The Awakening

Author's Note: Hey all. As well you know, Twilight and all its creations are the products of the mind of Stephenie Meyer. Just a quick little one-shot I felt inspired to write, really to satisfy my own curiosity. Do enjoy!

He hadn't expected it to work. Well, really, wishing on a star? What was the likelihood?

"Look, Edward!" Alice pointed heavenwards, a smile on her lips. "A shooting star! Everyone, make a wish!"

She took Jasper's hand, and the two shared a look wrought with meaning. What could they possibly wish for? They had everything. Of course, though he tried not to, he heard them wish for the best for each other; that the other would never know pain again.

As they sat, the entire family, in the clearing where they had been playing baseball an hour or so ago, before the thunder stopped, Edward worked harder to give everyone their mental privacy. Rosalie's thoughts were so loud though, as she desperately wished for a child, or some sliver of humanity, he couldn't help but to hear. Emmett, grinning profusely, was wishing for another go at that last grizzly, the biggest, feistiest one he had ever encountered.

Edward turned his face to the sky, taking a moment to enjoy its peace; the cold shards glistening above like thousands of scattered diamonds. He saw the bright streak as it danced across the black velvet of space, and held his breath. He couldn't hope to wish for something too impossible; to even bring up the idea of being human was a pain he couldn't afford, especially not now; now that he had found Bella. His ochre eyes closed. Would to God that he could have just one more…

He was standing over Bella's bed, watching her with hungry eyes. How could this be real? Her smell wasn't pulling him forward, wasn't driving him nearly mad with desire. He bent over Bella and inhaled sharply; no, she smelled exactly the same. The change was in him. A steady rhythm was coursing through him, one he hadn't felt in so long.

"Christ!" He exclaimed, realization dawning on him. He sat abruptly on the edge of Bella's bed, not caring if he woke her. He was alive–!

"Edward?" She was startled, her eyes wide as she sat up. She didn't wonder at his presence, but reached for him, concerned at the expression on his face. Her hand jerked back when she touched him, surprise making her mouth into a small 'o'.

"Edward," she whispered, "you're warm. And soft!"

He looked at her, his own green eyes just as large as her brown ones. "I'm alive."

She was shaking her head over and over, disbelief wrapping itself around her mind. "How? How can you be human?"

"I don't care," he whispered, his voice gone throaty. He had to blink back tears, tears he hadn't shed in so, so long.

"Edward," Bella's voice was soft, loving as she crawled toward him. She reached out, touched one tear gently as it glistened on his cheek, and brought it to her lips. Her tongue, a shy little pink thing, darted out and tasted it.

Hesitantly, almost fearfully, he moved towards her. They sat, not even an inch's breadth between them. His palm cupped her cheek, captured her warmth, only this time, it melded with his own. She gasped out a laugh and held his hand to her, her own brown irises tearing now.

"I can't believe it," she whispered, turning her face to kiss his palm. A shudder went down his spine, traveled down to his toes and back up again. This created so many avenues for them; so many doors that were closed had blown wide open. She gently touched her forehead to his. "Your eyes," she said in breathless wonder, "they're green!"

He laughed, letting his hand cup the side of her neck, relishing her pulse as much as his own.

"That's the color they were," he smiled, unable to stop himself, "before I died."

She marveled at them, stroking his now feather-soft cheek. "They're beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you."

She blushed and his heart beat faster, watching the pink stain her cheeks ever so delicately. He watched the flush travel down her throat, down to the top of her chest. His breath caught and his wayward heart stumbled in his chest. What would it be like to…?

He leaned forward, wanting to test his new mortal body. Their eyes locked, and though he couldn't hear her heart fumbling, he knew from experience that it was. Her eyes fluttered closed an instant before his lips met hers. He couldn't feel every exquisite detail of her mouth, not like before, but wasn't this so much better? He didn't have to worry about crushing her, about breaking her. They could be as they were meant to be: two humans in love.

Something in his chest rumbled, demanded more, more than he had ever allowed himself before. He parted his lips, let his tongue, quick and strong, dart out to sweep across the silky smooth feel of her mouth. She gasped in response, eyes fluttering again. Her hands buried themselves in his hair, and she, just as eager for him, pressed herself against his chest.

And then she was opening to him, her lips parting for his invasion. He growled in heady reply, his tongue sliding into that sweetness of her mouth. She was intoxicating! He ran the tip of his tongue against hers, coaxing her sweetly into a reply. She did, hesitantly, then with more fervor. Her legs wound around his waist, hooking him in close.

That tore another growl of pleasure from him, as their bodies pressed close together. His lips fed on hers desperately, as if he would never get enough, never get close enough. The taste of her went straight to his head, making it hard to think past the desire raging through him. It wasn't enough, he needed to feel more. He could be close to her now, no risks, and he was going to take the chance with both hands.

With two quick movements he had Bella pressed into the soft mattress. Her squirming was doing wonderful and tormenting things to him. Edward broke off the kiss, gasping for air. He had forgotten to breathe there, for a minute. His mouth clamped over her throat, directly above her pulse. He suckled delicately on her skin, reveling in his ability to do so, to be so careless. Her hips were suddenly rocking upwards, legs once more twined around his waist. Their waists collided, rubbed together. His concentration broke.

"Edward," she keened, hands tugging at the strands of his hair. "Please, Edward!"

The sound of her voice brought some sanity back into him. He blinked down at her, pushing himself up and off of her.

"Too soon," he panted, voice no more than a gravelly growl, "I don't…I don't want to take anything from you. You deserve so much more, Bella. You deserve to have us do this the proper way." He had to force himself to get the words out, to think them, to mean them. He wanted nothing more than to continue, to claim her and make her irrevocably and forever his. His body burned for her, smoldered in delicious flame.

She was staring at him, her chest heaving as she tried to calm her heart. What was he talking about? It took her a minute to make sense of his words.

"I want you," she whispered fiercely, her eyes meeting his and not backing down. "Here and now. Who knows if this will last, Edward? I want to be with you while I know I have you. All of you. Please, Edward. Please!"

Tears had filled those fathomless brown eyes, eyes that had always looked upon him with kindness, with love. How could he deny those eyes? How could he not give her anything she wanted, especially when it was something he so desperately needed himself?

Again, their foreheads touched. Edward closed his eyes, breathing ragged. "Bella…"

"Don't close your eyes," Bella whispered, touching his cheek. "Please. I want to see them. Edward, please."

He opened them, and a tear dropped, landed on her cheek. Her fingers were moving softly through his hair, drawing his mouth to hers again.

"Please Edward, please."

He gave in. There was no way he could resist. His mouth, aiming for hers, crashed into the mattress. His body fell into its pillowy folds, Bella's comforter the only warmth that greeted him. She was gone.

"Bella?!" He sat bolt upright, his head whipping left and right. She was nowhere to be seen.

"Edward!"

He could hear her calling for him, distantly. He jumped to his feet, landing noisily on the creaky floor.

"BELLA!"

Her far off scream ripped through him, sent him spiraling to her window. He flung it open and jumped, not thinking. He landed in a bush below, his ankle twisting as it caught on a branch, with a sickening snap. His skin stung, covered with so many tiny scrapes, tiny bruises. Ignoring the smart pain in his leg, he stumbled out of the brambles, heading towards the sound of her voice. It was hard to locate, hard to determine just where she was. It sounded like she was in the forest, but he couldn't be sure, not with his dim human senses.

Cursing at the moon, he ran as best he could on his bad ankle, the trees and undergrowth whipping at him, catching on his clothes and hair to slow him down. How was he supposed to keep her safe in this weak, slow and stupid body?!

Edward ran and ran, drawn on by Bella's screams, her pleadings. What was happening to her?

Finally he reached her. She was off the path, huddled against a fallen log, her eyes wide. She was cradling her wrist to her chest, as if it had been injured. Her lips, her lovely lips, were bruised and swollen, a little trickle of blood going down her chin. A man was standing over her menacingly, that same damned man from Port Angeles. He was leering at her, grabbing his crotch and making menacing remarks and lewd gestures.

Edward let out a feral yell, surprising the man. Edward caught him half-turned, threw himself at the dastard with all his might. The man stumbled back, but quickly regained himself. With one hand he smacked Edward across the jaw, and punched him in the gut with the other. Edward gasped, the wind knocked out of him. The man's knee came up out of nowhere, straight into Edward's nose. He saw stars, fell limply to the ground, his head spinning. All the while he heard Bella's screams grow more and more frightened, as she pleaded for the beast to stop, to leave Edward alone.

He struggled to his feet, unable to see out of one eye. The man turned to him once more, his face exasperated. Then, slowly, his expression melted into one of abject horror. Edward's surprise didn't last long. Jacob strolled past him, followed by one of his wolfin brethren.

"Don't worry, we've got this," Jacob grinned, approaching the man. "We can protect a weak little human like you."

Edward's eyes sought out Bella. She was laying against the wet soil, beaten and bruised, the neck of her shirt torn. Edward fell to his knees, arms reaching out in supplication to Bella.

"I'm sorry," he tried to say, around his swollen lips, "I tried. I tried."

"-ward? … Edward?"

Edward blinked ochre eyes at the sky, his body feeling slightly stiff. Alice, Esme and Carlisle were hovering over him, and he could hear Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper just a few feet away. Their thoughts were swirling masses of chaos and confusion, no one projecting clearly enough to be distinguished from the others. Edward sat up slowly, looking to his father.

"What…what happened?" his voice was groggy, throaty. It was hard to move his mouth to form the right words. He felt…slow.

"You fell asleep," Carlisle said softly, his gaze serious and worried. His mind was racing, trying to form a hypothesis as to the cause.

Esme drew him into her arms, rocking him as a mother would any upset child. She didn't know how upset, she couldn't. Tears, dry and ephemeral, tried to make it out of his eyes. They died before they had even formed.

He pushed them all off, stood on inhumanly strong legs. "I have to see her, to make sure she's safe."

He looked at Alice, but her eyes were already glazed over. It took less than a minute for them to clear. She sought him out first, and nodded.

"She's fine."

And then he was gone, speeding towards Bella's home.

Just as Alice had said, she was fine. Still sleeping, even. He stood over her bed, watching her with tormented eyes. Was she…was she crying? In her sleep?

"Bella," he whispered, kneeling down a foot or so away from her bed. It wasn't safe to be closer. "Bella, please wake up."

Her eyes fluttered open and she jolted, gasping. Before he knew what was going on, she had flung herself against his chest. His body became instantly rigid and he had to shut off his breathing to not take in too much of her delicious scent. After a moment he relaxed, scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed. He laid down with her, making sure the comforter was between them.

"What's wrong?" he whispered, his chest tight.

"You…you were hurt." She blinked at him, sniffing as she tried to stop herself from crying.

"Hurt?" his voice was dark, his eyes distant. It was impossible. She couldn't have…

"Yes," she whispered desperately, clinging to him with all her might. "You were alive somehow. No, I mean, you were human again."

"That's impossible," he said harshly, unable to believe his ears. She misunderstood, became quiet, thinking he was angry at her, not caught in his own disbelief.

"Bella," he tilted her chin upwards, searching her eyes. "Tell me more."

"Edward…you had green eyes."