Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer is the author and owner of the Twilight Saga. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
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A/N: This will be a multi-chapter short story – meaning probably not more than about 25,000 words in total, give or take a thousand and each chapter will be from a different POV. It's a plot bunny that's been bouncing around my head for awhile now. I always thought that if a human was supposed to bring many of their human traits into their vampire existences, then Vampires might not always be quite so perfect.
It's slightly AU, but with canon couples and picks up at the start of Breaking Dawn part 2. I have tweaked a few things to suit the story, but they're not huge changes. I'm not sure at this point whether the story will include the Volturi battle or even Jacob for that matter, since I've always found the whole 'man (and Jacob is a man, make no mistake) imprinting on a newborn baby' thing, a bit eeww … and, to be honest, I've not thought that far ahead in the plot.
More in the AN at the end of the chapter … including Wrecked with Bella chapter progress. The story is alive and well I assure you.
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Chapter 1 – Awakening (Edward's POV)
Alice stared off into the distance, her large golden eyes seemingly sightless. I knew better, since everything she was seeing, I was watching with her.
Bella was about to wake up … and then there was nothing. Everything faded to darkness. No matter how Alice tried, she could not see Bella's future past her awakening in …
"Is there any change?" interrupted Carlisle.
He'd been monitoring Bella's progress from a medical perspective, whilst Alice had been monitoring her progress from an intuitive one. Both had been attentive, determined to ensure that our newest vampire family member would rise unscathed.
Alice sighed and blinked, her pupils contracting rapidly. "Not about her future – that's still a complete mystery – but she will wake up in," Alice glanced at her diamond encrusted wristwatch, a recent anniversary gift from Jasper, "sixty-three seconds."
A moment later, we collectively heard Bella's heartbeat increase to a rate that was impossible for any human or animal to sustain without rupturing the life-giving organ. It was the ultimate sign that the transformation was nearing its finale, as the venom raced to that single spot in her once frail human body.
My entire family turned as one to stare into the room that had been the site of Bella's last human moments – where she gave birth to our beautiful daughter, and then died in my arms. My own crystalline heart lurched in my chest – the anticipation of keeping my wife for eternity fading away for the second time in three days as I feared what lay in our future if Alice couldn't see Bella. I turned to Rose, agony and joy written across my face – I could see it reflected in my family's minds.
"Rose, take Renesmee upstairs, please. It's safer for her if she's not in the immediate vicinity when Bella first wakes up," I said tersely.
She nodded and picked up the insulated bottle warmer holding two baby bottles, from where it sat on the kitchen island counter – one containing O negative blood and the other, baby formula, both heated to a perfect 98.6 degrees – the temperature of human blood. Cradling my daughter in her arms, she walked upstairs to the family room. Emmett turned to follow his wife and niece, but I stopped him.
"Emmett?" My voice quavered uncharacteristically.
He turned around. "Yeah?"
"I might need you. Please stay," I begged, my voice barely a whisper.
He nodded and we all walked at human speed into the office/den that had become a makeshift hospital room during Bella's pregnancy. My brothers stationed themselves nearest to the two exits – not that they could stop her if Bella decided to leave. She was a newborn vampire, her body strong beyond any comprehension, especially whilst her own blood filled every cell of her newly perfect body. If she wanted to – and I hoped she didn't – Bella could cast us all aside like annoying insects and burst through the walls to the outside world wreaking havoc on an unsuspecting Forks.
I heard the mind-voices of the wolves as they surrounded the house. They had staged themselves around the property to head Bella off, should she escape our control. As much as Jacob loved Bella, as one of the Alpha's of the two Quileute packs, he would do what was necessary to stop Bella from embarking on a blood lust rampage. I told the arrogant little prick, that his help wasn't necessary, but he and Sam ignored all of Carlisle's, Jasper's and my efforts to dissuade them. They might have agreed to Bella becoming a Vampire to save her life, but they wouldn't stand back and let her take a human life – not in Forks.
I sighed and tried to block out their whining voices, especially those of Paul and Embry who hated us and would kill everyone of us if Sam and Jacob didn't keep them in line. The only one of the wolves who loved Bella unconditionally was Seth Clearwater. He would do anything for Bella, even more so than Jacob. So much for Jacob's frequent and insistent assertions that he loved Bella more than his own life, because I knew that if push came to shove, he'd rip her head from her newborn vampire body and drop a match on her, then have the audacity to mourn at her funeral.
I growled low in my chest, my fists clenching until I almost crushed my own fingers. I hate that giant dog so much! The sooner we left Forks forever, the better I would like it. If I never saw Jacob Black again it would be too soon for my liking.
"Edward?" Carlisle said softly. He stared into my tortured, angry eyes with compassion, his hand resting lightly on my shoulder. "Come on, son. Bella is your priority now. You leave the wolves to me."
I nodded and forced myself to relax, as I walked into the space where my wife lay motionless on a gurney in the middle of the room. She was garbed in a dark blue, sleeveless dress that came just to her knees. I read in Alice's mind that it was Dior from their latest Fall line – not that I cared and I knew Bella wouldn't care, or even notice. I sensed, rather than heard, my father and mother move to stand beside me, since my entire attention was now focussed on my love.
Alice positioned herself off to the side, halfway between Bella and Jasper. "Any moment now," she murmured.
Moving closer to the bed, I took her hand in mine, gently stroking the slender finger adorned with her wedding rings. Her skin sparkled under the sun lighting up the room. We were the same temperature now – all disparity in our body warmth irrelevant, now that we were the same species. She was stunning – the most gorgeous creature I'd ever lain eyes on. I'd always believed her to be beautiful, but she never did quite believe me, always asking me what I saw in her when I was so beautiful and could have any woman I wanted – a woman like Tanya.
I never wanted Tanya. I only ever wanted Bella. I waited a century for this woman to enter my life – and now I needed her to feel whole. She was the sweet air I breathed, the sun that warmed my skin, and the cool moon that sheltered me in her arms during the night. She and our daughter were my entire life. Without them, either one, I was nothing – a mere shell existing only to nurture the one precious soul that remained and they did have souls – of that I was absolutely certain. I feared the future Alice could not predict. I didn't know how I would protect my family from those that would seek to destroy or covet them – these two precious beings that made my continued existence worth living.
'Calm down, Edward!' my brother Jasper thought at me harshly. 'You're neutralizing the mood I'm projecting toward Bella. We want her to remain composed while the baby is in the house and the wolves are surrounding the house.'
I looked up to stare into the taut visage my brother wore as he drew on every ounce of his talent. He'd always said I was the only person he'd ever known who could infect a room with pessimism just by standing in it. Irritation flashed across his face as I struggled to bring my emotions under control in the few seconds remaining.
"For fucks sake, Edward!" growled Jasper with exasperation. He glared at me. "If you can't control your emotions, then let go of Bella's hand. Everything I'm sending her is being absorbed by your moody ass."
I gulped, reluctantly releasing her hand, and stepped back from the bed. Immediately, Jasper's face relaxed as he refocused his attention on my wife, leaving me to stew in my own torment. My parents stepped forward to comfort me instead. Esme's arm snaked around my waist to hug me close to her side, whilst Carlisle's hand clamped reassuringly on my shoulder.
"She's going to be fine, Edward," Carlisle whispered insistently near my ear. "Look at her, son. The venom worked its magic. You got her heart started again and the venom did the rest. She's perfect," he reassured me for the nth time since her journey had begun three days earlier.
"Five seconds," predicted Alice. "Three, two, one …"
We all trained our attention on the woman on the bed, breaths held as her heart thumped its final beat leaving a heavy silence in the room. We all waited. I watched her incredibly long lashes flutter and her nostrils flare as she breathed in the air in the room. Her lips curved upward into a smile as she apparently decided all was well in her new world.
Bella's eyes opened and she sat up so quickly, her movement stirred the air into a light breeze. She smelled of strawberries, freesias, maple syrup and freshly brewed coffee. She was divine and she was all mine. Bella scooted to the end of the bed arriving in less time than the worlds finest atomic clocks could gauge.
Bella watched us intently as we gaped at her.
My lips parted and I blinked rapidly in astonishment.
Alice was the first to gasp, followed immediately by Esme's shocked intake of breath. The both edged closer to the bed.
Jasper and Emmett inched toward the middle of the room, trying to block the sun streaming into the room, in case it was a trick of the light.
I don't think it was. My heart soared as I quickly calculated the possibilities for us, for Bella, if this anomaly was genuine and didn't alter. What else about Bella might be different to the norm?
Carlisle stepped closer to his daughter-in-law, curiosity written across his face – he was the least shocked of all of us. He'd been a vampire for nearly 400 years and had seen many wondrous things. After Renesmee, he believed almost anything was possible – including Bella's seemingly impossible appearance.
What we were seeing was impossible, yet the evidence before us refuted everything we knew to be true. I turned toward my father, pointing toward Bella. "Is that even possible?" I whispered. "Have you ever seen that happen before?"
Carlisle inclined his head. "It seems it is possible, Edward. Bella is unique, as is your daughter." I heard in his mind that he'd never seen or heard of it happening before, but he was already cataloguing his books so he could research the phenomena.
"Edward?" Bella's sweet, bell-like voice rang out. I walked slowly toward her, a smile splitting my face. I took her outstretched hands in mine. "Hello, my wife."
"Hello, my husband," she almost sang. Her beautiful eyes stared worriedly into mine. "What's wrong with me, Edward? Why are you all staring at me – did it not work properly?"
I shook my head and chuckled. "Absolutely nothing is wrong, Bella – you're perfect." I leaned down and kissed her luscious red lips, tasting the essence of coffee in her mouth. She was simply amazing.
Bella's newborn eyes weren't red.
They were golden.
…
Human body temperature: 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit = 36.7 degrees Celsius.
AN: The past 3 months have been crazy. My mother moved to Sydney and I had to take care of everything for her except most of the packing. Work has been extremely busy, especially since I am now on long service leave for 2 months, and I'd been working like crazy to get everything finished in time – I didn't succeed and that worries me, since I'll now have to go back to it in 2 months time.
I am working on a Wrecked chapter for those of you who follow Wrecked with Bella. I will be taking my laptop to the USA, but I won't promise to deliver a chapter in the next three weeks while I'm away, since we have a busy travel schedule. Unfortunately, due to lack of money, Hawaii is off the agenda **sigh** but we're still going to NYC and LA. I know I promised some of you a Wrecked chapter over Easter, but it just didn't happen. Some of you know that I have ongoing health issues that can make me very tired – this coupled with everything else that has been going on in my life has meant that I've not had the energy for anything that wasn't absolutely necessary, including writing – I haven't even done my housework or packed yet and I'm leaving for the US tomorrow.