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“I can’t do this anymore,” he whispered, holding his head in his hands. He knew his family would hear him. “I’m not strong enough to stay away from her any longer.”
Below, he heard the excited squeal of his sister, as she announced, “We’re going back to Forks!”
The immediate hustle and bustle of his family almost managed to bring a smile to his face. Almost. He hadn’t smiled since Bella’s birthday party. That night had been the catalyst for the worst decision he’d ever made.
He only hoped that he wasn’t too late. He prayed that she would allow him to fix his error, that she would believe him when he told her that he loved her more than anything, that she was the very reason for his existence.
“Edward?” Alice’s voice sounded, as she flitted into the attic room he’d been sitting in for… however long he’d been there. “I can’t see your reunion with her. Whenever I search for Bella, I just get…”
She trailed off, showing him the darkness that thoughts of Bella’s future brought her. His dead heart clenched painfully in his chest. She couldn’t be… no, he wouldn’t even allow himself the thought.
Bella was fine. He’d see her in just a few days, and see for himself.
“It’s okay, Alice,” he whispered. “There will be an explanation for it. There has to be. She has to be okay.”
She nodded, though she looked uncertain, and her thoughts matched her expression. He ignored her, unwilling to even think that there could be something wrong with his sweet angel.
…
It was the fastest move they’d ever made. Three days after Edward had made his decision, he was driving his Volvo through the familiar streets of Forks.
Parking up behind Jasper, Edward lingered for only moments before his family waved him off towards his love. He ran through the trees, his legs carrying him faster than he’d ever moved before in his life. Within minutes, he was sitting in the tree outside of her bedroom.
Only… she wasn’t there.
He opened the window silently, sliding through it. Only a faint trace of her scent lingered, though confusingly enough, most of her things seemed to remain in the room. There was a layer of dust covering them that made him frown.
He climbed back through the window, and, after hesitating for just a moment, he dropped down and walked directly up to the door, knocking three times.
He could hear Charlie was in the living room, and while he knew that he wouldn’t likely get the best reception from the man, he hoped that he would at least get some answers.
The door opened, and Charlie stood before him. Edward couldn’t stop the surprised gasp from escaping his lips. Bella’s father was… different.
He looked tired and unkempt, there was a beer bottle in his hand, and he was swaying slightly on the spot.
“ You ,” he growled. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Edward took an involuntary step back at the force of the hatred in Charlie’s voice.
“I… I was hoping to see Bella.”
“You’ve got no right to come here, boy. No right to ask after my daughter after what you did to her! You destroyed her! My baby is gone, and it’s all your fucking fault!”
“No,” Edward whispered, shaking his head. “No, Bella’s not, she’s not gone, she’s not. She can’t be dead.”
“She may as well be,” Charlie murmured, his eyes filling with tears.
Edward barely caught the words, caught up in his own terror as he was.
“Chief Swan… please. Please tell me where she is,” he begged.
The fight seemed to leave Charlie as he leant against the door frame. “What are you doing here, Edward?”
“I knew the moment that I ended things with Bella that I’d made a mistake, but I couldn’t just take it back,” Edward admitted quietly. “Believe me, or don’t, Chief, but I thought that I was doing the best thing for her. I can’t… I love her. If she tells me to leave her alone, then I will, I swear it, but please… just let me see her. I need to see her.”
His impassioned plea seemed to click with something in Charlie, and he nodded once, stepping back to allow Edward through the door.
“Go in the living room,” he said, gruffly, closing the door behind him. “Bella isn’t here anymore. After… the day you left her, Bella was missing for hours. I don’t know what you said to her in the woods, and quite frankly, it’s probably better that way, but whatever it was… she gave up. She curled up in a ball on the forest floor, and she just…”
He broke off with a choked sob. It took him a moment to continue.
“Sam Uley was the one to find her. He brought her home, and Dr Gerandy checked her over. I thought, give her a few weeks, and she’d get over you. First love, and… well. I don’t like you. I haven’t liked you since Phoenix happened, and I’ve never hid that.”
Edward nodded, despite himself. He was trying to pick up more of the story from Charlie’s mind, but they were even more muddied than usual, and he couldn’t get anything useful.
“My Bella though… she loved you more than anything I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Charlie admitted. “It was like… you left, and you took her with you. Everything that made her who she was. She was a shell. She didn’t speak, didn’t eat, didn’t sleep, didn’t do anything. She sat in the chair in her bedroom, curled up like she was physically holding herself together, and she stared out of the window.”
Charlie shook his head.
“I didn’t know what to do. Then… Billy showed up. You know about the Quileutes, of course. He told me everything. He told me about your family… he told me about the wolves… I didn’t believe him. Not only was it ridiculous, but my baby wouldn’t be so stupid to get herself involved with supernatural beings. But… he proved it. Sam was human, and then he was a giant wolf, and my baby was in love with a fucking vampire .”
Edward was stunned. He couldn’t believe that Billy Black had been so stupid as to run his mouth off to Charlie about not only the wolves, but the Cullen family. The breach of the treaty—the second in months, if you counted Jacob telling Bella the legend—was a liability that would have to be addressed at some point.
“Why did he tell you?” Edward asked, prompting Charlie to continue.
“He told me because he believed that you’d done something to her. Vampire Thrall, he called it. Said that he knew a ritual that he could perform on my Bella that would help get rid of it. At that point, I was all out of ideas, so I agreed. I took her down to the Res, and he performed the ritual.”
Charlie snorted.
“It was the liveliest I’d seen my girl since you left, but it wasn’t in a good way. She screamed at Billy that she wasn’t under some ‘Thrall’, that she loved you, and they could all fuck themselves if they thought that they could ever make her forget you. It was… quite something. I hoped that she’d turned a corner, but if anything, she got worse. It was like she was punishing herself for you leaving.”
Edward’s breath hitched.
“I tried everything I could think of, and when I failed, Renee came and tried to take her back to Arizona. Bella refused. She threatened to hurt herself if we made her leave. In the end, there was nothing else to do but to let her be.”
Charlie stood up suddenly, striding from the room. Edward heard the clinking of bottles as the fridge opened, and he returned moments later with a fresh bottle of beer in his hand. Edward had a feeling that it was only the flow of alcohol that was keeping Charlie so verbose.
“She’s not here now, because she was sectioned under the mental health act. She’s in a psychiatric hospital, and she shows no signs of life. They’re feeding her through a drip, and she lies in a bed, and she doesn’t move. The only noise she makes is when she screams out in her nightmares. So, Edward, no, Bella isn’t dead, but she may as fucking well be.”
A few moments of silence passed, Edward holding his head in his hands. What the hell had he done? He’d thought he was doing the best thing for her, to keep her safe and alive and instead… he’d destroyed her.
Why did he think that he was the only one who would feel the separation? Carlisle had voiced the opinion that Bella was Edward’s mate, that she would feel it as hard as a human could possibly feel a supernatural bond, but Edward had been certain.
Bella would be better off without him.
“I know it probably doesn’t mean much, but… you know what I am, what my family are. On Bella’s eighteenth birthday, there was an accident. Bella got a papercut, and my brother, Jasper… he’s an empath. He felt the bloodlust of everyone in the room, and… he tried to attack Bella. Of course he didn’t get to her, but Bella got hurt in the chaos. You remember, she came home with an arm injury?”
When Charlie nodded, Edward continued.
“I thought… I wanted her to be safe. Bella… I don’t know if this is something you need to know, but for the sake of honesty… Bella wanted to be changed. She wanted to become like us, so that she could stay with me forever. As much as I loved—love—her, I didn’t want this existence for her. It can be… I didn’t want it for her. So, I thought that, if I took myself out of the equation, took my family away from Forks, well, she’d be safe. We wouldn’t be able to hurt her, and she wouldn’t be changed.”
“You didn’t believe that she loved you as much as she said,” Charlie surmised, with surprising clarity, given the amount of alcohol in his blood.
“I didn’t,” Edward agreed. “It’s the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.”
Charlie sighed. “I still don’t like you, and honestly, if the choice were mine to make, I’d want Bella as far away from you and your family as she could possibly get. But… she loves you. I think, if anyone can give me my daughter back, it’s you. So, I’ll call the hospital in the morning, and add you to her visitor list.”
“Thank you.”
“Promise me something,” Charlie said, as Edward stood up.
“Anything.”
“If Bella wants to be changed… do it for her. Don’t let her down again, Edward. You may not be human, but I swear on all that is holy in the world, if you hurt my girl again, I will find a way to end you.”
“I… If I hurt her again, I’ll give you the means to end me,” Edward replied. “And I promise. I’m not strong enough to be without her any longer. Whatever she asks of me, I’ll give it to her.”
…
“Did you see her?” Alice asked, as soon as Edward walked through the front door. The whole family was staring at him eagerly, waiting for news.
“She’s… I…” Edward shook his head.
“Sweetheart, come and sit down,” Esme said, worriedly, guiding him to the freshly uncovered sofas.
As the others gathered around them, Edward tried to clear his mind enough to explain to them what had happened.
“Charlie knows about us. What we are, I mean. And the wolves. Billy Black told him everything.”
“Son, perhaps you should start from the beginning?” Carlisle asked, frowning slightly.
Edward nodded. “When we left, when I told Bella goodbye, she didn’t want me to leave. I… I told her that I didn’t love her. I told her that she wasn’t enough to hold my attention anymore. From what Charlie told me, I hurt her much more than I could have ever expected. I didn’t… I don’t… Bella isn’t at home. She’s at a psychiatric facility in Port Angeles. I broke her, Carlisle.”
The last sentence was a sob, as Edward fell back in his seat, his hands in his hair, tugging it enough to hurt.
“I broke her. The wolves, they tried to convince Charlie that I had Bella under some kind of ‘Thrall’, that I’d been playing with her. They did a ritual on her, but obviously it didn’t work because I never would have done anything like that to her. Charlie, he hates me of course, and I deserve that. If she tells me to get lost, I’ll deserve that, too, but I need her. I need her so badly, and she’s lying in a hospital bed, screaming from nightmares and being fed through a drop because she refused to eat, and it’s all my fault,” he cried.
Esme pulled him into a tight embrace, venom filling her own eyes as she rocked him slowly. Nobody seemed to know what to say, and Jasper was physically cringing in his seat beside Alice from all of the emotion in the room.
“Edward, you can fix this,” Esme whispered. “Did Charlie tell you exactly where Bella is?”
“Yes. He’s going to call them in the morning and add me to her visitor list. He hates me, but he thinks that I’m his last hope at getting his daughter back.”
“Then you’ll see her tomorrow,” Esme murmured. “It may be a long road, but I have faith that you can bring back the bright, beautiful young woman you fell in love with, both for yourself and for everyone else that loves her.”
“Do you think she’ll hate me?” he asked, hating how childish he sounded, but needing some form of reassurance.
“I don’t know, son. What I do know is that Bella loves you as much as you love her. Believe and trust in that love, and in the end, it will come through. You’re meant to be together, Edward. Bella loves you. Never lose sight of that.”
…
Carlisle drove Edward to the psychiatric facility the following morning, when it became clear that he was in no fit state to navigate speaking to the doctors by himself. They walked through the doors in silence, Edward waiting impatiently while Carlisle explained who they were, and who they were there to see to the nurse on the front desk.
“Visiting hours begin in thirty minutes,” the nurse said, motioning them to take a seat in the waiting area.
“What’s Bella doing right now?” Edward asked, his eyes flashing angrily. “Her father told me that she doesn’t move from her bed. What harm could it possibly do to allow me in to see her now?”
“Edward,” Carlisle murmured, warningly. “Half an hour will pass by quickly. Hold your temper.”
Turning to the nurse, Carlisle smiled apologetically. “Isabella is very important to my family, and we’ve only just learned of her condition. My son is very eager to see her.”
The nurse nodded, dazzled slightly by Carlisle’s smile. “Let me speak to Isabella’s doctor. We may be able to bend the rules, just this once.”
Carlisle nodded. “Thank you very much.”
Ten minutes later, a doctor was greeting them at the door, gesturing for them to follow him.
“Can you tell me more about Isabella’s condition?” Carlisle asked.
“I have a full disclosure agreement from Isabella’s father,” the doctor confirmed. “Isabella is catatonic. It’s the worst case I’ve seen in my career, if I’m completely honest. If it wasn’t for the drip, she’d have starved herself to death quite some time ago. I… Charlie Swan seems to believe that your son’s presence could help Isabella, but I feel I must warn you both not to hold too much hope. I pray that Charlie is correct, but… well, I suppose you’ll see for yourselves.”
He opened the door to a bland looking hospital room, furnished only with a single, standard hospital bed, and a drip stand.
“Why is there no furniture?” Edward asked, stepping into the room. He hadn’t allowed himself to look at his Bella yet.
“We were worried that she would attempt to harm herself.”
“Oh, god,” Carlisle murmured, his hand lifting to cover his mouth.
Edward followed his gaze and gasped, his legs shaking beneath him as he leant back against the wall. Bella was…
“That’s not my Bella,” he whimpered.
The girl in the bed was tiny, emaciated and grey, her hair limp and lifeless around her shoulders. Her eyes were open, staring straight ahead, but there was no life in them. There was nothing recognisable about the girl on the bed.
“I’ll leave you to your visit. A nurse will be around to inform you when visiting hours are over,” the doctor said, looking sadly at Bella for a moment, before he closed the door behind him with a soft snick.
“Carlisle… that’s not my Bella.”
Carlisle shook his head. “I wouldn’t have believed it either, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. She looks… go to her, Edward.”
Edward crossed the room slowly, sitting on the edge of her bed. She didn’t react, didn’t even blink at the movement of the mattress.
“Bella? Bella, baby, it’s Edward. Can you look at me?”
Nothing.
He hesitated for a moment before he picked up her hand in his own, stroking the skin on the back of her hand with his thumb.
She flinched away from him, a look of fear on her face. The bed jostled as she curled herself up into a ball, whimpering.
“Not again, not again, no, no, go away, I can’t, I can’t, not again, not again.”
The words were barely audible, likely wouldn’t be to a human’s ears but their enhanced senses made it easy.
“Bella, sweetheart, please look at me,” Edward begged.
“Go away, go away, go away,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. “He’s not here, Bella, you’re hallucinating, it’s not real. Go away, go away, go away.”
“Bella, I’m here,” he pleaded with her, stroking her arm. “Bella, I’m right here, I’m so sorry I left you, so sorry, baby, I love you.”
Her eyes flashed open and she stared at him. He waited, holding her gaze, until suddenly, her face blanked out with an expression of utter peace.
“Edward,” she murmured, a soft smile on her lips. “I did it, didn’t I? I beat them?”
“Beat who, baby?”
“The doctors… they tried to keep me alive, but I knew, I knew, Edward. I had to die to be with you again, I knew it. I beat them, Edward. I can keep you now.”
Edward was horrified. She was trying to die so that she could be with him?
“Sweetheart, you’re not dead. You’re in the hospital. Charlie told me where you were when I came to the house.”
“No. No. Edward, don’t tease me, it’s not nice. I don’t want to think about Charlie. I just want to lay with you forever. Come lay with me, Edward.”
Edward glanced at Carlisle, who was watching the scene with a pained expression.
“What do I do?” he asked, quickly and quietly enough that he was sure that Bella hadn’t noticed.
“Prove to her that she’s alive, son,” Carlisle murmured.
“Baby, do you feel pain in the afterlife?” Edward asked her, after a moment of silence. He looked down at her, tracing every feature with his eyes.
She frowned. “Of course not, silly.”
He pinched her wrist, not hard enough to leave a mark, but hard enough that it would sting her for a moment. She blinked, then sat up in the bed, scooting as far away from him as she could, staring at him with wide eyes.
Edward watched cautiously, impressed despite himself with the speed she’d managed to move, given how long she’d been basically immobile.
“You… I… what…?” she stuttered.
He watched her finally take notice of Carlisle, and shrink back even further.
“I came back to beg your forgiveness, anc Charlie told me where you were,” Edward told her, softly. “Bella, I’m so sorry that I ever left you. I didn’t mean any of what I said in the woods. I was trying to keep you safe. Baby… please believe me. I need you. I love you so much that it hurts.”
She shook her head. “No. No, you don’t. You don’t love me. I was never good enough for you, I wasn’t, I’m nothing, nothing, I can’t, you don’t, you need to leave, you can’t be here, you’re not here, this is… no. No.”
Being careful of the IV line, Edward reached for her, ignoring her weak attempts to fight him off, and gathered her up in his arms. He pulled her against his chest, rocking her on his knee as she sobbed into his shirt.
He felt the change in her as she relaxed, her hand finding its way up his chest to clutch onto his shirt as her tears fell unchecked down her face.
“You are everything to me,” he whispered softly. “Absolutely everything. The entire time I was away from you, I didn’t smile, I didn’t hunt very often, I didn’t play music, or talk, or anything else. I sat in an empty room with a picture of you, and I missed you. I love you, Bella, with everything I am, and everything I have.”
She didn’t reply, just continued to cry.
“Someone’s coming,” Carlisle warned, glancing at the door.
Edward, knowing that it would be seen as odd for him to be able to support Bella the way he was sitting, shifted so that his back was to the wall, and he was sitting more fully on the bed. Bella remained wrapped in his arms, her legs dangling over his lap.
The doctor walked into the room with the nurse who’d been sitting at the front desk when they’d arrived.
“Visiting is—” he broke off, looking at the fully aware Bella, crying into Edward’s shirt. His eyes widened as he took the two of them in, and then turned his gaze to Carlisle.
“How did… this come about?” he asked.
“Edward is partially to blame for Isabella’s state of mind,” Carlisle replied, his tone soft. “I believe that her catatonia was due to a broken heart. Edward… the love that the two of them share is unlike any I’ve ever seen before. While I don’t believe that Isabella will get better simply because he’s here, I think this will be a turning point for both of them.”
“I see,” the doctor replied, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “We’ve seen it before, of course, broken hearts causing severe depression. This is quite the turnaround though, it’s very interesting.”
Carlisle nodded, but didn’t reply, choosing instead to look back at Edward and Bella. Her tears had slowled, and her eyes were fluttering closed, though her grip on his shirt didn’t loosen at all.
“Visiting hours are over for the day,” the nurse said softly. “Of course, you’re more than welcome to return tomorrow.”
“I’m not leaving her,” Edward replied, holding her tighter. She was dozing off in his arms, and it was the best feeling he’d had since he’d left her in the forest. There was no way he was letting her go.
“I’m sorry, lad, but rules are rules,” the doctor replied. “Like Nurse Emma said, you’re welcome to come back tomorrow, but you need to leave now.”
“Carlisle,” Edward said, looking at his father figure. “Call Charlie and ask him to discharge Bella into your care. We’ll take her home.”
Carlisle looked thoughtful. “Do you believe that he would?”
“He’ll do anything to get his daughter back,” Edward replied, sure of himself in this, if nothing else. “Tell him about her reaction today, and I guarantee that he’ll sign her out.”
“Even if that was to happen, it can’t happen today,” the doctor argued.
“I’ve only just convinced her that I’m not a hallucination,” Edward snapped at the doctor. “I’m not going to leave her to wake up by herself, and believe that it was just a dream, or whatever. It’s not going to happen, and we can argue about this all night, but until she tells me that she doesn’t want me here, I’m not fucking leaving her.”
“Call Charlie Swan, ask him to come here as soon as he’s able,” the doctor said to the nurse, after a moment of silence.
Carlisle nodded at Edward, who just buried his face in Bella’s hair, taking in her scent. After the length of time he’d been without it, he truly felt like he was in heaven.
…
Buried in her hair and oblivious to the rest of the world outside of their tiny bubble as he was, Edward ignored what was going on in the room until he heard Charlie’s voice.
“This really should surprise me more than it does.”
He looked up to see Charlie had joined the doctor and Carlisle in watching the two of them. Edward was glad to see that the man was sober, dressed in his uniform, and looking somewhat fresher than he had the night before.
“Chief Swan,” he greeted, quietly.
“How is she?”
“She believed that she was hallucinating, at first, and then she believed that she’d, ah, beat the doctors and died. I… I had no idea that she would be affected like this,” Edward replied, shaking his head. “The doctor has asked that I leave, but I won’t make the same mistakes again. The grip she has on my shirt—even in her sleep—tells me that she wants me to be here. I promised you that I would do and be whatever she wanted, so until she tells me to leave, I’m staying with her.”
Charlie nodded slowly, thoughtfully. “Good.”
“We can’t allow him to stay with her, Charlie,” the doctor said. “We have rules that must be followed, and visiting hours were over an hour ago. We can’t just let people stay willy-nilly.”
“Well, then, I’ll take her home, and Edward can stay with her there,” Charlie replied, shrugging his shoulders, his eyes hard. “You’re telling me that she spoke actual words. That’s more than she’d done since she’s been here, and if it’s Edward that she needs to get better, then dammit, that’s what she’ll have.”
Bella stirred in Edward’s arms, her eyes blinking open slowly.
“Edward?”
“I’m right here, baby,” he murmured, tightening his grip on her slightly.
“You’re… it wasn’t a dream, was it?”
“Nope. I’m right here, and I’m not leaving,” he replied, pressing a soft kiss to her temple. “Your dad is here, baby.”
She looked over to where Charlie stood watching her with tears in his eyes.
“Dad,” she gasped out. “Daddy, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t apologise, Bells,” Charlie replied, approaching slowly. He held his arms out, and she shifted on Edwards lap to hug him with one arm, though she didn’t loosen her grip on Edward’s shirt. “None of this was your fault, sweetheart, but I’m so, so glad to hear your voice.”
When they parted, she automatically seemed to lean closer to Edward again.
“Are you ready to come home, sweetheart?” Charlie asked, stepping back.
She looked at Edward, then back at Charlie, and then back at Edward.
“It doesn’t matter where you are, Bella. I’ll be right there with you,” Edward assured her, quietly but firmly.
“Actually, Charlie, we wondered if you might let Bella come and stay with us for a while,” Carlisle offered. “As a doctor, I can keep a close eye on getting her back to a healthy weight, and, of course, you would be welcome to visit her at any time.”
Charlie hesitated. “I’m not so sure that’s the best idea.”
“May I ask why?”
“Because if another ‘incident’ happens, what’s to say that you won’t all just take off on her again. I’m not sure it’s a good idea for the rest of your family to get so close to her again at the moment, especially while she’s so fragile. I accept that Edward is… part of her, now, and I can’t and won’t try and keep them apart, but…”
“I understand your concerns, and I realise that the only thing that will assure you of my sincerity is time, but Bella is, and always has been, extremely important to my family. Her well-being was the primary cause for our leaving last time, and it had become exceedingly clear that Bella needs Edward as much as he needs her. We learn from our mistakes, Charlie.”
“Bells? What do you want to do, sweetheart?” Charlie asked.
Her eyes widened, and she looked somewhat akin to a deer caught in headlights. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I don’t want to be a problem for anyone. Just… just leave me here.”
“No, baby, we can’t do that. You can’t stay here, because they won’t let me stay with you. Unless you’d like me to leave?” Edward asked, suddenly afraid that she didn’t want him there.
She shook her head, her grip on his shirt tightening.
“Then would you like to come and stay with us for a while, or do you want to go home to Charlie’s?”
She buried her face in his shirt and refused to answer. He stroked her hair, looking up at Charlie and Carlisle with a helpless look on his face. He wasn’t going to force her to answer.
“I’d feel more comfortable discharging her to live with a doctor,” the doctor said, looking between them. “Isabella is going to need someone around who knows what to do with building her eating habits gradually, and someone around her who is legally allowed to sedate her if necessary.”
“Has that been necessary in the past?” Carlisle asked, his eyes sad.
“A few times, when the nightmares have been too much,” the doctor confirmed.
“You swear that I can visit at any time?” Charlie asked.
“You’ll be welcome at any time of the day, or night, Charlie,” Carlisle assured him.
“Then, for now, I’ll allow her to stay with you. This is on a trial basis,” he said.
Edward could tell that he wasn’t completely happy with the situation, but nobody could ignore the way that Bella was clinging to him.
“When will we be able to leave?” Edward asked.
“I can have the paperwork ready tomorrow morning,” the doctor replied. “That’s the earliest I’ll be able to have it arranged.”
“Let me guess, I have to leave,” Edward asked, glaring at the doctor, who nodded silently.
Keeping Bella in his arms, Edward shifted off the bed, then turned to put Bella onto the mattress. When he let go of her, she shrieked, kicking against the bed as she tried to keep a grip on his shirt.
“We can’t allow you to remain in her room all night. I’m sorry that she's upset by it, but it’s only one more night. If necessary, we can sedate her until the morning.”
Edward snarled, even as Carlisle shook his head, frowning, and Charlie turned a glare on the doctor.
“Look, doc, you know I respect you,” Charlie said, his tone hard. “But my daughter had been in a catatonic state for months. She’s finally communicating, and you want to sedate her and take away the person who’s brought her back to life? If you think that I’ll allow that, you can think again. Either make an exception for Edward to stay with her overnight, or get the paperwork fast tracked, and allow us to leave today.”
Edward gently lifted Bella back into his arms, wrapping himself around her as he sat back down.
“Don’t leave me,” she whimpered, burying her face against his neck. “Please, don’t leave me.”
“I won’t, baby. There is nothing and nobody in this world that will ever make me leave you again, I promise.”
The doctor watched them silently for a moment, before he nodded sharply. “I’ll have the paperwork fast tracked. Charlie, if you’ll come with me, you’ll have to sign for her release.”
Charlie nodded his head, smiling down at his daughter as he leant forward to kiss her head.
“I’ll come with you, I’d like to have a look at Bella’s medical file,” Carlisle said quietly, following the two men from the room.
Edward scooted himself down the bed so that he was lying down, and wrapped the blanket around Bella. He tried to tuck it between them, but she wouldn’t let him, curling against him tighter.
“I love you, Bella,” he whispered, closing his eyes as he buried himself once more in her presence, focusing only on the feel of her in his arms, the smell of her surrounding him, and the sound of her heart beating steadily in her chest.
He was home .
…
Edward sat in the back of Carlisle’s car, Bella on his lap. He was grateful for the tinted windows, but with Charlie driving closely behind them, it wasn’t like they were about to get pulled over anyway.
She’d refused to let him go long enough to change into fresh clothes, so he’d wrapped her in the blanket from her bed and carried her out, ignoring the raised eyebrow of the doctor as he did.
She was wearing her pyjamas, and for the time being at least, if that was how she was most comfortable, then there should be no problem with her keeping them on.
Hopefully, she would allow Esme, or Alice, to help her when the time came for her to shower and change her clothes. Edward wasn’t comfortable at all with the idea of leaving her to her own devices, her words in the hospital had put the fear of god in him with regards to her lack of value in her own life.
“I’ve called Esme and asked her to get the others to leave for a few hours, while you get Bella settled in your room,” Carlisle said, his tone soft. “They’re going to hunt in preparation for seeing her. I don’t believe that having them bombard her with greetings and apologies as soon as we return home is a good idea.”
Edward nodded gratefully. “Thank you. Carlisle… can I help her? Will she get better?”
“You’re already helping her, son,” Carlisle assured him. “Keep spending time with her, and when she’s ready, talk to her. Tell her that you’ve realised your mistake, that you won’t make it again. I have every faith that Bella will be fine, with time and care.”
Edward nodded, his hand moving through Bella’s long hair. She shifted slightly, pushing her face harder against his chest. She’d fallen asleep sometime during the journey, and he hoped that it was because she felt safe cradled in his arms as she was.
“Is this the bond?” he wondered aloud. “Is this because she’s my mate?”
“I believe so,” Carlisle replied. “While depression after a break up is usual for humans, Bella’s reaction is far stronger than most. I think that we must take into consideration that the bond between the two of you has already strengthened into a mating bond, despite her still being human.”
Edward nodded, stroking Bella’s hair almost absently. It was as comforting to him as it seemed to be to her. He played with the ends, wrapping them carefully around his fingers until eventually, Carlisle turned onto the long, winding driveway up to the house.
Esme was waiting impatiently on the porch when Carlisle finally pulled the car to a stop. Charlie pulled in behind them, and he opened the door for Edward to climb out, Bella still secure in his arms.
“I’ll come by tomorrow, when I finish work,” he said, bending a little to press a kiss to Bella’s temple. “If she wants to speak to me, or if she needs anything, my phone will be on all night, and I’ll keep it with me tomorrow.”
Edward nodded. “I… thank you. For letting me see her.”
Charlie clasped his shoulder. “Thank you for bringing my daughter back to life. I’ll see you tomorrow. I… are you letting people know that you’re back in town, or not?”
“We’ll have to let Billy Black know, as it’s part of the treaty between us. Otherwise, I think we should keep it on a need-to-know basis, until Bella is feeling better,” Carlisle said, as he locked up the car.
“That’ll be the treaty that stops you from hunting… humans, right?”
“It isn’t the treaty that stops us from drinking human blood, Charlie, rather it’s our consciences. We wouldn’t kill somebody simply for the sake of sustaining ourselves. No, the treaty was made so that we, and the wolves, could live side by side with as little strife as possible,” Carlisle explained.
“Ah. Okay, well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Carlisle nodded. “Of course. Like we said, you’re welcome anytime, day or night. Have a good evening, Charlie.”
“You too.”
Edward walked towards the house, offering Esme a small smile as he walked past her. Taking Bella up the stairs and into his own bedroom, he sat down on the wide couch and laid her down beside him. He tucked the blanket around her, and put his own jumper beneath her head as a makeshift pillow.
“Here’s her bag, son,” Esme murmured, stepping into the room.
Edward took it, opening it up and speedily putting the small amount of clothing into the wardrobe beside his own, smiling slightly at the sight of it there.
“We’re going to have to order a bed,” he said, glancing back at his girl. “She can’t keep sleeping on a sofa.”
“Already got it covered, son. A king-size bed will be delivered, first thing in the morning,” Esme assured him.
“I hurt everyone by making us leave, didn’t I?” he murmured, shaking his head.
He’d never actually realised just how selfish his actions had been. He’d not only allowed Bella to form an attachment to him, but there had been bonds created between Bella and much of his family, as well.
“We all understood the logic in your decision, Edward, no matter how much it hurt. I will warn you though, there has been talk of tying you up and locking you in the basement if you ever try to leave her again.”
Edward snorted. “Right, like I’m stupid enough—or even capable—to ever leave her again. Esme, I didn’t think that I could love her more, but when I saw her in that hospital bed… her scent doesn’t even affect me. Or, it does, but not in the way that it once did. It’s more… more comforting now, than tempting.”
“You’ll probably be better discussing that with Carlisle, but if I may offer an opinion?” she asked, continuing only when he nodded. “When we were here before, you always held a part of yourself back from Bella. Now… I believe that you’ve completely accepted the mating bond between you. The way you describe her scent as comforting; Carlisle’s scent is the most comforting smell in the world to me, and I’ve heard Alice say the same thing about Jasper.”
Nodding thoughtfully, Edward looked back at Bella.
“Even as ill as she is, she’s still the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.” He sighed. “I just want her to be happy again.”
“And she will be. Now that you’re with her, she’ll be fine, Edward. I told you, have a little faith, both in yourself, and in her.”
Bella stirred on the sofa, her fingers clutching at Edward’s jumper as her eyes fluttered open. He saw her panic for a second when she realised that she was alone, before he was beside her, stroking her cheek.
“I’m still here, baby, I was just putting your clothes in our wardrobe.”
Bella stared up at him for a moment. It was almost like she was trying to memorise every last millimetre of his face. She sat up slowly, clutching his jumper to her chest.
“You shouldn’t have brought me here, Edward,” she whispered, her legs pulling up to her chest. “You should have left me in the hospital.”
Moving slowly, Edward sat in front of her, kneeling on the floor. “Don’t you want to be here, Bella?”
“I don’t want to be a bother, Edward. I’ll be a bother here. I cause all of you pain.”
“You don’t cause any of us pain, Bella. The only thing that caused anyone any pain was being separated from you for so long. None of them wanted to leave you, sweetheart. It was all my fault.”
She shook her head. “I don’t need your pity, Edward. You shouldn’t have come back. I don’t want you here to wait me out until I die. Why didn’t you just let me be? I was nearly there! Edward, I was nearly safe, and you brought me away!”
She was getting hysterical, and he heard, rather than saw, Esme flit away from the room to find Carlisle.
“Bella, listen to me, please,” he begged, as she tugged on her hair. He carefully wrapped his hands around hers so that she couldn’t hurt herself any further. “I love you. I left to keep you safe, but I was wrong, okay? I was so wrong, because all I did was hurt us both. I love you, baby, I love you.”
She was sobbing as she shook her head. “No, no, lies… you’re lying, Edward. You told me, you told me, you told me that you don’t love me. You told me, Edward. You did. You told me. And I didn’t listen, because you told me to stay safe for Charlie, but I didn’t listen, Edward. I can’t, and everybody thinks that I’m pathetic for being brokenhearted, but I’m not, Edward, you see, I’m not. I’m not brokenhearted, because it’s not there anymore, Edward, because you took it with you, see, so they’re all wrong.”
She was rambling, and no matter how hard he tried to calm her, he couldn’t. She was getting more and more worked up.
“What happened, son?” Carlisle asked, as he entered the room.
“I honestly don’t know,” Edward admitted, watching Bella worriedly.
She was rocking in place now. The remnants of the tears on her face seemed to glitter as she rocked back and forth, muttering the same rambling nonsense over and over again.
Carlisle crouched down so that he was directly in her eye line, but she continued moving as though she couldn’t see him.
“Bella? Bella, can you hear me, sweetheart?”
She didn’t reply, seemingly in her own world. Edward stroked the bare skin of her arm, hoping to garner some response from her. She flinched away from the touch, but the rocking slowed until she was still, his jumper still clutched close to her chest.
“Bella?” Carlisle tried again, and this time, she looked at him. “Are you feeling okay, sweetheart?”
She shook her head. “Too hot. Always too hot.”
“Okay, anything else?”
“Feel… funny,” she whispered. “Pulling feeling in my chest. Restrictive. Hurts sometimes.”
“How long has that been happening for, sweetheart?”
She looked at Edward, but didn’t verbalise and answer. She didn’t really need to.
“Since I left?” Edward asked, and she nodded her head.
Carlisle sighed, but nodded. “We believe that you’re Edward’s mate, Bella. The pulling in your chest, and your extreme suffering from his absence has been caused by your separation. Do you feel better when Edward has physical contact with you?”
She nodded again, although Edward noticed that she seemed to shy away from him with her admittance.
“Baby, it’s not just you,” he assured her. “It affects me too.”
“You… you look fine,” she whispered, and while she blushed, he could also hear the small, underlying accusation in her words.
“Looks can be deceiving,” he murmured, softly. “I’ve been a mess since we left you, Bella.”
“You don’t have to lie to me, Edward,” she sighed. “Really, I don’t want you to be here just because I can’t get a grip. I’ll…”
“You’ll what, sweetheart?” Carlisle asked, bringing her attention back to him.
“I don’t want to be a charity case,” she finally managed to force out.
“You would never be a charity case for any of us,” Carlisle asserted, frowning slightly. “Have I ever lied to you before?”
She shook her head slowly. “Not that I know of.”
“When we left, Edward—and the rest of us—believed that it was for your safety. After Jasper got overloaded with his own bloodlust, and that of the others, Edward was terrified of what else could happen to you. From the day we arrived at the new house, he sat on the floor of the attic, and stared at a picture of you. We had to force him to hunt once a fortnight, but other than that, he didn’t move. He only changed his clothes when he couldn’t take the separation anymore, and he decided to return to you. Bella… the mating bond truly goes both ways.”
They gave her a few minutes to let Carlisle’s words sink in, and eventually, she turned to look at Edward.
“You won’t leave me again?”
“Never,” Edward swore.
“Promise?”
“I promise, baby. I’m far too selfish to believe that I could ever be without you again,” he whispered, holding out his arms for her.
She crawled into his waiting arms, settling herself into his embrace.
“You’re home for me,” he murmured into her hair. “I will never be able to voice how much I’ve missed you. I could never leave you now.”
“I love you.”
The words were quiet, but clear, and Edward felt like his insides were about to burst open with sheer happiness and relief.
Carlisle smiled at both of them. “You should enjoy the peace and quiet for a while. The others will be home soon, and they’re all looking forward to seeing you, Bella.”
…
Edward heard his siblings approaching the house as they neared. He didn’t particularly want to share Bella at the moment, but he knew that Alice, at the very least, would let it rest until he did.
“The peace is broken,” he told Bella, nudging her temple with his nose. “The mob is back.”
Bella giggled quietly, making him smile.
“Are you ready to see them?” he asked, when she looked up at him.
She shook her head. “I need to have a shower, and change into clean clothes. They… they can’t see me like this. I’m a mess.”
He stared at her for a moment, and then nodded his head a little hesitantly.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her eyes tracing his face, a worried look on her own as she reacted to his expression.
“I…”
“Edward?”
“You’ve mentioned a few times that you, uh, that you want to—” he cut himself off, unable to even say the word. “I can’t lose you, Bella. I’m scared that I’m going to take my eyes away from you for a moment, and something… I can’t.”
Understanding dawned on her face, and she sat up further on his knee, so that she was face to face with him.
“Would it make you feel better if someone was in the room with me?”
He nodded, gratitude flooding him that she understood his fear and was willing to help mitigate it. “Who do you want, baby?”
“Esme,” Bella murmured, after a moment. “Please.”
Within seconds, Esme was at the door. She carefully helped Bella to her feet, and supported her as she walked towards Edward’s ensuite, collecting clothes from the wardrobe as she passed. Edward listened as the bath began to run, and Esme engaged Bella in simple conversation, before he left his bedroom, flitting downstairs to the living room, where the rest of his family were already gathered.
“She’ll be ready soon,” he told them, leaning against the door frame. “Don’t overwhelm her when she comes down, please. She seems to have triggers that we haven’t quite worked out yet, and I don’t want her to get upset again.”
Alice nodded at him, though in her head, he could see that she was testing scenarios, looking for the best greeting. A surge of affection for her rose in him.
You did this to her, Edward.
He glanced sharply at Rosalie, who was glaring at him from where she sat beside Emmett.
“You think I don’t know that?” he snarled. “You think I’m not cursing myself for putting her through the pain that she’s been feeling?”
“We told you not to get involved with her!” Rosalie hissed. “She could have been happy with her human life!”
“Not everyone wants what you want, Rosalie,” Carlisle replied, his tone calm as he sent a warning look at both of them. “At this point, the bond between Bella and Edward has surpassed the initial stages. They’ve both accepted it, and there is no turning back. It’s time for you to let it go.”
Rose sat back, mutinous but silent. Edward shook his head.
“I’m going to wait upstairs for Bella. If you can’t be nice to her, perhaps you shouldn’t be here when I bring her downstairs.”
…
Edward was lounging on the sofa when Bella eventually stepped back into the bedroom with Esme.
“I’ll wait downstairs with the others,” Esme murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Bella’s head.
She nodded, walking straight into Edward’s arms.
“I love you,” he whispered, wrapping them around her. “I’m so sorry, Bella.”
“For what?”
“For leaving you. For putting you through so much pain. For thinking that I knew best. I almost destroyed both of us because I was scared.”
“You’re here now,” she replied, settling her head against his shoulder. “You’re here now.”
He inhaled her scent, and for a moment, just let it envelop his senses completely. Unfortunately, patience was not Alice’s forte, and he heard her huffing downstairs.
“Are you ready to go downstairs, sweet girl?”
She nodded, though it seemed hesitant. “Stay with me?”
“Always.”
He supported her standing, and then wrapped his arm around her waist. He wanted to carry her, but he knew that if he just carried her everywhere, she’d never regain the strength that she’d lost.
Her legs trembled slightly as they walked slowly—and slower still, when they made it to the stairs—to the living room.
“Bella!”
Alice was a blur as she moved from her seat to right in front of Bella, hugging her as tightly as she dared. Bella hesitated for only a second before she wrapped one arm around Alice, hugging her back.
Her other hand was gripping Edward’s t-shirt as tightly as she’d done in the hospital.
“I missed you, Bella.”
“Missed you too,” Bella whispered, her eyes glistening slightly.
When Alice moved out of the way, Edward led Bella to the free chair. He sat down, and then tugged her back into his lap. She settled back against his chest, breathing a sigh of relief at taking the pressure off her legs.
“Bells, I missed you, sweetheart,” Emmett said, looking at her with a mixture of anger and compassion on his face.
“Bella smiled. “I missed you too, Bear.”
Rosalie seemed the most taken aback by Bella’s state, a shocked expression on her beautiful face.
“This is what you did to her,” she snarled, her eyes moving to Edward. “Look at her, Edward! You selfish bastard!”
Bella stared at her, shock and—surprisingly—anger warring on her face.
“Rose,” Carlisle warned, narrowing his eyes slightly at her.
“No! She could have been happy, Carlisle! She was beautiful, and she had her whole life ahead of her! Look at her! She’s a shadow of the girl she was before!”
“Wait a minute,” Bella interrupted, frowning slightly. Edward felt the shake of her hands, but he didn’t try to stop her from speaking. “You never liked me, Rosalie, and I accept that. Don’t get angry with Edward for something to do with me, when our relationship is absolutely none of your business.”
“Bella—”
“No. You don’t have a right to be angry with Edward when he did exactly what you wanted him to do. You wanted him to leave, you didn’t want him to change me, and you got your wish. You can’t be mad at him for the consequences now.”
Bella was breathing heavily, but Alice, Carlisle and Esme were all smiling slightly at the fire in her eyes.
Edward rubbed her side comfortingly, marvelling at the compassion and understanding that his mate was showing him, when it had been his decision that had landed them there in the first place. That she could still defend him after literally going through hell because of him was… she amazed him constantly.
“He should have left you alone to begin with,” Rosalie said, quieter now.
“You had Carlisle change Emmett for you, did you not?”
“He was dying, it was a completely different situation.”
“Is it?” Bella asked, tilting her head. “I don’t really think it is. What if Emmett had been angry about being changed into a vampire, when he didn’t have a choice to begin with? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for your sake that he took to the lifestyle so well and so happily, but what if he hadn’t? I know that you share Edward’s belief that your souls are condemned, so how is it different what you did to Emmett? He might have been dying at the time, but the results are still the same.”
“It’s different,” Rose snapped.
“No,” Bella argued. “It’s not different. You call Edward selfish, but even if he is, he’s not the only one. You’ve had your mate by your side for years. Edward has been alone for so long, watching the rest of his family, all mated, be happy. How selfish can it really be, for him to want that for himself?”
“You could have lived a full life, Bella, you don’t understand what you’re giving up!”
“I understand what I’m gaining,” Bella replied. “But you’re missing my point. If you’d come across Emmett while he was still healthy, what would you have done? Would you have left him alone to live his life with another woman? A human woman?”
Rosalie hesitated, glancing at Emmett. That was all Bella needed.
“Of course you wouldn’t, you would have had Carlisle change him regardless. I’m not condemning you for that. Edward has made mistakes, so has everyone else. I don’t need your approval to be with my soul mate, Rosalie, and as much as I would like to call you my sister, as I do Alice, it won’t change anything if you decide that you want nothing to do with me.”
She settled back into Edward’s arms, nuzzling her face against his neck. His arms tightened slightly, and she sighed her comfort.
Rose stood up, leaving the room without a backward glance. Emmett sighed but followed her, pausing only to bend and press a kiss to Bella’s cheek.
“I’m glad you’re home, Bells.”
A few moments passed in silence, before Alice chuckled.
“Well done, Bella.”
Bella frowned, turning her head to look at Alice. “Huh?”
“You’ve just helped Rose turn a corner in her thinking. Things will be better between the two of you from now on.”
Bella smiled. “That’s good.”
A phone rang in another room, and Carlisle excused himself to answer it.
“Bella?” Jasper sat forward in his seat. “I’m very sorry for my actions on your birthday, Bella.”
She shook her head. “Please don’t worry about that,” she murmured. “I never blamed you, Jasper. As fragile as my body may be to you, I always knew the dangers of being around vampires. You were dealing with the bloodlust of everyone that night, and that makes you the strongest vampire here.”
He stared at her for a moment, and she knew that he was carefully checking that her emotions matched up with her words.
She really means it, Edward. She’s incredible. So forgiving and compassionate. Her emotions are amongst the purest I’ve ever felt from a human.
Edward smiled. “I know.”
When Bella frowned, Jasper rolled his eyes at his brother.
“Thank you, Bella. I was just surprised at your compassion, and Edward was answering my thoughts.”
Bella snorted. “I had forgotten how annoying that could be.”
Carlisle reentered the room, smiling at Bella. “That was Charlie on the phone. When I told him that you were up, he decided that he was going to come and see you.”
Bella nodded. “Thank you, Carlisle.”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
Edward frowned, slightly. “We need to speak to Billy Black as well,” he said, his eyes on his father figure. “Not only to inform them of our return, but about his breach of the treaty.”
“Billy breached the treaty? What did he do?” Bella asked.
“Told you father about us,” Edward replied,
“Charlie knows?”
When Edward nodded, Bella rolled her eyes. “Of course he does. That’s why they did that… thing, right?”
“Thing?”
“Hmm. I remember some of it. They were trying to convince me that you’d had me under some kind of vampire thrall. Fucking nutjobs.”
Edward choked on a laugh, while Carlisle, Jasper and Alice let out their own without trying to fight it. Esme shook her head, but she was smiling.
“Sorry, Esme,” Bella murmured.
“It’s alright, sweetheart. I can understand why you would be so angry with them.”
“You’re not supposed to have favourites, mom,” Emmett complained, as he and Rosalie returned to the room.
Esme rolled her eyes. “I don’t have favourites.”
“Yeah, yeah. If I drop the F-bomb, you make me do chores.”
“That take you all of three seconds,” Rosalie countered, with a small chuckle.
“So not the point, Rosie,” Emmett whined.
Bella dozed against Edward for a while, half listening to the quiet murmur of the family's voices. It was soothing, comforting, unlike anything she’d felt in months.
“Charlie is here, baby,” Edward murmured, jostling her gently.
She opened her eyes as Carlisle led her dad into the room.
“Hi, dad,” she whispered.
“Bells,” he said, holding his hand out to help her up from Edward’s lap. When she stood, he pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly against his chest. When he’d had his fill, he held her out at arm's length so that he could look at her properly. “This is what you want?”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Edward told me… that you wanted to be changed into… before. This is what you want?”
She nodded, a tear sliding down her cheek. “I can’t be without him, daddy.”
Charlie stared at her for a moment, and then nodded his head decisively. “Okay. How are you feeling?”
“Better,” she replied, offering him a small smile.
He released her, and she sank back down onto Edward’s lap. All of the talking and confrontation and reunion had made her tired, but she knew that she couldn’t go to sleep yet. It would be rude, and her dad deserved more from her after all she’d put him through.
“How was work, dad?”
“Quiet,” he replied, chuckling softly. “Thankfully.”
The two of them spoke for a little while, before he stood up to leave.
“I’ll pop up and see you tomorrow, sweetheart, okay?”
“Sure, dad, I’ll be here.”
He nodded, kissing her cheek. She was surprised but happy when he gripped Edward’s shoulder for a moment before he left, offering quiet goodbyes to everyone else.”
“We’ll be seeing Billy Black and Sam Uley at the boundary line tonight,” Carlisle said. While Charlie had been there talking to Bella, he’d called the reservation to arrange the meeting. “They are requesting that we bring Bella with us.”
“Why?” Edward asked, frowning.
“I believe that they want to make sure that she’s living with us of her own volition.”
“It’s none of their business,” Bella muttered. “But I’ll go if it will help shut them up.”
“Baby, this probably isn’t going to be the end of it,” Edward warned her. “I doubt that they’ll give up so easily.”
Bella sighed. “Let’s just see what they say. If needs be, I’ll ask my dad if he’ll try and talk some sense into Billy. I just… Why won’t anyone accept that I am yours; mind, body, heart and soul? It’s nobody else’s business what we do. Why can’t they just butt out?”
“I don’t know, baby, but we’ll get through it. Together.”
She smiled slightly and nodded her head. “Together. I like that.”
…
“Edward, I’m warm enough, I promise,” Bella murmured, when he tried to add another coat over the one that she was already wearing. She chuckled at him when he wrinkled his nose, and then leant into his side. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”
“I’m going to carry you, okay?” he asked, before he swept her up into his arms, bridal style. “And while we’re there, if your legs get tired, or if you get cold, I want you to tell me straight away.”
“I will,” she assured him.
She remembered a time when she’d been irritated by how delicately he treated her, but now, she couldn’t deny that she liked it.
That he was staying so close to her, touching her almost like he was as affected as she was by any distance between them, it made her feel a little bit less like she was a complete wreck.
She tucked her face into his chest as he stepped out into the chilly night air, and with Carlisle beside them, and Jasper and Emmett just a little behind them, they ran to the border.
Only when Edward stopped did Bella untuck her face and look around. She couldn’t see much, it being so dark, but then Carlisle lit an oil lamp, and placed it on a nearby rock.
“Thanks,” she whispered, knowing that he’d only brought it for her benefit.
“Oh. Huh. There are… the pack has had some developments, Carlisle,” Edward murmured. “There are three of them now.”
Carlisle nodded, and they waited patiently for Billy to arrive, Sam pushing his wheelchair.
“Bella,” Billy greeted, ignoring the Cullens. “It’s good to see you looking more… alert.”
Edward winced, and when Bella looked up at his face, she frowned when she saw his pained expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Billy is remembering the ritual he performed,” Edward replied, his tone soft. He looked down to meet her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Bella.”
She shook her head, and then turned to glare at Billy. “He never should have done it in the first place.”
“No,” Edward agreed.
“You know why we’re here,” Billy said, looking at Carlisle. “The treaty must remain unbroken—”
“You’ve broken it twice now, by my count,” Edward interrupted, his eyes flashing. “So why don’t we talk about that, first?”
Billy looked his way. “Twice?”
“You told Charlie about us,” Edward pointed out. “And Jacob Black was the one to help Bella figure out what we were.”
“Can Jacob really be blamed for that?” Sam asked, his voice calm, and deep. “He doesn’t know that legends are real, after all? He believes them to be old stories.”
Edward tilted his head in recognition. “That doesn’t change the violations when he told Charlie, does it?”
“So, you’re here to negotiate, are you?” Billy asked, a distasteful look on his face. “Bella’s life, for the continuation of the treaty?”
Edward shook his head. “Not at all. Simply pointing out that that high horse you all like to perch on it looking a little… tarnished. ”
Carlisle shot Edward a warning look. “You asked for the meeting, Chief Black,” he pointed out, softly.
“We wanted to see Bella for ourselves,” Bill said. “After the way Charlie has reacted, we wondered at the sudden change in her… situation.”
Bella bit her lip to stop herself from shouting at him. She was trying her best to remind herself that Billy was her father’s best friend, but it was difficult when he was being so condescending to people she loved so much.
Edward was staring at Sam. He tilted his head, clearly listening to a thought, before he said, “Bella’s reaction was due to the distance between her and I. I have never, and would never, put her under any kind of Thrall. That you imply that I have is an insult. Bella is my mate.”
“Mate?” Billy scoffed. “She’s human. ”
“You’ll know the feeling yourself, Mr Uley,” Edward continued, uncaring for Billy’s words. “Imprinting, I believe you call it, is a very similar thing. The bond between us can be broken no more than the bond between you and your Emily.”
Sam opened his mouth to speak, but was beaten to the punch by Billy.
“We’re here to reiterate the points of the treaty; particularly the one that states that none of you will ever bite a human.”
It took Bella a moment to understand the distinction, and then she glared at Billy across the clearing. “That’s none of your goddamn business,” she snapped. “I have my father’s permission and blessing.”
Billy glared back. “It will break—”
“A treaty that you yourself has already willingly and knowingly bokeh,” Edward snapped. “Bella has asked me for the change, and as soon as she is ready for it, what she wants will be hers. And yes, that’s with her father’s approval. What you choose to do with that information is on you, but we’ll let you tell Charlie why his daughter has had to move cross country and never return.”
“Billy,” Sam said, pressing a calming hand on his shoulder. “If Charlie has approved, and their bond is as strong as an imprint… I couldn’t refuse Emily anything, and more to the point, I would never want to. Can you really set yourself against your best friend?”
Billy looked at Sam for a long time, and then nodded. “If it’s what I must do, then yes.”
Sam looked taken aback, and Edward’s hand tightened on Bella’s hip for a moment before he relaxed.
“I don’t agree,” Sam replied softly. He looked over at Carlisle. “The wolves will make an exception for Bella, providing that you ensure she is kept completely under control at all times. If she bites a human, then the treaty will be considered broken, and we will defend and attack as we see fit.”
“You cannot—”
“As Alpha of the pack, I can,” Sam said, shaking his head at Billy. “You’re wrong about this, Billy. I won’t have my wolves going into a battle that they don’t need to fight.”
“Thank you, Sam,” Carlisle murmured. “We will, of course, consider the breach on your side forgiven.”
Sam nodded once. “I believe we’re done here.”
“You’re really willing to become one of them, Bella? A leech? Forever frozen, never growing, never living ?”
Bella tilted her head. “I may not age physically, Billy, but I don’t know why you think that that will stop my growth. As for living… What life would I have, without Edward?” She looked at her mate. “Can we go home now? I don’t have anything more to say to him.”
“Of course,” he replied, lifting her carefully. “Carlisle?”
Carlisle nodded, and turned to Sam. “Thank you for understanding.” He looked at Billy. “I hope, one day, you’ll come to understand Bella’s decision.”
“I won’t.”
“And that is your choice. Good evening to you both.”
…
“We haven’t heard the end of things from Billy Black,” Carlisle said, once they were back at the house.
“He’s furious,” Jasper confirmed. “More than I would have thought that the situation truly warrants, especially with Charlie having given his permission.”
“I’m gonna go to bed,” Bella said, rubbing a hand over her face.
She said her good-nights, and then Edward helped her up the stairs to his—their—bedroom.
“I’m just going to finish discussing the wolves with my family, baby. Will you be okay? I’ll come back up if you need me, you just have to say my name.”
She nodded, and he smiled, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her lips. “I love you.”
She smiled tiredly. “I love you, too. Go on, I’ll be okay.”
He nodded, but still hesitated before he finally returned downstairs. He kept an ear on her heartbeat. It sped up a little when he left, but she didn’t call out for him, and he knew that they had to get used to at least a little separation.
“Sam seemed quite reasonable,” Carlisle was saying, when Edward returned.
“I think the fact that he’s imprinted himself helps. It gives him something to compare against, to humanise us, in a way,” Edward replied. “He’s worried about Billy’s reaction though. He thinks that the old man is being unreasonable, and is beginning to wonder about the council having any say within the pack.”
Edward missed the next few comments as he listened to Bella shifting around the room, probably getting herself ready for bed. Where had his ability to multitask gone?
“Don’t worry, it’ll get better soon,” Esme said, patting his shoulder. “It’s because of how long you’ve been apart. You’re intensely attuned to Bella right now. It’ll settle down as the bond settles.”
Edward snorted, but smiled his thanks at her.
“I think, for now, we can leave things as they are,” Carlisle decided. “Hopefully, we’ll get some indication that something is going on, if Billy decides to try anything.”
Edward nodded. “We might need to consider moving away, before changing Bella.”
“What about Charlie?” Esme asked, her brow furrowing. “He’s only just gotten her back.”
“I… I don’t know,” Edward admitted. “But I won’t allow Bella to be in any danger, and Billy Black could absolutely be a danger to her.”
“We’ll monitor the situation carefully, son,” Carlisle promised. “Go on back to Bella, unless you need to hunt?”
Edward shook his head. “I’m fine. I’ll nip out in the next couple of days, when Charlie is with her.”
He smiled at his family, and then made his way back upstairs. He paused in the doorway to see Bella sprawled across the newly delivered bed, dressed in his shirt.
She blinked sleepy brown eyes at him, and he was drawn to her, like magic.
“I love how you look in my shirt, baby,” he murmured, pressing his lips to her temple, her cheek, her nose, and then finally, her lips.
She smiled at him. “It smells like you.”
He lay down beside her, and she snuggled against him, the blankets around her. She fell asleep there, face pressed into his chest, and Edward closed his eyes.
The thought that he could have this—her—forever… maybe there truly was something magical about her.
…
Bella woke up early the following morning, despite the late night. Neither of them moved, enjoying the sunshine seeping in through the curtains, and just being together.
“I’m ready for the change, Edward,” Bella murmured, eventually. “I’m ready to start our forever.”
The fingers that had been tracing nonsensical patterns on her back stilled. “Bella—”
“Are you going to try and talk me out of it?”
Edward hesitated. “No. No, I’m not. If you say that you’re ready, then I’ll take your word for that, and be grateful that you want to stay. But what about your dad? Your mum? Billy? Everything that happened between us? Those things aren’t just going to go away.”
“No, they’re not,” Bella agreed. “But… I’ve already said goodbye to my mum. Billy… that’s not an issue that’s going to be resolved easily or quickly, Edward. He’s never going to be okay with me becoming a vampire, and I certainly don’t intend to wait until he changes his mind.”
“And your dad?”
“He… he knows. I’ll see him again, once I regain control of myself. I should be able to be around him in a couple of years, right? And I can call him, in the meantime.”
“If it’s what you really want, sweetheart, I’ll do it whenever you’re ready. I think that you need to speak to Charlie about it first, though, okay?”
Bella nodded, and Edward tipped her head so he could press a kiss to her lips.
“I’ll talk to him today,” she promised. “Thank you, for wanting to keep me forever.”
“I will always love you, Isabella Swan. Nothing can change that now.”
She smiled up at him. “Backatcha, Cullen.”
…
“It’s a bit fast, isn’t it?” Charlie asked, though he seemed resigned.
Edward wondered if he’d seen the same determination and resolve in Bella that Edward had felt that morning.
“I don’t see the point in waiting,” Bella admitted. “I can’t be without him, dad. This was going to be my fate from the very moment I first met him.”
Charlie just sighed and nodded his head. “I’ll miss you, Bells. I can’t… I can’t see you, can I? After?”
“You’ll be able to see her in a few years,” Carlisle said, softly. “Maybe less than that. It’s all going to depend on her control. The last thing that any of us would want is for Bella to slip up, but the guilt and pain it would cause her if it was you would be unbearable.”
“If it’s what you want, Bells…” Charlie trailed off, looking uncomfortable. “I still expect you to call me at least once a week, you hear? And as soon as you’re ready, you tell me, and I’ll come and visit you, wherever you are.”
Bella smiled at him, and left Edward’s side to hug her dad tightly. “I’ll always be your little girl, dad. I promise.”
A few tears fell from his eyes into her hair, but none of the vampires were insensitive enough to point it out. By the time Bella pulled away, he seemed to have gotten himself together enough to offer her a watery smile.
“It’s not goodbye, Charlie,” Edward said softly. “I promise you that. I’ll make sure that you see her again.”
…
They returned to Vancouver, where the Cullens had moved to when they’d left Bella.
Edward swallowed hard as Esme began to prepare a room for Bella to change in. Only Bella, asleep in his lap for the last time, was enough to keep him calm.
“It’ll be good that you’re not the only solo one in the house anymore,” Jasper said, his tone soothing. “She’s going to be that absolute making of you, Edward.”
“She already is,” Edward replied, brushing his fingers through her hair. “I was so… lost, before I met her, Jasper. I didn’t see the point in, well, anything. Now, she gives everything—even the most mundane things in the world—a whole new meaning.”
“The love she feels for you,” Jasper said, glancing down at Bella fondly. “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt from a human, ever. Her feelings… She loves you like a vampire loves. It’s really quite spectacular.”
“She said the other day that I came and saved her,” Edward said, with a small smile on his face. “I don’t think she’s ever going to grasp just how much she saved me, just by existing.”
“She knows, Edward,” Jasper replied. “I don’t need to be a mind reader to know that she knows that.”
“You’ll be here, right? When she wakes up?”
Jasper nodded. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, brother.”
…
“I love you,” Bella murmured, stroking her hand over Edward’s cheek. “I’ll see you in three days.”
Edward smiled despite his nerves. “I love you, Bella. So much.”
He kissed her, glancing over the flush in her cheeks, and the sparkle in her gorgeous brown eyes for the last time, before he pressed his lips to hers.
With no more words necessary, he took a deep breath, and brushed his lips against her throat before he found the perfect spot on her neck and bit.