Contest entry for the Naughty or Nice Twilight Christmas Contest

Title: Forks Insane Asylum

Pairing: Edward/Bella

Rating: M

Word Count: 9689

Summary: He's handsome. He's kind. His trademark smirk causes her heart to stutter in her chest, and sparks of pleasure to whisper down her spine. He's perfect in every way and wholly off limits to Bella Swan, patient of Forks Insane Asylum. Happy holidays indeed.

Disclaimer: Twilight and its inclusive material is copyright to Stephanie Meyer. Original creation, including but not limited to plot and characters, is copyright to the respective authors of each story. No copyright infringement is intended.

Forks Insane Asylum

~oOo*oOo~

Red and green construction paper swam in her vision as Bella tried to focus on the rather mundane task before her. Her thoughts were frequently pulled to the two orderlies who stood like guarding sentries in the corner of the common room, their keen eyes sweeping over the group of girls in sharp regularity. She was particularly fond of watching one of the men in particular—the copper-haired dreamboat with the intense green eyes and cheekbones that looked carved from marble. Edward.

"Should Bella really be cutting the strips?" Jessica asked in a voice grating to her nerves. "You know, sharp objects and all."

Bella dropped her eyes from silently assessing Edward and blushed furiously as she stared at her lap, embarrassment shrilling through her.

"Honestly, Jessica, you're such a cow," the petite little Alice piped in, jumping to her roommate's defense. "The scissors are blunt edge, or are you blind?"

Jessica scowled and fixed Alice with a dark look. Bella felt the heat begin to creep from her face and chanced a glance at Alice, gracing the girl with a small smile.

"Maybe you should tape the links together." Emmett's authoritative voice rang out, much to Bella's annoyance. "Go ahead and help Rosalie, Isabella."

"It's Bella," she grumbled for perhaps the hundredth time. Her mother had called her Isabella, and Bella despised her mother.

Not one to put up a fight, she grabbed the strips of paper and took up one end of the link Rose was currently working on. She didn't risk looking up at Edward again but was acutely aware of whenever his gaze would sweep over her.

Rose let out an irritated sigh. "Not like that, Bella. You're supposed to tape them over and under. Emmett? She's trying to ruin my decorations!"

Oh, yes, because they weren't women between the ages of seventeen and twenty. No, they were five year olds in kindergarten working with construction paper. Just where she envisioned herself at the ripe age of eighteen.

"Give her a break, Rose," came the silky voice that did funny things to Bella's insides. Edward flashed them both a smile, and Bella felt the temperature instantly rise several degrees. "Everyone has their own way of doing things."

Her hands hovered uncertainly over the project and she worked frantically to get a grip. Why should he have such an effect on her? She blamed it on the six months she had now spent cooped up in this hellhole. If only Charlie could see her now. So many plans for his little girl, but now Christmas was upon her once more and it was her first without her father. Where would she be spending it? Oh, yes, on the ward for the mentally unstable.

Oh joy.

~oOo*oOo~

Another Thursday had arrived.

Family day.

Bella despised family days.

They were a brutal reminder of the family that had left her as well as the deplorable family she had remaining. Everyone else got visitors. Jessica's father brought her thousand-count Egyptian cotton sheets for her bed and silk pajamas. Even Angela the Arsin had an aunt and uncle who visited regularly. Bella was the only pathetic girl on the ward who sat alone in the TV room watching Twilight Zone reruns.

"Cheer up, Bella."

She jumped at the sound of his voice. Startled brown eyes turned to meet emerald green ones that, against hers, looked like shards of broken glass.

"It's almost time for you guys to exchange gifts for Christmas." Perfectly shaped cupid-bow lips pulled into a light smile as Edward paused to look at her.

"The only thing I want for Christmas is to leave this place," she blurted before she could stop herself.

His perfect face twisted in a frown, and he stared at her sadly. "I know, but that just means you need to work with Dr. Cullen, yes? He'll help you if you let him."

"I'm not crazy," she was compelled to tell him, unsure why she was suddenly being so candid with the subject of her heart's deepest fantasies. She just had to be sure he knew that she wasn't like the rest of them—she didn't belong!

Empathy briefly flashed across his eyes, but it was soon replaced with impassiveness, and then she could no longer read him. He may as well have been made of marble. "It's okay, Bella. Why don't you let me take you to see Nurse Tanya? It's time for your meds."

Bella hated her meds almost as much as she hated Nurse Tanya. She didn't like the way the older woman looked at Edward. It made Bella feel a jolt of pure, hot jealousy. But she nodded anyway. She would never give Edward a hard time, even if he did think she was bat-shit crazy.

~oOo*oOo~

Bella rubbed her shoulder at the spot where Nurse Tanya had slammed a vitamin B12 shot in her muscle. She could swear the woman did it with barely suppressed malice. A smile tugged at her lips when she thought of the pills she had hidden in her mouth from Tanya's probing searchlight. Bella didn't have very much control, but she at least didn't want to be a zombie, and she was getting better at hiding the bitter pills until she could spit them out later. Alice was a good teacher.

Speaking of her pixie-like friend, the girl was currently talking to her and Rose in hushed tones.

"I hate Dr. Hale." Alice's hardened stare found the young physician and skewered him with her eyes. "He's a mad scientist, I'm telling you."

"He is not." Rose wrinkled her nose in distaste, scooping up a spoonful of fruit medley and daintily bringing it to her mouth. "He's a distinguished man and renowned in the scientific world. We're lucky to have him."

"He tries to make us feel things," Alice argued. "With his medicines and concoctions. He influences our emotions and makes us act a certain way." She turned to face Bella, her eyes a tad desperate, possibly unhinged. "You know, Bella, how he compels us? And, honestly, what good can someone be up to if they come in to work in the evening every day?"

"He's nocturnal?" Bella tried, shrugging her shoulders.

Alice slammed her hands down on the table, making Bella and Rose both jump. "No!" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "He waits until everyone is asleep, and then he takes us down to the basement to perform tests on us. Society's least important citizens. What do we matter? He has to make his big breakthroughs some way or another."

Rose shook her head, her mass of blonde curls swishing around her head. How someone could wear the ward-issued frocks as fashionably as Rose could, Bella would never know. "You're fucking nuts."

Alice crossed her arms and seethed, only breaking away to throw dark looks Jasper Hale's way.

Bella swallowed discreetly, feeling suddenly sad. Of all the girls here, she always thought of Alice as the most normal, except for when it came time to discuss her visions. Alice was a self-proclaimed psychic who could see the future, according to her. She also had very colorful stories to tell them about what happened after they went to sleep. Alice was her friend, but Bella could never truly let her guard down around her. When it all came down to it, she was alone.

~oOo*oOo~

The window provided Bella with an unbarred view of the outside world and the green grounds beneath the asylum. She couldn't help but stare longingly. How long had it been since she'd been afforded the privilege to go outside? Months, at least.

"Isabella? Did you need me to repeat the question?" Dr. Cullen inquired.

She turned to face the man—her psychiatrist—impeccably dressed and wearing a face of perfectly sculpted concern. There was something about him that made her almost want to open up and tell him everything, but she'd been burned before.

"No, Dr. Cullen, I don't wish I was spending Christmas with Renee. With my father, Charlie, of course, but not her."

"Isabella," Dr. Cullen sighed sorrowfully, "your father is dead, and it's time you came to accept that. It has already been a year."

Tears prickled at her eye. Yes, last Christmas, how could she forget? Responding to a routine home call and getting caught up in a fatal domestic dispute. "He left me a substantial college fund, you know. He always wanted for me to have every opportunity at my disposal. You know my mother took it all, don't you? She was the executor of his estate, and she spent it before she landed her newest husband."

"I could see why you would be bitter. Is that why you threatened to hurt your younger brother?"

Bella clenched her jaw and her fists for good measure, defiance blazed in her eyes. "I never did such a thing! I would never hurt anyone—it's ridiculous."

"It isn't just your mother's testimony, but your stepbrother's too …"

"That's because she trained him to speak against me. She wanted me out, and this was the way. Lock me up in a mental hospital and keep me from her new family. I was just a painful reminder of her past and a threat to her future. She's always been so jealous …" Bella sat back panting, surprised with herself that she had revealed so much. She looked up with hopeful eyes. Edward had said Dr. Cullen would help. Would he truly?

He shook his head sadly. "Isabella, it's been six months already. Of all my patients, I have made the littlest progress with you. You're still in denial. Not until you take responsibility can you begin to change for the better."

Bella exhaled a shaky breath she hadn't known she was holding. Well, so much for that. It was always the same. The only way out of here was to admit to something she had never done and in doing so ruin her life. What future did she have now? Her stay at the asylum would forever taint her. There was no more money for school and very little she could do with such a grievous offense on her record. Renee had single-handedly ruined everything.

~oOo*oOo~

Bella ducked her head as she let the water cascade over her head, pulling her hair in a curtain around her face. She longed for a bath, but a hot shower was the best part of her day.

"You know," Rose was saying, her voice taking on an almost boasting edge to it, "Emmett plans on running away with me. We talk about it all the time. He's going to take me from this place."

"Rose, you're a sex addict," Jessica quipped from the shower opposite Bella. "Emmett isn't taking you anywhere."

Rose scoffed loudly. "That was before Emmett. Consider me cured."

"You haven't hooked up with an orderly?" Angela sounded doubtful.

"She has," Alice confirmed. "I've seen it."

"You've spied on us?" Rose sounded aghast if not a little smug.

"In my visions," Alice explained.

"Weirdo." Rose continued on about Emmett's and her plans, but Bella stopped listening.

She could only think of another orderly. To her chagrin, she didn't seem to be able to keep herself from blushing whenever she met his glance. Surely, he suspected she had the hots for him. How could they even let a man that handsome work here among so many females? It was irresponsible if not downright tempting. He was nothing like Emmett. Where Emmett was loud and obnoxious, Edward was soft-spoken and kind. Edward made her feel calm in a state of otherwise permanent panic. He made her feel other things too.

~oOo*oOo~

Lying in bed the following night and staring up at the ceiling, Bella couldn't help but think of the day's events. They'd been permitted to go outside, and she'd had the loveliest time just perusing through the gardens. The girls hadn't even fought that day—too caught up in the splendor that was being outdoors. She'd even gotten the opportunity to talk to Edward, one-on-one—and for once, she hadn't felt like a mental patient, just a normal girl.

"What do you want to do with your life, Edward? Will you always work at an asylum?"

"No." He laughed and the rich sound rumbled through his chest. "I'm doing this to support myself through school. But I suppose I will be in the medical field; an Anesthesiologist, actually. What do you want to do when you get out of here, Bella?"

"I don't know what I can do."

"What did you want to do?"

"I wanted to be a teacher, as silly as that sounds, but obviously, they would never let that happen now."

He looked truly despondent for a moment, his eyes so intense she almost wanted to look away. "There's always something. You could be a counselor, maybe. Help people who have been through what you have."

Bella smiled to herself. Edward made her feel like a person and not like a mental case.

"Alice, are you asleep?"

"No." But her voice was groggy. "I'm still up. What's up, Bella?"

"Do you like anyone? You know … in that way?" Bella had been with one person. Mike in her junior year. It had been nothing special, but she did have a little experience to draw back on at least.

"Like the way you like Edward?"

Bella froze.

"Don't worry. You'll get a chance with him. I've seen it."

Bella smiled despite herself.

"You know, at first, I thought I liked Jasper. Dr. Hale told me my abilities were special, and he wanted to help me. But then I realized he was just using me. Now, I'm not sure what I feel anymore."

Biting her lip, Bella turned on her side to face her friend in the dark. How someone could believe visions as thoroughly and completely as Alice could was beyond her. She wished more than anything that Alice could be normal. "Alice …"

"I know what you think, Bella, but I'm not lying. He really does do tests on us. I wish you would remember. I wish I wasn't the only one who was cursed with the memories. But I suppose, in a way, it's better this way."

That night, Bella dreamed about secret laboratories, and shots, and acting silly as if under the influence of some drug she couldn't fathom. In the morning, she felt heavy and groggy. She told herself it was just because of their conversation that she had dreamed such things.

~oOo*oOo~

Skull pounding, Bella rested her head against the wall and let the cinnamon scent of the Christmas potpourri waft in her nostrils. More and more, she would think about Alice's visions, and it left her feeling unsettled.

Edward walked by and slanted his gaze over to meet hers, flashing her a crooked smile when their eyes met. Bella felt her cheeks burn crimson, and she went rigid in her chair.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Angela approach the manger set with something in her hand.

"Emmett left his lighter on the counter," she said, flashing a light blue Bic and then training her eyes on the oil from the potpourri. "Some dripped on the doily. That's not good."

"Angela!" Bella bolted upright and launched herself at the girl before she could bring the ignited flame to the oil.

The girls fell to the floor in a tussle, shoes scraping against the wooden floor and nails scratching. Bella yanked Angela up by her blouse and tugged her hair to the side so she could be free to grab the lighter. That's when she felt strong arms come around and grab her, pulling her into a defined chest. She stopped struggling and froze as she watched Emmett restrain a screaming Angela.

Bella tossed her head back and relaxed in his grip. God! His scent. It was like cloves and mint and motor oil, maybe? Perhaps he liked to work on cars? The pleasant smell of him assaulted her and sent her blood singing through her veins. His touch around her arms lightened as if meant to be soothing and, boy, was it ever. This altercation alone was enough to fuel her daydreams for weeks on end.

Dr. Cullen ran into the room, asking Tanya to get a tranquilizer, and then she was scrambling to do as she was bid. Bella was distantly aware of her arm bleeding from where Angela had scratched her, but she couldn't be bothered to care. She felt safe in Edward's arms. A strong part of her longed to turn around and face him, but she would take what she could get. Dr. Cullen pushed the needle down in Angela's arm, and the girl went lax in Emmett's grip.

"See," Rose said, surveying the destroyed manger scene and broken potpourri tin. "That's why we can't have nice things."

"Good job, Bella," Edward said, rubbing her arm, eliciting a fiery trail in its wake. "That was quick thinking."

Bella preened and felt herself soar to the vaulted ceiling like a helium balloon. She wouldn't come down the rest of the day.

~oOo*oOo~

There were marks on her body. It was the oddest thing because she had no recollection of where they came from. Bruises and scrapes and an IV hole in the crease of her elbow. Her brain turned to mush as she attempted to make sense of it. All logic pointed to Alice's conspiracy theories, but Bella couldn't exactly rectify that in her mind.

She had never felt crazy before, but since arriving at Forks Insane Asylum, she found herself questioning her sanity more frequently than ever before. She wanted to talk to Alice about it, or better yet, Edward, but Victoria had sent her down an eerily vacant hall to the storage closet in order to get ribbon for the presents they were wrapping.

That's when she heard them—the sounds.

Lips smacking and tongues swapping and moans.

Her mind told her to run, but her curiosity prodded her farther around the alcove until she could barely discern two entwined figures in the shadows. A flash of blonde hair and large roaming hands caught her eyes. Frozen in place, she watched for several long seconds before the spell was broken by the sound of Emmett's voice.

"Rose, don't make me beg for it," he groaned.

Turning on her heel, she fled the hallway sans the ribbon. Good God, Emmett had Rosalie pressed against the wall, his hands under her dress! Bella would never guess something like that would go on here, but Alice had, and Rose hadn't been lying. Bella felt like a naïve little fool and couldn't help but wonder if anyone else knew. A small, very shameful part of her couldn't help but feel a tad jealous. Rose at least possessed the resourcefulness to go out and get what she wanted while Bella lived in the fantasies of her mind, forever pitying herself that she no longer had any control in her life.

When she returned, she told a very angry Victoria that she couldn't find the ribbon and blushed furiously whenever Edward would so much as look at her, let alone ask her something.

Dr. Hale arrived early in the evening as he frequently did and made his stops around the craft table. "Isabella?" he asked, the corners of his mouth lifted kindly. "How are you feeling tonight?"

She tried to quell her stuttering nerves and face the doctor calmly. "Just fine, Dr. Hale. Thanks for asking."

He nodded and turned to talk to Victoria in hushed tones, and Bella sat back expelling a deep breath. She could laugh at herself that she could actually have begun to suspect the young doctor. He clearly only cared for their welfare. Perhaps her mind was just playing tricks on her.

~oOo*oOo~

Bella sat at the card table with Rose and Alice, trying to focus on their game of gin rummy.

She once more was plagued by drowsiness and bruises she didn't remember incurring. The dreams from the night before would not leave her mind, as most dreams did. These ones haunted her. Bella cast a dark look at Alice. Was it her fault for putting ideas in her head? Was her roommate making Bella go crazy right along with her? Or was there really something truly foreboding occurring at the asylum when everyone left for the night?

"I don't know about you girls, but I'd say we have the two best looking orderlies on this ward." Rose flashed Emmett and Edward a seductive grin. "Wouldn't you two say so?"

Bella flamed crimson, smiling like an idiot, but she couldn't meet Edward's eyes.

"They're all right, I guess," Alice said, twisting her shoulders flippantly.

"Rose," Edward's tone was light but still chiding. "Play nice, now."

"Oh, but I am playing nice." She batted her eyelashes innocently. "And I'll play anything you'd like to, Edward."

Bella couldn't help but feel a flash of annoyance sear through her. Rose already had Emmett! Did she need to set her designs on Edward too? Without realizing it, she set her lips into a pout.

"Rosalie just knows how to be a tease," Emmett grumbled.

Edward shot him a disapproving look. "Honestly, Emmett. Do you even think about what you say?"

Rose put her finger on her chin in contemplation as if she hadn't heard the exchange. "I can't decide which one is more handsome." She shot Bella an inquisitive look. "What do you think, Bella? Is Edward more handsome than Emmett?"

Her cheeks burned to the touch. "He's handsome," she said in a rush.

She felt Edward's stare burn into the side of her head, but she refused to look. Her hands were shaking as she tried to focus on her cards, but the numbers blurred in front of her.

"Yes, but that still leaves the dilemma." Rose let out a wistful sigh.

"Honestly, Rose," Alice chastised her, "leave us out of your little games."

Rose pouted at being called out, and Bella comforted herself in the fact that perhaps Rose was just using Edward to get something she wanted from Emmett. An escape, maybe? It was admirable, if not for the fact that it was impossible. She wanted to tell Rosalie there was no way Emmett would break her out of this place, but a girl could dream. She spent the rest of the card game sneaking surreptitious glances Edward's way whenever he was distracted enough not to notice her.

~oOo*oOo~

The next day found Bella in a state of sheer panic. She almost debated taking her concerns to Dr. Cullen, if only he had ever shown an ounce of trustworthiness. She had thoroughly examined her body the night before and put it to memory, but in the morning, she definitely noticed changes. What was more, she felt like she hadn't slept a wink.

Desperate, she did the only thing she could think of doing.

She paced the small alcove for an hour, waiting for him to pass by before he finally did, and then she pulled him in the shadows.

"What the fuck! Bella?" Edward's look of sheer surprise could almost be construed as comical if it wasn't for the depravity of the situation.

"Edward! I need help." She inwardly rallied her courage upon his look of doubt. "I know this may sound crazy, but it's Dr. Hale—I think he may be doing stuff with us, you know, at night in his lab. Alice says he's inventing these new drugs and needs test subjects, and when I wake up in the morning, I feel like I haven't slept, and I have these bruises and needle marks—"

"Whoa." Edward put up a halting hand. "Slow down." He eyed her warily. "Are you hearing yourself?"

Tears threatened at her eyes but she reined them in. Looking down at the floor, she fiddled with the hem of her blouse. "I know it sounds crazy, and maybe it is, and if I'm wrong, I apologize, but could you just ... I don't know ... maybe come back tonight after you leave? Just to check on us and make sure everything is fine? I used to think Alice was crazy too, but now, I'm not so sure. Please! I promise I'm not making this up."

"If this is true, we should tell Carlisle."

"He wouldn't believe me. He never has about anything. Why would he about something as outlandish as this? Edward, I have no one else I can ask for help. Just please, do this for me? I have to know."

Edward's expression was torn, as if logic and conscience were battling. Finally, he met her probing gaze. "I'll try to come back tonight, if only for a minute, to make sure you're all still safe in your rooms, all right?"

Bella didn't answer but instead stepped up on her toes and threw her arms around his chest, wrapping him in a tight hug. He initially tensed, but a few long seconds later, he relaxed and hugged her back. It was the best embrace she'd ever received. His arms were warm and safe. She wished she could be in them always, and she wanted desperately to tell him so.

"It's okay, Bella," he murmured in just above a whisper. "I'll get you the help you need."

If his tone was more resigned and melancholy, she chose not to hear it.

~oOo*oOo~

Her initial thought upon waking was why was it so bright?

She was sitting in a chair, but she felt as if she were standing on the ceiling. One glance around was enough to tell her that she was in four-point restraints—not just her wrists, but her ankles too. She wasn't the only one. Jessica, Rose, Angela, and Alice were also in the room with her.

Alice appeared to be the most alert of all of them. She gave Bella a small smile. "It's okay, Bella. You won't remember any of this in the morning. He'll make you forget."

The ominous he she was referring to chose that moment to stride into the room.

Dr. Hale wasn't wearing his glasses or his lab coat. Only a dress shirt and pants and a manic expression on his face. He carried a tray of needles loaded up with a whisky-colored liquid. Alice blanched when she saw the needles.

"What is that?" Jessica asked in a panic.

"Stay away from me, you freak." Rose made a valiant attempt to break from her confines, but it was no use.

Angela just moaned in apparent pain.

"My little lab rats," Dr. Hale said. "One final drug to test before I can introduce my new line to the scientific world."

"Don't give them that," Alice appealed on their behalf. "You know it probably works. Everything else has so far."

"Isn't she going to get it?" Jessica wanted to know, pointing at Alice.

"Alice has other abilities I like to explore. She's special. Unlike you."

Bella went rigid with fear. Jasper Hale really was a mad scientist! He didn't care about their lives or if this test would kill them. He only cared for notoriety and fame. She tried to comfort herself with the fact that Edward would come for her, but somehow, she felt foolish expecting such a thing. His last words rang out in her head—I'll get you the help you need. Edward thought her crazy, not a victim of some science project! Suddenly, Bella felt a bit like Rose, expecting a man to come sweep her away from her problems when there would be no knight in shining armor coming.

Dr. Hale then proceeded to inject the vile substance into first Angela and then Jessica.

"At least, tell us what this shit is," Rose spat. "You owe us that much."

"It's an aphrodisiac. Very potent, unlike anything in existence." Dr. Hale smiled proudly and the man looked psychotic. "The trifecta of the feeling drugs I've been developing."

"Oh, fuck no!" Rose managed to get her foot loose and kicked him in the shin, sending the needles clattering to the floor. "You're not putting that shit anywhere near me."

Dr. Hale cursed. "Emmett!"

The burly orderly entered the room to everyone's shock, but mostly to Rose's.

"You were supposed to secure them down good. Is this what I pay you for? Incompetence?"

Rose eyed Emmett with sheer disbelief as he bent down to secure her restraints, but she didn't try to fight him off. No, the fight had seemed to leave her eyes and her body completely. She slumped in defeat.

"Sorry, pet," Emmett said with a shrug, neglecting to meet her gaze. "College is expensive, and I need the money."

Alice shook her head. "The worse sort of asshole." She looked over to Rose. "Sorry, I never got to see his helper, or I would have told you."

Rose said nothing but looked straight ahead, and then Dr. Hale successfully injected the drug into her veins.

His helper. Bella couldn't help but wonder if there was someone else helping him too? Someone who needed to pay for medical school, maybe? Bile rose in her throat.

She looked at Dr. Hale with cold, hard indifference as he injected the substance into her as well, but then the coldness began to morph into heat in time with the feeling of the foreign concoction spreading through her bloodstream. One look around and she could see the other girls were starting to feel the effects of the aphrodisiac as well. They were squirming and writhing in their chairs as she was beginning to.

"You're a sick bastard," Alice said to Dr. Hale, all the while eyeing Bella worriedly.

"Don't worry—we'll start your tests here soon." Dr. Hale flashed her a grin. "Emmett, go grab the crates in my office. I know how sweet little Alice doesn't like to be left out."

Bella could scarcely focus. She was hot.

Burning up, in fact.

Any sort of hard surface eased the need for friction slightly, but then it sort of spurred it on as well. She squeezed her knees together, her throat suddenly going dry. Her chest rose in shallow pants, and she threw her head back in anguish. She could no longer focus on the other girls, who were probably in a similar disposition. She was plagued with the rather brilliant notion to find a man to take her suddenly overwhelming urges out on.

"This is enough," she distantly heard Alice say. "You clearly see it works; now give them the antidote and let them go back to their beds."

"Oh, I'm sure they want to go to their beds all right."

Even the sound of dark, menacing laughter couldn't stave off her growing desire. Yes, bed was a splendid idea! Why did she have to be tied up? What fun was there in that? Unless her lover would be releasing her soon. She couldn't stay cooped up like this forever. It was pure torture. She needed to break from her confines before she went mad with need! The minimal movement she was afforded in the ridiculous chair didn't provide any relief. No, she longed for skin on skin. She wanted human touch, and she needed it badly.

Absently, she noticed a ruckus out of the corner of her eye. Angela had broken from her restraints and had proceeded to run around the room. She stopped to rub herself against the counter, but then when Dr. Hale gave chase, cursing Emmett under his breath, she ran again, stopping only when she noticed a long-range lighter. There was a loud clatter as he tripped and fell.

"That's what you get," Alice told him smugly.

Jessica panted, stretching in her seat. "Let us out, Angela, please!"

Distracted, Angela momentarily halted her game of cat and mouse to do as Jessica bid her, untying the straps of one hand with shaky fingers before wandering off once more.

"Thanks a lot, you twit!" Jessica, said, her breasts heaving as she frantically worked the other restraint.

"Jess," Alice tried, "let the rest of us out, please!"

Dr. Hale had gotten up, nursing a bleeding arm and set his sights on Angela. "You infuriating girl."

"I'm just a lab rat," she sang, laughing quite giddily.

Bella wondered how the rest of them were able to form words when all she felt was heat. The heat in her veins was a jealous lover and would not be overshadowed by anything else. It pervaded her senses and controlled her every thought.

"Angela!" Alice shouted, straightening up from her chair as Jessica worked on her feet. "Put that lighter down this instant."

"Alice," Jessica whined, "can you please massage my shoulders just for a little while?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "Go undo Rose and ask her to." She headed Bella's way and made quick work of undoing her restraints while Dr. Hale became caught up between trying to get the long-range lighter from Angela's hands with a counter separating them.

"Give it here, you insolent girl!"

"Can you walk, Bella? We need to get out of here and get help!"

Bella looked at Alice dubiously, straightening to her feet in wonder. The new vantage point sent the heat coursing in different directions. She tried to catch her breath.

"Oh, look," Rose said in a voice far away and dreamy. "Angela's going to burn us all down. I always knew she would."

Alice physically pushed at Jessica and Rose. "Get out of here. Run!"

They didn't run, but they did leave. Bella, unfortunately, sauntered the other direction, trying to see what Angela would do with the different colored vials and the flame at her fingers. Alice and Dr. Hale shouted at her now, but it was too late, she lowered the flame, and before it even touched the liquid, a spark ignited and everything in Bella's sight exploded.

She rolled to the floor and covered her ears, and when she came back up, she was surrounded by four walls of heat.

There was a sound ringing in her ears, and her vision felt stilted. The fire in her veins matched the fire now raging around her. Distantly, she registered the fact that she was trapped and could no longer see anyone, but the fear that should accompany such a revelation was mysteriously absent.

"Bella, are you there? Follow my voice, and I'll lead you to the exit!" Alice sounded so intense, it made Bella giggle.

Over her giggling, she heard the screams of Dr. Hale. She didn't hear anything from Angela. Had Alice managed to save her as she was trying to save Bella? Bella didn't think she would be saved. The heat was closing in, and she thought it right that she go like this—burning up on the outside as she already was on the inside.

"There's no way out," Bella sang, finding her voice. "But it's okay. There never was anyway."

She was about to sit down and accept her defeat when strong arms came out to encase her, throwing a cloak around her and pulling her through the heat and into the profound relief of the fire-free air. She was tugged into a hard chest and held fiercely, lips gently brushing her head as strong arms tightened.

"God, I'm so glad you said something, Bella."

She peered into green eyes equal parts bright with wonder yet somehow dark with fury.

"I wasn't going to come, but something told me to and ... I'm just glad I did."

Another kiss to her hair and her body sang.

"Come on." He pulled her by the arm and nearly dragged her from the ruined laboratory.

"Where are the other girls?"

"Alice, Rose, and Jessica are safe. The fire department will be here soon." He peered at her, concern marring his perfect forehead. "What's wrong with them?"

Bella gulped, but she was more entranced with the way his Adam's apple bobbed when he spoke than the words he actually said. "Where are we going?"

Resolve burned in his eyes like the flames they'd narrowly escaped and her heart soared at the sight of it.

"I'm getting you the fuck out of here."

~oOo*oOo~

Edward drove fast.

Very fast.

There was something sexy about the way he drove, she decided.

Well, to be fair, there was something sexy about everything Edward did. But for the first time in months, she was in a car! Despite her muddled brain, she still could appreciate what this was called—freedom.

The muscles in his arms flexed when he clenched the wheel, and she bit back a whimper. What she wouldn't give to simply launch herself at him! It would figure that it was on a freeway going dangerously high speeds that she would be plagued with such thoughts. She laughed somewhat maniacally. She was finally safe and with him, and of course, now she was well and truly crazy.

"Fuck, what am I going to do?" He ran a hand through thoroughly tousled hair she decided she would love to mess up just a bit more. "I basically just fled the scene."

"You weren't supposed to have been there anyway." She pointed out in a voice strangely calm. "And the doctor … he was crazy."

"Yes, but who looks crazier? A critically acclaimed scientist or a bunch of mental patients and an orderly?" He shot her a look as if daring her to disagree, and Bella fought the urge to rear back.

It was all too much! She finally was alone with him, and her senses were wild. It wasn't fair. It was all some horrible joke. She couldn't think clearly. "The lab burned and the patients have unknown drugs in their system. The truth will come out."

"I hope so." He took a deep breath, looking calmer now, and Bella rested her head against the seat of his Volvo, watching him.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To my apartment, I guess."

To his apartment. Out of nowhere, pounding need bleated between her legs, forcing her to clamp them tightly shut. It was as if she had a renewed dose of the drug shot in her veins, and the fire was somehow worse than before. Her mouth fell open in a silent pant.

"Are you okay, Bella?"

"Mmhmm," she hummed, forcing a smile, but it may have come out slightly deranged. "It's all very surreal." If her voice trembled, there was no helping it.

He nodded grimly before making a turn and pulling into a parking structure. "This is my place. We'll figure everything out, okay?"

"Sure." She couldn't be much help with that agenda at the moment. Thoughts of her future weren't prevalent in her mind. Please don't touch me, she silently willed. Or I won't be able to keep myself from falling all over you on the walk there.

But he was quick. She barely got the door open before he was opening it the rest of the way and helping her out of her seat, looking as if he'd rather carry her than let her walk. She tightened the cloak around her figure and tucked her free hand by her side, telling it to be good as he guided her.

"I'm sorry I doubted you."

She looked up hopefully and prayed he couldn't see the lust smoldering in her eyes. "So you don't think I'm crazy?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. You're the sweetest girl I know, Bella."

Her shoulders sagged in relief. "Thank God."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Bella, did you just squeeze my ass?"

She bit her lip and looked up at him with an expression that could only be described as guilty. "Sorry," she mumbled. "It's the weird medicine he gave us. It's wearing off though."

He was suddenly serious. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

She shook her head so hard her skull pounded. "No! It always wears off. It's fine. Nothing permanent."

Besides, she never wanted to go to another hospital again.

They entered his house, and Bella couldn't help but be pleased by what she saw. It was so tidy! It smelled good—clean—and like essential oils or something. There was a small tree in the corner with a string of blue lights and nothing else. It was perfect. She couldn't help but smile. But then ... oh, God, she was in his apartment!

"I'll run you a bath. I'm sure you want to get rid of that smoke smell. And your clothes …"

She looked down. "Are ruined." Not that she would miss the mental ward frock.

"I have a T-shirt and boxers you can wear."

Her knees buckled, and suddenly, all she wanted to do was get him out of his T-shirt and boxers. But wearing his clothes? Had she died and gone to heaven?

He moved quickly and Bella gripped her dress until her knuckles were white, attempting to rein in her craving because it was so hard not to simply beg him. It was madness, but hell, maybe a bath would help stave off her frenzied hormones!

When he left her alone in the bathroom, she stripped and stepped into the tub, encasing herself in the water and ... not feeling the least bit alleviated. No, she was anxious. Part of her wanted to control herself and another part was busy formulating a plan to get in his bed. How was she to resist the man she already found irresistible with the added dilemma of an aphrodisiac flowing through her blood?

She swept her hands blindly until she found a bottle and poured the contents into her hand. He had one of those shampoo and conditioners in one like a typical guy. She worked it into a lather and washed her hair. She wasn't sure how she was managing to function with her body so paralyzed with need, but she lathered up her hands with soap and worked quickly to finish the job, but damn, even her own hands felt good! She really needed to do something about this little problem because ignoring it was just making it worse.

Slamming the soap down, she got out of the bath and dressed quickly, trying not to think of the fact that the same towel she used had probably been used by him many times over. Irritated by her traitorous thoughts and her severe lack of control, she yanked her fingers through her hair so hard she pulled the strands, but even that felt oddly pleasurable.

God how she wanted him.

But how to go about it? She was no seductress, and he'd just broken her out of a damned mental hospital! That wasn't exactly a mood setter.

Drawing on all the courage she could muster, she curled her hand around the door and yanked it open. Edward was setting up a bed for her on the couch. She smiled despite her internal ranting. He was nothing if not sweet.

"Is that for me?" She nearly jumped at how husky her voice sounded. She furrowed her brows in confusion and cleared her throat loudly.

He straightened and cast her a long look. She suddenly became aware of the fact that she'd foregone putting her smoke-ridden bra back on. Her nipples begin to harden just by his stare alone, and Bella was forced to cross her arms over her chest.

"For me, actually." He gestured to the only bedroom in the apartment. "I thought I'd leave the bed for you."

Her heart clenched even as disappointment wheedled its way into her mind. "You don't have to do that." She forced a laugh, but it was rough and grating. Why couldn't she be more like Rose? "This is your house. I'm good with the couch."

He scoffed. "Don't be silly."

Bending over, he resumed his tucking, and Bella tiptoed around the couch, stopping in front of the ornament-less tree. She ran an errant finger over a tiny bulb, watching as it bounced. "Or"—she swallowed—"we could ... share the bed." She gathered her courage to face him but quickly averted her eyes, looking somewhere above his head. Fuck, fuck, fuck, she inwardly berated herself. Smooth, Bella! Defiantly, she dropped her gaze and stared into his shocked eyes.

"Bella," he glanced skyward before looking back at her. "You don't owe me"—he shoved his hand through his hair like she wished she could do—"anything."

"I know." She smiled brightly. "I'm not confused." She sauntered ever closer, skimming her fingers against the sheet-clad couch cushion. "I just ... want to."

With no further preamble, she launched herself at him as she'd fantasized about doing countless times tonight alone. She took him by surprise, and he fell backward on the couch when she threw her leg around his waist and captured his lips with hers.

Her body sang with relief.

Finally!

She kissed him because she wanted to—because it felt right to.

For a moment, he kissed her back, and it was sheer bliss! His hands came up to grip her hips and she felt a moment of victory. Her victory was short lived, however. He lifted her from his lap and deposited her next to him with a groan.

"Bella, what's gotten into you? You're not acting like yourself."

She sat back as if slapped and folded her arms across her chest. "I am too acting like myself," she argued. "Just a bit ... liberated, you might say. But still me."

His hands balled into fists. "And why so liberated all of a sudden?"

She sighed and looked away. "We were drugged with an aphrodisiac tonight, if you must know."

A colorful string of curses left his throat.

Bella couldn't help but pout. Only, now that the truth was out, maybe she could appeal to his pity. She turned and gripped his forearm harshly. "Please, Edward. I'm hot all over! It's a terrible feeling to be left in limbo like this. I'm so turned on it hurts. Can't you help?"

His nostrils flared, and his tongue darted out to lick his lips. "Can't," he gritted out, screwing his eyes shut as if in pain. "Wouldn't be right. It's not like you've given me any indication before."

She felt true rage bubble to the surface. "No indication," she spat. "Haven't I? You're telling me you haven't seen it? For weeks now?" God, did the man have to be so damn stubborn? She wanted him to take her, and she wanted it badly. Surely, he couldn't be blind to that.

Green eyes bright with hunger narrowed in warning. "Bella, don't look at me like that, please."

Her exasperation propelled her to her feet. She stood and faced the tree. She had always been somewhat of a good girl, but where had being good taken her? No, right about now, there was a rebellious streak she was rather keen on embracing. She spun around, wild brown eyes clashing with his green ones.

"Don't tempt me," he warned.

But tempting him sounded like a splendid idea. Smiling, she reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it slowly over her head before sending it sailing noiselessly to the floor. He didn't make an obvious movement, but imperceptibly, his darkened gaze roved over her bare chest. What was more, his sweatpants were clearly tented—quite generously so. Triumph thrilled through her. She would get her way yet.

"I've taken off my shirt, now why don't you take off yours?" Her hands fell to her hips, and she stood with far more confidence than she would normally feel.

Moving rapidly. He pulled off his shirt and cast it aside as he blatantly met her challenging gaze. But Bella was distracted once more. His chest looked better than her wildest imaginations had painted him to be. God, he put Greek statues to shame and turned her insides to molten metal. She was suddenly overcome with the notion that she should lick the contours of his chest and swirl her tongue around his nipple.

"Why don't you come over here and sit back on my lap," his said, voice thickened in lust. "I'd like to pick up where we left off."

Bella practically floated over to him, spurred on by the ravenous expression on his face. It matched her own white-hot need. She eagerly straddled him and they both moaned when she pressed her core against his erection.

"Let me kiss you properly," he hissed.

And he did. For the first time since the start of this horrifying night, Bella actually felt relief while her desire simultaneously built. His kiss was anything but soft—it was dominating and demanding—like the man himself. Dizziness surged in her head, compelling her to anchor her arms around his neck so she wouldn't fall. Tightness spread like building tension as her heart beat wildly out of her chest. He shifted himself under her, using his strength to balance her, and she gasped.

His tongue slipped into her mouth, seeking hers, and she met him eagerly. Her body was on fire for the man, and she wanted nothing more than to yank down his sweats and impale herself on his throbbing cock. She was dissolving into a pool of need, losing her way as his tongue devoured her. She really could have sat there and kissed him for an eternity, but what she wanted more than anything was to be filled so finally by hot flesh.

Deciding to coax him along, she slipped one dainty hand easily into his pants and found his hardened length. Wasting no time, she gave it a light squeeze, her eyes rolling back when she thought about that part of him pressed into her.

He let out a string of expletives that made her giggle. Instinctively, she knew it was dangerous to tease a man like him, but she couldn't help herself. He didn't let her stay in control. A few seconds later, she was half-laying, half-sitting on her back, her boxers—or his, she thought giddily—yanked unceremoniously down her legs.

"You think that's funny?" He crawled up her body like a predator encroaching on its prey. "Maybe I should repay the favor."

Her sex was throbbing. She was so hot and pulsating her desire. The bleating need she felt had only risen in tempo now that she was finally getting what she wanted. Her heart hammered against the wall of her chest as she felt him kiss the skin of her inner thigh, then she felt the ghost of his breath between her legs.

She was suspended in titillating anticipation as he nestled between the slopes of her thighs. His tongue melted inside of her, and she screamed, arching her back off the couch in shock from the sheer pleasure that swept through her. Strong hands wrapped around her legs to hold her down, and then he was feasting on her like she was some kind of decadent treat, and he was right—this was no time for games.

"Edward! Oh, my God." Her fingers found his hair, and she scratched his scalp, prompting him to continue and to hasten the pace.

But he had his own pace in mind, and he would not be dissuaded. She pressed him to her shamelessly, wriggling and moaning beneath him. His skillful movements and well-timed thrusts with his tongue had her reduced to a quivering mess as heat poured through her and hauled her to the precipice. She would have launched herself forward if she could, but he kept it cruelly out of her reach until she was left to first threaten than beg for the release she longed for.

"Edward, please," she gasped. The throbbing ache combined with his newly freed fingers was too much to bear and nearly brought her to the cusp of sobbing.

He broke away, and she noticed his eyes were no longer green but black. It sent her pulse racing. "What do you need?"

She clamped her walls down around her fingers in an attempt to force her own release, but to no avail. "You know."

"I want you to say it, little tease."

She moaned, desperately wishing he would move quicker as she longed for him to. "I need to come. Please, let me."

He rose above her but hastened the pump of his fingers and watched as she pitched violently into her climax. Searing rapture flooded her body as she threw her head back in bliss. It wasn't like anything she'd experienced before, certainly not in high school, and she was still experiencing small, powerful shocks when she felt him at her entrance.

She reared up on her forearms, her excitement renewed. "Yes! I need you."

And she did need him. Her body was greedy, and even though she'd just experienced the most intense pleasure she'd ever felt, she wanted more, and she wanted it with him inside her. His face was twisted with a look of such focused concentration it was almost painful. She wanted to tell him he didn't need to be gentle, that nothing hurt, and she was more than ready for him.

"I'm going to make love to you, slow and deep, like I've thought about doing for ages," he informed her.

She shook her head. "Not slow. Hard and fast. That's what I need. Slow and deep later." She raised her hips as if to drive her point farther home, and a feral groan escaped his throat.

"Yes," he hissed, and then he drove into her until skin was slapping skin.

He was still for a moment, and she was worried he might have forgotten he was supposed to take her hard and fast, but then a tremor passed through her, causing her walls to flutter and it prompted him to move.

"Please," she begged. "I'm so hot, and you feel so good. Faster, Edward."

"Fuck, Bella," he groaned, snapping his hips. "I'm not going to last."

She curled her legs around his waist and took him in deeper, squeezing on every downward thrust as she met his frenzied movements. He alternated between burying his fingers in her hair to kneading her breasts, but soon, he couldn't focus on either task and adjusted one of her legs so he brushed against her clit every time, moving with reckless abandon.

It wasn't long before she felt the pressure grow and intensify once more, and then he was edging her so expertly toward the promise of sweet delirium. The coil of white-hot need tightened before snapping more powerfully, and then she was riding wave after blissful wave. When he felt her walls clamp down around him, Edward drove into her one more powerful time with a growl before a look of pure joy washed over his face.

The next time they both came, it was with her riding him. It wasn't until they were well and truly sated that exhaustion finally took them.

When Bella awoke the next day, it was to find herself alone in his bed. His alarm clock read two in the afternoon. To her embarrassment, she remembered everything they had done the night before. To her surprise, she wouldn't mind having more nights like that one, if only she could let herself be confident. The effects of the aphrodisiac seemed to have worn off completely and left in its wake an unsettling feeling of dread.

What did Edward think of her? Did he think her loose and slutty? Would he tell her she had to go back to the hospital before she got him in trouble? Last night was madness, and now, reality had begun to set in.

She found him making sandwiches in the kitchen.

He looked up and smiled widely at her. "Hey." He rushed over and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. "Sleep well?" He arched his brow with a smirk.

She blushed and ducked her head. "Mmhmm."

"Here." He pointed to the barstool. "Sit down and have something to eat. You must be famished. I am."

"Okay."

"So, I've got it all figured out."

"You do?"

He nodded. "No one saw me there last night. I mean, except the girls, but they aren't exactly reliable sources if they even remember. And if you can see the paper …"

Her eyes flew to the newspaper on the counter with the heading that read: TWO DEAD IN TRAGIC FIRE AT ASYLUM. "Oh, God, who died, Edward? Was it Angela?"

"No," he shook his head, "she's just badly burned. It was Jasper and ... you."

"Me?"

Edward set her plate down and studied her intently. "Bella, they think you died in that fire. You know what this means? It means you could let everyone know you're still alive or ... you could start over with a new life, one that you make yourself."

Bella sat back, her mind reeling. "How am I supposed to do that?"

He shrugged. "I know a guy. He can get you papers. If you want to, we can leave the state and start over somewhere new. You won't ever have to have that reputation hanging over you anymore. Well," Edward flipped his hands, "what do you think?"

"That's something you want to do?"

He frowned. "Do you have to ask? More than anything."

Slowly, her lips twisted in a smile. Edward wanted to help her, to stay with her, and he'd figured out the answer to all of their problems. "Okay." She nodded, her eyes glowing with each passing moment. "A new identity. That sounds like the best gift ever."

"Consider it my Christmas present to you."

Bella smiled as true happiness filled her. For the first time in a long time, the future looked bright.

~oOo*oOo~

Hosts' note: Please leave the author some love. Reviews are encouragement. In case you have an idea of the author's identity, please do not disclose it in the reviews or anywhere else.

Season's greetings