Title: What Dreams May Come
Summary: Bella and Edward settle happily into married life at Dartmouth but Bella's dreams of a mysterious child persist, drawing them into a centuries old deception with devastating consequences. A Breaking Dawn AU.
Rating: M
Disclaimer: Twilight and all related places and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.
A/N: Ah, I'm so sorry to have made all you guys wait so long for this chapter! With my final year of uni starting up my free time has taken a dramatic nose dive...add to that copious amounts of re-writes to try and make all the exposition in this chapter palatable (yes, this is pretty much all talking folks) and you end up with the three-week wait. This chapter does contain some long-awaited answers though, so I'm hoping you'll forgive me!
Quote: In this world, those who seek the truth will also find trouble - Gary Amirault
Chapter 20: Gabriel
"They're all waiting for us you know," Bella whispered quietly into my chest, her fingers curled into the stiff fabric of the shirt I'd thrown on to replace the one Jacob had successfully shredded to pieces.
"I don't care," I responded firmly, burying my nose into her hair to inhale the sweet floral scent which was uniquely her, the aroma even sweeter now that it was laced with the unmistakable zest of the reaction her body had to my proximity, something which had been sorely lacking over the past few agonizing days.
"I'm not going to 'disappear' again Edward," she soothed, tilting her head upwards till her eyes met mine with promise writ clear in the mahogany orbs. In another situation, I may have marveled with slight bemusement at the role-reversal of Bella comforting me, but currently all I wanted to do was cling to that promise with an iron grip.
It had been that burning need to reassure myself that her awakening was not merely my imagination run rampant which had prompted me to sweep her up in my arms and retreat to our room with nary a word to our captive audience in the first place. The moment I had felt her respond to my presence for the first time in over a week, my mind had seemingly latched on to one singular course of action with no heed paid to any outside concerns. The only concession I had made in regards to acknowledging we were not alone was to suppress the primal desire to make love to my wife, wanting more than anything to revel in that physical connection but knowing now was not the time to indulge in such an action. Instead, I'd wrapped myself around her on our bed, intertwining our limbs so impossibly together as if I was trying to physically anchor her to this place and merely lay there in silence, immersing myself in the slight changes to her heart-rate, to her scent, to anything which signaled her return to a conscious state.
"I couldn't reach you love, I couldn't do anything," I murmured, remembered anguish clouding my vision till I could have sworn her face had once again become blank before my eyes, "I never imagined you could ever be harmed by something I could not protect you from."
Bella shifted suddenly, raising herself over my still form until she could rest her forehead against my own. With sure hands, she picked up one of mine and placed it firmly over her heart, the steady thrum vibrating into my cold flesh with the force of an earthquake.
"True, there might be some things on this Earth which even you can't protect me from, but as long as you protect this, as long as you hold my heart in your hands, I'll always come back to you. Always, understand?"
Once again, I was utterly overcome by the love radiating from her very being, her fragility superseded by the sheer force of her conviction. In that moment, I believed in her with a faith which would put the most devout worshipper to shame. Esme had been right, there was nothing on or beyond this Earth which could keep us apart. It was something I should hold as a very tenant of my existence, even if I did occasionally need reminding when my ingrained patterns of self-doubt reared themselves anew.
"Edward?"
"I love you," was all I could manage in reply, the timeless words inadequate yet encompassing of everything she was, and ever would be, to me, "I love you."
With an aching tenderness I pressed my lips to hers, feeling her instantly submit to a kiss which was not about lust, nor reassurance but simple, unadulterated love, something more pure than I could have ever believed possible for me to be a part of.
"I love you too," she finally murmured when I pulled back, her breath shortened and her lips lightly swelled.
I could have gazed at her flushed perfection for an eternity, but reality soon intruded in the form of my name called out in perfect unison by the minds of our slightly impatient family, followed by an addendum from Carlisle I could not ignore.
I know you needed time to re-connect with Bella, but we have guests anxiously waiting for news…and a young wolf who'd like to reassure himself of Bella's well-being with his own eyes.
Though I felt no inclination to help Jacob ease his mind in any capacity, I merely had to skim the surface of everyone's minds to know the situation downstairs was tense and to allow it to fester any longer in uncomfortable silence would do more harm than good. I'd dimly registered the small commotion caused when Alice and Jasper had finally made it to the house with the Denali coven in tow half an hour earlier, Irina not taking kindly to Jacob's presence at all. The thin veneer of calm established by Carlisle's words and Jasper's emotional manipulations soon after would not hold up for long underneath the weight of each side's animosity. More selfishly though, I too wanted to know what had caused Bella's unconscious state, for she had been adamant in her desire to explain everything at once to everybody.
"We should head downstairs; I think we've reached the limit of how long they are all willing to wait."
Nodding in agreement, Bella moved to pull away but I quickly disavowed her of that course of action, keeping her securely wrapped in my embrace as I maneuvered into a standing position. At her inquisitive and indignant huff, I simply brushed a kiss along her hairline and murmured,
"I'm not quite ready to let go of you yet."
It was not the whole truth (the small, selfish part of me wanted to make sure mine were the only arms she'd be hugged by once we rejoined everybody), but it was sincere enough for Bella to settle her head against my shoulder without further complaint.
Exercising a restraint of motion in one last futile bid to prolong the cocoon of emotion we'd wrapped ourselves in; I proceeded with slower than mortal speed across the landing and down the stairs, ignoring the various mental variations of finally coming from the group arranged around our living room in a tableau of strained civility.
Along the main couch, Irina sat wedged in-between Kate and Tanya, their deceptively dainty hands resting on her arms for the dual purpose of both comfort and restraint. Standing behind them, Carmen subtly leaned against Eleazar, the latter of which acknowledged our entrance with a slight nod in greeting.
Jasper, Alice, Rosalie and Emmett occupied the other couch, the slightly slumped and relaxed quality of their postures deliberately maintained to project a sense of normality in an effort of subconscious diffusion of the situation, their stances echoed by Carlisle and Esme on the opposing loveseat.
Lastly, in the midst of it all, Jacob sat sprawled in front of the fireplace, his injured leg wrapped up and propped onto the rough wood of the rustic coffee table, the slight glare shadowing his features brightening instantly at seeing Bella before dimming just as quickly when he registered her position in relation to me.
"Are you ok Bella?"
"I'm fine," she responded automatically before biting her lip in well-seen gesture of concern, "You?"
My childish side piped up in glee when, as I sat us down on the remaining chair, Bella seemed quite content to stay where she was and made no move to back up her verbal concern with any physical gesture.
"Nothing that won't heal. The doc over there patched me up pretty good."
As Jacob gestured towards Carlisle, a thought deliberately directed my way left me wondering again whether I was somehow imagining this entire scenario.
I'm sorry.
I tilted my head to one side in an expression of innocent further inquiry and was rewarded with a scowl before he abruptly turned his head towards the window.
You heard me. There's no way in hell I'm gonna think it again.
As far as apologies go, it was not the most sincere one I'd ever heard but all things considered, it was more than I ever would have expected from him and even though I would be loathe to admit it, if our positions had been reversed I do not think I would have acted any differently. When it comes to Bella's safety, my rationality does not fare much better than his.
Acknowledging him with a slight nod, I turned my attention back to Bella, only to see her looking up at me with a speculative smile, her hand brushing once against my cheek in a gesture of gratefulness before she pivoted to face the rest of our guests. Sometimes, it was easy to forget how observant she could be.
Silence reigned for a few moments, everyone uncertain as to where to begin (Alice in particular was not happy about the blanket of nothingness Jacob's presence had cast over her ability to see the outcome of this meeting) before Esme took it upon herself to break the uneasiness.
"Bella, you've already met Tanya, Kate, Carmen and Eleazar, but you haven't been introduced to Irina."
"Uh, hi," Bella started off uncertainly, "Thank you for agreeing to come here I guess."
The vampire in question merely gave a curt nod in greeting, her tense form radiating unhappiness despite the efforts I knew Jasper was employing to keep her calm.
This is the girl those stupid wolves killed Laurent over? She hardly seems worth it.
Bella started slightly at the growl which erupted unbidden from my chest, the natural instinct to protect her from even the unkind thoughts of others thundering loud and clear in my head.
Guessing at the cause of my unrest, Tanya shot her sister a warning glance before smiling conciliatorily at Bella.
"It was an easy choice to make. Alice said you had some information about…about our mother," she prompted, the minute pause in her words the only outwards sign of the turmoil I could read in her mind. The subject of their mother's fate was not one Tanya and her sisters dwelled on lightly, and the possibility she had not broken the laws of our kind as they'd always believed had cast doubt on the anger they'd felt towards her for centuries, something they could barely come to grips with.
"Yes, but I think you're probably going to think I'm crazy," she smiled wryly, gripping onto my hand for comfort.
"We thought that anyway little sister. I mean, marrying vampires? Motorbike riding with werewolves? Loving stodgy old books written way before even Edward's time? Crazy," Emmett interjected with a shake of his head, the random comment having the desired effect of lightening the atmosphere in the room so much I swore I could see even Irina's lips twitch with laughter.
With more confidence built up, Bella took a deep breath and launched into a long explanation which left me shocked at the depth of knowledge she had somehow acquired during her unconscious state.
"I've been having these dreams. Dreams about the past, about a man who is immortal yet not a vampire, who no longer ages but whose heart still beats and who, for the last few centuries has been held captive by the Volturi because his existence is in defiance of what they perceive the natural order of things to be. Apparently, Gabriel was born during the first few hours of his birth mother's change into a vampire. She didn't survive, but he did, somehow having gained immortality and a few other vampiric traits because he absorbed some of the venom spreading through her veins while still in the womb."
"Fascinating," Carlisle murmured, his mind already cataloguing the medical possibilities from such an occurrence, "The venom must have directly contaminated the placenta, but was still filtered enough to not trigger a complete change in the fetus."
"More like horrific if you ask me," Jacob mumbled under his breath, disgust clear on his features.
"No-one did, mutt," Rosalie shot back with a snarl, the discussion of vampire babies putting a spark in her eyes I had never seen before.
"What did you call me, Barbie?"
"You didn't know any of this information last week," Alice commented loudly, successfully diffusing the oncoming argument by directing the attention back to Bella, who shot Alice a look of relieved gratitude in return.
"No, I didn't. Before last week I could only piece together what I had seen into a rough version of the truth, but now I know it completely."
Bella turned to me then, raising her eyes to mine with a mix of apology and determination in her gaze.
"That's where I was, where you couldn't reach me. Gabriel was communicating with me, but he said my mind wouldn't have been able to handle the strain of it if I'd been conscious."
"So he's telepathic?" Jasper inquired softly, drawing Bella's attention back to the group.
"Yes, it's his gift, the ability to communicate with the minds of others. He's been trying for centuries to establish contact with someone who could help him but most of the people who came within his telepathic range were either the Volturi themselves or their imminent prey, neither of whom would or could help him."
"Until you came along," I interjected softly, realization and confusion sweeping through me in equal measure, "But that was almost a year ago. You didn't start having the dreams until a few months ago."
Bella blushed, looking inexplicably embarrassed. I fought down the urge to press a kiss to her cheek, the pooling of blood behind the thin membrane of skin always made my lips tingle with warmth whenever I did so.
"Um, well it seems whatever part of my brain is responsible for the immunity to your power made it difficult for him to get through. He established a connection while we were in Volterra but it's taken him this long to strengthen it to the point where he could influence my dreams."
"What exactly does all this have to do with our mother?" Kate questioned impatiently, her mind anxious to hear clarification of the few bits and pieces Alice had been able to tell them so far.
"She was the vampire who attacked Gabriel's mother. She took him in and cared for him as her own, guarding him because she knew his existence was unique but somehow the Volturi discovered Gabriel despite her efforts. The memory you have, of the immortal child? It's false. There was a vampire there with the Volturi, he somehow manipulated your memories so you wouldn't question her death, or the disappearance of the boy."
"Have you ever heard of a talent such as this, mi amor?" Carmen asked softly, drawing everyone's attention to Eleazar who stroked his chin in thought.
I could see him mentally flicking through all of the vampires he had met while with the Volturi, before finally landing not on such an occurrence, but on a tale he'd heard told by one of the older members of the Guard.
"There was a tale about a very old vampire who was said to be able to manipulate memories as if they were nothing more than mere words to be re-written, but despite his value, he was executed long ago for trying to use his power to seize control from Aro, Marcus and Caius."
The realization that Bella's assertion was most likely true stole over Tanya, Kate and Irina, each one overcome with guilt for centuries of misplaced hatred towards their mother for a crime she had probably never committed in the first place. The self-loathing in their thoughts rivaled even my darkest musings until Jasper quietly intervened, sending a wave of calm emotion across the room.
"What do we do now?"
A beat passed after Tanya's quiet question before Bella spoke up with conviction, her words succinct yet completely capable of causing a frisson of terror to lance down my spine at the danger implied within her firm directive.
"We rescue him."
"And how do you propose to do that? From what you've told me, these guys make Victoria and her newborn army look like kittens in comparison! What are you going to do, force your way in there and demand they release a prisoner you shouldn't even know they have?"
I never thought there would come a day when I would be in complete agreement with Jacob on any issue, but for once I could find no fault in his outburst.
"Actually, we can just walk in since we've already been invited," Emmett grinned smugly, already imagining exercising his fighting skills with a kind of manic glee.
"We have?"
Bella tilted questioning eyes towards me but it was Esme who answered before I could even formulate a response other than an immediate veto of any plan which would put Bella at odds with the Guard.
"They sent us a missive, they want you to visit them as a vampire before the deadline of six days time from now."
"That won't work," my wife immediately replied and I foolishly gave in to the sudden hope she'd come to realize the absolute impossibility of what she was trying to organize before her next words brought that same emotion crashing back to earth.
"If I'm a newborn, I won't be able to go near Gabriel so I'll just have to stay human until at least we've gotten him out of there."
"I could tell you if that plan would work, if someone hadn't apparently already decided they are going to help us," Alice frowned, internally cursing Jacob as the future remained frustratingly blank before her.
"There is absolutely no way I'm not coming if Bella's gonna be in danger! Besides, a werewolf would be the perfect distraction," he argued back, immediately recognizing it was him she was talking about.
"We're coming too. If what Bella's told us is true, Gabriel is a part of our family and we protect what's ours," Irina vowed fiercely, while Eleazar shared a meaningful look with Carmen before adding their support, "We will join you as well, my knowledge of the fortress' layout will be required I believe."
I suppose it was a testament to my family's belief in Bella that I could sense no opposition from them either to her desire to rescue Gabriel but as everyone around me launched into arguments and discussions of tactics and resources, I felt as if my cold heart was being squeezed in a vice and words spilled forth from my lips before I could stop them.
A hush fell over the room with alarming suddenness, broken only by Bella's disbelieving question.
"What did you just say?"
Unwilling, almost unable, to back down, I locked my eyes on her own and slowly repeated my words.
"I said, I think rescuing Gabriel would be a mistake."
Emotions flickered rapidly through Bella's beautiful brown eyes before anger emerged as the clear winner. Immediately abandoning her position on my lap, she fairly hissed an order at me.
"Outside. Now."
Some-one's in trou-ble…
Ignoring Jacob's gleeful jibe, I dutifully followed Bella outside, resignation for the confrontation to come etched deeper into my soul with every step away from the house. A part of me felt like cringing at the blatant disrespect my objection had shown of her opinion, even as another part felt justified in voicing the concern.
Still conflicted, I was slightly startled as at about 500 metres from the house, far enough into the thick copse of trees that no-one could see or hear us, Bella suddenly whirled around with indignation shining from every perfect imperfection upon her face.
"Why would you say that?" she demanded, arms crossed defensively in front of her as if I was an enemy she was trying to protect herself from. In her mind, maybe I was…all the promises I'd made to support her no matter what now echoing hollowly, broken under the weight of the one self-promise I would never, ever break; keep her safe.
"Because it needed to be said. Rescuing someone from the Volturi isn't just dangerous, its suicide."
The words came out harsher than I intended, and I fought against the urge to wrap Bella up in my arms when she flinched in response.
"What happened to we'll do whatever it takes to solve this?" she countered after a moment, her eyes beginning to shine with the tell-tale sheen of oncoming tears. There were few things in this world which could bring me to my knees, but Bella crying was one of them. I'd been the cause of too many a tear-track upon her porcelain cheeks and I softened my next argument in an attempt to prevent any forming anew.
"I know you want to help Bella, you wouldn't be the selfless person I fell in love with otherwise but the risks are too great. We can't even be sure what you've been told is the truth, we have no way to verify it and I'm not going to lose you based on an unsubstantiated claim, I can't."
The lingering fear I still held from the eight days I'd had to sit by her bedside, watching over her unresponsive form coloured my words enough that Bella's eyes softened, her arms falling to her sides.
"You won't lose me. With all of us, I know we can do this Edward. Gabriel has suffered so much, I know that is the truth with every fiber of my being and I couldn't live with myself if I let it continue when it's within my power to do something."
She was right, I knew she was right. Bella could no sooner abandon him as I could ever abandon her.
Closing my eyes, I nodded once in reluctant agreement, unable to oppose her any longer when I could hear the pain she felt on Gabriel's behalf clear in every syllable. The knowledge of his pain was hurting her, and the fear I felt at the danger to her safety became sublimated by the need to ease that however possible.
"Thank you," she whispered, stepping forward to wrap me in her warm embrace, resting her head against where my heart lay unbeating yet oh so alive within my chest.
All I could hope for now was that I would not regret this decision in the danger-fraught hours to come.