A.N: I AM SORRY!

I really am. I didn't mean it. I'm back now. I'll update today, Friday, and Sunday… then I think that's the end.

Do enjoy : )

Chapter 9 – Shaken From Slumber

Years after the event, I still remembered the image of Bella with perfect clarity.

She was blood stained, her hair sopping wet – with blood, it turned out. Her robes were ripped, exposing her underwear slightly and her face was flush with concern and exertion. She was bent over me, her wide chocolate brown eyes raking over my face with intensity, trying to determine whether or not I was okay.

"Ugh," I groaned.

I focused on her again. The image of her was… well, it was sexy.

"You look sexy," I said, my voice sounded slurred.

"You've got concussion," Bella replied, smirking at my words.

"You still look sexy," I said, completely unabashed.

I heard Emmett laugh.

"Looks like he really does like ya," he laughed.

"Shut up," Bella said angrily, before turning her attention back to me. "Okay, so we think you have concussion. I need to see whether or not it's anything really serious. So that means I have to…"

"Kiss me," I smiled.

"Told ya!" Emmett's raucous laughter echoed around the room.

"No, you idiot," I heard Bella say. "If I kiss him, I can see if there's anything wrong with his mind at the moment. Kissing anyone enables me to see their thoughts and past feelings. It's unlimited access to their minds."

"Oh," Emmett said.

A second later, Bella's pink plump lips were advancing on my own. I closed my eyes eagerly, enjoyed the sensation. As we kissed, one thousand different memories flashed before my eyes, and I tried to ignore them. Instead, I just thought of Bella's lips on my own.

"He's fine," Bella said, finally pulling away.

"And it takes two minutes to do this mind scan?" Emmett sounded deeply skeptical.

"He doesn't need to know how long it took," Bella said quietly, as if I couldn't hear her.

Emmett chuckled.

"I like you," he said. "Most people think that Sirens are scary. You're just friendly."

"Are you sure?" I felt the air around me become cold, and I knew that Bella's eyes would be red if I could be bothered to open my own to look at her.

"That's mean," Emmett commented.

I could hear the smile in Bella's voice.

"I know."

Their voices began to fade, and soon I found myself unconscious again.

XxXxXxXxX

"I got your cutlass," was the first thing that I heard after regaining consciousness.

"What?" I asked blearily, rubbing my eyes with one hand and trying to sit up.

"Down boy," Bella said, pushing my shoulders back. I relaxed against the pillow. "I said I got your cutlass. From the Nomad. Emmett forgot to pick it up, the idiot," she snorted. "So I had to go back."

"Interesting," I replied. "Remind me what happened?"

So, Bella told me. She recounted the battle, explained how she pulled Aro off of my limp body and finished him off herself, before explaining how she'd checked for concussion and found nothing too serious. Then, she explained that we were back on Twilight and everything seemed back to normality. As if I'd never been taken hostage by the Nomads.

Over the next few days, I found myself up and about as usual. Life returned to normal, but Captain Carlisle was incredibly wary of Bella. I knew it wouldn't be long before he said something, or banned her from the ship.

But as the days passed, we passed more and more enemy ships.

Bella seemed to prove herself to Carlisle, with her strong fighting and her ability to make the enemies jump overboard with a single singing note.

And then, one day, Bella approached me.

"Good morning sailor," she said with a smile. But the expression was wrong; it wasn't the enchantingly, mysterious smile that she normally bore. It was nervous; she was nervous.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I need to speak with you," Bella replied tightly.

"Fire away," I replied.

"Well," Bella began…

"ALL HANDS ON DECK!" I heard Carlisle yell frantically.

XxXxXxXxX

A.N: I know, all drama : ) I quite like it, but sorry if you guys don't.