"You want to thank us," I say disbelievingly.

The brunette smiles at us with a predatory gleam in her eyes. "We have been caged here for a great many years, young one. Now we are free to go where we please."

"Our husbands have always been so fearful of losing us," Athenodora comments. "They've kept us under lock and key for centuries. You have returned our freedom to us, for which we are very grateful."

"What do you plan to do with your newfound freedom?" Bella asks warily.

"We would like to travel," Athenodora replies. "See the world and what it has to offer now."

"And Volterra?" I question.

"Is yours, if you wish it," Sulpicia answers carelessly. "It has never been our home."

"You'll just leave?"

Coming to stand together, both women nod. "As soon as possible."

"What about the guards?"

Sulpicia lets loose a tinkling laugh. "So many questions!" Shaking her head disapprovingly, she steps toward the doors. "They may do what they wish, but unless ordered, they will do you no harm."

"Thank you, again," Athenodora stresses with a polite smile settled on her pretty face. "We wish you luck."

Bella and I watch them disappear, the only sound of their departure being the whistling of disrupted air. "Well, that was surprisingly easy," Bella murmurs.

"You're telling me."

"A little too easy?" she asks.

"No, their intentions felt pure. I don't foresee them becoming a problem."

"Then we can focus on Charlie for the time being." Glancing over at the fallen doctor, she sighs. "All we have to do is revive Dr. Corby."

"I wish I had known what a sniveling pig he was," I grumble as I move towards him.

"He's still one of the best doctors in the country," she replies. "He's our best shot at figuring out what's wrong with my dad, and if that means I have to put up with his horrible personality, then so be it."

I place Corby over my shoulder, grimacing apologetically. "Of course, love. I'm sorry; I shouldn't be complaining."

Striding towards the door, she winks at me as she passes by. "It's okay. When all of this is over, you can make it up to me."

"Have I told you how much I love you?" I call out to her.

"Not in the past 12 hours!"

I chuckle under my breath and flash up the circling staircase in search of a room. Finding the closest one, I lay Corby on the massive bed and head for the bathroom. I grab a cup, fill it with water, and then return to the bedroom to dump the cup on the doctor's fleshy face. He wakes up in a coughing fit, spluttering and cursing like a filthy sailor. "What the hell?"

"It's time you meet your end of the bargain, doc," I say commandingly.

Wheezing, he struggles to stand on his feet. "Their eyes, Mr. Hale. They were red!"

I cock my head and study his face as if I'm worried about his sanity. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I pushed you down the tunnel and you fainted, Dr. Corby."

"I-how?" Shaking his head, he stares at the wooden floor. "I must have dreamt it all then...?"

It was a good thing the man was so gullible; it saved a lot of time and effort. "I suppose you did." I start heading for the exit. "Sounds like it was a crazy dream."

"Yeah," I hear him mutter while I race to find Bella.

"He's awake," I tell her when I see that she's not moved Charlie since I last left. "Let's see if he can be of any use to us."

"I'm scared, Jasper," she confides.

I take Charlie from her. "I know but it's going to be okay, yeah? Everything is going to be fine."

Her worried eyes glance at her father before finding mine. "I hope so."

Silently, we make it to the doctor in record time - he just blinks at us when we run into the room at a seemingly impossible speed. "Alright," he starts hesitantly. "Let me have a look at the patient."

Laying Charlie on the bed, I stand back to grab Bella's hand. "You better know what you're doing," I warn him.

"Trust me, Mr. Hale, I've been doing this for years." We watch silently as he checks Charlie's vitals and writes things down furiously in a notebook. Every once in awhile he mumbles scientific gibberish but other than that, he keeps silent. Bella's a fidgety mess by the time he puts the notebook away and looks at us.

"Well?" she prompts impatiently.

"There's a bump on the back of his head that, I believe, is the problem," he says calmly enough. "Most likely he hit it against something. Or someone hit him; regardless, head trauma is tricky business."

"Is he going to be alright?"

Folding his arms over his chest, he shrugs. "It's hard to say. The good news is that his heartrate is normal and he can breathe on his own. I can't tell you how long he'll remain unconscious, but the chances are good that he'll wake up soon."

"Is there anything else we should know?" she asks.

"The longer he stays unconscious, the slimmer his chances are of waking up," he says, face grim.

"But you think that he'll be okay?"

"One can never say for sure, but, yes."

I step forward. "Thank you for your time, Doc."

"No, thanks necessary. You're paying good money for my services, Mr. Hale."

"Yes, well, the jet is waiting for you at the airport. You're free to go. The check will be waiting for you when you get home."

I can tell he's too scared to raise a fuss about the money, which is a wise move on his part. "Could you or your wife show me out?" he asks meekly.

Wordlessly, I move towards the hall, not waiting to see if he's following, though I can hear his heavy footsteps trail after me. Bella stays with Charlie while I show Dr. Corby to the "door" and by the time I make it back, she's lying beside her dad, eyes closed as if she's sleeping. "You gave him a lot of money for him just to tell us, Charlie may or may not wake up," she says softly.

"Yeah, well..." I trail off.

"You're a good man, Jasper Hale."

It wasn't the time or place, but when the doctor had called Bella my wife, I'd fantasized about what that would be like. I can imagine it being a lot like right now, only she would have my last name. It's a nice thought, one I plan to make a reality someday, but for now, we need to worry about Charlie. Besides, I knpw she loves me and that's all that truly matters; a piece of paper won't change that. "Thank you, love. You get all of the credit for changing me into the man I've become."

She snorts. "I had nothing to do with it. You protected me from Maria because you knew what she was. You've always been good, sweetheart. You just needed to believe that you were capable of more than what Maria wanted from you."

I smile. "Can I least give you the credit for helping with that?"

Hiding her face in the mattress, I can practically feel her answering grin. "Sure," she says. "If it will make you happy."

"You make me happy. Everything else means very little to me."

"I love you, Jazz."

"I love you, too." No words have ever meant more.

The Next Day

I'm downstairs looking through the Volturi's papers when I hear Bella yell for me. "Jasper, come up here! Hurry!"

I can hear Charlie's weak laugh before I'm even halfway there, and I speed up when I realize what that means. Rushing into the bedroom, I skid to a stop when I see Bella and Charlie hugging. "Bella," I breathe.

Looking over her shoulder at me, she gives me the most brilliant smile I've ever seen. "He woke up!"

"You must be Jasper," Charlie greets gruffly. "The young man my daughter has fallen in love with."

"I certainly hope so," I reply. Closing the distance between us, I hold out my hand for him to shake.

"Dad, I'm so happy you're awake," Bella exclaims after we give each other the stare-down.

"Those red-eyed freaks certainly did a number on me," he admits. "But I'm made of tougher stuff then they gave me credit for."

"Your daughter has inherited your strength," I remark. "She's something else."

"That she is," Charlie agrees quietly. Leaning back, he observes Bella closely. "You're not the same, are you? It's one of the reasons why those things came after me, isn't it?"

Bella shifts around, looks at me, then nods cautiously. "Yes, I'm different."

"Different like him?" he questions, tilting his head in my direction.

"Yes."

Running a hand down his face, he sighs. "Well," he rallies. "You're still my Bella. We can talk about what happened later; what matters is that we're together again."

"We have all the time in the world," she readily agree.

For once, it really feels like we do. It looks like we're going to get everything we want, which is plenty more than I deserve. But I will gladly accept whatever good things life wants to give me because, after all, it sent me Bella.