A/N: Sorry its taking so long to get to the story. If I have any readers left, I thank you for the patience. I think that Chapter Nine will be the first bit of action, as it will get the story rolling. Sorry these last two chapters are so short, I was going to make it all one big chapter, but it seemed a bit extreme.
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight characters, plots, or situations. I own Andie, and all other OC. Oh, and the story.
AlicePOV
I turned on my heels, dipping around in the momentum without breaking speed, hurling back to the car and to my mate, whom in a vision I had just held dead in my arms, feeling a pain I never wanted to feel, keening a scream that would burst a human's brain. Avoiding that at all costs, ripping through the tree line, not slowing down a bit, not caring what humans saw what; I made it back to the driver's seat of the still-intact car and ripped the damn thing out of there, the engine screaming in my pain.
"ALICE! What the hell?" Andie cried out, holding on for dear life as we careened down the highway, cutting several people off, but not causing any wrecks.
I didn't answer, still holding my breath, and looked in my rear view mirror in time to see the truck come over the hill and slide sideways down it, not jack-knifing because I'd moved the car. The driver was fine, he got out of the cab cussing fluently, slinging his ball cap down. I released a bit of the breath I'd been holding, and slowed down just a wee bit as I relaxed. I dared not take a breath, the cause of that episode still fresh in my mind, and Andie growled in frustration at my silence, but all I could do was reach over and take her hand, which she allowed, surprising me. I was sure she'd pull away, after the way I'd been behaving. She studied me curiously for a minute, the look on her face adorable, and I felt one side of my mouth twitch up into a smile. She turned it into a full blown grin when she smiled at me and said, "I see a dimple. Come on, where's the other one? Huh?" Her eyes danced in mirth, and I felt a piece of me melt inside, somewhere in my chest, where I'm sure my heart once beat.
"I love you," she whispered, and I gave her a look that said the same, wishing I could tell her so. Human, and sweet. She belonged to me. She was my most valued piece of myself, the extension of my soul, and the confirmation for me that I possessed one. It had to be intact if I shared it with her, did it not?
I pulled off at the next exit and pulled up at a gas station to fill up and let her take care of her human needs, but I pushed her phone into her hands as she left the car, and she looked at me crazy, like I'd lost my mind; in truth, I was damn close to it. I let my lungs take in some scents, my instincts going crazy from the lack of information, and I smelled the air clear of her for now. I whipped out my phone as I started the gas pump, hitting her face on the touch screen to call her. When I heard the call connect, I breathed a sigh of relief. "I love you, too," I said the most important thing first. "But you started bleeding right next to me in an enclosed space, and I lost it for a second. I was going to hunt, but I had a vision..." I broke off in a shudder at the memory.
"Whoa, slow down," Andie said with a chuckle. "I got what you meant earlier about the bleeding, it explains the mood, too. What I want to know is what compelled you to tear out of there like the Devil was riding your ass in front of every human passing?"
"The vision," I said flatly, not really wanting to elaborate on it.
"Which was...?" she pressed, and I rolled my eyes at her through the phone.
"Andie, can't we just suffice it to say it wasn't a pretty picture and I saved the day?" I asked desperately, and she sighed.
"Compromise," she said, stubborn as ever. "Tell me when you're ready. Don't keep it from me, though, please."
"Fine," I grumbled, thankful that she didn't keep at it. "And as for me staying the nights with you while you're... you know, I think that I should get a room or something for week."
"Alice!" I winced at her tone, not liking the idea of being away from her any more than she did, but what choice did I have? I didn't know if I could refrain from killing her with that deliciously warm, sweet scent... I shook myself out of it to listen to what Andie was saying. "...and not to mention, you're really good about me, you know it. You come out of it. Alice, I don't want to be without you, please don't stay somewhere else!"
"Andie, damn it, you know it's not safe–"
"Alice..." That tone. That voice. My name in that tone of her voice. I always broke under that one word when spoken to me that softly, that pleadingly, the way she sometimes said it when I made love to her. The tone that gives me chills, and she knows it.
"Okay," I said in barely more than a whisper. "But if I can't–"
"Then leave. I won't ask you questions, I'll know why. But you come back to me as soon as it's finished, promise me."
"I promise," I answered her truthfully. I'd always come back to her.
"I'm sorry I'm doing this to you," she said softly, and I looked up to see her crossing the parking lot to me, hanging up her phone. She stopped before she got into the car to touch my face, and I leaned into her palm, my eyes closing at the sensation.
Of course she apologizes for my weakness and my inability to keep myself under control. "I'm the one who should apologize, Andie," I said quietly, taking her hand and brushing my lips across it.
"Alice, you can't help what you are," she replied gently, making me look her in the eyes. "I certainly don't hold your nature against you. I love you, vampire and all, silly girl." She leaned towards me cautiously, asking permission to kiss me, and I chuckled, going the rest of the way to her lips, kissing her softly. She should never have to ask permission to kiss me, I scolded myself as I moved my lips against hers. You almost lost her today, don't forget that, Alice, I went on in my head as I pulled back from her.
She gave me that smile, and got back in the car as I finished pumping gas. When I reached to start the car, Andie reached over and put a hand on my arm. "Thank you," she said. "For saving the day," she added when I gave a blank look, and I looked away from her so she wouldn't see the flash of pain in my eyes at the memory of what might have been. "I owe you one for that."
"You paid me back by being born twenty years, seven months, and five days ago. You're paid in full," I told her as we got back on the road.
"What if... what if I told you I've been thinking about making it up to you... for eternity?"
My belly did a flip flop at the words, and I glanced over at her, only to see she was watching for my reaction. "Andie," I began, and she held up a hand.
"You don't want me to do it if I don't want to, yadda yadda yadda. Alice, I don't want immortality per se, I want you forever. And I really do."
Sparkling in the waves so far I could barely see her in the sun's glare from her skin, I laughed at her antics, the way she frolicked like a child, and bade her return to me. She swam closer, and I couldn't help but meet her half way, entangling ourselves beneath the water, but no need to worry, we don't need to breathe...
Oh. She was serious. She'd decided to change.
A/N: So here we are at the decision point for Andie's fate. I can't believe she actually gave in. But it's not smooth sailing quite yet... the ride is just beginning. Reviews are appreciated... any thoughts, suggestions? Share them, I'm open-minded.
A.S.R.
