Disclaimer: not mine!

Let it be known that cullen818 is the best Beta ever.

Thanks guys, for not throwing too many rocks for that last chapter. But the way I see it, it's Bella. Worst. Luck. Ever. So naturally, to me, this was a very real (tee hee) possibility.

"Do you think she can hear me, Carlisle? If I talk to her?" Why I was asking was beyond me; I think I just needed to hear my father's voice. I had dealt with countless newborns-but never this early in the change. I didn't know if I would do her any good trying to coax her through this. This was the second day of her transformation. Her physical appearance was already changing.

"It varies person to person, son. Rosalie could, but none of the others could focus on anything besides the pain. Bella is strong, though-it wouldn't hurt to try." It was just Carlisle and I right now-the others couldn't take Bella's pain for more than a few hours. It hurt Emmett to watch his 'little sister' writhe and scream. Rosalie was reminded too much of her change. Esme was motherly to the extreme, doing everything she could to stay in the room with her, but eventually having to steal away for a break.

I would not leave her side. I felt her pain; if not physically at the least emotionally. I would endure with her for not saving her in time. She screamed again; I could see Carlisle flinch out of the corner of my eye. "If you want to take a break, go ahead. I'll stay with her." I told him.

"Jasper, you need a break. This has to be affecting you worse than any of us-why don't you take a quick hunt?"

"I'm not going to leave her, Carlisle. I can't. I need to stay here with her. You go." He looked at me long and hard before shaking his head and heading downstairs. I lay down next to her, trying to cool her down. "Bella? If you can hear me, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should have been there. I should have stopped her. My biggest regret is that it had to be like this for you." She whimpered, reaching her hands up to pull at her hair. I gently grabbed her wrists and pulled them to her side. "No, sugar, you can't do that. You'll hurt yourself. You're going to be strong after this, you know that right? And you can stay with us forever. You can stay with me forever." I whispered, still not knowing if she understood anything I was saying. But I owed it to her. It seemed easier, telling her like this. It was selfish of me to want that, while she was burning to death.

"I really do care about you. I don't think I ever told you. I was afraid to, really. Afraid you wouldn't feel the same way about me. But I've decided that it doesn't matter. You pulled me from a ledge that I was barely balanced on, when you could barely stand yourself. I owe you my sanity." Her answering scream sent a chill down my spine-I could hear everyone downstairs take a collective breath. "I don't want to just be your friend anymore, honey. I don't think I have it in me." I looked up to see Esme peeking through the doorway.

"How is she?" she whispered. I shrugged.

"Much of the same. But she's changing-look. Her skin has paled, and she's firmer to the touch. Her temperature is substantially lower. Not quite matching ours, but close. Her voice…her voice is higher as well. You can hear it when she screams." Esme grimaced but took up her post next to Bella on the bed.

"I wish we knew how much longer…" she trailed off. I knew what she meant. She wanted to nail down a timeline, and there was only one way to get one.

"You call her. I can't. She'll help, I'm sure, but I just…I just can't do it right now." I was too bogged down with Bella's emotions to handle anything emotional myself-I needed to remain focused on her. If I faltered, she would feel it. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and tossed it towards her. She smiled gratefully.

I could hear the ringing on the other end. "It's Esme." She said, quelling any other notions. I wasn't going to listen to the voice on the other end. "Do you know how long?" a murmured response. "Thank you, dear," Esme replied, hanging the phone up. I looked at her questioningly.

"Tomorrow. She sees the clock around noon. She wouldn't say much else after that, except to let Bella know she was sorry." I nodded. Only one more day. She would be okay in one more day.

"Did you hear that, Bella? If you can pay attention, we know you'll wake up tomorrow afternoon. You're so close. Just stay strong for a little while longer. You're doing so well." I urged, encouraging her if she could hear me at all. The rest of the family had returned, having heard Esme on the phone.

"Who did you call?" Emmett asked.

"Alice. I wanted to know how long. I can't stand to see her in this kind of pain-now at least I know it's almost over." She justified.

"Good. You hear that, B? It's almost over. And hey-if anyone asks, you can say that there is a pain worse than childbirth!" He crowed. That drew a smile from some of us in the room. All but Rosalie.

"Rosalie? Since you're the only one of us who remembers hearing voices during your change, why don't you tell us what helped you the most. What can we say to help Bella?" Carlisle asked. Rose took a seat, cradling Bella's head in her lap.

"Honestly, just knowing that it was almost over was the most encouraging. Of course, I didn't have an exact time, but I knew from your words that it was almost over. So I think you've said all you can say to her. It was a comfort to be able to just hear voices in general. Let's just…talk."

"Do you think she'll want to wrestle me when she wakes up?" Emmett asked. If I wasn't so sick with pain I would have chuckled.

Edward's POV

I had nothing to do today, so I was lounging around the castle. I was sitting in my room, reading a book when Aro came in.

"Edward! I know I say this often, but it's such a pleasure to see your eyes returning to their natural color." He smiled warmly.

"Thank you. I appreciate the compliment. What brings you to my room?" I asked. Aro very rarely visited my private quarters-that is, unless he had something he'd like for me to do. I picked one word out of his head-Bella.

"I just received quite the interesting phone call-from your sister Alice, actually. I so wish she would visit…" he trailed off, running over the conversation in his head.

"Aro?" Alice chimed, sounding conflicted. "There's something I would like you to pass along to my brother. Since I can no longer contact him directly. Would you mind?"

"Of course not! What news do you bring?"

"Tell him…tell him Victoria found Bella. Bella was bitten. She's changing as we speak. I thought he should know. Aro? Please tell him I'm sorry." The phone went dead.

My head snapped forward to face him, anger pulsing through my veins. Anger. Desperation. My poor Bella! It shouldn't have been that way for her; after everything I did to keep her safe, it shouldn't have been like that. I couldn't stop myself from crumpling to the floor and covering my face in my hands. She was in so much pain right now-pain that I had hoped to keep from her forever-and I wasn't there. I only hoped my family was taking care of her.

"Do you see what this means?" Aro asked.

"Enlighten me", I replied, trying very hard to keep my composure.

"She is one of us now. She can join you here. You could be together. Forever."

My heart sang through the pain. Bella-immortal. Wasn't that my deepest secret desire? To have Bella as one of us? Morally, I didn't want to destroy her soul-to damn her to an existence as a monster like me. But other thoughts soon invaded my head: She was no longer in any danger. No one would be able to hurt her again. And she could live here with me! I no longer held any animosity towards Aro for keeping me here against my will at first-the threats were just a means to bring me to a better life. I had made Bella safe, and now Victoria had made her immortal.

"If it pleases you, then she's welcome here. I ask that, should she agree, you would be held fully responsible while she gains control. No hunting in the city, as is standard. If you would like, you are welcome to go and retrieve her now." I smiled in excitement as I rose and strode out the door. I needed no more prompting than that.

Bella's POV

"You hear that, B? It's almost over." It sounded like Emmett, but I couldn't hear over the sound of my own scream. I was aware that my breath was becoming rapid and shallow, and that my heart was racing at almost too frantic of a pace.

The fire…I wanted to do something…anything to take my mind off of it. I wanted to pull my hair out. I wanted to scratch my skin off.

Why wouldn't they let me?!

I didn't want it to be like this.

I had no concept of time-I didn't know if it had been days or weeks or years or centuries. I knew they talked about it; I could hear their voices in the background. I could sometimes tell words and phrases, but most of the time it was just sound. It was a comfort, but I wished I could understand.

"Make it stop!" I managed to scream-the first words I've been able to muster. Immediately, I could feel someone touching my face.

"It will stop, sugar. It'll stop real soon. Just a few more hours…" Jasper's voice. I knew it was him. A few hours…

I tried to spend the time counting seconds, but they just grew longer and longer until I gave up.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, the fire moved towards my chest. I clenched my fingers together (which, blissfully, no longer smoldered) and arched my back, screaming louder than I would have thought possible. I could hear the rustle of the others moving closer-quiet whispers of their footsteps-but again, I was screaming too loud to notice much more. When the fire reached my heart, I thought for sure I was going to die.

And then I did.