Chapter 4

Taking the Bull by the Horns

Damien:

Bella decided that the best way to handle this would be to face Victoria directly, and try talking to her. Personally, I wasn't sure that would be the best thing since Victoria was after the both of us, with intent to kill. I do remember that she had decided that after we came back from Seattle after Thanksgiving. She seemed very determined for me to train her to fight, more than what I had already taught her. She pulled me aside that Friday that we came back, and held onto me.

She had her face to my chest, and looked up, "I never want to have to miss this."

I listened as I held her in my arms, "I know, babe."

She pulled back, "I want you to teach me how to fight. Like everything you know about fighting, I have to know, too."

"Bella-"

"I won't be a victim again. I don't want to run for the rest of my life, having to worry about you out there fighting, while I stand on the sidelines. I have to be on that board with you."

I started to understand what she wanted to do, "What do you mean, Bella? I'm no king, and this isn't chess."

She looked to me, "You said that every battle is like Chess, which would make you king, and I'll be your queen. Even if I can't be in the battle, I have to know how to handle myself."

I held her at arms length, "You're right. We start tomorrow, at 5 am, everyday before school, and all day on weekends, but we still make sure you get your homework done, got it?"

She gave me a quizzical look, "Are you giving me orders, your highness?"

I shook my head, "No one gives my Queen orders, least of all me. We're partners, aren't we? Right now, though, I am your drill-sergeant. So, what I say goes when it comes to the training."

She wrapped her arms around my waist, "Well, I want my king, right now. Like you said, we'll start training tomorrow morning. Oh yeah, don't go easy on me, just because we happen to be sleeping together."

I kissed her neck, "No ma'am, not me."

She reached her hands up to my face, now caressing it, but pulling me back up to face her, "Then, I want to look for Victoria. Use your tranquilizer gun, and your knife to hurt her, and just talk to her."

I looked at her intently, "This isn't going to be easy by any means. I'm pretty sure she's going want to kill us on sight."

"Well that's why I'm learning all this, right?"

I had to ask, "Why are you so eager to talk to her, babe?"

She gave me a serious look, "We have to reason with her. It's absolutely imperative that we try to get her on our side. Her guy bit you, didn't he? You must've seen something."

I looked away for a moment, wondering how she would know about that, and I tried to figure out what was going on.

She tried to get me to look at her again, "Baby, what is it?"

I looked to her now, and asked her, "How do you know that? I mean, when he did bite me, I saw a lot of his memories. I also saw what he was thinking, and he mostly wanted Victoria because she was his tactician. I also remember that snake, Laurent, telling us not to underestimate her. I'm starting to figure out what he meant."

She looked away for a moment, very pensive, "Maybe she'd be the best to reason with, after all. We want to see if she'll get past what happened to her mate."

I shook my head, "Would you? I think we-"

She reached up to shush me, "Listen for a moment, you already know what to tell her. She'll listen to you, because she knows that James bit you. I saw some of it, too, when he bit me. If she bites you, she'll see what you've seen, and you'll see whatever she's gone through. We've both been bitten, and we know there is a mental link between the biter and the victim. She will only be convinced if she sees your memories. Also, it'll be a fresh supply of venom into your system."

I looked at her now, "There it is. I've got the meds, Bella. Those are doing their job."

"How long, though? You need a fresh supply, and you need it now. I need you to think about yourself, too. I can't survive what's coming without you."

I kept my eyes on her, "What's coming, Bella?"

She shook her head, "I don't know. I think we might be changing what's about to come by talking about it, maybe made it worse. I do know one thing, though. I want you to survive this. I want us both to come through, and to hell with destiny."

I still couldn't comprehend everything she was trying to tell me, "What destiny, Bella? All we're doing is trying to talk to Victoria, hopefully reason with her to get her off our tail. I need you to talk to me, Bella. I need you to tell me what you know."

She finally told me what Alice had revealed to her, and had said what was in store for her. After she was done, she told me, "That will not become me, you understand? If I have to kill every vampire, or make my own coven, I will not be the me she saw in the vision."

I kissed her now, and she wrapped my arms around my neck, and when we parted, I told her, "That will never be you. You're my Bella, ok?"

She smiled now, "Damn right. So, we get started tomorrow, huh?"

I inclined my head, "Sure. Or now, if you like."

She gave me a smile, "I want a workout, just not that kind."

I kissed her neck, now moving down to her shoulders, "Yes, of course, your majesty. I'm at your liege."

She purred, "Would that mean you have to do everything I tell you to?"

I sucked at her neck, "You know that, already. All you have to do is ask."

She took my hand, pulling me back into the house, "Then, I order you to make this a great workout."

I chuckled at that, "Yes, ma'am. Orders are orders."

She laughed sweetly, "You better believe it, baby."

I caught up with her, and held her waist as I followed her. I watched her back as she went up to stairs, especially her rear. Then I looked up to see her hair bouncing on her shoulders, and her beautiful face as she turned back to look at me with that gorgeous smile I fell in love with. This was my Bella, and I was so happy that she had chosen me to be with, and nothing could possibly compare to how grateful I was for having her in my life.

Bella:

I took his hand, now, and led him to my room. I knew now that there would be no one watching us. So, I pulled him over to my bed, or rather, our bed. We weren't just a regular couple anymore, and I think he knew that. I wanted him to marry me. He kissed me gently as we both lay down, my legs wrapping around his waist. We removed each other's clothes, him pulling my shirt off, no bra, while I pulled his off too. I helped him get his jeans off as I slinked out of my cutoffs and underwear. He moved his head down to kiss me across my breasts, sucking each nipple and even gently holding it between his teeth, running his tongue over it until each was hard. Then he moved up to kiss my neck, and finally, we both moaned as we rubbed our bodies together. I pushed on his chest, so he could move his head up to look at me.

"What is it, Bella?"

"I need you, baby, right now."

He moved his waist to mine, and got ready to enter me. He looked to me again, and I nodded, reaching up to wrap my arms around him, rubbing my hands down his back. He moved into me slowly at first. I started moving up against him so he could get into me deeper. He leaned his head on my shoulder while he moved his hips against mine, bucking harder as I rubbed my nails down his back. He whispered my name as I kissed his shoulders, wrapping my legs around him to pull him in deeper. I moaned into his ear louder, my gasps building up to a high-pitched moan. He grunted as he pounded into me, and I screamed now as he drove himself so hard that he parted my legs wide enough to make me do a full-fledged Olympic gymnast split. Still, I held his back, and scratched down as I brought my arms down. I felt my toes curl as he moved in faster and deeper. Finally, he started breathing faster, and I joined him as he did. We looked at each other as we slammed our hips together, and smiled widely as we climaxed. He pulled off of me before he collapsed over. I leaned over him, rubbing my hand down his chest, trying to calm his breathing.

"Are you ok?"

He smiled, "Yeah, I'm ok. Sorry about that." He managed to calm his breathing, as I mounted him.

I moved my hand down so I could move him into me, and smiled, "Are you ready now?"

"As I'll ever be."

I started moving up and down on him, as he reached up to take my breasts in hand, squeezing them softly as he bucked his hips up into me. I placed my hands on his chest, now driving myself downward as fast as I could, until we both felt ourselves climax together. I leaned over him, and kissed his shoulders.

He whispered over to me, "That was great, your majesty."

I gave him a sly smile, "I know."

He had one arm around me as he pulled me close, "Well, hopefully, neither of us have bad dreams after this."

I looked up at him, "You have bad dreams?"

"Sometimes. They're about me losing you."

I rested my arms on his chest as I turned my head to him, and told him, "Mine too. There's one I had on my birthday, and that one left me really-"

This time he shushed me with a kiss, "I'm right here."

"For how long?"

"Bella-"

I put my head on his chest, and sighed, "Just let me enjoy this moment, right now as I lay in bed with my boyfriend. That's all I want to think about. We'll go through the other stuff later."

I was still keeping up with school even as we trained for weeks on end. He taught me everything he knew from martial arts; Aikido, Karate, Judo, Kempo, Kendo, and even Closed-Quarters-Combat. The first day he took me out, we went to an old base he had known about that was defunct. It was only a mile out from Forks, and he knew how to set up everything. He stood away from me as we began, only demonstrating the techniques in slow-motion, leaving me to do them in full motion. I got to throw him, several times, as well as elbow jab, and kneed him several times. We eventually found a rhythm to the routine. We would get up at 4 in the morning, go out to the base by 430, train until 730, come back to the house, shower, make love, shower and make love, and I'd be off to school by 815 while he went to work later in the morning. I'd come back from school, and he'd help me finish my homework if it was a lot. If there was time, we would go out and train some more. If it was late by the time I finished, we would make love until we fell asleep, and wake up the next day to do it all over again.

One night, he woke up wheezing, and I turned him on his side so he could start breathing normally. It only got worse, but then it tapered off an hour later. He looked over at me, and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, babe. Didn't mean to wake you."

"You don't have to apologize to me, and you know it. I need you to take care of yourself, though. I am starting to worry more now. It's taking you longer to get yourself back to regular."

"Bella, I'll be fine. I've still got more pills."

I shook my head, "We need to find Victoria, then."

He rubbed my shoulder, "Hey, I've still got the pills. It'll be fine, ok?"

I looked at him, "I'm ready now, don't you think? I can actually fight like you, now, if I have to. There's no more need for delay."

He held my face, "As much as I love seeing you all gung-ho, I want you to remember one of the many things I've taught you."

I made a face, and repeated it for him, "Don't be so eager to fight. Let the opponent use that nervous energy to use against them."

"Right. Your opponent is going to be just bursting for a fight. They're going to charge in first, and what happens when you charge in first?"

I looked at him, "If they cut you down in the charge, it's over. There's no way to counter a death blow."

He nodded, "Good. Keep all that in mind, babe. We are going to need to be smart about this. We can't afford to make any mistakes, especially with some of these characters."

I kissed his neck now, "I love my sexy general giving me orders, baby."

He smiled at me, "Want me to do it again?"

I giggled, "You know I do."

After a few sessions, Jacob saw us training, and decided to join us as well. He wasn't as serious about it as I was for some reason, but he did show up everyday, whether he agreed with Damien or not on some things. In some respects, Damien came to regard Jacob as a friend. We even took pictures of the three of us, training. It was the first time I had seen him smile like he did when we were all joking together. Those were good days for the three of us, and it was something that helped me forget what was coming

At school, Mike came over to ask me if I was doing ok because I always looked so tired. I told him I was fine.

"Well, I think you need a break. Maybe we can go watch a movie, or something like some romantic flick, you know?"

I shook my head, "No romance. My boyfriend gets bored with those really quickly. How about an action flick? Hmm..Cybercop?"

He nodded reluctantly, "Yea, I guess that sounds like a movie for two."

I laughed, "We should bring a whole bunch of people, I think."

He groaned, "Like the beach party?"

I smiled, "Yeah. How'd you know?"

Damien and I got there a few minutes before the flick Jacob and Mike were waiting, and talking. We soon joined, and went in the theatre. It was one of my biggest mistakes going to that movie. It was about a cop that got gunned down by a street gang, only to come back as a cybernetic organism. The first twenty minutes were too much for Mike with all the blood, but for me, it was seeing the cop being pinned to the ground, and blasted at while the thugs laughed, and cackled. I started to squeeze Damien's hand as he was talking to Jacob about the bad effects.

I looked over at him, "Baby, I want to go…now."

He looked to me, a little surprised, but he shrugged, and came out with me.

Jacob was starting to ask what the deal was.

My baby spoke up, "Naw, I guess I got the jitters, since I'm working with people like that. Just too close to home, you know?"

Jacob shrugged, "I guess. Where's the other guy?"

Damien chuckled, "I think he's letting out dinner right about now. Bella, I'll go get the car. Just wait here, k?"

As he went, Jacob walked next to me, taking my hand. I pulled mine away.

He gave me a look, "What? I can't hold your hand?"

"It's not that. It's just that, I don't think we find it to mean the same thing."

"It means we're friends, with potential for more."

I shook my head, "Don't do that."

"Do what, Bella? He's oblivious."

"He's your friend."

"He's a pushover, and he doesn't know how much you're really worth."

"That's not fair to him. Why would you do that?"

He looked away for a long moment, and then told me, "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

We heard the horn honk, and Damien was waiting for us, "I'm not going to tell him, but don't do that to him. You have no idea how much that would hurt him."

The routine got to be pretty standard during those days leading up to winter break. Although, after a while, I began to suspect why Jacob showed up. When Damien and I would quit for the day, he would watch us leave, holding each other.

Two days before Christmas, Damien got really sick, and Jacob suggested taking me to the training ground to get in some more training. He looked at me with a lurid gaze even as we squared off. He would look at my chest area, and I had to stop him.

"What's up, Jake?"

"No, nothing. I'm surprised Damien isn't here right now, telling you not to hang with me. He must really trust me."

I looked at Jake, "He does, very much. He thinks of you as a very good friend, though not a best friend."

"Imagine my disappointment."

"Do you have a problem?"

"I just don't understand your blind-faith in him. He's clearly not all that he seems, Bella. Tell me you see that, because someone who knows all this has something to hide."

"I know everything about him. He's shown me."

Jake shook his head, "Oh, I doubt that. I think he only shows you what he wants you to see. He's more like Cullen than you'd care to admit."

"How the hell did that come up? I mean, what are you really trying to say?"

"I've seen how he looks at you, Bella. He looks at you like you're property. Have you seen your friends since you started dating him? Or is he too worried about your well-being that he'd rather have you all to himself?"

"If that were true, he wouldn't have let you come here. This is our time, mine and his."

"Yet, you're here with me. Is there something you need to tell me, Bella, about him?"

"I'm going. Don't bother coming back tomorrow. You're not welcome here."

"Is that his decision?"

I gave him a dirty look, "No, that's my call. I call the shots, I asked him to train me, and teach me everything he knows. He did all this for me. So, before you start calling him names and saying things behind his back-"

Then he kissed me, and I felt like our world had gone back to how it was months ago, with Edward chasing me. Now, Jacob was trying to chase me too. I pulled back, and roundhouse kicked him in the jaw, knocking him back. I almost lost my balance, but managed to get myself back to combat stance.

"Don't ever do that again. Just go." I growled at him.

He rubbed his jaw for a moment, and after waiting a few minutes, he told me pleadingly, "Bella, look. I don't think he appreciates you the way I do. He just thinks that all this will make you feel like you're some tough girl, but I see a gentle, sweet girl that I've always wanted to be close to. He's changing you, Bella. He's making you some kind of Amazon, and I don't like how much control he has over you."

I was walking away from him, very annoyed now, "I asked him for all this. I asked him to help me not be a victim, anymore. Why can't some people just accept that I love who I love?"

He shook his head, "You only think you want him, but he's a cop, and he's going to have a lot of nights where he can't come home, and one night where he won't come home at all."

I started walking away, "I don't need to hear that, right now. I'm going. Take your stuff and go. I don't want to talk to you, right now."

He grabbed my arm, "You only think you know what you want, Bella. He's going to die soon, anyway. Can't you see that?"

I reached over to his wrist with my other hand, using it as a grip while I pulled my feet from the ground, kicking him squarely in the chest, and knocking him backward, but now down. It didn't matter, I was able to pull away from his arm just in time to roll away as he changed, and snapped his jaws a bare-inch away from my face. Jacob was a huge wolf, but I wasn't scared, just cautious. He seemed to whimper as he saw me standing in front of him, in combat stance, ready to take him on. He put his head down, and ran away from the base. I got into my truck, and headed home. As I drove away, I got sad because I knew once I told Damien about this, he might not want to come back to this place.

When I got home, Damien was inching along the wall back to his room. I went over to help him, "Have you been alone this whole time?"

"No. Charlie came back for a bit, but he had to go back to the station anyway."

I looked at him, "What'd he need?"

He shrugged, "He needed to see what I had on the Jeffreys case. So, I went down to get it for him."

I let out a hard breath, "You can't get out of bed for something like that. He should know where to look."

He seemed a little tired and exasperated, "It's ok. I'm feeling a little better now, anyway. I was sick of being in bed all day."

I reached up to touch his forehead, "You need to take care of yourself or I'm calling off Christmas dinner in the city."

He looked over at me, "C'mon babe. The three of us have been looking forward to that since he joined our training group."

I helped him into bed, and sat with him on my bed.

"I can't lay here, babe. This is your bed. I don't want to get you sick."

I shook my head and told him, "I'm not leaving you alone tonight, so tough."

He lay on his side, and reached up to touch my face, "Oh my god, you're so warm, baby. This isn't good at all."

"I'll be fine, but like I said, I don't want to make you sick."

I shushed him, placing his hand back on the bed, and touching his lips, "I'll be around. Stop trying to protect me so much, and let me help you."

He nodded off to sleep. I got myself ready for sleep, and lay next to him as he breathed shallowly in and out. I reached into my drawer, and saw that he still had a handful of pills more than he should have. I shook him awake.

"Baby, why haven't you taken your meds?"

He gave me a sour look, "No, I hate those pills. They make me feel horrible."

I put two in my mouth, and drank a bit of water, and I put my mouth to his. If it was the only way for him to take it, I had to. He took it in easily enough, and after a few hours, his breathing was strong and regular again. Still, I could see in his face just how bad he felt. By morning, his chills were the only thing bugging him.

"Why'd you give me those pills?"

"Right now, it's all you've got. Now, cheer up, it's Christmas Eve."

Resigned, he gave me a kiss on the cheek, "Got it. I'm going to the market. Want me to get something?"

I looked at him over my shoulder, "I'll make a list for you, but you're not going without me."

He chuckled, "Are those your orders, my liege?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck, "For now, Princess will do."

He winked, "I thought we saved that for special occasions."

I kissed him, "And this isn't?"

My cell phone went off, much to my annoyance, "Let me get that."

He nodded and went to the bathroom as I turned to the phone.

"Hello?"

It was Alice, "Bella, where are you?"

I tensed up, "What is it, Alice?"

She sounded like she was panicking now, "It's about Edward. He's going to kill himself."

I groaned, about to pull the phone away from my ear, "That's not my problem anymore, Alice. I'm sorry."

Alice yelled, "Don't hang up! He's going to tell the Volturi about you and Damien, and about being cheated out of that destiny I told you about."

I held the phone close, and after a moment, "What does that mean for us?"

"It means the Volturi will want to kill you for knowing about us. We have to stop Edward from going there, and exposing himself to the crowd."

I closed my eyes a moment, trying to calm my fury, then with much thought, "Let me see what I can do. Will you be here, soon?"

Alice was talking fast, and she sounded desperate, "In fifteen minutes, I'll be right at your house."

I let my words out slow, deliberately, "Alice, if this is a trick to get me to talk to your brother, don't bother contacting me again. Even friendship has its limits."

Alice spat back, "This never would've happened if you let things go according to fate."

"See you when you get here." I hung up.

Damien:
I suppose I wasn't surprised that Alice called, nor why for that matter. She wanted to put things back on course for Bella and Edward. I felt only a little threatened because it meant she would be pulled into their lives after all. The most I could do was try to facilitate the process so Bella's involvement was kept to a minimum. As Alice talked to Bella about Edward, I could only stand aside and listen as the argument went back and forth.

Finally, I spoke up, "Why don't I come?"

Alice gave me a slight scowl, "This is your fault in the first place. If you had stayed away from Bella, we wouldn't be in this mess."

Bella shook her head at her, and set her straight, "Alice, don't talk to him like that. Just hear him out."

I turned to Alice, "Listen. You're still listed as a minor. If you leave with Bella, she'll be charged with kidnapping, and the charge worsens every time you cross a state line. Think how bad it will be if you cross an ocean."

She gave me a desperate look, "What do you suggest?"

"I'll go with you. I have clearances from CIA, NSA, and have operative status with the US Embassy. I can say I am there to retrieve American students from foreign custody. The Volturi will have to concede unless they want government attention."

Bella looked over at me, "Oh my god, I am so hot for you right now, you have no idea."

Alice looked at us sourly, "Ugh, would you two mind?"

Bella eyed her, "Ok. We're going over to save your brother. After this, though, he owes us. You got it? No, Edward owes him."

Alice started to look desperate, "Edward doesn't want to see him."

Bella crossed her arms, "Well that's just tough, because he's the one with the federal clearance."

Bella:

Alice grudgingly accepted, and we got into the Impala, although Alice was giving Damien a scowl through the entire car ride down to Seattle. We left Charlie a note, and Damien said he might have a lead on a Serial Crime expert in Italy about the case. So, that end was taken care of.

The plane trip was hell for Damien, though, because he was actually terrified of flying.

Alice looked over slyly, "Not so tough now, are you?"

He groaned, and looked at the tray in front of him, intently, trying to focus on it as much as he could.

I held his hand, and soothed him whenever he shivered.

Alice looked over exasperated, "Oh for goodness sakes, what's wrong with him, anyway?"

I looked back at her, "He doesn't like flying. He used to be flown all over in military transports so this is still kind of traumatizing for him."

Alice just muttered, "At least Edward isn't a bundle of issues."

I turned to face her then, evening my eyes with her, "No, he's much worse. He's a whole damnable stack of issues. That's why Damien agreed to have us come along with you to save your brother."

We arrived in Italy and had to commandeer a car to drive to Voltera. Alice drove since Damien was sitting in the back, recovering from the flight. Alice looked back at him, annoyed, "Would you just pull yourself together, and stop groaning?"

He waved her away, "Would you mind just being quiet for now? Your voice is really starting to bug me."

I looked over at Alice, "Can we just focus here?" I pulled my hand back, and squeezed his knee. "So, where are we going?"

Alice seemed to become excited now that I was focusing on the job at hand, and looked back at Damien with a victorious look, "Once we get there, you'll have to find Edward. He's going to expose himself to the crowd, even though the townspeople believe that vampires were expelled long ago. In fact, that's what they're celebrating today. So, if you see a lot of people in red robes, that's why."

We drove through the city streets, and had to stop a few blocks past the roadblock, even though Damien was telling Alice not to run those down. We all got out of the car then.

Damien turned to me for a moment, "Ok, Bella, go find Edward, and see if you can bring him back here."

I nodded, and went off as I heard him talk to the local authorities, "Sono con l'Ambasciata degli Stati Uniti. Sto cercando di tornare alcuni studenti al suolo americano."

I ran off to find Edward, and saw him below the clock tower as the sunrays seemed to surround him I ran over, and pushed him back into an arch.

He looked at me triumphantly blissful, "You came for me, Bella."

I pushed on him, "Move your dumb ass, now!"

He realized then that I was real, and came to his senses. He reached up to hold me, and try to pull me into an embrace, "Bella, did you leave him? Is he dead now?"

I shook my head, "He's the one that told me to come. Let's get the hell out of here, now."

Before we could even start to leave we were approached by an older gentleman, wearing a long red robe. This one, though, seemed to have a uniform underneath. He looked to Edward, "You'll have to come with us."

Edward looked at them, "Gentleman, I won't be requiring your services."

He came closer, "I'm afraid we must insist."

Edward seemed to gently push me away, "Fine. Bella, go enjoy the festival."

The official shook his head, "The girl comes with us, too."
"No, you go to hell," Edward seethed.

"Don't make trouble for us."

Just then, Damien arrived with Alice, "Excuse me, but those students are American citizens, and taking them into custody without just cause would be considered Habeas Corpus, but I'm sure you know what that means."

The fellow looked at Damien, "Who are you?"

Damien held up a badge, "I'm with the US Embassy. I understand an American student was lost during a trip here, so I'm just here to bring him back to his parents. I'm sure you wouldn't want the US government to get wind of this, right?"

"You little fool, you've no idea where you've come to, do you?"

Damien tried to stare him down, "As a matter of fact, I do. I'm sure my people would love to know what happened to the staggering number of tourists who've come this way."

He was joined by another set of robed people, one young girl, not too much older than me, seemingly, and another larger fellow who towered over everyone.

"Enough" she said now, "Just bring them all down. Aro is waiting."

Edward tried to grab my arm, and I pulled away from him, much to his shock, and outrage because he glowered at Damien. Edward ignored him, and I remember he had told me what the Volturi did. Apparently they would destroy or kill any outsider who knew their secret. As we walked over with the escorts, he reassured me that they would not kill me since he had told them I was his mate. He did tell Damien he couldn't guarantee they'd let him go, however, since he had made a big fuss about the government.

"I was trying to get you out of here, idiot. Thanks for you nothing."

The larger fellow seized Damien's shoulder, and seemingly cracked it, "Be silent."

Once we were brought to a large circular room, we were brought to their council of elders. I was guessing the one called Aro was the one sitting in the center. He looked over at us.

"Ah, we get to meet the oh-so-sought-after Bella. Edward, you never mentioned how beautiful she was. This must be the other stag."

Damien said nothing, only standing next to me, and holding my hand.

"Edward, it seems you exaggerated your value to this girl. No, no, no."

Edward looked over at Damien accusingly, shaking his head, "This one can take in venom without turning. He's an abomination. I knew he would come with her."

Aro approached Damien next, taking his hand, and holding it.

Edward looked over at me, "Aro can read every thought one has ever had by touching them. Come on, Bella. Once Aro decides to keep him here, we can leave."

Aro released Damien's hand, "I see much pain in this one. Tell me, how can you maintain your sanity with so much horror that you've seen?"

He walked over to me, taking my hand, "May I?"

I inclined my head, figuring I didn't really have a choice, and let him take it. He stood there for a moment, puzzled. "I see…nothing." He leaned in close to me, "Your scent…it's maddening. I can see why Edward craves you so., yet he can't read you at all either. In fact, he really is quite taken with you. One can only wonder how he can stand to be near you without drinking you."

I looked down, not wanting to say anything. He turned away for a moment, and turned to his lieutenants, "Shall we see if she's immune to all our gifts, eh Jane?"

Edward charged forward, "Don't you dare!"

Jane said, smiling sadistically, "Pain."

He fell to the ground instantly, and Damien stood in front of me, since he was mostly back up to full strength. Jane turned her gaze on Damien, concentrating as Edward lay on the ground, shaking.

Damien chuckled at her, "You're really gifted. I can see what you're doing, but I just don't care. I've had worse."

Aro waved at her, "Jane." and she stopped, Edward had one of the sentinels holding him down.

The larger fellow grabbed Damien by the arm, and I turned to Aro, "Don't hurt him, please! Just leave him alone, and I'll do what you want."

Damien was thrown to the wall regardless, and held there by his neck. Aro turned to Jane, and motioned for her to continue. She turned to me to use whatever it was that she had, but I didn't feel anything.

After a moment, Jane's face clouded over in fury.

Aro laughed, and looked over at me, "What amazing gifts you would have if Edward had decided to turn you, that is. Alas, that is not to be. You and the child you will carry must die here."

I was shocked, not knowing that I had actually conceived. I knew we were being careful, but I suppose one of us might've slipped up somewhere. I just knew I didn't want to die here, with our baby on the way, and knowing his or her parents were fighting for their lives at this moment.

Aro turned away from me, and threw his hand in the air, "Kill her, then the others, and do it quickly. Felix."

The large fellow was suddenly behind me, and Damien was there to catch his fist in hand, even though it must've been extremely painful. The juggernaut grabbed Damien by his neck, and threw him to the ground, dragging him through the masonry we stood on. Edward got up, and stood in front of me, trying to take me out of the room, Alice was ready to leave, too. However, two more took Alice in hand, and one drove Edward back to the ground. In the mean time, Damien was being thrown all over, yet still managing to survive. I could only watch as he was thrown, dragged, and flung unto the heavy stonework steps before the elders. The Juggernaut put his knee to Damien's back, taking his arms, and meaning to split him in half.

"God! Please! No!"

I could feel the bones cracking, "No! Please!" I begged, also wanting to charge in myself.

Aro looked over at me, and gestured for Felix to restrain my boyfriend. He walked over to me, and smiled, "What would you give for this whelp?"

"Kill me in his place. Better yet, turn me, and I'll stand by you if you let him go."

Aro's smile grew wider as he laughed, "You would give your life, and servitude to me, to save this…thing…like us. He's not even human, you know?"

"I don't care. If you kill him anyway, I'll come back, and destroy you all. If I have to come back from hell to do it, I'll kill you all."

Edward looked up, "Bella, don't threaten them. He's not worth it. Let him die here, and we can all leave."

Alice spoke up, "Bella will be like us. I'll turn her myself, if need be. The boy is nothing. He'll die within the year, he's not worth your time."

Aro walked over to her, and took her hand. He seemed enchanted with what he saw, and looked over to me again.

Damien hung his head, and figured we might leave him here. I couldn't let him think that. I stepped forward, and stood toe to toe with Aro. "Take me now, if you like, and make me one of you, but I'll only serve you if you let him live as my mate."

Aro reached up to touch my face, "Your gift would make for a most beautiful vampire, Isabella. You amaze me, child. You would give up your life, and the life of your child for this tortured, twisted soul. I see now. He's your husband, is he not?" again, Aro cackled.

He reached up to rub his eyes, "Go now. I wish to see the fruit of this union, however short. Let him go, Felix. We will not lay a mark on him, yet. Let death take him."

Felix threw my boyfriend to the ground, and I went over to him, to help him up as he got to his feet. Edward came over to me, and tried to take me into his arms, but I shoved him off, turning back to help Damien up.

As we walked out, we saw a group of tourists being taken to the central room, as Damien muttered, "Those are civilians…"

I squeezed his hand, "It can't be helped, babe. We have to go. Just look at me right now." I turned my head to him, as he looked back. I raised my other hand to turn his face to mine. "Just look at me, right now. There is nothing else." We both shuddered as we heard the screams.

Damien shook as he slept, and seemed to croak, "god, make it stop. Don't kill them!"

I moved him until he awoke, and looked over at me, "What happened? Did I wake you?"

I shook my head, "No, you didn't. You were shivering again."

He let out a breath, "Sorry about that, babe. How are you feeling?"

I shrugged as I looked at him, "Pregnant."

He sat up, "Really?"

I smiled, and looked at him, "Really. I'm sorry. I should've said something before, but I thought we'd have time. Now…"

He touched my shoulder, "We have time. I'll get more pills, if I can. The Cullens are back, so Carlisle should be able to get me a new prescription."

I reached up to touch his face, "I want us to get married before then. I think Charlie might not be as understanding when he finds out."

He took me into his arms, "Of course he will. You're making him a grandpa, and you're going to graduate soon. He'll be twice as proud."

I shook my head, "What about looking for Victoria? I was hoping we'd be able to talk to her. Like this I'm twice as vulnerable, and all your training goes to waste."

He kissed my forehead, "No way. That training never goes away. It's part of you now, Bella. Ok?"

I smiled, "So, you're not mad about the baby?"

He shook his head, rubbing his hand across my belly, "No. The fact that you decided to have my baby makes me very proud. I've never loved anyone more now than I do now."

I started to cry a little, "What about waiting, and all that? What about our plans?"

He touched my face, "So they get delayed a little, so what. This is what we've wanted all along, don't you think?"

I smiled, and pulled him into a kiss, "Yes. A family."

We both heard the door open, and Charlie was standing there, "You two ok? You look like you went through the ringer. I know that trip must've been rough, but you gotta take it easy. Bella, you especially, since that kid needs you to be not so stressed. Damien, you're getting reduced hours."

"Yes, Charlie."

Charlie almost left, and then poked his head back in, "Oh, and you're both grounded, forever." He left.

Damien looked over at me, puzzled, "No way…He's not grounding me, is he?"

I kissed him, and just lay next to him, looking at him, "He's probably doing that for me, so don't sweat it."

Then we heard another voice rasping, "You should've left him to die. Now, he'll suffer even more as he watches you become one of us. That thing won't survive the transformation either."

I sat up, and we saw Edward standing by the window, "You should've died there, now it's all ruined."

I looked at Damien, "That's right. They expect me to be turned."

He nodded, sadly, "It's fine. We'll deal, ok? Let's just take it one step at a time."

Edward interrupted, "Once she turns, then you and Charlie can grieve. For the moment, she can stay human if you wish, but only as long as you let me be part of her life."

Damien looked over at him, "Shut the hell up."

I sat up, and looked at Damien, "I think we should start making preparations. I want to see how being turned will effect the baby. Otherwise, I'll wait."

Edward shook his head, "The Volturi won't wait for the child to be born. They want you as one of us, or your whole family dies."

I took Damien's hand, and motioned for him to get up with me, "Let's go over to Carlisle's and see how to work this out."

Edward took Damien's shoulder, seeing he was still sick, "You did this to her! I don't see a way for her to be turned until she has your spawn."

"Don't talk like that about our kid, ever." I told him.

"Bella, you have to see it from my perspective."

"I don't want to, ok? Go now."

He was gone in seconds, and we faced each other, I whispered, "Looks like my dad knows."

He nodded, "A dad can tell."

I pulled him close, "You'll be one soon."

"We missed Christmas, you know?"

I shrugged, "I've got all I want right here."

Damien:

We met with Carlisle the next day, and talked to the rest of the Cullens as well, as Bella had suggested.

She addressed them all now, "As you know, I'm pregnant, so I'll have to delay any meetings with the Volturi until then, as they expect me to be turned by the next time we meet."

Rosalie was the first to take Bella in arms, "Congratulations, Bella."

Emmett blurted out, "Well, Damien, looks like all that hard work paid off, dude."

I turned to look at him uncomfortably, "I'm sorry…what?"

"Well we were watching with Edward while you guys were doing the bam bam, and it was some wild stuff. Never seen anyone get done on the ceiling."

Bella turned to him, eyes furious, "Emmett, No!"

He backed off, as Rosalie gave him a scowl.

Bella cleared her throat, "As you know, once our child is born, the Volturi will expect me to be changed. My boyfriend and I have decided that we will marry shortly before the birth, so he will have custody until such time that I am ready to see my child again."

Edward muttered, "You don't know what you're talking about. You'll drink the child dry if you go back. Better to let the child die than be left an orphan when the both of you expire. You Damien, literally, and you Bella, figuratively."

I turned on him, "This is your fault. If you hadn't gone to them in the first place, crying about how you were wronged, she wouldn't be in this mess. You killed her, Edward. You live with that, and if she doesn't see me or our child again, she can blame you, but don't you dare try to lay this on me because we were going to live our lives without you."

Edward roared and charged, but before I could brace myself for impact, Emmett caught him, and brought him to the ground. "Enough, dude. Bella's made her choice. It ain't you. Deal with it."

I turned to Bella, nodding that she could continue, "So, since Damien and I are going to be parents, I want all of you to be the child's godparents. Once I'm turned, I'm going to need all of your help to get myself under control so I can watch my child grow."

Alice looked at her expectantly, "What are you asking us?"

Bella sighed deeply, "I want to be part of your coven, provided you protect my husband and child while I'm away."

Everyone looked at her, and Carlisle asked, "Bella, what are you talking about?"

She looked at them all, "I'm going to seek out Victoria, and bring her into the coven. We destroyed her mate, and it's the least we can do."

Alice shook her head, "Bella, that's not part of the vision."

Bella nodded, "That's right. It isn't. I don't want to be with Edward. I'm not agreeing to be a vampire so I can be with him. I'm doing this because I want to be able to protect my husband, well, future husband. I want to find a way to save him, so we can be together forever. Alice, I know what you wanted for me, but that's not what I want. I know that I've wanted a family with the man I love, and it's not Edward. It will never be, Edward, sorry. You'll just have to find another mate, because I'm not going to abide by what anyone tells me."

He croaked from the ground, "Bella, you're choosing a man who may not be able to even stay with you."

She snapped at him, now she was starting to cry, "Stop saying that! I know already what's happening to him! You don't have to hold him when he's cold! You don't have to rub him warm when he's sick, or wake him from tortured dreams! You don't know him, so shut up about it, and go find someone else to obsess about! I can't stand it anymore, Edward! I can't stand you watching me from below my window, or watching me sleep, or even you trying to touch me! That's what I hate, most of all! You trying to touch me when I don't want you to! Just stop it! Leave us in peace because you're scaring me so badly, and I don't want to feel that while I'm carrying my baby!"

I went over to hold her, and she looked at everyone, telling them, "Now you know why I haven't come around as much, or tried to call you while you were away. I was actually happy while he was away. Believe me when I tell you, I have nothing against you, at all, but the time you were away did make me happy. Blame that on Edward because I do care for the rest of you, dearly."

Rosalie came over to hold her, looking to me for consent, which I gave, and she took Bella in her arms, "Oh sweetie, it's ok. We're here. We'll tell Edward to find another mate."

Edward left without a word. I looked at Rosalie hold her, and was grateful that Bella had a friend she could depend on.

Bella walked back over to me, and sighed, "I guess there's just one more thing to do."

"Which is?"

"We'll have to tell Jacob."

Bella:

We went along the roads where the woods were most dense. Jacob came out onto the road, and we stopped the car so we could follow him.

As we went to meet him, I looked at Damien, who was rather calm. When he saw me looking at him, he asked me, "What's wrong?"

I shook my head, "I think you should probably know about-"

Jacob called out, "So, you knocked her up, huh? Had to leave your mark on her?"

Damien shook his head, "Jake, where's all this coming from? You're my friend. I don't understand why you're acting like this."

Jacob sneered at him, "What? She didn't tell you about the round house kick she gave me?"

"Why would she need to do that, Jake?"

"You really are not as bright as most people think you are. I knew her before you did. If you hadn't been here, she would've been mine."

"Bella is hers. She's not mine, or yours, or anyone's. She's Charlie's daughter, but other than that, she doesn't belong to anyone. Don't you know that?"

I stood next to him, and Jake turned on me, "Are you going to marry him, Bella? So he can fill you with more children, and have you at home while he goes to work, from day to day, never knowing if one day he just won't-"

"Enough! Damn it! What's your problem? Are you and Edward trying to make me lose this baby?"

Jacob looked at me, then, "Do you see what he is, Bella? Do you even know?"

Damien stood in front of me, "Ok. That's enough. She's right. Let her be for now, and we'll talk out our problems some other way. We're friends, so there has to be a way to work this out."

He stood between me and Jacob now, "Come on, Bella. He's upset. We'll just have to talk to him some other time."

I saw Jacob in full wolf form, and bringing his massive paw down Damien's back, leaving him with a look of shock and betrayal that hurt me as most certainly as if it had been me.

I was about to pull Damien away as Jacob got ready for another strike, but at that moment, we both saw a red flash and Jacob was kicked away. He looked at the two of us, looking at him with such anger, and hurt. Most of all, Damien looked so hurt, and I could feel it too, because I knew how deeply he valued friendships.

The red flash turned out to be Victoria, and as she would tell us later, she had been following us the whole time, and had been listening. Now, here she was, standing before us.

Victoria looked to Damien, and then to me, "So, you wanted to talk to me?"

Continued….

Ok then. That's Chapter 4, and oh my god did this take a while to write. It took me most of today. I know what you're thinking.. Wow, Bella got knocked up during her senior year? Well, that's not all. There is something else I am trying to introduce, and I suppose ya'll will find out soon. As it turns out, while I do have the outlines somewhere, this story seems to be writing itself. So, it's really the characters that are taking me from moment to moment. If you think I just jumped the shark, feel free to tell me. I actually had another vein where someone did the unthinkable. But I backed out at the last moment. The last thing I want is something contrived. Haha.