A/N: Hello, everyone! : ) I hope you had a nice weekend! I did – but today I have a lot of work to do! Sigh. Anyway, here is the next chapter! I won't lie – just a lot of information! It is essential to the story, however, so I please bear with me! Hope to see you all back next week! : ) Thanks to my reviewers:

WiseGirl819: Thanks! And I am trying to update regularly! : )

CuteyAngel2008: It's strange seeing Edward so helpless, eh? Poor guy! I've never had a broken arm, but I can imagine it being quite difficult to dress oneself the first few times! : )

Bookgeek115: Thank you! : )

foosel97: I'm glad you like it!

..Disco: Thank you very much, and here is your update! :D

SkaterKatie246: I know! Poor Edward! We shall see what happens! *cackle* ; )

EnglishMystic: Thanks! ^_^

Chapter VI: Discussion

As I descended the stairs, I knew that the Cullens were having a conversation that I was not supposed to hear; they were speaking so fast that all I could hear was a quiet hum. Even so, I cautiously entered the living room.

Carlisle and Esme were seated together on the love seat, his hand resting on her leg. Emmett sat on the arm of it, with Rosalie beside him in the arm chair. Jasper and Alice adorned the couch like the perfection that they were, though their statuesque faces were etched with worry.

"Good evening, Bella," Carlisle said, glancing up. Everyone else nodded at me as I stood there nervously, wondering where to sit. Alice patted the spot on her other side and offered me a smile. I moved myself quickly and sat down, greeted with an embrace from Alice. It was refreshing to feel the cool marble skin of their kind once again.

"How are you?" she asked, looking at me worriedly. She smoothed a piece of her short black hair out of her eyes.

"I'm...I'm fine," I replied. I knew I wasn't, judging by the knots in my stomach and the pounding of my heart. My head even hurt a little. But I had to brush those things aside and commit myself to protecting Edward.

"How's Edward?" Rosalie cut in sharply, barely giving me enough time to finish my own reply.

"He's...I suppose he's alright," I announced timidly. Rosalie's eyes blazed with loathing, a look I had come to expect from her. This one was far more powerful, though. There something else lurking in her eyes – hatred, perhaps? Whatever it was, it didn't take long for Esme to notice.

"Rosalie," she snapped, "we are not going to get anywhere with you scowling at family like that!"

"Since when does a family member," Rosalie countered venomously, "endanger other members?"

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I didn't know that they would – "

"Don't apologize to her, Bella!" Alice cut in, sending a glare towards her sister. "She fails to realize that this endeavour was almost entirely Edward's fault, because he didn't think it through!"

"Well, Edward would not have done that if it was anyone else!" Rosalie growled, rising to her feet. Emmett reached out and touched her arm, but she jerked it away.

"Enough!" Carlisle said loudly, shocking everyone into silence with the tone of his voice. "The only ones who are at fault here are the Volturi and their sickening ways! If we expect to get anything done, to fix this solution or come up with a compromise, we must all work together."

He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. He continued, flashing his gaze to Rosalie, "I will not have this family arguing at a time like this, and you, Rosalie, will not continue to pick on Bella like you just did! Do you even realize how much of her life is at stake, too? Bella is as much a daughter to me as you are, and you will treat her with dignity and respect! Do you understand?"

Rosalie gaped at him for a moment, and then slowly sank back down into the chair. Carlisle had actually rendered her speechless.

I looked down, flustered and embarrassed that there was so much arguing going on because of me. I could feel my brave front slipping with each agonizing second.

"Good," Carlisle said. He looked at me and smiled, then said gently, "It's okay, Bella. Do you understand?"

I could only nod as I finally looked up. I clasped my hands together tightly.

His face turned serious again as he looked at Esme for a second. It was almost like they were having a conversation only with their eyes. I saw Esme slowly nod her head.

Carlisle looked back, meeting the eyes of everyone in the room before continuing in a professional and calm voice. "I have analyzed the blood which I took from Edward earlier...and the results are both disturbing and intriguing."

I felt my heartbeat go wild and I knew that they could all hear it, but I was too worried to be embarrassed.

He continued. "Large amounts of Flunitrazepam were found – also known as Rohypnol. This generation most likely knows it as the date-rape drug. Now...Flunitrazepam can do several things at once, such as sedate the victim and cause skeletal muscle relaxation. It's a very dangerous substance, and as a matter of fact, it is illegal in the United States. This drug is able to easily render a human unconscious and even induce anterograde amnesia, which basically means that memories prior to the event are forgotten."

I was puzzled, and so was everyone else – how could this stuff render a vampire senseless? Drugs should have zero effect on their kind.

Carlisle paused momentarily, looking at all of us. "It is true – this should have no effect on a vampire. However, there was another unknown substance mixed with the Flunintrazepam, and I think that that may be the key to understanding how they got Edward into an unconscious state to begin with. I examined his body, and there are quite a few track marks from where he was injected with drugs."

Alice covered her mouth with her hand, looking physically ill. "How long did they even have him for?"

"Approximately twelve hours," Carlisle replied, sighing softly.

"Then what made him human?" Jasper asked quietly. "How the hell is it possible for him to be human?"

Carlisle raised an eyebrow. "That is the intriguing part – there was nothing else in his blood. As a matter of fact, it was pure for the most part. No toxins, chemicals – nothing. I checked over and over again and my computer scanned the samples to match others, but nothing came up. The unknown substance – I think that was just in order to knock him unconscious. This 'pure' blood, though...I think it has something to do with his newly found and supposedly temporary humanity."

I felt nauseous picturing Edward rendered completely helpless and at the mercy of his captures. That the Volturi would sink so low as to use one of their own kind for their experiments...it sickened me. But it also made me wary – what if they were playing a game? What if there is something else in Edward's blood, hiding, that is key to understanding his condition?

Esme spoke then, her voice quiet and soft. "What surprises me most is that despite the fact Edward has all of these drugs in his system, he has not overdosed. It's almost like there is still some kind of vampire-like immunity left in him. That said, however, he is definitely displaying human reactions to the drugs..."

Carlisle nodded. "Esme is right. The convulsions he experienced earlier are most likely a consequence of the drugs in his system. I did, however, notice that he was crying from the ordeal, and the convulsions may have also just been an accumulation of the traumatic psychological events that have taken place in the last day. He does only possess a seventeen-year-old's body. It is important to keep that in mind when considering him as a human."

I buried my face in my hands. I would change places with him in a heartbeat if it were possible.

"It's okay, Bella," Alice said to me softly, placing her hand on my shoulder.

"No, it's not! If the Volturi want me to become a vampire, then why not do it?" I looked at Carlisle pleadingly. "You'd be saving everyone so much trouble! And...and Edward!" I continued, tears falling freely down my face now. "What will they do to him? Or what have they already done to him that we don't know about and can't detect? They want something from me, and I should be able to give it to them!"

"No," Carlisle said firmly. "That is one demand that will not be considered without extremely careful thought. Though you are right – they may have done something to him already, besides make him human, that we do not know about."

Emmett looked at me, smiling sadly. "We know that you're hurting, Bella. You just have to hang in there."

Carlisle nodded. "Please, Bella. You must understand that turning you into a vampire will only be giving into the Volturi's demands, and who knows if they even intend to keep their promise to leave us alone after that wish is fulfilled. They struck Edward down for two reasons – one, to get to you, and two, because he is undoubtedly one of our strongest."

"What will we do then, Carlisle?" I felt helpless and desperate.

"Nothing right now. You need to sleep. We will discuss this further tomorrow." His young face appeared to be lined with wrinkles, but I knew that it was just my imagination. The stress on everyone was tremendous.

I was about to protest again when everyone seemed to stop what they were doing at the same time and listen intently, heads cocked towards the stairs. I couldn't hear or see anything.

Emmett spoke again. "Um...Edward appears to be vomiting," he sighed. "I'll go see if he's okay."

"No, I'll go," I said, standing up and dismissing myself. "Good night." Carlisle was right – I did need rest, but I also needed to take care of Edward.

"Goodnight, Bella," Carlisle said softly, as I walked by. "I may come up later to see if everything is okay."

I nodded as I approached the stairs. I just wanted this nightmare to be over.