Bella's POV

I watched in horror as another vampire jumped over the flames slowly burning Victoria's body. It wasn't Riley, but it was definitely a newborn. He went straight for Edward's throat, biting deeply into it before my love managed to throw him off and into the fire.

"Edward?" I ask quietly as he stands still in front of me, his hand clasped to his neck.

"It's okay, Bella," He replies, "Just stay there for a second." As he says this, he blinks rapidly, before gasping, staggering backwards, and collapsing.

"Edward!" I scream, running towards him; he holds up a hand.

"No, Bella, stay away," He orders without looking up, keeping one hand over his eyes. "I'm so sorry, but you need to get Carlisle. I can't move right now."

"Okay," I whisper, standing up and running towards the pillar of smoke, and where Seth disappeared to a while ago.

"Don't go far!" I hear him call, although his voice seems weak now. "If you shout loud enough one of them might be able to hear you from here."

I nod, even though I know he's not looking at me. "Carlisle!" I scream as loud as I can "We need help!" I walk forwards slightly. "Carlisle! Please!"

Carlisle's POV

We stand still as stone as the Volturi leave. Edward and Bella have yet to return. "You don't think the Volturi got them do you?" Alice asks quietly.

"No, honey," Jasper reassures her. "They're probably just spending a little time together before they get back. They haven't a private moment in a while."

"None of us have," Emmett laughs. "What do you suppose they're doing?"

Suddenly Jasper's head snaps up, looking towards the mountainside Edward and Bella located themselves. "Do you hear that?" He hisses.

Esme's head snaps up next. We are used to Jasper hearing things before us, as his time in the south heightened his senses. But if Esme hears something before the rest of us...

It means one of her children are in danger.

We all hear it then; even Rosalie's head snaps up in worry. "Carlisle!" Bella's voice is faint, but it's there. "Carlisle! Please!" Her voice is desperate, and it heightens our worry. It's also hoarse, which means she's been shouting for a while. "Carlisle! We need your help! Please!"

We all begin running towards the sound. I hang back a second and turn to Seth, who came back after the Volturi left. "Tell Sam I'll be there as soon I can," I tell him. "But we think Edward or Bella has been hurt, and we need to sort it out quickly."

He nods before running off in the opposite direction. Taking a deep breath, I run after my family towards the sound of Bella's voice, which gets louder with every step. I overtake the others with ease and reach her first. "Bella," I murmur, holding her shoulders and looking her in the eye. "Are you okay? Where's Edward?"

"He's back there," She whispers, pointing behind her. "There was another one... He bit Edward... I'm sorry."

Suddenly she collapses, and I look down to find dried blood on her arm. That and the day itself has taken it's toll. "Alice," I say, turning around.

"I know," She smiles slightly, taking Bella out my arms and disappearing.

"That's what this is about?" Jasper almost seethes, rushing up to me. "Edward got bitten, so Bella screamed for us? Edward could have run down there himself no problem."

"I know, son," I answer cautiously. "That's what makes me think it's not the whole story."

We follow Bella's scent to the clearing they were staying in. We see the tent, and the fire... And Edward hunched over, one hand over his neck, and one hand over his eyes. I walk towards him, gently touching his shoulder with my hand.

He jumps backwards immediately, flying into the snow behind him, his eyes unfocused and frightened. "Son?" I say, more than loud enough for him to hear.

"Carlisle?" He says, looking towards Jasper, who is next to Emmett, who is next to me.

"Edward..." I say slowly, and his head snaps towards Esme, who is on my other side. "What's happened?"

I walk forward and put another hand on his shoulder. This time he grabs onto my shoulders, almost as if he were drowning and I were his only hope. "Carlisle," He gasps, scrambling to stand up and almost pulling us both down in the process. "Carlisle!"

"What's wrong, son?" I whisper, although I think I already know.

"I can't see," He chokes, and the rest of the family's eyes widen. "There was something in... Something in his venom. But I destroyed him before I went blind. I didn't know. I didn't know."

Without another word Esme walks forwards and takes one of his arms. Together we guide him as quickly as we can across the forest floor while Rosalie walks behind us and Jasper and Emmett pack up the tent. You need to step over a rock in a second son. I think, but he winces.

"Carlisle..." He says, while stepping over the rock. "Could you say it out loud? It's too much to process if everything is in my head."

We walk without any trouble for a while before he speaks again. "Where's Bella?" He asks.

"Alice took her home," Surprisingly, it's Rosalie who replies.

Edward hesitates before whispering. "Did Rosalie or Esme say that?"

I almost freeze in shock; Rosalie certainly does. "Can you not tell?" I ask.

"No," He shakes his head. "I don't know why. My hearing... It's not as good as it was before. I don't know."

"It's alright," I say. "Maybe the venom dimmed your hearing. The bite was very close to your ear."

As I say this I look over the bite and see the venom soaking into his skin. "Edward... I'm going to have to carry you. We need to get home soon."

"Okay," He answers, and I pull him into my arms and begin running. I hear Esme, Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper behind me. When we get home I place him on the couch and run upstairs to get a syringe and a small bottle. Gently, and put the needle up to the bite mark and remove most of the venom before putting it into the small better. The bite has already started to heal.

Jasper sits next to Edward on the couch. "Hey buddy," He says to his brother. "Are you okay?"

"I may be blind," Edward replies with an angry edge. "But that doesn't mean I'm five."

Laughing, Emmett sits next to Jasper. "Well, I'm glad you're still yourself." Edward smiles.

"What are you going to do with the venom?" Jasper asks me with interest in his voice. Emmett and Edward look at me, or in my general direction.

"Analyse it," I answer, putting it up to the light. It looks normal, except it has a slight red tinge, which isn't unusual if the vampire had recently hunted. But now there's no way of telling. "There might be a way to reverse the blindness."

"And if there isn't?" Esme whispers. Jasper and Emmett hear her, but Edward doesn't seem to.

I sigh before answering. "Then our son is blind."

The next hour is spent in my office examining the venom. I sigh as I finish. "Esme," I call, and she's in my office immediately. "Tell Alice to let Bella know we're going to Denali for a while. I need Eleazer's opinion, and if there's nothing he can do... Then Edward needs some time away to cope with the dark."

Bella's POV

I wake up in Alice's car to find Alice sitting next to me. "Alice," I groan, and she turns to me. She looks like she's going to cry. "What happened to Edward?"

"Uh." Alice seems at war with herself. "There was something in the venom..."

"What?" I ask urgently, tears already beginning to form.

"Edward's blind," She finally answers, looking me in the eye. Tears fall down my face.

I need a minute to reply. "Permanently?"

"We think so," Alice says, and I'm glad she's being truthful. "We might be leaving."

The hole in my chest opens immediately and my breathing become laboured. They promised. They promised they wouldn't leave again. He promised he wouldn't leave again. "Bella!" Alice exclaims. "Not like that! We're just visiting family in Denali. Carlisle wants Eleazer's opinion and if there's nothing to be done then we think some time away might help Edward to cope."

"So it's not permanent?" I inquire, calming down slightly.

She shakes her head. "No, and we promise to call you all the time. Bella, when we promised we wouldn't leave like that again, we meant it."

"Okay," I nod, looking around. "Why am I in your car?"

"You were still unconscious, and Charlie was already home... I thought you might want to see Jacob first. He was hurt in the battle," She replies.

"Jacob was hurt?!"

She nods while turning the car on. "Would you like to see him?"

"Yes, please."

Alice drives me to the treaty line, where Carlisle is waiting. "I've already treated him," He tells me. "Both of them. Jacob's been asking for you. I'm allowed to drive you there and back."

The meeting with Jacob is short, and I don't remember much of it as all I can think of is Edward. As I clamber back into Carlisle's car I realise I can't even remember how bad Jake looked. I'm glad of that.

"Would you like me to explain our impending absence to Charlie?" Carlisle inquires. "I'm afraid he might be angry with us after last time."

"I have no doubt he will be," I reply, attempting a smile. "Should I tell him about Edward?"

He thinks about it for a moment for answering. "Yes. But tell him it might be temporary. If we can reverse it and Edward comes back fine I don't want him thinking we lied to him... He thinks that all of us - except Alice - went hiking this weekend, yes?" I nod. "Well... There are a lot of things in a forest that can make a man go blind."

Carlisle winks, and I laugh slightly, but it catches in my throat as I begin to cry silently. After everything that's happened with Jacob and Edward, the family I need most are leaving me. "Hey," My second father murmurs. "We're coming back remember? We'll call you all the time. We're not going to leave you like that again, Bella. Please, remember that."

"When are you going?" I ask, nodding along with him.

Sighing, he leans back in his seat. "Tonight, I'm afraid. We're not sure for how long... But if we're gone for more than a month then we promise to visit."

"Can't I say goodbye to him?"

He shakes his head. "If it was up to me, you'd be at ours until the moment we leave, but he doesn't want you to see him like this. He doesn't like admitting weakness. Oh, there's something else." I nod, urging him to continue. "The venom damaged his hearing, almost to the point where his hearing as the same as yours. We suspect, of course, but that is making everything a lot harder. It means he needs to be guided when he walks."

"Can't you mind-guide him?" I question, and Carlisle chuckles at my name for his son's talent.

"Unfortunately not," Carlisle admits. "He hates it. Its hard for him to concentrate as well, as there are so many other voices. It also means someone is constantly watching him. He doesn't like that, either."

I find myself nodding again, before I surprise myself by pulling him into a hug. "Bye," I say into his ear as he returns the hug. "Take care of him for me."

"Of course," He replies, pulling out of the hug. "Take care of yourself, for all of us. We'll see you soon Bella."

"Bye!" I call again, climbing out the car. Charlie is standing in the doorway as I approach.

"You were there for a while," He hisses, suspicion in his voice. "Was that Alice?"

"No," I say truthfully. "It was Carlisle. There was an accident while they were hiking, so they came back early."

His eyes narrow as he follows me into the kitchen. "What do you mean 'accident'?"

I bite my lip, surprised at how easily the lie slips out. "Edward hit his head."

"Amnesia?" Charlie guesses as he sees the tears on my face.

I shake me head, watching as a single tear lands on the linoleum floor. Finally I look up at my father. "He's blind."

"What?!" Charlie splutters, watching in horror as I nod. I begin to sob, and he pulls me into a hug, one hand running through my hair while I soak his shirt. "Poor kid must be scared out of his mind. Is it permanent?"

"They're not sure," I admit. "They've taken him to a hospital in Alaska. If it is permanent they said there are good blind schools up there too."

"They left?" Charlie seethes, pushing me away from him suddenly, but keeping a firm grip on my shoulders.

"Yes," I whisper, looking up at him; trying to gain courage. "But its not like before. I know where they are; Alice promised she'd call all the time. They'll visit."

He pulls me back into his arms, holding me tighter than before. "They'd better," He sighs, kissing my hair. "Could you get Carlisle to call me? It's not that I don't believe you, I'd just like to talk to him."

I nod, pulling away and saying goodnight before I walk up the stairs. Not half an hour later my phone rings. "Hey Alice," I grin, answering the phone. "How are you?"

Carlisle's POV

"I'm fine," My daughter replies. "That was a nice excuse for why Edward's gone blind. I guess he did hit his head, in a sense."

My other daughter laughs on the other end of the call. "Where are you now?"

"In a service station. We're running there, because it's faster, but Edward got annoyed at being carried all the time, so we stopped."

Bella sighs before saying. "Charlie wants to talk to Carlisle about that."

"I know," Alice sings, and Bella laughs again. I smile. "Let me talk to him."

"Dad!" We hear Bella call. "Dad! For Goodness sake I'm upstairs for half an hour and he's already hibernating like a bear..." We hear her mutter and Emmett and Esme laugh together, Emmett's booming laugh making many heads turn our way, including Edward's.

He's sitting a few tables away from us with Jasper and Rosalie, our Hale twins. Rosalie bought a few head rests and toys and they've been seeing if Edward can recognise what animal it is from touch alone. They all seem to be enjoying it.

"Carlisle?" Esme is tapping my shoulder, and Alice is holding a phone out to me. Emmett is making his way over to my other three children. "Charlie wants to talk to you."

"Oh," Is my reply as I take the phone from my daughter. The moment it's out of her hands she goes to sit next to her husband and her siblings. "Sorry about that," I say to Charlie.

"Don't apologise," He replies gruffly. "I'm sure you've got enough to think about. How is he?"

It takes me a second to reply. "I'm not sure," I answer with the truth. "At first he panicked for all of two minutes, and then he was arguing with his brothers as if nothing had happened, and now he's laughing while the twins are handing him stuffed animals to see if he can identify them."

To my surprise, Charlie chuckles lightly. "Well, your son never struck me as one who would readily admit weakness."

"That's true," I agree, smiling weakly. "That's very true. In fact it took him a while to tell us his eyesight was getting worse."

"Could I speak to him?" Charlie asks, surprising all of us. All of them except Edward look up, and I slowly make my way to their table with Esme at my side. "I promise I won't say anything bad."

"Of course," I tell him. "Edward, Charlie would like to talk to you."

His head snaps up towards my voice immediately with an almost comical look of surprise on his face. "Really?"

I smile slightly. "Yes. Here you go." Handing him the phone, we watch as he runs his thumb across the buttons to make sure he's holding it right before holding it up to his ear.

"Hello sir," Edward says in a shaky voice.

"Hey kid," Says Charlie, and I muffle a laugh. "How are you?"

"I'm alright now," My son replies, and we stare at him as if he's mad. "I'm not in pain anymore, at least, and the dark has never scared me."

"Well," Charlie's gruff voice falters for a moment. "I hope you're okay, and don't call me sir. It's Charlie."

"Thank you," Edward grins widely. "Thank you. How's Bella?"

Charlie seems speechless for an agonising moment, before he laughs loudly. "Dear God, Edward. You just went blind and you're wondering how Bella is?"

"Of course. I'm sure I scared her, or worried her at least."

"Well, she's okay. A little bit upset, and I'm sure very worried. I have to go now, take care of yourself."

"Of course. Goodbye."

"Bye."

"Right!" Esme announces after Edward has handed Alice's phone back to her. "We better get going if we want to get there by morning."

We nod in agreement, and as it's dark its easy to slip into the forest next to the service station without being noticed. Jasper immediately hauls Edward into his arms, while Rosalie still has the bag of stuffed animals, and we're off.

"Carlisle," Eleazer greets us as we arrive. "How are you?"

"I'm not as good as I would like to be," I answer, watching as Eleazer holds Edward by his shoulders and looks into his eyes. "I have a sample of the venom."

"Let me see it," Eleazer holds out his hand, still looking at Edward; I place the bottle into his hand. He disappears immediately.

"Edward!" Tanya exclaims, rushing to meet us. "Hello," She says to the rest of us before pulling Edward into a hug. He stiffens rather noticeably under her touch.

"Warning," Is all he manages before pulling away from her. Her touch seems to remind him of something, and suddenly his blank eyes widen. "Alice," He whines, on the brink of hyperventilating. My daughter stiffens for a moment, looking into her gift.

"Edward," She sighs, taking his face in between her hands and guiding him to kneel in the cold snow. "She's not going to leave because you're blind."

"But... the wedding," He groans, choking on small sobs. This is all so sudden that all we can do is stand and watch in horror as Alice attempts to comfort him. "She said yes."

"I know," Alice whispers in a comforting tone. "But my vision hasn't changed, I still see the wedding happening. She's not going to leave you."

"I wouldn't blame her if she did," Edward murmurs, closing his eyes with a tired expression.

Eleazer appears on my left. "Carlisle," He says, his voice quiet. "You better start going through some exercises with him. There's nothing to be done."