Author's Note: I absolutely cannot believe I've been bitten by another Twilight bunny, but the sparkly, fanged plot bunnies are the deadliest. I'd rather finish the other stories I'm stuck on, but had to get this out of my head.

Unlike, "Edward's Mistake," I have NO idea where this fic is going, so this may turn into a one-shot, though, a sketchy outline is forming in my head.

Disclaimer: I make no money off this fic, and it's purely to exercise the sparkle bunnies before they get me. All characters and profit belongs to Stephanie Myer-so please don't sue. Otherwise I can't keep funding her empire, which, believe me, I do quite often.

Background This fic begins in the Meadow, just as Laurent begins to attack.

B-POV

"Edward," I whispered as the vision of him faded in the face of my death. "I love you."

I felt fire spike through my shoulder. I was screaming as the world fell apart, but the screaming sounded strange and inhuman. My beautiful hallucination of Edward morphed into blurred, shaking shadows. I thrashed to the right and felt the dry prickle of dead grass and flower become soft. A red-brown swath of fur-like comfort in the midst of my nightmare.

Warm brown eyes swam into my view and suddenly I wasn't alone anymore. "Jacob?" I rasped. A low whine brought me deeper into this nightmare-death when the eyes I'd been staring into backed away and my Jacob, my personal sun, changed and was a giant... bear? Was he the bear now? How much worse could this nightmare become? Or was this hell? Moment's of comfort turned into insanity and fear would count as hell right?

But a snarl and a tap of a warm wet nose gave me a sharp new vision? Wolf? I wanted to reach up. "Jake?" I heard myself rasp. I wanted to see his eyes again. I didn't care if they were in the creatures that would end me. Edward left me to my death with Laurent. Then, for a moment, my Jake was with me again. His warm gaze looking down at me from a giant wolf. "Don't leave me." I begged.

I saw the wolf in front of me shiver and blur in front of me. Somewhere in the midst of all of the burning I found a way to hold my head still—to focus on those eyes looked on me when Edward's turned away.

Russet fur was shrinking back, and the outline of a person was forming. "Jake?" I gasped, "Please?" What was happening? Then, he was there, my Jacob.

"Bells!" I heard, as Jacob wrapped his warm arms around me. "Oh, no, no no!"

"Jake? I whispered clutching at him. I willed the shaking to stop, but my will wasn't strong enough. I felt Jake rock me against his chest. "No." he cried—sobbing. I was hearing Jacob cry. Jacob shouldn't cry. Never Jacob—not for me.

"Shhh..." I managed as I moved my one working arm up to bury a hand in Jacob's too short hair. "Don't cry," I managed to get out midst the pain.

A wet broken laugh jarred my hand free, and I felt myself slowly lowered to the ground. Jake was looking at me like he did after my motorcycle accident—concerned, frustrated, and shocked. The only difference this time was the flow of tears that still trailed down his cheeks.

"You get bit by a leech cause I was too stupid and listened to Sam, and you are trying to make me feel better?"

The pain was getting stronger but this—this reaction, his voice and his warm hand smoothing hair out of my face—felt real.

"I? Jake?" I was struggling to understand.

"Bells," Jake was holding me to himself again. "I don't know what to do now. I don't know what to do." I felt him shudder against me, and I clung to him.

"Jake!" an angry voice shot out from behind us. "Let her go! It's too late. You know what we have to do."

Snarls, snapping and whimpering came from all around us, but Jake held me firm.

"Run, Jake," I begged. "Bears, wolves, vamp—I couldn't finish the word—something nearby. It's not safe. Run."

The shuddering changed again. That broken laugh. "I'm not leaving you, Bells." I heard his voice get harder. "And I'm NEVER listening to you again!" he shouted at the voice behind us.

"YOU WILL BACK AWAY!" I heard the voice order. Jake shivered, but pulled me closer to himself.

"The son of Ephriam Black wasn't meant to bow to you, Sam Uley!" I heard Jake roar in my ear. His voice turned hard and bitter cold. "Go away, and take your lapdogs with you." I heard snarling growing, and howling for a few minutes after, but Jake didn't let go. He held me together just like he always had before Sam and his cult came along.

"The change can't be allowed to happen, Jake," Sam said, his voice now reasoning. "Do you want Bella to become a monster? What if she attacked Charlie? Or Billy?"

"She doesn't have to be a monster," Jake rasped out, barely above a whisper. "She can live like the C- he cut himself off but even in the midst of my pain I couldn't contain the wince that always came when the Cullen name pulled at the jagged hole in my chest.

Jake began to thread his fingers through my hair. "She can live like the others. I'll take care of her."

"Jake, be reasonable," he said, almost sounding gentle. "Look at the pain she's in. It'd be more merciful to free her from it."

Up until that moment, I wanted the pain to end. Up until Sam Uley decided death was best for me, I'd wanted it. I craved lying back and letting Jake hold me as I faded from this life. But now Sam Uley was deciding my fate for me too? First, Edward, then Sam taking Jake, then deciding what's best for me too? Something in me broke at that moment. No! I was tired of everyone else thinking they could decide what was best for me.

"I want to live," I rasped. "I don't c-care, how much it hurts."

"Bella, think..." Sam began.

"No!" shouted Jake. I felt myself being lifted from the ground, carried like a child close to my best friends' chest. "She's going with me. You want kill her? You're going to have to kill us both."

I heard a human roar of frustration in the midst of more snarls, snaps, and howls.

I leaned my head into Jake's chest and focused on his took-fast heartbeat. An errie calm fell so that it was only his heartbeat, my gasping whimpers, and enraged breathing to be heard.

"If she touches a single drop of human blood," Sam said, his voice now deadly calm. "We will. We will kill you both."

"She won't," I heard Jake say.

"Don't come back," Sam warned. "As far as the tribe is concerned, you're as dead as she is."

"Dad," Jake protested.

"We'll take care of Billy," Sam said, then after a moment added softly, "and Charlie."

I gasped and tried to yell at him, but nothing came out but moans and half-formed words. I felt Jake gather me closer to his chest. "Don't worry about it now, Bells. We're going to get out of here," he whispered in my ear.

"Whatever," he snarled back at Sam, though his voice broke. "We're leaving."

I saw the forest blur out of the corner of my eye obscured by my hair and Jake's arm. "Jake"

"Rest. Try to. For me?" I heard his voice rumble from his chest. In spite of the burning I willed myself to still and focus again on Jake's heartbeat. Closing my eyes I focused on nothing else.

J-POV

"This is so screwed up," I wanted to scream. I couldn't though. Bella was still and seemed to be in less pain. I kept hoping that she would sleep, but she would wince or groan every time I thought she was getting close.

For the hundredth time, I wondered if I was making the right decision. Bella said she wanted to live. But would she want to when she found out what she was? A bitter pain shot through me. Would she want to go looking for Edward? Would he want her now that she was like this?"

Is that why she was in that damn field in the first place? No. I reminded myself with a sharp shake of my head. We all heard the last few words the leech had to say to her. He was going to kill her. She was begging him not to. And then she said she loved Edward a nagging voice reminded me.

"That's not news," I reminded myself. "She never got over him." Hell, she warned me that she thought she was broken by him. I looked down at her and grief flooded me. She was now. The only reason she was around leeches in the first place was because of him, and now she was becoming one! Both our lives wrecked worse than a 20 car pileup in the midst of a blizzard. Both cut off from any normal future by the supernatural shit they dragged with them like a disease ridden corpse. Cut off from our family and our lives. Damn it!

I crumpled to the ground and rocked Bella close to me. I don't remember starting the Quilute song my mother used to sing to me when I was little, I do remember breaking down completely just before sleep took me.

B-POV

I felt each pin-prick of cold as the soft mist fell on my overheated skin, yet not one degree of heat within me lowered. I felt hotter than Jake's arms to me now, though in a strange way I could only explain from fuzzy memories of talks with HIM I knew I was growing colder. The pain was, if anything, even more tortuous as I seemed to become more aware. I used the extra space I had in my mind now to focus on Jake. Jake, my Jacob, fought whatever hold Sam Uley had on him to protect me.

He knew about Laurent, and what I was becoming, but he was protecting me? I re-ran my fuzzy memories over again and again. I'd seen. At least I thought I'd seen him change from bear to man... No it was giant wolf to man. He'd argued with Sam and the wolves had been right there, but for some reason neither one of them attacked.

Werewolf? I would have laughed hysterically if I were not so racked with pain. Why not? I thought. I'm becoming a vampire. A shot of fear ran through me so intense I was barley aware of the heat and pain leaving my fingertips. I'm becoming a vampire now and Jake's right here when I can hurt him. I tried to lift myself away from Jake's embrace, but he gripped me tighter even in his sleep.

"No," I gasped. "No." I began to push against Jake. I felt him stir. I opened my eyes and tried to meet his gaze.

"Bells?" he whispered. "What's happening? What can I do?"

"Ch—arrrrr. Chang—changing. Vamp. Aaaahhh... hurt y-"

"Shhh," I felt him hug me close and a part of me wanted to let him, but I couldn't hurt him.

"I know," he murmured into my ear. "It has to hurt so bad, but I'm right here. It's going to end, and I'm going to be here to help you."

"No," I groaned as my chest grew hotter. "Run." I managed to whisper. "Hurt you."

"Please," Jake said sounding almost like his old self. "I'm the big bad wolf now, goldi—er brownielocks. You're not going to hurt me even if you do sprout fangs and sparkle in the sun." He chuckled and after a beat added. "Oooh scary, Bella, the discopyre."

Jake," I growled. I actually growled. I scared myself with the sound, but, if anything, Jake laughed harder.

"Seriously, Bells?" he snickered. "That supposed to scare me, really? That was almost cute."

I pushed against him this time, so angry I almost forgot the pain I was in. He took in a sharp breath and I heard something pop.

"Careful there," he said moving one arm to his side. "Think you got a rib. Ohh... ow. Yeah. That was a rib." I heard him groan and saw him shift his hand against his side with a grunt. "Good thing resetting broken bones before they can heal is part of Sam's werewolf training 101."

"I-nooo J-J Jake." I gritted through my teeth.

"No, you listen, Bella. You made your choice out on that field when you said you wanted to live. Remember?" He didn't wait for a response. Which was good because I couldn't give one, but I did remember that moment clearly—the moment when I decided that I wanted to make sure no one ever made another decision for me again.

"I know what you are turning into. Damn, girl, I can smell it. And hate to tell you this, but I got drafted into this crazy supernatural shit too thanks to- I tense but thankfully he cut himself off before he could finish. "Like you. I'm a werewolf—remember me telling you about the legends of our tribe?" I couldn't. I could barely remember anything now. I was burning so hot in my chest. "You want to live? I'm going to help you live and hang on to what's left of Bella Swan. You have to help me hang onto what's left of me." He snorted sadly. "If there's anything left." I tried to snap back at him but it came out a squeaky yet inhuman snarl.

He booming laughter echoed in the valley around us. "Yup. Something's left if I can laugh at my best girl, huh?" he chuckled as he began to rub my back. I tried to relax into his embrace. Here he was, my Jacob, doing the impossible and putting me back together again. Only he needed me too. He'd said so. He needed me to help him hang onto himself.

I wouldn't hurt him. I'd find a way. HE'D said it before...Mind over matter. Well HE didn't matter anymore. Jake did. With each new flame sparked in my chest I focused the rest of my ever expanding mind and senses on one purpose.

I would not hurt Jake. This time, I would be there to put him together again.