Disclaimer: As much as I wish it could be so, no part of the Twilight Series is in any way mine.
His teeth. It was all I could see now. So beautiful, so mesmerizing, and coming so much closer. If I had been thinking anything at al I might have laughed at how much like a count Dracula movie this was: everything in black and white, and those inviting, intoxicating teeth.
Also if I had been able to think anything at all I would have been glad of the foresight that had prompted me to secure him with me. With help from Alice, Esme, and Carlisle, Edward and I were locked and bolted in his room, lying on his new double bed. With help from no one I had made sure that he had one hand in mine, and the other hand around my waist. My last thinking act had been to put my arm around Edwards neck and insist he continue with my none too gentle pressure on his back.
Edward was finally going to give what I had so long been waiting for. He was going to bite me.
I watched his mouth coming closer. As he disappeared beyond my line, his face below my chin, I let my eyes slide closed and trusted to my other senses. Smell - my same Edward, always that same incomparable scent. Sound – his breathing was…too shallow to be human and too fast to suggest total control. That set off my last minute realization that this might just be harder for Edward than it would be for me. Everyone always seemed to worry about my getting through the next seventy-two hours, but never about Edward making it. Suddenly the locked door didn't seem like the best plan after all. What if he needed to get away? Wouldn't he need a break from hearing my scream even more than I would want a break from screaming?
I couldn't keep track of this new major concern for long enough though. My last useful sense was sending me another message. Touch – Edwards's teeth were on my neck.
Eyes still closed, my fingers were tight, and his were tighter. My arm was tense on his neck, and his arm was tenser still. Those glorious teeth sunk gracefully down into my human flesh. Seeming detached, as if this was just me imagining the change, as I had imagined it so many times since meeting my vampire, I seemed to know Edward was waiting inside my skin. He was keeping himself immersed in the blood of his singer so that the process would be that much easier for me. Edward was using his power of resistance to try and put that little extra bit of venom in my system, to make the whole thing a miniscule faster.
And it was true; there was none of the discomfort I had felt when last bit by a vampire.
I was still puzzling over all the possible meanings of that when I noticed that Edward was looking at me. Whoops! Why hadn't I felt him end the bite? And where was the pain? To be sure, I didn't feel at all myself, but it was more like someone had turned a sprinkler on in my veins than anything else. I could feel none of the fire I was expecting. It seemed to me like simple, uncomplicated, and perfectly natural spring-cleaning was going on inside my system.
His eyes were wide and searching. Strangely I felt perfectly calm. In a way I couldn't understand the distress he was obviously in.
"Bella?"
"Hmm." I knew he was waiting and asking for my inevitable questions, but I couldn't think of any. He came up with one himself instead.
"How do you feel?"
The gentle scrubbing sensation in my blood was lovely and refreshing.
"Great, like getting a facial."
"A facial?" he asked skeptically. He couldn't understand me, or what was going on, and for that matter neither could I. But I didn't seem to mind about that. Everything felt so right; I was in no hurry to question it. On the other hand, I could not let Edward lie here next to me and worry.
"There is no pain. Just this light tingling everywhere. Edward, why is this happening? What does it mean?"
"Bella, I don't know. I have never heard of anything like this before. I'm going to get Carlisle." He stated to stand, but I pulled him back toward me.
"Kiss first," I demanded. He smiled and gave in to my request before going quickly to the door. He gave a quiet knock on the wood paneling, and spoke softly through it.
"Carlisle, we need you."
An instant later Edward's foster father was at the door and unlocking it. Once the door was open, Carlisle's eyes quickly settled on me, taking in the lack of writhing in agony that was going on in the bed.
"What is it?" he asked of Edward.
"Well, she's not in any pain." Edward spoke as if he could not believe it himself. Carlisle, too, looked lost for words. He came over to look into my eyes and examine all of me more closely.
"Can't you feel anything Bella?" While he spoke, Edward had come to join me on the bed and was picking up my hand to gently stroke it.
"Oh I can feel lots of lovely things, thank you," I said, blurting out the truth with only a faint blush. Presently, more vampires were standing in the doorway. I looked up to see Esme and Jasper at the door, and Alice walking towards us into the room.
"I have a hunch," Alice told us. I looked to Edward, knowing he would already know Alice's so called "hunch." He had a puzzled frown on his face.
" I guess that could be a possibility. It's only somewhat illogical," Edward responds to Alice's thoughts. I gave him a poke to remind him that the rest of us would like to know what they were talking about. He looked sideways at me and sighed.
"Your remember how we talked about fm and am frequencies? How I can't read your thoughts and the Volturi can't use their talents against you?"
I couldn't quite tell were this was going yet, so I gave a quick nod for him to continue.
"Well, Alice thinks that just maybe you're immune to the pain of my venom." He finished his sentence by wrapping his arm around my waist.
"Wow, just what I needed, another sign that I'm a freak. I can't even turn into a vampire in the normal way." I was just a little hurt. But then I thought of something, "What about James? I sure felt that pain just fine."
Carlisle answered this one for me, "James was able to use his tracking powers on you, remember? Obviously your immunity didn't work against him. Something about Edward in particular can't seem to get into your system."
"So, isn't this a good thing?" was my next thought.
"I don't know. We don't know what this is; it could be good, it could be bad. We'll just have to wait and see I guess." Carlisle seemed to hate not having an answer for us. At this Edward and I turned to look in each other's eyes. Seeing this, Carlisle, with the rest of the family, backed out and shut the door behind him. He did not lock it.
Still watching each other, Edward stood and pulled my up beside him. Hugging me to him, I leaned my head against his shoulder.
He whispered in my ear, "Let's sit on the couch and put on some music, it's going to be a very long wait." I sat down, and he chose a CD from his shelf. He placid it in the player and then came back over to join me. Edward sat down and I climbed over onto his lap, joining our arms between us. Putting our heads together we both closed our eyes. Not sleeping, just listening to our breaths working in time to each other.
