CH. 25-Strength
Carlisle's POV

I couldn't help but smile at Bella's reaction to the car Edward had purchased for her. I could see that she might actually have an inkling of appreciation for it, but she hated the fact that Edward had spent money on her. She was going to have to get used to it. Edward was going to shower her with gifts until the end of time. I chuckled and pulled the car out of the garage. Alice followed.

I began to think of the upcoming task at hand. I felt horrible for doing this. I was lying to everyone. I didn't deserve their sympathies. But yet I had to do it. What a complicated situation we had been forced into. I just hoped that Bella was ready for it. We would all have to be on edge and follow her like a second shadow today to prevent any mishaps. Not that I didn't have complete faith in her, but we still had to take every precaution we could. She was going to have a long day ahead of her, and I didn't know for sure how she was going to respond to the newfound stress and smells. I hoped it wouldn't overwhelm her. But she would be fine—I had confidence in her. Today would be the last day she had to deal with it anyway. I sighed and reached over to pick up Esme's hand. She looked haggard, which was a good thing, I supposed, but I still didn't like it. I smiled gently at her. "Everything will be fine," I assured her.

She nodded her head, but still looked nervous. "Bella is strong, as is Edward. They can handle it." She seemed to be trying to convince herself that this was true.

"Of course they can. We'll all be fine," I assured her.

She nodded her head jerkily again.

The funeral home loomed ominously into view as we rounded the last curve in the road. Dark clouds framed the big white building forebodingly, and rain threatened to fall from the murky black sky. I released Esme's hand and patted it gently on the seat between us before running my hand anxiously through my hair. I glanced into the rearview mirror; Alice still followed closely behind. I could see Jasper's pained expression as he felt the intense emotions coming from the building in front of us. I hoped that he wouldn't be too uncomfortable with this. I would understand if he needed to leave.

Rosalie and Emmett stared glumly out the windows. Emmett, though usually quite immature, had finally let the tense atmosphere get to him and simply had his left arm wrapped around his wife's shoulders, not uttering a single word. I looked away and pulled up in front of the doors and cut the engine. I got out and walked to the other side of the car to open the door for Esme. Emmett had already climbed out and was taking Rosalie's hand. I looked back to the other car once Esme was standing upright. Alice had already gotten out, as well as Jasper, who was opening the door for Bella. I could see the puzzled expressions on the human's faces when no one got out immediately. It was obvious that they didn't know for whom Jasper could be waiting. My only other child was already inside…

Bella got out of the car uncertainly with a pained expression on her face. I could tell that this was going to be hard for her even though she knew that Edward hadn't really left us. With our sensitive hearing, we could all hear the humans gasp as they took in Bella's conscious form. I could only imagine what Edward was hearing right now.

Alice pulled a wheelchair out of the trunk of the car, but Bella refused to sit down. She had always been stubborn, so this wasn't much of a surprise to the humans. Bella instead started to walk forward unsteadily. Jasper followed behind with his arm hovering right behind her in case she stumbled.

Alice had done a superb job regarding Bella's appearance. Her make-up had been done to perfection; she looked very very sick. The changes that she had gone through with her transformation were unnoticeable. Bella looked worse then I expected her to. That was definitely a good thing. But she always exceeded my expectations…

Jasper wrapped his arm reassuringly around Bella's shoulders. He began to lead her into the building. Alice took up her position on Bella's other side. They walked up to meet us and waited for me to take the lead inside. I turned to face Bella and rested my hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "You'll be fine Bella. None of this is real. He'll be back for you." I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. My words were too soft for the humans to hear, but my gesture was purposely made obvious. I picked up her left hand and brought the ring that adorned it to her attention. Alice's idea truly was a very good one. I could tell that it would be a comfort to Bella today.

She smiled sadly back at me. Her acting really was superb. And she hadn't even made one move towards attacking any of the humans. But we were still outside with plenty of fresh air—we'd have to see how she could handle being shut up in a room with them all. That was the main reason she would be with Jasper a lot of the time. He would be able to tell if her emotions were becoming too frenzied. And Alice, being his wife, would be around him often and would have a better chance of having a vision if anything were to go wrong.

But I also wanted her to be close to me. I was, after all, her doctor, and I had to be near her in case her health rapidly deteriorated, such as we had planned it to. But I was also her father, in every sense of the word but biologically. I needed to be there for her as Charlie should have been. I wanted to be. The humans would expect me to be.

I started to walk forward into the funeral home and I heard my family following behind. Several people approached me and offered their sympathies. I voiced my thanks somberly and continued towards the front of the room. Emmett and Rosalie went to sit down on a couch. I took Bella's hand and Japer and Alice went to sit next to Rosalie and Emmett. Esme followed them, going to comfort her grieving children. They were subtly giving Bella the time she needed to say her last good-byes, or so it would appear. I wrapped my arm around Bella's shoulders and, together, we approached the casket in the front of the room.

Bella's POV

I can do this. I repeated it as a mantra in my head. The smell of the humans permeated the room and was really beginning to get to me. I just kept my gaze focused on Edward lying in the front of the room and imagined that it was his scent I could smell. Every movement and rustle of fabric sent a flurry of scents towards me and made the thirst more noticeable in my throat. For once, I was glad that I was abnormal and was getting over the typical newborn bloodlust faster than usual. This would be very difficult had I been normal…try impossible.

Carlisle and I reached the front of the room. I stood there for a moment, staring at Edward lying still in the wooden box before reaching out and grasping his hand. I needed his touch right now. But with this touch, my gift made itself known. Edward's thoughts filled my head. There was concern for me, oh yes there was worry, but there was also confusion. Edward had seen the ring on my finger through others thoughts and had no idea where it had come from. His devotion to me was quickly becoming more and more apparent. Time to bring on the water works—figuratively speaking, of course.

I allowed myself to remember the feelings that permeated my being when Edward left me. The desperation, loneliness, and just pure heartbreak flooded into me, and I broke down. My shoulders heaved with my sobs and Carlisle pulled me into his arms. He tucked my head under his chin, and I cried into his shoulder. With my arms wrapped tightly around him, I could feel his chest shudder when he started to cry softly, too. I only began to cry harder.

Everyone left us alone. None of the humans approached us. They let us grieve in peace. After a while, Carlisle released me from his grasp and wiped at his dry eyes. He led us over to a couch where the others sat keeping his arm wound securely around my shoulders.

The moment I sat down, Alice had her arms locked around me. I rested my cheek on the top of her head. Our nonexistent tears would have otherwise been flowing freely. Carlisle squeezed my shoulder and went to Esme. She jumped up and threw her arms around him. Carlisle hid his face in her hair and held her head gently to his chest. The two swayed slightly back and forth on the spot. I looked to Jasper. He had his face buried in his hands. He sat hunched over and was resting his elbows on his knees. He was shaking with his silent sobs. I was sure everyone else's emotions weren't helping him in his effort to remain collected.

I released Alice and went to sit next to Emmett. He was staring morosely off into space. I curled myself into his side, and he smiled gloomily down at me. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer. I rested my head on his shoulder and looked to Rosalie. Though she had never been exceptionally disdainful to me in public, it was still slightly shocking when she reached over to grab my hand. She squeezed it reassuringly and smiled gently at me. I subtly returned the gesture.

The rest of the morning and early afternoon passed in the same manner. I took extra care to look weak. Angela had come up to me and enveloped me in a hug. I tensed as her scent hit me like a ton of bricks. She realized that I hadn't reacted how she had expected me to and quickly let go. "I'm sorry, Bella. I didn't realize that—"

I cut her off quickly. "No, it's fine, Angela; don't worry about it." I paused. "I'm just not really aware of anything. None of this seems like it can be real. I just got to see him again and now I'm seeing him for the last time. He came back to me once, but now he can't do it again. This just can't be happening to me. Haven't I had enough heartbreak? How much can one person take?" I started to cry again. She tried to comfort me again by pulling me into another hug, but I was prepared for it now. Though the thirst flared up due to the vane pulsing only inches away from my venom-coated teeth, I was able to control it. She was my friend. I would not harm her. I even went so far as to return the gesture and hug her back.

I looked over Angela's shoulder and saw Jasper watching me uneasily. He was clearly unnerved by my current actions. My lips twitched slightly towards what could have been a smile. I could see the indecision on his face; he really wanted to come pull me away from my very human friend but also wanted to let me have my final good-byes. I pulled away from Angela to appease him. "Thank you for always being there, Angela."

"Why are you talking like that, Bella? You're not going to land yourself in the hospital again, are you? Please don't. I hate to see you in pain, but that's no way to go about helping it." Concern was clearly written in her eyes.

My lips turned up glumly. "No, I won't try that again." Though it did have some positive effect last time… I got Edward back… "I just don't know how long I've got left. It could've been me up there now—it still could end up that way sometime soon. I just don't know. I just want you to know that I appreciate it all, Angela. You've been a great friend to me. Thank you."

"Anytime." She smiled back.

I heard Carlisle walk up behind me. I turned to face him, and his expression told me all that I needed to know. I glanced up at the clock; it read 1:00. It was time.

A/N: This is a longer chapter than usual, but so was the wait. I hate being busy. Ugh. But I came home from school today and both my dad and sister were sick, so I locked myself in my room the moment I walked in the door. I cannot afford to be sick right now; school is crazy. The result? Lots of alone time locked up with my computer to write, hence progress!! I hope you liked it! Please review! I am offering a sneak peek…: )

P.S. If I didn't send you the sneak peek and you reviewed last chapter, I'm really, really sorry!! I think I got everyone, but I'm not sure this time…
Sorry it took a while; I haven't had access to a computer. And please review!! I do have a sneak peek for the next chapter... :)