BELLA'S POV

We were going back to Forks.

Edward had been tempted to simply carry me out of the hospital and run for it. Jacob had been game as well. Leah had come through as the voice of reason, explaining that kidnapping a patient from the hospital was not a crime she was willing to go through with, considering they had already used force to get a plane to Miami, stolen a free cab ride, broken into a hotel, and stolen clothes and shoes…

In light of all that, everyone agreed to a more tactful technique.

Edward had to play the key role in it all. Using vampire intimidation and hypnosis, he had managed to get me discharged without any questions. Shortly afterward, we headed straight for the airport.

As amusing as Jacob's story had been about getting a plane to Miami, we decided to let Edward handle matters this time. Edward's abilities proved useful, for it seemed to take no time for us to get on the plane. It was a quiet ride, everybody—Edward, Jacob, Seth, Leah, and I, all preoccupied with our own thoughts.

Then the plane touched down.

I was a pure bundle of nerves. I knew it wouldn't be long before I was in Carlisle's hands. He'd know what had become of me. He'd be able to make sense of it all. I desperately needed his professional prognosis and diagnosis because my thoughts were amateur, and they were driving me half mad.

Throughout the duration of the plane ride, I had been mentally keeping track of things I noticed about myself, first and most disturbing being my recognition of scents. My nose distinguished the scent of everyone's flesh and blood (except Edward, who had no blood). And this recognition was more than noting whether people smelled good or bad. This was the recognition of sweetness, saltiness, blandness, and richness. It was the unmistakable recognition and anticipation of the tastes of their blood.

Next, I felt tired. Vampires did not get tired.

I was hungry and thirsty. When the stewardess came around offering peanuts and Coke, I had consumed them greedily. This greatly drew the interests of my immediate crowd (i.e. Edward and Jacob). Edward, having no need for human snacks, gladly passed his to me. Though I ate them, there was an alternate hunger in me that had not been satisfied. I relayed this to Edward. I could tell that the news of this bothered him, though he put forth a strong attempt to remain calm, giving my hand a gentle squeeze and saying, "Don't worry. Carlisle will fix everything."

Edward's blind faith in Carlisle was contagious because at this point, there was no other hope.

Arrival to the airport almost went by in a blur. A very literal blur sped up to me and just nearly knocked me over. A head-full of short, spiky black hair rested below my chin.

"Oh, Bella, I've been so worried!" Alice half sobbed.

I silently returned her hug, vaguely aware that like Edward, there was something different about her scent.

At some point, Alice let me go and began glaring primarily at Jacob.

"So you've been around for some reason," she said. "That explains why I haven't been able to see anything."

"Alice, don't," said Edward. "If it weren't for them…Bella might be dead."

His words pierced the air with such finality that no one seemed able to speak for a while. In the silence, Alice began studying me with the same close scrutiny that Edward and Jacob had previously done.

"Come on, let's go!" Alice said to Edward and me. "Esme and Carlisle are waiting outside."

Alice grabbed me by the hand and Edward placed a hand on my back as we headed out. I was feeling dizzy and weak. Despite my state though, I was aware of the attention our group was attracting. Maybe we just looked weird—Edward and Alice with their frightening and otherworldly beauty; Jacob with his tall, handsome, muscular, and intimidating frame; Seth, looking like a smaller and less intimidating version of Jacob, but still a bit threatening nonetheless; Leah, earthy, alert, tough, and beautiful. And then there was me—dizzy, disoriented, and overwhelmed. Yet, I noticed the way people seemed to naturally recoil and keep their distance as we passed by, despite their obvious fascination. On some unconscious level, they must have sensed something about us that was warned them to stay away.

Outside, Carlisle and Esme were waiting. The first thing I saw was Esme's out-stretched arms. The gesture was so warm and motherly that I instantly gravitated toward her and fell into her arms. Though she didn't speak, her concern was obvious. After hugging me, she kissed me on the forehead and gently cupped my face in her hands. She let me go and turned to Edward, hugging him and whispering something in his ear.

Carlisle opened the car door for me. "Everything will be ok, Bella. I'll figure this out," he said, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze before I got in the car.

"Wait a second. Where are you going?"

I heard Alice's voice outside the car.

"I'm not leaving her. We're not leaving her," said Jacob, indicating himself, Leah, and Seth.

"We can take care of Bella just fine, thanks," said Alice.

"From my understanding, she's in the condition she's in because of your kind. So, like I said, we are not leaving her." He had cast a long glance at Edward when he said the word 'leaving.'

"I want them!" I interjected, sticking my head out the car window just as Carlisle and Esme were about to speak. All eyes were now on me. "I want them to come," I added. "They deserve to come. They…saved my life."

My words were aimed at Alice, for she was the one making the biggest fuss. Carlisle and Esme were not showing any signs of protest at Jacob, Seth, and Leah's presence. I knew Edward felt he had no right to complain.

"Get in, everyone. It's going to be a tight squeeze," said Carlisle, taking his place behind the wheel. Esme got into the passenger's seat, leaving the impossible task of getting Edward, Alice, Jacob, Leah, and Seth to crowd into the backseat with me.

"Ok, the small ones will have to sit on laps," said Jacob.

The smallest was clearly Alice, but it didn't register that I was considered small too until Jacob had gotten into the car on my side and pulled me onto his lap. The immediate tension in the air sparked as Edward quickly squeezed to our side. Soon, Leah was on his lap and Alice was on Seth's lap.

Carlisle cranked the car and sped off, attempting to reach the Cullen mansion as quickly as possible so that this awkwardness could end.


I don't know if I blanked out, zoned out, or fell asleep, but before I knew it, we were at the Cullen mansion. The gentle squeeze of Jacob's warm arms had brought me crashing back to reality. The whole ride there, some part of my mind had registered the tight and protective way Jacob had been holding me. One big arm wrapped tightly around my waist in a strong but not uncomfortable grip, and the other resting on my leg as he pat my knee in what was meant to be a comforting gesture.

As we pulled up in front of the house, everyone in the car seemed to momentarily freeze.

Through the car window, I could see Jasper and Rosalie standing at the front door. Emmett was standing large and guard-like in the middle of the yard.

We all climbed out the car. A cool hand pressed against my back. I turned to see Edward at my side, though his eyes were locked on Jacob. Jacob, on the other hand, was dutifully ignoring him. He, Leah, and Seth were all carefully scanning the premises.

I then noticed that Carlisle, Esme, Alice, and Emmett huddled together, having some sort of whispered exchange.

"Let's go inside," said Edward, who was still looking at Jacob.

It finally occurred to me what must have been happening. Jacob was listening out for Sam…And Edward was listening to Jacob.

Edward and I began walking to the house with Jacob, Leah, and Seth eventually falling into step behind us.

Both Rosalie and Jasper eyed me carefully.

"What are they doing here?" said Rosalie, glaring at Jacob, Leah, and Seth. Jasper stood, blocking them from entering the house.

"They're on our side," said Edward. "We've got a bit of a situation. We'll explain later."

"Yes, we'll all talk later," said Carlisle, coming up to the door with Alice and Esme closely behind.

"They've helped a great deal with Bella," said Esme, placing a hand of Rosalie's shoulder. "And they are welcome in our home."

Esme parted Rosalie and Jasper, allowing room for Jacob, Leah, and Seth to enter.

"Thank you," said Jacob, giving a rather sarcastic nod to Rosalie, who rolled her eyes in response.

"House guests, huh?" said Emmett, arriving in the house last and closing the door behind him. "You all are house-broken, right?"

"Emmett," Esme and I said at the same time.

"Just trying to lighten the mood," he said. Now it was his turn to eye me, attempting to see what had gone wrong with my transformation. "Anyway," continued Emmet, "it'll be nice to have a few guard dogs around. He placed a big beefy arm around Seth's shoulders. Leah's posture tensed, her gaze close on Emmett's arm around her little brother. Rosalie, watching Leah, took several protective steps toward Emmett.

"So, we're all to stay here like one big happy family?" said Alice, her face twisted into a frown.

"Yes," said Esme, motherly sternness in her voice.

Alice shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I've got a headache," she said with a sigh.

"I just ask you all behave yourselves and not tear up my house," said Carlisle. He approached me, hand outstretched. "Let's not wait any longer. Bella, come with me."

I took Carlisle's hand and he began to lead me further into the house.

Edward and Jacob followed.


"Incomplete transformation."

The formal diagnosis by Carlisle, stated like a verdict, confirming our suspicions. Edward gave a single nod, having already accepted the diagnosis before Carlisle announced it aloud. Jacob looked at me and then at Carlisle.

"So what now? What happens?" asked Jacob.

"Well," began Carlisle, "just to give a little more detail first—Edward, when you tried to transform her, you very nearly drained her of all her blood. You stopped right when she had the slightest bit of life left. Typically, when a human is killed in this manner-"

"By a vampire," said Jacob.

Carlisle paused for a moment and then nodded. "Yes," he said, "by being fed on by a vampire—when a human is actually killed from complete blood drainage, they don't come back to life. They stay dead. A body still needs life for the venom to pump through. No vampire bite can reawaken someone who is already dead.

"In normal transformation, only one bite is necessary. No blood ingested by the vampire required. It is only once the vampire's venom has circulated fully through the human's system that the transformation can successfully take place. After the completed transformation, the heart stops beating. Then, the human has become a vampire."

Carlisle looked back and forth between Jacob and me, making sure we understood.

"Yes," said Edward, obviously already aware of how this worked. "Now—what happened here?" he asked, motioning toward me.

"What we have here," Carlisle continued, "is a rare, probably unheard of case in which the body was still alive, but not quite alive and strong enough to fully allow the vampire venom to distribute. See, in a regular transformation, the venom works its way through the bloodstream. With Bella—she practically had no bloodstream left for the venom to spread through.

"In vampires, venom spreads through the blood and then reaches the heart last. Once it reaches the heart and it stops beating, the transformation is complete and the vampire's human blood evaporates from their system, so to speak."

"Why?" said Jacob, face twisted in confusion. I glanced at him, seeing that for the time being, he was getting caught up in the details. I didn't blame him. I think if I weren't so scared about my own condition, this would have been more fascinating to hear.

"Living human bodies generate blood every day. Vampires are not living. Though society at large believes in incorrect vampire mythology, there really is a reason we are called the undead. We aren't alive in the way human science defines living. Once transformed into a vampire, our bodies can't age or reproduce. There is no need to generate blood cells. Ultimately, we lose our own blood and begin to live off the blood of others. When the last remnants of our own human blood disappear, our eyes stop being red—that is, of course, unless we refill our bodies with more human blood."

I watched Jacob's eyes dart toward Edward's. A look of disgusted shame went across Edward's face, knowing his eyes were deep red at the moment.

"There is a critical period for successful transformation," said Carlisle. "The venom starts to spread immediately upon being bitten. In theory, the more bites, the quicker transformation should occur. The problem, I suspect, is that though Bella received many bites, her own blood was being drained faster than the venom could spread. The rate in which the venom was entering her body was being cancelled out by how quickly her blood was leaving her body.

"Mind you, this is guess work from here on out, but I think it's accurate. Jacob—you, Seth, and Leah came in right when Bella had the slightest amount of blood left. She therefore had a small amount of blood for a slight amount of venom to latch on to. The thing about vampire venom is that it is most potent immediately after the bite—straight out of the vampire's mouth. As time passes, it weakens in potency. That's why for a human, the greatest pain is felt right at the moment the bite occurs and the venom first enters the bloodstream. With Bella only having so little blood left, plus her body quickly dying due to the drugs, a lot of venom was within her, lying dormant. Venom with no bloodstream to run through his harmless. You can't poison the dead. Bella was very nearly already dead.

"Vampire venom lying dormant will very quickly lose its potency. I think there is a very real chance that if blood had been pumped into your system sooner, Bella, the venom would have ran its regular course. But it seems that the time lapse between you being bitten and getting the transfusion at the hospital was long enough to hinder the process.

"Your body was almost dead and therefore incapable of producing more blood cells to make up for all the blood you lost. Consequently, the majority of the venom in your system was rendered useless and lost its properties, apart from the small portion inside the tiny amount of blood remaining—and no doubt that small portion was very concentrated. When you got the blood transfusion, your body was refilled with regular human blood, stronger than the dormant venom. This is what basically saved your life, as a human. Yet, the small portion of your natural blood that was concentrated with Edward's venom is obviously making itself known.

"I actually have a little demonstration here to help illustrate what happened." Carlisle paused for a moment, retrieving a bowl of thick white cream. With my heightened sense of smell, I knew what it was instantly"

"Cake frosting," I said.

Carlisle smiled. "Yes. Cake frosting." Next, he pulled out a small tube of blue food coloring. "You see," he began, "the consistency of blood is significantly thicker than vampire venom. So we can make a metaphor using cake frosting and food dye.

"If I place a single drop of dye in this bowl of frosting but immediately remove the portion with the drop, no serious changes would occur within the rest of the frosting." Carliese took the blue dye and dripped a single drop into the frosting. Then he quickly took a spoon and removed the portion of the frosting that the dye rested in. the rest of the frosting remained untouched, still completely white and unaffected by the dye.

"This is what happened when James bit you, Bella. A small bit of venom in your hnad that Edward was able to quickly and promptly remove.

"This time around though, things went a bit differently.

Carlisle picked up the blue coloring again. he put many drops into the bowl of white frosting. And after several seconds went by, the blue drops began to widen, slowly spreading across the white frosting.

"Edward bit you multiple times. But not only did he bite you, he drained the blood from you as well."

Carlisle began to take a spoon and scraped the frosting of the bowl, dumping it into another bowl. As he did so, the frosting continued to get stained with blue. When nearly all the frosting was gone from the original bowl, Carlisle left the smallest portion in the bowl, and it was already blue.

"Seeing that blood was being drained from your body more quickly than the venom could spread," Carlisle pointed to the white-and-blue streaked frosting—the frosting that had not been given enough time to completely turn blue. "You were left with more venom in your system than blood."

Carlisle dumped the remainder of the food coloring into the bowl with the small portion of frosting. The tiny bit of frosting turned deep blue, as it virtually swam in the excess food coloring.

"Then you were rushed to a hospital and given a blood transfusion. The new blood worked its way through your system."

Carlisle dumped clean white cake frosting into the bowl. He took the spoon and began to stir the frosting. It all turned a light shade of blue.

He needed to say no more. The concept was fully explained right there in the frosting. As the new blood had been circulated through my system, the excess venom spread until it became part of my new blood. Part of the new me. Unlike James' drop of venom, Edward's venom was thoroughly spread through me and impossible to pick out, just as the light blue frosting could not turn back white.

There was a long silence following Carlisle's words as we all let the information sink in. He let the moment stretch on a bit longer before speaking again.

"Bella, your body is in hovering state, to put it simply. You are on the brink of human death and at the brink of a vampire transformation that will not fully finalize…unless…I think—you are bitten again."

"No," Jacob said firmly, shaking his head. "Absolutely not."

"Bitten correctly, may I add," said Carlisle.

"And I repeat, no. No chance in hell," said Jacob.

"It's Bella's choice," interjected Edward.

"Bella sucks at making choices. That's how she got in this mess in the first place."

Lost for words, I glared at Jacob. I could almost literally feel a physical sting from his words. "That was a bit low, Jake," I finally managed to say.

"Bella-" said Jacob, ready to lunge into an argument. Carlisle loudly cleared his throat, before Jacob could say anything more.

"Edward is right," said Carlisle. "Bella indeed deserves a say in the matter." He locked eyes with me. "There's more to consider though. To be on the safe side, I think Edward would have to be the one to do it."

"Pardon?" said Edward. At that very same moment, Jacob threw up his hands in exasperation, swearing.

"Carlisle, what are you saying?" said Edward.

"A portion of your venom is already in her bloodstream. If another vampire bites her, I am not sure what the reaction will be. Granted, since it was I who transformed you, I think I could possibly complete her transformation. But I'm not sure. There's bound to be subtle differences between us, just as there is between the DNA of a biological father and son. I'm not sure how that would work just yet."

"Clearly," said Jacob, "very clearly then—the obvious choice is for her to not be bitten again. Ever."

"In my personal opinion," said Carlisle, "I am weary of the risk. I'd like to study it further—run some more tests. However, I'm also concerned about how much longer Bella's body can handle being in this state."

"What will happen if she stays like this?" asked Edward.

Carlisle shook his head slowly. "I honestly cannot say with certainty just yet."

"She's better like this than bitten again," said Jacob. He stared at me. So much intensity in his face—clearly waiting for me to agree with him. But I couldn't. I had no idea what to do.

"How do you feel?" asked Carlisle, his expression serious.

"Tired," I said. It was the most accurate description of how I felt, both physically and mentally. I felt like my body could collapse at any moment, yet some magical force was keeping me standing. My head hurt from all the thoughts and confusion racing and pounding through my mind. I was hungry, but couldn't—or perhaps more accurately, didn't want to, figure out what I had a taste for.

As if somehow hearing that last though, Carlisle asked, "Bella, do you feel hungry or thirsty at all?"

All eyes were on me and the air in the room seemed to stiffen. The implication behind the question was obvious. As much as I wanted to deny it, I knew there was no sense in lying.

I nodded. "Yes," I said softly.

"Have you eaten any food?" asked Carlisle.

I nodded again, looking at Edward. "She ate a little bit on the plane," he said.

"Did you have any problems eating?" Carlisle continued.

"No," I said. "I could eat just fine. It's just…"

"Have another hunger…thirst…inside of you?" Carlisle said. I nodded once more. Jacob swore.

"Esme!" Carlisle called out. Moments later, his wife entered the room. "Esme, could you please fix Bella…a drink." There was a significant way in which he had said the word 'drink' that let Esme know exactly what kind of beverage he was referring to.

Esme nodded silently and exited the room, giving me a gentle and motherly squeeze on the arm as she passed by.

At some point, I must have let out an audible noise of panic because suddenly, Jacob and Edward were at either side of me, trying to comfort me. Carlisle stood aside, quietly watching.

Esme returned, a solid white cup with a top and a straw in her hand. As she approached me, Edward and Jacob stepped aside. Esme smoothed my hair back with one hand, and held the straw up to my mouth with the other.


Author Note-

This was a difficult chapter for me, as it took a while for me to attempt describing what I envisioned happened to Bella. I hope it makes sense and that the "science" of it is believable. I'd appreciate any feedback on this!

Thanks again to those of you reading! I think the story is a little past halfway done now. So please be patient with me as I get through these next chapters up until the end. I'm going to keep writing and trying to update at least once a week if possible. :)