"You were with my father last night, talking about the engagement?" I asked disbelieving.

"Yes, love" he chuckled. "And he agreed to walk you down the aisle, give you away to me if I make sure you'll be alright"

"Did you tell him?" I asked fearfully.

"Only that we are planning on changing you after the wedding. He was not happy with that, but he said it would be probably better, so that way you would be able to protect yourself if needed"

"As if I was defenseless while human" I grumbled.

He chuckled and kissed my forehead.

"I'm happy I got your father's permission" he said.

"You are too old fashioned. We could just go crazy and marry in Vegas without him knowing" I smiled.

He rolled his eyes at me and I giggled and kissed him. When I tried to deepen the kiss he pulled back. I gave him a questioning look but there was a knock on the door. Carlisle walked in and smiled at us. I unwrapped my arms from Edward, feeling awkward by getting caught by his father.

"Hello, Bella, how are you?" he asked and took my chart.

"Bored, when can I go home?" I asked.

"It would be best if you stayed her for the rest of the day, resting and we can keep an eye on your head" he said scribbling down something on my chart.

"But I am fine" I protested.

"Love, Carlisle is right… We should make sure your head is fine" Edward said.

I frowned at him. Why were they trying to keep me in the hospital? There was a knock on the door again and Elena poked her head in.

"Hey" she said.

"Come in" Edward said.

She entered and ran to me, hugging me gently.

"I'm so sorry" she said. "I didn't want anyone getting hurt because of me"

"It's not your fault, Elena" I mumbled.

She pulled back and gave me a smile.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Good, although I'm stuck here for the day" I said and frowned. "Aren't you going to school?"

"Too much going on" she shrugged.

"I'll get you something to eat" Edward said.

He kissed my forehead and left with Carlisle.

"What's going on?" I asked Elena.

She sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. She told me how Katherine pretended to be her to fool Jonas and then killed him. He gave Bonnie's powers back to her, and told her how to kill Klaus. I was shocked when she said Isobel showed up. Jenna was mad at Elena for hiding that she knew her mother was alive. She was pissed off at John because he knew Isobel was coming and didn't say anything, he wanted her to break hell loose.

"Oh, Elena, I'm so sorry" I said frowning.

"It's fine. She's staying away for now at least" she said.

"What about the others?" I asked.

"Well, Bonnie and Caroline went to school. She was hoping she could talk to Matt because he was really mad at her. She told him everything after giving him his blood, and he connected the dots with Vicky…"

"Well, then it's understandable he is mad" I mumbled.

"What about you? Have you heard from Jake or Embry?"

I looked away willing the tears not to fall.

"Embry texted me saying they are back in La Push and won't come back. Dad said Embry called and asked him to send some of their stuff"

"Oh. I'm sorry"

"He said I would be dead to him, Elena… Jake will consider me dead from now on" I cried.

She hugged me and I took comfort on her human embrace. She was one of the only human friends I had and I needed someone normal. Although she was a doppelganger…

"Can I stay here with you?" she asked. "Keep you company?"

"I would love if you stayed" I smiled wiping my tears.

We sat Indian style on the hospital bed. Edward brought us some snacks and said Alice was sending him away from the hospital so he wouldn't spy. When I asked on what he would spy he chuckled and kissed me softly before leaving.

"So, what's your real plans for after the wedding?" Elena asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You won't finish school… He will change you, right?"

"You are too smart for your own good" I mumbled.

"Aren't you scared? I mean… You'll be forever like this. And although you'll have the Cullens, Caroline and the Salvatores, that's it. You won't have children and… You will watch us grow old…"

"And die eventually" I said swallowing hard. "I know that… It will hurt, but… I've accepted it as a price to pay to be with Edward"

Watch Dad, Elena and the others grow old, form families and eventually die was the reason why I was doing it. It was a price to pay to have them all safe.

"You really love him" she said quietly.

"I'm marrying him, Elena, of course I do" I said with a smile.

"What about Damon?" she asked.

My smile fell.

"What about him?"

"You two seemed so… happy with the other"

"He brought me happiness in a dark time of my life. He… He was my moon, Elena. Edward was the sun, and when he left… It was dark. But Damon brought some light"

"So you're just friends now?" she asked.

"I don't know. I wish we were but…"

"He's mad, isn't he?" she said. "He called me, asked if I knew about you… He seemed truly worried"

"He left me in the hospital because he wanted. I'm sure neither my father nor Edward told him to leave" I said bitterly.

"I really wish you two work things out and stay friends… You seemed good to him. You keep him grounded. You're to him what Lexi was to Stefan… Damon needs a Lexi" she said with a sad smile.

The door opened and Alice bounced in. She hugged me tightly, taking my breath away.

"Can't breathe, Alice" I groaned.

"Sorry" she said pulling away with a beaming smile. "How is my future sister-in-law?"

And then she started to squeal. Elena and I laughed as Alice jumped and clapped like a kid on Christmas.

"Let me see?" she said taking my hand.

"Didn't you see in a vision?" Elena asked.

"She is a bit of a drama queen, so she has to make the scene" I laughed.

"Oh, it's as wonderful as I saw" Alice said. "And I have already found the perfect bracelet to match it on the wedding day"

"Alice…" I groaned.

Alice opened her bag and pulled folders out.

"I had a vision of you running away from this… So, since you're stuck here, I decided to take this opportunity"

Elena snickered and left the bed to sit on the armchair by my bedside. Alice took her previous spot and opened the folders between our legs.

"I already know you'll want a small ceremony. And I have the date. Christmas. That way you can take the break for the honeymoon, and when you come back we work on changing you" she said and flipped through the pages. "I think we could do something like this" she showed me a picture of a winter garden decorated. "At our place, there's enough space for it, and for the reception…"

"Reception?" I blurted scowling.

"Okay, small dinner, if you prefer" she rolled her eyes. "You owe me the right to plan a big, wonderful wedding. I've waited to plan Edward's wedding for decades, Bella, and Esme too. We need to make something big someday. Maybe in a decade to celebrate your anniversary"

"Oh, God" I groaned.

"Oh, that would be beautiful" Elena said looking at the picture of the garden. "Except we don't have snow in Virginia"

"I was thinking Stefan could help us with the weather" Alice grinned.

"Oh, ahn, Stefan can't… He's not powerful enough to do it" Elena said. "Only Damon can because of his diet"

"Oh" Alice said frowning. "Well, we can work with snowless" she grinned at me. "Have you chosen your maid of honor?"

Elena laughed and took a folder to look at the stuff Alice had picked.

"Didn't you see?" I retorted. "I did choose and I'm planning on changing my choice"

"Bella" Alice gasped.

"It's you Alice" I rolled my eyes. "Just don't go crazy with that position"

She hugged me, thanking me for choosing her and promising to be the best maid of honor.

"So, for Elena, Bonnie and Caroline… I selected a few dresses… We can get them in whatever colors you want…"

I spent the next couple of hours choosing bridesmaids dresses for Elena, Bonnie and Caroline and then picking the color. Alice had already chosen her dress but let me pick the color at least.

"So, groomsmen?" Alice asked.

"Shouldn't Edward pick them?" I asked.

"Edward chose Emmett as his best man but other than that, he couldn't care less" she rolled her eyes.

"Ahn, what about Jazz?" I frowned.

"He understands that Edward and Emmett have a longer relationship" she shrugged.

"Well, he could go with Caroline, but… What about Rose?" I asked. "This sucks. If I only married at the registry office…"

"Don't even think about it, Isabella" Alice said threateningly. "Considering Vegas was already a low blow"

"Bella, Alice is right… Edward's been waiting for a bride for a century, and half of it Alice was thinking of planning his wedding… Let her have some fun with this" Elena said.

"You are a traitor" I said to her accusingly and Elena just grinned. "Shouldn't the bride always be right?"

"Only when the groom is arguing. The bridesmaids are always above the bride on choice-making" Alice said smirking.

"Only in your mind" I retorted looking at the options of bouquets.

She didn't answer, and I looked up with shock that Alice Cullen didn't have a smartass comeback. She was staring at me but her eyes were unfocused. She blinked a couple times and frowned at me.

"You should call Damon" she said.

"Why? Is something wrong?" Elena asked alarmed.

"No. It's just… he's undecided about coming to check on you" Alice said to me. "He decides to come and I see him entering the room, and then he decides not to come and I see him staying home… It's annoying"

"Why are you looking into his future?" I frowned.

"I wasn't. He's like Charlie now… I see him because he's connected to you" she shrugged.

"He'll find something to do any minute… It's not like there isn't anything going on" I said.

"Did you see if he, Stefan and Caroline found the moonstone at the Lockwoods'?" Elena asked.

"No, they didn't find anything… And Caroline is still looking for Matt" Alice said.

"The moonstone at the Lockwoods'?" I asked frowning.

"Elijah was their guest so their looking in his room and the house" Elena said.

"Stefan is going to your house, Elena" Alice informed. "And Isobel will go there too"

Elena groaned and got up.

"Sorry, Bella… I need to…"

"Don't worry. Go. Call me if you need" I said waving her worries off.

She smiled at me and walked out of the room. I arched an eyebrow at Alice.

"Why did you need to be alone with me?" I asked. "Elena might not have noticed but I did"

"We need to talk" she said putting away the folders. "What the hell is going on, Bella? Why didn't you tell us you could be in danger?"

"I thought I would be alright…"

"You trusted Elijah" she said scowling. "Still, you should have told us"

"Do the others know?" I asked.

"No, Edward isn't going to tell anyone. I saw you two talking…"

"Don't tell anyone, Alice" I said. "Promise me you won't say a word about it"

"The family needs to know"

"The less people know the safer they are… We could get things worse if people know about it. Someone might tell Klaus or one of his people"

"Fine, I won't tell anyone…" she said. "But you need to stop trying to save everyone by yourself. Damon was right, you should have told one of us so we could protect you"

"You know now" I mumbled.

"I'm gonna tell you something, and Edward is going to kill me because I already know how this is gonna go"

"What is it?"

"Damon found the place of the massacre and he's going there with Bonnie and Jeremy" she said. "She'll absorb enough power to kill Klaus… But it's really risky. It's too much power for someone"

"She's in danger" I gasped.

"Yes"

"I need to do something" I said pulling the blankets away.

"Knew it" she mumbled and pulled clothes from her bag. "Brought you some clothes"

I pulled the IV out of my hand and put on the distressed jeans, green top and navy sneakers she brought to me. I was shocked Alice Cullen actually got me sneakers. I was expecting heels. I pulled my hair in a messy bun as I grabbed my stuff from around the room. She told me Carlisle had gone to hunt and we wouldn't have problems for a while. I got the leather jacket she extended to me and walked out of the room. I met a nurse and she said I couldn't be out of bed and walking. Since I was eighteen I signed myself off and put Alice as responsible for watching me since I had a concussion. We took Alice's flashy Porsche and she drove top speed to the outskirts of town. We walked into the woods, and I refused Alice's suggestion to carry me and run… It would be pathetic to have her carrying me. We finally got to a clearing in the woods and an old, abandoned white house came into view. I could feel magic on that place. I saw Damon standing outside the house, pacing impatiently. When he heard us approaching he looked at us with a scowl.

"You should be in the hospital" he said when I was close to him.

"My friend is crazy and in danger" I said going to the house.

He blocked my way, eyeing me.

"I'm fine, Damon, let me pass" I snapped.

"What is wrong with you?" he retorted. "Always trying to ruin my plans to end this madness"

"This is dangerous for Bonnie" I said angrily. "Let me pass"

"No"

I glared at him and tried to push him out of my way. He chuckled with my failure. I threw him aside with magic and ran inside the house. I found Jeremy and Bonnie sitting in the floor with grimoires and candles around them and Bonnie had a smile.

"What did you do?" I asked her angrily.

"Bella…"

"Do you know how dangerous this is?" I snapped. "You can die for using that much power!"

"What?" Jeremy said frowning at her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I can save Elena now" Bonnie said standing up.

"You are risking your life" I frowned.

"As she would do for me"

I sighed and shaking my head, knowing it was useless to argue, I walked out of the house. Edward was there, sitting with Alice in the porch's steps.

"Love, you shouldn't be out of the hospital" he said standing up.

I passed by him and walked to Damon. I pushed him and punched his chest. He grabbed my wrists to stop me, and scowled at me as I fought against his hold.

"I don't care how precious Elena is to you!" I snapped. "You can't bet people's lives to get her safe!"

"We did what was needed to make sure the sacrifice wouldn't happen" he said. "To keep you both safe" he said low.

"I have a plan. Everyone would be safe! You're risking Bonnie" I said angrily.

"Your plan isn't infallible, Bella. If Klaus finds Elena and not you… She'll be in danger while you're safe. I need a plan B"

"You always need a plan B when it comes to Elena" I said and pulled away from him. "I'm warning you, Damon. This is the last time I let you endanger someone. Next time I'll deal with you personally"

I turned away and headed to Edward and Alice, who had been watching us with hesitance and worry.

"What are you going to do?" he taunted. "Give me more of your one-worded chastisement? 'Damon', 'Damon'?" he mimicked me in a ridiculous girly tone.

I turned around and he fell on the ground clutching his head. He groaned and I tried not to let his pain get to me. He needed to know I was serious about protecting the others, even from him.

"You seem to forget I am a witch, Damon. Or do you think that because you used to be nice to me I'll pretend to be blind to what you do?"

Edward touched my arm and I lifted the spell from Damon. He looked up at me, breathing heavy and glared.

"I'll do whatever it takes to protect everyone" I said.

He stood up and his expression became blank.

"So will I" he said.

"No. You're focused on protecting Elena. You have to realize that there's more at stake"

"I see it, I just don't care"

"And that's exactly why I have to intervene in all your plans" I said and shook my head. "I'm tired of this. I'm going home"

Edward took my hand and I closed my eyes. In one second I was in his back and he was running through the woods.

I sighed as Edward's fingers ran down my hair in a soothing motion, and wrapped my arms tighter around him.

"Are you sure you are okay?" he asked quietly.

"What do you want me to tell you, Edward?" I mumbled. "Jake and Embry aren't coming back, and Jake considers me dead. Bonnie is risking her life to save Elena's, and mine but she doesn't know that. I'm putting everyone in more danger, they don't know it, and yet I can't leave, abandon them and hope for the best…"

"And there's Damon" he added.

"Yes, there's Damon" I sighed. "I don't understand him anymore. We used to be friends. I used to feel like I knew him better than anyone else, even himself. He seems set on making me regret everything"

"I could tell you a lot of things to make you dislike him even more, Bella… In a way, that's what I want to do" he said. "But… He does care. Every time he makes a decision to protect Elena, you're in his mind too"

"In the back of it… I accepted that. It isn't that what bothers me. It's the fact that he's willing to risk everyone to save one. He's doing the same thing he did with Katherine and his plan of getting her out of the tomb. He's so focused on the final prize that he doesn't see the destruction he will be leaving on the way… Except there isn't a prize…"

"Katherine wasn't in the tomb and didn't want him" Edward mumbled. "And if Elena survives, he'll still be her boyfriend's sadistic brother that enjoys endangering people"

"Exactly" I sighed. "He would destroy a lot of things to get Elena safe and in the end he would be destroyed because she would still be with Stefan" I said. "That's why I need to put a stop to all of this"

"I will admit… If just you'd be safe, I would be more than happy, ignoring any outcomes… But I know you would never abandon them to deal with Klaus and… you need to do this"

"Thank you for understanding" I smiled.

"That's what husbands are for"

"We're not married yet" I giggled.

"I can't wait" he shrugged.

"Neither your sister" I chuckled. "She tortured me with planning. We have a date, place, dresses and bouquets picked. I leave the groomsmen choice to you"

"I already choose my best man" he said.

"Well, I was thinking… Stefan?" he nodded. "Jeremy? And Jazz"

"That seems good"

"And Alice said Rose plays piano very well…"

"Almost as well as me. Why?"

"Maybe she could play during the ceremony?" I asked hesitantly. "If she wants"

"I'm sure she'll be delighted to show her skills" he said and kissed my forehead. "You have your dress picked?"

"Yes"

"How is it?" he said and I arched an eyebrow. "Alice hasn't thought about it"

"Well, then you won't know until the ceremony" I grinned.

"I can get it from Elena's mind" he shrugged.

"Edward, don't" I warned. "I'll throw you across town if you do"

He chuckled and promised he wouldn't.

I just hoped my nights would be as peaceful as that until the wedding.