Somehow, Edward was back home in his bed.

Esme at next to him, crocheting Bella a scarf and hat combo. Emmett and Jasper had both set up shop in front of Edward's TV and were playing some new console game. He could hear Rosalie, Alice, and Carlisle in the kitchen talking.

"Mom?" Edward over at his mom and tried to talk but he felt like his throat was closing on him. He wrapped his hands around this throat and felt his eyes begin to tear up.

Esme shooed the boys out the room and shut the door, leaving mother and son to talk.

Bella was lost.

After running blocks away from the police station and head first into the county parade, she had no clue where she was. She had just found a police officer within walking distance when he had turned and ran for his patrol car.

Next thing she knew, all kinds of sirens were going off and heading away from the parade. This prompted all of the parade goers to hurry on home leaving Bella alone on a Friday night.

Bella, grabbed for her phone and was overjoyed to have put those emergency numbers in her phone…except none of the numbers were working. Great. Bella thought and thumbed through her contacts. She tried the Cullen house. Dead. Edward's went straight to voicemail. Next she tried Alice and the same too. It was like the world was out to get her.

The last person she had was Kate's cellphone number. Kate was her only hope.

Kate picked up on the second ring, "Bella! Oh my God! I am so happy you called!"

"Kate I need your help, I'm lost and I think he's still after me," Bella explained as she passed a bar with drunk middle-aged men cheering over some game.

"Where are you? I'll come and pick you up! Oh! Garrett—" Kate's voice was muffled by something, "—Ok, Garrett, here. Where are you at?"

"I'm on North Bridge Street. Next to that sports bar."

"I know it, go inside and tell the barkeep that you are Garrett's niece." With that he hung up and Bella hurried inside.

The historical building was crammed full of people. Most were eager sports fans but there were some college-aged guys in the back. They didn't look like they were extremely interested in the sports. They seemed like they were more interested in out drinking each other.

While the bar was small it had tall ceilings and local sports memorabilia hanging on the walls. There were a couple of mounted hunting trophies that made Bella a tad uncomfortable, but for the most part it was a welcoming little place.

Bella made her way to the bar and told the bartender that she was Garrett's niece. The girl smiled, "Hi! I'm Candice, nice to meet you. Follow me!" Bella followed the extremely happy and peppy red-head into the back room. Almost instantly the girl's smile faded and her shoulders fell.

"Thank God! It gets so loud out there, if you go upstairs there are a couple of rooms that you can chill in. I'd show you around, but my co-worker didn't show." Without a good-bye, Candice walked back into the fray leaving Bella to explore upstairs.

The upstairs was actually quite spacious. There was a common room with a nice sofa and car with a whole wall dedicated to books. There was a mirror on the wall behind the couch and some take-out containers on the coffee table.

The first door to her left was a small bathroom with a tiny stained-glass window. Next there was a bedroom with the covers rumpled and clothing thrown across the floor. The next door was locked and the final door was a spare bedroom with Christmas lights and a fake mini-Christmas tree on the bedside table.

Bella shut the door behind her and sat on the spare room's bed. It looked like the room was made for a girl. The walls were a light purple and the furniture was a soft ivory. There was even a small stuffed unicorn on the bed behind her.

Looking around, Bella could almost imagine that this was her life. That this was her room and that her parents—her new parents—loved her. They would accept her for her faults and all her achievements. They would push her to be a better and brighter self. They would help her love herself. And they would never hurt her again.

But this wasn't some fairytale. There would be no fairy godmother or magical ever after. This was only a bedroom. Not some hope for the future.

Feeling a little hopeless with her situation, Bella stood up and moved back out into the common room. She looked through the collection of books on the self and found a collection of short essays by Edgar Allen Poe. Thinking that he was the perfect writer for her current mood, she sat down and read while she waited for Garrett.

She did not expect both Garrett and Kate to walk up the stairs 15 minutes later. Kate looked like she was overjoyed to see Bella and even hugged her before Bella could stand up. Bella was in the process of completing the hug when Kate sprang up and started apologizing.

"So sorry! I know some people like their space. I'm just—you have no idea how good it is to see you!" The strong and independent Kate seemed brought to tears by seeing Bella and it freaked her out.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying? Garrett?" Bella stood and watched as Garrett pulled Kate and Bella in for a hug.

"It has been a very long night."

Having no way to contact the Cullen's, Garrett had offered the spare bedroom to Bella for the night. Kate had given Bella the full tour. Downstairs there was a full kitchen and living room but Kate told her that they spent most of their time upstairs.

During her tour, she pointed out that all of the doors were locked with a deadbolt, even the bathroom. It was like a little sanctuary, except for the bar downstairs.

"We lock it up normally. The kitchen closes at nine, so Garrett normally has our place locked up tight before things get too crazy. And he is always in the back making sure orders are carried out correctly," Kate said as she locked the kitchen door.

"Want to watch a movie?" Kate asked as they ascended the stairs.

"Kate, tell me what happened, please?" Bella asked.

Kate took a deep breath and headed for the locked door. Inside was Kate's home office with whiteboards covered with pictures, maps, and notations. The far window was covered with a sheet and she had made the entire walls whiteboards. Each wall had a different theme. The one with the window had the major parties involved and a brief bio blurb. Next there was a map taped and, again, red and blue notations indicating something of importance. The next two walls were dedicated to her dad and herself.

Their two walls were marked perp. and victim(s). And they both had more detailed bios and information about the case. On the victims' wall, Kate wrote next to Bella's name, Annie Reynolds: 12/27, Police Station, 10:15pm, Stabbed.

"I need you to breathe," Esme stated calmly as Edward tried to speak. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves. "Good. Now, with me." They continued this dance of deep breathing until Edward was able to control himself.

"How did I get here?" Edward asked.

"You were at the police station. They say you witnessed something horrible and went into shock. We picked you up at the hospital a couple of hours ago. You will be fine."

"Where is Bella?" Edward asked looking around his room.

"We do not know. Our phone is off the hook and we haven't gotten a call from her yet. I bet she's—"

"She is not fine, Mom. She is out there with her father running loose!" Edward was boarding on anger with his mother.

"Now, Edward,"

"I'm calling B.S. Where is Dad?"

"Edward, I need you to calm down. We are trying to find her," Esme's tone changed from calm to stern, "I can't have you all running around in danger."

"You need to call Kate, she's the officer in charge. She needs to know what happened."

"Do you have her number?"

"Yes, in my phone…which is in my car," Edward groaned. "I can't do anything right today."

"We will get her back. We won't let anything happen."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Edward turned over and thought about what Bella had said one day. He wanted to keep her safe…but today he broke that promise.

"I want to be alone right now," Edward said. He listened as his mother agreed and shut the door behind her. Edward couldn't stop thinking of the horrible things that could be happening to Bella.

This is horrible, Bella thought as she sat next to Garrett and Kate.

They acted like love-sick teenager. And as a love-sick teenager herself, Bella was both jealous and annoyed. After discussing the particulars of the night's events, Kate had insisted on a movie. Garrett had agreed and had put in some leftovers downstairs and Kate showed Bella their move collection. Kate decided on a classic 90s film about a girl you hates a boy but ultimately falls for him in the end.

Overjoyed at the prospect of a night-in, Kate was almost jumping for joy when Garrett came in with Chinese leftovers. Then the honeymooners had started their lovey-dovely crap.

"I can't believe he—"

"Kate, I think I'm going to bed. I'm really tired, and I think I need to be alone with my thoughts," Bella interrupted.

"Kate looked up from her cuddle with Garrett, "Oh yeah! Go for it! I'm so happy that you are safe, Belle. I was really worried."

Bella smiled and made her way upstairs. Kate and Garrett were two of the sweetest people she had ever met. It really warmed her heart to see this much love. And she could feel their love for her.

Her smile faded, though. Tonight, she would be in a bed alone. It had been months since she had been able to face the emptiness that came with a lonely bed.

As she lay down to sleep, she could help but hope, Edward was safe. It was a good thing he had been running late. She couldn't even imagine what would have happened if he had been there. He could have seen it, or worse been Annie.

Bella sat in the common room of the apartment waiting for Garrett and Kate to get ready. It had been a night spent watching the moon light fade into sunlight. Bella was beyond tired and wanted to get home to the Cullen's so she could curl up next to the fire and Edward and try and piece the previous day together.

"Ok, let us get down to business!" Kate said and led the way to Garrett's pick-up. Garrett laughed behind her and Bella brought up the rear. It was a long journey back to the Cullen's because the freezing temperatures overnight. While the ice and snow might look beautiful it was far from ideal driving conditions.

By the time they made it to the Cullen home, it was nearing brunch time and Bella's stomach was very talkative. As the electronic gate opened, Bella saw the Cullen's exit the front door and stand waiting for her. Bella finally smiled. It seemed she really had found her family. One that missed her. One that loved her. One that she couldn't seem to live without.

Double update! Make sure to review! It is a good feeling being back. I've missed FanFic 3 Ms. IsisBlue