I let the venom spread had barely registered in my mind at the time, and it had taken every ounce of my concentration to keep the monster reined in even as he feasted.

I shivered at the memory. Bella's blood had tasted even better than I had imagined, and I had only tasted its true essence for two seconds. At first it had been tainted with James' venom, and in the end with morphine. But for those middle two seconds, I had been in paradise, and the world had shattered around me; there was only my thirst, and her blood. Only when the morphine came through did the rest of the world begin to reappear. Bella became human again, and, on the edges of my madness, I remembered that I loved her. I later told Bella that it had been impossible for me to stop, but that I had done it; it had been a lie. I didn't stop. If the morphine hadn't brought me back down to earth, she would have died. I truly hadn't been strong enough to save her.

The first time I had hunted after that, I had choked down the deer's repulsive blood, trying to drown the memory of the ecstasy that I had felt in those two glorious seconds. As I drank, my muscles were trembling with the desire to run back to the hospital and attack her; fortunately, Carlisle had insisted that I hunt farther away than usual. I had hunted several times since then, and each time I fed, the monster raged within me, demanding that I return to the feast he had sampled. It had only just begun to get easier, and on the hunting trip this weekend, I had truly enjoyed my meal for the first time in months.

Ironically, I had found it easier to be around Bella in the weeks after I tasted her blood. If I had been afraid of hurting her in the beginning, I was terrified now- now that I knew how I had failed the first time. This made controlling the monster easier. Instead of having to constantly push him down, I had him locked away, encased in steel. Every word he uttered was profane, so I refused to hear him at all in Bella's presence.

When she had been in the hospital, recovering from her encounter with James, I had wallowed in guilt; It had been my fault that she had been hurt. She would never have met James if she hadn't been with my family. He might not have pursued her at all if I hadn't foolishly let him see my protective anger.

But even with my new level of control, Bella still wasn't safe; she had been hurt again. Only this time, I had hurt her myself, and she had the marks on her body to prove it. My right hand ached as I remembered the handprint on her arm, and the images from Charlie's imagination tormented me again. I deserved everything he suspected of me, and I deserved the restraining order, as well. If only I could obey it! I had already broken the law by coming to Bella's house last night, and I knew I would do it again tonight. It wasn't a choice anymore; I was physically unable to stay away from her. She was the center of my universe; fighting her gravity was a lost cause.

And now she wanted me to promise to take her away, should our plan fail. How could I promise that? It had taken her this long to heal from her injuries, and in less than twenty-four hours after getting her cast removed, she was injured again. If I took her away from Charlie, and brought her with us to our next home, I could only imagine what would happen to her. Jasper's control was tenuous at best, and Rosalie would make her miserable. Carlisle would be racked with guilt over the kidnapping. And what kind of life would it be for Bella? Instead of lying occasionally to protect her boyfriend, her whole life would be a lie.

My hands clenched into fists as I realized what Bella's answer would be to all of this: that I should change her. No doubt she would gladly explain to me how this would solve all of our problems, and we could begin our life together. Our life. Never mind the fact that it would begin with her death. I grabbed the tree nearest me and ripped it from the earth, tossing it aside in my anger.

"Well, it's a good thing I came." I whirled around and was face to face with Jasper. I hadn't notice his thoughts approaching me; in fact, I had no memory of how I had gotten this deep into the woods. I felt myself relaxing, and gave him a thankful nod. We had business to attend to, and my introspection could wait for another time.

"You're early," I said.

He released me from his calming grip and began walking toward Bella's house. "I wanted to get here before Charlie woke up. It will help if his last dreams are pleasant. I need to get closer, though."

I followed him silently. Jasper was a big part of the plan we had developed with Alice, but his gift had a much smaller range than mine. We paused just inside the edge of the woods, and Jasper closed his eyes in concentration.

I took the opportunity to call Alice. "It's working," she said as soon as she picked up. "Charlie is going to feel great when he wakes up… until he remembers, of course. So far, so good."

"Is Carlisle ready for the call?" I asked.

"Yes. I'll text you if anything changes."

I ended the call and watched Jasper as he continued to send waves of peace and security toward Charlie's bedroom. I shifted my attention to check on Charlie, but I couldn't see much of his dreams. Why did this man have to be so difficult? It was maddening enough not to be able to read Bella's mind. Trying to read her father's blurry thoughts took a lot of work, and I was getting a headache.

Charlie stirred, and his thoughts began to come into focus. He laid peacefully, staring up at the ceiling for a few moments, until the memories of the day before hit him, and he frowned, swinging his legs out of bed. I've got to call Carlisle before Bella wakes up. He tiptoed to Bella's room and slowly opened the door an inch, peeking to find Bella "sleeping" soundly. He went back to get dressed and make some coffee.

"I hope her acting is this good later," I muttered to Jasper.

"She's not acting, she's really asleep."

"How would you know?"

He shrugged. "A person's emotions have a different texture when they're asleep. Much like their thoughts, I imagine."

"I thought I was the one who stalked human girls while they slept."

"Please. How many boring lectures and slide shows have we sat through over the years? I've seen more humans sleeping than I ever wanted to." He turned away from me, and closed his eyes again as he monitored Charlie.

I felt a stab of jealousy. I hadn't been surprised to learn that Jasper's gift worked on Bella, while mine didn't, but it was still unfair. Hers was the mind I wanted most in the world to hear, and it was the only one I would never be able to hear. Unlike mine, Jasper's gift was physical in nature; he absorbed and manipulated emotional responses using the chemical, electrical, and hormonal signals that controlled them. He had an unrestricted access into Bella's heart, and it bothered me. I wanted that privilege.

I wanted to ask Jasper to focus on Bella instead, but I didn't. Our mission was too important. We stood silently side by side, two marble statues holding vigil over the most important house in the world.

.

.

.

Charlie was drinking his coffee slowly, delaying the phone call. He was running through his theories, and I winced as he pictured the stairwell scene again. His thoughts flickered, and Bella was lying in the hospital bed. I was in the chair next to her, staring at her as she slept. Charlie flipped through the next few days she had spent there, and frowned as he remembered that I never left her side. What he had first thought was devotion now twisted into something ugly; I never left Bella's room because I was afraid she would tell someone the truth. He remembered the wariness in Bella's eyes as she watched me. She was afraid, he decided. He had warned her not to say anything, and he wouldn't leave her alone for a second. Come to think of it, he hardly leaves her alone now that she's home.

After he had finished his coffee, Charlie called our home number, hoping Carlisle had already gone to work; he wasn't looking forward to this. Jasper called Alice on his phone, so that he could hear Carlisle's side of the conversation. I simply listened through Charlie's thoughts.

"Hello?"

"Dr. Cullen? It's Chief Swan. I'm sorry to call you this early in the morning-"

"It's quite all right, Charlie. I just got back from my night shift, and I was going to call you soon anyway."

"Yeah… I wanted to apologize for last night. I should have come myself, but I didn't want Bella to be alone."

"I have to admit I was surprised, and I still don't know the details. Edward was so shocked and upset after the police left that he wouldn't talk to me the rest of the night. Why on earth would you issue a restraining order against my son?" Carlisle's voice was the coldest I had ever heard it.

"Because when they got back to my house yesterday, I saw some very clear signs that Edward had… had been hurting her." Charlie swallowed uncomfortably.

"Edward?" Carlisle said incredulously. "Bella is accusing him of abusing her? That can't be possible. Edward would never-"

"Bella is denying the whole thing. She had excuses for two of the injuries, but there was a handprint on her arm, and she didn't even try to explain that one. She just started crying when I asked her about it."

"It's obviously a misunderstanding. The very idea of Edward hurting someone is ludicrous. And I can assure you that I'm not just saying that as his father; Edward is one of the gentlest souls I have ever known." I rolled my eyes at this. I was glad I wasn't able to hear Carlisle's thoughts as he spit that lie out.

But you're not really his father… you don't know everything about him, Charlie was thinking. "Dr. Cullen, I want to-"

"Carlisle, please."

"Carlisle, I want to ask you something, and if we can clear some of this up, it would be helpful."

"Of course."

"Back in March, when Bella came to your hotel in Phoenix… can you tell me again exactly what happened when you first found Bella? What you saw, I mean, not anything that Edward told you."

"He didn't tell me anything. I tried to get him to sleep when we checked in to the hotel, but he was too nervous. He wasn't sure what to say to Bella when and if we found her, so neither of us got any sleep. We had been sitting there talking for about two hours when we heard a crash, and we both ran out of the room. We split up because we weren't sure where the sound had come from – Edward was looking around on the floor we were staying on, while I went toward the stairwell. As soon as I opened the door, I saw blood on the wall and I ran down to the second level- that's where I found the broken window, and Bella was lying unconscious on the ground outside. I yelled for Edward, and then he came down as well."

"Trust," I murmured to Jasper. He nodded and Charlie's thoughts responded immediately. Well, that… makes sense. But didn't he say before that she tripped on the stairs? How would he have known that, if he didn't see it happen?

I grabbed the phone from Jasper, speaking at top speed. "Alice! Charlie is suspicious because Carlisle had told him before that Bella had tripped, but if he didn't see if happen, how would he know she tripped?"

I heard Alice relay the message quickly to Carlisle, and he responded immediately. "Edward was so upset, I thought he was going to pass out for a moment," Carlisle said to Charlie. "He kept crying and saying 'Who did this to her? Who did this to her?' He calmed down when I showed him how one of her shoelaces was untied; it was obvious that she had tripped."

Well, I feel like an idiot now. "Okay, I just wanted to be sure on the details. Uh, I also called to remind you that this is a juvenile restraining order, which means it's your responsibility to… you know, keep him away from Bella."

Carlisle sighed deeply. "Charlie, I must ask you to speak with Bella again, and I'll talk to Edward as well. I know how much Bella means to him, and I truly can't fathom the possibility that he would hurt her. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation. But until we get it straightened out, I'll see to it that he obeys the restraining order. Does it follow that there will be some sort of hearing?" I had never heard Carlisle sound nervous before; I hoped it was part of the act.

"Probably, though there's no rush. Let me talk to Bella again, and-"

"Hang on a second, Charlie." When he spoke again, the sound was slightly muffled. "Edward, slow down. I know you didn't hurt her, just let me get this straightened out with her father and then we'll... what?" What was Carlisle doing? This wasn't part of the plan.

He was quiet for a moment, and I could hear Emmett mumbling in the background. "All right, I'll ask him. Charlie," he said more loudly, "Edward would like to know if he would be allowed to come and speak with you. He says he wants to explain what happened."

"No," Charlie said firmly. "He's not coming here." I'm not letting him within a mile of my daughter. Just because he didn't hurt her in Phoenix doesn't mean he didn't hurt her yesterday.

"Well, could he meet you at the station sometime later today? Please let him, Charlie. Edward is a responsible young man and he wants to explain everything to you – though I haven't heard the explanation yet myself."

Jasper and I looked at each other, dumbfounded. Why on earth would Carlisle send me to the police station, of all places? This was definitely not part of the plan.

"All right…" said Charlie slowly. Maybe if he's so willing to come forward, it means it really was a misunderstanding. I may have jumped the gun with the restraining order. I need to talk to Bella before I see him, though. "How about eleven?"

"That's fine. I have a meeting at the hospital at 11:30, so I'll drop him off on the way. And I'll be sure to find out what happened by then, too."

They hung up on their call, and Jasper took the phone away from his ear. "Alice says she's sorry, but she had to change it up. Charlie was planning on doing the hearing, and there was going to be a medical exam. Not anymore, though. Looks like responsible Edward saved the day."

"That was close," I muttered. We turned our attention back to the house, and waited for the next phase of our plan. Charlie's thoughts and emotions were calming down, with a little help from Jasper. It seemed he was hoping now that he had been mistaken about me. If Bella pulled off her performance, and my talk with Charlie went well, I would be back in his good graces by the end of the day.

A/N: Hopefully you can tell that I'm trying to capture Edward and Bella's relationship as it was in the pre-New Moon days. I'm borrowing a lot of the emotional arcs from that story, though none of the plot. Enjoy Chapter Six!