This was harder to write…I hope everything makes sense and falls into place as it's supposed to. If it doesn't let me know! I love reviews!
Edward's POV:
After nearly four days of careful monitoring and questions, Carlisle came to the conclusion that the only damage Bella had sustained was the memory loss. He'd quizzed her on the basics – colors and numbers and things like that – and the only things she had trouble with were the two years since she'd come to Forks. She'd completely erased them from her mind. And something else, too. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but she wasn't…Bella. She had changed. Insisting on being called Isabella, a different favorite color…subtle things, but they were there.
On the second day she'd insisted on knowing the date; after a hurried consultation with Charlie, and one by phone with Renee, we agreed to tell her she was just in Washington for a quick visit with Charlie. The two years she couldn't remember had been spent in Jacksonville, Florida, where Renee and Phil now lived. To our relief she had accepted the explanation.
Renee, who had arrived yesterday, was now sitting with a sleeping Bella.
Back at our house, I called a Cullen family meeting.
Within five minutes everyone was gathered in the living room. I braced myself for what I was about to say; it wouldn't be easy. Already the ripping pain was tearing at my heart as I thought of eternity without Bella.
Carlisle knew. I could see it in his face as he sat next to Esme on the couch. I avoided his eyes as I addressed my family.
"You've all spoken to Bella at one point or another, since she's awakened. And she hasn't remembered any of you, has she?"
Heads shook all around the room. "She doesn't even seem the same," Jasper murmured.
I turned to Carlisle. "What's your take on it, Carlisle?"
He took his time answering. "If we expect her to recover, it's important not to push her to remember. Keep her calm, and the memories have a chance of eventually pushing through to the surface."
"But it's not likely, is it?" I asked, pulling the answer from his thoughts before he spoke it.
"No. I'm afraid not, Edward."
He started talking about starting over. We could rebuild our relationship with Bella, from scratch. That in a way it was a good thing, because all the bad memories would be behind us. I could hear him thinking about James, and our six-month separation, and Jacob, and Victoria.
I interrupted him. "No."
"What?"
"There isn't going to be a second time." The grief in my voice, as much as I tried to hide it, bled through.
"Edward…"
I met his gaze. "She doesn't remember, Carlisle. This is it. Her chance for a normal life. Don't you see, it's what's best for her. She can have what I couldn't give her – safety."
"Edward, we've tried this before…"
"It's different now," I said dully. "You've seen her. You've talked to her. I've read yours and Charlie's thoughts. I've heard the conversations. That is not my Bella lying in there, Carlisle. That is a stranger. Let her go back to Jacksonville, with Renee. Let her forget Forks ever existed."
I turned to Alice. "That's the reason you can't see her anymore. Bella Swan died in that accident. Whoever is in that hospital is not the girl I love – the girl we love."
"She is your fiancée, Edward. A daughter and sister to the rest of us. To leave her again would rip this family apart," Carlisle spoke up.
"Could you do it, Carlisle, if it meant saving her life? If it meant saving her soul?"
His ocher eyes, normally so serene and assured, were torn. "Give it a few more days, Edward. Please. We'll decide then."
I gave him a short nod, but I had already decided.
I reached into my pocket, touching the ring I had slipped from her finger as she slept. She hadn't had the chance to notice it before – she'd been too confused and disoriented. I had had no choice but to take it off.
It would kill me to leave her again. Could I spend eternity without her by my side?
But she would be safe. And that would have to be enough.
I resisted the urge to crush the ring into dust…crush it, like all my hopes and dreams of an eternity with the woman I loved had been crushed.
Bella's POV:
"Mom, I'm ready to go home. I mean, seriously, the sun never shines here."
I tried to keep the whine out of my voice, but I guess I wasn't entirely successful. I was too tired of the rain to care.
"Dr. Cullen says another week, Isabella. You've been through a lot in the past two months, baby."
Someone knocked on the door, and Mom called, "Come in."
One of Dr. Cullen's adopted kids – the little short pixie-haired one – danced into the room. "Hey, Isabella!" she chirped. "I thought you might like me to give you a makeover. Renee said you were pretty bored."
"Sure, I guess," I said reluctantly. Alice's constant chatter was annoying, and it was really starting to get on my nerves. She didn't seem to notice my lack of enthusiasm, though, as she produced a makeup kit from her massive silver purse. Renee ducked back outside – to talk to Charlie, I guess – and Alice went to work on my face.
"So, Isabella, are you anxious to get back to Jacksonville?" There was a hint of sadness in her voice, but I barely noticed.
"You bet," I said without hesitation, already feeling the sun on my face.
Jacob's POV:
"Look, I think maybe I can help her," I pleaded. I hated begging a bloodsucker for anything. But for Bella, I would.
Carlisle ran a hand through his blond hair and sighed. "You know what we agreed on, Jacob. It's safer for her."
"But we have a connection! For God's sake, I grew up with her. Don't you think that might trigger something? Don't you want Bella back?"
"Of course I do!" the mild-mannered doctor snapped, and for a moment I was stunned speechless.
"I'm sorry," he apologized instantly. "We're all a little on edge, Jacob. I should not have spoken to you like that."
"It's cool, Doc," I said. "So you really don't want her to remember?"
He looked torn. "For my own selfish reasons, yes, I want her to remember. I want desperately for her to remember. But on the other hand," his amber gaze bore into mine, "would you wish a life like ours on Bella? It was different before. She chose us, and we were the safest option. But now…she has a chance to start over. Without the bad memories," and I knew he was thinking of James and Victoria, and all that had happened to Bella since she came to Forks.
And I wasn't the safe route anymore; all I had to do was look at Emily's face to know that.
I sighed heavily. "I understand," I said, my voice heavy with defeat. "I'm sorry, Carlisle, I know this isn't easy for you either."
I walked down the squeaky clean hospital corridor for the last time. I passed Bella's room with one long, goodbye look.
Goodbye, Bella. Have a good life.
I phased as soon as I was out of sight, not caring where I was going or when I would stop.
I just had to get away.