A/N: Once again, thanks for the reviews. Please keep them coming! I know a lot of you have been waiting for this moment - I hope I've done it justice, and that you're all happy with it.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

(Previously):

Nine minutes had gone by. I was counting in my head, listening to Alice, and focusing on Bella. This had to be the longest nine minutes any one had ever endured.

"Edward, do you want us to leave? If you want to be alone with her when she wakes up, we will understand," Esme said.

I thought for a second. "I don't mind if you stay, we've all gone through this together. However, if you don't want to stay, you don't have to."

No one left, but they all backed up a little, giving me more space. Alice crept behind everyone else, mostly hiding herself. She wanted to stay, but was afraid of upsetting Bella.

Eleven minutes. I was watching her face closely for any movement, when I saw it happen. Those beautiful eyelids started fluttering softly; I held my breath.

Chapter 10: Awakening

EPOV

"Bella, can you hear me? Bella, love, open your eyes, I'm right here," I spoke softly, from where I was sitting next to her pillow.

She took an incredibly deep breath, like she was getting ready to stretch the way she used to when she would wake up from her night's sleep. Her forehead crinkled a bit, as if she were thinking about something. I was becoming more and more impatient.

Suddenly she sat straight up in the bed, looking around wildly. Everyone in the room gasped, their thoughts full of shock and confusion at her appearance. I couldn't see her face - I didn't understand what was going on.

"WHERE IS SHE?" Bella roared, her fists gripping the twisted sheets.

"Bella, Bella calm down! Who? Who are you looking for?" I asked frantically.

Her head shot around, and as she met my gaze evenly, I almost fell over in shock. Her eyes were not the vibrant crimson we were expecting - instead they were the most piercing, sharpest shade of gold, just like the rest of ours were when our thirst was completely satisfied. I couldn't understand this; all newborns have bright red eyes. The only way to turn them gold was to abstain from human blood, as we do, and feed from animals. I was speechless. The rest of my family felt much the same, and just continued to stare, trying to take in the scene before them.

"VICTORIA...WHERE IS SHE?!" Bella screamed again, fury ringing in her voice. She began to move, like she was going to get out of bed. I had to get her to calm down.

Grasping her arms gently, I looked directly into her eyes. "Bella, please, calm down. You've been unconscious for four days. We will discuss Victoria in a while. Right now, we all just need to make sure you are all right, love," I murmured, glancing pointedly over my shoulder at the rest of my family. Her eyes followed my gaze, as she seemed to notice their presence for the first time. The sound of my voice calmed her slightly. Her muscles relaxed a little, so I let her go. She was still for a moment, then before any of us could react, she flew out of the bed and was down the stairs, and out the front door.

We all ran after her, but when we reached the front porch, we stopped. She had collapsed to the ground in the front yard, sobbing, only without actual tears. Sheer devastation washed over me as I watched my love fall apart. I motioned for everyone to stay back, and slowly approached her.

BPOV

I took a deep breath. I felt so rested, how long had I been asleep? As my mind began to focus, images, horrible images, started rushing through my head. Instantly, I knew the things I was remembering were real - it hadn't been a dream. Charlie. My sweet, loving father was gone forever. I remembered the entire thing - I would never forget the look on his face as he uttered, "Goodbye, Bella." Another image flew across my mind - being bitten. Twice. Edward had saved me, which meant...I must be a vampire, which in turn, meant one thing. I was now strong enough to kill Victoria. I had newborn strength. I wouldn't rest until I found her and made her pay for what she did. Fury tore through me in ways I didn't know possible.

I sat up abruptly, thrashing around in desperation. "WHERE IS SHE?!"

Edward seemed confused, and was asking me who I meant. I looked him directly in the eyes before screaming her name in answer. "VICTORIA - WHERE IS SHE?!"

Surely of all people he would understand my urgency. He seemed shocked, and as I looked at the rest of the Cullens, they all wore similar expressions. How could they not think I would want revenge? Didn't they understand what had happened? I had to get out of here. Edward seemed to be trying to calm me down. I tried to stop for a moment, not wanting to upset him, but it wasn't working - another surge of rage ripped through me. I had to find her. It was the only thing I could think about.

I jumped from the bed and ran down the stairs and out of the house with such speed it shocked me. When I reached the yard, I looked around frantically, and that's when it hit me - I had no idea how to find her. Was she even still alive, or had the Cullens already taken care of her? A restlessness deep inside of me told me otherwise, but I still had no idea what to do about it. How...pathetic. Here I was, a strong newborn vampire, and the only thing I desired was to avenge my father's death, and I didn't even know how. My father. Gone. My mother, who I would never get to say good-bye to - after all, I couldn't go visit her now that I wasn't human anymore - she'd know too easily that something was very was as if I had run into a brick wall, and the reality of it encompassed me as I collapsed to the ground. Despair crippled me. I cried desperately, but it was different - my whole body shook with tearless sobs. There were soft, slow footsteps approaching me, and I automatically tensed.

"Bella..." Edward softly spoke my name. He sounded scared. His hand touched me lightly as he reached for my shoulder. I felt ridiculous. He must think I'm some kind of deranged psychopath, running from them as I had, only to end up in a useless heap on the front lawn.

Regardless, I decided that it didn't matter - I needed him. As I turned abruptly and threw my arms around him, the tearless sobs still forced their way through. His tension eased slightly as I embraced him. I felt his breath in my hair, and for a second it felt like everything would be ok. For a second. Then I remembered Charlie, and I lost control again.

"Charlie..." I whimpered, clinging to his chest. Edward gathered me up in his arms, and carried me back into the house, whispering softly, "Ssshhh, Bella, it will be all right."

He took me into the living room and sat on the couch, holding me in his lap, rocking me back and forth. I sobbed for what seemed like forever. My fists clung onto the front of his shirt as I tried to erase the images flying through my mind. He pulled me closer, holding my head tightly, instinctively wanting to protect me. He ran his fingers through my hair, murmuring to me, trying to soothe me. After a while, I fought for composure, and managed to calm down some.

When I pulled back from him, I looked around and saw that the rest of the family had disappeared.

"Where d-did everyone g-go?" I asked through broken sobs.

He reached out, gently tracing his fingers along my cheekbone. "They are giving you some privacy. They know how hard this is for you," he answered quietly, his expression unfathomable.

I sat there, not knowing what to say. It was like I was being continually smacked in the face, so many different emotions were running through me. Anger, grief, fear, anxiety, horror... My mind was working much faster than I was used to. Finally, I focused on the one thing I wanted to know so badly.

"What happened to Victoria? Is she dead?" I asked desperately.

A pained look crossed Edward's face. "No, Bella. Emmett and Jasper couldn't catch her. They did catch Riley though - the one that bit you. He's been...taken care of." Fury flashed across Edward's face, sending chills down my spine.

"Did you...?" I whispered. He knew what I wanted to know.

Edward paused, not seeming to want to answer. He finally looked at me, nodded his head once, and said, "Yes."

I didn't question him further. I didn't need to know the details of what he'd done to Riley; his expression alone made it clear it was not something he wanted to discuss, and I respected that. At the mention of Jasper and Emmett, I realized they'd been absent earlier, and wondered why they weren't with the rest of the family. "Where are Jasper and Emmett? I didn't see them here," I asked.

Edward hesitated again. I felt as though he were editing his thoughts. "They went out for a bit. They'll be back soon. They've been just as worried about you as the rest of us."

Oh. They must be hunting. Edward was looking at me strangely again. I waited, trying to keep control of my emotions, but after a couple of minutes of him just staring at me, I couldn't help myself.

"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" I asked him.

EPOV

I flinched as she accused me of staring at her. I felt guilty, but this was all so hard to comprehend, and I didn't want to push her. Her expressions were very confusing. One moment she looked furious, the next moment it looked as though she'd had the wind knocked out of her.

"Bella," I began, "do you remember anything of the past four days? Were you in pain?" This is what I was most fearful of, but I had to know.

She looked at me hesitantly, then dropped her gaze to her lap, her words soft as she explained her experience. "I remember the fire burning through me. It started to lessen slightly - I believe I was almost dead, it felt like I was floating. Then you bit me. There was pain, but only for a second. Right after you bit me, a cooling sensation rushed through my body, putting the rest of the fire out. It was such a relief from all of the pain. I don't remember much after that, except that I felt mostly like I was swimming in a body of cool water. It was...comforting," she finished, her brow creasing.

Her explanation disturbed me, and I stared back at her, speechless. This was absurd - I'd never heard of such a thing. It was like her transformation had been a positive experience...impossible. Not that I didn't believe in the impossible anymore. No, that had changed the moment I saw her eyes. How was it possible for them to be gold? I looked over at my Bella again, fully taking in her new appearance. Aside from the eyes, she looked much the same as she used to, just as beautiful. Yes, her skin was paler, but she had been so light to begin with that it was not as noticeable as one might think. Her hair was shinier, more lustrous. Of course her teeth were perfectly straight and white. Her facial features were a bit more defined, maybe a bit sharper. From what I could see of her arms, they looked just as small and delicate, but there were clearly defined muscles in them now. She was just as perfect to me as she was before, only now she was mine for eternity.

"Edward, why do you keep looking at me like that?" Bella asked, self-conscious. I had been staring at her again and had been too quiet. It had obviously worried her.

"Everything is fine, Bella," I said, pulling her hand up to my lips, softly kissing it. "I'm just relieved to have you with me. Do you want to talk about what happened?" Unsure of where her mind was at this point, I thought it best to let her take the lead.

The vast display of emotions continued to cross her features. I wanted to just pull her into me and never let her go, but we had to start to deal with this. Her first question was not a surprise to me.

"Well, I do want to know what I can do to find Victoria." She looked into my eyes, and I felt her rage as she said, "Edward, I won't rest until I know that she ceases to exist."

"Bella, we will find her. Trust me. There is not a member of this family that doesn't want to take her life. Please don't worry. We'll come up with a plan, love."

She looked confused. "Isn't Carlisle or Esme upset by that idea?"

I understood. Bella knew how compassionate Carlisle and Esme were, and how against any form of violence they were. She was worried that they would think less of her for wanting revenge. It was difficult not to chuckle as I responded.

"Bella, Carlisle and Esme, along with every member of our family, have thought of countless ways they would like to see Victoria meet her end. I would know," I said, lightly tapping my forehead. "They really do think of you as one of their children. Humanity seems to be absent in this case."

Her forehead creased slightly as she processed this information, and I waited for her to continue.

"Well...I would like to know what story has been told to explain my disappearance and Charlie's death. Does my mom know yet? Is she ok? What about Jake and Billy? Billy and my dad were so close..." Bella trailed off. I could tell she wasn't done yet, so I waited. Finally, she whispered, "I also want to know what happened to my father's body." Her forehead crinkled with pain as she spoke, and the sobbing began again. I pulled her into me and held her until she quieted.

I took an unnecessary deep breath. Earlier, I had decided to try to wait a while before telling her about Renee and Phil. It would be too much. I felt awful keeping it from her, but I had to keep her sanity in mind. Starting with her first question, I fully explained what we had done to cover up the situation, and what we had done with Charlie's body. She leaned forward, clinging to me as I spoke. My heart broke repeatedly for her, but she insisted I continue, so I did. It seemed very important to her to know that Charlie had at least had a decent burial. I even explained that Carlisle had taken care to clean Charlie up, and changed him into his favorite flannel shirt and jeans before burying him.

"Bella, Carlisle wasn't sure what the right thing to do was, so if you disagree with what we've done, we can...move him," I said uncertainly.

Bella sat back, seemingly fighting with her emotions again. After taking a deep breath, she replied, "No, I like that he's close by. I can't deal with it yet, but I will eventually want to go see his grave." She took another breath, her body shaking. This was immensely difficult for her, and it was devastating that I couldn't ease her burden.

"Are you all right?" I asked her, unsure of whether to continue or not. She sighed heavily, and met my gaze.

"Yes, please continue," she answered solemnly.

I went on to explain my conversation with Jacob, and also how Jacob had been here to see her.

"He came here?" Bella asked uncertainly.

"Yes," I answered, trying to gauge her expression. She seemed confused, but moved on.

"What happened when he left? Am I never to see him again either, now that I'm a vampire?" Bella asked.

"He asked that I call when you wake up, to let him know you're all right, which I will do later. As far as never seeing him again, I don't know. I suppose that's mostly up to him...and you. He said that Billy is having a difficult time with this. He and your father were the best of friends, as you well know," I answered truthfully.

She sadly nodded her head, thinking. "And my mom? Has she heard?"

I sighed. Avoiding the topic was one thing, but lying about it would be deplorable, and I wanted her to know she could trust me, which left only one real option. I had to tell her. I truly wished I could read her mind right now more than ever before. It was horrible not being able to tell how fragile she was, if she could handle it. How was I supposed to do this? I couldn't bear to see how this would affect Bella, but I couldn't stand to keep it from her anymore - it wasn't fair to her.

"Bella, I have to tell you something," I said, pausing. "I wanted to make sure you were all right, but I'm not left with much of a choice here. I don't know how to say this, but I honor you far too much to keep it from you," I broke off.

"What is it?" Bella whispered. It was obvious something was wrong.

"Something has happened to your mother." I paused. She continued to study me, when suddenly she gasped and collapsed back onto the couch.

"Bella, are you all right? Bella?" I panicked, unsure of what to do.

She looked at me, her eyes filled with fear. "Please, no. Please, please, please, NO," she whispered. "She said she would go after my mom..." Bella broke off, as she looked to me to prove her fears wrong.

Taking a deep breath, I reached out to take her hand, looked her in the eyes, and spoke softly. "I'm sorry, love. We tried, but we were too late."

The confirmation hit her hard; her body slumped. She glanced back up at me, as if from a distant world. "My mother?"

I nodded slowly.

"Phil?"

I nodded again. "I'm so sorry, Bella," I murmured, despair for my love filling every square inch of me.

The look of sheer horror on her face could have stopped my heart if it were possible. Then she curled up in a ball, closed her eyes, and silently shook with tearless sobs. I tried to pull her closer, but she wouldn't move. Instead, I picked her up, carried her to my room, and tried to comfort her until she could work through this new grief. It was the only thing that I could do.

Esme joined me at one point, although I'm not sure Bella realized any of us were there with her.

When she finally began to move, it was just the two of us again. She slowly began to uncurl herself, and looked up at me with a deeply troubled expression. I spoke before she could.

"Believe me, I know Bella. All of us know. You don't need to waste one more second of your time worrying about Victoria - it will be taken care of. There will be retribution." I paused. "Are you going to be all right, love? What can I do?" I was desperate to ease her pain.

"Eventually I'll be ok. It's just so strange - I feel so upset, and so much grief, but it feels like all of this happened years ago...it's hard to understand it. I knew that someday when I would join you in immortality, I would have to say good-bye to my parents, but at least they would have lived on. I'm horrified that my mom and Phil had to die the way they did, like Charlie, all because of me. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for that. They were good people, Edward. It's not right," she said quietly.

"I know Bella, but it's not your fault, and you need to realize that," I replied, trying to get through to her.

"Either way, I don't know that I'll ever be able to accept it..." she trailed off, pain overcoming her features again.

I reached out to pull her to me, to hold her, to comfort her.

Eventually, at one point, she pulled slightly away. She glanced at me, then began studying the floor before she spoke.

"Edward?" Bella began. "Why did you do it? Why did you save me? I thought you were still struggling with me becoming like you."

I hadn't been expecting this question. There had been no question in my mind that I would act to keep her when faced with her impending death, so it seemed simple to me. Obviously it wasn't as clear to her. Did she wish that I hadn't saved her? Did she wish that I had let her die? Despair washed over me.

"Bella, I'm so sorry. I acted very selfishly - I thought I was going to be too late. By the time I reached you, you were almost gone. The entire time I was driving to your house, I knew that if anything could be done to save you, I would do it without doubt or question. I couldn't bear the thought of losing you, not after having lost you once before. I thought this is was what you would want. It wasn't the way I wanted it to happen, but when faced with the alternative, I had to do it. I'm sorry if I was mistaken. Will you ever forgive me?" I was afraid to look her in the eyes.

Silence. This was worse than hell. My eyes darted to hers, and she was staring at me with the oddest expression on her face; was it disbelief?

"Edward, do you think I'm upset with you for saving my life?" she asked incredulously.

"Well...yes," I answered truthfully. "Aren't you?"

"Of course I'm not upset. I would do anything to always be with you. You were right, it is what I wanted. I agree, the circumstances were...undesirable," her face contorted with pain again, "but I have always wanted to be able to be with you for eternity, and now I will be. Thank you for saving me."