Some quick smoochies to my Pufferfish, HammerHips, for loving this chappie and saying I "knocked it out of the ballpark" and to my uberbeta Jenny Cullen begging me for a sneak peek earlier in the week. She KNOWS I can't say no to her. ;D
Oh, and my girl, Alexis Danaan, who amidst all the fluffle and buffle that is her life right now, still demands my chapters. Luv you, darling.
Disclaimer: Twilight and I? Nothing between us. Edward and I? Well, that's between him and my imagination. ;D
Chapter 25
Wagner, Overture to "Tristan & Isolde"
CathPOV
I ached inside as I ran once more: ran away from him, ran away from what I'd said. Half of it just seemed to spew out without me even thinking. The way he'd looked at me when he burst from the trees, the hesitant and cautious way he approached, and those damn red eyes had touched off something within me that I'd been so close to restraining. Those eyes were no longer warm chocolate brown, and the way they looked at me made the memories flash once again. The cabin, Charlie, him.
I cried out with the frustration of it all. I knew I had lashed out at him-saying things, awful hurtful things-and yet I couldn't stop it, until what had been needling the deep recesses of my conscious for hours and hours came rushing out.
You should've just let me die.
I knew I shouldn't have said it. I knew it was contrary to every bone in his body, agonizingly cruel for me to speak it, and I'd never forget the look on Charlie's face when I did; but now, I couldn't take it back. The torment and confusion had taken over, and whatever I had gained in the hours spent with Rose and Bella had been quashed. The monster clawed at the opportunity, took advantage of my weakness, and swallowed my progress whole as he advanced out his deep dark corner. I couldn't fight it anymore-the internal battle once again raging-so I'd left Charlie standing there. I knew I'd cut him to the core with that last statement, his red eyes wincing just before I ran.
I heard his footfalls behind me, the crunching underbrush, the whiz of air as he ran, the snapping of branches as he came after me, gaining ground. But I couldn't make myself stop, as if flying through the trees once again would make it all go away. I hated myself. I hated what I'd become, and I didn't know how to stop the anger, how to quell the turmoil. I had no idea how to reconcile the love I felt for him, for the loathing and disgust that I felt for myself. Rational thought was losing ground to the monster's bidding.
"Catherine! Stop!" Charlie yelled from closer still, but I kept running.
I wanted to kill, drain anything in my path, but I didn't even stop for that. All I kept thinking was that maybe if I ran far enough, fast enough, I could turn back time-like Superman flying opposite to the rotation of the earth to bring Lois Lane back to life. If I just...
He was behind me, and I sensed it, his hand reaching out to swipe at my shoulder, but I lunged forward, and it missed me. But before I could escape again, he grabbed my shoulders, turning me around, clutching me to him.
"Cath!" he gasped.
I pushed at his chest and tried to scream, but it wouldn't come out.
His arms went around me-one of his hands clenched my shirt between my shoulder blades, and I heard a rip-and the other pressed at the small of my back.
I shoved again against the wall.
Against the monster.
No, please, not again.
He was stronger than me, and I was trapped. I shut my eyes, unable to escape, every muscle in my body frozen.
"Catherine! Baby...please stop. Please don't run. You're gonna be all right. I'm here now." Charlie's voice.
It was as if time stood still. For a split second, I expected the rush of images-of him holding me down, of what he'd done, of the Cullens restraining me-to come flooding back. I waited for the inevitable, thinking that any moment, I would be ten feet away and wouldn't remember how I got there.
But it never happened.
"What the..." Charlie gasped.
At first, it was just a spark that seemed to come from his hands, but then it just kept growing. I could feel it surging through me, like that first shot of whiskey you can just feel going down your throat, the heat of it as it travels to your stomach. But even that wasn't it, because this wasn't just my stomach, but all over me. It was so much more.
His hands pressed me closer...it was as if it all just...melted away. The anxiety and the fear were gone, replaced by what I could only describe as an all-encompassing warmth, an electricity that seemed to emanate from him in currents, little threads which wove themselves into a blanket. It surrounded me, enveloped me, and flowed through me. I inhaled slowly, letting it spread through me, eliminating all hurt and pain in its path.
"Holy shit. What the hell is that?"
I felt his hand at my shoulder blade rub a slow circle until it came to the base of my neck, his other arm wrapping around my waist.
"You...you feel it, too?" I exhaled into him, relaxing my cheek into his chest, my hands reaching around him to bring me closer still.
"I feel...something. I can't describe it. Before, when I first held you, it was...it was godawful. Until a second ago. Now, I only feel...I don't know what I feel, but it's wild."
"I...I know," I said, rubbing my cheek against the soft cotton of his t-shirt. "It's...it's incredible. It's like something coming from you. I don't know. I can't explain it, either, but please don't stop doing it," I whispered into him. It was as if the dark switch had been turned off, or the cage tightly bolted and sealed, all of the painful memories replaced by each and every time Charlie had held me like this: when I'd run out of the woods into his arms, in my kitchen at the cabin, on his couch, and the wonderful night in his bed. All clear, comforting, and the most precious memories I'd seen in days. I didn't want to open my eyes. I didn't want to do anything that would take away whatever was happening.
"It's like I'm feeling you, Charlie, energy from you. It's...it's making all the bad stuff, the images go away."
He didn't say anything, but I felt his lips brushing my head, his hands now caressing over my shirt.
"Before, when I first I held you, all that hurt and fear, was that what was inside you?" he asked, his hand now running over and through my hair.
"If it was the worst feeling you've ever felt, yeah, I think so. But now... it's different. It's like you wiped it all away. Oh, Charlie." I buried my face in his chest again, knowing if I were still human, the tears would've been free-falling.
"Aw God, baby..." he whispered in my ear, his lips softly touching. "I'm so sorry. I'm ..."
"Shhhh." I pressed my lips into his chest. "Just keep holding me like this." I couldn't help but get lost in the smell of him, each distinctive one calling me-the salty sea smell, the fresh evergreen, the chocolate-melding together and reaching deep inside to pull me out of the darkness.
His arms pulled me closer still, the ache in his voice increasing. "You don't know how crazy I was. When I was lying there, not knowing what happened to you. I heard you when you came in. I smelled you. And that song, and..."
"Charlie, I'm so sorry I ran. I just couldn't take seeing you...seeing it all...again. You lying there-"
"No, no Cath. It's okay. Don't go there." He suddenly gasped. "I can...I can feel it in you." As he spoke, another wave of that incredible warmth washed over me.
"But Charlie, the pain you were in, seeing it was like seeing you in the..." I tried to explain.
"Shhh. Don't think about it. I'm here. I've got you, and whatever it is I'm doing, I don't plan on stopping." He planted soft kisses in my hair to punctuate each thought, until he stopped, the side of his face against mine.
"But please. Please don't ever run from me. Don't...don't ever leave me again." The words were spoken softly, achingly, his lips in my hair, and with them, a whoosh of longing, of regret, of panic, panic like a child lost and frightened, came with them. The understanding washed over me as I suddenly realized his greatest fear.
The big, strong, once human now vampire, man was afraid. Afraid that I would go away.
Just like Renee.
I slowly brought my head up, my eyes searching for his, no longer scared of what I would see. They were darker now, almost burgundy, and gazed back at me with uncertainty and worry. I saw past the color into the soul of the man I'd fallen in love with, and I was nearly overcome with the need to take away his worries. I slowly brought my hand up, running my fingers over his jaw, and then his cheekbone and into his hair, every press every touch, a renewing. My knight in shining armor had rescued me again, found the bridge over the moat, and had freed me from the Tower of Hell. But this time, it was my turn, because he needed to be rescued, too.
"Never," I vowed, letting him feel my conviction.
His eyes wandered my forehead, my face, my lips, as he started to relax, and I felt his relief flow into me. The corners of his mouth started to form a smile. "You are so beautiful, woman," he said, kissing my forehead. "I don't care whatever voodoo shit is flowing between us right now. I don't care what we are, or what we do, or whatever lies ahead. All I know is that I will..." His gaze held mine. "I will never... ever...let you go, Catherine Scarlett O'Hara."
I glanced at his lips, and I was suddenly flooded with the absolute need to touch them with my own, as the want, the ache from inside him rushed into me. His head slowly came down, hesitant and unsure, as his hand came up over my shoulder to cup the side of my face. But I didn't haveto read his mind, because I could feel his need, the twinges of something I thought might be lust, and the effort he was taking to control it all. Within me, he battled my fear, crushing it down, far away and back into its cage.
"Catherine, I...I don't know what's happening. All I know is that I don't want to hurt you, and yet, all I want to do-"
"I know, Charlie. I know. Please just..."
I started to rise up on my toes, my lips seeking his to show him what neither of us could put into words. Our movement back to each other seemed slower than slow motion, until our lips finally met, their touch like a shockwave, an earthquake, an explosion. The sheer intensity sent tremors through us, and we both gasped, not letting our lips part.
"Damn," he said against my lips, until he captured my upper lip between his own, tugging it slightly. He was so tender, so soft, and completely opposite to the energy I felt flowing from him. As if he too were fighting something, an uncertainty mixed with urgency.
Suddenly, his lips were gone, and I opened my eyes to see him staring at me, searching my eyes for something. He stepped back, his hand falling from my cheek, both running over my shoulders, down my arms, and then back again, surveying every inch of me to make sure I was okay.
But he didn't need to.
Nothing bad, nothing negative, nothing evil would ever again exist within me as long as his arms were around me. I'd never been more sure of anything in my life, or even now, in this second chance at one.
He slowly brought his hands back to the sides of my face, holding it in them.
"I love you," he whispered.
My eyelids slowly closed as the corners of my mouth lifted, until I opened them again to see his grin matching my own. "I love you," I whispered back at him, and tried to make him feel just how much. I couldn't remember a moment where those three words felt so inadequate, so incapable of expressing everything I wanted them to. But they were all we had, and between those three words and what flowed through us as we said them, it was more than enough.
He wrapped his arms around me again, clutching me to him, and it was then that I realized how tightly he was holding me.
"Um, Charlie?"
"Yeah?"
"You're going to crush me," I squeaked against him.
"Oh sh-aw hell. This strength stuff is going to take some getting used to." I smirked as he sputtered, and lessened his hold, until his hands were rubbing my upper arms.
"I think we both have to work on a few things," I tried to joke.
He slid one hand down to take mine, and I noticed the overwhelming sensations from him die back just a bit. He noticed it, too.
"Did you feel that?" he asked.
"Yeah." I looked at his hand holding mine. "It's like something comes from you, Charlie. I don't know what it is, but whatever the hell it is, it's...helping. I can't even explain to you how much."
"You don't have to." His other hand came up to hold mine between the two of his. "They told me what happened the last few days, about you, about what you were going through."
I didn't outwardly wince at the thought of what the Cullens must have said, mostly because Charlie was still holding my hand, but he must have felt something, because he jiggled it, making me look up at him.
"Hey, what do ya say we go find a nice spot somewhere, just you and me?" he asked through a grin, but I could feel his concern.
"Do you think that's such a..."
"It's okay, Catherine. Bella, Jasper, and I just came out to check on you both, but we'll be heading back. You and Charlie take your time, but please come back to the house when you can. We need to discuss things, if and when you're ready." Edward's voice in my head made me stop abruptly, pulling Charlie back. "Oh, and Alice says to tell you you'll both be fine."
"Alice said...is she sure?" That was a dumb question.
"No, it wasn't, and yes, she's sure," Edward responded, and I could feel his amusement. "See you when you both get back to the house. We're all glad you're doing better."
"If you say so, Obi Wan. We'll be back in a bit." I chuckled to myself at the Obi Wan bit.
"Very funny." His sarcasm was evident, even in mind-mojo.
It was the weirdest thing to have a conversation with someone solely based on thoughts, but as I smiled to myself, I noticed how Edward hadn't intruded up until now. I wondered what he had heard, or not heard, because frankly, I hadn't heard anything from him; not that I'd been paying attention.
Charlie noticed my distraction. "You there?" he asked, rubbing my hand between his.
"Yeah. That was Obi. I mean, Edward."
"Obi? As in Obi Wan? You called Edward, Obi Wan?" he asked, amazed, followed by a snort.
I couldn't help but giggle. "Mmmhmm. They came out to check on us, but are going back now. Alice said we'd be okay. But I think we should walk back a little, just in case," I suggested, as his arm came around my waist, pulling me close, and the wonderful mixture of his love and all it offered encompassed me. "Edward will be easier for me to reach, and he can let the family know if we need them."
"Lead the way, Luke." He smiled down to me.
"Pah, I'm not Luke. More like Leia. She's kick ass, and Luke's sister, so the force was just as strong in her."
I had taken a few steps forward as I said it, and only noticed Charlie hadn't when his hand suddenly tugged me back. I turned to look back at him, and he was grinning ear-to-ear.
"What?"
"You know Star Wars, too." It was a statement rather than a question. "That's just..." He shook his head and walked up to me. "What are the odds..." he nearly mumbled, and wrapped his arm around me.
"Never tell me the odds," I quoted back, and he laughed out loud.
We walked at nearly a human pace for a little while, not speaking, but meandering with Charlie occasionally kissing my hair, or our hands swinging. We experimented with different touches, how little and how much we needed to be to feel the energy passing between us. Soft hugs became a slide out to mere fingertips, both of us sending different emotions to each other and trying to identify them. Much to my surprise, Charlie was quite good at identifying mine, and I was as close to happy I had been in days. Until we came upon a small clearing in the trees and decided to cop a squat. Charlie knelt down, pulling me with him, never once letting me go. He had been holding my hand in some way the entire time, and we only had to remind each other once not to squeeze too hard. Even knowing my own strength and the fact that we were both newborns, I could tell Charlie was stronger than I am. I tried to keep from telling him this, because I didn't want him to be afraid of touching me. What his touch did for me was almost like a miracle, and I laughed out loud at the thought.
"What's so funny?" he asked, laying back, pulling me with him, setting my hand on his shoulder still holding it in his. I rested my cheek on his chest, and noticed the silence under my ear where once I'd heard his heart beating strong.
"I was thinking about what happened. Between us. This feeling you give me-and I thought it was like a miracle. I laughed, because a miracle hardly seems likely to happen for vampires."
He snorted, playfully running the hand not holding mine over my back. "Yeah, although I'll gladly take this one, if that's what it is." He inhaled deeply, and my head rose and lowered as he did. I could feel his nervousness building, but I didn't know why.
"How was your chat with Rosalie? They told me when I woke up you were out here with her."
"It was...good. She...you know about Rose?"
"Yeah. She had Bella tell me, before I...er...changed. She wanted me to know. In case...so that I would know that there was someone to help you while I was out of commission."
I wanted to ask Charlie what he and Bella talked about, but I didn't want to pry. I hoped that someday he would tell me, but I knew now wasn't the time.
"Did she help you?" Charlie moved onto his side, rolling me to mine, his fingers tenderly moving the hair out of my face so he could see me.
For some reason, I felt embarrassed to look up at him, remembering my conversation with Rose. In some ways, it felt forever and a day ago; in others, like mere moments ago. I didn't want Charlie to see the uncertainty I was feeling.
"You can't hide it by not looking at me, you know, because I can feel it buzzin' around inside you. You don't have to tell me what she said, or what you said, or any of that. Someday, if you want to, that'd be great-" he poked at my chin to get me to look up at him, "-but I need to say something. To you."
I wrapped my arm around his waist again, snuggling in closer. "Okay," I said rather timidly.
Once again, he was getting nervous.
"What is it? I can feel it's bothering you. Whatever it is. Just tell me," I whispered up into his neck.
"I just...I said I would protect you, and I'm...so sorry I didn't," he said as his fingers gently brushed over my back and stopped. "I'm sorry I couldn't-"
"Charles Thomas Swan, don't you dare." I drew my head back away from his chest again, and he caught the back of it in his hand. "Don't you for a flippin' moment blame yourself for this."
"Flippin'?" he questioned, giving me a rather bemused, if not confused, look.
"I censored the fuckin' part," I said, snuggling back into him.
He busted out laughing, falling backwards and bringing me with him. His laughter not only shook me, but the intensity of it went through me and made me laugh like I was being tickled.
I settled back onto his chest, my hand reaching up once again to hold his shoulder. His mood changed once again, so quickly in fact, I wondered if he was thinking something, or it was some newborn effect. I looked up, and his head was resting on the arm not around me, looking back at me. His eyes were even deeper burgundy, nearly black now. Why was his eye color getting darker?
"None of this is your fault, Charlie. If anything, it's mine. If I hadn't come here, if my car hadn't broken down, you would still be..."
"Don't you flippin' go there, either." He smiled, sliding his hand up to run his fingers in my hair. "I wouldn't trade you, this, for being human again, if it meant you weren't with me. But what you said before, about your family, there's gotta be a way, although..." He let his head fall back, looking up into the sky.
"Although what?" I prodded.
He sighed again, and I felt a twinge of anxiety from him. "Well, according to what I know, I think it's best if everyone thinks we're both...dead. My guys won't stop lookin' for us if there's even a clue we're not. We can't let that happen now. We can't be found. Bella's made it very clear that no one can ever know what we are."
Relaxing back into him, I noticed he was calmer, but I couldn't help stick on what he'd said.
No one can ever know what we are.
We were vampires, Charlie and me, and although we were together, and I felt nearly whole again in his arms, a simple question still plagued me.
"I just want to know why." As I said it, a quick flash of me standing behind Charlie in the cabin came back.
You see, Chief Swan, my initial mission was only for the woman.
I sat up so quickly, I nearly pulled myself out his reach.
"Hey!" he said, catching my arm and sitting up with me. "What is it?" he asked, concerned, his hand moving to my back, softly rubbing.
"I...remembered. Something he said in the...cabin." I flicked my head, trying to erase the rest of that night. "He...he said he was on a mission. A mission for me."
His arms suddenly were around me, pulling me to him, his head on my shoulder, gently rocking us both. I knew he could feel the mess that was inside me as the memory came back. Again, I felt the push of energy from him trying to help me relax, but this time, it wasn't as easy.
"Yeah, I remembered that, too. I told Edward and Bella while you were... before I was changed." He started a slower rocking, taking my hands in his and wrapping them around me, holding us both.
"He'll never hurt you again, baby. It's okay." His soft whisper into my ear sent another wave of warmth through me. "I don't know what it means, and I have no idea what he would want with you, and neither did they."
"Charlie, do you think it has something to do with them?"
He stopped rocking us both, and I knew by the silence his mind was churning.
"I don't know. But they didn't know him. They'd never seen him before, and they told me that. Bella didn't tell me about him, because they thought they could handle him. He had some sort of power or something that kept them from finding him. I don't know, I don't. . ."
He stopped for a moment, and I turned in his arms to look at his face. "What?"
"He could literally hide himself, you...you can read minds. I wonder...I wonder if what I'm doing, how I can help you, is something like that?"
Was that what this was? This...whatever Charlie did to me? My hand seemingly inadvertently grabbed his and held it in mine, staring at them both, feeling the connection and his confusion at what I was thinking and doing. After my change, I could read other people's thoughts, all except his, and Bella's for that matter. Bella had called herself a shield, but I didn't feel shielded by whatever Charlie was doing, I just felt...
"Safe," I said out loud, looking at our hands together.
"Safe. Yes. You are, and you always will be, if I have anything to say about it." His fingers spread open, and I wove mine between his. The gesture was simple, and yet it was outwardly symbolic of what it felt like when he held me.
Charlie had some sort of power, an ability to transfer a safety net-his love-to me, and I could feel whatever was stirring inside him as well.
"Damn, woman, what the hell is going on in there? You're like an F3 tornado right now," he joked.
There was no other explanation for it. Charlie had a gift of his own, and however it worked, whatever it was, it took away all of the confusion, the fear, the pain from the deep recesses within me. It shielded me, the real me, from the monster that threatened her very existence.
"Holy shit." It kind of just slipped with the sudden monumental revelation. "Charlie, you..."
But my surprise at what I'd figured out fell completely by the wayside when I gazed up into his eyes again.
"Charlie, your...your eyes. They're not red anymore. They're...black."
He slipped his hand from mine and rubbed at his throat.
"Yeah, I think I need to eat. Or drink or whatever." I noticed the change in his voice, scratchier, and knew immediately what he was feeling.
"You haven't fed yet, have you?" I turned completely around kneeling in front of him. I grabbed his shoulders, studying his face, feeling how uncomfortable he was getting. "You came out here after...to find me... and you haven't-"
"Yeah, well, I had bigger fish to fry than...doing that." He tried to play it off, but I could see from his expression it was getting worse.
I grabbed his hand and stood up, bringing him with me. "C'mon. We need to get back. They have to help you. I don't know if I'm capable of showing you myself."
He tugged my hand, bringing me back into his arms. "How hard can it be? I mean, I just tear into their neck, or artery, and suck, right?" He smiled down at me, and I shook my head at his flippancy.
"Seriously, Charlie, how are you doing it? I was like...I was a maniac when I...when I woke up, and all of that other stuff on top of just wanting to drink, even though I didn't know what it was at the time."
"Well, I don't know, but I think I'm about to find out, because my throat is on fire."
His head suddenly reared to the left, and mine followed, the scent of something big and mouthwatering wafting to us both. A low rumble started in Charlie's chest, building until it came out through his clenched teeth.
"Charlie?"
My confusion was lost on him as he shoved off from me and sped off in the direction of it.
"Charlie!" I yelled, taking off after him.
I couldn't believe how fast he was, but then the smell of the animal, one of those antlered things, became stronger. My anxiety started to return, as if a crack in the dam had opened. Charlie's touch was gone, his protection gone with him. I struggled to keep focus, to try and stay with Charlie, but something was taking over, that delicious scent and the absolute necessity for it.
Edward...
CharliePOV
I had to have it.
Somewhere in the back of my head, I realized I'd left Catherine standing there, alone, but I couldn't bring myself to stop.
The fire in my throat was damn near what my body had been like, and the pure flavor of whatever it was-in through my nose and over my tongue-was only second to the torture of burning during the change. Rushing toward the scent, not even thinking about where I was going, what I was doing, nothing but having to have whatever it was. I wasn't even sure where I was going; my feet were just taking me to it.
Until I was nearly upon it. I watched as there were two elk grazing next to the lake that Catherine and I had just been near...
Catherine...
I lunged at the one nearest to me, taking it down, not even thinking through the motions, plunging my teeth into the part of his neck that I just knew would give me what I needed.
My teeth pierced the flesh, and I drank, the thick liquid taking out the fire as it ran down my throat, and for a split second, I finally realized what I was doing.
This was blood I was drinking-blood from an animal-but I didn't give a fuck.
It was satisfyingly sweet, and I sucked and sucked until I felt the life leave it, feeling its dead carcass shrink against my hands, until I dropped it on the ground.
I sensed her before I saw her.
She ran on the other side of the lake, chasing what must have been the one that got away from me. I took off after her, running on the opposite side of the water, and it was like some sort of an adrenaline rush.
I reached the other side, and she was out of sight, but I followed her trail, sprinting, not completely understanding why I wanted to, nor if it was her, or...more blood. A low rumble in my chest made me slow up.
Did I want to get to Catherine, or what she was running after?
Blood. I wanted more, and she would get to it before I would.
I ran through the trees until I heard it. The sound of it. Liquid being sucked like a sound through a straw, or sliding past teeth, and then...a moan. A moan that went right to Charlie, Jr., and between the two of us, we were the entire U.S. Army at high alert.
I tracked her scent and that sound, unable to concentrate on anything else, and came upon her as she knelt over it on the ground, drinking.
I didn't think I could I get any harder, watching her mouth sink deep into the elk's neck, her body draped over it, controlling it, stilling its last movements, the sounds coming from her.
Then I did.
I nearly dropped to my knees, trying to fight whatever it was that surged through me. I wanted her, and yet I knew it was wrong to want her so fiercely, so violently, but I couldn't stop. There, where she was, in the middle of a forest, because for some reason, what I saw was the hottest thing I'd ever laid eyes on.
Suddenly, she stopped. Her head darted around and our eyes met, and for a moment, I just wanted to tackle her. No, take her against a tree, ripping her clothes from her, hearing her scream my...
What the fuck was I thinking?
"Charlie."
My name came across her bloodied lips in part-whisper, part-moan as she looked at me. It was a look I'd seen before, and it sent a direct signal to Charlie, Jr. The intensity of her eyes, combined with the absolute lust in me, sent me flying across the distance that was between us, unable to control myself. She launched into my arms, my hands on her ass, her legs wrapped around me, our mouths crashing together in an almost insatiable need, our tongues driving, demanding. The energy flowing between us was like a hum, little vibrations from her into me, me into her. My brain was on overdrive, my body taking over, as her strong legs squeezed tighter around me, pressing herself into me. And Charlie Jr.
I wanted her. Here. Now.
I dropped to my knees with her still in my arms, laying her back on the ground, her legs still around me. I left her lips to nip over her chin, and over to her ear, my tongue leaving a trail of fire in its wake, my teeth skimming the warm skin of her neck. My hands went to the front of her shirt, buttons popped, material tore...
And then I felt it.
A blast of pure darkness that made me inhale sharply, my lips leaving her skin, my eyes searching her face. She had gone completely still in my arms. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her hands no longer on me but spread wide on the ground, her fingertips digging in the dirt.
Then I saw them. The bitemark on her neck, the one on her breast...
Omigod, what have I done.
"Catherine!" I cried, trying desperately to close her shirt, her bra that was torn in two. I lifted my body, balancing on my hands on either side of her. She didn't move, she didn't speak. She wouldn't open her eyes.
"Catherine!" I yelled again. My hand reached behind her, lifting her into my arms, cradling her, trying to undo whatever it was that I had done by whatever it was that I could do. I pushed all the love for her that I had in me as hard as I could, a fuzzy memory coming back to me-my bedroom, her in my arms, just like this, crying into my shoulder. The nightmare. Except this time, she wasn't frightened of a stalker, a psychotic vampire.
This time, the nightmare was me.
"Oh, Cath, please, please open your eyes. It's me, it's Charlie. Baby..." I cried again, rocking her. I could feel it all. Her confusion, her anguish, her embarrassment. It was all there, and like a black cloud, it had rammed into me, nearly smothering me in the depths of it.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." I begged, and her eyes suddenly fluttered, her hands reaching for my chest and then around my neck, holding me for dear life.
"Ch-Charlie?"
She sounded as if she could be crying, and she clung tighter to me, almost uncomfortably, but I couldn't tell her. Not after I'd nearly...
"I don't know w-what happened."
I kept rocking her. "No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have...God, I'm so stupid. It was just... I couldn't...stop it," I tried to explain.
"I know, it was like...I wanted you. I did. And then, when you laid me on the ground, it was...it was...I tried to make it go away, but I couldn't stop seeing...him."
"Shhhh. I'm such an idiot, baby. Shit, what the hell was I thinking?" I kept rocking her, the both of us, feeling the black cloud slowly retreating.
"You weren't thinking, Charlie. You were reacting. It's called being a newborn." Jasper's voice came through the trees, and I started to feel his effect on both Catherine and me.
My head turned in his general direction, as Catherine buried her face in my neck. The embarrassment flowing from her was almost as much as my own, but Jasper was doing his thing, and I could feel its effect on both me and Catherine.
"Catherine, you called to me just as Alice was seeing it," Edward said, as he, Bella, and all of the Cullens appeared.
Geez, nothing like an audience.
"I'm really sorry. It was a little too quick for me." Poor Alice looked like she'd already gotten hell from the family.
"Yeah, me, too. Almost," I tried to joke, holding Catherine a little closer.
Catherine's head popped up off my shoulder, staring at Edward, giving him a slight nod, and then looked up at me. I softly grazed her cheek with my hand, moving the curls from her face, picking out the sticks and leaves that were in it. I'd nearly hurt her, hurt in the almost the same way as he did. Calling myself an asshole simply didn't cut it.
As if sensing what I was thinking, she sat up, taking my face in her hands, her eyes doing that searching thing in mine again, and I waited. I didn't know for what, but I could tell she was better now. My feeling like an ass started to reel back, as something that felt like playful was coming from her. I couldn't help but watch her as she slowly came forward and kissed my lips. Light, but just right. That zing, that whatever it was, went through me as her lips met mine, and a grin curved the corners of her mouth.
"Baby steps, Chief," she whispered, and from the corner of my eye, I saw Rose smile and take Emmett's hand, leading him back to the house.
"Yeah. Baby steps. Got it."
She mystified me, entranced me, and held me in the palm of her hand. I wonder if she knew that, and if she did, what she would do with that info. I smirked back at her, the blackness completely gone, and reached under her knees to gather her up into my arms as I stood up.
"Yo, Chief, I can walk."
I caught her eye and then took it down to the front of her shirt. As if just realizing, she grabbed it with her hand and held it shut. She looked toward the Cullens, who had turned and already started to walk back.
"C'mon, you two. Come back to the house. We should...talk," Carlisle said, taking Esme's hand and running after Rose and Emmett.
Bella smiled back to me, and then turned to run with Edward, as Jasper and Alice went with them.
"Rose is gonna be pissed about this shirt," Catherine said as I started running with her in my arms to follow.
A/N:
*wipes the tear* Ok, yeah, so I couldn't stand it any longer, much like you all. I'm a sucker for the kiss that rocks the world, and I'm not ashamed of it. ;D
But overcoming just one obstacle doth not an epic romantic journey make.
As always, thanks so much for reading. Reviews or feedback of a simple *sigh* or *sniffle* are most welcome.