EPOV

She began to respond…slowly her whimpering began to get quieter, and she began to stop thrashing around so much. She was far from finished, but the worst had been done. She still had over a half of a day until her change would be complete. Alice sat with Bella…she talked to her still body, filling her in on what we had done all these years. It was Alice's way of saying goodbye…

After Isabella stopped whimpering, I called Carlisle. I was sure he knew the jest of what was happening, but I thought it best that I fill him in on everything that had happened.

"Carlisle..?" I asked, whispering into the phone, so I wouldn't interrupt Alice.

"Yes, son?" he sounded concerned.

"I…we…" I took a deep breath, I didn't want to ramble into the phone. "Bella is…gone now…she…she lived a long fulfilling life, and we finally got some closure for what I did back in Forks-"

"And what of Isabella?"

"Oh, Carlisle," I said, through gritted teeth and while pinching the bridge of my nose, "It's all my fault…I wasn't paying attention, and she left while I was talking to Bella….then we tried to find her…It was my taxi that caused the accident I"

"Edward, were you driving the taxi?" He asked in a calm voice that meant he was going to try to change my mind about something.

"No." I replied, giving in to what I knew was coming, even without being able to read his mind over the phone.

"Then it isn't your fault, you were not the one who made a mistake, and got people hurt. You didn't-"

"But," I said cutting him off abruptly, "I could have stopped it. I knew it was going to happen." Carlisle was silent for a moment.

"Edward, do you know how many times I thought I could stop something that ended up happening anyway? Too many times to count in my long life. I need you to think about something. Bella was old, Edward, there's no doubt that she would have died soon without the help of an accident. Just be thankful that you were there to be with her. I'm sure there is no one else she would have rather been with. And you said you have found a newfound understanding for what happened between you…Isn't that worth it? It was not your fault, and now…now you have Isabella."

I was silent on my end of the phone. My thoughts were flying at his words, and I didn't know what I would do next. Eventually Carlisle gave up waiting for me to respond.

"Well, son, I have to go. They need me in surgery…Good luck, Edward. See you at home." He hung up, and I closed my phone and placed it into my pocket. I walked back to Isabella.

I wondered what she would do when she woke up and found that she no longer possessed a beating heart or a need to breath. And the new thirst she would face. I worried that she would hate me.

She had seemed afraid, and disgusted when Bella and I had tried to explain how we knew each other. Her face had shown a great deal of what she felt…she was like Bella in the fact that I could read her like an open book.

I truly hoped that maybe, with time she would become my friend, that maybe… I stopped myself at the beginning of a thought I knew I didn't want. I just hoped that she wouldn't hate me. If anything, I just want her to see that this was for her, so that she could live…so that I could keep my promise to Bella.

Suddenly, I realized that what I had promised to Bella, was the same thing Carlisle had promised to my mother, and this newfound realization made me feel slightly better about changing her.

I looked at her smooth marble features. Her skin already held the characteristics of what we are. Smooth, pale, and cold… I rested my hand upon her brow, and let my fingers wander into her hair. I knew that now, all of her blood had been dried. Her heart had stopped, and her lungs were of no further use. Now all that was left was a couple more hours of what Carlisle called "The final stage."

It was when, he assumed, the need for blood is instilled into her. Her 'digestive system' changes immeasurably and mortality leaves, making her immortal…like us.

I sat there for hours simple staring at her features and trying to comfort her with my voice, and the simple touch of my fingers. I knew that this is what Bella would have looked like…and it was a sight to behold. Her heart shaped face, like that of an angel. Her body's gentle curves clearly defined.

As the sun began to sink into the tree line, and twilight began to approach, I knew that she would be waking up soon, and she might not remember anything... But she might remember enough to make things...difficult.

I remembered how I had felt. At first, when I woke up from my change, I thought I had died and been sent to hell, but they had changed their minds and were letting me go back. I remember seeing Carlisle, and wondering why I was back in the hospital. And how he had explained what I was…I remembered feeling lost, I didn't know what to do, or how to be a vampire. But, Carlisle being who he is, made me feel like I belonged with him…at least until I left… I cringed at the memories I had of stalking those crooks through the streets just so I could try to make what I was doing okay. I tried to think of how I would explain all of this to Isabella.

Alice walked towards me, finally done repeating the major happenings of the last eighty years to Bella, and sat lithely down upon the ground next to me.

"Edward…I have a feeling that you want to be alone with her when she wakes up."

I looked up at her and nodded slightly. "It would be for the best."

I stood, and pulled Alice up with me, "Thank you. Alice, I don't know how I would make it without you. But you're tired, go home to Jasper…and there's no need for the wedding anymore, not now that we don't need any cover."

"That doesn't matter. I still want a wedding. It's been too long since the last one, and the dresses some of these designers have are simply divine." She smiled at me, and looked over my shoulder. She looks like Bella all right...Shopping with her will be a lot of fun, she thought.

I smiled, that was pure Alice. I gave her a parting hug, and she ran off into the woods. Wearing high heels, of course.

A little while later, Isabella began to move her arms. They would probably be a bit stiff after that muscle tissue conversion… I went to her side, I had been walking about the woods that surrounded us. I had been thinking about Bella, how I had felt for her…how much and how deeply I had loved her. The one thing that had stood between us had been me, being what I am. I wondered if Isabella and I… if we could be friends, if we could be more than friends. Subconsciously I began to pace yet some more.

I knew I could never replace Bella. No, she would always have my heart. But, I wondered, was it possible for me to love Isabella as well? Only time would tell, and I didn't want to create any preconceived notions in my head about her. For all I knew, she would hate me terribly, and go find a different family to live with. For all I knew, she would not like me, and would find someone else along the way. I shook my head and tried to stop pacing in circles.

I heard some leaves crumple, and I looked back towards her. She was trying to sit up, and she wasn't having much success with it. I walked to her with exaggerated slowness, and gave her my hand. Until then she had kept her eyes closed, but as she opened them I saw they were a deep burgundy red, something that would hopefully change.

She looked at me skeptically, "Am I…are we dead?" she looked around the woods, her beautiful face obviously confused.

"Well," I said slowly, not quite knowing how to begin, "We are dead, technically, however, us being what we are allows us to keep on living." She tried to look behind me, but I was afraid how she would react to seeing her grandmother there.

She tried to dart around me, "What do you mean 'what we are'? And what are you trying to hide?"

"I mean that we aren't human, and if you must know…" I moved aside, and watched as her eyes grew in surprise.

"Is that my Gran?" she asked almost inaudibly. I was somewhat thankful that she still had some memories intact, but I knew it would make things slightly more difficult.

"Yes, Isabella, it is." I was whispering too now, and I moved closer to her, "Now, I believe there is…a lot that I need to explain to you…much that requires you to trust me. Can you do that, Isabella?"

She was looking at me with a new expression on her face, and it almost tore out my heart. It was the same look Bella had given me when I had first told her my age…surprised, but not at all scared.

"Yes, I can trust you. I don't quite know why, but I believe that I will understand shortly."

I sat upon the ground and she followed suit. I hoped that she would take this all in a manner that didn't include any ferocities or fighting. I looked into her eyes as I began.

"Isabella, you were dying. You were walking across the street in the middle of Chicago when a cab driver had a heart attack, and lost control of his taxi. It caused a major pileup of which you were in the middle." Her expression did not change. "The taxi that started the accident had your grandmother and myself inside. She hit her head very hard at one point when we were flipping. Despite my efforts, I thought I was going to lose the both of you."

"So why am I still alive?" she asked, more curious than anything else right now.

"Because, Isabella, I changed you. You…are a vampire."

"So you weren't lying back at the apartment? You really do live forever?" She was speaking under her breath now, musing these thought out aloud.

"I wasn't lying Isabella, lying is not something I do easily." I reached across the space separating us, and touched her hand.

She looked up and bore straight into my eyes, "Tell me about my Gran, how did you know her? Why-"

I hushed her quietly, "Isabella, I will explain it all, right now, if you please."

"Yes, I think that would be best." she said, still not releasing me from her gaze.

I Closed my eyes and began at the beginning, "My family had been living in a town called Forks, and all was going normally…as normal as anything can go for seven vampires. But everything changed when a new girl arrived. Your grandmother, my Bella…"

I told her everything. Every last detail. I hadn't talked so much in my life, but I knew it was well needed. I watched her face as I spoke of James in the ballet studio, and what we had done to save Bella. She always looked curious, and like she still needed to hear more. But fear; no, it never passed across her statuesque features.
She was so much like Bella, that at times, my mind had to wonder if it wasn't her.
Finally, I arrived at a topic I did not much want to speak about, but I knew it was crucial to her understanding. The night I left Bella. I cringed inwardly as I recounted what I had told Bella.

I stopped, finally through recounting the events that had passed almost a century ago, giving enough detail that it sounded as if it had happened only last year. We were both quiet, each lost in their own thoughts. And finally, she spoke.

"So you left her even though you loved her with all your heart so that you could protect her from eternal damnation?"

I just nodded my head; it pretty much summed it all up.

"Well," she said, looking at me again, "I don't think you're eternally damned, Edward. No one, or no thing with as much compassion for your loved ones could not have a soul in them. Even if they are a monster of the night."

"Thank you Isabella, that means…a lot to me. You know I heard a very similar speech once from your grandmother."

"I believe you." she said with a smile.

It was the first time she'd smiled since I had changed her, and it was magnificent. The sun could not compare with the amount of light that smile had poured into my heart. And for a moment, I wondered if we could ever love each other.

"Well Edward," she said brining me from my small reverie, "If I have to spend all my immortality with someone…I'm glad it's you." I do not think she could ever imagine how much those words meant to me. And I noticed suddenly that my shoulders did not feel as heavy; it was as if several of the tons of weight that had been added up over the years had suddenly been removed. I jumped up, and smiled at Isabella, and pulled her up in one swift movement.

"Come on, Isabella, there's seven very special vampires I want you to meet."

Please review if you read this! :l I need to know if you like this!! Pretty please with Edward on top??