Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns everything in the Twiverse.

A/N: My schedule has been rather kind...perhaps because it didn't want all of you to kill me for taking too long to update after a string of evil cliffies...so I hereby present Chapter 34.

Chapter 34: Decisions, Decisions

Bella's POV

The words reverberated in my head as Edward stared at me in immobile shock, the impossibility of the situation reflected in his horrified eyes.

Either Edward kills me or Victoria kills my father.

I heard Alice gasp beside me, the Denalis cries of disbelief, and Jasper's soft curse under his breath. But they dissolved into nothing as the conundrum scrambled what remained of my brain.

Either Edward kills me or Victoria kills my father.

My eyes were still fixed on my beloved's, and I could see his mind racing to find a hole in Victoria's perfect plot. As he frowned and grimaced at his thoughts and those of the remaining family members around us, the conclusion was clear.

We were trapped in every sense of the word.

"Decisions, decisions."

At the sound of her lighthearted voice, I glared at Victoria, the venom in my eyes no match for her delight.

"Now, now, Bella," she cooed. "I still have a few things to say to you."

I gritted my teeth. "You have said quite enough."

"But I'm trying to help you!" she cried indignantly. "You really need to consider the implications of each option before you decide. As for the first, if you die, Edward will die too. The guilt alone will eat him alive, if the stark return to immortal loneliness doesn't kill him first."

I tried not to flinch at the groan Edward tried to suppress, and we both failed.

"Either way," she continued blandly, "he'll be begging the Volturi to do away with him, and I am hoping that they will invite me to watch.

"But if you surprise us all and take door number two, you would suddenly be married to the man who couldn't stop me from taking your father and telling him that you chose Edward over him before I ended his pathetic little life. Could you live with that?" Her tone became malicious as she mused. "Could your precious infatuation survive the knowledge that being with Edward was worth more than your father's life? Would that change your marital status? Or your plans for immortality? What would you write on Charlie's tombstone, I wonder, assuming you ever found the body.…"

I buried my face in my hands as Victoria amused herself with more questions and heard Edward groan beside me. "Alice?"

I raised my head to see Alice staring at me somberly. "Make a decision."

I closed my eyes as one impossible future played itself out behind my lids, abruptly opening them when Alice gasped. "You and Edward are alive and still married," she said quickly. "But Charlie is…" She covered her mouth, unable to finish the sentence.

I bit my lip and focused on the equally unhappy alternative.

"I see Charlie!" Alice exclaimed. "He's alive and well! And he's at…oh."

"What?"

She blinked rapidly. "He's alive, Bella. That's what really matt—"

"Where was he?" I demanded.

Jasper squeezed her shoulder as she looked down. "At your gravesite."

I suddenly understood why Alice couldn't see Charlie all this time. Because the decision about his life had not yet been made. Because that decision, and everything that would happen as a result, had unknowingly been in my trembling hands.

I wrapped those hands around my cramping midsection, feeling as if I had been shanked with a rusty blade. Victoria scoffed as Edward tried to steady me, and my grip on reality began to loosen.

Yesterday at this time, I was in my bedroom in my father's house after making slow, sweet love with my husband, and my only concern had been how to spend our newly-extended honeymoon.

Now I was standing on the edge of a forsaken field holding my life and the lives of two others…and Edward…in the balance.

What the hell had happened?

I felt Edward's arms fasten around me and tried to compose myself. He had been mostly silent all this time, and my sorrow multiplied as I considered him. I could not imagine what he was going through, and for the first time I could remember, I wished that I could read his mind.

Victoria meanwhile had ceased her pondering and turned her attention to the Denali clan. "And don't even think about searching for the Chief," she sneered at their calculating eyes. "I don't know what Blondie was thinking, but you couldn't track his scent from here. And if by some miracle you found him anyway, you would never reach him before the deadline."

"Deadline?" I croaked.

"Didn't I mention that?" Victoria tsked with a chuckle as she fished in her pocket. "Honestly, I'm having so much fun that I'm forgetting all the little details!" She pulled out a tiny electronic device. "You have ten minutes to decide."

A choking sound escaped me as my knees gave way. Edward lifted me against his frame, holding me upright as Victoria continued.

"Whether in ten minutes or ten hours, your options will neither change nor simplify, and I have no wish to stand here all night while you vacillate between them. Besides which," her red eyes flashed, "I am getting rather thirsty."

I shivered in spite of the strong arms around me, fearing for all the people in Forks.

"Either way, you need make your choice before I press this button." She narrowed her gaze and smiled. "Ten."

I heard the Denalis speaking with Alice and Jasper, their harried concern touching me deeply. I could see Victoria from the corner of my eye, the triumph in her expression compounding my pain.

But as Edward took my hand and pulled me aside, everyone else faded from my consciousness, and as far as I could sense and care, we were alone.

With ten minutes to decide our fate.

Edward was holding on so tightly that I feared he would crush my fingers. The clock was already running, and we had far too much to discuss in such a short time. But I couldn't think for all the anxiety in my soul, and I just needed a moment of quiet.

"Edward," I sighed.

His understanding was swift, and he released my fingers and enveloped me in his arms. I rested my head in my favorite spot underneath his chin, his hands cool and firm on my back, and for thirty blissful seconds, I relaxed into his embrace. I let his scent and strength renew me, feeling as if there were no Victoria or death threats, nothing between us but love. And I soaked it up as pure oxygen, letting it invade my weary lungs and give me new life.

However long it might last.

With a loud exhale, I lifted my head and took a small step backward. Edward resumed holding my hands, refusing to break our physical connection, as I swallowed hard. "Is there really no hope?"

Edward blew out a long breath before shaking his head slowly. "She was right about Rosalie, who was being blindly bullheaded as usual." His brow further creased at the mention of his absentee sister. "Victoria isn't careless enough to bring Charlie anywhere near here, so there is no scent to trace. For all we know, he's not even in the state."

"But if Laurent and Tanya aren't there to guard him," I spared a glance at the latter's miserable form in the distance. "Who is? And why would anyone help that psychopath kidnap an innocent man?"

"Victoria can be very persuasive," Edward said without admiration. "Although she is blocking her thoughts from me, I have learned enough to know that she is quite accustomed to getting her way. That was probably the root of the attraction between her and James."

Victoria's hateful hiss penetrated our bubble of privacy. "Nine!"

Edward's eyes shifted, and I could sense his next destination.

"I can't, Edward."

"Honey, we need to…"

"I know." My moist eyes were pleading with him. "But not yet."

He sighed. "Then we will wait." He tenderly caressed my hands as if we had nothing but time, and as his fingers glided over them, he touched my wedding band. "I cannot believe that a mere six days have passed since I placed this here."

In spite of it all, I smiled. "That was the happiest day of my life."

"Not mine," he murmured.

"The next day?"

"No," he said as the corner of his mouth twitched in blushing amusement. "As macabre as this might sound, especially right now, the happiest day of my life was the day of Brittany's funeral." I gasped in surprise as he lowered his voice and continued his attentions to my freezing fingers. "As we sat together in the church, you told me that I was beautiful. And although you'd said so several times before, in that moment, for the first time in my immortal existence, I felt more than beautiful. I felt human again."

My smile sweetened as his words warmed the throbbing cavity in my chest. "In that moment," he continued, "I understood the depth of your love for me. And I knew that regardless of what might someday befall us, we would survive it together."

My face fell as I remembered our surroundings, and the question slipped out before I could stop it. "Do you still believe that?"

Edward smoothed my hair and tenderly kissed me, his cold lips unleashing a flurry of nerves in my belly. I knew that he would never lie to me, and his inability to respond told me all that I needed to know.

Victoria snorted loudly. "Eight!"

We sighed together as his eyes questioned me again. And again, I shook my head.

"Where do you think the family is now?" I asked after a moment.

His nostrils flared. "I don't know."

I glanced at Alice and Jasper, grateful that I could still see them. "I hope they're all right."

"Don't you dare," he spat. "Don't you dare waste your concern on those who so callously betrayed you."

His word choice made me wince, but I didn't argue. I shivered as the most shocking event of the day pushed itself to the forefront of my mind, and Edward pulled me again into his arms.

Not in a million years would I ever have believed that the Cullens—any of them—would abandon me. Especially after enduring the chase with James and the aftermath of my birthday party. But with my life and the lives of my father and their so-called Alaskan cousin on the line?

I would have bet my life on their fidelity.

And in light of my present circumstances, I realized that I had foolishly done just that.

Unconsciously, I had bet my life on Carlisle's wisdom and levelheadedness. On Esme's kindness and warmth. On Emmett's optimism and brute strength. And on Rosalie's secret love for me and her brother.

Her departure had hurt worst of all.

I remembered the conversation we'd had in my kitchen where she raked me over the coals with a self-righteous stake about the necessity of standing beside the one you love. And as her haughty tone and demeanor compared themselves with her recent actions, my body shook with rage. Edward seemed to mistake my anger for sadness, and he murmured against my forehead in an attempt to soothe me.

As my body began to normalize, I felt a strong wave of tranquility wash over me. I turned to face Jasper, his ocher eyes wary as he watched me.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"You're here, so no apologies." I smiled as best I could. "But I do need a favor."

"Anything."

"Let me do this alone," I said in a small voice. "I need to feel everything so I can make the right decision."

"Of course," Jasper bowed sadly. The peaceful fog lifted, and in its place were a jumble of emotions so complex that they nearly paralyzed me.

"Six!"

"Six?" Edward and I cried in bewilderment.

Victoria laughed as she waved her miniature phone at us. "My clock, my rules." All humor left her face as she returned the dastardly device to her pocket. "Five."

"I…" The words refused to form, and I felt my body turning to jelly. The vampiric whispers around me increased in speed and intensity, but they now made me feel worse. I appreciated their efforts, I really did, but I knew they were useless.

I was out of time and out of options.

The tears welled in my eyes as I realized what I had to do. Edward was already shaking his head when I looked up, and I prepared to defend my decision.

"Edward, I…"

"I know."

"I realize that you might not want to hear…" I stopped talking as his whispered words belatedly registered. "You know?"

He nodded once. "I know."

"You know...what?"

He took my hands again, his black eyes fierce in their focus. "I know you are a stubbornly selfless woman who I love more than life itself. I know that if ever given the choice between your life and anyone else's, you would sacrifice yourself. I know that making this decision in no way reflects your love for me or your desire to live. I know that, on the contrary, it only solidifies my certainty that you are the singularly most amazing woman who has ever lived, and that God must love me tremendously because He gifted me with you."

Fresh rain slid down my face as Edward's words unraveled the tangled ball inside me. He caressed my cheek as he continued, gently wiping the tears away. "And I know that you have no choice but to save your father. I know, Love, and I respect that."

Forasmuch as I had needed to hear it, Edward's preemptive support of my decision had thrown me into a complete tailspin, and I found myself unable to speak for the better part of a minute.

A minute during which Victoria gleeful chimed, "Four!"

The January temperature began to drop, but I paid the chill no mind as I gazed into my husband's compassionate eyes. Eyes that I would never forget in this life or the next.

"Edward…" I had no words to fully express my love for him nor did I have the time to search. This would literally be the last time I would have the chance to tell him how I felt, and I needed to say something, for my sake as well as his.

I took a deep breath, ignoring the thought of how few of them I might have left, and forced myself to find his eyes. But the love that I saw there…oh, the sweet, unconditional love…knocked me off my feet, and I stumbled forward into his arms.

Edward caught and held me as the first of his gut-wrenching sobs escaped him. The ground beneath us shook with the force of his sorrow, and I held him tighter, whispering my love into his neck.

"No measure of time with you would have ever been enough," he ground out as we wept together. "But I thank God for the time I had with you here. And I promise that as soon as I am able, I will follow you into eternity."

"No woman in heaven or earth has ever been loved so much," I murmured as my heart splintered into a million pieces. "And I will hold that love in my arms until you find me to replace it."

"Momento!" Carmen sped to our side, her golden eyes shining despite their tearlessness. "We must pray for your souls. It is the only way to guarantee your spot in heaven!"

"Oh, please!" Victoria scoffed. "Three!"

"Take my hands, por favor." Everyone who remained formed a circle around us as Carmen prayed. "Lord God, please accept these vessels into your kingdom as they acknowledge your sovereignty and accept the perfect sacrifice of your Son." She opened her eyes and looked at us. "If you agree, say 'Amen.'"

Edward and I locked eyes, sealing our love in this life and the next. "Amen."

"Isabella, you are truly an angel among mortals." Carmen hugged me fiercely before turning to Edward. She started to speak, but the pain in his eyes stopped her. Eleazar escorted his wife away as Kate kissed my cheek and patted our joined hands. "I'm sorry," she said.

Edward nodded and took a small step backward as a brief gust of wind seemed to wrap itself around me, carrying Alice's voice with it. As I turned and saw her striding past Jasper with her arms flailing about, I realized that she'd just said her goodbye.

Mesmerized by the sight of her grief, I watched Jasper as Alice fell to the ground murmuring, "I should have seen this coming…I should have seen this coming..." His eyes darted between his bride and me, and with sad resignation, he steepled his hands in front of his face and closed his eyes. As I turned back to Edward, Alice's cries subsided as Jasper touched her in the most meaningful way he could.

Edward surrounded me then, his eyes speaking the words that neither of us could say at the moment. With love and agony crisscrossing his features, he cupped my face and we studied each other, memorizing every divine line and space. His gaze dropped to my cheek, and he slowly lifted his hand. I closed my eyes as his icy finger somehow warmed my chilly skin, relaxing into his touch.

And then suddenly, as if my memory believed the clichés, my life with Edward began to flash behind my lids in painfully detailed snapshots:

The first time he smiled that perfectly crooked smile in Biology.

The strength in his hands as he carried me to the nurse after my near-fainting.

The look in his eyes when he declared himself in the meadow.

The concern on his face when I opened my eyes in that Phoenix hospital.

The laughter we shared when we got drenched in the rain last summer.

The pain on his face when I cut my finger at my birthday party.

The desire in his kiss when we reconciled up against the tree.

The spins and swirls of our dance at the Harvest Ball.

The way he loved me through the shock of Brittany's loss.

The confession he made when he asked me to marry him.

The tender passion with which he made love to me the first time.

And the second time…

…and the eleventh time…

…and the twenty-third…

...and last time.

"Two," Victoria grinned.

I opened my eyes to drink him in, and his beautiful features twisted in pain, gutting me again.

"Kiss me, Edward." I was trembling but determined. "I came to life in your arms, and if I must die…" It was the first time I'd said it aloud. "Then let it be there."

Edward groaned with agonized resolve before bringing his cold lips to mine. What began as a tender goodbye with closed mouths and gentle pressure quickly gave way to a feverish entanglement of lips and tongues, trying to extract in a matter of seconds what we would have taken a lifetime to savor. I sought to ingest his sweet flavor, to burn it into my soul and carry it with me into eternity. So I stroked his tongue with mine, carefully ran it along the inside of his mouth, licked his bottom lip as I had done so many times before.

And would never do again in this life.

His mouth reluctantly left mine, and I felt his lips at my throat, lingering on that pulse beneath my jawline. Victoria's ecstatic shrieks increased in volume and frequency as death drew nearer with each pass of Edward's lips. And as his tongue traced slow circles on my neck, I fully understood what was about to happen.

Edward was about to kill me.

He was idling as if marking the ominous spot, and the onslaught of fear prevented me from being aroused. I had always loved when Edward suckled me there, the delicate, sensitive skin awakening at his slightest touch or kiss. But a very different shiver rippled through me this time as he grazed me with his teeth.

Edward raised his eyes to look at me one more time, a potent mixture of love and horror clouding his eyes, still beautiful despite their darkness. Whispering one last "I love you," he bent his head and prepared to end my life.

"Stop!" I screamed.

Edward exhaled a harsh, strangled breath as he quickly released me. I shivered at the loss of his stabilizing hold, and he returned to me in an instant, desperately searching my eyes.

I shook my head as my chest heaved against his. "I can't."

"What?" he cried as Victoria cursed aloud.

The truth rained down my face as I stared into his eyes. "I love you, and I want to experience our forever down here." The look in his eyes stole my breath, and I found myself gasping for air. "And I want the life that I've planned for myself, a life I've barely begun to live. And I can't give that up. I won't."

"Bella…" Edward clutched me to his chest with almost painful force as I melted into him. He planted kisses on every inch of my face and head as I sobbed, slowly gaining strength as his touch made me over yet again.

"You damnable, fickle human!" Victoria screeched, forcing me to look into her fiery eyes. "Why couldn't you just die?"

"Because I have a mate to live for," I said with emphasis. "And I will not sentence us to death."

I would have died on the spot had her eyes been in charge. "Not even to save your father's life?"

A piece of my soul shattered at her question. "No."

Victoria stared me down, and her eyes darkened from ruby to onyx as she tested my resolve.

After a tense moment, she pulled out her phone and held it up. "Very well, then," she smiled darkly.

I felt Edward shift my position until I was completely shielded by his body, and I was too weary to mind. As Victoria's last words echoed in my ears, I prepared to hear her announce my father's demise, bending my head to pray for forgiveness.

But the next voice I heard didn't belong to Victoria.

"Get Bella!" Edward shouted after startling me with another kiss.

"What does he…"

My sentence was interrupted by the unsettling sensation of being turned me swiftly around. Before I could see what was happening, I was suddenly airborne, hurtling toward the trees at an alarming rate. A scream rose in my throat but was overpowered by a much louder one from the field. I closed my eyes against the ear-piercing noise, praying that the last pine tree I saw would somehow soften to receive me.

But at the next moment, I was snatched from the air by a pair of cold, white hands. Another scream bubbled to the surface as the hands secured me in their arms, but I was flying again before I could release it. I kept my head down and my mouth and eyes shut as we whipped through the trees.

With little else to do but wonder at my destination and the unexpected turn of events, I took the time to examine myself. And I was surprised to discover that I was breathing normally. I felt warmer and more self-aware, noting that I needed to tie my shoe. All things considered, I was not the least bit afraid. And that burgeoning sense of calm was coming not from the sheer joy of still being alive but from the familiar woodsy scent of my brawny brother-in-law.

Emmett slowed down in his sprint, and I opened my eyes. And when I saw his easy smile, I tucked my head into his neck, sighing his name with gratitude.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Getting there," I sighed, refusing to let go of his neck.

"It's okay." He patted my back and held me away from him, his eyes dancing as always. "You didn't think we'd ditch you, did you?"

My pleasure at seeing him faded at the reminder, and I could only look away.

"Aw, Bella." He set me on top of a felled log so we were standing eye-to-eye. "I'm sorry we had to keep you in the dark," he said. "But we couldn't let Victoria know what we were doing."

He was so remorseful that I almost felt guilty for doubting them. "So what were you doing?"

He frowned as if it should have been obvious. "Rescuing your father, of course."

I staggered on the log, and Emmett scooped me in his arms again. "None of that," he teased. "Edward will have my hide if you so much as chip a nail."

"My father, Emmett." I needed him to focus. "Where is he?"

"With Carlisle and Esme," he said softly. "Alive."

I fell against Emmett's massive chest as the five sweetest words I'd ever heard caressed my aching ears. Emmett wrapped his thick arms around me as only a big brother could while the sweetest of truths dawned on me.

Impossibly, unbelievably, we were all okay.

Me.

Charlie.

And…

"Wait!" A new panic seized my heart. "Where's Edward?"

"Right beside you where I will always be."

I gasped in surprise as Edward appeared out of nowhere. He was breathing heavily, so I knew how fast he must have been running to catch up with us. But I cared only about my profound need to touch him as I leapt into his arms with a total lack of grace. My heedless weeping was loud and sloppy, and I wrapped my body around him like a loving vice, determined to never let go again.

Through tears and sighs, we enjoyed our reunion as Emmett stepped away. Edward kissed every inch of my face, "I love you" punctuating each pass of his lips.

"Never again," he whispered ferociously. "Nothing and no one will ever threaten you ever again."

I relished his loving promises and could only hold him in thankful silence. I had no words for such a moment.

Edward gently pulled away after too short a time. "No," I frowned.

"I know, love." He caressed my face as his smiling eyes turned serious. "But we need to go."

"Why?" I pressed closer to him, my eyes darting around. "Is Victoria coming?"

"No," he said firmly. "She's dead."

I sucked in a deep breath and expelled all my fears on the exhale. "Then what's the rush? Victoria's dead, I'm fine, and Charlie's alive! What could we possibly have…"

At the mention of Charlie's name, Edward's expression changed. And my soul braced itself for the worst. "Charlie's alive, right?"

Emmett drew closer. "Yes," Edward replied.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Charlie is alive, Bella." Edward's voice dropped. "But barely."

Okay, so we don't know what's wrong with Charlie. But I did confirm that father and daughter are alive and Victoria is not. So you can forgive me for this mini-cliffie, right? Right?

How about some recs to smooth things over?

From Dil9, I recommend "Love, Denial, and Desire" which picks up after the flight home from Italy in New Moon. Her writing style makes me feel like I'm actually reading the minds of my favorite two characters, creating an intimate and nuanced experience that is definitely worth having.

Another dear reviewer friend, abbydog26, is writing this wonderful fic, "And So the Prince Fell in Love with the Peasant," a rich, delicious tale about a land where vampires rule, and human-turned-vamp Prince Edward needs to find a wife. I am honored to be her Beta and thoroughly enjoy the way she writes and thinks. And I know that you will too!

For those who love Austen's "Pride & Prejudice," there is a wonderfully modern Twilight/P&P crossover fic by pattyrose called "Arrogance & Animosity." Not only does she stay true to Austen's plotline, but her wit and characterizations are wonderful. I'm pretty snobby about P&P fanfics...because Austen's work is already perfect...but I LOVE what pattyrose has done with Elizabella and Darcyward (my names for the characters, not hers. She uses Bella & Edward, hehehe)

Lastly I would like to re-rec "Pinned but Fluttering" by Cassandra Lowery. Not only is she one of the most amazing women I know, but this unique and compelling AU story is so deliciously layered and suspenseful that you are doing yourself a grave disservice if you haven't read it yet.

And now, I am going upstairs to harass my hubby :) :)