Don't worry, I'll get you back... he threatened.

Bella had a bewildered expression. I heard Esme explaining what happened. "Emmett hits the hardest, but Edward runs the fastest."

Jasper was next to bat. He already knew that throwing one towards me would be a mistake and was going for a ground ball. He hit the ball and it bounced off the ground. Carlisle caught it and started running to beat Jasper to first base. They collided and sent another thunderous noise through the night's air.

Bella was sitting on the grass and jumped up with a look of concern on her face. I laughed harder than ever at her expression.

"Safe." Esme called out.

We continued to play until the other team had three outs. We switched positions and I was at Bella's side in a quick motion that she almost didn't see.

"What do you think?" I asked in excitement.

"One thing's for sure, I'll never be able to sit through dull old Major League Baseball again," she smiled widely.

"And it sounds like you did so much of that before," I laughed.

The thrill of the game and the desire I felt when I was around Bella had me feeling high.

"I am a little disappointed," she said teasingly.

"Why?" I asked, perplexed.

"Well," she grinned, "it would be nice if I could find just one thing you didn't do better than everyone else on the planet."

She thought I was better than everyone else on the planet. I was soaring. I didn't think anything could remove the smile that seemed to be permanently plastered on my face.

I'm going to have to have a talk with her about filling your head with non-sense, Emmett guffawed stupidly.

You're oozing love over here. You're up lover boy, Jasper joked.

"I'm up!" I told Bella while heading to the plate.

We continued to play for several innings when several things happened simultaneously. I had bent down to get into the catching position, Carlisle had walked up to bat and Alice gasped in horror while she shrieked in alarm in her mind. I brought my eyes to hers as I saw what she was seeing. Terror rose inside me as a large dead weight fell through my chest and into my stomach.

Three vampires were running in our direction, curious about playing ball. The next series of visions had me scrambling to Bella's side in terror.

Edward, no! Alice thought while her vision continued as one tall vampire caught Bella's scent on the wind and attacked. In her vision Bella didn't die because we prevented him from sucking her dry but she had been bitten. Only a part of a second had passed and I was at Bella's side.

Get her out of here now! Alice bellowed from her mind. My brain was in limbo because I saw the other outcomes too.

Everyone was saying Alice's name alarmingly in their heads but Esme was the first to break the silence. "Alice?" she asked, her voice strained.

"I didn't see - I couldn't tell," she mouthed almost soundlessly.

I felt Bella tense up as everyone flew rapidly to her side in protection. Bella knew - she had to know. She was always so observant. Everyones thoughts were jumbled in confusion and alarm. Panic burst inside me like poisonous gas.

"What is it, Alice?" Carlisle asked in a business like tone.

It's too late, Edward. I'm sorry. "They were traveling much quicker than I thought. I can see I had the perspective wrong before," Alice's eyes were blank yet horror struck.

They'll have to go through me before they get to Alice, Jasper thought protectively. He moved closer to her. "What changed?"

She looked up at him in absolute horror. I could see how split second decisions were altering her visions. None of them looked promising. "They heard us playing, and it changed their path," she explained with pure agony in her voice.

It's my fault, she thought feebly.

We all looked at Bella and saw that her face was shocked. Her heart drummed madly as she comprehended our words. I saw through seven pairs of eyes Bella's expressions from every angle. Each of their thoughts were ricocheting in my head. Was this the punishment I would suffer for being selfish? Losing her? I cried internally. My heart was screaming in protest.

"How soon?" Carlisle asked me.

Alice was in a stunned stupor. I read through each line of her thoughts as they flitted across her mind. "Less than five minutes. They're running - they want to play." I frowned at him.

Take Bella and run! "Can you make it?" Carlisle asked me nervously.

I brought her scent into my lungs. It was just another reminder of how weak and fragile she was.

"No, not carrying -" I cut short. "Besides, the last thing we need is for them to catch the scent and start hunting."

It was one of the many visions that had gone through Alice's mind: Bella being hunted. Each decision we made turned the outcome into something different. Some were more devastating than others. As soon as I decided it I saw the reaction of the vampires. They would hunt - we would lose. I couldn't run with her.

This isn't good, Carlisle thought.

All right, a fight! Emmett exclaimed in his head, completely unperturbed. I glowered at him. He shrugged, I'm sorry. I don't want them to hurt Bella any more than you do.

"How many?" Emmett asked Alice.

"Three," she clipped in a muffled wail.

"Three!" That will be too easy. "Let them come." Emmett scoffed and began flexing his muscles.

Everyone's thoughts were in such a frantic state of mind I couldn't listen anymore. They were coming at me from all angles. Bella's name was coming up in every single thought. I began dissolving in misery. It was entirely fault.

"Let's just continue the game," Carlisle finally decided. "Alice said they were simply curious."

This is ludicrous! I can't believe this crap...all for a human girl. Rosalie muttered reproachfully.

Now that the decision is made what is the outcome? Carlisle asked me.

I shrugged because there were too many situations where decisions have yet to be made. I knew my face was screwed up in concentration and I knew that worry lines were etched into every crease of my face. I could see myself perfectly in Carlisle's mind as he stared at me.

Everyone began walking out onto the field to continue the game. Their minds were somewhere else though.

Forest is clear here, Emmett thought.

I nodded in his direction. Esme grabbed my arms and pulled me just a few feet away from Bella. The short distance felt like miles. I was so horrified that I had brought her to danger. Anguish was ripping through my body. A knot formed in the pit of my stomach.