I stared at his face while he watched Carlisle fix my hand. There was nothing in this world that I wanted more than him. Would that, could that, change?

"Yes, it would change…to a certain extent," Edward frowned.

"But only for a little while in the grand scheme of things," Alice said. "The bloodlust only last a year or so, and after that, all she'll want is you."

Was there a human experience that I was not willing to give up?

"I wonder what human experience she wants," Emmett said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Edward tried to looking like this wasn't affecting him, but he was looking worried as he handed the book over to Emmett, saying the chapter was finished.

Chapter Sixteen

Epoch

"Epoch," Emmett read.

"I have nothing to wear!" I moaned to myself.

Every item of clothing I owned was strewn across my bed; my drawers and closets were bare.

"I bet it didn't take up much space," Alice muttered darkly and then brightened up thinking about all the shopping trips she and Bella could go on.

I stared into the empty recesses, willing something suitable to appear.

My khaki skirt lay over the back of the rocking chair, waiting for me to discover something that went with it just exactly right. Something that would make me look beautiful and grown up. Something that said special occasion. I was coming up empty.

"I'm sure I'll think of something that will help you out," Alice said cheerfully.

It was almost time to go, and I was still wearing my favorite old sweats. Unless I could find something better here - and the odds weren't looking good at this point - I was going to graduate in them.

Alice shuddered at that.

I scowled at the pile of clothes on my bed.

The kicker was that I knew exactly what I would have worn if it were still available - my kidnapped red blouse.

Edward stiffened at the mentioning of that incident.

I punched the wall with my good hand.

"Stupid, thieving, annoying vampire!" I growled.

Emmett chuckled at that.

"What did I do?" Alice demanded.

"She didn't mean you...this time," Emmett laughed.

She was leaning casually beside the open window as if she'd been there the whole time.

"Knock, knock," she added with a grin.

"And who's the dork now?" Edward smirked at her.

"You," Alice said simply.

"Is it really so hard to wait for me to get the door?"

She threw a flat, white box onto my bed. "I'm just passing through. I thought you might need something to wear."

I looked at the big package lying on top of my unsatisfying wardrobe and grimaced.

"Admit it," Alice said. "I'm a lifesaver."

"You're a lifesaver," I muttered. "Thanks."

"Well, it's nice to get something right for a change. You don't know how irritating it is - missing things the way I have been. I feel so useless. So . . . normal." She cringed in horror of the word.

And the Alice in this room cringed as well.

"You're not normal, love, you're..." Jasper began.

"Yeah, there is no one that would ever call you normal, you little freak," Emmett laughed.

"Thanks, Em," Alice said, rolling her eyes.

"I can't imagine how awful that must feel. Being normal? Ugh."

She laughed. "Well, at least this makes up for missing your annoying thief - now I just have to figure out what I'm not seeing in Seattle."

When she said the words that way - putting the two situations together in one sentence -

"NO!" Edward shouted. "THEY'RE AFTER BELLA!"

"They're the ones that took her scent," Jasper said, looking worried.

"We have to stop them now... I don't want them coming anywhere near her," Edward growled.

"I don't know why you're so worked up. This is a good thing," Emmett said.

"WHAT?" Edward growled as he turned to him, looking like he was about to attack.

"Er... I didn't mean good," Emmett exclaimed, raising his hands. "I just meant... you know, with the preface..."

"Oh," Rosalie said, "you think that this is the danger that everyone was in?"

"I still don't see the good part yet," Edward hissed and it looked like he was using all his strength to not attack his brother.

"That the newborn army is better than the Volturi," Emmett said calmly, confident that that was going to get his point across.

Edward did relax his stance slightly. He wasn't going to be attacking anyone, but he still looked tense. "She still has an army coming for her," he groaned.

"But one that we can beat," Emmett stated confidently.

"Perhaps, but it's not going to be easy," Jasper said, looking like he was calculating something, though he too looked relieved that it wasn't really the Volturi they would be facing. "This doesn't really change much of what we were thinking before...except now, we know that the army is the only threat that is after us right now."

Edward hissed at that. "After her…not us! And we don't know it's the only threat! We don't know who started this army! The Volturi might..."

"Edward, it's not them," Carlisle assured him. "I've already told you they wouldn't create a newborn army."

"He's right. I think Victoria is the most likely suspect," Jasper said.

Edward growled again.

"Don't worry, Edward," Esme said, although she looked like she needed to take her own advice. "Everything will be okay. We'll protect Bella..."

"Besides, didn't you say earlier that you thought that wolves where going to help us?" Alice pointed out.

"No, not exactly," Edward said, "just that they would want to fight if they knew about the army."

Alice rolled her eyes, as if she didn't clearly remember everything that he had said, "And you thought that fight would likely come here..."

Edward hissed. "I don't want that."

"But it might actually be the best," Jasper said. "In any situation, but even more so if we could get the wolves involved."

"I think it's best if we start reading again," Carlisle encouraged.

"Okay," Emmett shrugged and started reading again.

right then it clicked. The elusive something that had been bothering me for days, the important connection that I couldn't quite put together, suddenly became clear. I stared at her, my face frozen with whatever expression was already in place.

"Aren't you going to open it?" she asked. She sighed when I didn't move immediately, and tugged the top of the box off herself. She pulled something out and held it up, but I couldn't concentrate on what it was. "Pretty, don't you think? I picked blue, because I know it's Edward's favorite on you."