Welcome to Chapter Four, Things Worth Dying For, of my Twilight fanfic, Evening Falls. I switched up the POVs in this chapter a bit because I wanted certain conversations shown from particular characters' viewpoints.

I want to thank you all for the reviews I've gotten - you guys have the best, most insightful comments that really make me feel like you're with me for the ride and I so appreciate it. It's going to be a long and bumpy one (the story is most definitely NOT ending with the wedding - lots of twists and action to come) so fasten your seatbelts. :D I'm glad to know that most people don't mind reviews responded to, so I will continue to do so...I enjoy reading what you all have to say and replying.

Please keep the comments coming - they inspire me. :)

Evening Falls

Chapter Four:

Things Worth Dying For

'what would you think of me now,
so lucky, so strong, so proud...'
I

Elisa:

I'd already double-checked the list six times, but just in case, and to kill time as I waited for Alice, I ran my fingers down the computer print-out a final time, checking each name against each addressed invitation, making sure there was one for each name on the list. Finally satisfied, I sat back in my chair in the dining room, carefully placing the addressed, stamped invitations in the box. Next to the box, there was a much smaller pile of left-over, blank invitations that Alice had asked me to save just in case last minute guest possibilities came up. I wondered if she might let me have one to keep as a souvenir. I was positive this was one day I'd want to remember forever.

"Hello, Elisa."

Edward's voice sounded from out of nowhere and I jumped in my seat as I realized he was standing right in front of me.

"Edward!" I put my hand over my pounding heart. "Can't you make a little noise or something before you come in?"

He shrugged, eyes sparkling in a way that made me suddenly feel flushed and a little too warm. "Sorry." His lopsided smile said he was anything but. "I just came to see how everything was going with the invitations."

"They're all done." I smiled at him. "Alice is going to take them to the post office in a few minutes. I'm just guarding them until then."

"Good, good." Edward's voice sounded a bit distant, as if he were thinking of something else. I watched him for a moment as he leaned against the table. His eyes were far away, as if he were considering something, then he looked back at me and smiled.

"How are you doing, Elisa?"

"Um..." I looked at him. Something was up, and I had the oddest feeling I should know what it was. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Just checking." His voice was vague and far away again. "I just wanted to know that everything was alright with you."

"Hmm." My voice was suspicious now as his eyes roamed the room, seeming to want to look anywhere but right at me. "You could always read my mind if you really wanted to know."

"Yes, but you don't like that." He pointed out.

Now I was really suspicious. "That never stopped you before." I frowned at him. "What do you want, Edward? I mean, really?"

At his expression my heart stopped for a moment, then resumed, beating a little faster than normal. No one could look innocent like Edward Cullen could. He was smiling at me again, his golden eyes looking into mine, and for a moment I was dizzy until I realized what he was doing. He was charming me, that conniving vampire, so I wouldn't ask any more questions. And I was totally falling for it! It took an immense effort but I tore my eyes away from him before I could start drooling, and forced my mind to work, trying to remember what it was that seemed so familiar to me about this whole scenario. It took a few moments, but then my eyes fell back onto the pile of blank invitations on the table, and suddenly it clicked.

"Oh no." I groaned as I looked up at Edward. "You're actually going to do it!"

"What?" His face was as innocent and charming as ever, but I wasn't falling for it a second time. Annoyed, I picked up a blank invitation and held it out to him. "I can't believe you're going through with this. You are such a glutton for punishment."

"I don't know what you mean." He was lying through his perfect, white teeth, looking at the invitation like he had no idea why I was trying to give it to him.

I scowled at him. "Inviting Jacob Black to your wedding is what, Edward. Why would you do that?" I shook my head in aggravation. "But if you insist on shooting yourself in the foot, go ahead and take the stupid invitation. And if you already snitched one, put it back. I have to account for all of these, you know."

Edward's face lost any pretense and he stared at me for a moment, looking wary. "Elisa, sometimes you absolutely terrify me. The things you know..."

I shrugged as I handed the invitation to him. "Well, you don't need to worry about that any more. This is it; pretty much the last bit of my advance knowledge. After this, I'm just as blind as the rest of you...well, exempting Alice, of course."

Edward studied me carefully for a moment. "I see." He paused for a moment. "So you don't know if Bella..." he hesitated again. "..if she..."

Realizing what he was trying to say, I shook my head. "If she goes through with it? If she becomes a vampire? No, I don't know." I looked up at him. "Even if I did, things change. Anything can change, no matter how hard you fight to keep it the way you want it." My own eyes were far away for a moment, remembering.

Edward started to say something else, but he stopped as Bella's voice sounded from the kitchen. "Elisa! Dinner's ready!"

With one final, narrow eyed look at Edward, I jumped out of my seat, careful to take the remaining invitations with me and started towards the kitchen.

"Elisa." Edward's voice stopped me in my tracks, and I turned to look at him. His expression was slightly anxious now, and my annoyance with him eased a bit despite myself.

"Don't worry, Edward." I sighed. "I'm not telling Bella."

He smiled at me now with more sincerity than he had during the whole conversation. "Thank you."

Before I could give in to my desire to tell him what an idiot he was being once more - I mean, really, who invites their bride's ex to their wedding? - Alice appeared in the doorway between the dining room and the kitchen, blocking my path. "I'll take those." She smiled at me as she took the invitations. "Thank you, Elisa. We'll get these out as soon as possible." She gestured for me to go back into the dining room. "Bella's bringing the food in here, so we can all sit down with you."

"You can all sit with me?" I frowned. "Why?" My eyes widened as Rosalie and Emmett, along with Jasper, entered the room. What was going on?

Esme came up behind me, startling me once more. If they kept doing that, I was going to die -again- from total heart failure. "So we can have dinner as a family, Elisa. Isn't that what your family did?"

I looked at Rosalie, whose expression said she thought this was as bizarre as I did. "But you don't eat." I pointed out, looking back at Esme.

Esme smiled. "I know that, sweetheart. But we want to give you as normal of a life as possible. We can't replace your family and I would never try, but we can adopt a few human rituals here and there."

"Oh." I took my seat at the table, thinking about that, not able to object any more as I saw the anxious expression on her face. It was really sweet of Esme to force the whole family to sit down together every evening just to make me feel more at home, but it was also kind of embarrassing...and really, really weird. Still, I wouldn't hurt Esme's feelings for the world, so I forced a smile on my face. I saw Edward's lips quirk as he too took a seat and knew he was not unaware of what I was thinking.

I turned to Bella, who was entering the room now with a spaghetti filled plate, which she set in front of me. "Bella, you're eating too, right?" I was unable to disguise the pleading tone in my voice. I needed company. If I had to sit at the table by myself with seven vampires listening to me chew, I'd be totally humiliated.

I could tell by the sympathetic way Bella looked at me that she knew exactly how I felt. "Alright." She sighed, turning back to the kitchen. "Just let me go get my plate."

"Done." Edward had sped from the dining room to the kitchen and back without either one of us even noticing, and he now handed her a full plate. She gave him a long look, which he returned with an amused grin, then shook her head and went to sit on the other side of me.

It was as awkward as I feared for the first few moments. Esme and Carlisle made casual conversation, mostly about the wedding, and Emmett cracked a few jokes, but most of us seemed to not really know what to say. Bella and I were trying to eat as quickly, and as quietly, as possible, and both of us barely spoke. This was definitely one human ritual I could do without...it wasn't quite the same without actual humans to do it with.

The conversation had dwindled, and then died into a stilted silence when I saw Rosalie suddenly straighten up in her seat, her eyes fastened on me. "Elisa?"

I tried not to choke on the mushroom in my mouth as she addressed me. Chewing and swallowing as fast as I could, I cleared my throat. "Yes?"

Rosalie looked at me for a moment before she spoke again, as if wondering about what she was going to say. "Why don't you want to be a vampire?"

I nearly choked again, despite the fact that there was nothing to gag on now. Boy, she just never beat around the bush, did she? To avoid answering for a moment, I took a long drink of milk, noticing as I did so that everyone was staring at me now, waiting for me to speak. My face flushed.

They were still waiting expectedly, and I couldn't put it off any longer. I looked at Carlisle. "I'll tell you, but before I do, can I ask you something? And do you promise to give me a honest answer, and not worry about scaring me or hurting my feelings or anything?"

Carlisle looked mystified, but he nodded. "Of course, Elisa."

"OK then." I kept my eyes on his face. "About me becoming a vampire..." I paused. "Is it the only way I can stay? If I don't, are you all eventually going to have to send me away, or leave me somewhere? I know you would do it to protect me, but I -" I swallowed hard. "I couldn't stand it. So if it's the only way I can be with you, I'll do it." I tried not to let my voice shake.

Several of the faces around me looked aghast at my words. Even Carlisle looked shocked for a moment before his face smoothed out again. "Of course you don't have to become a vampire to stay, Elisa. In fact, even if you wanted to, I would say no. You are far too young at this point, and since you're in perfect health, there is just no way I could justify it to myself. No, Elisa, you never have to be worried about being forced or coerced into immortality, I can promise you that."

Relaxing a bit, I smiled slightly. "Thank you." Then I blushed all over again. "I really don't think being a vampire is such an awful thing, if that's what you're thinking." Rosalie's eyes blazed as I spoke, and I flinched slightly, but forced myself to continue anyway. "But it's just that...well, I like to eat. A lot. I'd miss chocolate. And I used to like to dream... well, I guess I wouldn't miss that part so much anymore. Plus I really don't want to be this short forever - I'm kind of hoping I still have a growth spurt ahead of me. And..."

I knew I was patronizing them, giving them the most shallow of reasons, and that they could see right through me. I sighed. "OK, look. I don't deal well with pain. At all. Especially after my accident. And living forever - well, that's a tough deal. I think I would get..." I blushed more. "...lonely. I mean even if I had you guys, it wouldn't be the same as having...well..." I looked at Edward, knowing my face was scarlet. "I mean, I used to have this whole life plan. And even though my life is totally not where I thought it would be, that doesn't mean I have to completely give up on my future, right?"

Carlisle smiled at me, his face warm. "Of course not, Elisa. You have your entire life ahead of you. You can do whatever you want with it."

I smiled back. "Well, that's it. Now you know." I returned to my plate, feeling glad that the conversation was over, but my relief was short-lived as Emmett spoke.

"Hold up, kid." He grinned at me. "Now you've got me curious. What's this grand life plan of yours?"

Oh great. I'd been hoping no one would ask. My face bloomed all over again as I groaned. "Don't ask me that, Emmett! It's so...embarrassing!"

Across the table Alice laughed. "You shouldn't have said that, Elisa. Now you have to tell us. Come on, don't leave us in suspense."

"You're going to laugh." I grumbled as I stared at my plate. No one denied it...they just waited for me to speak. I gritted my teeth.

"OK, well, I want to finish school, of course, and go to college. I don't really know what I want to be yet. I used to want to be a dancer, or an actress, and I still kind of do, but now I think maybe I want to do something that isn't just about me. Something that helps people, but I haven't figured out what that is yet. And sometime between...I don't know, seventeen and twenty-one, I guess, I plan on finding the love of my life. Around twenty-five, I'll get married, and I'm going to have kids. I think I'd like a lot...like maybe four or five. It was just me and my brother growing up, and I love him, but we never had much in common, plus he and my dad were totally bonded. I used to feel like I didn't belong. It was hard sometimes, never really fitting in. I always thought if I had more brothers and sisters there would be someone that could be more than a sibling...that could be my friend, and that's what I want for my children.'

'So anyway, I'll raise my kids, and have a career, and shop a lot, and be kind of vain all through my thirties and forties. You know what I mean...I'll color my hair, do a little Botox, and lie about my age. Then, somewhere about fifty, I'm just going to let it all slide, go gray, gain about forty pounds, because I think it's important to be huggable when you're a grandma, and bake cookies all day. And I'll retire, and spoil my grandkids until my children get mad at me and travel the world with my husband until I die peacefully in my sleep. So that's it...that's the big plan. Go ahead and laugh." I folded my arms defiantly.

Emmett did chuckle a bit, but it was Esme who leaned forward to speak. "Actually, I think that's a wonderful plan, Elisa." She smiled at me. "And I promise you, sweetheart, that we will do everything in our power to make sure that you have the kind of life that you should have had in the first place."

"Thank you." I was touched by her words, but still embarrassed, and extremely ready to move on to another topic. As I tried to think of one, I saw Edward staring at me out of the corner of my eye. Unable to help myself, I looked him full in the face, my embarrassment changing to indignation when he didn't stop looking at me.

"What?" I snapped, fully prepared for his sure to be mocking words.

"I'm just thinking..." He didn't look away. "I think I owe you an apology, Elisa. You are far more mature than I gave you credit for."

"Oh." I said, non-plussed. "Well...thanks, I guess. It's kinda ironic how dying young makes you grow up fast, don't you think?"

For a moment there was a shocked silence. I looked at Carlisle and Esme and saw they were both looking back at me with something near worry on their faces. I gave them a small smile. "That was a joke. I've been known to make them from time to time."

"Of course." Carlisle recovered first, his expression smoothing into a calm, unruffled one. "We were just a little surprised. Elisa, we know what a hard time you're having. You don't need to put on a front with us."

I looked down for a minute and then back up into his concerned eyes. "I know I don't, and I'm not. I'm never going to be OK with what happened to me. I'm never going to get over it what it must have done to my family. But Rosalie was right about what she said to me the night I came back. I can't pretend it didn't happen, that there's going to be some kind of miracle that changes it, and neither can any of you. I have to make my peace with it somehow." I sighed, hoping we wouldn't have to get any deeper into this topic either. I'd almost rather go back to talking about my personal hopes and dreams; see how red my face could get before it actually melted off.

Across the table, Emmett grinned at me. "That's our tough girl. Energizer Elisa...she takes a licking and just keeps on ticking!"

"Emmett!" Esme looked horrified. "That is so insensitive!"

After she said that, I bit my lip, trying to keep myself under control, but then I saw Rosalie's lips quirk and that was enough to set me off. I burst into unwitting giggles, and when I caught Emmett's eye, his face somewhere still between amusement and worry that he'd gone too far, he stared at me for a moment and then began to laugh as well. Rosalie turned away from us but I could have sworn she was fighting hard to keep her own face straight. Everyone else stared, and Carlisle and Esme looked worried all over again, which was understandable considering the note of hysteria in my laughter, but I'd always had a somewhat grim sense of humor. Besides, it was my own untimely demise - I'd laugh about it if I wanted to.

When I thought that, I saw Edward's lips twitch too and then he determinedly looked away from us as well, keeping his eyes on Bella. I sobered as I realized how serious her face was...like she wasn't paying attention to the current conversation at all, but was a million miles away. I wondered if I had said something to upset her.

I looked up to see Emmett watching me, his topaz eyes a little concerned now that I wasn't laughing any longer, and I gave him a small smile.

"Hey, can you all do me a favor?" I looked around the table, not wanting the mood to turn dark and serious again. I didn't know how much more darkness I could take.

"What's that, Elisa?" Esme looked at me.

I grinned. "If sometime in the next ten years or so, I get hit by a train or piss off something else that's really big and deadly and I'm mortally injured, forget everything I said tonight and bite me anyway. I'm so over this whole dying before my time thing."

This time the laughter at the table was more whole-hearted, and nearly everybody joined in.

"Sure, Elisa." Alice said, rolling her eyes and smiling. "I guess we could think it over, anyway."

I smiled and took the last bite of my spaghetti. "That's all I ask."

And with that, my first dinner with the Cullens came to a close.

Edward:

"Are you tired, Bella?" My voice was amused as I looked down at her. We were curled up on the couch in the living room, supposedly watching a movie, but if you'd asked me what the title was or what it was about, I would not have been able to tell you, and I had a feeling she wouldn't have been able to either. I'd spent the last hour and a half lost in my own thoughts, and the feeling of her in my arms.

Bella opened her eyes and lifted her head off my chest to smile at me. "No. I'm just thinking."

"About what?" I touched her face gently.

She hesitated just a moment too long before speaking. "Nothing much. Just about how fast the time is going."

"Hmmm." I knew by the tone in her voice that she was holding something back, but I played along anyway, letting my fingers play with hers, slipping around her hands as my fingers found the ring on her left finger and caressed it gently. "It's less than a month away now."

Bella tensed slightly. "I know." Her voice was flat now, and beginning to feel alarmed, I gently pushed her into a sitting position, turning her so I could look directly into her face.

"Bella, what is it?" For a moment she didn't answer, and if my useless heart had still been able to beat, it would have pounded. "Is it really such a horrible thought, marrying me?" Despite myself, I was unable to hide the worry in my voice.

To my relief, Bella laughed, and then moved closer to me to put her head on my shoulder. "No, of course not!" Her eyes sparkled up at me, but then darkened when I continued to stare at her.

"Edward..." Her voice was softer now. "You gave me an out, remember? You told me that I didn't have to go through with it, that you'd give me everything I wanted from you anyway and I said no. I want to marry you. You know that, don't you?"

I exhaled, allowing my body to relax. "It is nice to hear every once in a while." I admitted ruefully.

Bella chuckled again. "You'd think after all this time, you'd be over these little insecurities." Whether she meant my time with her, or my time on this earth in general, I couldn't be sure, and before I could ask, she sat up again.

"I have to go. I promised Charlie I'd be home to cook dinner tonight. I've left him to fend for himself for too long - I'm surprised he hasn't ended up in the emergency room with food poisoning." She touched my face lightly, then gently extracted herself from my reluctant hands and stood up.

"I'll come with you." I stood up as well.

Bella smiled at me but shook her head. "I think Charlie wants to spend a little time alone with me." Suddenly she sighed. "And we don't have a lot of time left so..." She didn't finish.

"Bella." I reached out to stop her as she began to move. "Is that what's bothering you? You've been so quiet all day. I know there's something on your mind. Tell me, please!"

Bella turned back to me, looking hesitant, then she sighed again. "I tried to call Renee again today before I came over."

"Oh." I ached for her. "She didn't answer the phone again?"

"No, she did." Bella stared at the ground, her voice a mumble now. "As soon as she heard my voice, she hung up."

I felt a flash of fury as I mentally cursed her mother's unrelenting stubbornness. Didn't she have any concept of how much she was hurting her daughter? Didn't she care?

"Bella, I'm so sorry." I put my hand under her chin, taking care, as I always did, to be as gentle as possible as I lifted her face so I could look her in the eyes again. "Maybe I can try -"

Bella was shaking her head before I finished the sentence. "No. It won't make a difference. I've tried everything I can. If this is her decision then...there's nothing I can do. I can only open the door - I can't force her to walk through it."

I could. I thought to myself grimly. Of course Bella probably wouldn't appreciate the methods I'd use to do so. I let the dangerous thoughts die as Bella turned to pick up her purse off the coffee table.

"Let me drive you at least." I told her as we walked to the front door.

Bella smiled at me again, a bit of the sadness in her eyes vanquished. For a moment, she looked tempted, then she shook her head. "Don't be silly. I'll see you in a few hours. You will come tonight, won't you?"

"Try to keep me away." I lowered my head and pressed my lips to hers for just a second, pulling away before I gave in to the impossibly strong urge to do more.

I stood in the doorway, watching her truck disappear down the drive, staying there until her brakelights were completely out of sight, and then I turned and went back into the house. I would have pressed the issue of driving her home, knowing it wouldn't have taken much to get her to give in, but there was something else I had to do tonight, a conversation that I'd put off long enough. I stood in the living room for a moment, opening my mind, letting each and every random thought from every person inside rush into my consciousness, sifting and sorting until I found what I was looking for.

Elisa...she was in the library, but her mind...it was a hundred years away, lost in turn of the century England, in dusty garrets and evil headmistresses and fairy tales that really did come true. I turned that way, my footfalls silent until I neared the doorway, then, knowing she wouldn't appreciate it if I startled her again, I deliberately made them loud enough for her to look up from the book she was absorbed in as I entered.

"Hi, Edward." She smiled at me as she lowered the book. "Where's Bella?"

"She went home for dinner. I'll see her later." I responded, watching her. It had been over two weeks since the dinner where Elisa had told us about her life plan, and I'd been thinking about it ever since. Despite all my planning, I was wary. I was going to have to watch what I said to her very carefully. Elisa had already shown a disconcerting tendency to see through my pretenses nearly as well as if she'd been a member of our family for years. If I didn't handle this just right, she was bound to fly off the handle or worse...she'd tell Bella what I was attempting, and the thought of my fiancee's resulting fury was enough to make my immortal self quake in my shoes.

"So, Elisa...you're fifteen." I made my voice deliberately casual as I eased over to stand next to her.

"Um...yeah." She looked at me, her eyebrows raised. "What about it?"

"Well, I was just thinking." I smiled at her blandly as I sat on the couch next to her. "Isn't that about the age where you should be learning new things? Like...how to drive?"

Elisa looked a little confused, then suddenly sad. "Yeah, I guess. I was supposed to take driver's ed this year back home." She sighed.

"We do have driver's ed here too." I pointed out, keeping the fake smile fixed firmly on my face. "However...it's not quite the same without a car of your own to learn with, don't you think?"

Elisa's eyebrows shot up now. "What are you getting at?" she demanded. Great...she was already suspicious. It was just my luck to be surrounded by far too insightful females. Still, I plunged forward anyway.

"Well...I was considering buying you one." I let my smile widen. If there was ever a time I needed to dazzle someone, as Bella called it, this was it.

For a moment it seemed to be working. Elisa's eyes widened as they looked into mine, and her face flushed slightly. For a moment she was silent, just staring, then she tore her gaze away. Her face tightened and before she spoke, her thoughts let me know the game was up.

"You'll buy me a car if I do what?" She folded her arms across her chest, giving me a hard stare.

"Nothing much." I said. "Just...have one little conversation with Bella for me." I beamed at her. "That's all."

She wasn't softening. Her arms tightened around her chest and she straightened up. "A conversation about what, exactly?"

I dropped the pretense. "About what you said a couple of weeks back. About your life plan. All those things you want to do...grow up, have children, die in peace, with your soul intact...remind her that she could have those things too. Tell her what she's giving up. Please."

Elisa sucked in her breath, then she glared at me, the heat of her anger palpable. "Edward Cullen...you suck." she hissed.

"Technically, I bite." I pointed out.

"Not the point." She spat, her voice rising. "Did you really think you could buy me off so easily?"

I sighed, my shoulders slumping. "It's a car. If you'd been any other teenager, you'd have run with it."

"Yeah, well, I'm not. What the hell is wrong with you?" Elisa jumped to her feet. "I just don't get you!"

I stood up too, but I couldn't get a word in edgewise - she was off and running at the mouth.

"I mean, you have everything!" She whirled to face me. "You have what everyone, whether they are mortal, or vampire, or werewolf, or whatever, wants! You have someone that you love more than life, someone who loves you back just as much, and she wants to be with you forever. And you just mope around like that's such a tragedy, and you try so hard to give it away! Why?" She put her hands on her hips, her eyes furious as they looked at me.

"Because it will kill her, Elisa!" The words came out louder, with more despair then I'd intended, and she froze, staring at me. "In order to be with me, she has to die. And I promised her I'd do it, and I will...I will take her life if that's what she wants in the end. But before it's too late, I have to try and save her. I have to do this because I love her enough to want her to live, even if it's without me."

Elisa's face was gentle now, almost sad, as she looked at me. "But Edward..." Her voice was just a whisper now. "She'd die without you. You have to know that by now."

I sat back down, and put my head in my hands. There were more words I could say, words that might make her understand, but I could not bring myself to say them. I just sat there for a long moment, in bleak silence until I felt Elisa sit down next to me.

"Edward..." Her voice was slightly pleading now. "I'm sorry for what I said, about you wanting to throw it all away. I guess I do understand what you're trying to do. But Bella has already made her choice. It's not right to try to guilt her out of it. She'll never change her mind and you know it."

"I should have walked away from her that first day and never come back." I whispered, almost to myself. "Look what I've condemned her to. An eternity without a soul."

Elisa stiffened and I saw out of the corner of my eye that she was giving me another ferocious glare. "How can you say that? How can you honestly say that you don't have a soul? Without a soul, how could you love as much as you do? And how do you know that vampires are so condemned anyway? I mean, I'm not super religious or anything but I believe in God and He created everything, didn't He? How do you know you're not part of the plan?"

I looked up at her, knowing my eyes and my face had gone cold. "Elisa, you are hopelessly naive."

"Maybe you're just hopelessly stubborn!" She snapped back.

That one was hard to argue with. We spent the next few minutes in stiff, awkward silence before I turned to her once more. "Elisa, please. Whether you think it's the right thing or not, just talk to her. I'm begging you."

Elisa was quiet for a long moment, then she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Edward, but I can't. I don't want to be a vampire, but if I was in Bella's shoes, everything would be different." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I'd do it. In a heartbeat. Because some things are worth dying for."

I shook my head. "You're wrong. You're young, and romantic, and naive, and you're so wrong." My voice was even lower than hers.

"I'm wrong?" Her voice was sharp, but not angry now, and it caught my attention again. "Then tell me, Edward, if the situation was reversed, if Bella was the vampire and you were the human, what would you do?" She watched my face for a long moment, then smiled. "That's what I thought."

I stood up, ignoring that last statement. "Well, I guess that's it, then. I gave it my best shot.' I looked down at her. "Is there anything I can say to make you change your mind?"

Elisa shook her head, still smiling. "Nope, sorry, Edward. I am totally on Team Bella Gets Vamped."

I watched her for a moment, and my eyes widened. "You're lying."

Elisa's jaw dropped slightly and she stared at me, looking shocked. "What? No, I'm not!"

"You are." My voice held surprise. "Elisa, I can read your mind, even those thoughts that you don't want to face yourself. You don't believe what you're saying. You have doubts."

"I -" She looked entirely unsettled. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Yes, I do." I made my voice quiet, and I stepped in front of her as she tried to leave the room. "Elisa, you understand what I'm saying better than you're letting on. Please talk to her...not for my sake, but for hers. Please tell her how you really feel."

"No!" Elisa looked angrier at me than she'd had during the entire conversation. "I'm not doing it, Edward! Leave me alone or I'll..." she stopped for a moment, sputtering impotently.

"You'll what?" My own temper was rising now at her pig-headedness and I continued to block her way. "I think I have you at just a bit of a disadvantage here."

Elisa was speechless for a moment, then suddenly she smiled wickedly, startling me. "Oh, I'm not going to do anything..." she murmured sweetly, then, before I could register what she was planning, she turned towards the door. "Emmett!"

I was torn between anger and amusement as my brother appeared within a half a second, filling the doorway and looking from me to Elisa with confusion on his face. "You called, Elisa? What's up?"

Elisa took a deep breath, and I was stunned to see that her chin was trembling, her eyes downcast. "It's Edward." she sniffled, looking absolutely helpless and pathetic, even to my cynical eyes. "He's being mean to me."

Emmett didn't even question her, and despite myself, I had to admire her ingenuity as he turned to me, protective big brother vibes shooting off of him as he scowled. "Alright, Edward. I'm going to give you a choice. Which arm do you want me to rip off?"

"I don't want you to fight him." Elisa said hastily, her voice slightly alarmed now. "I just want you to make him leave...please?" She batted her eyes angelically. Oh, this kid was good...diabolically good.

"Thank you, Emmett!" Elisa sang out as she watched me being manhandled towards the door. She winked at me as I shot one final look at her and her thoughts came through as clear as day. 'Sorry, Edward, but you've been outdone this time. I do have my own God given talents after all...statuesque and sexy may have passed me by but being little and cute really comes in handy sometimes.'

I laughed about it to myself after Emmett had let me go with a growled warning as I headed down the hallway, decided to go out on a quick hunt to release the rest of my pent up frustrations before I made my way to Bella's window. Emmett had been right all along. Elisa was far tougher than she looked. She was also stubborn, tempermental, manipulative, and impulsive...she was going to fit into our family just fine. If she survived the experience, that was...

Elisa:

As I put the book away on the bedside table in my borrowed bedroom, I thought over the conversation I'd just had with Edward, and I couldn't help the smug smile that curved my lips. I supposed I really should have felt guilty for setting Emmett on his brother like that, but Edward had so had it coming. Trying to use me like that, accusing me of lying, pulling that 'I'm all powerful and you're helpless before me' bit...he was just so irritating sometimes! He thought he knew everything, that he was always right and the rest of us, especially Bella, were just pieces to be moved on the chessboard at his discretion. I should totally tell her. She'd let him have it, I was positive of that. It would be a long, long time before he tried a stunt like that again when she was through with him.

But I wouldn't tell her, as tempting as the desire was at the moment. A much stronger need - the need to see them together, see them happy and invincible for all of eternity - trumped that. It was stupid, I knew...Edward and Bella didn't need some overly dramatic fangirl trying to protect their relationship, but I couldn't help it. After all I'd already done, I wasn't about to cause them any more strife.

"Elisa!" I jumped as someone knocked on the door frame, looking up to see Alice standing there. "Esme says dinner is ready."

"Thanks." I turned to follow her downstairs. Alice watched me as we walked down the massive staircase, her face casual.

"Jasper and I are going hunting in a few minutes. Do you need anything before we go?"

I shook my head, relieved that Esme had given up on the idea of family dinners, content now just to let me eat at the kitchen counter by myself again. "I'm good."

"Yes, you are." I looked at her, surprised by the amusement in her tone. "You're very good, Elisa. I think even Edward was impressed." She was grinning now.

"Oh." I scratched my nose, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "You overheard that, did you? I guess there's no such thing as secrets in a houseful of vampires."

"Not really, no." Alice laughed lightly as we entered the kitchen. "It's nice to know you can hold your own. Edward can be...a bit overwhelming at times. Anyway, I'll see you in the morning, Elisa. We need to take your measurements as soon as possible."

"My measurements for what?" I asked, surprised, but she was already gone. I shrugged, sitting down at the counter in front of the plate of food that Esme had already placed there. "Thank you." I told her, and she smiled at me, then left the room.

As I took the first few bites, Emmett walked into the room, followed closely by Rosalie, and walked over to the counter immediately. I looked at him, and what he was holding, in surprise.

"Check it out, Elisa! Rosalie and I went shopping." He indicated the stack of brightly printed, cardboard boxes in his arms. "We got every game known to man. OK, maybe just every game in the store, but you know what I mean. Scrabble, Uno, Monopoly, Life, Battleship, Parcheesi...pick one, and we'll play as soon as you're done eating."

"Um.." We'd play? As in the three of us? I tried to picture Rosalie putting tiny blue and pink pegs in a plastic car and failed miserably. But Emmett was still looking at me expectantly, his face hopeful, and I couldn't stand to let him down, especially after what he'd done for me earlier. I eyed the games speculatively, then pointed at the one in the middle. "Monopoly."

"Excellent." Emmett put the stack on the counter, then hopped onto the stool next to me. Rosalie stood across from us, leaning against the sink, and watched us silently, her beautiful face impassive.

"Mrs. Haversham called again today." Esme announced, coming back into the room. "She was very excited to be the first person, outside of Charlie and the wedding party, of course, to get an invitation. She talked my ear off about it. She also says Mr. Giggles is doing very well and thrilled to be back home."

"That's good." I drained my glass of lemonade, then spoke again. "I miss him, but I'm glad he's happy again."

Rosalie made a face. "I don't miss that insidious little beast. He was horrible; noisy, vicious, and he peed on my favorite shoes. To think I used to love cats when I was human, too. I had the most beautiful Turkish Angora." She sighed.

I jumped off the stool to get more lemonade, going to the refrigerator and taking out the glass pitcher. "Mr. Giggles wasn't so bad." I smiled. "If you think he was awful, you should have seen my cat back home. He had serious behavioral issues for a long time...I thought Dad was going to purposefully run him over with the car someday and pretend it was an accident. One time - " I froze mid-sentence, my fingers closing convulsively hard on the pitcher. For a moment I was stiff, wide-eyed, and then I tried again. "One time - " I couldn't do it. The words wouldn't come. Why? What was happening now?

"Elisa?" Esme's voice was alarmed as she stared at my surely gray face. "What is it? What's wrong?" Rosalie and Emmett were staring at me too.

I couldn't speak for a moment. The pitcher slipped from my fingers and crashed, shattering all over the floor at my feet. My throat felt like it was closing up, my breath coming in gasps as I struggled for air. Dimly, I was aware of a flutter of motion, and that Carlisle had come from no where to stand beside me, but it didn't matter. "I can't remember his name." I whispered. "I can't remember my cat's name!"

"Elisa, your cat's name was Snickers. You told us that when you were here before. Don't you remember?" Esme's voice was worried.

"Snickers." I whispered. "Yes, I remember now." But... I closed my eyes, reaching for the memories, picturing him in my mind, then my family, recalling their faces one by one. I was terrified to realize how distant the visions felt, how hazy, like it had been months and months since I'd seen them all instead of weeks. I struggled, reaching out for them, for everyone I had left behind, but they were so far away...

"I'm forgetting!" I choked out, my eyes flying open. "I'm forgetting it all, my cat, my friends, my family, my whole life! It seems like it was so long ago...everything is fuzzy, like I dreamed it or it happened ages and ages ago. Why? Why is this happening to me?" I stared at Carlisle with pleading eyes, hoping that he would have some answer for me that would make it all stop.

I saw everyone exchange alarmed looks as I got more and more upset, and then Carlisle put cool, restraining fingers on my arm, stilling me. "Elisa...you're no longer part of that world. It would make sense that you're losing all your ties to it. I'm so sorry."

I turned away from his calming voice, stumbling towards the doorway, my face hot with the tears that were streaking down it. Esme came towards me, her arms outstretched, but I flinched away, hanging on to the doorsill to stay upright, my breath more ragged than ever.

"Elisa, I know how hard this is, but you must calm down." Carlisle's voice was insistent as he came close to me once more. "Jasper isn't here to help you - I'll have to get you a sedative if you can't relax. Do you think you need one?"

Numbly, I shook my head, my fingers digging hard into the doorframe as I struggled to control my breath and slow the stream of tears down my face. "I'll be - " My voice was nothing more than the thinnest whisper. "I'll be fine. I promise. I just need to be alone right now. I'm sorry." And with that, I stumbled out of the kitchen and ran up the steps to Alice's room, throwing her door open and closed again behind me. I threw myself on the bed, burying my face in the pillow to muffle my sobs and praying that for once they would heed me and not follow...

Awareness came slowly back, creeping around me in the dark and nudging me awake. I opened my eyes reluctantly. I never thought I'd be able to sleep but the stiffness of my limbs told me that I had, and apparently for hours. I was still in my clothes, but someone had thrown a light blanket over me and removed my shoes - probably Esme. I lay there in silence for a moment, wondering how late it was and then realizing I didn't care in the least. I stared upwards, at the ceiling I could barely see, realizing now that I had dreamt. Dreams of my family, my mother, father, and Colby, their faces floating in and out of my head, me running after their far away, distant figures, begging them not to leave me behind, over and over and over again.

There was a barely perceptible shift next to me, a luminous figure detaching them from the shadows as they moved in the rocking chair next to the bed, and I gasped, sitting up.

"Esme?" I put a hand over my pounding heart.

"No." The low voice came out of the darkness, and I instantly realized my mistake, for I could see her now. Rosalie, her hair and translucent skin lit up by the moonlight streaming in through the windows. She went to stand as I stared at her. "I'll get her."

"No! It's OK. It's just that I thought...well, she sits in here with me a lot when she thinks I don't know." I managed a slight smile, forced as it felt.

"I know." Rosalie looked at me. "Carlisle had to talk her out of it tonight. I would have left you alone as well, but you were so restless. I thought you must be having nightmares." Her voice was tentative.

"I was." I whispered. "Thank you."

Rosalie shrugged. I continued to watch her in the gloom, as she set the book she'd apparently been reading back down on the bedside table. I recognized it instantly as the book I'd found in the library earlier and had been reading all night.

"A Little Princess." I whispered as she followed my gaze. "I used to love that book so much when I was little."

Rosalie smiled slightly. "I did as well." she admitted.

"Oh. Is this yours?" I blushed a little. "Sorry, I guess I should have asked."

Rosalie smiled a little bit more now. "It doesn't matter. I know it by heart...there's really no need to read it now. It's just...sentimental, I suppose."

I nodded, knowing she could see me far more clearly than I could see her, and then I scooted back, so that I was still sitting up, but leaning against the headboard. We were both quiet for a moment, but it was a comfortable quiet, not one of the tense silences that usually lingered between us.

After a long moment, she spoke again. "Are you alright, Elisa?"

"No." My response was immediate, uncensored. Somehow, I just could not bring myself to lie to her.

"I didn't think so." Her voice maintained that same careful tone. She paused for another lingering moment before speaking once more. "I'm sorry for what is happening to you."

"It's not fair." I whispered, struggling not to break down once more. "The universe already took my family and my life. Now it wants my memories too? What's going to be left to take when it's done with me?"

Rosalie turned her head to look at me more fully. "It will be easier for you, Elisa, forgetting. Kind oblivion swooping in to take all the pain away. Wouldn't you prefer that?"

"No!" My voice was a hiss now. "I won't let myself forget! I don't care how hard it is to hold on or how much it hurts. It will hurt my family forever to think of me. How can I do anything less for them?"

Rosalie stood up then, and I thought she was leaving. Surprise shot through me as she came closer to the bed, then sat down on it, next to me. "Forcing yourself not to let go, when everything in this world seems to be conspiring against you, to take it all away whether you're willing or not, is a very hard road to choose, Elisa. The pain, the memories of everything you've lost, that is a burden only the strongest can bear."

I turned to look at her lovely profile. "Like you." I whispered.

Her answering smile was deeper than any she'd ever given me before. "Yes. And you."

I pondered that as the minutes ticked by. Rosalie seemed perfectly content to sit quietly beside me, nearly motionless except for her almost imperceptible breathing, as I let my mind wander over everything that had happened that evening.

Finally, I gathered my courage and spoke again. "Rosalie?" I stopped, unsure of my words, then forced myself to begin again when she looked at me, eyebrows slightly raised. "I'm really sorry about what happened to you too. At least for me it was quick."

Rosalie was frozen, silent for a moment, and I regretted my careless words. But when she spoke, her voice wasn't any cooler...it was the same, unruffled tone it had been before. "I should have known that you would know my story." She looked at me. "It's alright. I won't say I'm over it - you would know better than anyone what a lie that is. But I've learned to accept, if not forgive. You will as well."

I did understand that all too well. I thought of Scott now, seeing his face as he raised his weapon, gun aimed at my heart. I remembered his mocking words, his threats, what he had said that had brought me out of my safe haven and into his line of fire and I realized, somewhere deep in the screaming darkness and nightmares of the past weeks, that I had learned to hate. No, I would never forgive, even if it gave me peace, even if it made me a better person. Hating him was my right, and I wouldn't deny myself.

These thoughts led to more questions for the only person in the world that I realized could really understand. "Rosalie?" I didn't let myself pause this time - if she got angry, I'd understand, but I had to ask anyway. "When you killed those men that hurt you, did it make it better?"

Rosalie exhaled deeply, but she didn't seem surprised, nor upset, at my question. "I suppose the simplest answer to that, Elisa, is that it filled one hole and created another. Still, if I had to do it over again, I'd do the same thing and accept my small penance as the punishment I deserve. I'd hurt them...I'd rejoice in their screams just like I did before, slaughter each and every single one of them, then dance on their graves. It was the only path I could take, the only way I could move on, the only justice I would ever get."

"I understand." My voice was a low murmur, but she heard it anyway.

"You know what, Elisa? I believe you actually do." Rosalie was staring ahead now, into the darkness. Many more minutes passed before she looked at me once more. "It's late. You really do need to rest. Alice has a lot of plans for you tomorrow." She moved off the bed and I sat up in alarm, not wanting to be left alone.

Despite my sudden fear, I wasn't going to ask her to stay, but Rosalie seemed to read my expression clearly. She hesitated, then turned away from the doorway and picked up A Little Princess and took it back to the rocking chair, sitting down. "My mother used to read this to me when I was a child, every single night. Sometimes she begged me to pick something different, anything else...she was so tired of it, but I never let her. Would you like me to read to you, Elisa?"

"Yes." I whispered gratefully, sliding back down on the pillows slightly and pulling the blanket back over me.

Rosalie smiled at me once more then opened the book, not needing any other light but the moon that illuminated her perfection so well. Her golden voice was captivating, sweeping me away instantly into another world once more as she began to read.

"Once, on a dark winter's day, when the yellow fog hung so thick and heavy in the streets of London that the lamps were lighted and the shop windows blazed with gas as they do at night, an odd-looking little girl sat in a cab with her father..."

I let myself get lost in the story once more, falling into it as I would fall into the deepest, dreamless slumber, but before I was completely under its spell, one small, rather unwelcome thought reared its head, forcing me to acknowledge it.

Edward had been right. I hadn't been honest with him earlier when I told him, without reservations, that I wanted Bella to become a vampire. He wasn't exactly right about the doubts he thought I was having though, but there was something that I could not get past, and now, with everything that had happened this evening giving me new knowledge, I realized what it was.

And whether I wanted to or not, I was going to have to talk to her after all.

Bella:

Edward opened the front door before I even knocked, smiling at me with that crooked grin that never failed to take my breath away. For a minute, I forgot what I was doing and I just stood there, staring dumbly at him, until he raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going to stand here all day or are you coming in?" He reached out to touch my face, then down for my hand, tugging me over the doorway and into the foyer. "Alice is waiting upstairs for you. She wanted you to be the one to break the big news to Elisa."

I smiled reluctantly as I walked with him. "Always one for the dramatics, that Alice." My fingers tightened around his. "I'm sorry I had to make you leave so soon this morning. I didn't expect Charlie to want to have a heart to heart so early."

Edward smiled more brightly now. "How did that go, anyway?"

I rolled my eyes. "Awkwardly. The gist of it was, he wanted me to know, again, that if I thought I was making a mistake and wanted to call off the wedding, it was alright with him." I sighed, then smiled. "But then he said that if I really had my heart set on going through with it, he was happy for me. And I think he actually might have meant it. A little. That's something, isn't it?"

Edward reached down to frame my face with his large hands, his eyes tender. "That's definitely something. From Charlie, that's rather earth-shattering, actually."

"I know." We were stopped now, at the foot of the grand staircase, face to face. I put my hand over his cool one, still resting on my cheek. "Maybe with a little more luck like that, Renee just might come around after all."

"Perhaps." Edward agreed, but his eyes were cautious now. I understood - he didn't me to get my hopes up. I didn't really either, when it came to that.

As I watched him, Edward suddenly lifted his head as if someone had called his name. Then he gazed back down at me, his smile back. "Go on upstairs and see Alice. I'll be right there...Carlisle wants to talk to me about some of our plans for after the wedding."

I wanted to ask him what plans, specifically, but he was looking away from me now, in the direction of the dining room where Carlisle must have been waiting for him. Reluctantly, I pulled myself away. "Alright, but hurry. Once Alice gets her claws into me, she's liable to drag me into some matrimonial duty, like cake tasting, and I won't get to see you for the rest of the day."

"Horrors." He looked as aghast as I was sure I did for a moment, then his lips twitched. "I promise, I'll be right there."

I walked up the staircase alone, realizing as I reached the second floor that I wasn't exactly positive where Alice was. I didn't have to wonder long though...as I looked up and down the hallway I saw her, standing framed in the doorway of her bedroom with her back turned to me, seeming intent on something that was going on inside. Curious now, I came up behind her. "Alice, what - " I stopped as I looked over her shoulder, no longer needing to ask what it was that she was staring at. Elisa and Rosalie were perched on the edge of the neatly made bed, bent over something that was lacy and covered with tiny pearls, something that I recognized immediately as my wedding dress. The bodice was in Elisa's lap and she was bent over it in intense concentration, a threaded needle pinched in her fingers. Rosalie was instructing her carefully on exactly what to do with it, directing its every movement in a voice that was gentler than I'd ever heard from her before.

Alice was looking at me now, and when I caught her eye, she shrugged. "I know." She whispered. "I can barely believe it myself but I think they've...bonded." She stared at them again.

"What are they doing with my dress?" I whispered back, stupidly, because I knew full well Rosalie could hear my every word even if Elisa couldn't.

Alice sighed now, and her voice returned to its normal volume. "Some of the bodice stitching was a little bit looser than I'd like. I asked Rosalie to re-do it. She's an excellent seamstress; better than me, actually."

Rosalie looked up now, and her responding smile was just a bit smug. "We can't all have the glamorous jobs like you, Alice. Somebody has to do the grunt work."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Yes, well, it's not that I don't appreciate it, or that I don't think it's lovely you decided to teach Elisa how to sew too, but did you really think the best piece for her trial run is Bella's wedding dress?" Her voice was strained.

Rosalie's smile tightened slightly. "I'm watching her, Alice. She's doing fine so far, and I won't let her make any mistakes that I can't fix. You underestimate me." I thought I heard her add a softly hissed 'as usual', but it could have been my imagination.

"It's fine, Alice." I said hastily, not wanting another argument with Rosalie. "I'm sure Elisa will do a wonderful job."

At the sound of her name, Elisa finally lifted her head to look at me and I was surprised by her face. It looked...different somehow. She was pale, and there were dark shadows under her eyes, almost as if she were a true Cullen, but that wasn't what pulled me up short. Her expression was...older, as if she'd aged a year or two overnight, and suddenly I could see, underneath the delicate cuteness that had almost everyone she met doting over her, the potential for beauty that I'd always suspected was there. The child within her was dying much more rapidly than I would have thought even a day or two ago. Absently, I wondered if something had happened while I was gone, but then she was speaking, and I lost my train of thought.

"Your dress is beautiful, Bella." Her voice was the same as ever...maybe I was imagining things.

"It's all because of Alice, but thank you." I smiled back, realizing now was as good of a time as any for my announcement. "Yours is going to be too."

"Mine?" Elisa looked bewildered. "What do you mean?"

My smile widened. "Your bridesmaid dress, of course. Isn't Alice taking your measurements today?"

Elisa's eyes widened. "What?" She looked back and forth from me to Alice, who was smiling at her too. "You want me to be one of your bridesmaids? Are you serious?" Her eyes narrowed for a moment. "Is this a pity thing? Wait, don't answer that. I don't care." She beamed at me. "I can't believe I'm going to be a part of your wedding!"

"Believe it." I grinned back at her. "I'm glad you're happy and that you accept. And it's not out of pity that I'm asking, by the way. We're family now, and I want to share this day with you."

Elisa's eyes suddenly looked damp, and abruptly, Rosalie plucked the needle out of her hand. "I think that's enough for now, Elisa. We'll finish this tonight. It's breakfast time for you anyway, and don't even try to tell me you're not hungry...you need to eat." Carefully, she picked up my wedding dress and laid it flat on Alice's bed, and then stood up, gesturing for Elisa to do the same.

Elisa was smiling resignedly as she obediently followed Rosalie out the door, but I noticed that her face was absent of any kind of intimidation or fear. Yesterday, if Rosalie had spoken to her that sternly, she would have been nearly shaking in her shoes, just like I still had a tendency to when Rosalie turned her blazing eyes my way, but now...well, it looked like Alice was right. They really had bonded. I felt a tiny stab of jealousy but shrugged it off immediately, feeling petty. Rosalie no doubt considered Elisa far more sensible than she did me. And Elisa, after all she'd been through, needed as many people on her side as she could get.

As the two of them disappeared out of the room, Edward was suddenly there by my side. He looked after Elisa and Rosalie for a moment as they made their way downstairs, his eyes speculative. "Well, that's...new."

He turned back to me and smiled. "I had an idea. If you don't have any plans today, I think we should strike while the iron is hot and go see Charlie. We can go down to the station and offer to take him out for lunch. If we ask in front of his co-workers, he's far less likely to refuse." His eyes danced as they looked into mine. "What do you think?"

I laughed. "Sneaky." I mused for a moment. "You know, despite whatever he said to me this morning, he's going to be a horrible grouch to you anyway."

Edward shrugged. "I know. But we don't have many of these opportunities left. We might as well make the most of them while we can."

I ignored the now familiar clenching of my heart at those words. "You're right." I agreed, looking into his golden eyes until the pain eased, then evaporated. "Let's go."

We walked down the staircase hand in hand, talking idly about Charlie and where we could take him. We were almost at the door when Edward suddenly stopped. Abruptly, he turned around, and then looked towards the kitchen.

"What is it?" I asked him, knowing by his expression that he'd just been summoned. "Does Carlisle need to talk to you again?"

"No." Edward took my shoulder and gently turned me around, so I could see Elisa, who was walking into the main room now with her eyes fixed on me, her face unsmiling. "It's Elisa, and she wants to talk to you." For a quick moment, his eyes looked pained, but the look was gone so quick that I wondered if I'd just imagined that too. He touched my face lightly. "I'll be in Carlisle's study." Before I could object, he was gone.

"Bella." Elisa looked nervous now, shuffling from foot to foot. "I guess you know I want to talk to you. Can we sit down?"

Mystified, but with a growing suspicion about what was going on, and my sneaky fiance's hand in it, I followed her to the sofa and sat down next to her, waiting for her to begin.

Elisa shuffled a bit until she was angled slightly to face me, then took a deep breath before she spoke. "OK, this is totally none of my business and I don't blame you if you get mad, but I wanted to ask you - " she cut herself off for a moment, as if seeking courage, then continued. "About your um...future plans. You know, where you, uh..."

I clenched my teeth. I was getting mad, but not at her. I knew now what this was about. "Where I become a vampire." I looked at her. "Edward put you up to this, didn't he? I shouldn't even be surprised. I knew this was coming, ever since the night Rosalie asked you why you didn't want to be a vampire. It was just too much of an opportunity for him to pass up. Oooh...he is so going to get it!" I almost stood up to go raging after him immediately, but Elisa reached out a hand to stop me.

"Bella, it's not like that." I stared her down for a moment and she flushed. "OK, it's a little like that. Edward did ask me to talk to you, but I told him no. It's just that...I thought about it, and there is something I need to say. It's not exactly what he wanted me to say though." Her lips quirked. "He actually might even be a bit mad at me, when I'm done, but this isn't about him. It's about you."

"Alright." I said slowly. "You've got my attention, Elisa. Go ahead."

Elisa twined her fingers together, moving them restlessly. "I was just wondering about...well, about your parents. What you're going to do about them after you change."

I frowned slightly. "Elisa, you know how dangerous newborn vampires are, right? I won't be able to be around them at all for a long time. I won't be able to be around anyone."

Elisa sighed, and I saw she'd gone slightly teary-eyed again. "I know. Carlisle already told me that you and Edward are going to have to leave because of me. I'm sorry."

I started to object to her apology but she raised a hand to stop me, shaking her head. "We can have that conversation later, Bella. I do understand about the newborn phase. But after that...then what? Will you stay in touch with them?"

I sighed now, looking down at the floor. "For a while. I'll send them emails and letters...maybe after a few years I might even visit once or twice. But eventually..." I bit my lip. "It's too dangerous for them, Elisa, to be so close to a secret that they could be killed for figuring out. The best thing for them is for me to fade out of their lives."

Elisa exhaled, and the tears in her eyes became more evident. As she looked at me, I was startled to see a bit of anger creeping into her expression.

"You're going to give them up, just like that." Her voice was flat. "Do you really think it will be that easy?"

"No!" The words exploded out of me as I remembered how Rosalie had hissed nearly that same phrase at me a few weeks ago. "I don't think it will be easy, Elisa, but it's the only way!"

"No, it's not!" Elisa's voice was rising in volume now. "Why can't you try, Bella? Whatever you have to do to keep your family in your life, even if it's only for monthly telephone calls and a once a year visit, do it. It's the new millenia...things aren't the same as they are when Edward became a vampire. You can do things to fake being human. Get a wig, or extensions, add some fake gray later on. Wear some makeup, powder down your skin, hire a freaking make up artist to give you wrinkles for a day if you have to. Do anything but give up! You don't know what you're going to lose, Bella. You don't know how much it will hurt, but you will, I promise you that, and if you haven't done everything in your power to hold on to them, you'll never forgive yourself." Her eyes were blazing now as she glared at me, and for a brief moment, I wondered if Rosalie had been giving her glowering lessons. The resemblance between the two of them at the moment was shocking.

"Elisa, it's just not that simple." I couldn't bring myself to be angry at her, despite the fact that she was clearly upset with me. Of course Elisa would over-identify with the loss of my family, of course she would be upset that I could turn my back on what she'd lost so painfully. But there was so much she didn't understand...

That notion was set on its head a moment later when Elisa spoke once more, her voice quieter now, her face less tense. "I really do understand why you've chosen this path, Bella. And if I were you, I think I would do the same. I just think that you aren't seeing all the possibilities. And if you really honestly believe that it's not possible to keep your family in your life, then give Edward what he wanted. Give him more time. Give yourself more time. What's five years in the face of eternity? Five more years for the people you love...it it really so much to ask?"

"Elisa, I..." My voice trailed off. I could not find the right words to say. Instead, I just looked at her, her face worried now, afraid that she'd pushed me too far. "Thank you. I know that you mean well, and I promise you, I will think over what you said."

"That's all I ask." She smiled weakly at me, and we both stood up. "I'm sorry I upset you."

"It's OK." Impulsively, I leaned over and hugged her small frame. "I know it must have been hard for you to say all that to me."

Elisa shrugged. "A little." She shuffled her feet once again. "At least it's over with and I don't have to worry about it anymore." She smiled at me. "I won't bring it up again, I promise. Whatever you decide, I'll support you. Just keep your promise...think about it." And with that, she turned, walking back towards the kitchen.

"Edward." I said flatly, my arms crossed over my chest as I stood there. "I know you're listening. Get down here."

Before I had time to blink, he was in front of me, his eyes gazing anxiously into mine. He tried to smile, but it twitched and fell flat when he met my eyes. "Are you very, very angry with me, Bella?"

I bit my lip. "No." I said softly, and was gratified to see the surprise on his face.

"No?" He echoed in disbelief. "Is this a trick?"

I shook my head. "No, it's not a trick. I was mad at you, but I'm not now."

"Oh." I could see the indecision in his eyes, as he wondered if he should press the issue or take his seemingly dumb luck and run with it. Apparently the second option won out, because the next question he asked me was "Should we go then?"

"No." I looked him full in the face, wanting him to see the seriousness of my expression. "I'm not ready to go anywhere with you, Edward, not out to lunch with my father, not back upstairs to make more wedding plans, not down the aisle, and certainly not back down the road to La Push and Jacob Black, or any of the other paths that you want to lead me down because you think you're doing it for my own good. We're not going anywhere until we work this out, once and for all."

To Be Continued...

In the next chapter, Edward is stunned by what Bella has to say. What he has to decide next could change their entire future.

Also, Elisa and Edward have a moment...too bad that for Elisa, it's an extremely mortifying one...

Song line is from Hear You Me, by Jimmy Eats World.

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