A/N: You know the drill… anything you recognize from the original book is not mine

A/N: You know the drill… anything you recognize from the original book is not mine. It belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Anyway, please read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter 9

Elizabeth's POV

Several weeks went by without a hitch. Carver assimilated himself into our little community, and he shared a cave with Aaron and Brandt. I spent as much time as possible with him, hoping to get Jeremy to rouse himself, wherever he was, and also getting to know Carver.

He and I actually became quite good friends, despite the circumstances. It still hurt… seeing him in Jeremy's body, but he was still a good person. He was an amazing listener, and though I knew he struggled with getting used to human emotions, he did his best to understand mine, no matter what they may be. At times, seeing Jeremy's body was just too much, and I would randomly burst out into tears. After the first couple times this happened, he realized why I was crying, and he would leave, sending Ian, Kyle, Melanie, or Wanda after me.

Our relationship was complicated, mostly on my end. I knew that Carver loved me, but that he felt guilty for replacing Jeremy. Despite my reservations, Carver was now one of my most trusted friends. At times, I felt guilty for that, almost as if I was obligated to hate the soul that had taken Jeremy's body. However, I couldn't bring myself to believe that Jeremy would be so spiteful. Besides, any anger I ever managed to muster up against Carver disappeared almost as soon as the next time he spoke to me. He was such a kind and gentle being, as all souls are, but something made him different, something made him like Wanda, like Sunny.

He loved humans.

He truly realized how horrible it was for us to lose ourselves, our family, and our friends to the souls, and he regretted the way of life his species required.

So as the weeks wore on, Carver and I became better friends.

As the weeks wore on, I also began to worry about Jeremy.

One particular morning, I woke up later than usual, having had trouble falling asleep the night before. I was woken by the sound of the door to the cave sliding open. "Good morning, Elizabeth," a voice murmured, sitting down on the mattress next to me.

Jeremy's voice. Carver.

Sometimes, it was still hard to tell my friend Carver from my partner Jeremy. When Carver spoke, I heard Jeremy's voice, but I knew the words were Carver's. Whenever I looked at his face, I saw Jeremy's face, but I knew the expressions on it were Carver's. It confused me to no end.

"What time is it?" I asked, sitting up in bed and yawning and stretching.

"About an hour past the time you usually wake up," he replied, and for the first time, I noticed that he was holding a bowl of cereal that Wanda had picked up on a recent raid. "I brought you breakfast."

"Thanks, Carver," I said brightly, taking the bowl from him and eagerly spooning the cereal into my mouth. He watched me intently, a smile playing on his lips, and his amusement at my enthusiasm was obvious. "What have I missed?"

"Nothing, really," he replied with a shrug. "Ian and Kyle just demanded me to tell them where you were as soon as I entered the kitchen. I looked for you just about everywhere before I came here, because I didn't think you could still be asleep."

"Ugh," I groaned, quickly polishing off what was left in the bowl. "I had trouble falling asleep last night."

"Really?" he asked, concern etched across his handsome face. Jeremy's face. No, Carver's face. No, Jeremy's!

I sighed. It was getting far too complicated for my mind to handle less than an hour after I woke up.

"Why?" he pressed, noticing the pained expression on my face.

"Do you want a lie or the truth?" I asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

"The truth," he answered without hesitation, his green eyes boring into my blue ones.

"I'm getting really worried about Jeremy," I replied softly, refusing him to look him in the eye now. "I mean… shouldn't your spending all this time with me wake him up, or whatever?"

"I don't know, Elizabeth," Carver responded softly. "I've never been in this position before, so I'm probably not the best person to ask."

Upon hearing his words, an idea occurred to me, one so blatantly obvious that I wondered how I hadn't stumbled upon the idea before. "That gives me an idea," I murmured, standing and brushing myself off. "Sorry to bail on you, Carver, but I've got to go."

"That's okay," he called to me as I stepped into the hallway. "I'll see you later in the fields."

RRRRRRRR

I found Wanda in the kitchen, trying to lift a huge bin of dishes. Rolling my eyes at her stubbornness, I quickly approached her, taking the bin from her, and saying, "Let me get that for you, Wanderer."

"Oh, you don't have to, Elizabeth," she protested as I began to walk toward the stream.

"But I want to," I replied. Lowering my voice, I added, "Wanda, I also need to talk to you. We might as well get some work done while we do."

"Okay," she said agreeably, apparently accepting my explanation. When we finally reached the stream, she squatted down by it and began to wash dishes, and I followed suit. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Wanda, when you and Mel were sharing her body, were there ever times when she… disappeared for a while?" I asked, hoping that I wasn't prying. She winced slightly, as if remembering something painful. "I'm sorry if I'm asking something that I shouldn't be. I probably wouldn't have asked you, if it weren't for… Jeremy."

"No, no, it's fine, Elizabeth," she reassured me. "Yes, there were. Why do you ask?"

"I'm starting to get worried," I admitted softly. Other than Carver, I hadn't been able to bring myself to admit that to anyone else. Everyone else seemed so convinced that the situation was hopeless for Jeremy, and as his partner, I felt compelled to look on the bright side of things. "It's been nearly two months now; shouldn't Carver's spending all this time with me make Jeremy alert?"

"I don't know," Wanda replied. "Every person is different." Changing the subject, she said, "You and Carver have been spending a lot of time together."

Smiling slightly, I replied, "Yeah, we have. At first, I was only doing it in the hopes of bringing Jeremy back. But now… Carver's my friend. It's so confusing though, him having Jeremy's body."

"I know what you mean," she said slowly, nodding her head. I sighed, happy that I had made the decision to speak to Wanda. She was so understanding, so helpful. Of course, I had Ian and Kyle, too, but neither of them had been in this situation before. There was always Jared, but he didn't strike me as the kind of person who would be willing to have a heart-to-heart conversation with me.

That was one situation I'd like to avoid.

"I better go," I said, after helping Wanda through half of the bin of dishes. "I'm supposed to be working in the fields."

Just as I was standing, Wanda suddenly turned to face me, an excited expression plastered over her beautiful face. "Wait!" she said. "I just remembered something."

"Yes?" I said eagerly, squatting down next to her again. "What is it?"

"The one time Melanie disappeared for an alarming amount of time, I got your brother to kiss me," she said, sounding happy.

Wrinkling my nose, I said, "Ew. Too much information. But… what does that have to do with anything?"

"I noticed that Melanie had more strength whenever she was overwhelmed," she explained. "And she hated it when Ian kissed me, because she was in love with Jared. When that didn't work, Ian went and got Jared, and when Jared kissed me, Melanie came back."

"That's a great idea, Wanda!" I told her brightly. "Thanks for all your help."

"No problem, Elizabeth," she told me, smiling. "I hope it all works out for the best."

RRRRRRR

By the time I finally got Carver alone that day, it was no longer day. It was nighttime, and I caught him on his way back from the kitchen. "Hey, Carver, can I talk to you?" I said, casting my eyes about the hallways nervously.

"Sure," he said, his eyes brightening at my proposition.

Surprisingly, I actually felt guilty, knowing how much he loved me, and that I could never love him back. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was a soul; it was the fact that I was already in love with Jeremy, and that he was in Jeremy's body.

Quickly and stealthily, I pulled him into the game room and said, "Carver, I have a favor I need to ask of you."

"Sure, Elizabeth," he said readily. "Anything for you."

Holding up my hand, I said, "Don't agree to it until you at least hear what I'm asking of you."

"Sure," he said, looking slightly amused, "but I'm still going to say 'yes.'"

I rolled my eyes, but said, "I talked to Wanda about you and Jeremy's situation." Even in the darkness, I could see him nod his head. "She said there was one time while she and Mel were sharing a body that Melanie disappeared for a long time. That was when she kissed my brother, to try to overwhelm Mel, which usually gave her strength."

"So you want me to kiss someone? Like Julia?" he asked, his brows knitting together in confusion.

"No," I said patiently, realizing that if this was harder for someone besides me, it was harder for him. "It didn't work for Wanda. What worked was when she kissed Jared."

"Jared… whom Melanie was in love with," Carver said slowly, and I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Jeremy's head. His head. Oh, screw it. "You want me to kiss you, because you think that will wake Jeremy up."

I nodded my head slowly. When Wanda first told me, I had thought it was an absolutely brilliant idea. But now that I had had the whole day to mull it over, I realized how horribly unfair it was to Carver. I wouldn't have felt all that guilty if he hadn't been in love with me. I mean, I'd be kissing him so I could wake up the man I truly loved! How unfair was that to Carver? "Listen," I said softly, "you don't have to do this if you don't want to. I realize how horribly unfair it is to you, and I won't be angry at you or hold this against you or anything if you refuse."

"No, of course I'll do it, Elizabeth," he replied quickly. "The only thing is… I'm not sure I know how to do this."

"What is there to it?" I asked, looking at him curiously. "We kiss for a while, perhaps make out, and then see what happens."

I could see him lower his head as he concentrating, probably searching through Jeremy's memories for help with understanding kissing and making out. "I don't even know what making out is," he said, sounding uncharacteristically frustrated. Somehow, that gave me some sort of twisted pleasure. He was becoming more and more human everyday. And if Jeremy did come back, though I'd be happy beyond words to have Jeremy, my Jeremy back, I'd be sad to see Carver go.

"Search through Jeremy's memories," I told him, confused as to why he hadn't already done this. "He knows what it is."

"I know the memories are there," Carver said, "but I can't get to them. It's almost like… Jeremy's keeping me away from them."

I brightened upon hearing this, saying, "That means he's still there."

"Yes, I'm sure he is," he told me, "but he's weak. He needs further encouragement if he's going to be strong enough. So we should do this now. It's just… I don't know what to do, Elizabeth. Jeremy may have kissed you before, but I've never kissed anyone before. I don't know what to do."

"It's okay, Carver," I told him gently, reaching out and managing to grasp his shoulder with my hand with a minimal amount of fumbling. "Kissing and making out… it's kind of an instinct thing, you know? You'll be fine. Just… just go with whatever your instinct tells you."

"All right," he murmured, still sounding unsure. "Um… you start."

Chuckling, I leaned in toward him, tilting my head slightly to the side. Our breaths mingled for a few moments before I finally closed the remaining distance between our mouths, pressing my lips to his.

Carver seemed to freeze, his lips immobile under mine. I wrapped my arms around my neck and opened my mouth to him, hoping that would reawaken his instincts.

It did.

With a strangled growl of frustration in the back of his throat, he looped his arms possessively around my waist, crushing my body against his. His mouth opened as well, his lips moving against mine in the same rhythm. I kept darting my tongue in and out of his mouth, but he kept his well away from mine, almost as if he was unsure of what he should do.

Which was why I was surprised when, a few moments later, his tongue rushed to meet mine.

Carver pulled away from me hastily, breathless and looking shocked. "That wasn't me, I swear," he panted.

"What do you mean?" I asked sharply, sounding just as breathless as he was.

"I wasn't in control of my tongue for that moment," he replied. "That was him."

A conflicted look came upon his face, almost as if he was having an internal debate. "What is it?" I said, scrutinizing him intensely.

"He's yelling at me," he said, wincing. "He's so angry."

"He can see what you see, right? Hear what you hear?" I said, and Carver nodded. I pulled him out of the game room and into the hallway, where the lightning was slightly better. I seized his face with my hands, and said, "Jeremy? I know you're in there. Stop yelling at Carver for a minute, okay?"

Carver seemed to be listening to him for a moment, then, with a pained expression on his face, he said, "He says he loves you."

Smiling, I said, "I love you, too, Jer. We're going to help you, okay?"

"He says… he wants to know why you didn't come after him," Carver said, biting his lip nervously as he looked down at me.

I fought to keep the hurt expression off of my face, but nevertheless, I said, "By the time I realized what was happening and reached the house, the Seekers already had you. I wanted to go in and rescue you, but I knew it would be a suicide mission and Ian wouldn't let me. Please understand, Jeremy. It broke my heart."

Carver screwed up his eyes, before saying, "He says he understands. Now he wants to know why you were kissing me."

Chuckling slightly, I said, "It's kind of a long story, but, to put it briefly, I was trying to give you strength."

"He says it worked. He was angry at me," Carver said. "He's yelling at me again."

"Hey, stop that," I instructed, looking into Carver's/Jeremy's eyes sternly. "I know it's going to be hard for you to accept at first, but Carver's a friend. Like Wanda is, okay? Chill out. He's been helping me try to wake you up for the past two months. Be nice, okay?"

I watched as a faint grin grew on Carver's lips. "He's apologizing for yelling at me and being a… I don't want to say it."

"A son of a bitch?" I supplied, and Carver nodded. "What are you saying to him?"

"I'm telling him that it's going to be okay," he replied, "that I'm going to get myself out of here so that he can have his body back." He looked me sadly and said, "When they do take me out, can you please just make sure I'm not a Bear again? I really hated that."

I nodded and grinned, but then my grin faded as I realized what was going on. I was going to have to choose between one of my best friends and my partner. Of course, I couldn't let Jeremy be trapped forever, and I wanted him back more than anything else in the world. But that didn't mean that I wanted Carver to leave forever. Even if Carver ever returned to Earth, by the time he did, I'd be long dead. "Carver, are you sure?" I asked softly. "Don't get me wrong, I want Jeremy back more than anything else. But I don't want you to leave."

"There's no other way, Elizabeth," he said softly. "Can't you see? You can't have both me and Jeremy, and I know what your choice has to be. It's Jeremy, I've always known that. You've always loved him, and I never stood a chance. It's okay; I don't belong here. Even if you picked me, in some alternate universe or something, I couldn't let myself keep him trapped in here. He and I may not be the best of friends, but I won't let myself live as a parasite anymore. Not with humans, anyway."

I hung my head, knowing that there was no way to convince him. Then I noticed that he was laughing. "What?" I said.

"Jeremy's telling me that he and I could be best friends," he chuckled. "He says that he's taken a liking to me now, and that, though he really wants his body back, he's going to be sorry to see me go."

"Sounds like Jeremy," I said, feeling blissfully happy. Then I sighed. "I'm going to miss you, Carver."

"I'll miss you, too, Elizabeth," he murmured softly. "I don't think I'll ever love anyone like I love you."

"Carver, I'm pretty sure that's just the body," I told him, chuckling softly. "You'll get other chances to fall in love, just watch." He smiled and shook his head, but said nothing. "When do you want to do it?"

He thought about it for a moment, and I could practically see the resolve strengthening on his face as I watched. "Come on," he said, taking my hand and tugging me down the hall toward the hospital wing, "let's do this right now."