Heaven Sent
Bella looked down from the heavens, watching the family she protected. Unlike most guardian angels, Bella didn't protect a human, she protected a whole family of vampires. Her family was the Cullen family, and she had been their guardian angel since Edward became a vampire. God had realised that Carlisle was a gentle soul and was worthy of a protector, but it wasn't until he changed Edward, and they became a makeshift family, that he had been assigned a guardian angel. That angel was Bella.
Over the years Bella had watched the Cullen family grow to include Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Alice and Jasper. Now the family was content. Jasper had mastered his bloodlust, and everyone except Edward was paired up with their soul mates. Bella hadn't been able to join Edward with his soul mate for the simple reason that his soul mate was her. Now that the family was safe though, she was finally being relieved of her duties so that she could join Edward on earth.
God joined her in watching the family and sighed. "The time has come for you to join them my daughter. Go and be happy." She smiled and leapt excitedly out of the heavens. Moments later she landed silently just outside the Cullen's front door. She brought her wings into her body- only two six inch pale silver scars on her back showing where they came out. She skipped excitedly to the door and rapped on it enthusiastically.
Her super sensitive ears heard surprised gasps on the other side of the door and Alice's musical voice stating, "I didn't see anyone visiting us," in a tone that was a hybrid of frustration and worry.
"Well I can't hear the thoughts of anyone except our family," Edward's voice was saturated with frustration and annoyance. Bella sighed and opened the door herself, stepping into the familiar house.
Inside she found the whole family standing hesitantly a few feet from the door. Jasper and Emmett had placed themselves protectively in front of Alice and Rosalie. Bella gave them a blinding smile, shrugging off the hostility. She was well aware of their natures after being their angel for over a century. "Hello Carlisle, Esme, Edward, Alice, Jasper Rosalie and Emmett. It's nice to finally meet you in person." Their faces changed to confusion. Jasper relaxed an inch as he felt only happiness and enthusiasm coming from her.
"I'm Bella, and I'll be joining your family." Her bright smile and obviously happy and excited stance relaxed the family even more, despite their confusion. They could all somehow instinctively feel that she would not hurt them.
Carlisle smiled wryly. "Somehow this reminds me of when Alice arrived."
Bella grinned, "Yes, Alice and Jasper made quite and entrance when they joined the family, and I'm afraid Edward, that I'll also be taking your room." She laughed as his jaw dropped in indignation, and the rest of the family snickered at him. "However, I'm not going to kick you out - I can share," she chucked her small bag at him containing a few of her favourite books and trinkets from heaven. "You can take this up and unpack my stuff - I'm so glad you picked a room with a good view."
Finally they all snapped out of their trances. Alice was the first, and the words that came out of her mouth were hardly surprising. "Is that all you brought? What about clothes and shoes and accessories?" She looked and sounded positively indignant.
Bella chuckled. "Where I come from we never needed to change clothes, so these are the only clothes I have. She gestured to her long white halter dress, which allowed her wings free movement when they were out, and her bare feet.
All eyes narrowed at her admission. "Where exactly are you from Bella?" Rosalie asked suspiciously.
"And what are you?" Carlisle asked. Bella grinned and danced over to the lounge and sat down. She waited as they got the hint and followed her, arranging themselves on the furniture.
"I'm from heaven," she said. Their looks of disbelief weren't encouraging- only Carlisle looked like he might believe her. "I'm an angel. Specifically, I used to be your family's guardian angel, which is how I know all of you." Shock, interest and wariness replaced the disbelief on their faces.
"Well an angel would explain your lack of a heartbeat and no scent or blood," Carlisle mused. 'But when you say you used to be our guardian angel, what exactly did that entail, and why aren't you anymore?" Carlisle, it seemed, was far more inclined to believe in heaven and angels than the rest of his family. His children appeared to be having a much harder time comprehending what Bella was telling them.
"Well God was quite pleased with how you denied your thirst and helped people Carlisle, but an individual vampire doesn't really need a guardian. When you changed Edward though, due to his gift, it became more likely that your family would need guarding against the Volturi if they found out. They would think nothing of killing you to gain Edward, despite your previous association with them." They all tensed at that. "That was when I became the Cullen family guardian angel. Of course, it became my mission to stop the Volturi from ever finding out about your family and either killing you or forcing you to join them.
"My second objective was to unite you with your soulmates. You see, all guardian angels can see their charge's soulmates, however, because you are vampires there is a rule in place that meant I could not connect you with your soulmate until they were dying, if they were human. So when Esme was near death I made sure the hospital she went to was the one you worked at Carlisle, and I ensured that you were the one assigned to treat her. Then you changed Rosalie and, when I saw her soulmate Emmett was being mauled by a bear, I lead her to him. Last of all, when Alice was changed and became a future member of the Cullen family, I led Jasper to her and helped them find their way to you. Since then I have been helping Jasper with his bloodlust and keeping an eye on the Volturi." The whole family was now intrigued at her words, and while there was still some disbelief and scepticism, they seemed more open to the idea that she was telling the truth. Jasper in particular, could feel that she wasn't lying, and Edward could read it in Jasper's thoughts.
Edward felt something between a mix of frustration and admiration at the fact that she could block his mind. She intrigued him, and he had already admitted to himself that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, which, along with Jasper's assurances, made him believe her. He felt strangely drawn to the beautiful angel that was planning to usurp his room, and found it hard to muster up any resentment for having to share with her.
Seeing that they all seemed much more receptive to her story, Bella continued on. "Now that you all have your soulmates, are strong enough that the Volturi won't risk a war by bothering you, and have mastered your bloodlust, my job is no longer necessary, so here I am." They all looked sad at her statement. "What's wrong?" she asked, wondering whether they didn't wish to have her in the family.
"It's just that Edward doesn't have his soulmate," Esme murmured sadly.
Edward sighed, "I guess I really didn't have one after all." While he lived a fairly good solitary life, he had always secretly harboured a hope that one day he would find a soulmate to share his life with, like the other members of his family had.
Bella was horrified. "Oh no! That's not what I meant! I'm sorry Edward, I know this is going to come as a surprise, and I don't expect you to believe me right away, but I am your soulmate." She looked into his eyes in earnest and saw a mixture of scepticism and hope. "I've always been your soulmate, however, I couldn't come to you until my job was over and the rest of your family and their mates were safe," she smiled apologetically at him.
"Really?" he asked. She nodded.
"That's wonderful," Esme gushed, her eyes alight with happiness.
"You mean you would have been here earlier if I had been able to control my bloodlust decades ago?" Jasper was guilty about holding Edward back from his soulmate.
"Well, yes," Bella admitted reluctantly. As an angel, she didn't lie, even though it might have been kinder to Jasper if she had. "But I am here now, and neither Edward nor I would ever blame you Jasper, you cannot blame yourself for something you could not control. I know you tried your hardest, and that is what counts," her voice was reassuring, and though Jasper did not let go of all his guilt, he calmed somewhat.
I'm sorry Edward, he thought to his brother. Edward simply nodded his head in understanding. He was still trying to get his head around the fact that his soulmate was an angel. The feelings he had for this beautiful creature already made him believe her words. He had never felt anything like it before. He was itching to take her hand, hold it in his own, and stare deep into those stunning chocolate eyes for eternity.
"If you are our protector why didn't you protect me?" Rosalie was angry, thinking that this supposed guardian angel had failed to protect her as a human from being raped by her fiancé Royce and his friends. Edward growled at her thoughts and she glared back at him defiantly.
"I'm afraid, Rosalie, that I was the Cullen family guardian angel only. Until Carlisle made the decision to change you, you were not considered as under my protection. If you had been an important human you might have had a guardian angel who failed to protect you, or you might not have had one at all. But I had never seen you at all before Carlisle came across you in the street, and so I could not save you." Her explanation was soft, and without any anger or defensiveness at Rosalie's harsh demand.
"In fact," she continued, "Had Carlisle not decided to change you, then I would not have found Emmett for you and he also would have died. I was originally planning to join Edward while they were in Rochester, as at that time they were considered relatively complete. But your addition changed things, so I was forced to wait while I searched for your soulmate and watched until he was near death and you could be taken to him."
Rosalie looked apologetic now, realising that Bella and Edward had been forced to wait decades before uniting in order to make sure Rosalie had Emmett. She did not know whether she would have handled the wait nearly as well if she had been forced to watch Emmett from heaven for decades before she could go to him. "I'm sorry Bella," she said quietly, much to the surprise of most of the room's occupants - Rosalie never apologised.
"It's okay Rose, I understand," Bella had a very forgiving nature, and never took offense, something the Cullen's were quickly learning. "I'm finally here now, where I belong, and this is a happy occasion for me." She smiled, and Edward was flooded with warmth, her smile sending waves of joy through him. He edged closer, needing desperately to be near her, and she smiled, holding out her hand. He took it, and electricity sped through them, humming as it buzzed around them. He found himself returning her smile, happier than he had ever been.
The rest of the Cullen's watched on in awe, instinctively knowing that a bond was being formed. Though they had only met Bella a short time ago, none of them doubted her words now, for she just seemed so pure. Eventually Bella drew back and blushed. Though she did not have blood like a human, she could still show reactions like a human. Edward found it endearing and fascinating to see her blush. He caressed her cheek softly in awe. "Beautiful," he whispered, causing her cheeks to redden further.
Emmet couldn't take the mushy scene anymore and broke into it. "So angels don't really have halos and wings?" he sounded so disappointed that Bella, who reluctantly broke her gaze from Edward, had to laugh.
"No halos," she confirmed with an amused smile. "The wings on the other hand," she trailed off as everyone's eyes brightened with interest. She stood up, biting her lip and praying that Edward would like them. "They probably aren't going to be what you expect," she warned, smiling apprehensively as she flexed her back muscles, releasing her wings.
The pulled out, spreading to their full span of six feet, and Bella watched as every one of the Cullen's jaws dropped simultaneously at the sight. They had never seen anything more beautiful. Even Rosalie knew she could never compare with the sight of a fully fledged Bella. They no longer had any doubts that Bella was an angel.
Edward knew that if is heart had been able to beat it would have stopped at the sight. "Magnificent," he breathed. Bella's smile widened and Edward couldn't help reaching out a tentative hand to stroke the soft feathers in awe.
They weren't pure white, but seemed to shimmer with a pale golden glimmer effect with thin light blue strands on each of the feathers; each individual feather was predominately white, but the individual barbs of the feather were alternating between white, a pale brushed gold colour, and a pale blue. The effect was stunning.
"Well I'm not disappointed," Emmett finally commented, "who needs a halo when you have wings like that?"
That broke the awed silence and everyone chuckled lightly, still unable to draw the eyes away from Bella's beautiful wings. Bella eventually pulled them back in so that they could continue to talk without her wings providing such a large distraction. She sat back down next to Edward.
"So you're a fallen angel?" Carlisle asked, trying to clarify Bella's status.
"I prefer the term heaven-sent angel. Fallen has so many negative connotations," Bella gently corrected him, "but yes, essentially I am now earthbound. God was gracious enough to allow me to keep some of my guardian powers in order to ensure your safety. Though I can no longer see the bonds of soulmates, nor keep an eye on the Volturi, I still have a mental and physical shield that I can envelop everyone in to keep you safe," she explained.
"Is that why I can't read your mind?" Edward asked curiously.
Bella smiled and nodded, "You would never be able to spend eternity with a mate whose mind you could read," she admonished, "Neither of us would be able to stand it." Edward nodded thoughtfully, conceding her point while the rest of the Cullens listened with interest.
"You really can't read her mind?" Emmett asked, interest sparking in his eyes. Edward rolled his eyes and nodded as Emmett's thoughts immediately went to fighting with Edward unable to use his ability.
"Well Bella, all I can really say is, welcome to the family," Carlisle said as the rest of the family nodded their agreement. "I'm sure you'll fit right in," he said wryly, eliciting a grin from Bella.
"I know I will," she assured him before casting a fond glance at Edward. Finally her life, and that of the Cullens, was complete.
AN: I'm leaving this as a oneshot for now. i have good ideas for a plot to continue it, but i just don't have the time to write it right now.
I do have another story started, with a more developed plot, and although i don't have much time with RL getting in the way, i will start posting it soon and try to update it regularly, so stay tuned!