Bella's eyes open and her gaze shifts minutely. She turns her head slightly to the right as she raises her hand and examines it. The sunlight streaming through the window bounces rainbows off her skin.
Then she inhales deeply through her nose and, in the blink of an eye, leaps off the bed, ripping her hand from Edward's grasp and lands in a defensive crouch in the corner of the room, as far removed from everyone as possible.
"She's threatened by having so many of us so close," Carlisle says soothingly. "We should leave for now. Though, Jasper, perhaps you should stay with Edward." He throws a comforting smile to Bella before leading everyone else out of the room.
Bella watches them go, tense in her crouch and her gaze suspicious.
"Bella?" Edward says cautiously. "It's me, Edward. You're okay."
Bella's eyes whip to his face but she says nothing.
"She's feeling suspicious, threatened, and confused," Jasper says quietly.
"I don't need an empath to tell me that, Jasper," Edward hisses. "Bella – love – everything's going to be okay," he says to her, his voice soft and full of love. "I don't know how much you remember, but we had to change you. You're one of us now. A vampire."
Bella holds his gaze, rising slowly from her crouch. Her eyes flit to Jasper, then back to him.
"How do you feel?" he asks
Her face is a mask, giving away nothing, but Jasper continues to read her feelings. "Her confusion is growing. She's not far from panicking," he thinks to Edward.
"Sweetheart," Edward says, reaching his hand toward her, "there's no need to panic. We're finally together, forever. Everything's going to be okay."
"Edward, she's barely holding it together," Jasper tells Edward through his thoughts.
"It's perfectly normal to feel unease, love. Those are your vampire senses. But, you're safe here. Neither Jasper nor I will harm you. You're safe. And we're together. Forever. Finally."
Taking in a big lungful of air, Bella finally speaks.
"I – " she stops immediately, clearly distracted by the sound of her own voice.
After a moment, she continues. "I don't know wha-. There's so much. It's overwhelming."
"Yes," Edward smiles at her, "there is a lot to take in." He takes a tentative step toward her. Then another. "I'll help you get used to it. We all will. Together you and I can get through anything," he assures her.
Jasper is alarmed by the level of emotions he feels coming from Bella. Newborns are notorious for wild mood swings, but this is different. She's nearing panic, with a healthy dose of confusion, but it's laced with something else. Is that – could it be abandonment? But that doesn't make sense. She knows they are right here with her. Edward, her mate, is right in front of her.
"I . . . I just don't know," Bella says. "I'm not sure about anything right now."
"That's perfectly fine, sweetheart," Edward replies. "Just know that I love you more than anything. You are my life."
Bella looks him right in the eyes. "But I don't know . . . you. I don't know any of you."
The words gut Edward and he staggers back a step. Jasper struggles to sort all the emotions flooding the room and manages to be the first to speak.
"That's fine, Bella. Things can be confusing for you as a newborn. It's nothing to worry about," he says confidently. "We're your family. Edward is your husband. You were married a few months ago. I'm Jasper. The others, who just left, are the rest of our family. You'll see them again later."
Edward finally gathers his wits enough to speak. "Yes, darling. We're your family. We were married in the backyard, right outside that window, earlier this summer. Then we had an indescribably wonderful honeymoon on Isle Esme." A nagging sense of fear takes root in his stomach and grows as she just looks at him blankly.
"Don't you remember any of that, love? Jasper or the others? Don't you . . . remember me?"
"I'm sorry, I –" Bella backs up as she speaks, ending up in the corner.
"Bella, I'm sure you're thirsty. Maybe we should hunt," Jasper suggests.
As soon as he mentions it, Bella notices the burn in her throat as it flares to an inferno and then it's all she can pay attention to. She paws at her throat.
"Will that help with this?" she rasps out.
"Yes," Edward and Jasper answer in unison.
"But I don't know how," she says.
"I'll teach you. You'll get the hang of it in no time," Edward says.
She's shaking her head before he's done speaking. "No! Not you."
"That's okay, Bella," says Jasper, "I'll take you and show you."
"Jasper!" Edward hisses angrily.
"Edward," Jasper replies through his thoughts, "something is going on with her and we don't know what. She needs to feed before we can get her to focus on anything else. That's what's important. You've got eternity to hunt with her. She needs help and isn't going to accept it from you right now. Let me help."
Edward clenches his jaw but reluctantly nods in agreement.
He steps back and watches forlornly as Jasper leads Bella to the window and jumps down to the back yard with her. He listens as they run to the forest, tracking Jasper's thoughts until they are out of range. Jasper assures him that he will keep Bella safe and do his best to determine why her behavior is so unexpected.
Then, Edward is surrounded by his family. Esme gives him a gentle hug as Carlisle squeezes his shoulder.
"What's going on, Carlisle?" he asks angrily. "She doesn't remember us. She doesn't remember me!"
"Everyone's transformation is different, son. You know this. And Bella never does what we expect," Carlisle says. "Let her hunt. Give her time to get a better handle on her thoughts and emotions. Jasper will find out what he can. When they return, we'll take it from there."
He is tense with anxiety but acknowledges Carlisle with a curt nod.
"Alice, do you see anything?" he asks.
"I know Jazz is taking her into the northern end of Olympic National Forest to hunt, but that's because he made that decision. Ever since her transformation started, I haven't been able to see anything directly related to Bella's future. But I can tell you, my original vision hasn't changed. You and Bella, happy together. I don't know what's going on, but I'm sure it's going to turn out right."
"I'm going to go for a run; get some air," he says. "I'm sure I'll be back before they are."
"You want some company, bro?" Emmett asks.
"No. I actually need to be alone."
Rosalie walks to him and gives him a quick hug. "Hang in there. She loves you, Edward. Enough to give up her humanity to spend forever with you. You're mates, and nothing can change that fact," she whispers.
Edward appreciates her words and hugs her back before turning and running out of the house.
All things Twilight belong to S. Meyer. No infringement intended.