~ Denali National Park, Alaska - November 16, 2005 ~

I reached out and caressed Bella's cheek. It was now almost an instinctual reaction for her to open her shield when we touched. Likewise, I opened up my mind as well so we could share each other's thoughts.

"We don't have to do this today, love. If you are not ready, we can wait. There is no rush on doing this."

"I know, but I want to do this. I want to try. I think I'm ready." Bella replied back. She looked cautiously off into the distance, where five miles away was the George Parks Highway.

Bella wanted to start acclimating herself to humans. I knew this was important to her. So after a lot of family discussion, planning, and validation through Alice's visions, it was decided that taking Bella close to the Parks Highway would be the safest way for her to experience how enticing humans smell. The plan would be to approach the highway in careful increments until Bella could just start to smell the humans. Given that it was snowing, not many vehicles would be on the highway, and the frigid temperatures would mean that the few vehicles on the road would have their windows closed tightly. This should mean that Bella would only be subjected to a faint amount of human scent. As a further safety measure, I would wrap her up in my arms, plus Rose and Emmett would be positioned between us and the highway.

"Ok then, love. Lets go do a quick hunt, then it should be time to meet Rose and Emmett."

Bella and I walked closer to the highway until we were about a half mile away from it. Her hunt ended quicker than we expected, so we reached our planned meeting point early. I could not yet hear Rose and Emmett's thoughts. There wasn't any consistent cell phone coverage in this park of Alaska, so I brought our satellite phone. However, even that phone only worked when we were higher up, out of the canopy of trees.

After about five minutes, I picked up my first human thoughts since Bella's change. I doubted Bella would be able to smell them, but I wrapped my arms around her as a precaution. Bella stiffened in my arms as her shield closed tight. I was expecting this, as she wanted to be focused on her senses, rather than allowing me access to her mind.

"There is a vehicle coming north-bound," I whispered calmly into Bella's ear. "They should be too far away for you to pickup their scent."

Bella nodded and breathed in a ragged breath. "Tell me about the them," she asked. As Carlisle advised her, she was trying to focus on the vehicle passengers as people with lives worth living, rather than a source of delectable blood. Given the quiet forest around us, we both could now hear the vehicle approaching.

"Its a mother and her two children. The children's names are Robbie and Sarah." I replied as I listened to their thoughts. "The children are bickering back and forth over who should get the last of the cookies the mother brought for them. They hare heading north to Cantwell." I paused while the mother reached back and grabbed the bag containing the cookie. As the mother secured the bag, she glanced back at the road just in time to see an arctic fox dart across the highway. She shrieked in surprise and jerked the steering wheel to avoid the animal. Her truck skidded on the snow covered surface. I wrapped Bella tighter as I mentally followed the frantic thoughts of the mother as she tried to control the vehicle. Unfortunately, she over corrected too much, which caused the truck to snap sideways and careen down the berm of the highway. Near the bottom, the front wheel dug hard into the snow covered earth, and given the inertia of the vehicle, it flipped onto its roof and slid brutally into several trees.

Bella gasped as she heard each part of the accident I witnessed through the thoughts of the passengers. The sounds of shattering glass and crushed metal mixed with the screams of the children in the vehicle. The mother was knocked unconscious upon the final upside-down impact. Luckily the children were buckled securely into their seats, but they were scared and hurt.

"We have to help them!" Bella yelled out as she tried to break my grip. I held her as tight as I could while I tried to move us away from the highway. "No!" She screamed. "They need help!"

"Bella, I have to get you out of here!" I pleaded. There is blood!"

"I don't care!" Bella roared before she set her feet and started dragging us back towards the accident. A beat later the scent of human blood and gasoline hit us. For me it was faint, but for Bella it was like a sledgehammer. A feral hiss escaped her as she doubled her efforts to break out of my grip, however this time it was fueled not by concern, but by Bella's bloodlust.

"Bella, you must listen to me!" I cried out over her snarls. "They're a family! They were eating cookies on their way to see their Grandfather!"

I swept Bella's legs while I jerked us backwards into the air, crashing us into a tree. The impact broke Bella's bloodlust focus for an instant. It was long enough for her to hear the children sobbing while they pleaded with their mother to wake up. Bella froze in my arms before settling her wild eyes upon mine.

"We need to go," I whispered. "Please, let me get you away from here."

Bella looked back towards the accident. The smell of blood and gasoline was getting stronger as it got picked up in the light breeze. The look on her face changed from that of a crazed newborn to sad resignation, before nodding in ascent.

In a flash I lifted Bella and darted further into the woods. After a couple of seconds Bella reached up and touched my cheek as her shield lifted.

"Edward, stop! Please!" She nearly sobbed. The strength of her emotions and convictions was startling, so I complied.

Bella sighed and allowed her shield to slam shut. She was too strung out to keep it open.

"Edward, you need to go back and help them," she whispered. "We can't let them die. I promise to move further into the woods. Really, I will. But you need to go help them."

I was torn between my conflicting desires. I knew Bella was right that the family needed help. But I also needed to make sure Bella was away from here.

"Please! Please go help them!" She begged. The desperate look on her face made it clear what I had to do.

"Ok," I told her as I handed her the satellite phone. "Go back up the mountain, Bella. Get to clear sky and then use the satellite phone can call emergency services in Cantwell. I will go help them."

Bella nodded and ran away, while I ran towards the accident. At my top speed, I reached the vehicle in less than a minute. The smell of blood and gasoline were both strong, but the gasoline was the most bothersome. One stray spark and the the truck could ignite.

I slowed as I approached the vehicle. "Hello!" I called out. "I am here to help!"

"We're in here!" The oldest boy cried while his younger sister sobbed for her unconscious mother.

I looked over the vehicle, and quickly found the source of the gasoline smell. Luckily it appeared to not be from the main vehicle fuel tank, but rather from a separate 5 gallon gas can that was thrown from the vehicle during the accident. I quickly kicked the can into the woods to minimize its danger, before assessing the state of the vehicle. Although the truck was upside down and laying on its roof, the passenger cabin seemed largely intact, except for the all of the shattered glass. The doors on the driver's side of the vehicle were up against the tress and crumpled, so the passenger side seemed the best way to get the humans from the vehicle.

I leaned down and looked into the car. "I am going to get you out," I told the children. "It will be ok." The little girl, Sarah, was closest to me and she was crying her for her mother. Her little body hurt from being held upside down in the car seat, but otherwise she was fine. Her brother, Robbie, was still held in his seat as well. During the impact, he injured his left shoulder, most likely it was either dislocated or broken. Fighting through the pain he felt, Robbie was struggling get his seat belt to disengage, but it would not unclasp.

With very little effort I torn the rear passenger door from the vehicle and tossed it aside. I needed to get the kids away from the truck as soon as could, so I had no time to worry about appearances, although neither child really registered what I had just done. An instant later I torn the little girl's seat restraints like they were tissue and eased her from the the vehicle. The moment Sarah was in my grasp, she flung her arms around my neck and held on to me as tightly as she could. She sobbed into my chest, as I moved her over near the trees. When I tried to put her down, she held on tighter to me and would not let go. She was afraid, cold, and still in shock over the accident.

"Sarah?" I whispered to the little girl. "I need to go get your brother and mother out of the car, ok?" I looked into little Sarah's eyes and gave her my most reassuring smile. "I need you to be a big girl and wait right here for me, ok? Can you do that for me?" I asked her.

Sarah's bottom lip trembled. She didn't want to let me go, but she also knew her brother and mother were still trapped. Finally, she took a deep breath and nodded her head as she whispered, "ok".

I gently eased her down. "I'll be right back," I told her before I crawled back under the car.

Robbie was is pain, but he still struggled to get his seat belt undone.

"Robbie, your sister is safe. Now, I'm going get you out, ok." I told him.

"Ok." He answered. "What about my mom? Is she…" Now that he knew he was going to be fine, his thoughts quickly turned to his mother. Since she was not moving, he was worried she was dead. Her heart was till beating, but I could smell her blood, and it was strong. She was injured, I just couldn't tell how badly.

"Your mom is alive, but hurt. Once I get you out, I will take care her next. Ok?"

"Yeah, ok," he replied. He was still very worried, but he was glad to hear she was not dead.

I placed arm around Robbie's back to support him before I tore his seat belt buckle from the locking mechanism. He cried out in pain as I shifted him in the tight space. I gently eased him out of the vehicle before taking him over to where his sister stood. I put him down next to Sarah. The moment he was out of my arms, Sarah hugged him. Robbie flinched in pain, but wrapped his good arm around his sister. In his mind he knew his little sister needed her big brother to be strong for her, so he blinked away his own tears. "It'll be alright," he told her. "I got you."

I went back over to the truck. There was no way I would be able to extract the mother from the passenger side, so I would need to move the truck. This was easy enough to do, but Robbie and Sarah would witness it. Before I moved the vehicle, I wanted to check on the mother's condition. I bent down and put my head into the opening where the driver's side window use to be. The mother's seat belt held her in place, but the steering wheel was pressed tightly against her torso. The mother's head was bleeding, but the main source of blood was coming from her leg, where a piece of metal from the door had gone into her thigh. The obstruction was currently limiting her loss of blood, but once I got her out, I would need to close the leg wound quickly or she most likely bleed to death.

From behind the children, I heard someone approaching. Given the lack of thoughts, I knew it had to be Bella, however her approach was slow, almost leisurely. Given the heavy scent of blood in the air, this was a disaster in the making. I pulled myself from the truck and calculated how I could get between her and the family. Just before she came through the woods, I suddenly felt connected to Bella. It was was as if we were touching, but somehow she was able to wrap her shield around me from a distance, and grant me access to her thoughts. Previously, she had never been able to bring me inside her shield without some type of physical connection. Given the current circumstance, I was stunned at this new manifestation of her gift.

"I couldn't stay away, Edward. I needed to know that everyone was ok." Bella mentally pleaded with me. "I called emergency services, they'll be here when they can. However, with the snow, it might be some time."

Bella breathed in a tiny breath, just enough to sample the air. She stiffened as the aroma of blood hit her, causing her throat to explode into fiery need. Bella's hands shook from the effort needed to endure the blood's siren scent, but incredibly she did not attack. She continued to concentrate all of her effort on stretching out her shield to me, rather than allowing her beast to satisfy its raging bloodlust. This singular focus of keeping her connection with me going somehow grounded her.

In my eight-seven years as a vampire, I never took the time or effort to try and evolve my gift. However, since Bella's change, I had made some small strides in expanding it, but even that was limited to allowing my thoughts to be heard by Bella only when we touched and we both focused. Now, for the sake of this family in need, I needed my gift's power to be more. So much more.

I relaxed and opened my mind to her. I focused on her incoming thoughts and I tried to push mine to hers. At first nothing happened. I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated directly on Bella with everything I could muster. I hoped it would be enough and that she would be able to hear me like I could hear her.

"Bella, you need to leave. You're in pain and Mom is bleeding." I thought. "I can't protect the children from you and save the Mom."

Bella gasped at hearing me. "I can feel you! I can hear you!" she thought. "It's like we are touching. How are you doing this?" She took another tiny breath. "Edward, I promise to stay where I am at. I won't come any closer. How are the children? They have to be so scared, plus it is cold. They must be freezing." I could clearly see in her thoughts, the idea of hurting this family while they were in need, was so repugnant…so absolutely wrong…Bella would never allow herself to act upon her vampire urges…at least not today. I glanced over at the children, Bella was right they were cold and scared.

"They're ok, Robbie's shoulder is hurt, but Sarah is fine." I answered. "Bella, If you feel yourself start to slip, just run away as fast as you can. You have to think of the children. Promise you will run far away if it becomes too much."

From further in the woods, I, and by proxy, Bella, heard the thoughts of Emmett and Rose coming. When they got to our original planned meeting place, they smelled the faint scent of human blood and were worried that Bella had slipped. Then they ran towards the highway as fast as they could. Both Bella and I were pleased with their timing.

"Reinforcements are coming, but I promise I will run if it gets too much, Edward. It's a good thing I don't need to breath, now get the Mom."

A couple seconds later, Rose and Emmett reached Bella. Before they could ask what happened. She just pointed towards the highway and whispered, "There was an accident, Edward needs help." They looked at Bella for a quick moment before walking through the wood line.

Once they saw the wreckage and the children, both of them ask the same mental question. "What the fuck happened here?" Followed by both of them wondering how Bella was able to be so close to the smell of blood. Both Rose and Emmett's throats were on fire, but they had control over their bloodlust.

Robbie and Sarah caught Rose and Emmett's arrival in their peripheral vision. When they did, the startled children shrieked and looked wide-eyed at my siblings, whom seemed to appear out of nowhere to them.

As I was removing Sarah and Robbie from the truck, I remember seeing a woolen blanket in the backseat area of the vehicle. I darted down and pulled the blanket out, before shaking out any debris or glass that may have been caught in the fabric.

"Sarah, Robbie," I called out to them as I approached with the blanket. "This Rose and Emmett. They are with me." I continued as I handed Rose the blanket. "Rose, these two brave kids are Sarah and Robbie. Can you see if that blanket can warm them up while Emmett and I help their mother?" I added in a whisper just for Rose, "Watch out for Robbie's left shoulder area, it might be broken."

Rose nodded, then smiled softly at the obviously surprised children before she held out the blanket. "Come and allow me to wrap this around you," she told them.

Sarah looked up her brother to see if it was safe. Robbie looked at Rose for moment before nodding and walking toward the extended blanket.

Rose kneeled behind the kids and held the blanket around them, while I motioned for Emmett to follow me over to the truck.

"Rose, distract them for a second," I whispered.

She looked over at me, before she leaned forward and asked "Are you both starting to warm up?"

When the children turned to respond to Rose, I gently pushed the truck away from the trees, while at the same time I tore away and discarded the driver's side door.

"Smooth," Emmett thought before he saw the body of the children's mother unconscious in the truck. "Fuck, she's bleeding pretty bad."

I nodded in response before I glanced quickly back at the woods where Bella stood hidden about twenty yards away. Emmett glanced as well, he knew what I was asking.

"Don't worry, dude. If Bella freaks out, I make sure to get her out of here."

I nodded one more time before I turned my attention back to the truck. Now that I had access to drivers side, I ducked down and gently shook the mother's shoulder to determine her responsiveness. She moaned and moved her head a bit, but she was still unconscious. I decided that the best course of action would be to simultaneously tear through her seatbelt and remove her from the vehicle with one hand, while I pulled the metal from her thigh with my other. So with one quick movement, I did both actions. This movement caused the mother to wake up and cry out in pain, before she passed back out again.

Behind me, the children called out for their mother as the smell of blood saturated the air. The leg wound started to gush rhythmically indicating that the artery was cut. Both Rose and Emmett froze as the strong scent assaulted them. Somewhere in the back of my mind I registered the delectable smell, but I had no time to deal with my beast. I had to get the bleeding under control fast or the mother would die.

Using the torn seat belt and tied it around the Mother's leg to act as a tourniquet. This would help stem the bleeding, but it would only be a short term fix. From my medical degrees, I knew how to properly suture the artery, but I did not have the required tools and supplies here in a ditch, nestled in the frozen Alaskan wilderness.

There was only one thing I could think of doing, and given no other viable option, I gently spread part the leg wound with one hand, while I licked the tip of my finger on the other hand.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Emmett asked in shock. "Won't that change her?"

I didn't stop to answer Emmett.

I shook my finger in the air to allow most of the venom to evaporate. When I could just detect the slightest trace amount of venom left, I pressed my finger into the wound and dragged it along the torn section of artery. The Mother arched her back in pain but I was able to keep her leg stationary as the venom worked to seal the artery. After a few seconds I could see that the large vein had a slight silver cast to it, but no more tear. I slowly released the seat belt tourniquet. As the blood started to flow back down into her leg, the repaired artery held. Part of me was tempted to repair the tissue damage to her leg in similar fashion, but that would require a larger and riskier dose of venom, and make for an awkward explanation as to why a portion of thigh would forever sparkle.

I glanced around at the strewn wreckage and spotted and small fishing tackle box.

"Emmett, grab me that tackle box," I told my brother. He nodded and quickly retrieved the box and opened it for me. Inside was exactly what I was looking for. I pulled out the spool of fishing line and inspected it. It appeared to be new and relatively dirt free. I tore off out a suitable length of line. I again wetted my finger and thumb with venom and ran it down the fishing line, effective sanitizing it. I needed it to dry for a few moments, so I turned to Emmett.

"I saw in Carlisle's thoughts that he did something similar a couple of decades ago while he was working a shift in the E.R. If I had used too little venom, nothing would have happened. Too much and I could have started a chain reaction that would lead to us having another newborn to deal with." I confessed quietly to Emmett with slight wink.

"Well, that was pretty fucking bad-ass!" Emmett told me, before glancing back to see if the kids heard him curse. "I think the next college go around, I need to go to med school," he finished in his thoughts.

I gave him a slight smirk before I returned my focus to the mother's leg. She was starting to stir and her eyes were fluttering open. I wanted to close her leg would before she could comprehend what I was doing. With vampire quick movements I sewed up the leg wound as best I could. Luckily with my acute eyesight and superior dexterity, I was able to push the fishing line through the tissue without the use of a needle, which we didn't have anyway. In two seconds seconds I was done and looked down at my handiwork. There would still be some residual bleeding, but nothing as bad as before.

All too soon the Mother's eyes flew completely open and she screamed out her children's names in both pain and worry.

"Shhh," I soothed. "Both Robbie and Sarah are ok."

The mother looked at me trying to comprehend what had happened. She remembered the fox and the car veering off the road. She remembered the pain of the collision with the tree and hearing her children calling for her. "What…how…" the mother stammered through her pain.

"We found you after the wreck. Robbie and Sarah are ok. They're safe." I motioned for Rose to bring the children closer so the mother could see them. "See?" The mother glanced upwards and reached for her children. They sprinted from Rose and hugged their mother as best they could. Robbie flinched and yelped in pain when his shoulder pressed against his mother. Her eyes darted to me, she was worried about her children.

"Robbie's shoulder is hurt." I answered her un-asked question. "His collarbone may be broken, but otherwise fine. Sarah is probably bruised from the seat belts, but no other serious injuries. Both of them have been extremely brave." I looked at the children and smiled while Emmett gave them both a thumbs up. "Your leg is pretty torn up, but you should be fine." I looked at the highway. Not a single vehicle had passed since the wreck, and given the snow, I wasn't really surprised. "We called for help up in Cantwell," I started to tell her just I picked up the thoughts of ambulance crew slowly approaching. "I think they should be be here soon."

Everyone looked up the highway for some evidence of their pending arrival. I felt Bella's connection with me open. "I'm going to leave," she told me mentally before darting away through the forest. Rose and Emmett both heard Bella's departure and mentally sighed in relief.

"I am amazed at her composure, Edward," Rose thought. "I was starting doubt I would be able to handle the scent of the mother's blood. I don't know how she did it."

Off in the distance, the three remaining vampires just started to pickup the siren of the approaching ambulance.

Rose and Emmett darted away from me to go for a much needed hunt. They would stop by our cabin in a day or two to see how Bella was doing after today's events.

Once the emergency medical personnel arrived, they assessed the family and were amazed that I was able to stabilize the mother. I explained that I had medical training, as well as my father was a surgeon. They were also curious as to why Rose, Emmett and I were out roaming the Alaskan wilderness during a snow storm. Rose batted her eyes at the two EMTs, and subtly breathed across their faces, which momentarily made them lose focus. She then explained that we were out training for a new survival reality show we were hoping to get picked for. It was an excuse they had used before, and luckily the two men accepted it without any further explanation.

Once the mother and children were secure and warm in the ambulance, they asked for my contact information, should the hospital have any questions concerning my makeshift medical care. I gave them the number for the satellite phone, as well as Carlisle's contact information, however I doubted the attending hospital doctors would ever call us.

As I moved quickly up into the mountains, I picked up Bella's scent. After another few moments, I picked up the scent of fresh animal blood. I sniffed the air and recognized the distinct aroma of Dall sheep. After another few moments I slowed, so I would not startle Bella. This was the first time she hunted without me or one of my family with her.

"Edward?" I heard Bella call out as I stepped over the carcass of one Dall sheep ram.

"Coming, Love," I replied as I jogged through the brush to where Bella sat next to another drained ram.

As soon as Bella looked up and saw me, she sprinted into my arms.

"Thank you, Edward for saving that family," She whispered against me chest. "And thank you for allowing me to stay. Thinking back on everything, I know it was foolish for me to come back to the accident site. I wanted to be with you to help them, but I knew I couldn't. But I couldn't stay away, I had to know they were ok."

I lifted Bella's face and kissed her gently. Soon, I had to surpress the growl that begged to be released, as I tasted the sheep blood mixed with Bella's own tempting flavor.

"Bella, don't take this the wrong way, but I would rather you had not returned. However, I understand why you did. You amazed me today, Love. Even Rose and Emmett were struggling against the smell of blood. And you did help, Bella. You helped a lot. I may have directly aided the mother and children, but given the frigid temperatures, if you had not called for help, they would not have withstood the elements for very long. Given this was your first exposure to humans, and more importantly, to human blood, your focus and determination to see that they were safe was simply amazing."

This time Bella reached up and kissed me. It was a needy and aggressive kiss, and I loved it. However, I was not unaffected by my close exposure to human blood. I knew I needed to to hunt, so I gently pulled away from Bella's sinful lips, and sighed.

"Bella, I need to hunt, but then I promise we will continue that kiss."

Bella's gazed darker with lust and nodded. "I'm holding you to that," she said as she squeezed my rear end. "And then after I've had my way with you, you need to tell me what happened when the ambulance arrived."

"Deal," I answered with a smile as I felt Bella's shield lower and our minds connect."

"And you need to tell me how I was able to hear your thoughts without us touching," she mentally added.

I would be glad to, if I actually fully understood it myself.

Author's Note...

Well, Bella had her first human encounter and it was a doozie! I've been on that stretch of highway in Alaska, but it was in the summer. However, in the winter it can easily become deadly! A perusal of the Alaska State Trooper records show that animal strikes and disabled vehicles, with the subsequent exposure to the elements, have claimed more than a few lives.

As I mentioned last week, Only The Lonely has been nominated within the "Favorite Drop Everything Fic" category of the TwiFic Fandom Awards! I cannot thank each and every one of my readers enough. Voting for round 1 has ended, so we'll see if this story makes it to round 2 in a few days.

I will try my best to publish again next Monday. I have some JASNA related stuff happening this week (I am one of the regional coordinators within the Jane Austen Society of North America and I have a regional Board of Directors meeting coming up that I have to prepare for). In the next chapter, you'll get to see the entire family (including Charlie, Irina, and the Denali's) together again.

-Chris