Warning: Rated M for dark themes and my damn potty mouth.

Beta'd by the one and only and FABULOUS stitchcat. LOVE HER! Many thanks to HammerHips and JaspersBella who encouraged me to post this fic.

AN: We're backtracking a bit here, so bear with me. Much of this (for the next few chap) is actually from Breaking Dawn, so it might be a bit repetitive.

There will be NO imprinting of the fetus or any other newborns in this fic. It's creepy.

Thanks to all who reviewed! Every one of them was MUCH appreciated!

DISCLAIMER: Twilight is S. Meyer's work and a lot of lines in this CHAP are HERS or damn close to it. None of this story is meant as a copyright infringement.

Chapter 1: Remember

Fire.

All consuming, all encompassing fire flowed freely through her veins. With each stuttered pump of her sluggish heart, the flames fanned further and further and the last human part of her was that much closer to its final end. An end it welcomed with arms wide open.

The flames ignited like kerosene fed them but this was no flash fire. No quick destruction. She was in for the slow burn. The length of time didn't lesson the pain, but this was what she'd signed up for. She would writhe in hell for three days if it meant that she could destroy the one she hated above all else. She would grit her teeth and smile through the screams and pure agony, knowing she would soon do much worse to him and all who had dared to help him.

Thoughts drifted in and drifted out unfinished but the heat always remained. Never waning but occasionally surging. Higher and higher it rose.

Her body was lit and there was no turning back, but she had a reason. Whatever it was seemed trivial under the torrential heat.

No.

Never trivial.

There was a reason and it was her- her everything.

Oh no! I can't think…I don't know what my everything is or was…Oh God! I- I lost my everything! Her thoughts echoed around her expanding mind. Twisting and tangling bringing raw panic.

The walls were closing in on her. She gasped, struggling for each new breath, and then she screamed. Screamed for what she'd lost. Screamed in pain and screamed in her panic. The wail that ripped from her chest sounded foreign to her ears, and rang long after her voice had given out and no breath supplied new sound.

Was all of this for nothing? She whipped her head from side to side trying to escape herself and find the same.

A voice floated toward her from across the abyss threatening to swallow her and made her pause. "Bella, remember. Remember why you're here. Remember why I'm here. Pull up your human memories and try to focus on them or you might lose them or him. Remember, babe. Please."

The deep bass of the honeyed tones soothed her. She wanted to listen to the voice. She needed to listen to it.

She focused, thinking back to the beginning of her end: their end.

Bella placed her hand on her baby bump and waited for the next nudge. Tears of joy welled in her eyes and made their way down her checks again. Carlisle had confirmed what her heart already knew was the truth: they were having a baby.

"Bella?"

She turned, wary of the coolness in his voice and the hardness in his eyes. He looked empty, void of anything she wished to see right now.

And then he saw that she was crying.

"Bella!" He crossed the room in a flash and put his hands on her face to soothe her, but he stepped back minutely when she tried to lean into him for comfort.

"No, no-"

He wiped the tears streaked down her face gently away with the pads of his thumbs. "Don't be afraid. We'll be home in sixteen hours. You'll be fine. When we get there Carlisle will be ready. We will take care of this, and you will be fine."

"Take care of this? What do you mean?" She asked, confused.

He leaned away and looked me her the eyes. "We're going to get that thing out before it can hurt any part of you. Don't be scared. I won't let it hurt you."

"That thing?" Bella gasped. Her heart plummeted into her stomach, which was rolling and she struggled not to retch on her beloved. How could he say such a thing? She covered her stomach, trying to shield their baby from the cruelty of the one who was supposed to protect him- protect them.

He looked away from me, toward the front door. "Don't worry, Bella. We will get that thing out of you," he reiterated on his way to let whoever our visitor was in and fresh tears streamed down my cheeks.

Just then the naïve shutters she'd hidden behind for the past two tempestuous years burst apart and she opened her eyes to the bright light of revelation shining all around. She realized something that would make all the difference, or should have. Edward had just called their baby a thing and he wanted to destroy it. Nothing she said was going to change his mind.

He'd read her tears as well as he had read her mind, and as usual, he was wrong with the best intentions.

No, this was not her Edward. He was just scared. If she just gave it some time, he would see. He'd understand, she thought.

Maybe it was just the acceleration of the pregnancy that had him panicked. Carlisle could reassure him surely. The quicker they got home, the better. This was not some 'thing' or evil spawn; this was nothing more than their child and nothing less than a miracle.

Again, Bella marveled over the picture her mind had drawn of her little nudger. A tiny bundle with Edward's eyes- green as his had been when he'd been human- nestled fair and quietly in her arms. She hoped he was an exact duplicate of her Edward: a mirror of his perfection. Their entire family gathered around to ooh and aah at their little man and to squabble over who he should be named after and who got the first turn babysitting.

It was funny how entirely this vision possessed her. From that first nudge, her whole world had shifted. Before that moment, there had been only one thing that she absolutely could not live without, and now there were two. Her love was not divided but simply multiplied. If anything, her love for Edward grew because he had given her a precious gift that she'd never thought she wanted but no longer wanted to be without. Their son would complete their family, their coven. Their happily ever after was at hand, why couldn't Edward understand?

He had always hated that by choosing him, Bella had lost her chance at motherhood. But motherhood was something she had never wanted. Until now. Now, she wanted this child; their child. And somewhere deep down, he did too. She knew he did. She also knew that she could do this; they could do this together. Until she could open his eyes to the miracle happening in her lady parts, though, she needed an ally.

Immediately she knew who she should call.

Her invisible pyre surged once more and she relished the pain, grateful to be brought away from deceitful memories by any means, but more determined than ever to retain every thought and feeling: everything. The good times are what made the treachery hurt that much more. Her tattered hope and destroyed faith now fueled her rage.

She would burn and she would remember.