Chapter 27

Bella braced her hands against the bathroom counter as she blinked tiredly and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She turned her head to the side and glanced down at her shoulder before looking back at her reflection once more. She was losing weight, she knew she was and now dressed as she was in her sleep tank and lounge pants, it was painfully obvious. After the first night of hearing Angela's memories, Bella had kept her window closed, she had even locked it. She wasn't mad at Edward, but rather doing what she thought was right. Angela needed him; he could hear her thoughts and see into her nightmares. She needed Edward to protect her.

Bella grimaced and bent at the waist, her hand pressing against her stomach. The nausea wasn't stopping during the day anymore like it used to. Groaning as her stomach spasmed, she lifted the toilet seat and dropped to her knees. She breathed harshly, bending over more as she pressed her arm tightly against her stomach. She felt the need to throw up but she knew that there couldn't possibly be anything left in her stomach. She waited until the spasms stopped before rising slowly from the floor and closing the toilet seat to sit on it.

Her soft laugh was short and humorless. She knew that in a way, she was doing this to herself. She didn't have nightmares as long as Edward stayed with her while she slept, but Angela needed him. She couldn't be selfish, no matter how much she wanted to. Angela was her best friend – her best human friend – she thought as she rose slowly to stand before the mirror once more. Turning on the hot water she let her fingers pass through the water until it warmed enough to her liking. Dipping her toothbrush beneath the water, she applied the blue gel and scrubbed at her already cleaned teeth. It was habit to brush her teeth after anytime she had experienced a bout of nausea regardless of whether or not she actually vomited.

"Don't be selfish," she whispered to herself when she walked back into her bedroom and looked at the closed window.

She wouldn't have nightmares if Edward was with her, but then Angela would be left trapped in a place where no one could reach her. Her friend needed the brother she had in Edward and Bella refused to be selfish. She walked over to her bed and sat down slowly, her stomach cramping as tears filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. They were just nightmares, that was all, just nightmares.

"Dreams can't hurt you," she reminded herself, her voice never rising above an exhausted whisper.

She reached out to turn off the lamp, her hand moving to her cell phone instead when it began to vibrate. She had to clench her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering against the new wave of nausea as she answered the call and brought the phone to her ear.

"Bella?" Alice's voice came over the line sounding somewhere between concerned and frightened. "Bella, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Bella said slowly after a moment, forgetting that Alice's hearing was sensitive enough to hear the soft whimpers that came as a result of her constant stomach cramps.

"You're not," she argued as Bella lent forward battling against another wave of nausea. "Bella, answer me."

"I'm fine," Bella repeated, her hand shaking as her exhaustion made her tears return.

"If you're 'fine' then why are you locking Edward out of your room at night? And why haven't you been over in the past few days? Bella…"

"I'm fine, Alice," she insisted, grimacing as she pressed her hand against her stomach. "Angela needs Edward right now. If I leave my window open he won't stay with her."

"You need him, too," she argued, the tone of her voice telling her that Alice had seen her clearly. "Carlisle was going to bring the recorder over to the station for Charlie tomorrow. Maybe I should send him tonight."

"Alice, I'm fine," her voice trembled beyond her control as she felt the bile rise and burn in the back of her throat. "I have to go."

She ended the call and tossed the phone on her bed as her feet hit the floor and she ran for the bathroom. This time when she reached the toilet she did vomit. A few moments later, her teeth had been brushed again and she was back in her bed. She had the blankets pulled up to her chin, hoping to find warmth against the chills that made her tremble and reached out her hand to turn off the lamp. She was asleep in seconds, her last thoughts were a silent prayer for a break from her nightmares.

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The soft sound of her moan seemed to echo around her as she pushed her hands against the cold hardwood floor and tried to rise. Her side hurt, her chest hurt, her leg…her leg felt like it was on fire. Blinking against the pain and disorientation, she looked around in the darkness and tried to determine where she was. She had just been in her own bed, hadn't she? Hissing as she pulled her legs underneath her to stand on her hands and knees, she felt the room spin around her as her stomach clenched with nausea.

"Just breathe," she whispered to herself as she closed her eyes and waited for the vertigo to pass. "Just breathe, Bella."

But it was hard to breathe and she clenched her jaw tight against the piercing burn in her left side, her ribs protesting the movement of her expanding and contracting lungs. Where was she? Why was she in so much pain? She couldn't remember. Shaking her head in a vain effort to rid herself of the vertigo swimming through her mind, she only made it worse and groaned when she lost her balance, falling onto her left side as her back scrapped against something hard and sharp behind her. Her head ached terribly and when she brought her hand up to the spot behind and below her right ear, she pulled back at the feeling of sticky dampness. Hissing at the pain, she brought her hand to her face and felt weak at the sight of her own blood.

Light flickered through a broken window, the headlights of a passing car, and she felt her eyes grow impossibly large when she caught sight of the room. No, this couldn't be, she couldn't be back here. Bella clawed at the hardwood floor and tried to pull herself up to her hands and knees once more but was unable to do more than knead her fingers against the slick floor. Her muscles weren't strong enough to hold her, the pain she felt clouding her mind was making it difficult for her breathe, let alone move.

"No, please," she whimpered and felt tears pool in her eyes at the sound of maniacal laughter.

There was a flash of movement, a shock of wild blonde hair. He was moving too fast for her to see much more than a blur, but his laughter echoed off the walls. She had to get up, she had to leave this place, but the more she struggled to get her hands and knees beneath her, the more pain she felt. She hated this place, this ballet studio and in a way she had grown to hate Phoenix, if only because James had attacked her here.

"Blasphemers!" she heard a male voice cry out and turned her head in the direction of the new voice.

"No," her breathing escalated even as her ribs protested the movement. "No! Run, god, Jasper run!" she cried out, but it was already too late.

She didn't know how he had been able to restrain him, seeing as the man holding the length of chain was only a human, but there it was before her eyes. Jasper was wrapped in heavy chains, iron shackles around his wrists and ankles as he was being forcibly dragged across the wooden floor of the ballet studio by Angela's father. James' cackling sounded close to her and she tried to scoot away only to cry out in pain and terror when his icy hand slammed down on her leg. She heard the snapping-crunch, screamed out with the pain as he snapped the bone in two, the tears in her eyes cascading down her cheeks.

"Looking for him, Bella?" James asked her, tilting his head at her as he tossed the thing in his hand across the floor to her.

The object rolled unsteadily, James having put enough force behind it to make it stop only after crashing into the side of her broken leg. She cried out again at the new pain and reached down, her terror growing as she felt the familiar softness beneath her fingers. She shook her head, unwilling to believe what it was until James was once again in front of her and lifted the object in front of her face, letting it swing back and forth as he laughed at her.

"Poor, Edward," he sang to her as his crimson eyes bore holes into hers. "He just wasn't strong enough. Oh, but wait!" he fairly purred with excitement as he moved his other hand from behind his back and she screamed in horror. "A matching set. What was this one's name, hmm? Oh, yes, that's right – Doctor something wasn't it?"

"No!" Bella cried out, unable to contain the force of her tears as she sobbed and cradled the bodiless heads of her slain lover and immortal father figure in her arms. "Jasper, run! Please run!" she cried out, the words barely making sense through her hysterical sobbing.

"And the blasphemers shall be cleansed by the fire!" Angela's father shouted as he closed the open bible in his hands.

"NO!" Bella screamed as she watched Victoria manhandle Jasper up against a wooden pole. "No! Jasper!" she screamed his name, but he was deaf to her cries. "Let him go! Please, god please let him go!"

The chains were released from his hands only to wrap around his waist and secure him to the pole. She screamed out louder, more desperately then before when she saw another figure being led to the pole. He was forced back against it, his back to Jasper's with only the pole between them and she screamed out, her heart hammering wildly in her chest to see that it was Emmett being secured to the pole. She screamed out, begged them to run, cried their names, but nothing stopped the events from unfolding before her eyes.

"Let the unclean be cured by the fires!" the man called out again and Bella heard a woman's screams.

"No!" she cried out, begging for him to let her friend go. "Take me!" Bella called out desperately. "Take me, leave them alone. Take me!"

She watched, her body shaking so badly that her teeth were chattering loudly in her ears, as Angela was dragged across the floor by a woman she could only assume was her friend's mother. Bella's eyes widened as an object from her history class suddenly appeared in the room before her eyes. She shook her head, screaming and trying to fight her way up to her feet only to be stopped by the agonizing pain of her broken leg and ribs. She screamed for Angela's release to no avail, watching as her friend was forced into the belly of an iron bull.

"No! NO! NO! NO!" Bella screamed louder as she pounded her fist against the floor when it became clear that any other movement would be impossible. "Let them go! Let them go!"

:::::

Charlie stood up from his seat on the couch, scrubbing his hand tiredly over his face as he walked to the front door. It wasn't late, only half past nine, but he felt drained. His hand lifted slowly to the door knob, his movements clumsy and lethargic due to his lack of sleep over the past ten days. He pulled the door open slowly, not knowing why but feeling incredibly relieved and grateful to see Carlisle and one his sons standing on the stoop. Nodding and stepping aside to allow them entry, Charlie narrowed his tired eyes in order to focus on the boy's face before nodding to himself. Jasper, the blonde boy's name was Jasper.

"You don't look well at all, Charlie," Carlisle said as he studied the human man before him.

"Yeah," the police chief agreed with his friend's statement. "Did you get anything?" he asked nodding to the recorder in the man's hand.

"Not much, I'm afraid," Carlisle said as he handed over the digital recorder. "Only a few memories, her voice is rarely loud enough to be heard on that."

It was clear from the expression on Carlisle's face that he intended to say more, but the sound of Bella's terrified scream broke through the air around them.

"I've got her," Jasper said, already halfway to the stairs when Charlie looked up at him.

Charlie watched him disappear up the stairs, his hand scrubbing down over his face. He didn't know how much longer he could last against his daughter's terrified screams. He hadn't had a decent night's sleep in almost two weeks and he was becoming more than a little unsteady on his feet.

"Charlie, if I may," Carlisle said as his eyes left the unseen top landing of the stairs and returned to the human in front of him. "Let us take Bella back with us. You need a decent night's sleep and we understand a bit more about her nightmares than anyone else," he offered sincerely.

"Are you sure?" Charlie asked, at once both cautious and relieved by the doctor's suggestion. "I don't want to put you all to any trouble."

"It's no trouble," Carlisle assured him and watched Charlie nod tiredly. "She'll be safe with us, Charlie. I promise you that."

"I trust her with you all, Dr. Cullen," he said after a long moment as though he had to focus on the words to get them out. "But this isn't the end. This is only the first of it," he said, his words becoming slurred. "She usually wakes up screaming three or four different times." Charlie shook his head, falling back to sit heavily on the couch when his legs refused to support him any longer. "I even tried getting her some sleeping aids, but she always wakes up screaming."

"Go to sleep, Charlie," Carlisle said, inflecting enough of the hypnotic soothing quality into his voice to end the man's fight against consciousness. "We'll take care of Bella."

:::::

"Watch now and praise in glory as the demons are slain, for I am the hand of God!"

"NO!" Bella screamed, her terror reaching an uncontrollable level.

There were no words to her scream as she found herself powerless to do anything but watch as Angela's father lit the fire beneath the iron bull his daughter was trapped inside of. He shouted again, another verse from the Bible, as he raised the torch in his hand and pointed it at Jasper and Emmett. They were both struggling against the chains that bound them, but unable to break the irons and her wordless screams sounded again as he brought the torch down and lit the wood surrounding their feet.

Wake up, darlin'.

"Jasper!" she sobbed. "No, let them go. Jasper, fight him. Get away!"

I'm right here, Sweetheart. You're safe, you need to wake up.

She felt her heart stop, her rapid breathing held tight as her lungs and ribs refused to move to allow her to pull in the much needed air. She tried to scream again, but without air her voice held no sound. She shook her head, tears blurring her vision and cascading in rivers down her cheeks as she sobbed. Bella swore that she could feel the edges of calmness infusing her as though Jasper were trying to comfort her, the feeling making her cry harder as she watched him burn, his body being engulfed in flames.

C'mon, Sweetheart. Wake up for me.

"Bella, Bella, Bella," James purred as he appeared before her in a flash and she screamed as he bit down on her flesh, tearing into her neck with his razor sharp teeth.

"NO!" Bella screamed as her eyes flashed open.

Suddenly she was back in her bed, safe in her room as someone petted her hair. She tried to pull air into her lungs, but choked and coughed instead when her breath caught in throat. She felt herself being lifted easily, her body folding at the waist as someone rocked her gently in their arms.

"Deep slow breaths," Jasper instructed softly as he held her and stroked her hair. "Shh," he whispered to her and kissed her bowed head as she lay limp in his arms. "That's it, darlin'. You're safe," he promised her as he rubbed her back.

She whimpered his name, her mind still caught in the dream of him burning. His cool hands cupped her cheeks, smoothing away her tears with the pads of his thumbs as he tipped her face up to see her eyes. He kissed her forehead and promised her that he was there with her. Bella's brow furrowed when she looked at him; her breathing becoming dangerously close to hyperventilating again as she studied his face before launching herself desperately at him. Her arms wound around his chest, under his arms as her hands clutched at the back of his shirt. He rocked her gently, soothing her as best he could with his words, touch and talent as she sobbed against his chest.

Jasper looked up when he felt Carlisle step into the room, the look on his adoptive father's face unreadable. He watched him nod, felt his steel edged resolve, as though he had made a decision before stepping closer to sit on the bed. Reaching out to pet her hair, Carlisle watched as Bella slowly lifted her face from where it was buried in the side of Jasper's throat. Her eyes found his face, her entire body beginning to tremble violently before she reached out for him. Carlisle accepted Bella easily into his arms, lifting her to sit in his lap as he spoke too low for her to hear and instructed Jasper to pack a bag for her.

"Go to sleep, Bella," Carlisle told her gently as he held her to his chest and petted her hair. "You're safe, Sweetheart. Go to sleep."

"The terror I felt from her is matched only by what I feel from Angela," Jasper said as he tucked a shirt into the already full bag in his hands and zipped it closed. "She called my name, begged me to get away from someone. From the sounds of it we, or at least I, was being hurt in her dream."

"Charlie said that she's screaming herself awake multiple times each night. She'll be staying with us until further notice. He all but collapsed downstairs," Carlisle said with a tired sigh. "It hasn't been that long since James attacked Bella. I can't help wondering if it's not just Angela's memories that are inspiring her nightmares."

"I don't recall Edward mentioning her having nightmares before now," Jasper said as he watched Carlisle stand with Bella cradled in his arms.

"When he's with her she feels safe," Carlisle said as Jasper followed him down the stairs and out of the house. "When she's alone…"

He let the words hang in the air as he watched Jasper open the back driver's side passenger door. His son tossed the bag of Bella's clothes against the opposite door before reaching to take the girl from his arms. Carlisle pursed his lips, not surprised in the least when Jasper chose to put her in the back seat so that he could hold her during the ride. He was certain that Alice had seen his decision and what preceded it, but when he had left their home, both Edward and Emmett were trying to coax Angela out of her own nightmares.

"I hate what this is doing to them," Carlisle said softly as he turned down the street and headed for their home. "They're both losing weight, though on Bella it's harder to notice because of her clothes."

"Edward's been worried more than before since we got Angela to start talking," Jasper said as he petted Bella's hair and shushed her when she whimpered in her sleep. "He told me that Bella's been closing her window at night. Refusing him because she thinks Angela needs him more."

"They'll both be staying with us from now on," Carlisle said as he glanced at Bella in the rearview mirror. "I can see it more now around her eyes and cheeks," he observed as he directed the car onto the turn off for their manor. "She's lost at least ten pounds, possibly more."

"Do you think she's not eating as well?" Jasper asked as Carlisle pulled into the driveway and shut off the engine.

"I've seen her eat," Carlisle sighed. "It's more probable that she's becoming ill after waking up from her nightmares. Let's get her inside," he said as he stepped out of the car.

Edward was by Jasper's door in an instant, holding the car open as his brother stepped out. He shook his head when Jasper moved to hand Bella to him, his brother's brow furrowing in confusion.

"Alice could see pieces of her nightmare," Edward said as he gathered Bella's bag from the backseat. "You need to be the one holding her when she wakes up."

"You know what she saw?" Jasper asked in concern as he looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms.

"She watched you burn," Edward said and clenched his jaw. "From what Alice was able to see, Bella's nightmares are a mix of the attack she suffered at James' hands and the memories that Angela has been revealing." Edward huffed, the sound amused as he nodded at Jasper's thoughts. "I think that should work quite well."

Jasper offered a sad smile as he nodded and stepped into the house with Bella's sleeping form cradled in his arms. He didn't stop to talk to anyone as he walked up the stairs and stepped into Angela's bedroom. Emmett was already laying on the far most right side of the girl's large bed with her tucked in his arms, instructed to do so by Alice. Smiling at his brother, Jasper laid Bella down next to Angela and slipped in the bed behind her.

Bella whimpered in her sleep, calling out Jasper's name as tears slipped from beneath her closed lids. The southern vampire soothed her gently, promising her that he was there with her as he infused ribbons of comfort and safety to her in her sleep. Emmett reached out; stroking his hand over Bella's hair as she slowly calmed and tucked herself into Jasper's chest.

"I feel the same way both of you do," Edward said as he brought the wingback chair from the bookcase close to the bed and sat down. "I've never wanted to kill anyone so much in my life. But doing so would only bring more pain upon Angela. The last thing she needs right now is more stress in her life."

"Alice?" Jasper looked to his wife when she stepped into the open doorway and looked down at the bed.

"I can't see much of anything yet, at least not clearly," she said as she looked at her sleeping human sisters tucked between her brother and husband. "But from the feeling of my visions, it's only going to get worse. Something's coming, I don't know what, but it's bad."

"How bad?" Jasper asked, looking between her and Edward.

"I don't know exactly," she said with a shake of her head. "But something's going to happen either on or around Bella's birthday."

"It's a few weeks away yet," Emmett said as he looked at her. "There's still time to sort it out, isn't there?" he asked as he petted Angela's hair and cooed to her when stirred against him.

"I don't know. I can't see what's coming, I can only feel it and it doesn't feel good."

:::::

Eleazar and Carmen cried out at the same time, falling halfway to their knees as each held a hand pressed tightly over their still hearts. Tanya and Kate each held their friends and coven mates as they watched the mated pair take in deep breaths in order to calm the feelings raging inside of them. It felt as though they were being pulled, clawed at as the feelings of fear and desperation shook them to their very core. Halfway across the world, in a cruise ship destined for Spain, another felt the same call that they did, his body motionless as he lay on top of the bed in the locked state room.

Angela was terrified, they all knew it with the same certainty that they knew the world revolved around the sun. Eleazar had known that she would be powerful, a force to be reckoned with once she was turned, but he had never expected for her call to be this powerful in her human form. He shook his head, moving away from Tanya as he regained his balance and withdrew his cell phone from his pocket. His intention was to call his friend and see what had happened, but when he looked at his phone he found there to already be a text message from him.

"Nightmares," he read the single word text with incredulity. "This powerful a call is the result of nightmares?"

His phone rang a second later, the caller ID showing Alice Cullen to be on the other end and he answered it quickly. He listened to her words, nodded his agreement before speaking the words. As much as he and Carmen wanted to go to Forks, as strong as Angela's call for protection was, he would respect the wishes of her family and stay in Denali. Looking at his wife he nodded at the question he could see in her eyes and returned his attention to the vampire on the other end of the call.

"Would you have her call us, Alice?" Eleazar requested. "Just so that we may speak with her and know she's safe?"

"Of course," her sweet voice answered him. "I'll have her call as soon as she's awake. With all of the stress that this is causing her, I think Carlisle's going to have her stop talking about her childhood, at least for a little while. Hopefully her nightmares will stop as well. Believe me, my friend, we can all feel her cry for protection too and it's a hundred times more powerful because of how close we are to her."

"Is there anything that we can do?" he asked, wishing for the ability to take away Angela's fear.

"No," Alice said, her voice suddenly sounding tired and ancient. "There's not even anything that we can do. Emmett and Jasper are constantly holding her, but even that isn't helping as much as it used to. Edward says that when she talks about the abuse she suffered, she's reliving it. When she sleeps it's as though all of the fear overwhelms her. I wish there was something that you or any of us could do, but so far nothing works."

"Alright," Eleazar nodded to himself even as he hated to agree with the Cullens' request. "Just have her call us, ok?"

"I will, I promise," Alice assured him.

Alice sighed as she disconnected the call and tucked the device back into her pocket. Rubbing her hand over her mouth, she looked up at the floor above her and felt her heart ache for what her human sisters were going through. They had both woken screaming from their nightmares only a half hour earlier and it had taken the combined efforts of Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle, Edward, and Esme to calm them back to sleep once more. She sat down on the couch, dropping her face into her hands as she cried tearlessly, her wrenching sobs silent.

"Oh, Alice," Carlisle mourned when he saw his adoptive daughter curled in a ball on the couch. "Sweetheart," he kissed her hair as he lifted her into his arms and sat down with her, holding her in his lap.

It wasn't often that his vampire daughters needed comforting, but it always broke his heart to see them hurting as Alice was now. Kissing her hair as he rubbed her back, Carlisle thought nothing of the fact that she, like him, had no need for sleep and did with her what he always did with Angela. Moving slowly, he turned them so that he could lie back on the couch and held Alice curled on his chest as she lay between him and the sofa. Resting his cheek on her head, he kept her wrapped in his arms as he sang softly to her.

No matter how much she wanted to, Alice was powerless against her emotions and couldn't stop crying. Her body shook, trembled with the force of her emotions and she clutched his shirt in her hand as she lay with her face buried in his chest. She listened to his voice, laughed through her sobs as he sang to her and followed his instruction when he told her to close her eyes. They both knew that she wouldn't fall asleep, the act in and of itself impossible for their kind, but what he was offering her was the peace and security to simply let someone else hold her and be strong for awhile. She gave in easily, turning her head to rest her cheek against his shoulder as she closed her eyes and released a deep slow breath.

"Norah Jones?" she questioned his choice of songs softly with a grin.

"Yes," he returned with a soft laugh of his own. "I've been listening to her a bit more lately. I thought the easy tones of the music would help Angela sleep better. Unfortunately, nothing seems to be helping her sleep."

They both turned their eyes up to the ceiling when the sound of fast footsteps could be heard followed in short succession by the sound of the bathroom door closing and the tell tale retching. Alice's face contorted in misery as she felt her emotions stirring again, her grief strengthening as she began to tremble softly with tears that would never fall.

"She's sick again," she said as they both heard Esme talking softly to Bella in order to comfort her.

"I know," Carlisle sighed sadly as they both sat up. "I may need to pick her up an anti nausea medication if this goes on much longer. It doesn't matter how much we get her to eat during the day if it keeps coming up at night."

"It hasn't even been three hours since you brought her home," Alice shook her head and looked down at her hands before turning her attention on her adoptive father. "How do we help them?"

"I don't know. I really don't know."

:::::

She was so tired, exhausted beyond compare, but she couldn't sleep. Sleeping hurt. Sleeping brought about her nightmares and the nightmares were worse than any of her memories. Stumbling tiredly down the stairs, Angela turned into Carlisle's office but found the room to be empty. Through sleep blurred eyes, she found his cell phone to be lying on his desk. Not normally one to use another person's phone without asking, she took the device and sat heavily on the black leather couch. Rubbing her eyes with the back of one hand, she scrolled through the contacts only to pout in frustration when she didn't find the name she was looking for.

"Who did you want to call, Sweetheart?" Carlisle asked as he stepped into the room and knelt down in front of her.

"Uncle Merlin," she said tiredly, the words slurring together.

"Let me see," he requested and took his phone from her hand with a soft smile. "Here we go," he said and handed it back to her as the call to Eleazar rang through. "It's ringing, Sweetheart. Just wait for him to answer," he told her with a soft smile.

"Carlisle?" Eleazar's voice sounded over the phone and Angela rubbed tiredly at her eye once more as she put the call on speaker.

"Uncle Merlin?" she said softly as she laid back on the couch, curling up on her side.

"Angela?" his voice was smooth and soft, holding a note of concern when he spoke her name. "How are you doing, little one?" he asked her.

"Will you tell me a story?" she asked instead, her eyes drooping heavily as Carlisle covered her with a blanket.

"Of course," he offered gently. "Close your eyes for me," he requested even though they both knew he couldn't see her, but she did as he asked.

He began slowly, describing the landscape and landmarks of the eighteenth century Spain he had grown up in. He told her of the smell of the flowers, the sounds of the ocean tides and the sight of the sunsets on the water. He described to her the clothing, the mannerisms and customs of the time, his voice lyrical and soothing. Though the famous 'vampire charm' that they all used to ease her to sleep when telling her stories didn't work as well over the phone, the story itself eased her into a light slumber. He knew almost the moment that she was asleep, his vampire ears able to detect the changes in the rhythm of her breathing and heartbeat.

"She's asleep?" he asked for confirmation.

"Out like a light," Carlisle said as he picked up the phone and took the call off speaker. "Hopefully she'll sleep a little bit longer this time. Thank you, my friend."

"Not a problem at all," Eleazar assured him and then chuckled softly. "She called me 'Uncle Merlin'."

"So she did," Carlisle chuckled as he brushed the backs of his fingers over Angela's sleep warmed cheek. "It looks like you have a new name."

"I have all of the books in that series," he confessed. "If she wakes up again, you're more than welcome to call me and I'll read to her."

"I think she'd like that. How are you all doing there? Alice told me you could feel her call," Carlisle said as he stood and stepped out of his office, pulling the door almost closed as he left Angela to sleep.

"It's not as powerful as it was earlier," Eleazar said and Carlisle could hear the man draw in a slow breath. "If not for Tanya and Kate, both Carmen and I would've been on the floor. It was that powerful. Believe me when I tell you that it took every last ounce of our combined willpower not to simply run straight to your home."

"I can only imagine," Carlisle returned and rubbed his fingers against his temple when he heard Bella cry out from upstairs.

"Is that Angela?" Eleazar asked in concern when he heard the cry.

"No, that's Bella," Carlisle said tired. "They're both having nightmares. I'm afraid that I'm at a loss for what to do."

"What can you do?" Eleazar asked. "How do you fight back against a dream?"

"I don't know," Carlisle sighed and looked up when Jasper called his name softly from upstairs. "I have to go, my friend. I will call later."

"Go tend to your children," Eleazar said his serious tone holding a note of amusement.

Carlisle ascended the stairs quickly and was outside Angela's room in seconds. Looking in, he found Jasper and Edward to be sitting on either side of Emmett as he cradled Bella in his lap and tried to coax her out of her nightmare. All three looked up at him with concern and he stepped closer to sit down on the bed facing Emmett. He could see the worry on all their faces, though Edward's held the greatest distress.

"She won't wake up," Edward said as he looked at Bella, her face awash with tears.

"Give her to me," Carlisle said and took Bella easily from Emmett's arms.

He held Bella in his lap, tucked her hair behind her ears as he smoothed the short curls by her temples from her tear stained face. Kissing her forehead, he called to her gently and rocked her slowly. She whimpered brokenly, sobbed quietly in her sleep as she mumbled, calling out his name or Jasper's as she remained in the throes of her nightmare. Pursing his lips as he looked down on her, there was only one thing he hadn't tried yet, something he thought her far too old for.

"Maybe not," Edward said as he read his thoughts. "If it'll work, Carlisle, do it."

Nodding, Carlisle stood from the bed and waited as Edward and his brothers stood and moved away. He watched as Edward smoothed out the top quilt until it lay flat on the bed, but turned so that the four corners were hanging off the bed. Nodding his thanks, Carlisle stepped up to the bed and gently laid Bella down on the quilt. He pulled first on the left corner, folding the blanket over her and tucking the pointed edge of the blanket under her opposite side. Making certain that the first fold was tightly wrapped around her; he lifted the bottom edge, the corner only coming up to mid-thigh and then folded over the right corner as he had the left. She was swaddled tightly, wrapped like an infant in a manner that left her unable to move, but he hoped it would bring her the same comfort that it brought to the young.

Lifting Bella back into his arms, Carlisle sat down on the bed and held her tightly in his arms as he began to sing softly to her. Two and a half songs later, her whimpering stopped, her tears dried and she returned to a peaceful sleep devoid of dreams. Finishing the lullaby with a soft sigh, Carlisle lifted his hand from around her and tucked her hair behind her ear. She was finally sleeping peacefully and he found that he was thankful that his vampire nature left him never needing to sleep. Though none of his family ever needed to sleep, he knew how draining Angela's nightmares and ghost like silence was on them all. Looking down into Bella's face as he continued to rock her gently, he wondered how Charlie had been able to handle the trial of her nightmares these past few weeks.

"Esme just did the same thing with Angela," Alice said as she stood in the open doorway and nodded at Bella's blanket wrapped form. "It worked like a charm."

"So to get them to sleep without the terror of their nightmares," Rosalie said with an amused frown, "we need to wrap them like infants?"

"If it works," Carlisle said with lopsided grin.

:::::

Suplicia gasped in wonder as she stared wide eyed at the land outside of her airplane window. The sun was just setting, the angle of the light not in any danger of revealing her prismatic skin and Felix chuckled when he found her to have her face pressed against the glass like a child. He smiled as he watched her, the delight and wonder she felt almost palpable. He saw her reflection in the glass, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she looked at the land below.

Tropical forests, mountains covered in trees and flowers, clear sapphire blue waters crashing against the island shore and so many other things held her attention mercilessly and she was powerless to resist. She smiled as she turned to look at him and he laughed when she expressed her desire to run through the forests and roll through the rainbow colored fields of flowers. Her attention was captured once again and she looked ready to climb out of the window in pursuit of something she saw below.

"What are those?" she asked him and pointed at the water below.

"Dolphins," Felix smiled at her. "Those, my dear, are dolphins. The Hawaiian Islands are famous for them; the common bottle nosed dolphins are thick in these waters. We can go swimming tonight, if you'd like. You should be able to see them up close."

"We could?" she asked with the same excitement he imagined children must use when asking to open their presents on holidays.

"Yes, we most definitely can," he chuckled and tucked her pale blond hair behind her ear.

"Dolphins," she repeated with wonder. "I can't wait."