"It happened about two months after you all left me. I had gone out walking that night and I was hoping to find a vampire. At that point I didn't care if they killed me or changed me. It didn't matter to me. I was in the woods near your old house and I did encounter a vampire. It was Laurent."

FLASHBACK

"Bella?" he asked. When she nodded, he continued. "I didn't expect to see you here."

She shrugged. "I live here. I thought you'd gone to Alaska."

"I did go to Alaska. Still, I didn't expect … When I found the Cullen place empty, I thought they'd moved on."

"They did move on."

"I'm surprised they left you behind. Weren't you sort of a pet of theirs?"

"Something like that." She realized that he looked too much the same as before. His curious dark crimson eyes followed her movements.

"Do they visit often?"

She didn't say a word and he knew then what had happened. "Well, I came here as a favor to Victoria. She won't be happy about this."

"About what?"

"About me killing you. She wanted to save that part for herself. She's sort of … put out with you, Bella."

"Why?"

"I know, it seems a little backward to me too. But James was her mate and your Edward killed him. She thought it more appropriate to kill you than Edward – fair turnabout, mate for mate. She asked me to get the lay of the land for her, so to speak. I didn't imagine you would be so easy to get to. So maybe her plan was flawed – apparently it wouldn't be the revenge she imagined, since you must not mean very much to him if he left you here unprotected. I suppose she'll be angry all the same."

"Why not wait for her then?"

"Well, you've caught me at a bad time, Bella. I didn't come to this place on Victoria's mission – I was hunting. I'm quite thirsty and you do smell simply mouthwatering."

He advanced on her and she froze. Her mind was screaming at her that this was what she wanted. She wasn't good enough for Edward so she didn't deserve to live. He bent toward her neck. She could feel the heat of his breath across her skin.

FLASHBACK ENDS

"His teeth grazed my neck, just hard enough to break the skin. That was when wolves showed up. They chased him off and I never saw him again."

"What happened after that?" Carlisle was now perched on the side of her bed and gazing down at her face. The black of her eyes unnerved the usually unflappable Cullen patriarch.

"I went home. I felt sick for several days but it passed and I thought nothing more of it. Then I started noticing that I was more graceful, I could move faster. I didn't need as much sleep. Then my skin started showing a soft shimmer in the sunlight. Carlisle, I didn't know what to do. You weren't here for me to ask and I couldn't find Alice's email or phone number anywhere." The fear building in her voice made Carlisle reach out and take her hand. "Then I felt that horrible burning in my throat. I remembered Edward telling me that that was the way it felt when he was thirsty. I was afraid that I would hurt Charlie so I ran away. I hid at your house for several days. Eventually I snuck into town to the meat shop. I broke in and started looking for a source of blood. I discovered a container of blood sitting in their walk in cooler and started drinking it. The smell was disgusting but I did it. And it tasted … well as I later found out it was better warm but it did the trick."

"How often do you get thirsty like that?"

"Maybe once a month. I've discovered that leading up to that time of the month I start feeling a little weaker, more like the old me. Clumsy, tired, weak. I just kept following the pattern of drinking animal blood once a month. It usually doesn't take much to satisfy the thirst as long as I don't wait too long. And it's never a taste for human blood. Only animal."

"Interesting." She smiled up at him. "What?"

"You're analyzing every word I say. I can see it on your face." He shrugged.

"What can I say? You always have been a rather unique individual. And I want to be able to help you with this." He turned away for a moment. When he turned back, she could read the questions in his eyes. "This next question is more personal. Do you still have your monthly cycle?"

"Yes. And usually the hunger hits right after the cycle ends."

"Interesting. Would you mind if I document this? We've never had a case like this. I'd like to know what's going on."

"I don't mind. I'm just scared that Edward will find out about this."

"He was still in the hallway when I came in here." Bella sat up a little and bowed her head.

"He'll blame himself for this. I know it."

"He will. But I think you can help him through it." Carlisle heaved a sigh. "It really hurts him that you're in here because of us. It hurts all of us."

"I just don't know how to tell him about this. I don't like seeing him beat himself up about every little thing."

"Trust me. He's not the only one. Esme blames herself for it. Alice keeps saying that she should have fought him on the subject. Jasper thinks it was all his fault. Rosalie, she doesn't say much except that she should have been nicer to you. Emmett's not sure what to think. He's just glad that we found you."

"Are you the only one who doesn't blame themselves?"

"Oh I do. I just handle it better. I know that we could have talked him out of leaving if we had really wanted to. I just feel that it's better to dwell on what we have here and now than what we did in the past. And right now, I have a situation to help you figure out. We need to find out what we can do to fix this."

"I've thought about it a lot the past few days. I think the only way to fix it now is to finish turning me. I can't see any way around this."

"Bella, I don't know if I can bring myself to do it." She sat up, grabbing at his hands.

"Carlisle, you told me that you believe I am one of your daughters whether my heart beats or not. Turn me, please."

"Bella, I can't do that. I can't kill you. Your father is here. It would break him."

She slumped back to the bed, defeat filling her features. "I can't live like this."

Suddenly, her head rolled to the side, her eyes closing. Carlisle reached to check her pulse to find it quick and thready.

He placed his hand to her forehead. The fever hadn't gone up but she seemed very uncomfortable. She was panting as if she'd been running a marathon.

'Think, Carlisle. She said she gets weak if she doesn't get blood. Maybe if I get her blood she'll be okay.'

He headed for the door. As he opened it, he noticed that Edward was nowhere to be seen. "Where did Edward go?"

"He went hunting a little while ago. He said something about needing to hunt if he was going to take care of Bella. He didn't hear about what happened to her."

"I need to get her some blood. Will you stay with her, Esme?"

"I will."

"She's very weak right now. You'll need to keep a close eye on her."

"I understand. Hurry, Carlisle. I don't know if I can hide the story from Edward if he comes back before you do."

Carlisle nodded and ran off to find some blood for Bella.