I agree with you. Bella needs to have the chance to say goodbye. Edward believes it too. He's just afraid for her safety. He will do what's right, though. Just trust him. Thanks for the review. I really appreciate it. Much love - D

Until next time...here's a peek at Edward's next chapter:

Picking myself up off the floor, I took another steadying breath before rushing downstairs. Bella's quiet sobs hit me as I opened the back door and I was kneeling at her side in an instant.

"Bella," I whispered.

She was so lost in her grief she actually jumped when I touched her shoulder. Her face was marred by sorrow and I couldn't stop myself from pulling her into my arms. Her body molded to mine as she buried her head in my shoulder and cried.

Running my hands through her hair, I whispered soft, soothing words, hoping to settle her tears. I didn't know how much time had passed before she calmed, nothing left but tiny whimpers of grief. She was so still, had she been human, I would have believed she'd cried herself asleep. Though, just as the thought passed through my mind, she spoke.

"Please, Edward."

If I wasn't so focused on her, I would have missed it, but I didn't. I heard those two devastatingly heartbroken words loud and clear.

"Anything for you, my love," I whispered as I dipped my head to kiss her temple.

I'm glad you liked it. Thankfully, Bella came to her senses before it was too late. And I like that Edward can only hear Bella when she wants to speak to him through their mental connection. It's definitely going to come in handy later in this story. Thanks for the review. I really appreciate it. Much love - D 

Until next time...are you ready for something a little more playful? Here's a peek at Edward's next chapter, which will be up later today:

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I growled low into her ear.

A low growl rumbled in her chest as she exhaled and leaned back into me. "We've been climbing trees since we were ten and you're worried now. Now that I can't be hurt."

"The trees we climbed when we were ten didn't have you hundreds of feet above ground."

"We, my love," she twisted to kiss me quickly, "are indestructible. I could jump from this tree and the only thing to get hurt would be the ground beneath my feet."

"I just worry about you," I admitted.

"Don't."

She turned to straddle the branch, lifting an arm around my neck and resting her other hand on my arm. Her smile was gone.

"I've lived through so much already; falling from a tree is nothing in comparison."

"But I could have kept you from all of that. If I'd been here, I could have saved you from so much pain." I touched her cheek. "I will make up for that. I'll make up for every bit of pain you suffered."

"By keeping me out of trees." Her smile returned. "You've lived a sheltered life haven't you?"

I'm so glad you liked it.  It's hard to believe, but there have been studies done that indicate some (unknown how many, of course) of Spanish Flu victims actually died of aspirin overdoses.  I don't have any kind of medical apptitude, but the are questions about the amount of lung damage found in autopsies not being enough to cause death, and that the amount of fluid in the lungs may have some other cause.  And I guess the symptoms are similar. 

The teaser for chapter 45 has been submitted to Twi Fic Central (Wednesday) and Twi & VD Fic Recs (Tuesday).  I don't want to give anything away, but it's just about my favorite teaser yet!

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I thought the formating made a big difference in showing how disjointed and wild her thoughts were, so I'm glad you liked it.  Check out the latest chapter - introducing vampire Edward.

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There is only one person Bella can turn to.  The next chapters are set in Forks, and *someone* will start connecting dots!

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Not necessarily.  Edward is very stubborn, and I wrote my Edward very much in canon. 

Edward and Carlisle's father/son chat is coming up, I promse.  A teaser should be up on Fictionators sometime today!

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Oh, yes.  She will ask.  The question is, what will Edward answer?

I don't think Edward is lacking in courage.  I think he is genuinely repulsed by himself, and truly believes Bella deserves better than he can give her.  I think he's got self-esteem issues, but his courage is just fine.

Bella will run the whole gamut of emotions when she finds out the truth, which is only a couple chapters away!

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I've read probably over 60 out of the 80 plus books Agatha Christie ever wrote, and I didn't know that either.  Who says nothing good ever came out of gambling?  I'm glad you like all the little historial bits.  I think learning about the time made writing so much easier than it would have been otherwise.  Thanks for reviewing!

I don't think Bella cares what Edward is.  I know that's hard to believe, but having lost him once already, it truly is a non-issue with her.  She's got her Edward back, and nothing else matters more than that.  Having failed to protect him once already--in her mind--she's fiercely protective of him, and is content to keep his secret.  That protectiveness will play a major role in the remaining chapters once the truth comes out. This part of the story doesn't go on long.  There is a lot yet to happen and only 15 more chapters for it to happen in.  Circumstances will force the truth out soon, but let's let Edward and Bella have some happy time first. 

That was definitely what the call from Alice was about.  I don't think she saw that the sun would be out when they came out of the movie, because they hadn't decided on a movie--there was the boys choice of the action movie.  Once they decided, she saw it, but by then Edward had turned off his phone.

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You're not the only person to comment on that.  The alarm was sounded by hotel staff only a minute after Edward detected the scent of smoke, which was pretty much the exact second the fire started.  I've been in a hotel when the fire alarm sounded.  No one was in any hurry to evacuate.  Everyone assumed it was a prank, which fortunately it was.  Same thing at work.  The fire alarm goes off, and everyone assumes it's a drill.  No one is in any hurry to leave.  Most people say, "Yeah, yeah, just let me finish this/save this/get my stuff/etc."  I really think normal human nature is to not take the warning of a threat seriously until it's too late.  Just look at the Sandy.  How many manditory evacuation orders were there, and how many people said, "Nah, I'm not leaving.  I'm just going to stay and ride it out.  It won't be as bad as they say it will be."

There are only 13 chapters left, and I promise, they are not a rewrite of New Moon.  That was a premeditated decision to leave for what Edward believed to be Bella's own good, this was more of not being able to face something.  Bella had the advantage over Edward, she learned the truth in private and had a chance to come to terms with it, plus she had already come to the realization that something was up on her own.  Edward had the truth thrust at him unexpectedly, with no warning at all and under horrible circumstances.  But don't worry, I don't keep him away too long, something is about to happen that will....  Oops, got a bit ahead of myself!  You'll just have to wait and see what happens next, but like I said, no New Mooning!

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I'm so glad you like it! I think you're exactly right.  I've had a lot of reviewers comment on Edward's feelings about his body in this chapter.  They are his feelings, his POV, his opinion.  The vampires are always described as being so devastatingly beautiful, that we never consider they could be insecure.  In canon, Edward was described as being "lanky, less bulky" than his brothers.  Bella sees his forearm when she's sitting next to him in class and thinks to herself that he isn't "nearly as slight as he'd looked next to his burly brother."  I think it'd be natural for his last few months as a human--at least as I wrote them--to have affected him physically, and he'd have lost weight and muscle tone.  Alice was described as "thin in the extreme," so I don't think the change would've improved his physique all that much.  It heals and perfects what's already there, but I don't think it would've added to what was already there, or all male vampires would be as bulky as Emmett and all females as voluptuous as Rosalie. 

Thanks for reviewing!  I'm so sorry for not responding to your review sooner.  I'm behind on responding to reviews on all the sites I'm posting on.  I have no real excuse other than life is just really busy right now--of course, there's also the 15 pounds of pure cute sitting next to me in his little bouncer seat and trying to stick his entire fist in his mouth.

She definitely has had a lot to deal with.  I wanted it to be like an avalanche of stuff hitting her one after another, like a "when it rains, it pours." scenario.  Thanks for reviewing!  I hope you'll vote!

I'm glad you like the idea of Charlie being involved.  I really liked writing that.  I can't see Bella finding a way to be changed without Edward's help, that just seems to ripe for potential problems to me.  They're in this together, and they need to resolve their issues together.  Either of them doing something that major without the other involved, I just think is wrong.  It's like going behind the other's back.  In any relationship, such a major decision should be between the couple, not outsiders, I think.

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That's the best way to deal with Aro, isn't it?  Get him in, and get him out quick!  I'll get the epilogue up as soon as possible.  Thanks for reviewing!

Bella setting Victoria on fire was one of the first scenes I pictured before I started writing.  It's definitely a Plan Z, but I really liked it. 

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