As Alice approached Forks, the dark forest suddenly vanished from her perception. Instinctively, her mind searched for Jasper's future, but could only find blurry images of him on a plane. She looked for Bella next, but the vision overtaking everything wouldn't allow her to focus on anything else. First, there was only a whirlwind of bright sunshine and terracotta-colored stone. A car flew through the air and collided with a building, a trail of dead humans in pools of blood, a figure shining in a ray of light, a thousand possibilities flashed in her mind. At the center of everything, black-cloaked figures held a limp figure between them. Alice forced her mind's eye to focus. Terror shot through her as she recognized her brother's face, a moment before a pale set of hands twisted his head from his body.

"No!" Alice gasped.

Somehow, she was suddenly staring at the back of Charlie's house, her body carrying her there without her knowledge. Alice stumbled sideways and searched the future more intentionally. The horror show was still there, clear as the damp grass in front of her. Edward in Volterra. The ultimate crime of their world. The Volturi. His death.

Alice ran to the house, the door nearly flew off its hinges as she threw it open. "Bella!"

"Alice?" Bella turned around just as Alice rushed over to her.

"Bella," Alice choked.

Bella put her hands on Alice's face, trying to calm her. They were still wet from washing the dishes in the sink. Alice trembled beneath her touch.

"Edward," was all she whispered.

Bella's body reacted first. The room began to spin around them and a hollow roar filled her ears. Her mind labored, unable to make sense of Alice's bleak face in relation to Edward. The kitchen slanted sideways, her body was already swaying, seeking the relief of unconsciousness before the reality could slam into her.

Alice was suddenly alert, the foggy panic cleared from her eyes. "Bella? Bella, snap out of it. We have to hurry."

"What happened?" Bella asked, dazed.

"He's going to Italy."

Bella groaned, her chest cracking wide open once again, a million times more painful than before now. The reaction was difficult to understand, until her mind presented her with an old memory, from a lifetime ago. She and Edward watching Romeo and Juliet together. The shadowed tomb on the screen. Romeo swallowed his poison. Well, I wasn't going to live without you, Edward's seraphic voice said, But I wasn't sure how to do it…I knew Emmett and Jasper would never help…so I was thinking maybe I would go to Italy and do something to provoke the Volturi. You don't irritate them. Not unless you want to die.

Not unless you want to die.

"He thinks I'm dead," Bella whispered.

Alice's face twisted with grief. "Yes, I think so."

"No, no, no, no," Bella brought her hands to her hand, pulling at the strands until her scalp stung. Her knees wobbled, only a stony pair of arms keeping her from sinking to the floor and curling into a ball. Something needled the edge of her consciousness. "Hurry? You said we have to hurry?"

"Bella, I-I don't think I can ask you too…" she trailed off in indecision.

"Ask me!" Bella shouted.

Alice set her hands on Bella's shoulders, holding her in place, her fingers flexing sporadically to emphasize her words. "We may already be too late. I see him going to the Volturi…and asking to die." They both cringed, Bella blinked feverishly at the tears suddenly blinding her. "It depends on their decision, and Edward's, but there's a possibility we can stop him before he provokes any…retaliation."

"Let's go!"

"Listen, Bella! This is dangerous. Do you understand that?" Her eyes were liquid gold, staring at Bella. "You're a human who knows too much and smells too good, and I'll be Edward's accomplice. They could kill us all."

"I'll go alone if you're afraid," Bella mentally tabulated the contents of her bank account, grateful that she'd finally relented, and allowed Charlie to pay the larger portion of her college fees.

"I'm only afraid of getting you killed."

Bella snorted in disgust. "I almost get myself killed on a daily basis! Tell me what I need to do!"

"You call Charlie. I'll call the airlines."

"Charlie," Bella gasped.

Alice was already gone. Her quick voice echoed down the stairs from Bella's bedroom.

Bella forced a deep breath into her lungs, then two more. Then she picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number.

"Hello?" A female voice answered, sounding rough and weak.

"Hey Rachel, it's Bella," she said, gripping the receiver so tightly her hand hurt and struggling to control her voice. "Is my dad there?"

A part of Bella hoped he wasn't, so she wouldn't have to invent some lie. "Um, yea. Just a second."

Bella began to panic, her chest squeezing. She had no idea what to say to him.

Suddenly, Alice was beside her. Her hand moved too quickly for Bella to see the words appearing on the notepad they used for messages. But there was the solution, a perfect explanation, and Alice was already halfway up the stairs again, speaking French into her cell phone.

"Bells?" Charlie answered.

"Hi, Dad," Bella croaked, staring at Alice's neat script.

Charlie's reply was laced with concern, "Everything okay?"

Bella put the speaker against her shoulder and cleared her throat, she would need to be more convincing. When she spoke again, she followed the words on the notepad mechanically. "Yeah, we're fine, but we went by the Cullens' house, and they've had some water damage. Alice wants us to go into Seattle for a few days to order some replacement furniture and stuff."

"Oh," Charlie said, surprised, "Seattle?"

"Apparently that's where the shops are. Carlisle already booked her a hotel and she wants me to come with her, so she won't be alone."

That sold Charlie. Gentle, fiercely protective Charlie. "Of course, you should go with her."

The script ended there, but Bella said, "I'll try to be back for the funeral."

"Aw, baby, don't worry about it. Jacob's here with his new girlfriend, you don't have to come if you don't want to."

A tear spilled out of Bella's right eye, she scrubbed it away. "I don't care about him, Dad. But I'll try to be there."

Charlie gave a little chuckle. "Ok, Bells. You two be safe, okay?"

"Sure, sure," Bella said, her voice barely holding, "I love you."

"Love you, too."

The phone went silent, and Bella's eyes filled with tears. She bit her lip until the skin screamed, refusing to let herself shatter.

Alice was at the base of the stairs, Bella's duffle bag over one shoulder, her unused passport in the other. Thank god for Renee's fanciful daydreams of a wedding on a Mexican beach.

"Time to go," Alice declared, and Bella followed.

Bella assumed they were headed for the airport in Seattle, but Alice drove the car too fast right around the city and north towards the Canadian border. The drive from Forks to Vancouver would've taken Bella an entire day, but Alice made it in less than four hours. Every second was excruciating, but Bella didn't question Alice's decision, and didn't listen to the words she mumbled into her phone.

They barely made the flight to Paris, and then the real torture began. Alice pulled her legs up to her chest, closed her eyes, and went utterly still. The only relief was the woman sitting in the aisle seat one row ahead. She was crocheting something out of lavender thread, and Bella's mind sank into distraction watching the rhythmic movements of her hands.

Unfortunately, the woman - and most of the plane's passengers - eventually turned off their overhead lights, unraveled their blankets, and attempted to sleep.

Within half an hour, Bella felt like her head would explode. She couldn't manage to catch her breath, all the horrifying possibilities spread out in her mind like the tentacles of an enormous monster, fighting its way out of her skull. She tapped her fingers against her knees, resisting the urge to scream.

"Bella," Alice whispered, warningly.

"Distract me," Bella begged quietly, "Please."

"Any requests?" Alice asked, seeming as desperate for something else to think about as Bella.

"Tell me about your time…away."

"Hmm," Alice started, "mostly it was uneventful, Jasper and I went with Carlisle and Esme to Ithaca, he's studying philosophy this time, but I don't think he likes it."

"Is Carlisle working?"

"Yes, he can never resist for long."

"What about Esme?"

"Her usual routine. A house to renovate, furniture to reupholster, gardens to cultivate."

The bands around Bella's chest began to loosen, she leaned her head against Alice's shoulder. "Did you start college?"

Alice sighed, "No, I was researching some…personal history. Do you remember what James told you in the ballet studio? About me?"

"The asylum," Bella nodded. "You found it?"

"Yes," Alice said, her voice very faint, "about six months ago. I tried earlier, but James' clues weren't very helpful. When Emmett, Edward, and Jazz found Victoria, she was thinking about James, and…me, when I was human, and she thought about Biloxi. Once I had that clue, the trail was pretty easy to find."

The far-away cadence in Alice's voice sent shivers across Bella's skin. She waited silently for her friend to continue.

"My name was Mary Alice Brandon. I was born on April 19, 1929," she whispered, "I had a little sister named Cynthia. Her daughter-my niece-is still alive in Biloxi, her name is Grace."

"Mary Alice?" Bella tested the name.

Alice's head shook minutely. "That was the name on my birth announcement and the asylum records I found. And my tombstone."

"Did you find out…what happened to you?"

"The asylum records were unhelpful, they only cataloged what happened once I arrived. Apparently, it didn't take me very long to actually go insane, experimental shock treatments will do that."

"Oh, Alice." Bella shifted closer, tears filled her eyes.

" I found my parents' wedding announcements, and Cynthia's. All of their death announcements too. My father remarried 3 days after my mother died. They sent me to the asylum a few weeks after that, a month before my thirteenth birthday."

"You were only twelve?" Bella hissed.

Alice huffed. "Jasper was mad when we learned that too."

"Why did they do that?"

"I don't know," Alice said sadly. "Jasper wouldn't let me stay down there once we found my death announcement. The date on my tombstone and the date of my entry to the asylum were the same, they faked my death."

Bella could only squeeze Alice's stony arm, her throat felt raw with unshed tears.

"Carlisle has a theory, as always," she said, her voice trying to lighten, "actually, James helped there too, do you remember? He seemed to think the old vampire that was guarding me in the asylum was protecting me because of my gift. Even when I was human, it was strong enough that people noticed, and called it insanity."

"But, to put you in a place like that?"

"Jasper has his theories too. He suspects my father had something to do with my mother's death, and that I saw it happen, with my vision. It was all very sudden, her death, his remarriage, then my 'death'. And there was a family photo, he looked…scary, I don't know."

"That's terrible," Bella mumbled.

"Yes," Alice's thin shoulders shrugged, "it is, but it also doesn't really feel like something that happened to me. I still don't remember anything. Jasper says that's a good thing."

Bella considered. If something so horrifying happened to her, was it better to remember or forget? Maybe with memory, there was the possibility of the wound healing, but there was the possibility of never fully recovering. Wasn't she content to spend the rest of her life with only the images in her mind of Edward, no matter how painful it was to notice his constant absence? Finally, she said, "Maybe he's right. I'm not sure."

"Me neither," Alice murmured.

"What happened when you…woke up? After your transformation?"

Alice's entire body seemed to get lighter, her voice, though still a whisper, was bright. "There was a river nearby, the sun coming down on me through the trees. I remember the scent of dogwood flowers in the air. Of course, my skin was shimmering in the light, and I liked the way it looked. I was naked, but I didn't really notice. I was like a baby, with no shame or fear or experience to guide my perception of the world." She smiled, her head dropping back against the headrest. "Then I saw Jasper, perfectly clearly, and somehow I understood that I was seeing the future, I'm still not sure how. He looked at me and said 'Alice.' That's how I knew my name."

"Wow," Bella cooed.

"I wanted to find him immediately, I already loved him. But I kept seeing figures in black cloaks. Every time my path took me towards humans, they came and killed me. I was terrified of them, they were like a nightmare I couldn't escape. So I stayed in the wilderness and fed on animals. One day, while I was draining a deer, I saw a vision of Carlisle and Esme, smiling at me. After that it was easy, I knew that if I learned to control my thirst, I would have them, and Jasper. He took some convincing, but eventually, he saw that it was right, for all of us to be together."

"How long were you alone?"

"About three years, living in the forest like an animal. I was still terrified of the black cloaks, well, the Volturi. I was seeing the possibility of me revealing the secret by losing control. They deal with a lot of newborns that are abandoned, actually."

"But eventually you found Jasper?" Bella prodded, trying to redirect the conversation again, towards happier things.

"Yes," Alice said, her voice like wind chimes. "I'd been gradually training myself around the scent of humans, because I'd seen that Carlisle's family would accept us more easily if Jasper and I had both already committed to animal blood. And he needed me to help him, my control was quite good by the time I found him. We were on our own for a bit, I taught him how to hunt animals and he taught me…well, just about everything else."

"Like what?"

"I had no idea how to interact with people, especially not as a vampire. And it was difficult for me to be in the present. He taught me how to control my gift, instead of letting it rule my entire life. He showed me how to blend in with humans. It's his fault I'm such a shopaholic, he took me to all the shops at night, of course, we never paid for anything back then. He explained my visions of the Volturi, told me their rules, and promised he'd never let me draw their attention."

The romantic veneer of Alice's story lifted, leaving the cold reality of their situation. Bella at least felt less panicked now, the fear was exhausting her quickly.

"I think I'll go use the phone to call him," Alice said.

Bella watched Alice move gracefully down the aisle toward the stewardess station' phone. For another distraction, she watched the silent figures of the in-flight movie move across the screen. Even without sound, it was obviously a romantic comedy, two perfectly-styled protagonists rushed between beautiful apartments and cafes and restaurants, through the immaculate streets of New York City. Their kisses made Bella feel queasy, but even that was good, it distracted her from her terror.

Alice said nothing when she sat down again, merely returned to her silent rocking. Briefly, Bella felt a sick sense of gratitude for her friend, whose mind must have been an even more terrible place than Bella's as they raced towards their potential doom. After the rom-com, they played an action movie, then a kid-friendly cartoon. Eventually, Bella's eyes began to sting from staying awake, but knew it would be impossible to sleep. And even if she did, the rest of the plane would not appreciate the inevitable screaming nightmares.

As they descended into Paris, Alice put on sunglasses, gloves, and a headscarf, never had full-body coverage looked so wonderfully fashionable. Through the window in front of them, Bella looked over the city's day-lit landscape. In the distance, she could just make out the Eiffel Tower.

The sight sent a dart of pain through her heart. She'd never really been anywhere, her whole life split between the American Southwest and the Olympic Peninsula. The forever she imagined with Edward had always included seeing the world, reading every book ever written. Maybe learning an instrument, so they could make music together. And always, always, the pair of them, together.

But now she felt that future slipping through her fingers, again. Their last conversation, when he left, and the possibility of them forever seemed lost, that only laid the cracked inside of her. This was the final breaking. She wouldn't even need to kill herself, her body simply would not survive Edward's death.

Bella wrapped her arms around herself, but the gesture brought no comfort. She squeezed her eyes shut. Like a point of light at the edge of her consciousness she could feel Edward, the thread between them was still strong. Couldn't he feel it too? How could he not?

Edward, she called in her mind. She wanted to tear down whatever barrier had always prevented him from hearing her thoughts. Edward. I'm here. The thread tightened, something deep in her chest shifting out of her body. Please, please, please.

During Renee's periods of religious experimentation, Bella had never seen the appeal of prayer, but she felt it now. Her entire self begged any power that was listening to stop Edward. Save him, please. Take whatever you want from me, just don't make me live without him anymore.

Dumbly, Bella waited for some response. But there was only the shuffle of noise around her in the plane. Her arms felt locked into place around herself. The light outside the windows seemed out of place, the sun shouldn't be shining in this reality where she would never feel Edward's arms around her again. Her prayers shifted, from deliverance to salvation. She prayed that heaven was real, or if it wasn't there was some other eternity awaiting them.

Juliet's words filled her mind, Give me my Romeo, and when he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun. Bella did not even need to be a star beside him, let her be the dust between the points of light. To feel his bright warmth against her forever would be enough.

"Oh!" Alice gasped.

Bella turned to look, her mind suddenly jolted out of its stupor, wrenching back into her body. She didn't want to know, but she asked the question anyway, "What do you see?"

Alice took one of Bella's hands. "The future is changing."

.oOo.

Edward's body felt too heavy. Carlisle was right, their kind must have some kind of soul. That was the only thing he could imagine to account for the crushing, all-encompassing emptiness. The pieces leftover from his transformation, his rebellion, his leaving Bella, some morsel of his soul had remained, but now it was truly dead and gone.

A strange feeling of disconnection from his body made it difficult to move through the water. The burning in his throat was also a clue, an explanation for the weakness in his arms and legs. But the thirst barely registered. His entire word was already ash and dust. A few extra flames in his throat were almost comforting.

Eventually, the movements became more familiar, though he vaguely remembered a time when he'd been able to swim at twice this speed. He cut through the water clumsily, fighting the currents pulling him back towards the Americas. He surfaced only once, to look at the stars. Ursa Major pointed towards the North Star, at least he was swimming in the right direction. He returned to the familiar depths, while the sky miles above him gradually lightened high above, beneath him, a world of total darkness.

The water abruptly turned cold as he fought the southward pull of the Canary Current off the northwest coast of Africa. Huge schools of fish diverted from his path, millions of individuals moving as a single unit. The ocean floor gradually sloped upwards toward the continents. The faster route might have been to go ashore from the Gulf of Guinea, run north across the Sahara, and re-enter the water from Libya or Tunisia. But there would be human settlements to avoid, and the blinding desert sun in his eyes, the prospect was unappealing.

He stayed in the water, endured the thousands of mental voices that suddenly flooded his head from north and south as he crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in the Alboran Sea, then the Mediterranean. The water there was shallow, compared to the Atlantic, and Edward felt exposed in the bright light of the sun streaming through the waves.

Every few minutes, he caught the distant thoughts of some humans aboard the boats overhead. Initially, he was frustrated with the interruption to the dull roar of the water, but he soon came to appreciate them. They gave him a guess for his location, how far until the release of death. He'd decided to simply approach the Volturi Kings and ask first. That would avoid human collateral. He did not want his final moments to disappoint Carlisle.

Arabic was consistent the entire way, but the mental accents shifted, Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian. Spanish faded, then a loud burst of languages from Northern Europe as he passed Ibiza, Mallorca, and Menorca, tourists enjoyed their early spring vacation to this sunshine haven, while winter still held their home countries in its frosty grip. Edward heard the first trace of Sardinian, a whole family getting ready to return home from the year's first day on the water. The children's inner voices were an exhausted jumble of Italian and their local dialect, which Edward didn't bother trying to understand.

Something enormous slammed into him, throwing his body sideways. Except, when he looked around, there was nothing there. Just the clear blue of the water surrounding him, and the sudden, aching sensation in his chest. There was a hand ripping through him, trying to rip out his lungs and heart, but when he stared down, all he saw was the tattered fabric of his shirt over his pale skin.

His mind abruptly reconnected with his body, the black hole's swirling tendrils of agony seemed to spin out from him. Infecting the clear-blue water like blood from a wound. Edward sank towards the seafloor, shocked at the sudden cloud of sand that drifted upwards all around him. When he tried to move again, the pain gripped him by his cold heart and prevented him from moving.

For a while, Edward contemplated giving in to the temptation. He could return to that world of fantasy that had so effectively distracted him for a whole year. The relief would not be so intense as actually dying, but it required no effort. Eventually, he'd surpass the time Carlisle had starved himself, perhaps there was some horizon of insanity or withering away if he went a decade or a century or a millennium without blood. Perhaps eventually, the gentle movements of the water would weather him like a stone, until he was only dust on the waves.

But once the haze of pain cleared, Edward decided that the effort was worth it. He'd crawl across the world for a chance at heaven.

Crawling was a good word for his clumsy movements. Fighting the pull backwards, every surge forward was an effort. He couldn't focus enough to determine his direction. He was gradually squeezed between the surface and the seafloor as he approached a landmass.

Fortunately, there were no people on the beach. The nearby towns were sleepy this time of year, and the weather was still too chilly for any locals to bother. The fresh air rushed into Edward's lungs, thick with the salty scent of the rocks along the cove, and the forests lining the cliffs. It felt like an eternity since the last breaths he'd taken. His mind struggled to reconcile the sudden onslaught of sensation. Sand, wind, drying seawater, the sun's warmth on his skin. Rustling tree branches and crashing waves and distant birdsong in his ears. The bright colors of the secluded cove were too much for his eyes.

Edward turned to face the sea, still standing in the shallows, small waves lapping around his shins. The sapphire water spread out in front of him with nothing to interrupt its collision with the cloudless blue above. He watched orange and pink and yellow spread across the sky as the sun sank towards the horizon.

Whatever force had taken hold of Edward in the ocean pinned him in place. But Edward did not fight. He watched the bright orange orb disappear, then watched the full moon and stars climb to take its place. Somehow, in this world without his reason for existing, the sight still held a macabre sense of beauty. The grief and rage were so much a part of him now, it was easy to stand totally still and watch the time pass.

For all the ways I have failed her, I can at least give Bella this funeral before I join her.

.oOo.

Bella waited for Alice to speak with the people at the airport desk, not understanding a word exchanged between them. Then she waited for the plane to start boarding, then waited in line, then waited to take off and arrive and taxi and unload. Then she waited outside the airport while Alice went to 'find a car'. The canary yellow Porsche flew around the country roads so quickly it was almost a relief, at least there was some real danger to justify the anxiety.

Sardinia was beautiful beyond all sense. Every inch of it looked like a painting, even in the dark. The full moon's light cast haunting shadows over the mountains. Bella put her hands on her thighs and tapped her fingers against her knees.

"If you keep biting your lip and the blood distracts me, we definitely won't get there," Alice said flatly.

"Sorry." Bella forced her teeth away from her bottom lip and looked out the window. The trees and hills racing past made her a bit queasy, but she kept staring.

In her distraction, Bella never learned the name of the airport they'd flown into, or even the city. The trans-Atlantic journey had so thoroughly stressed her, she'd barely noticed their change in destination.

They reached the coastline road within an hour of leaving the city. Driving south along the west side of the island meant Bella on the outside of the road. With every too-fast turn, she held her breath, waiting for the car to sail over the cliffs into the dark waters below. Bella's stomach roiled, she shut her eyes and made herself breathe calmly. They would make it in time, if Edward's path stayed consistent. If he didn't change his mind…

"Only a few more miles," Alice declared.

Bella's heart began pounding, that wouldn't take them long at this ungodly speed.

"You'll have to go alone. If he hears my thoughts, he'll run away from me."

"Why?" Bella asked, though it didn't matter, she would do anything.

"He'll think I'm lying."

"In your thoughts?"

Alice nodded. "I'll get you as close as I can. Please, please, be careful on the trail. If you really die by falling off a cliff I'll never hear the end of it."

"I won't fall," Bella said confidently.

A few minutes later, Bella launched herself out of the car door, and the Porsche disappeared. Alice didn't want to risk anything. There was a small sign with the name of the trial and a map, but Bella ignored it. The bright moon was a gift from the heavens, giving her just enough light to see where she was putting her feet. Alice only remembered the clumsy version of Bella from before, but over the last two years she had finally outgrown that mismatch with her body. All those hikes with Jacob and solo wanderings and long shifts at the nursery had made her just strong and sure enough for this.

The biggest challenge was not the uneven terrain, but Bella's heart. It was pounding so hard she could hardly think. As she jogged along the path, her breaths couldn't seem to fill her lungs all the way, the adrenaline was rushing so hard through every inch of her body. The trail descended onto the beach, and her feet began to sink into the fine sand. She had to push even harder to move, but she could finally trust her feet enough to look up.

At first, there was only the black expanse of the sea, the white moonlight glittering on the surface. But Bella's eyes adjusted. After a few seconds, she made out the figure in the water, perfectly still.

"Edward!" She screamed.

He did not turn, his only acknowledgment was a head tilted slightly towards the sky.

Bella lurched towards the water. It was cold, but she didn't notice. Just fought through the small waves towards him. His head tilted to one side, then he looked back up towards the stars.

When she finally reached him, Bella threw herself at him with enough force to send her hurling backward, if he hadn't finally turned to catch her up in his arms. The impact knocked the breath out of her and snapped her head back. The feeling was strange. All the little discomforts vanished, no more sand in her shoes or cold air on her face or muscle soreness from the plane or exhaustion. When she regained her breath, her lungs filled with the sweet scent coming from his skin. Her chest, her entire self felt suddenly, entirely well like the hole inside of her was not only healed, but vanished. As if it had never been there at all. Like she was suddenly waking from a terrible dream, to this reality where everything was exactly where it belonged.

When he spoke, Bella realized how truly pathetic her memory was, "heaven."

"Edward," Bella gasped, wrapping her arms so tightly around his neck that her muscles screamed.

"You smell exactly the same as always, so maybe this is hell. I'll take it," he was rambling, and Bella still struggled to catch her breath, "I don't understand?...Maybe the sun came up and burned me to ash. Did God change the rules?"

"No!" Bella cried, "you're not dead, and neither am I."

Edward pulled away, breaking Bella's hold around his neck. "What was that?"

"We're alive, both of us!" Bella said. She could hardly see his angelic face through her tears. But she could feel his body against hers. His hand lifted to stroke her cheek.

"Bella?" he whispered.

She nodded.

"I thought…" Edward's velvet, perfect voice cracked. Bella felt the heaving in his chest, his body swayed. Instinctively, she tried to catch him, but he sank to his knees like a boulder. The water rippled outwards around them as he held her by the hips and pressed his forehead into the space between her ribs. "I thought you–"

"Shh, I know," she said. The tears were streaming down her face. She threaded her fingers into his hair and pressed her lips to the top of his head. "Just a misunderstanding."

Edward sighed so hard it rattled both of their bodies. Then, he kept shaking, and Bella realized he was sobbing. She tightened her arms around him and drank in the feeling of his cold skin. His grip on her hips would surely leave bruises, but she would've rather he killed her than let her go.

After a few minutes, Edward's breathing calmed, and he staggered to his feet. He avoided her eyes, bashful at his outburst. He took one of her wrists gently and lifted her forearm between them. In the moonlight, Bella could just make out the raised hair and tiny bumps covering her skin. Edward frowned at them, "You're cold."

Bella shrugged, pressed her hands against his chest. "I'll live."

"I…I'm hearing something," Edward said, confusedly. "Oh, Alice."

"She stole a Porsche," Bella informed him.

"Good choice." Edward's chest rumbled. "She's waiting for us."

"Okay."

A split second later, Bella was lifted into the air, cradled against his chest. Her pants and shoes were soaked through, and they felt frozen solid when exposed to the air.

"Close your eyes," Edward suggested.

Bella wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her face into her collarbone. Edward made only the faintest splashes as he ran through the water, and then the air was whooshing past her ears as he ascended the cliff. The journey down had taken her nearly an hour, but Edward set her down within seconds.

Alice stood waiting by the car, holding a bundle of pale fabric. She strode over to Edward and shoved them into his arms. "Put these on and leave the rags. With any luck, someone will burn them."

Bella would have liked a change of clothes herself. But the glow of the car's headlights revealed that Edward had a much more desperate need. A sick feeling twisted in her stomach when she recognized the dark blue shirt and charcoal pants he was wearing, though they were torn to shreds. It was the same clothes he'd been wearing at her birthday party, and in the forest.

"I'll give you a second," Bella said tightly, turning to follow Alice, just as Edward pulled off his shirt. Literally, pulled it off, without any effort, the fabric was so thoroughly destroyed.

By the time Bella reached the car, Edward was already standing there. The clothes were so close to the Cullens' usual pale, luxurious wardrobe, it made Bella's heart squeeze.

"You in the back, brother," Alice said, sliding into the driver's seat. "You're lucky I don't make you run."

"Yes ma'am," Edward said.

She watched with badly consumed amusement as he folded down the passenger's seat and squeezed himself into the tiny bench. Even for an immortal, the sight lacked grace. Once he was in place, he righted her seat, his knees scrunched up towards his chest. Bella sat down and closed the door. Edward's hands came to rest on her shoulders, and she tilted her head back. The dashboard clock read 01:26, over 30 hours since she leapt from the cliffs above La Push, but she would have preferred to jump from the speeding vehicle than succumb to sleep now.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"A hotel," Alice said, "for a few hours. The first flight out of here leaves at 6:15."

"Thank you for making the arrangements, Alice," Edward said politely.

"Hmm," Alice grumbled. Bella suspected it would take some time for her to forgive either of them, now that the danger had passed.

The feeling of Edward's hands on her shoulders kept Bella sufficiently distracted until they reached the hotel. She could have spent days in this perfect slice of heaven. Alice's stolen luxury vehicle fit right in with the resort entrance. Even in the middle of the night, there were people in the lobby. The hotel bar and restaurant were right off the main room, people in suits and silk dresses laughed to the soft piano music, their glasses clinked.

Bella's shoes were still damp and covered in sand. Self-conscious, she pressed herself close against Edward's side as Alice spoke with the woman at the reception desk. A young man in a tangerine-colored suit approached them and gestured at the duffle bag Edward held, then retreated smoothly at Edward's response.

The room Alice led them to was all seaside pastels. Alice moved across the room to the balcony doors. They swung open, sending the white curtains fluttering into the room on a sea breeze.

"I'm going to call Jasper and find Bella some new shoes," she announced, then stood on the stone railing and jumped into the night.

They stared after her for a moment. Bella felt unsure of what to do. She wanted to wrap herself around Edward and never let go, but there were conversations hovering between them that couldn't be avoided. And, now that Alice had mentioned it, her shoes and pants, her whole body really, felt filthy with sand and stale plane air. She looked at him, and found his eyes boring following her. She instantly felt her face heat. "Umm, I think I need to shower…"

"Of course," Edward said politely, not moving.

"You can wait here?" She said.

"Yes." He moved to the cream-colored sofa and sat down stiffly.

Bella nodded, content that he would be there when she returned, with clean clothes, teeth, and hair. She took her duffle bag into the bathroom, and spent no time admiring the beautiful white marble room around her. It was quite possibly the shortest shower of her adult life, just long enough to remove all the sand and salt, then she brushed her teeth and hair, and redressed in the pajamas Alice had packed for her.

While she cleaned herself, Edward sat on the sofa, trying to force his mind to make sense of the last several hours. His felt like the reverse of a shattered glass, he'd been in pieces but now he was perfectly whole once again. The haze across his mind, a result of his starvation and desperation, and then relief and utter euphoria, began to finally lift as he listened to Bella's heart pounding through the wall. That noise had been the center of his universe, and now that he heard it again, the Earth's axis seemed to shift back into their proper position. The world began to turn again, and Edward finally took a breath that didn't promise agony.

A cloud of steam erupted into the bedroom when Bella opened the bathroom door. Edward rushed over to her before she'd taken a step. He lifted a hand, and gently brushed his fingers along her cheekbone. Her skin was pink from the shower and even warmer than he remembered.

Bella returned the gesture, carefully touching his collarbone, the curve of his neck. Then over his sharp jaw and cheeks. Her thumb brushed over his lips, and his eyes drifted closed, like he was falling into a trance. A soft exhale from his nose brushed over her fingers, carrying the sugary taste of his breath towards her. Bella's heart hammered against her ribs as she lifted onto her toes and kissed him.

The familiar electricity took a split second to reignite, and then Bella's entire body seemed to go up in flames. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself close enough to feel his rough inhales against her own chest. A low groan escaped from Edward's throat, his hand held the side of her face while the other arm snaked around her waist.

"What?" Bella asked breathlessly.

Edward's lips moved to her cheek, then pressed kisses to her temple, then her jaw, and under her ear. Bella shivered as his breaths crossed her skin. He murmured, "I feel…"

"What?" she repeated.

Edward paused at her collarbone, his forehead pressed into the side of her neck as her chest heaved. "I feel like I've come back to life."

Tears clouded Bella's vision again, she was too exhausted, too overwhelmed, too happy, it was all trying to burst out of her. "Me too. Stay with me."

"Forever."

When Edward kissed her again, the storm inside her mind went quiet. There was a brief sensation of flight, then she felt a cloud surrounding her as Edward lifted her onto the bed. Somehow, the position made them feel even closer. With some of his weight settled on top of her and her legs free to tangle with his. He kissed her more deeply than ever before, all of his fearful reserve was gone. Within moments, Bella felt dizzy and breathless.

He pulled away just enough to let her catch her breath, but didn't stop touching her. One of his hands rested on the side of her throat, the other stroked up and down her ribs. Meanwhile, his mouth traveled over her face and down to her chest. Both of her hands were gripping his hair, so he kissed her forearms too, before returning to her mouth. Heat spread from Bella's hair to her toes. She couldn't seem to get close enough to him now, her entire body was thrumming with the need for his touch.

Bella opened her mouth slightly, and tentatively slid her tongue along his bottom lip. At the same time, she lifted one of her legs to hook around his hip. Edward's body reacted immediately. He allowed himself to sink a bit closer, more of his weight settled on her body, and Bella moaned against his mouth. She kept one hand in his hair, while the other descended to brush the smooth skin of his stomach beneath the hem of his shirt.

"Wait," Edward gasped, speaking right against her lips. "I'm–I need a moment."

Panic shot through Bella's chest. "Something wrong?"

"No, no," he rushed, "Nothing is wrong," he kissed her again, then withdrew a bit more. "I'm just umm…getting overwhelmed."

Bella looked at him, examining his bashful expression. His eyes were darker than she'd ever seen, inky black with purple bruises that spread over his eyelids and towards his nose. "You look so thirsty."

He shrugged. "It's nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Believe me, I've never been more in control of that side of my nature than right now." Still, he pulled off of her. "I just don't want to take any risks with you."

"Okay," Bella said. She sat up too, "That's okay."

Edward gave her a little smile, then used the tip of his index finger to trace under her eyes. "Do you want to sleep?"

"No," Bella said.

"Are you hungry?"

Bella's stomach growled in answer, and Edward's small grin turned into the full, bright, slightly crooked smile that made her heart stutter. Feeling her cheeks heat, she brushed her thumb over her own lips, they felt a bit swollen.

He was already on the other side of the bed, lifting the phone from its cradle, "any requests?"

"Breakfast?" she said. He nodded.

Edward's voice sounded like music as he spoke in Italian to whoever was on the other end of the call. Then he returned to her side and said, "fifteen minutes."

"Okay," Bella said, her stomach growling again. Edward smiled like he'd won the lottery. "Guess I'm hungry."

"Hmm," Edward kept smiling as he brushed her wet hair away from her face, then over her shoulder. "Your hair is longer."

"Is it?"

Edward nodded. "It was right here, when I…" he lightly touched the top of her right breast. He stared at the curtain of hair falling down her back, nearly to her waist now.

"I don't think it's been cut since the last time Alice gave me a makeover," Bella said.

"Hmm," Edward nodded. Then he grabbed her left wrist softly and lifted her arm off the bed, examining it. "Did you take up bodybuilding?"

Bella giggled, and Edward's entire face lit like the sun. She flexed the muscles in her arm, which had been nearly non-existent two years earlier. "No bodybuilding, but I work at a plant nursery."

"Really?" Edward asked, enraptured.

She nodded, "I was working at Newton's for a while, until they fired me."

"What?!" Edward exclaimed, smiling.

Bella barely realized that she'd left out the intervening months of working with Jacob at Harry's garage. That was a conversation for later, or never. Instead she rolled her eyes and crossed her legs, "Nothing personal, they were just overstaffed for the off-season."

"They should have fired Mike instead," Edward said.

"Nepotism at its finest," she chuckled, "Charlie considered a lawsuit."

Edward nodded, "do you still live with him?"

"Yes, the nursery is in Forks, but I'm taking a couple of classes at Peninsula Community College."

Edward nodded, then asked seriously, "Is Charlie doing okay?"

Bella nodded, but then remembered her father's current circumstances. Her face fell, and she said weakly, "he is, but his friend Harry died a few days ago."

"Harry Clearwater?" Edward asked.

Bella nodded.

"When no one answered at your house, I called the station. He told me that Charlie was out all week arranging a funeral. That's why I thought…"

"Oh," Bella said dumbly, "what made you change your mind? We were going to Volterra, then Alice said you were here instead."

Edward sighed, "I'm not sure. The whole thing was so idiotic of me, I should never have spent so much energy fighting to stay away from you. It was only a matter of time before I showed up at your window, begging you to take me back. But I was in the water, headed for Italy, and suddenly it felt like something I couldn't see was preventing me."

"What was it?" Bella asked.

Edward shrugged, "maybe it was you. Some part of me knew you were still out there in the world, rushing into danger to save me."

"I was praying, on the plane," she said quietly, "I don't think I've ever actually prayed before."

His thumb traced the ridge of her fingers, "My guardian angel."

Bella huffed and rolled her eyes.

There was a soft knock at the door, and Edward rushed to answer it with a kiss to the side of her head. He returned with a silver cart like in a movie. Bella pulled the throw blanket from the bed and walked to the small table on the balcony.

The hotel was a modern building constructed inside an ancient facade. The wide glass doors opened onto a balcony of weathered stone. Bella held her breath and looked over the edge, where the sheer edge of a cliff dropped down a hundred feet onto a rocky beach. To their left, was a more welcoming sight. At night, the town was mostly dark, but the few streetlamps and strings of lights on balconies created little pockets of yellow glow. Dropped on top of the dark cliffs, it seemed like they'd build this place atop of a cloud in the midnight sky.

Bella devoured her food. Edward stared at her the whole time, a familiar mixture of adoration for her and disgust for her food clear across his face. When she was done, they sat together, mostly in silence and stared out at the moon and stars dancing over the water. Alice returned a few minutes past four in the morning and dragged them out of the resort.

The cobblestone streets were utterly quiet, the sky still dark. Bella didn't notice when Alice disappeared from beside her. She looked over to ask a question, and she was gone.

"Where's Alice?"

"Securing our airport transport," Edward teased.

Bella guessed at the meaning: grand theft auto, but left it unsaid. Edward led her a few blocks over, away from the prying eyes of the hotel's security cameras, and then toward a dark car, waiting in a pool of shadow with the engine running. They slide into the back seat, Bella not bothering with a seatbelt.

Alice turned at them, frowning, then gestured to the dashboard. "There wasn't much to choose from."

Edward grinned. "They can't all be 911 Turbos."

She sighed, presumably her conversation with Jasper had softened her lingering anger. "I might have to acquire one of those legally. It was fabulous."

"I'll get you one for Christmas," Edward promised.

Alice turned to beam at him, which worried Bella, as they were already speeding down the dark and curving roads.

"Yellow," she told him.

The flights home, now through Amsterdam, then Atlanta, then Sea-Tac, felt like Bella was ascending into heaven. A perfect forever stretching before her, and Edward finally back beside her. The exhaustion slowly caught up with her body, but her mind was so exhilarated that sleep seemed unnecessary. Edward suggested she try to sleep several times, and frowned in disbelief when she said she didn't feel tired, but it wasn't even a lie.

Neither Alice nor Edward was surprised by the reception that awaited them when they arrived in Seattle, but it caught Bella off guard. Jasper was the first one Bella saw, and he didn't notice her at all. He just walked straight to Alice and pulled her tightly against his chest, his body angled so that no one passing could see her.

Carlisle and Esme waited in a quiet corner. As Edward and Bella approached, she felt the adrenaline draining from her body with each step. By the time Esme reached for her, hugging her fiercely, Bella nearly collapsed into her arms. Her head felt disconnected from her body. Her eyes were suddenly watering, Esme's cold body somehow offering the warmest embrace she could imagine. Bella sniffed and pressed her face into Esme's golden hair.

"She's dead on her feet," Esme scolded Edward "Let's get her home. And don't think you've gotten away with this, Edward. You will never put me through that again."

Edward grinned, repentant. "Sorry, mom."

Bella was mostly asleep, though she was still walking, supported between Esme and Edward.. The three of them followed Carlisle to the parking garage, where his Mercedes was waiting for them. That didn't make sense, because Bella and Alice had left it in Vancouver, but Bella's brain felt like jelly, so she didn't ask. Carlisle slid in the passenger seat, Esme beside him, Bella and Edward in the backseat.

"What about Alice and Jasper?" Bella mumbled, her eyes struggling to focus.

"They prefer to run," Carlisle answered.

Bella hummed, not really listening or caring. She spent the drive back to Forks in a bizarre near-asleep state. Her body was so tired that even the effort of falling completely asleep was too much. She leaned against Edward, and watched the city landscape turn to the familiar forests of the Olympic Peninsula. Every tree and mountain and waterway, she noticed and appreciated, and yet the whole drive seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.

Suddenly, they were parked in front of Charlie's house. The cloud cover overhead was turning dark. Bella didn't move, it was taking her a while to restart the movements of her body.

"Bella? "Do you want me to carry you?" Edward asked.

"Charlie's home," Carlisle warned. "He might be more amenable to Edward's return if this situation isn't brought to his attention."

"Okay," Bella said groggily.

Edward glared grumpily at his father, who offered only a grin in return.

Bella blinked forcefully and slapped the sides of her face until she could think somewhat straight again. "Where's my bag?"

It was right beside them on the bench, but Edward carefully handed it to her. "I'll meet you upstairs."

Bella nodded, and her head seemed to get stuck in the pattern until she fumbled the door open. The stretch of sidewalk up to the front door seemed a mile long, and the duffle bag weighed a ton, but somehow, Bella made it through the front door of the house.

"Dad?" She said, her voice sounded far away.

He was sitting at the kitchen table, but he stood to meet her at the door. She dropped her bag there and looked at him. He chuckled. "Whoa, did you two go partying in Seattle?"

Bella blinked, struggling to understand the noises coming out of his mouth. Charlie's small grin faded, his expression hardening, "Bella?"

"No, no. No parties," she forced her face into a smile, luckily her exhausted brain remembered the story, "Alice takes the phrase 'shop till you drop' to a whole new level."

Charlie grimaced, his hand landed on her shoulder, then moved over to her back. He guided her towards the stairs. "Go get some sleep."

Bella nodded again. The stairs took forever, and she could feel Charlie watching her, probably expecting her to fall and crack her head open. By the time she reached her bedroom door, her vision was blurring. She managed to open the door and step inside, before her legs lost feeling. She trudged forward in the direction of her bed anyway, until the floorboards swirled up toward her face.

A cool pair of arms caught her before she collapsed. The door closed softly behind her. Bella didn't feel anything beyond Edward's hands tucking the blankets around her.


Eeeekk! We made it folks! No Volturi drama here, but I hope yall could've guessed that was coming. A happy reunion is much more my speed haha. Isn't it perfect that this is that chapter that pushed this over 100,000 words? And don't worry, I probably have another 100,000 planned out. Let me know your thoughts! See you next time!