Thank you to Project Team Beta & my amazing beta's for this chapter: Jennrosee, Babykay16

Suddenly, it became clear to me. Bella's transformation wasn't to leave her human life and become one of them: she was leaving their world and fighting to stay human. The intruder wasn't here to take her away: she was here to observe if Bella made it through.

"We are here to witness," she affirmed.

~ Chapter 13: Glimpse ~

I thought I would feel guilty. I wanted to feel guilty. Bella had given up her birthright to stay human. No, this was more than simply renouncing her heritage. Bella had wagered her life – possibly sacrificed her soul – just for the possibility to stay with me.

No, I did not feel guilty. I felt… frustrated about the choice she had made. How could she risk herself like this? Why would she put herself through something like this? In all probability, her gamble wasn't going to pay off, and now we both stood to lose everything.

"Would you not have done the same for her?"

I was used to being the beneficiary of my telepathic gift, not the one having my unspoken thoughts answered. Now I understood how maddening it could be for those around me.

Of course, she was right. I wouldn't have hesitated to give my life if it meant being with Bella. Wasn't that exactly what I was planning to do the moment she drew her last breath?

"How much longer must she be punished for her decision?" I asked instead.

"We do not reprimand her for her choice." I sensed a hint of annoyance in her words, but as usual, her voice and her expression gave nothing away.

"Then how do you justify the brutality of your attack?"

"It is not for you to understand."

I took a deep, frustrated breath. This was getting me nowhere. Even with the wealth of information this… stranger – I could not bring myself to call her what she truly was – had shared over the past few hours, I was no closer to helping Bella overcome this tribulation.

"Can anything be done?" I asked weakly. "Is there any way to save her?"

She didn't answer me. Instead, she watched me, warily, for a long moment.

"I'd do anything," I begged. I didn't attempt to hide my desperation. "I'd do anything to save her."

For a split second, the stranger's eyes darted from my face to Bella's and back again. If my sight wasn't faultless, I would have missed the movement completely. The action confused me. I'd only seen her do it once before – when Jasper attempted to communicate with me telepathically, before we knew the intruder could read our minds.

"Can you – can you hear her?"

She did it again, shifting her eyes to Bella and back to mine quickly. "Not in the same way you hear the thoughts of those around you," she said.

I sat up a bit straighter. "What do you… hear?"

Suddenly, my vision blurred. I could still see, but the objects around me were hazy and distorted by a flood of vivid colors – so many colors – even shades and pigments I'd never seen and had no name for. It was mesmerizing.

Slowly, I began to feel something. The sensation was like a multitude of blankets being wrapped around my shoulders, one on top of the other. As each layer covered me, the colors in my vision changed, seemingly corresponding with the feeling enveloping me. Apprehension, nervousness, longing, fear, concern, worry, yearning – every emotion was in competition with the other, every emotion trying to distract me from the undercurrent of unfathomable pain.

There were voices, too – thousands of them – all murmuring in the distance. I couldn't make out the words they were speaking. It felt as if my intellect was too rudimentary to comprehend the language.

A second later the atmosphere began to shift. The feelings of anxiety and trepidation faded and I was overwhelmed with… love. It surrounded me in a heavy layer, whole and completely. It was stronger than any of the emotions I had felt before, and I was blinded by a deep crimson hue that dominated every other color in the spectrum. The feeling was so pure, so exquisite, that I was unreservedly disappointed when it all began to fade away. I tried to hold on to the sensation as long as I could, but it was like grasping at water as it slipped through my fingers. Then it was gone.

"Was that…" My voice was shaky, and I felt disoriented. "Did she know I was listening?"

"Yes," she said.

I looked down at Bella. Nothing had changed in her posture or her expression. She was still lifeless and ghostly pale, but now there was a light about her. If it was truly coming from her or something my mind projected itself, I didn't care. She knew I was with her. For that brief moment she knew I was listening, and she was telling me again that she loved me – in the only way she could.

I leaned down and kissed her forehead before pressing mine against hers. "I love you," I whispered, again and again. "You are everything to me. I can't be without you. Please, Bella, come back to me. Just… hold on a little longer."

The stranger retreated into the shadows of my room, closing her eyes and shutting down again. Night had fallen some time ago, and the forest around the house was dark and quiet. I lay down beside Bella, and just as I was about to tuck her into my side, Alice slipped into the room carrying the electric blanket I'd thought about earlier. Her eyes darted to the figure in the corner, but she was no longer fearful of the stranger's presence. My sister's thoughts flitted from reverence to amazement and back again. Once Bella was wrapped in the warming blanket, Alice left. She didn't speak a word – with her voice or her mind.

A few hours later Carlisle appeared beside the bed. He, too, did not speak but went to work checking the output on the monitor and changing another empty IV bag. Another decline in Bella's heart rate confirmed that she had weakened during the day, and I worried the effort she took in communicating with me had worn her down.

Esme was next to visit. She only cast a quick glance and a loving smile at me before her focus shifted to intruder in the corner. Slowly, Esme approached her, inching closer as if she was moving toward a wild animal that could be easily startled. I knew what she wanted, and I'm sure the stranger did too. Although she was practically an empty shell standing in the corner, I had no doubt she was aware of her surroundings.

Carefully, I lifted Bella's head from my chest and gently laid her down on the pillow. I positioned myself on the edge of the bed, but remained seated. I wanted to be prepared in case my mother decided to act on the ill-advised plan floating through her mind.

The stranger's eyes snapped open and fixed on Esme, but she did not move or raise her bowed head. My mother hesitated for only a second, and then continued her approach.

"Esme," I warned, but she ignored me.

Only a few inches separated my mother from the intruder before Esme finally stopped her advance. Cautiously, she lifted her hands, palms facing the ceiling, and waited. I could hear Carlisle's heavy breaths from the doorway, but I did not take my focus off my mother. When the intruder raised her hands, her palms hovering over Esme's, I jumped to my feet.

"Don't," Esme scolded me.

Slowly, the intruder lowered her hands onto Esme's. I cringed, waiting for my mother to recoil in pain, but nothing happened. For a long moment they stood with their hands pressed together before they both bowed their heads and closed their eyes simultaneously.

Esme began to murmur, and I immediately recognized the words she spoke. It was the same prayer she uttered beside the stream yesterday – the prayer for Bella, for Charlie, for my family, and for me. The intruder's mouth moved in time with Esme's words, but she emitted no sound from her lips.

They repeated the prayer twice, their palms pressed together in the space between them. When Esme was finished, they raised their heads and eyes in unison, but the intruder did not withdraw her hands right away.

"Thank you," Esme whispered.

Esme dropped her hands and turned to face me. She walked slowly to me and wrapped her hand around the back of my neck, pulling my face down to hers.

I love you, my son, she thought as she kissed my forehead.

She moved to Bella's side next and brushed the hair back from her face. I love you, my daughter.

Then, as quietly as she entered, Esme left the room.

Many silent hours passed before dawn crept into my room under thick clouds and torrents of rain. Carlisle gazed out the window, watching the deluge cascade in sheets down the panes. He guarded his thoughts as best he could. Usually, I tried to give my family privacy when they clearly desired it, but he was thinking of Bella, and I couldn't bring myself to block him out completely. Her heart was weaker, and there was only so much a human body could withstand. He feared she would not survive the next twenty-four hours.

Alice danced into the room a few seconds before Bella's cell phone vibrated with an incoming call. It was Charlie. The inclement weather had delayed his investigation, and he wouldn't be returning home until tomorrow evening. He believed Alice's story about another sleepover and that Bella was unable to come to the phone because she was in the shower. We were spared from having to destroy Charlie's world with the truth for one more day.

Carlisle worried, silently, if keeping him in the dark was still the right course. He deserved to be here with his child. He should have the chance to say goodbye. However, with the intruders lingering presence, and without a credible explanation as to how this all came about, Charlie was safer being blissfully unaware.

Alice agreed. She saw visions of Charlie dismissing any and every story we tried to feed him about Bella's condition. Her most dominant visions showed him discovering the truth – the whole truth – and living out the rest of his life in fear of the repercussions, and in fear of us. Everyone agreed that was not what Bella would have wanted.

The entire day passed with barely a word being spoken. Carlisle and Esme left some hours ago to hunt. I knew, upon their return, they would insist I accompany Jasper and Alice while they kept watch over Bella.

The faint sounds of Carlisle's mind started to trickle into my consciousness as they drew closer to the house. I sat up and leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees and cradled my head in my hands. I knew I needed to hunt, and I didn't want to argue with my family, but there was nothing they could say to make me leave Bella's side. I only had a few minutes before all four of them barged into my room and tried to convince me otherwise.

With a deep breath, I lifted my eyes to the window. The sun was beginning to set, casting vibrant orange and pink hues over the disintegrating storm clouds.

Warm and soft, a touch as light as a feather grazed my granite cheek. With a start, I whipped my head to the side.

Beautiful, chocolate-brown eyes stared deeply into mine while her lips held the tiniest hint of a smile.

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