Hey guys! Sorry for the wait. I know I don't normally put author's notes at the beginning of chapters, but here's why I have: So I was told that the story's been moving a little slowly by people who know the whole outline, so I decided to cut straight to the chase with this chapter. It might seem like it takes a jump into things, but it's the only way I can get on with it. Meanwhile...

JPOV

"She's dying anyway!" Alice argued, "It's inevitable, Edward. Don't you think-"

"She is not dying!" Edward snarled. Every muscle in his body tensed, ready to jump on the next person who disagreed. His voice was lethal. He was a trigger just waiting to be pulled back enough to kill.

I stayed out of it. I shouldn't have, but I did. I knew what would happen, and although I had as much a right as anyone to voice my opinion, I didn't. This was dangerous territory, and I still didn't know quite where I stood. Just one step and I could hit a bomb.

This was an all-out battlefield now.

"Yes, she is! Are you blind?" Alice accused, but before Edward could bite back, she added "I know she's your daughter, Edward, and don't even think for a minute that I don't know where you're coming from, but this is-"

"It was the same for us, Alice!" Edward said. Their voices rose with every word.

"Not really, no." Jasper disagreed quietly. "How long has this been going on for- two weeks, at least? It was over fairly quickly for us."

I could see the way Edward glared at him, like he honestly wouldn't mind if Jasper stuck his hands in a fire and kept them there until they were black and disgusting, or preferably gone, so that he would never function properly again- or at least so that Alice would refrain from touching him. Maybe that was just me.

I saw a tiny glint of humour in Edward's eyes for one second before it disappeared completely. At least my thought wasn't wasted.

"So it's just taking a bit longer..." Bella chimed in. She didn't have an argument planned, and that had good chances of working against her. I could see the frustration cooking in her eyes that this was a debate in the first place. If I could feel something besides my head pounding, I would probably have agreed.

When Alice stared at her in disbelief, Bella continued.

"We can't just give up on her, Alice!"

"There's a difference between giving up and agreeing. In case you haven't noticed, your daughter has been begging you to end her life."

"It doesn't have to end!"

Alice sighed heavily. Her eyes narrowed impossibly, but I could see a hint of sympathy in them, which obviously Bella hadn't, by the way she stared maliciously back.

"She was never truly immortal, Bella. Not like us. It's really easy to kill her: lack of air, heart attack- anything. She was bound to die sooner or late-"

It all happened in a blur then. I couldn't see everything until the whole room was rearranged. Jasper was gripping Bella's arms from behind her, apparently holding her back from Alice, who was being gripped by Edward. All four pairs of their eyes had gone feral.

"Calm... down!" Jasper forced out, struggling to hold Bella back. "Edward, control your woman!"

"Not until... you control yours!" Edward said as he held Alice back, who was clawing with all her might against his grip, her legs suspended off the ground and kicking aimlessly.

"Enough!" Carlisle's voice boomed from beside me. I almost jumped. Everyone stopped moving immediately. Having not said anything in this conversation and not (at least to my knowledge) ever actually looking pissed, the silence in the room fell right away.

"What is the matter with you all?" His black eyes glared incredulously at everyone in the room. There were small sounds of shuffling, everyone averting their gaze quickly, almost like kids being yelled at by a teacher. I found it hard to look away, surprised to see him snap- but at the same time, his eyes held such authority that I really didn't want to be in the room. Momentarily losing his fatherly fashion, he sounded like a cop interrogating a suspect.

Edward slowly let go of Alice, who snatched her arm away from him. Jasper, looking however cautious, did the same with Bella.

"Settle this like adults- not temperamental children."

Everyone stood quietly in an awkward air, each picking their argument carefully. Finally, after many seconds of what I'd grown to know was "strategic silence", Rosalie spoke.

"What I don't understand is how there's a disagreement about this."

Emmett beside her looked down and muttered something that sounded like "I don't understand why you're continuing it."

Rosalie's head snapped toward him, her eyes and voice sharp as a pitchfork. "Excuse me?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but his eyes looked regretful. He stuttered, "Well, I mean... Not for anything, but-"

"Speak." She growled.

I could see it then- he couldn't get himself out of this one. He wasn't a quick thinker. She was going to put him in the dog house, and he could see that. As much as Emmett annoyed me at times, I didn't want him to be put on trial for having his own opinion about the situation. Hell, I agreed with him. What was the point of arguing about this?

I sighed. It would be better for her to hate me than hate him.

"Who are we to decide whether she lives or not?" I finished for him. He stole a thankful glance at me while Rosalie turned her head slowly in my direction, a look of contempt already in place.

She answered my question with another, although it was rhetorical.

"Who else will?" she sneered, "Obviously not you, considering you haven't said a word about it."

My defences rose. I felt suddenly angry. Who the hell did she think she was?

"Have you ever considered that maybe I think about what I say before I open my damn mouth?" I growled.

"No, I haven't." She hissed, "But please do elaborate- I'm very interested in what you have to say about this matter."

The trembles started. They were light, but still there. How badly I wanted to punch her pretty little face, no one could have ever guessed, but I couldn't do it. She wanted to get me worked up.

Edward left the room then, heading down the small hall with a walk of purpose, but I couldn't bring myself to care in that moment. With my teeth clenched so tightly together that it was hard to speak, I asked with as much hatred as I could muster, "Are you asking me to pick a side?"

She batted her eyelashes, feigning sweetness.

"Yes, I am." She said, her voice sugar coated to the point where I felt like throwing salt into her eyes. I could see a look in them that said either way I was defeated. If I joined her side, then she had the satisfaction of knowing she had the control. If I joined the other side, then she would only argue more.

The room had gone silent. Everyone's gazes looked almost apprehensive- well, except for Rose. They waited expectantly. Whether it was for an answer or for her attack, I didn't know. But I could see it in all of them- they just wanted another vote for their team.

"And who's that going to help?" I replied. She was about to answer when I cut her off. "No, alright? Obviously I don't want her to die. But unless you've got some life-saving remedy we don't, there's nothing we can do, is there?"

She stayed quiet for a moment, her glare cutting into mine like a laser. I could feel the stares of all of them on us, waiting to see what would happen next. I didn't blink and neither did she.

To my surprise, her eyes softened. "No, but-"

"But what?" I interrupted, feeling only a slight guilt in doing so, "You don't think I'm looking for the same thing? You don't think we would all do something if we-"

I choked on my words then, clutching at my chest. Something happened. My heart pounded frantically, but the beating was out of place, like it was in the wrong part of me. My ribcage felt like it was constricting. It was hard to breathe. What was happening to me?

Despite the fact that it felt like I was in the middle of a heart attack (or had an elephant sitting on me), the pain seemed disconnected. It was almost like it wasn't happening to me, but I was a voodoo doll taking someone else's pain.

'Wait,' I thought, 'someone else's pain...'

Rosalie, along with the rest of the people in the room, stared at me curiously. She looked as though for once in her life, she was considering helping me, and then thought better of it. But I couldn't bring myself to care about her at that moment.

"No..." I muttered as I realized what was happening. I grabbed at my shirt, panicking, and forced my legs to move in the direction Edward had gone only a minute ago. My heart pounded harder and faster, the beating still not within my body's control.

'Step, step, step! MOVE!'

I gasped for air, but it wasn't filling my lungs.

Then something snapped; I wasn't sure what it was and it didn't snap completely, but something happened. It was like for years I had two thick cables pulling me in opposite directions, keeping me in place, but now one of them was gone and I was dangling dangerously, trying my best to pull myself back toward the other side again. The broken connection made me feel scared and exposed.

And then I knew for sure. I knew that my worst fear had been confirmed, or at least most of it.

As my heart beat heavily one last time before it returned to its normal pace, as I covered the last few steps and Renesmee came into view, I realized that whatever had happened to my heart didn't happen to me- it happened to her.

I only managed to whisper a feeble "no" before it happened: Her heart took one last heavy beat before it lapsed into a dead silence.

Nothing was said. No one made a sound. The rest of the family in the other room did not come running, but their argument cut immediately.

I stopped breathing. I couldn't move even if I wanted to.

She lay there, her matte hair strewn across her grey, wax-like face and her eyes shut. The rise and fall of her chest with every breath was gone. She was now a statue, just like the rest of them- except she wasn't moving at all.

Edward stood over her, his expression vacant. It seemed as if he were in mid-step and was frozen suddenly. He made no sign of movement. The whole scene looked like it had been paused. Inside, I hoped it was.

I heard the tiniest, distant shuffle; a head moving in another direction, perhaps. Then I heard footsteps. Next thing I knew, I was pushed to the side of the room like a ragdoll- not that I was showing anymore signs of being conscious than one.

"No," Bella whispered, "No... She can't..."

Maybe Edward didn't hear her, because he didn't respond. But what did words matter now?

My eyes swam in and out of focus. I swayed on my feet. Focus, focus, FOCUS!

I told myself to watch closely. 'Her eyes might open,' I thought, 'She might twitch- Something, anything!'

But nothing; nothing at all.

Suddenly, like a switch was flipped, movement was all around me. I didn't take notice of who walked in or out. All I could do was try my best to look away from Renesmee's still body, because I knew that if I let it sink in, it would be the end of my world. So I tried to focus on something else; Edward's expression- that of a kid who just got slapped by his mother after receiving perfect grades, like he was asking "Why? I thought I was doing things right."

But my eyes dragged back toward her, and soon I couldn't even try to pull them away. It was so silent that her voice echoed in my brain, and I couldn't take it- not if she wasn't actually going to speak again.

But that one cable that was still there was holding on strong. She wasn't gone- she couldn't be. 'I would know!' I told myself. There wouldn't be a doubt in my mind about it. She was still there, somewhere, even if she wasn't showing it.

'She's still there. She's still there. You're still there.' I thought, unable to find my voice, 'Please, answer me! You're still there! Please! I love you... Please.'

Alright, another chapter done. LOL. Well, I hope you guys liked it. I really hope Jake wasn't too out of character. Thoughts?