Thanks so much to Sri and Iris who have worked very hard to get this ready for you.

A little note for those of who're not outdoorsy in bear country: Bear bells are bells that backpackers put on their packs so they make constant noise and (hopefully) let bears know they are coming. Mike and Bella have them hanging on their door to alert them when a customer enters the shop.

Tanya walked Edward to the car. It may have been his arm around her, but she was the one guiding him. She'd known Edward a long time, and she'd always been the person he'd gone to when he needed an escape. She'd accepted long ago that her powers of seduction were never going to work on him, and their friendship had grown because of it.

Tonight, when he'd kissed her, she knew he'd come undone. As he walked beside her, she could feel him shake. She got him to the car and leaned him against it before she took his arm to lift it off her shoulder. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" She'd already asked this several times in her mind, and it'd gone unanswered. "Are you ignoring me, or are you ignoring everyone?" Her faint accent still poked through her English.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I don't... He told me to stay away from her... I can't... I can't..."

If she didn't know that it was impossible, she'd have sworn he was having a panic attack. "Edward, it's okay, darling. It's okay." She pulled his head down to her shoulder, and he turned into her. She smoothed his hair and patted his back until he started to settle down. "Do you hear her? She's calling a cab. Should we go now?"

He hesitated and started to pull away just as Mike and Bella came out into the parking lot. Edward froze.

"It's okay, darling. It's very dark out. They're not looking this way. Maybe if we don't move, they won't see you."

Edward rested his forehead against Tanya's. "Thank you," he whispered.

The operator had told her there was a cab two minutes away, and sure enough, moments after they stepped into the parking lot, one turned in, illuminating the entire lot, including a couple pressed against a Shelby Cobra that had previously been in the shadows.

"Hmm. Didn't know Edward had that in him." Mike pointed across the lot, where it looked to the casual observer that Edward Cullen had his beautiful girlfriend pushed up against the car.

Bella was sure that Mike was baiting her. He'd watched her a little too closely all night. She knew she shouldn't even look, but she couldn't help it. She wondered if Jasper could feel the jealousy that was coursing through her. In the dark, human eyes couldn't see that though their foreheads were pressed together, the only thing that passed between them was an intense conversation. She only let herself glance over, but she was sure of what she saw. Edward had told her the truth when he'd said his kind was easily distracted.

Out loud, she merely said, "I like her. I think she's good for him." She didn't let herself get choked up. It was the bitter truth.

"Come on, baby." Mike pulled Bella into the back seat of the cab, his words starting to slur together. "Whatta ya say about one for the road?"

Edward grimaced. He didn't know that Mike was asking for drunken breakup sex. He thought he was looking to get laid in the back of the cab. He wondered if Bella would do that. He thought about Bella doing that with him.

It was involuntary. The thought of having Bella publicly had his body reacting. He pulled away from Tanya, but it was too late.

"Is that for me?" Her tone and expression conveyed that she knew it wasn't. She took a risk and decided to tease him. "I'll let you call me 'Bella.'"

"That's not funny right now," he growled.

"Sorry." She was repentant. "I only offer because I know you'll say no."

He said nothing at first. He continued to look at Tanya while deep in thought. Eventually, he blinked once and then gave his head a small shake, as though he could dislodge a thought. "Get in the car."

The morning of Jessica's wedding was a busy one for Bella. She needed to open the shop, and then meet Jessica and the rest of the bridesmaids by 11. It was supposed to be Mike opening the store, since the groomsmen were meeting later, but it was six in the morning, and she was laying there awake. Any sleep she'd had the night before had been fitful.

She woke Mike up and told him she'd go in for him, that he could go back to sleep. She left him a glass of water and some Advil on his nightstand table should he need it.

As she showered she thought about the fact that this was her last weekend in the house. Tonight would be her last night in that bed. She'd gone to sleep on the couch when she told Mike they were done, but he told her there was no reason she shouldn't be comfortable. They'd slept side by side, in pajamas, and not touching the rest of the week. She had booked a hotel room for the next week. The only person she'd told was Jacob.

She watched Mike sleep as she put on her work clothes. A month ago, they would have both been exhausted from little sleep the night before. She wouldn't have had to kiss his forehead goodbye as he continued to sleep. They would have taken the entire weekend off to be together, enjoying the excuse of a friend's wedding to relax and have fun.

Bella was out the door by seven. She'd intended to go to the shop and waste time there, but she found herself driving out of town. She was halfway to Edward's house before she stopped and pulled over. She turned off the car and watched the rain beat down a hazy blanket over her windows. When she could no longer see outside, she closed her eyes and started to cry.

She leaned forward over her steering wheel and let the grief take over in a way she hadn't for a long time. She cried until she couldn't breathe and her stomach ached from the heaving sobs that wracked her body. She was aware of her passenger door opening, but she didn't have the strength to turn and see who'd joined her.

When she'd cried herself out, a small, cold hand reached out and held one of hers.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Bella didn't bother to lift her head. She just rolled it against the steering wheel so that her temple now rested against it.

"Why'd you come back? Edward said it was because of a feeling you'd had."

"It was. I just had a feeling that if we didn't come back something terrible would happen. I still don't know what it is. I still think if we left-"

"Are you leaving?"

"No. We don't want to. I want to be clear about that. But if we did, I think that whatever it is would still happen. I can't explain it any better than that, Bella."

"So you came. And something terrible happened anyway." Bella spat the words at Alice, her anger finally breaking through. "You left, your family left, your brother left. You all left me alone with this huge secret and an even bigger heartbreak. You all left me to deal with it on my own. And I did. It took me a long time, but I put you all behind me. I moved forward, and I created a new life. I was as happy as I could get. And then he came back. I let him into my life." Bella didn't realize she'd stopped talking about the Cullens as a whole, but Alice did. "I started to let him in here." Bella held her hand to her chest. "I ended my marriage."

Not many things surprised Alice, but this was one of them. "What?"

"I'm leaving Mike. I'm moving out tomorrow."

"Does he know?"

"Of course he knows."

Alice was confused. There was no way that Edward would have gone along with her plan last night if he'd known Bella was leaving her husband.

"Edward knows?"

Now Bella looked confused. "No. Mike knows. He knows I'm leaving him. We just need to get through being in Jessica's wedding together before anyone else knows."

"Why are you leaving him?"

Bella said nothing.

"Is it to be with Edward?"

"Mike and I want different things-"

"Is my brother what you want?" Alice was trying very hard to harness her glee.

"That doesn't matter anymore," Bella mumbled, twisting her head back down.

Alice grabbed her face and gently turned it back to her.

"That's everything, Bella. Everything."

"Alice, stop. I know what I saw last night. Edward says one thing to me, and then he says another. I can't trust him-"

"Go to him now. You need to have this conversation with him, not with me. I was going hunting with my family and the cousins for the weekend. I'll stay away from Edward, so he doesn't get this from me." Alice produced an old-fashioned lace handkerchief from her purse and started to wipe Bella's face.

"I need to go to work soon." Bella sat still while Alice mothered her.

"You have half an hour. Just go to him and tell him you want to talk. I'll stay away from him this weekend."

"I already told him that I wanted to talk to him on Sunday."

"Remind him." Alice leaned forward and kissed Bella's cheek softly, and then she was gone.

His door was open before she was out of the car. She walked to him, not bothering to cover herself from the rain. She'd be getting her hair done this afternoon anyway. Edward stood aside so that she could come in. She said nothing but couldn't help looking around for a sign of Tanya.

Edward watched Bella. He looked at her bloodshot eyes and guessed he was the cause of it. He watched her eyes land on his bed and knew who she was looking for. Her jealousy was obvious, and rather than buoy his hope, he felt impossibly ill.

"Bella, what did I tell you in the library? She's a friend."

"I heard you. And it looks like you listened to me when I said you should find someone." She stopped looking for evidence. How would she know without asking? "Did you sleep with her?"

Edward said nothing, but he looked away from Bella. He was going to push her one last time.

She saw the guilt in his eyes.

"Oh, my God… Did you fuck her?"

"Why does it matter to you if I had sex with her?"

"It doesn't!" she spat. "I'm the one who told you to make it something more."

"Then why are you so mad?"

"I'm not mad. I'm fine. I'm married."

"Exactly. You're married!" Both of Edward's hands flew to his head. He took a step to turn away but then turned around to face Bella, quickly settling himself down. This wasn't going to work. He'd promised her honesty. He wasn't going to get her to realize anything this way. "Wait. Stop. We're breaking the rules."

"What rules?"

"Listening to each other, no shouting. Let me tell you what happened. Okay?"

Bella took a deep breath and fought to calm herself down. He was right. "Okay."

"First, I did not have sex with her. I was tempted‒" He saw her flinch. "I'm so sorry, but I was. Do you want to know what she offered? She said I could call her 'Bella,' and I thought about it. She wasn't even being serious. How fucking pathetic is that? For a moment, I wanted to feel loved and desired, and it didn't matter if it wasn't really from you."

Bella said nothing, but she covered her mouth. She thought of the last time she was with Mike and how she'd imagined that it was Edward.

"I was desperate. Mike was watching all night. He's jealous and sees things that aren't there. He thinks you look at me a little too long and is worried that the problems in your marriage are pushing you to me."

"I thought you can't read his mind?"

"I can't. He was talking to Ben at the bar. He was watching you last night, to see how you reacted to Tanya. He's suspicious and looking for things. You weren't giving him anything, so he started to relax. Then you started dancing, and my guard dropped. I was watching you, and he saw it on my face. I saw it in his mind. My mask was off, and everything was on there. He saw. He warned me off you, as he should. If I didn't do something drastic, he was going to ask you not to spend time with me anymore. I didn't want that."

Bella nodded. They had so much they needed to talk about, but she couldn't right now.

"I need to talk to you. I have to go to work, but we need to talk. Are you going hunting with everyone, or will you still be here tomorrow?"

"I'll be here."

Bella nodded and then let herself out. Edward didn't know if he'd gotten through. Her walls were up again.

Bella unlocked the front door and was nearly back at the cash desk when the bear bells rang as the door opened. She turned around, surprised to see Carlisle walk in.

This fucking day, she thought to herself. There was no way he was here for supplies for the family hunting trip.

"Hello, Carlisle. I thought you were off hunting. Or did you want to try it the more traditional way?" She smiled and gestured to their back wall. "We've a wide array of guns and bows to meet your needs." She couldn't keep the sarcasm from sneaking through.

He'd heard about the night before. Rosalie had filled him in, and then Tanya had told him what Rose had left out. He hoped that Eleazar would be able to get through to her.

"No, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine."

"Oh, I've met Tanya!" she replied in a huff. She'd heard Edward. She hadn't had time to process it yet, though. She had things to get through first.

"Not Tanya. Eleazar."

"Why?"

"Curiosity. Eleazar can detect a vampire's gift. Given your ability to keep Edward out and the fact that you seem to be able to block Alice, I'm working on a theory that the bite may have enhanced a natural ability."

"I told you no tests, Carlisle." She was feeling petulant, because earlier this week, she'd realized that she needed Carlisle to figure out if she could be changed.

"It's not a test. I just want to satisfy an intellectual curiosity. I'll even leave while you chat. I have a feeling it may be enlightening for you."

"If it's to satisfy your curiosity, why are you leaving?"

"To make you feel more comfortable. You may get some answers. It's up to you if you want to share them."

"Won't Edward just read his mind?"

The door opened, cutting off Carlisle's answer. A man in a long brown jacket walked in. Bella felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She knew she wasn't in danger, but this man didn't pull off human quite as well as the Cullens did.

"He's away with my daughter at the moment. I'll be joining her later after he heads home." He spoke in a faint European accent Bella couldn't place. She suspected it was because it no longer existed.

"Bella, I'd like to formally introduce you to Eleazar, one of our Denali cousins. The rest of his family has joined ours in an extended hunting trip. Both families. Together." Carlisle downplayed Eleazer's potentially inflammatory insinuation. "Be nice," he warned his friend, quietly, on his way out.

"Well, if it isn't the infamous Bella Swan." Eleazar remained near the door.

Other than James, and briefly Laurent, it was the first time Bella had been alone with a vampire that wasn't a Cullen. She was terrified. She knew that Carlisle would never leave her with a threat, and she wasn't afraid of an attack. She was afraid of what he may tell her.

She said nothing, hoping her silence would protect her.

Eleazar watched Bella stare at him for a few moments while he took her in. It didn't take long before he had an answer. He let out a low whistle. "Carlisle was right, but he had no idea."

Bella continued to say nothing. She tilted her head slightly to the right. She realized she probably looked like a confused dog, so she decided to speak up. "What was he right about?"

Eleazar said nothing but came closer. "You are a shield. To see such a gift in a human is rare. When you first met Edward and he couldn't read your mind, Carlisle told me about you and his suspicions."

"Shield?"

"Yes. You can block other's gifts. In that case, Edward's mind-reading. But Carlisle tells me you've had an encounter with another vampire."

"Encounter? That's one way to describe it," she laughed humorously.

"I was being delicate. Sorry. I will speak more frankly, if you desire. You were bitten. You had venom in your system for a few minutes. I'm told that you've had some other physiological changes. Carlisle says you think you are now immune to venom?"

"Am I?"

Eleazar laughed. "I doubt it. I'm sure our venom is stronger than the human immune system. But I can see your shield is very strong. You can protect your mind. Your future…" Eleazar hesitated. "You wish me to continue to speak frankly?" Bella simply nodded, curiosity getting the better of her. "Your body. I suspect your immunity and infertility are a way of shielding you from microbial invaders. Or maybe it's just protecting you from things you don't want."

"Are you saying that I'm choosing to be infertile?"

"Do you want children, Bella?"

"No."

With that, Eleazaer smiled and moved his hands towards her. "It's an impressive gift for those details alone. But what's really extraordinary is what you're doing to your heart. I can sense your other defenses, but the one around your heart? I can practically see it shimmer. The Cullens fear that you are over Edward. Hell, you may think you are. But I see the fortification you've built around your heart. And I also see the little fissures. You are strong, but I'm not sure you're strong enough to resist this."

Eleazar turned and walked towards the exit. "Resist what?" Bella called after him.

"Who you were made for," he replied. Then he was gone.