A/N: Well guys….Thanks for all the love and please keep it coming!

Chapter Eleven

I breathed in the smells of early spring. I loved this time of year. I sighed, maybe with a bit of luck I'd still be around this time next year.

"Bella Love, are you ready to go?" Edward asked as he shut the front door.

I turned around and a smile crept onto my face. I didn't know what I had ever done to deserve this boy, no this man, but whatever it was I was glad I did it.

Edward had held me for two hours strait while I cried that scared and broken part of myself out and never once complained about the time or being uncomfortable. He just held me and let me push a small part of that dark crevice in my heart out. I loved him more then I thought you could love someone, and by some miracle he loved me too. He needed me just as much as I needed him.

"Yeah, let's go." I said. He smiled back at me and his smile made me feel safe.

I got into the car and Edward started backing out of the driveway.

"You got everything you need?" He asked as we drove down my road.

I nodded, "Clothes, cell phone ipod, girl stuff. Yup I'm good." little bottle of miracle pills and emergency medical bracelet identifying me as a cancer patient I added in my head. But Edward didn't need to know about those little markers of my sickness.

"Good. Because I don't think Carlisle will let you come back home until we do the exchange and have a plan of action."

I nodded, he was right. Knowing Carlisle I would be forbidden to leave the Cullen's house until everything was strait.

I rested my head against the cool window, I had a fever. It was only a few degrees higher then it should be, but it was a sure sign of my deterioration. I was glad that the whole dieing fiasco would be over soon.

Edward reached over and put a hand against my forehead. His cool fingers felt like heaven against my overheated skin.

"Bella you're burning up." he said worriedly. I nodded, I already knew that.

"We need to get you to Carlisle as soon as possible."

I nodded again, acknowledging his statement, but I didn't have the energy to answer him. What scared me the most was how fast I was falling. I had been perfectly fine when we woke up, now I felt like I was on death's door step with a housewarming gift.

I heard the engine accelerate and I knew Edward was in panic mode. Unlike me he didn't go crazy when he was panicked; he had a single minded focus.

His hand drifted from my forehead to the side of my neck as he felt my pulse and I felt my pulse spike. Not because I felt any worse, more because he was touching me. I saw his cheek rise slightly, acknowledging that he knew the reason for my increased pulse too.

"One day I'm going to spontaneously combust and you'll have no one but yourself to blame." I joked.

Edward quickly drew his hand away and I protested, dragging it back to my face.

"I was kidding Edward. Geeze, lighten up."

He didn't acknowledge my statement, but left his hand on the side of my neck. I sighed; apparently panic and humor didn't mix.

As we pulled into the Cullen's driveway Alice and Jasper raced down the sidewalk.

"Bella!" Jasper cried as he swept me into his arms. I laughed, Jazz wasn't usually this exuberant.

"Hey Jazzy!" I said, hugging him back. He carefully put me on my feet then looked me critically in the face.

"You're paler." He said finally.

"Well Jasper she's sick. Duh." Alice called from behind me. She had jumped on Edward and he was trying to unlock her stranglehold on his neck.

"Alice don't kill him! I'm going to need him later!" I whined.

Alice arched an eyebrow suggestively and I said "For the Blood exchange Alice!"

She laughed at the blush that crept up my neck but Edward pulled me to him, afraid that the pinkish color was from my fever, not from my embarrassment.

"Carlisle is pacing, he's been waiting for you to get here since eight this morning." Jasper told us, his arms wound around Alice's waist.

"We slept in." Edward explained. Once again Alice's eyebrow rose and I said

"No Alice, we didn't do anything!"

She shrugged, "One day."

I blushed again and Edward chuckled, pulling me closer to his side.

"Well we'll catch up with the two of you later. We're going to go play in the forest!" Alice called brightly, taking Jasper's hand and pulling him towards the edge of the woods.

"Hunting?" I asked nonchalantly.

Edward arched and eyebrow but nodded as we walked into the house.

"There you are!" Carlisle called from the top of the stairs.

"Sorry dad, Bella was tired and I figured that she needed her rest." Edward explained as we climbed the stairs.

"I was worried about this." Carlisle said, resting a cool hand against my forehead. I could tell that my temperature had risen since we left the house.

"100 degrees." He said suddenly.

"That high already?" Edward asked.

"Did…did you just take my temperature with your hand?" I asked Carlisle.

He smiled, "I'm a healer, it's my talent."

"That is so cool!"

His smiled widened a bit "It is quiet handy."

I turned to Edward, "What's your talent?"

"He's very fast, and he can read minds."

I arched an eyebrow at Edward and he grinned, "Everyone's but yours Love." I nodded my head, glad that he couldn't read my mind.

"Do made Vampires get a talent?"

"Of course, the talent has everything to do with your cells." Carlisle explained.

"I wonder what mine will be."

Edward kissed the top of my head, "Whatever it is, it will be spectacular. Like you."

I grinned and Carlisle clapped his hands together. "I think it would be best if you exchanged blood today, since Bella has company coming soon."

Edward nodded, "I think so too. But how?"

Carlisle grinned, "Its instinct son. Just take a little of her blood, then cut your wrist a bit and give her some of yours. Then we wait."

Edward nodded confidently, but I felt him tense up behind me.

"We can do this." I whispered.

He looked down at me and my brown eyes met his green ones.

"Yes, we can."

EPOV

I led her to my room, thinking it would probably be easier if it was a private thing.

I was so nervous that my palms were sweating. I had never taken human blood before. As part of our alternative lifestyle our family had opted to only drink animal blood. This would be a first time experience for both Bella and myself.

"So should I sit, or stand or…what?" she asked, just as nervous as I.

"Bella. Calm." I reminded her. She nodded and I bent to kiss her.

There was uncertainty in her eyes, but I knew her so well that it wasn't uncertainty in me, but in herself.

"There isn't anything you can possibly do wrong Bella."

She nodded again and I kissed her. Her lips were soft and yielding against mine and I lifted my hand to the back of her head.

"Edward." she sighed.

I smiled against her lips. The way I loved this girl was astonishing. After little more then two months she had me wrapped around her little finger. I would do anything, be anything for her. And the only reason I was entertaining the idea of her becoming a vampire was because she wanted it. She deserved so much better then me, then the life I could give her. We could never have children; she would never be able to see her family again. It pained me to be taking so much from her when I wanted to give her the world. Before I knew she was sick I was even willing to never stop ageing, to be mortal, for her. It was a choice I could make, and I would gladly trade my immortality for a chance to live with her as a mortal. I would give the world for her to be able to be a healthy mortal and I with her. But it was too late for bargaining, and even the great goddess of night Nyx herself couldn't change Bella's mind. And what Bella wanted, Bella got. No matter how guilty I felt for taking her life from her.

I kissed her one more time before letting my lips travel to the pulse point in her neck. Her heart fluttered and I looked up at her. She was looking down at me with nothing less then pure love in her eyes. She trusted me, and I wouldn't let her down.

"This might sting." I warned her. She threaded her fingers through my hair and said,

"I'm ready." I nodded and kissed the pulse point before I sank my elongated fangs into her neck.

BPOV

When Edward told me it would sting I had a sudden urge to scoff at him. Stinging I could handle, especially after the pain from this morning.

"I'm ready" I whispered. I watched his eyes ice over and his fangs elongate, and the change somehow made me want to jump him. It was the deadly side of his personality come to life, and I had never wanted him more.

His light kiss at my pulse point made my heart hammer. Then I felt the sharp double sting of his fangs burying into my throat. Then all the sudden…

Bliss

Oh it was amazing. I felt his mind open to mine and I let my consciousness burrow into his.

If I thought his personality and body were beautiful and breathtaking, they had nothing on the diamond bright intensity of his mind.

Everything in his mind was beautiful and perfect. I could feel everything he felt. A deep sense of hope….a pride in how strong I was….a cold black fury at the disease that was killing me. And a love, a deep binding love that could never be severed.

"Oh Bella," He thought. I nearly giggled; I could hear what he was thinking. His mental voice was even more beautiful and pure then his normal one. Where his regular voice was velvet, his mind-voice was pure silk.

"Edward." I sighed. I felt the amazing sensation of him drawing blood from his punctures and somehow it didn't make me fear him. It made me feel needed. I was sustaining him with something of me. Something that was purely mine.

I saw myself flash through his mind. He thought of me as a fragile beauty with a soul of steel, someone who could go through anything and come out on top. Someone who could do anything. He thought of me as purely his. He loved me and everything I was. He loved my flaws, and the things that made me simply me. Oh, oh. I had never guessed that he could possibly love me this much.

"Oh Bella. I love you so much more then you know." I heard his voice float around me. It wasn't him telling me this, it was the thought that had crossed his mind when he had looked at me the first night we had fallen asleep together. This was the memory I was seeing, this mental snap shot of me sleeping. This was how he saw me.

I couldn't see why this boy loved me so much. I was nothing special, not worthy of this much love. Not worthy of his love. I wasn't beautiful like him, or strong, or anything else that made me deserve him.

"You don't love a girl because of her beauty or her intelligence. You love her because her soul sings a song that only you can understand."

And deep in my heart, I knew that we sang the same song.

********

A little while later Edward pulled away from my neck and I let out a groan, mourning the loss of the feeling of his mind joining with mine.

"Your turn Bella." He whispered. He bit his wrist and held it out for me.

"What do I.." I trailed off as he put his wrist to my lips.

The first taste of his blood nearly knocked me flat. Edward caught me just in time though, and carried me to the bed.

The second taste was just as good as the first and so were the third and fourth.

It tasted like honey and the sun and the smell of chocolate and everything good tasting and nice smelling in the world all rolled up into one and multiplied by ten. It tasted like life.

"That's it Bella." He thought and I celebrated the joining of our minds again. This was the most amazing feeling, the most amazing taste. I heard Edward chuckle, and the sound shook me because I heard it with my ears, not my mind.

"How could you have held back from doing this?" I asked.

"I've never done this before. I didn't know it was like this." He admitted.

"But…I thought you needed blood to survive."

"I do. But our family drinks animal blood."

I nodded, still suckling from his wrist. It wasn't an urgent pull anymore, just a little pull here and there to keep the connection of our minds. After a while even those small pulls slowed, until I wasn't taking blood at all just letting my mouth linger on his wrist.

Edward gently took his wrist from my mouth when he felt me stop taking blood. I was getting woozy now. I was feeling drowsy, but somehow energetic at the same time. My mind was so confused.

"Sleep now my Love. I'll be here. I won't let you go."

I was mourning the loss of our connection again but I nodded my head landing in the crook of his arm as he pulled me to him.

He began humming the strange tune from last night and I mustered enough energy to ask what he was humming.

"It's your song Bella. I wrote it for you."

I made an approving sound and he kissed the top of my head, humming again.

It wasn't long before I fell into the peaceful land between sleep and awake.

I heard a door open and I felt Edward lift his head.

"So?" A quiet voice I recognized as Carlisle's asked.

"I'm not sure. Carlisle, did you know our minds would connect."

I heard a gasp, "They what?"

"Yeah, our minds joined somehow. She saw everything in mine, and I saw hers."

"That's only happened a few times Edward. You know what this means."

I felt him nod, "Let's just hope there isn't too much."

I couldn't make heads or tails of what they were whispering about, so I sank into dreams that made more sense.

********

I drifted awake slowly. I heard the ruffle of pages from overhead and I pealed back my eyelids to look up at Edward.

"Hello Love." He said. His eyes were guarded, careful. I knew that meant something bad.

"Good morning. What time is it?" I mumbled.

He looked to his left then let out a small chuckle, "It's about 9:30 in the morning."

I shot up and looked around me.

"I'm so sorry Edward!" I had slept 17 1/2 hours.

"Don't apologize love, your body needed time to react."

I looked up at him and his eyes were still guarded, but they were warm and soft as they bored into mine. His fingers lightly traced my jaw.

"How do you feel?" He asks suddenly.

"I feel good. Better then I have in a while." I said, stretching. When the pain didn't come I looked down and gasped in joy.

"Edward! It's gone!" I cried.

"What is?"

I lifted up my shirt and giggled a very Alice giggle. "The bruise! It's gone! Oh Ed!" I hugged him tightly and he smiled. The guarded look left his eyes as he celebrated with me.

"This is great! I must be compatible!" I was so happy it felt like I could float away.

"We don't know yet, but in a few hours we will." Edward said lightly.

I looked at him curiously and he just smiled. He wasn't telling me something. Something I probably should know.

"Bella!" An excited voice said from the doorway. I looked up to see my bear of a brother.

"Emmett!" I cried launching myself at him.

He hugged me lightly but firmly.

"Oh I missed you little sister!" He whispered.

"You've only been gone a day and a half."

Emmett looked down at me seriously and said "But being gone a day and a half in this family is like being gone a month. You look better Bells!" He was excited, but guarded too. I stifled the impulse to groan at how up tight everyone was being.

I flicked my eyes over to Edward and he nodded, signaling that Em knew of the blood exchange.

"I think it worked Emmy!" I yelled.

He laughed but said "Calm down Bella! We're not sure yet!"" I pouted. I seemed to be the only one who was excited. Then again I was the one who was dieing in the first place.

"Anyway." Emmett changed the subject "Rose and Alice wanted to know if you wanted to ride up to Seattle with us for a few hours. Waste some time."

"Sure." Edward agreed.

Emmett nodded and left the room as Edward got up off the bed. I leaned against the doorframe and watched him stretch and grab his coat along with mine.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"What are you two hiding from me?" I asked my voice chilly.

"Nothing Love." He said, smiling slightly. When I didn't smile back he pressed a kiss to my forehead. "We're just worried."

I nodded but not in acceptance. I knew he was hiding something from me and he knew that I knew. However neither of us were going to yield at all right now. I pushed the argument to the back of my mind to contemplate it on the ride to Seattle.

********

We had an eventful day. Emmett had neglected to mention until we were half way to Seattle that Alice wanted to go shopping. So while the boys got to hang out in the arcade and do their guy stuff I was the lucky one who got to get dragged around by Rose and Alice to all the stores they could think of. I don't think I have ever been forced to try on so many pairs of jeans or shirts before. Alice and Rosalie insisted that I be the Barbie so that they could both judge the look of the clothes or something. After the word Barbie I really just stopped paying attention because I could already feel this would be bad. After three strait hours of Bella Barbie they finally let me go, saying that they had to shop for themselves. I wandered down the street to the book store and spent a good hour and a half looking around. I picked out three interesting looking books and headed to the register.

"You available for lunch?" The guy at the counter asked. I sighed; I seemed to have very bad luck with cashiers.

"Actually no, she isn't available. "Someone said from behind me. I turned and smiled as Edward walked towards me.

"Who are you? Her brother?" The guy asked. There was so much testosterone in the air that I was waiting for them to pound on their chests and start grunting.

"Babe, can we just go?" I asked Edward. He was glaring at the guy behind the counter. I wondered if the clerk even knew how dangerous this situation could become. After all my boyfriend happened to be a Vampire, and the poor kid was just a normal human.

"Let's go." Edward said, grabbing my bag and my hand.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

"He was a werewolf." Edward said, as if it explained it all.

"And the point would be?"

"Vampire's and Werewolves just don't get along Bella. To them we are nothing but long-dead, undeserving leeches. To us they are just mongrels, they don't count as humans, and they definitely don't count as animals. In our minds they have no place in the world and they believe the same of us. There is an animosity there that nothing will ever appease." Edward explained

"So all that 'I am man' stuff was just one type of supernatural against another?"

"That and the fact that when he asked you for lunch he didn't mean taking you out to go get something to eat Bella, he meant you were going to be lunch." I sighed, frustrated.

"Wonderful, I can't get a break can I? Either I'm dieing of cancer or I'm going to be lunch to some hungry Werewolf. The universe is out to get me." I laughed. Edward just kept walking. I sighed; I hoped he wasn't going to be this moody all day, other wise I might just have to throw myself under a train to get some type of reaction out of him.

********

"So." Edward said as he walked me up the pathway to his house. Emmett and Rosalie were a few minute's behind us due to the fact that they were arguing when we left.

"So What Ed?" I asked, running my pinkly finger over the small red line on the skin of his wrist. The thought of what we had done just yesterday made me jittery.

"You ready?" he asked as we reached his front door.

"Of course." I steeled my emotions as we walked into the entirely too quite house.

"Carlisle?" Edward called.

"Up here!" sounded from upstairs.

Edward looked at me and we both shrugged, turning to trudge up the stairs.

Carlisle was looking into a microscope when we walked into his study. He had turned it into a mini laboratory.

"Ah you're here!" He called, coming towards us.

"Yup, and right on time." Edward said, checking his watch. "24 hours to the minute."

I was surprised and checked my own watch and it was indeed 2:00 p.m. exactly 24 hours since we exchanged blood.

"Bella? I'm going to need a sample of your blood."

I nodded and turned away as he drew some of my blood. I looked over at Edward and he smiled reassuringly down at me.

After a few minutes of silence tension filled the room.

"Carlisle?" Edward called.

"Edward would you and Bella come here?" Carlisle called in a strangled voice.

We both walked over to him and he looked up at me.

"Bella, did you know you were part Witch?"

I was startled, "What?"

"Bella, you're part Witch." he said again.

Edward looked like he was going to burst into tears. Ok, so what if I was a witch? What's so bad about that?

"Edward?" I called, touching his face. A tear leaked down and he held my hand to his face.

"Carlisle?" I asked.

"There is a genetic default in Night Worlder's blood. You can only be one type of Night World breed. You have Witch blood, enough to classify you as a daughter of Helliwise, but not enough to save you. I'm sorry Bella."

I wasn't processing this information. Was he telling me that after everything I was still going to die? Even after all that we tried, after everything we had been through, I was still dieing.