When I'm Done Here
By: Ravenswood
Summary: Bella's "21st birthday" has come. It has been decided that the family has remained in Forks for far too long and will move on after the holiday season, for Charlie's sake. But what happens when a new arrival shows up in Forks, one that claims to simply have a passing aquaintance with our favorite Confederate Major. One that our resident psychic pixie didn't see coming and one that Edward can't read. Why is she so interested with Bella? And why does Edward keep getting painful flashes of a much younger version of himself when he stares too intently at the stranger. Perhaps she may not be as strange as he originally thought. Perhaps there is a reason why Edward remembers so little of his human life...
Author's Note: Okay, so the rabid little plot bunnies in my brain had a ton of fun with this one! This was originally supposed to be a one-shot story about a vampire girl that was accidently created by James. But then the plot bunnies got a hold of it and ripped it apart. First, they were like "hey, maybe she knows one of the Cullen clan." Then they said "hey, maybe she could be related to one of them, you know, from the same maker?" Then another said "or she could be related to them from when they were human." Things like "maybe she ends up with one of the wolf boys" and "how about she's actually a former member of the Quileute" and so on and so forth. So I screamed out loud a couple of times. Then I offered sanctuary, a little corner in my brain to roam free for the three plot bunnies who would pick up the nearest blunt objects and kill the rest of the bunnies for me. Many, many blood curdling screams and patches of fur later three tired but extremely pleased, blood-splattered bunnies stood before me offering me their humble services. So, here goes my attempt at writing my first Twilight fic.
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight nor do I own the song "Leave Out All the Rest" from which I've taken the title of this story, or Linkin Park who's song it is, who are totally and completely awesome by the way. Because let me tell you, if I owned Twilight and Linkin Park...things wouldn't have been so cute...or chaste...or sparkly.
Author's Note 2: This story starts out when Edward is eight years old but this is not a child Edward story. It takes place mostly in the present, well, around Bella's 21st birthday, which is supposed to be in the year 2008 according to what I've found about Bella supposedly being born in 1987. But it will include 'past' chapters and flashbacks whenever appropriate. Enjoy and please review.
"Dani, wake up. Dani please, wake up!"
The young boy pleaded to the still form of the girl on the bed. He took her by the shoulders and began to shake her.
"Edward, she's gone," Elizabeth Mason spoke softly to her eight year old son. "You have to let her go."
She gently tried to pull him away from the girl but he twisted wildly, almost violently out of her grasp. Without thought Edward jumped onto the bed, right on top of Dani. He seized her face with both hands and used his thumbs to pry open her eyes.
"Dani…Dani look at me…Don't you leave me...Don't leave me…" He said the last part in barely a whisper as he looked into the girl's unseeing eyes.
"Edward, you have to let go."
"Dani," Edward uttered. Almost before the name had left his lips Edward's head fell back, his green eyes rolled in their sockets. A moment later he dropped to the bed next to Dani convulsing wildly.
"EDWARD!" Elizabeth cried. She pressed his writhing body tightly against her chest. Just as quickly as they had started the violent tremors coursing through Edward's frame ceased. His small form fell completely limp in Elizabeth's arms. She screamed when she realized he wasn't breathing. After a moment she pulled him back and stroked the side of his face.
"Edward, sweetie, wake up," Elizabeth pleaded with her son, tears streaming from her eyes. "Wake up baby."
Almost immediately after the words left her mouth Elizabeth felt Edward quiver. It was a very faint movement, so small she wasn't even sure she felt it at first. Then suddenly, Edward's head jerked to the side.
"Edward!" Elizabeth gasped.
Edward abruptly shot up into a sitting position, sucking in a deep, gasping breath. Elizabeth cried out in joy as she enveloped him in a tight squeeze. His eyes opened wide, clearly exposing white all around his unfocused, intense green irises. His gaze darted back and forth erratically as though his eyes were searching for something his mind had yet to identify.
"Oh Edward," Elizabeth uttered as she pushed Edward back slightly to look at his face. "Are you alright? What happened to you?"
Edward's eyes continued to be unfocused. He made no reply to his mother's questions. Elizabeth looked on her son with a face that was a cross between puzzlement and panic. As hysteria threatened to break through Elizabeth looked to where Mrs. Abernathy, the housekeeper, stood in the doorway. The older woman's face was near expressionless as she stepped closer to the bed. She was about to voice her concern and comfort for Elizabeth and Edward when she stopped dead in her tracks. The tray loaded with tea things slipped from her hands and clattered loudly to the floor.
"Gretchen…what's the matter?" Elizabeth asked as she attempted to place a hand on the woman's arm. Gretchen Abernathy stepped back as she raised one bony finger and pointed to the girl on the bed. Elizabeth's gaze followed the direction to which the housekeeper pointed. She practically jumped out of her skin.
Dani's eyes were open. Much like Edward's had they were darting, unseeing, back and forth wildly. But whereas Edward's were open impossibly wide, Dani's were barely open half-mast.
"Dani?"
Just that single word was all Elizabeth Mason could bring herself to say but that one word was all it took. Edward's focus reappeared almost immediately. He pulled from his mother's hold and turned to face the girl. He placed one pale hand in the middle of her chest as he leaned over her.
"Dani? Dani…breathe…please, breathe," he beseeched the girl. Neither Elizabeth Mason nor Gretchen Abernathy could bring themselves to move to help or hinder Edward in his purpose. Edward moved in further until he was right on top of Dani, straddling her hips, his hand never moving from its spot on the center of her chest. He craned over her until his face was mere inches from hers.
"Jaclyn Daniela Erics," Edward practically yelled in the girl's face. "You listen to me and breathe! Right now…BREATHE DAMMIT!"
As though the exertion of doing two things at once was too much for her Dani's eyes stopped moving as her eyelids slid shut. After what could have been an instant or an eternity to Edward's almost fevered mind a low, gurgling noise could be heard. It was a slow, labored sound, agonizing to the ears to hear the pain behind the effort.
And then Dani's lips parted as she finally took in a breath. It was a shaky, gasping thing, but it was indeed a breath. Edward wrapped his arms tightly around the girl, lifting her from the mattress into an embrace. As he held her closely tears began to slide down his cheeks.
"I thought I was going to lose you there for a moment," Edward remarked as her laid the girl back on the bed, smoothing her damp hair back away from her face. "I knew you would come back."
Her mouth tried to form a word but her voice would not issue forth to say the word. Edward smiled nonetheless. It was his name she had tried to say. He bent his neck and placed a light kiss on Dani's cheek.
"Shh," he whispered as he lifted himself off the girl to sit right beside her. He took her hand and lifted it to his face, pressing the back of it to his temple.
"I'm here. I'll always be here. We will be together, you and me…forever."
Okay, so what do you think? I have a rough outline of where this is going but it may take a bit for the update. I actually had a completely different beginning part originally planned for the first chapter but thanks to the first two and half chapters being locked away in my dead laptop I've had to redo this story entirely. Eventually the original first chapter will be included, I just hope I can make it as good as it was to begin with. Stupid broken technology. Please review. The next chapter will either be Bella getting ready for her "birthday" party or the new character fighting two Volturi soldiers, I haven't decided yet.