A/N: All original Twilight characters are © Stephenie
Meyer. Original Perfect Forever characters are the sole property of MissP1987.
A/N x 2: It has also come to my attention that several of my current and/or former students have found this story. I STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO READ THE TWILIGHT SAGA FIRST! 6th grade and above may read and enjoy! 5th grade and below must have parent's permission first! Sorry, teacher first, writer second.
A/N x 3: This chapter may sting a bit. You may want to grab some tissues.
Chapter 21
"Mercy and Justice"
As Edward and Bella reached the grove of trees where the rest of the Cullen family knelt surrounding Emmett – still rocking a lifeless Rosalie back and forth in his arms and mumbling incoherently into her ear – Alice hung her head and buried her face in Jasper's heaving chest, her tiny body quaking with tearless sobs. Bella went immediately to Esme who was curled into a ball at Rosalie's feet; the most gut-wrenching whimpers Bella had ever heard racking her entire body. As Bella wrapped her arms around her, Esme clung to her so tightly it was actually painful.
Carlisle reached out cautiously to touch Rosalie on the arm, but Emmett snatched her away from him and yelled, "No! Don't touch her! She's gone, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it! So… Just. Leave. Us. Alone!"
Emmett's tortured wails broke Bella's heart, and by the pained look on Carlisle's face, she knew his heart was shattering, too. For his son… And for his daughter.
"Please, son. You have to let me examine her," Carlisle pleaded gently.
Emmett just continued to rock back and forth, shaking his head from side to side and clinging to Rosalie like a two-year-old clinging to a toy he didn't want to share.
"I don't understand!" Alice wailed. "I can still see her! How…how can I see her future if…if she's dead?"
Edward – standing off to the side in stunned silence – looked down on his family, incredulous. They actually believed Rosalie was gone. Even Carlisle – now sitting frozen at Emmett's side – couldn't bring himself to disturb Emmett's grief again long enough to confirm what he thought to be true.
But Edward could hear her thoughts. Rosalie Hale was a fighter, and she was clawing her way back to them tooth and nail.
"Rosalie isn't dead, Alice. I can hear her thoughts. She's in a great deal of pain, but she's fighting."
As Edward spoke, a collective gasp echoed through the Cullen family.
Edward stopped long enough to roll his eyes and chuckle softly before adding dryly, "Emmett, Rose says if you don't stop shaking her, she's going to kill you."
Emmett stilled immediately and grinned up at Edward, new life replacing the hopeless despair that had been in his eyes just moments before.
"Tell her I'd sure like to see her try right about now."
No sooner had Emmett spoken the words than did Rosalie stir slightly in his arms.
"I can hear you, you big idiot," she replied dryly. It was the most beautiful bit of Rosalie-loves-Emmett-sarcasm the Cullens had ever heard.
As Rosalie opened her eyes and tried to sit up, Carlisle gripped her shoulder and pushed her back down gently.
"Just lie still for a while longer, Rosie. The abrasions to your face have already healed, but I have no idea what other injuries you may have sustained. Can you tell me where you feel the greatest pain?"
As Rosalie began to report her aches and pains to Carlisle so he could examine her more closely, Edward reached for Bella's hand. She took it and stood without hesitation. In a matter of minutes, Rosalie would be up and walking around, but all over the battlefield, friends who would not be that fortunate needed them.
Edward followed the sound of agonized screams and terrified thoughts until he reached Paul – the two crescent shaped bite marks on his neck now growing an angry mix of black and purple – lying on the ground covered in a blanket, thrashing about in unimaginable pain. Only for Edward, it wasn't unimaginable. His transformation experience was still, and always would be, very fresh in his mind. As the venom had coursed through his body, the agony had been excruciating and unrelenting. For three days, Edward had laid there begging to die. So, he understood exactly what kind of torment Paul was experiencing as the vampire venom ravaged his body.
Jared – who had left Paul's side just long enough to phase back into human form and change his clothes – sat beside his best friend, tears streaming down his face. Sam and Jacob rushed out of the nearest tent fully dressed and fell to their knees beside Jared. Sam sat staring straight ahead stoically while Jacob hung his head and cried softly. Bella knelt beside Jacob and held him as he cried for all of their losses…those burning in the fire already, and those to come.
Edward spoke softly as he knelt down in front of Sam and Jacob and placed a hand on each man's shoulder.
"Sam, Jacob…I am so sorry. They were all good men, and they fought valiantly."
Bella looked into the eyes of her husband and saw such sorrow that it appeared as if he had aged ten years in mere minutes, although it was physically impossible for him to ever look a day over seventeen.
"Who, Edward?" she asked, dreading the answer she knew was coming.
Edward sighed and looked across the clearing at the pyres that burned before answering her question, barely lifting his voice above a whisper.
"Quil and Embry found Drew and Dayson next to the cliffs a little while ago. They were gone before phasing could take place, so Quil and Embry put them into the fire for burial."
Bella gasped and covered her mouth, shaking her head in disbelief.
"No! Not the twins! Their poor mother!"
The look of hesitation on Edward's face told Bella there were more.
More young men would not be returning to their families tonight.
She asked, even as dread lay heavy in the pit of her stomach, "Who else?"
"Collin and Brady found Cade and Taylor a few minutes ago over in the pine grove. They were not able to phase before they died either."
Bella shook her head sadly, her venom filled eyes stinging with impossible tears. Four young men had been lost to their families forever… no bodies to bury, no chance for final goodbyes. The clearing would be their final resting place.
Edward shuttered and turned his attention on Paul. Now was not the time to reveal the rest of what he knew. But, he knew there were additional dead yet to be discovered. He knew because there were people whose thoughts he could not read. Many more tears would be shed before the morning light.
Suddenly, Paul's back arched and his body began to twitch abnormally with convulsions. Edward knew that the venom was very close to his heart. Soon, the pain would be so intense that Paul would go into cardiac arrest experiencing the most horrific pain imaginable. Vampire venom was so toxic to shape-shifter blood that even one bite was fatal. Paul had been bitten twice, so Edward knew there was no chance of saving his life. But, maybe they could make him more comfortable…maybe even end his suffering mercifully before the pain got any worse.
"Carlisle! Paul needs you over here!" Edward barely raised his voice, but Carlisle was at his side in an instant. Carlisle's expertly trained eyes read the situation immediately, and he opened the medical bag that Jasper had retrieved for him from one of the tents and removed his stethoscope, inserting the plastic tubes in his ears. Placing the cold metal of the instrument's diaphragm against Paul's sweltering chest, Carlisle listened for only seconds before he looked over at Edward and shook his head despondently from side to side.
Suddenly, Paul reached out and grabbed Carlisle's wrist with more force than Edward thought possible considering his condition.
Paul spoke through clenched teeth, his voice shaky but determined – gasps and wheezes interrupting every other word. "I know… I'm done for… Carlisle. So just…end it…Please! I know what's coming… I…don't want to go out…that way. Help. Me. Please!"
Paul shut his eyes tight and drew in another ragged breath before reaching out for Jacob and grabbing him by the arm. His voice was eerily steady now as he looked into the eyes of the man who would have been his brother-in-law.
"I want to see Rachel, Jake. Will you get her for me?"
"Sure, sure. I'll be back in a few minutes. Hang in there, Bro."
And, Jacob was gone…phasing mid-stride and hitting top speed before he reached the edge of the forest.
Carlisle patted Paul reassuringly on the shoulder and said, "I'm going to help you, Paul. I won't let the pain get any worse. I promise. I'm going to give you an injection of morphine for now that will relieve your pain."
As Carlisle started to prepare the syringe, Bella's mind was racing.
She had never told them about her transformation experience…how the morphine had intensified the pain. She hadn't wanted Edward to know that she had been in such horrific agony...or Carlisle, for that matter. They believed that they had made it easier on her, and Bella never wanted to hurt them by telling them the truth. But, she couldn't allow Paul to suffer any more than he already had…the pain of knowing he would not survive this day…knowing he would never be a husband to Rachel, or a father to her children…that was enough pain for anyone to bear.
Bowing her head and allowing her flowing brown curls to hide her face, Bella cringed and said, "Carlisle, don't give him the morphine."
Holding the syringe in mid-air, Carlisle looked at Bella curiously for only a second as she raised her head and looked into his eyes apologetically before comprehension took hold and a flash of deep sorrow mixed with a bit of anger moved quickly across his face.
Bella could feel Edward's eyes on her. She could feel the waves of anger rolling off of his body. Reluctantly, she raised her chin and met his gaze, biting down hard on her bottom lip. Waves of anger wasn't exactly the right word. It was more like a tsunami. His expression closed off any hope of his listening to her now, but she knew there would definitely be a difficult conversation coming later.
Paul's sharp intake of breath followed by a series of gut-wrenching whimpers brought them all back to the present. As he suddenly began convulsing again, Sam stilled Paul's body by placing his hands on his shoulders, holding him down.
"You have to do something, Carlisle! Rachel can't see him like this," Sam pleaded, tears he'd been holding back finally spilling from his eyes and running down his face.
During the many strategy sessions over the past month, Carlisle had discussed this very situation with the wolves and the cats. He had explained to all of them the devastating effects that a vampire bite would have on a shape-shifter. Without question, it would result in a slow and agonizing death. The question was how to bring about the victim's death more quickly…mercifully ending their suffering before the venom had a chance to reach the heart. The answer had been right before Carlisle's eyes all along. Pentobarbital had been used in veterinary medicine for years to humanely euthanize beloved pets, and in the Netherlands, it was used in physician assisted suicides for terminally ill patients. But the problem with using pentobarbital on the wolves was that it would take a massive dose, and massive doses caused vomiting. So, Carlisle had concocted a cocktail combining Anzemet – an antiemetic used to reduce nausea caused from chemotherapy in cancer patients – with sodium pentobarbital. But, he had only tested the drug on an elk and a bear. Carlisle was still unsure of how the drug would actually affect a human…especially a human with the genetic make-up of a shape-shifter.
"Couldn't you give him a low dose now as an anesthetic?" Edward asked, reading Carlisle's thoughts as they warred with each other.
"Yes, but if I do, I run the risk of him falling into a coma. I know he wants to talk to Rachel before…" Carlisle's voice broke just as Paul screamed and clutched his chest.
"God! It b…burns! Make it s…stop! PLEASE!"
Without another second of hesitation, Carlisle took the syringe from his bag and injected the cocktail into Paul's vein. Almost instantly, Paul's body stilled and his breathing slowed to slightly faster than normal.
Paul looked up into Carlisle's eyes and mouthed thank-you before his eyelids fluttered once and closed.
~o ~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o
As Jacob ran toward his house where he knew Rachel, Emily, and Kim had gathered to wait out the battle together until they could welcome their men home, he thought his heart would burst. He would rather face ten newborn vampires than have to be the one to tell his sister that her fiancé was dying and asking for her.
At first, Rachel had resisted the unexplainable gravitational pull that she had for Paul. She had found his total devotion to a woman he had only just met a bit creepy…bordering on obsessive. But, as the days passed and she watched Emily and Kim bask in the glow of being totally worshipped by their soul-mates, it wasn't long before she was right there with them.
Paul had proposed to her during Christmas, and they had planned to be married in June a week after Jacob's high school graduation. Planning to surprise Rachel after the battle, Paul had recently put a down payment on a small house in La Push. Rachel had completed her early childhood degree and planned on taking over the administrator's duties at the day care on the rez when she retired in July. Paul and Jacob had even discussed the possibility of opening a body shop in Forks after the wedding. So many plans had been made. So many dreams… Now, Jacob had to tell his sister that her dreams were about to be shattered.
As he skidded to a halt on the front lawn, Jacob phased into human form and ran into the shop to pull on a pair of jeans he had thrown into a pile on top of his toolbox. The second his heavy steps were heard on the porch, all three women came running out of the house, Billy rolling out right behind them.
The look of pity on Jacob's tear-stained face stopped each girl's heart as they all three instantly understood that one or more of them was facing heartbreak. Without speaking, Jacob reached for Rachel, and she immediately wrapped her arms protectively around her chest and sank to her knees screaming out Paul's name. Jacob dropped to his knees in front of her and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly as they cried together. Jacob could hear Emily and Kim sobbing quietly beside them and Billy cursing in the background. He knew they only had minutes to spare, so he grasped his sister firmly by the arms and pulled her to her feet. He spoke urgently, but gently.
"Rachel, Paul's been bitten, and he's asking for you. We have to go, but it'll be faster if I phase and carry you on my back. Are you strong enough to hold on to me?"
Wiping tears from her face, Rachel shook her head up and down in determined silence. In the next instant, Jacob had slung her on his back and jumped off the porch, phasing before his feet even hit the ground. Rachel held on tightly as Jacob ran into the forest toward the clearing so fast the trees were nothing but a blur. As she closed her eyes tightly to hold the nausea at bay, she had no way of knowing that her brother's thoughts mirrored hers.
Please let him hold on until we get there.
~o ~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o
Ethan had not left Leah's side since he'd found her lying in the grass motionless after his fight with Dallas. For a long time, they'd laid there together…the panther sprawled protectively next to the wolf. But, Ethan had finally coaxed Leah into phasing so the healing process could begin – though in doing so, he was no longer able to hear her thoughts, which troubled him very much. Now, Leah rested quietly on the ground curled into the fetal position with her head in Ethan's lap, her naked body covered with a blanket. Ethan, who had phased shortly after Leah, sat lovingly stroking her hair wearing only a pair of jeans that Willa had brought him from the changing tent.
Ethan had no idea just how extensive Leah's injuries were, but he feared it was grave. She had been feverish and talking out of her head for a while, but now her body was cold and clammy. Ethan could feel her pulse racing as he held onto her hand, and she was fighting for every breath she drew. But most frightening were the dark bruises forming on her abdomen and the huge blood stain that now soaked the blanket between her thighs. He looked frantically around for Carlisle and found him hunched over beside Paul and knew the news there was tragic.
Leah moaned and jerked a couple of times, and Ethan leaned over and kissed her forehead.
He spoke soothingly into her ear, "Keep fighting like you promised, Baby. Carlisle's on his way. I love you, Leah."
Ethan had never felt as helpless as he did right now. He thought back to the day in the Alaskan wilderness when the bear attacked them. He had been able to take Leah home that day and nurse her back to health. This time though, he instinctively knew that her injuries were far beyond his feeble capabilities. But, he was grateful she was alive.
As Ethan looked across the clearing, he could see many of their friends had not been so fortunate.
Jacob and Rachel had just arrived, and Rachel was clutching Paul's limp hand to her chest. Collin and Brady sat staring blankly into the fire where the bodies of two of their Quileute brothers still burned. Quil and Embry walked away tearfully from the pyre where two more brothers had been laid to rest. Then, as Ethan's eyes came to rest on Seth and Tahla to his left, the sight before him caused his breath to catch in his throat and he wretched as the bitter taste of bile filled his mouth.
Seth remained in wolf form, his sandy-furred body twisted into an unnatural pose. His hind legs were mangled and bloody, and the skin and muscle on his back had been ripped open, exposing his spine. Tahla sat next to him weeping – the blanket she had draped around her covered in blood.
"God, no! Not Seth, too!" Ethan said the words before he could stop himself, realizing too late how they would affect Leah. Her breathing became erratic and her chest heaved as she moaned Seth's name over and over. Suddenly, Leah's eyes popped open, desperation and fear clouding her face, and she grabbed Ethan by the hand in a vice grip.
Though weak, her voice was stern as she ordered, "Go check on him, Ethan! Make sure…"
Her voice cracked and she broke into sobs before Leah could finish the sentence. Ethan smoothed her hair and wiped the tears from her eyes, gently shushing her, as he said, "Okay, Baby. I'll be right back."
Ethan reluctantly pulled away from his wife to go check on Seth terrified of what he would find when he reached him.
~o ~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o
As Rachel slid off of Jacob's back and rushed over to Paul, no one else around them existed. She fell to the ground and laid her body next to his, covering his mouth with hers. Paul opened his eyes and looked up at her with a weak grin.
"Hi, Beautiful."
"Hi, Yourself."
"Honey, I'm so sorry. I…"
Rachel covered Paul's mouth with her finger and smoothed his dark hair with her hand. Tears streamed down her face, spilling onto his bare chest. Paul reached up and tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear before catching a tear on the end of his finger.
"I had to see you one last time, Rache. To tell you how much I love you. I didn't say it enough…didn't show you…"
Paul's breathing hitched and his face crumpled in pain. His body shook with the effort to remain still and not let Rachel see just how bad the pain really was, but the fire that raged underneath his skin…in his veins…just wouldn't let him go.
Carlisle touched Paul on the shoulder gently and said, "Paul, the meds are wearing off. It's time, My Friend."
Paul gasped as his back arched despite his efforts to remain still.
"How long…after?" Paul asked through clenched teeth as a choked sob tore from Rachel's throat.
"Your heart will stop within ten seconds of the injection. So, you should probably say your good-byes now."
Edward stood up and took Bella's hand as she looked knowingly into his eyes. Realizing there was nothing else they could do for Paul, and not wanting to intrude on such an intimate moment, they moved on across the field toward Seth and Leah.
Sam clasped Paul's hand tightly and looked into his eyes and said,
"This is not good-bye forever, Brother. I'll see you again someday." Then he ran off in the opposite direction of Edward and Bella.
Jared simply held out his fist toward Paul and waited as Paul bumped fists with him, a weak grin spreading across his pain-stricken face.
"Love you, Bro." Jared managed to choke out before standing and following Sam across the field.
Jacob, who had returned from the changing tent just moments earlier, dropped to his knees on the opposite side of Rachel and clasped Paul's left hand between both of his and opened his mouth to speak, but the words just wouldn't come. Jacob's strangled sobs mingled with Rachel's as Paul reached up and laid his hand on the top of Jacob's head.
"I've been proud to call you my brother, Jacob Black. I love you, man."
As Paul finished, Jacob could only manage to shake his head in agreement. He moved to get up and leave, but Paul caught him by the arm and said, "No…stay. She'll need you…after."
Then, his eyes swimming with tears, Paul turned his face toward his true love. With all the strength he could muster from his weakened body, he steeled himself so that he could say what he wanted to say without the pain causing him to gasp and stutter.
"My life didn't begin until the day I met you, Rachel Black. Today doesn't change a thing. I will love you forever."
Rachel kissed the palm of Paul's hand before kissing him deeply on the lips. Still lying beside him in the grass, she looked up into his eyes and said, "I only thought I knew what love was before I met you. Thank you for teaching me how to love and how to be loved. I am yours forever, Paul."
Paul smiled and looked over at Carlisle and nodded. Then, he looked back into the eyes of his soul-mate.
As Paul felt the cool wetness of the alcohol pad touch his arm, he asked Rachel, "Will you stay with me until it's over?"
Rachel smiled through her tears and answered, "I'll be right here beside you. Always."
And as he felt the needle prick his skin, Paul held tightly to Rachel's hand and focused on her chocolate brown eyes.
Seconds later, Paul exhaled one last time, and as his hand went limp in hers, Rachel watched as the light in his eyes flickered and dimmed until it was gone.
"Noooo!" Rachel wailed and shook her head violently back and forth as she clutched Paul's shoulders and shook his lifeless body as if she were trying to wake him from a deep sleep. Then, she threw herself back across his chest and clung to him, tortured sobs racking her entire body.
Jacob wrapped his arms around his sister and held on for dear life as the two of them lay in the grass on top of Paul and cried.
Carlisle silently slipped his hand over Paul's face to close his eyes before walking away quietly, leaving them to grieve in private.
~o ~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o
Edward and Bella found Seth and Tahla at the same time Ethan reached them. Carlisle arrived just moments later. All three stood frozen in shock as the severity of Seth's injuries sank in, and all three wondered just how he could possibly still be holding on – though by a tiny thread.
Still in wolf form, Seth's eyes were closed and his breathing would have been undetectable to the normal human. Blood and mucus poured from his mouth and nose, while muted throaty grunts escaped from between his teeth. Tahla – her naked body covered only by a blood-soaked blanket – sat in silence, a look of sheer terror marring the natural beauty of her face.
Although normally very composed and the ultimate professional as a physician, Carlisle very nearly fell to pieces as he dropped to his knees to examine the boy he had grown to love as a son. It was obvious that his spine and both of his legs were broken. Carlisle also believed Seth was suffering from internal injuries due to the blood and mucous oozing from his muzzle. But he would have to phase into human form in order for Carlisle to be sure of the extent of Seth's injuries.
While Bella tended to Tahla, Edward and Ethan knelt beside Seth to try and coax him into phasing. Bella watched Edward closely out of the corner of her eye. Never had she seen him so visibly devastated and…scared. If she didn't know better, she would have sworn she saw his hand shaking as Edward reached out to stroke the fur on Seth's neck. Bella knew exactly how he felt because her heart was breaking, too. Seth had become just another member of their family… a brother. The thought of him hovering so close to death frightened Bella more than she had the words to express.
"Seth, I know the pain is unbearable. Carlisle is here to help you, but you must phase back into human form so he can examine you properly," urged Edward.
"Come on, Little Brother…we need you to phase so your body can start healing," Ethan prodded.
After a brief pause, Edward looked at Ethan and shook his head back and forth. Something was preventing Seth from phasing.
Looking over at Carlisle, Edward spoke in a tone of frustration. "His mind is too muddled with pain. He can't concentrate. Can't you give him something to relieve the pain long enough for him to phase?"
"I can try, but I'm not sure how the medication will metabolize in the wolf's system. There's a chance that it will send him into a coma, preventing him from phasing all together. If that were to happen, Seth would remain in a comatose state until his body fully recuperates, possibly causing permanent damage."
In a rare show of indecisive hesitation, Carlisle pinched his eye-lids closed and rubbed the space just below his brow as he contemplated his next action both as a doctor and as a friend.
Suddenly, Seth slowly raised his head and looked straight into Carlisle's eyes, but spoke to Edward through his thoughts.
Edward, tell him its okay. Tell him to do what he's gotta do. I trust him to do what's best.
"Carlisle, Seth says to do whatever you need to do to help him. He trusts you to do what's best."
As Edward spoke for Seth, the sandy-haired wolf laid his head back in Tahla's lap with a weary sigh. Tahla smoothed the fur around his eyes and over his neck.
Carlisle opened his medical bag and pulled out a syringe. As he injected the second small dose of the pentobarbital cocktail of the day into Seth's vein, Carlisle prayed that he wouldn't have to administer another large dose to end Seth's life as he had Paul's. Honestly, he didn't believe he had one more merciful goodbye left in him today.
As the medicine took effect, Seth's breathing slowed and his body relaxed. Carlisle and Bella held their breath and sat stiff and still while Ethan's and Tahla's lips moved in silent prayer.
Edward shook Seth firmly and said, "No, Seth! Do not go to sleep! Phase…You've got to!"
After an agonizing three minutes of Edward constantly shaking Seth back to awareness and then barking orders at him to phase, Seth's light brown fur finally morphed into smooth tanned skin. Everybody in the group gathered around him gasped.
Seth gave them a weak grin and asked, "That bad, huh?"
Carlisle covered Seth's midsection with a blanket and began to poke and prod his way down the length of his back and legs. Finally, he put his hand on Seth's forehead and smiled.
"Nothing so bad that we can't fix it. The laceration on your back has already closed and is healing quite nicely, but… Seth, your legs began to heal before I had a chance to set them properly. We're going to have to re-break them, but I can't give you another dose of the pain meds because it would be lethal."
Seth looked up into Tahla's eyes before turning his eyes back to Carlisle.
"Uh…I don't think the pain's gonna be a problem. I can't feel anything below my chest."
Carlisle, Edward, and Ethan exchanged concerned glances and Tahla buried her face in Bella's neck, crying softly. Bella hugged her tightly and looked over her head at Edward with a panicked expression.
Carlisle immediately began to test the extent of Seth's numbness with a series of needle pricks from his breast bone to his heels...no reaction. Then, he asked him to try and move his toes…nothing.
Carlisle explained that Seth's paralysis would be temporary, but that it would take a great deal of time for his body to heal. The first step was to set his legs in the proper position and move him to the Cullen house where Carlisle could care for him. So, as Tahla held his head in her lap and Bella held his hand, Edward and Carlisle broke and set Seth's legs so that they were back to their normal shape and position. Ethan hurried back to Leah to check on her and fill her in on her brother's condition.
~o ~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o
When Ethan reached Leah's side, his heart stopped. She was too quiet…too still. Her usually deep tanned face was ashen, and her lips were a dull blue. Ethan fell…sprawling out over on top of his wife with an anguished cry and laid his head on her chest, listening for a heart beat…nothing. He placed a shaking hand under her nose praying that he would feel warm breath flowing…nothing.
"NO! You will not leave me, Leah! Do you hear me?"
Ethan began doing chest compressions followed by long breaths into Leah's mouth.
"Breathe, Leah! … Breathe, dammit!"
As Ethan began the second cycle of compressions, Carlisle appeared at his side. Edward and Bella knelt silently at Leah's feet, looking on with dread.
After the third full cycle of compressions and breaths with no response from Leah, Carlisle laid his hand gently on Ethan's shoulder.
"Ethan, she's gone."
Ethan shoved Carlisle's hand away with a ferocious growl and picked Leah up, cradling her in his lap like a baby.
"No, Baby! No! You promised me you would hold on! My life means nothing without you!"
Bella sniffed and buried her face in Edward's chest, shaking her head back and forth in denial. Edward wrapped his arms around her waist and held on tight. When was this horrible night ever going to end? How many more of their family and friends were going to die? Leah had just begun to truly live. She had finally found happiness.
Ethan continued to murmur in Leah's ear.
"Please, Leah. Come back to me. Don't do this, Baby! You promised."
With a sad sigh, Carlisle touched the top of Leah's head gently and turned to walk away, leaving yet another dear friend to grieve in peace. Then, just as the morning light began to peek through the darkness, Carlisle stopped and turned back around smiling. Edward gasped and Bella turned to face Leah in shock, her hand flying to her mouth to cover it.
Leah's eyes were open, and she was staring intently at Ethan. In a voice so weak it could barely be heard, she said, "I'm here… Ethan. I'm… here…Baby."
Ethan's head shot up, and he looked into the eyes of his wife with tears streaming down his face. He hugged her tightly and kissed her lips gently.
"Don't ever leave me again, Leah. I won't live without you. Do you hear me?"
Leah reached up and gingerly touched Ethan's face before giving him a weak smile.
It took Carlisle only moments to assess Leah's situation as critical.
"Ethan, Leah is bleeding internally and has lost a massive amount of blood. She may also have severe internal injuries. She needs a CT scan and a blood transfusion. We need to get her to the hospital immediately. I am not equipped to treat her at the house. I will check on the others and meet you there before the admitting office has finished their paperwork."
As Carlisle disappeared, Ethan stood with Leah cradled in his arms, poised to begin running. Edward stepped in front of him smiling and lifted Leah into his arms.
"I'm faster. I'll be half-way there with her before you and Bella have time to meet me on the 101 with the Hummer."
As Edward raced off in the direction of Forks with Leah in his arms, Bella sprinted toward the Cullen mansion – Ethan phasing into panther form and matching her stride for stride.
~o ~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o
By the time Carlisle had tended to every injured member of Camp Cullen's army, he had set Collin's broken collar bone, popped Meekah's broken nose back into place, and taped up four of Hunter's broken ribs. Now, as daylight filtered through the thick canopy of pines overhead, he threw his backpack and medical bag over his shoulder and prepared to make the ten mile run to the county hospital hoping that Ethan had spun a believable yarn to explain why his wife was being rushed there with apparent internal injuries.
But just as he turned to leave, someone across the clearing screamed. It was a scream that made the venom flowing in Carlisle's veins run cold. Another one of their friends and family had been found.
The past eighteen hours had taken a heavy toll on the Cullen camp. They had lost five young men… all Quileutes. But, the vampires had suffered losses, too. Nate and Josh, two of the American nomads, had been killed in a skirmish with Bryce and three other Volturi soldiers. They did manage to take down Bryce and one of his charges before they were torn apart by the other two and their reinforcements, but that was little consolation to their coven members who now mourned their loss.
Now, as Carlisle ran towards the tormented shrieks echoing across the field, he could see Emmett and Jasper – both of their jaws clenched tightly shut against the pain of her electric shocks – restraining Kate as she struggled to break free of their hold on her. Her eyes were wild…primal… as they darted back and forth between two scenes. Carlisle followed her gaze to the fire that burned just four feet in front of her. His stomach lurched as he saw a head full of strawberry blond hair lying atop the pyre. The remnants of Tanya's body were scattered over the ashes. Then, not ten feet to the right of the fire stood the second cause of Kate's distress. A tree branch had been carved into a stake and driven into the ground. Atop the pole was a sight that, had his stomach held any contents, would have made Carlisle spill them all over the forest floor. Garrett's head – eyes wide and fixed, mouth open in horror – had been shoved so far down the pole that the wood protruded out from the top of his skull.