a/n: Thanks so much for the reviews on the last chapter, y'all! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story! It's been a while, but here's a little Christmas present. :) Kind of a sad chapter though, sorry. It has to happen. But at least Emmett will finally be there!

Chapter 7 – Left behind

I was standing on Bella's desk looking out of the opened window. The sky was a perfect blue and the sun shone happily on the flowers in the garden. It was the last day of summer and soon the warm days would make way for the fall. I had joined the other dolls as they enjoyed some of the last rays of sun, but I didn't feel much like celebrating. I had other things on my mind.

"I can't believe it's been almost eight years that I've been here," I said. "Bella is growing up so fast. Soon she won't need us anymore. What if she throws us away?"

"Don't worry, Edward," Esme tried to comfort me as she laid her hand on my arm. "Bella loves us. Just as we love her. That will never go away." She had told me that multiple times over the past weeks, but the words were losing it's power. I didn't believe in them anymore.

"But she hasn't played with us in over a month. Before that it took several weeks for her to notice us as well. She doesn't inspect me anymore when she walks in the room and she hasn't really talked to me in half a year." I was starting to panic a little.

"She's been busy with schoolwork and you know how much she enjoys reading lately. That doesn't mean she forgot about us," Carlisle chimed in.

"Yeah, don't be such a downer, Edward," Alice said playfully from where she was laying. She had kicked off her boots and her head rested in Jasper's lap. They had adapted to life around here as soon as they entered. It was like they had always been here. Alice was cheerful at all times and had grown extremely attached to Bella. Jasper's complementary calm nature also earned him an irreplaceable part in the group. Lucky for me, they'd found a permanent spot on the dresser near me and I enjoyed their company immensely. "Let's just enjoy the sun. I'm absolutely positive Bella is not going to give us away."

"Here she goes again with her premonitions," Rosalie mumbled.

"It's true! Jasper was real worried about where we'd end up. But I always knew we'd land on our feet. And look where we are now!" Alice never missed an opportunity to expressing her gratitude for the warm welcome she and Jasper had received from Bella and the rest of the toys.

"That doesn't prove anything," Rosalie held on to her argument.

We heard a car come up the driveway and a few seconds later the sound of doors slamming. Bella was home from the fair. She'd gone with Angela and two boys. Angela had apparently met a guy named Ben and really wanted to go on a date with him, but her parents wouldn't let here go on her own. So she'd asked Bella to come and Ben would also bring a friend. It was strange to think Bella was old enough now to go on dates.

"What are you guys still standing around for?" Sam yelled from across the room. "Bella's home! Let's go, let's go! Back to your posts!"

I sighed and mumbled to myself: "She's not even in the house yet." I followed the others down from the desk and walked back to my dresser. I was still thinking about our conversation. They hadn't been able to convince me even a little this time. Every toy eventually faced the same fate. For some it just came faster than for others. If only I could freeze time and Bella would never get older. I felt like I could play with her forever.

"Edward, hurry up! She's already on the stairs," Jasper called out to me. My thoughts had occupied me so much, that I hadn't realized Bella was running for her room. I climbed as fast as I could, but I was never going to make it up the dresser in time.

I finally made it to the top and dropped down right there at the edge just as Bella came around the corner. She slammed the door behind her and grabbed me from the dresser. She was moving so fast, she hadn't even noticed that I had not been in my original position. Sprinting further to the bed, she lay down on her stomach and buried her face in the pillow. I was being crushed between her arm and her shoulder as I felt her shaking slightly. Soft, muffled sobs started coming from beneath her head.

She was crying? I couldn't understand why. Though I'd never been to a fair myself, I'd only heard positive things about it. It was a place to dance and play games and supposedly there was food and candy everywhere. How could you not love a place like that?

A few minutes passed before her breathing finally returned to normal and her soft cries stopped. She turned her face toward me, laying her head on her right ear. Her cheeks were red and her eyes still filled with tears.

"It was awful, Ken," she whispered, closing her eyes for a second. Her expression turned hard and her voice became a little fiercer. "I'm never dating anyone again."

What had happened? I desperately wanted to know. Had her date been rude to her? Had he hurt her? I was furious as I thought of that option. Who did this boy think he was? If he had so much as laid one finger on her… With a shock of irritation I reminded myself there was nothing I could do. A little plastic doll like me could never stand up to a human. Once again I was helpless. I couldn't protect her.

"Do you want to know who it was? The boy Angela's friend brought?" she asked. Of course I wanted to know. I wanted to kick his behind for making my Bella cry. "You've met him when I brought you to school that day. It was Mike."

It took all my effort to keep my expression blank. Mike. The boy who had teased her and bullied her and laughed at her. The boy who had caused me to slip up and almost expose us all. He had been placed in a different class after the summer following that fateful day. I was equally as happy as Bella that she wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. But apparently he was back and from the expression on Bella's face, it was obvious he hadn't changed one bit. He'd be singing an entirely different tune if only I could get my hands on him.

"He remembered you," Bella continued before my rage could make me slip up for the second time. "He remembered that I had brought you and that we performed that stupid play. And he remembered how I froze up in front of the class and… and…" Her voice had dropped to an almost inaudible whisper as she relived that horrible incident. A tear slowly made it's way down her nose. I wanted to softly wipe it away for her. Anything to make her feel better and forget everything that worried her.

"He couldn't stop laughing and joking about it all afternoon!" she said with more force behind her tone again. "I only stayed for Angela. She really likes Ben. But then Mike got the brilliant idea to win us girls a stuffed animal at the high striker game. And he got me this!"

Bella sat up and revealed the doll that I hadn't noticed hiding under her other arm. He was about the same height as me, but he was much bulkier. A blue pantsuit stretched tightly around his plastic muscles. He had on little red pants and big red boots and there was even a red cape. The outfit was completed with a big, red and yellow letter S on his chest.

"A Superman doll! The whole thing is so stupid!" Bella was the one getting furious now. "And of course Mike thought it was hilarious. He actually rolled around on the ground laughing for minutes. That's when I'd had enough and I'd called my mom to pick me up. I told Angela I wasn't feeling well from eating too much candy."

So that was how she'd ended up back here in tears. I felt incredibly sorry for her. Behind his painted-on smile, I even detected the sadness on Superman's face.

"Mom must have asked me over a hundred questions on the drive back. I just want to be left alone! Stupid people! Stupid day! Stupid fair! Ugh!" The crease between her eyebrows had gotten deeper and deeper during her rant and finally the look on her face was one of absolute determination. She wiped the tear from her cheeks and out of her eyes, straightened her ponytail and uttered two last words before storming back out of the room: "Stupid dolls!"

I was in shock. It was a good thing Bella had run out when she did, because my jaw had definitely hit the floor after her last statement. She was upset and she didn't mean it. That's what I told myself. But just as this afternoon by the window with the other toys, I couldn't shake the feeling something was drastically going to change. And not for the better.

"Phew, that was quite the introduction. She's not always this dramatic, is she?" the Superman doll said.

"Uh, no, not usually. Welcome, by the way. I'm Edward."

"Pleasure to meet you. Emmett." He extended his hand, but when I wanted to shake it he pulled away. "She's coming back," he whispered.

Sure enough, Bella came back through the door right that second. She had a big cardboard box with her and started pulling her stuffed animals from the shelf above the bed. They all disappeared in the box as she muttered: "He's right. I am too old to be playing with toys and dolls. I'm going to high school after the summer. It's time to grow up."

Oh no! This was it. The way all toys ended up. Discarded. Forgotten. I wasn't ready yet! There was so much more I wanted to do. And poor Emmett. He only just got here. I was starting to hyperventilate.

"Keep your cool, will you!" Emmett whispered through clenched teeth.

He was right. This was no time to panic. But I couldn't help it when I saw Carlisle and Esme being thrown in the box as well. It seemed only yesterday that we'd rescued them from the exact same situation. But this time we would all end up inside the box and no one would be left to come find us.

Bella was now moving to the dresser. Would I ever sit on it again? She held the box under the edge and with one swing of her arm shoved the doll house, my car, Jasper, Alice and Rosalie inside. At last she turned toward the bed again. She dropped the box on the floor and immediately let Emmett fall in as well. Then she picked me up. Her expression had been nothing but determination and anger up to this point, but her face softened a little as she held me close one last time. There was a sadness in her voice again as she said: "Goodbye, Ken." She placed me in the only corner of the box that was still open and closed the lid. It was pitch dark inside, except for the small slivers of light coming in through the cracks.

I was completely dumbfounded. She couldn't do this to us. I started banging on the lid and the cardboard walls around me. Sam shouted for me to stay still while Bella was working to apply tape over the opening. But I didn't see why she couldn't know. She was old enough. She would understand and we wouldn't be left in here for who knows how long.

Seth, who was closest to me, tried to hold me back. But that only made me angrier and I started to shout: "Bella! Bella! You can't do this! Bella!"

"Shh, she can't hear you, remember. We're toys," Seth tried to quiet me. It was a stupid statement. I knew we were toys. That's why we were in this damned situation. "Besides, we need you to take a look at Emmett. His arm dislocated when he fell in."

I finally gave in and stopped struggling so I could turn around. Indeed, Emmett was holding up his right arm which had come out of his shoulder. "They tell me you've played doctor most often."

"That was with Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head over here. Their arms are supposed to come off," I responded still angry.

Before I could even take a step toward him and inspect the damage, Rosalie interrupted us. "Never mind Edward when he's in a mood like that. Arm-fixing is an essential skill for a Barbie like me. I'll have you back up in no time."

"Thanks, honey. Say, you two dating?" Emmett said with a nod in my direction. I rolled my eyes. Always the same assumptions.

That was when I noticed Alice sitting in the opposite corner. She was curled in on herself, her arms wrapped around her knees. Jasper was trying to sooth her, but she was sobbing uncontrollably. "I knew it was too perfect. It couldn't have lasted for long," she mumbled.

Esme sat down beside her. "It's going to be alright. We still have each other. Bella's just storing us under her bed. She's not going to throw us away."

"That's right," Carlisle said. "You guys found us again. Eventually someone will find this box and we'll all get out."

Jacob walked to the center of the box then. "Carlisle is right, everyone. Bella welcomed her Potato Heads back with much enthusiasm and love. We have to keep hope that the same will happen in this situation. Look at what she did for Sam," he said as he motioned toward the large bear. "And remember how devastated Bella was after Victoria left?"

"She left?" I asked. Victoria was the only doll Bella had owned before I had arrived. But I'd thought she had gotten lost one day during a trip to the supermarket.

"Well, Bella thinks she lost her. But Victoria wanted badly to get away and see the world for herself. She must have seen an opportunity to run off. But what matters is that Bella cried about it for weeks. Look, I've been with her longer than any of you and I know how much she loves each of us. She's going to miss us and she'll take us out again. I know it." He looked up at the lid of the box as if expecting it to open any second now.

The truth was, Jacob's speech had given me a tiny bit of hope. Maybe this wasn't the end. I sat down and looked up as well. But it stayed dark.

a/n: One more chapter and an epilogue to go…