Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Sad face. But I do now own a shiny new set of the books, thanks to my awesome friend, Stan (NewMoonaholic). Thank you!

A/N: Thank you to my beta Kimmydon, who despite being super busy, still managed to get this back to me so fast that my head spun! You're the best, thank you so much! I nominated her in the fandom people awards and you all should go and vote for her when voting opens, because she's awesome!

Thank you to my amazing friend and pre-reader Weezy, who teaches me new writing skills all the time, and blows my mind with her own amazing stories. Brace yourself, Texas. Bob is coming!

To everybody who reviews. I know I always say this, but you truly do keep me writing and keep me smiling. Your reviews are better than coke and chocolate, and I can give you no higher compliment than that. :)

So, on with the show:

Empty

Chapter 37

And I'm melting
In your eyes
Like my first time
That I caught fire
Just stay with me
Lay with me now.

I Caught Fire- The Used

Bella POV

For the first time in so long, my dreams were pleasant, not filled with fear and pain, but with love and safety. His scent enveloped me as I slept peacefully, wrapped up in his arms. His head was buried in my hair and he was breathing deeply.

As the morning light streamed through the thin curtains and invaded my sleep, forcing itself into my consciousness, I cracked one eye open and was met with the sight of his perfect face, gazing down at me with a broad smile.

Forcing my protesting eyes open fully, then squinting against the harsh light of dawn, I rolled over in his arms so that my face was pressed up against his bare chest.

"Good morning, beautiful," he crooned, resting his chin on top of my head as I enjoyed the feel of his cool, marble chest against my cheek.

"G'morning," I returned sleepily, snuggling deeper into his embrace, and feeling his arms pulling me tighter into their protective circle.

"And what would Mrs. Cullen like for breakfast this morning?" he asked, the smile evident in his voice without even having to look at his face.

"Mmm... Mr. Cullen," I replied drowsily, keeping a firm clasp around his torso, as though that could stop him from pulling away. He chuckled and kissed my hair, pulling back slightly to look at my face and eliciting a groan from my chest.

"Shall I take that as a 'surprise me' kind of answer?" He laughed, trying to disentangle himself from my protesting fingers.

"No, stay," I moaned disapprovingly, fighting against his freeing hands.

"How am I supposed to get my wife breakfast in bed, if she won't let me out of bed in the first place?" He was laughing again, but I thought I felt the slightest increase in the grip of his arms around me.

"Don't want breakfast," I began, my brain still not functioning quite enough to form a coherent sentence. "Want Edward."

"You have me," he responded, nipping at my nose playfully. "Forever. So two minutes while I get you something to eat for breakfast isn't going to make much difference to you in the long run, is it?"

"Two minutes?" I eyed him sceptically.

"Two minutes," he repeated, a smug grin on his face as he looked at me confidently. I started to loosen my grip on him somewhat, then grabbed for his wristwatch, undoing it and taking it.

"I'll be counting," I threatened, giving him a stern look before releasing him altogether and watching him disappear at dizzying speed.

After one minute and forty nine seconds he reappeared, carrying a tray covered in various breakfast foods and dressed up with a beautiful red rose.

I quirked an eyebrow at his impressive speed, looking between him and the wristwatch. He merely smirked and cited "vampires" as his reasoning, before taking the watch back and depositing the tray on the bed beside me.

I couldn't help the grin that overtook my face when I saw the strawberry pop-tart. It sat on the plate in the middle of the tray, surrounded by much more elegant and nutritious foods. I picked up the warm pastry, shooting Edward a winning smile, and began to nibble at it while watching him lie back down on the bed beside me. He raised his arm and I scooted around so that I was nestled into the comfortable space there.

We both revelled in the comfortable silence as I worked my way through the pop-tart. I followed that with several strawberries and a glass of fruit juice. Then, finally with a last swallow, I declared myself to be entirely full.

"You make a good breakfast for someone who doesn't eat," I joked, prodding his taut stomach with my index finger teasingly. He didn't say anything; he just gazed at me with an odd expression on his face. He looked happy, contented, and yet confused somehow.

I knelt beside him, my fingers tracing the lines of his bare chest, unwilling to lose contact, and quirked an eyebrow at him in question.

"What?" I asked when he didn't speak. His smile grew wider and his hand came up, his fingers running idly across my cheek, cooling the blush, that burned there at his intense scrutiny.

"Just you," he replied, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Me?" I asked, rolling my eyes and draping myself onto the bed, so that my head was resting on his chest. "What did I do?"

"You said 'I do'," he said, awe filling his tone as he continued to caress my cheek happily. "You're my wife. I never thought that this day would come. When you were so sick, and I watched you through those gates every day... I never dreamed that..." He trailed off, as he began to choke on his words.

"I hated those gates," I stated softly.

"I hated them too," he responded, moving his fingers into my hair and brushing it silently down my back.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I'm sorry I pushed you away, sorry I shut you out. I never once stopped loving you, not ever. I just... I was afraid, afraid of loving you. After everything that happened, I was just scared of getting hurt again. I'm sorry. I should have trusted you, should have known that you would never hurt me-" My rambling was cut off by his cool finger on my lips and his gentle shushing.

"No more, Bella. No more looking back." He lifted two glasses off the tray and handed one to me. "To the future," he announced as he clinked his glass against mine, then grimaced as he drunk to his own toast.

I took the offending glass from him, placing it on the night stand, and pushed the tray onto the floor, before snuggling back under the covers and into his side, enjoying the sensations of his fingers as they ran up and down my side.

We lay that way for the rest of the day, enjoying being alone together and exploring each other's bodies, free from fear and pressure. He was sweet, loving and tender and made me feel like I was the only woman in the world.

Then, as the light began to fade in the sky, I heard the sounds of the family beginning to return, and I giggled in Edward's arms as Emmett's voice boomed up the stairs.

"Oh, baby sister, you better be decent because brother bear is coming up."

Blushing deeply, I buried my face into the crook of Edward's arm and pulled the covers up tighter around me. Within seconds, Emmett's fist connected with the door, and it flew open before either of us had the chance to invite him in.

He stood, framed in the doorway, beaming all over his face as he looked at us, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively at Edward and sending my flaming face to the color of the bed covers.

"Carlisle brought morphine from the hospital," he said, still smirking and looking pointedly at first Edward and then me, as though I ought to understand what he was talking about. I looked up at Edward, who apparently understood what was going on since he was nodding seriously and his arms had tensed around me somewhat.

When he noticed me looking up at him in confusion he leaned down, placing a kiss on my temple and whispering in my ear.

"For the change, love."

The change? I mulled the word over in my mind for a moment before realisation struck and my eyes widened in surprise.

"N-now?" I gaped, slightly taken aback by the suddenness of it all.

In reality, I knew that it was what I wanted; it was all I had wanted for so long, that the idea of it had overtaken the reality in my head. Yet now here they were, ready to give me what I wanted, and suddenly the idea of it was terrifying to me. I could feel the high of my wedding and night with Edward starting to wear off as I thought about the pain that was coming. As long as I'd had to prepare, Emmett's sudden announcement had knocked the wind out of my sails.

Edward's fingers dusting down my cheek grounded me, as I began to feel the beginnings of panic setting in. His index finger looped under my chin, nudging it up so that I was staring into the eyes that soothed me.

"When you're ready, Bella," he said, his eyes burning with intensity as they searched my expression for evidence of the panic, which had started only moments before. "Not before."

I nodded, using his touch and his gaze to steady myself as I fought to remember my reasoning for deliberately putting myself through more pain.

"I'll leave you kids alone," Emmett said softly, shooting me a sympathetic look before leaving and pulling the door closed behind him.

Edward didn't say anything, he just sighed, then pulled me into his arms, enveloping me in their protective circle. His scent invaded my senses, calming my shaking nerves and filling me with a deep sense of peace and the knowledge that I was doing the right thing. His face nuzzled into my hair and he held me tightly to him, his nose nudging my scalp as he inhaled deeply, the scent of my favourite strawberry shampoo making him sigh with pleasure.

"You don't have to do this, Bella," he whispered, after an infinite moment.

"Yes I do," I replied, without a moment's hesitation, pulling myself further into his arms.

I held myself there for the longest of moments, working through my fear in my mind. For the first time in so long, I allowed myself to fall, knowing that he would catch me. I allowed myself to let the fear show, knowing that it wouldn't be interpreted as a sign of weakness, but as a natural response to what was coming.

"Will you stay with me?" I whispered into his chest, feeling his grip on me tighten ever so slightly.

"Every second. I promise I won't leave you."

I breathed in deeply several times, allowing myself to bathe in his scent and bask in his love, before I spoke softly into his chest. "OK. I'm ready."

He didn't say anything for the longest moment, just held me tightly in his arms. Then I felt his fingers tangle in the hair at the nape of my neck, and he tilted my head back so that I was gazing into his butterscotch eyes. He studied my face, his eyes scrutinising my expression for any hint of doubt, any small sign that I wasn't ready. I smiled nervously up at him, letting him see that it was purely that, just nerves that were making me anxious. He could stare into my eyes all night and he would see no hint of doubt or hesitation there.

After a long period of scrutiny, his lips curved upwards into a smile and then dusted against mine softly. My head found itself buried into his chest once more as his arms enclosed me in a desperate embrace.

"Okay," he whispered softly into my hair, then pulled back from me slightly, tilting my chin up with his finger and smiling as he repeated, "okay," more positively this time. Then he took my hand in his and pressed it lightly to his lips before tenderly dressing me, then pulling me downstairs, where the family were all gathered, chatting and watching a movie.

"Bella," Carlisle said, smiling as we entered the room. A small squeal was the only warning I had before a tiny speck of black flashed across my vision and Alice's arms flew around me, almost pushing me to the ground.

"We're sisters, Bella," she giggled happily. "I always knew we would be one day, but some people didn't believe me." She shot Edward an accusing glare as she spoke, but he just laughed, winking at her and pulling me neatly into his side.

"You'd think he'd know better than to bet against you by now, wouldn't you, darlin'?" Jasper came and wound his arms around Alice from behind, stooping down and resting his chin on her shoulder, smiling brightly. "Welcome to the family, little one," he winked at me as I childishly stuck out my tongue at him.

"Edward says I'll be able to kick your ass when I'm first changed," I threatened, trying to look menacing but just earning myself another smile.

"You wouldn't want to do that now would you? We are family after all." He stepped forward and ruffled my hair patronisingly. I reached up and hit him in the arm, then shook my hand in pain while he laughed at me.

"Just wait, Bella," he said, smirking. "A few more days and that might actually work."

I felt a small jolt of fear track through me at his words, which Jasper immediately noticed. His face turned down in a frown, but he didn't say anything. He didn't have to. Edward stiffened beside me, evidently seeing my fear in Jasper's thoughts. He looked down at me with concern once more, but I shot him a look that clearly said 'we're doing this,' and he nodded seriously.

I snuggled into the cool, silky covers of the bed, my head resting on Edward's chest with his arms wrapped around me. I closed my eyes tightly against the needle Carlisle was using to administer the morphine that they hoped would take some of the edge off the pain I was about to experience. I felt the sharp prick of the injection and the cool run of the fluid into my vein as Carlisle did his job as painlessly as possible. It seemed almost ironic that he was being so very careful to cause minimal pain, knowing what was coming next.

I could feel the drugs making their way through my system, relaxing me and numbing the areas of my body which still smarted from Jack's attack. I felt myself going a little drowsy as Edward's face swam before my eyes. His expression looked almost apologetic as he kissed me and told me that he loved me.

And then the fire started.

Like a thousands blazing arrows shooting through my veins, the venom began to spread out from all the places Edward had just bitten me. He had spoken with Carlisle about the best way to go about this, and Carlisle had recommended multiple bites as it apparently sped up the process. The pain was more than intense as it rocketed through my body, rendering me unable to hold in the cries of pain, or to hold myself still, as the agony tore my self-control to pieces.

I tried to keep Edward's face in the forefront of my mind. He was my reason. My reason for living, my reason for getting up in the morning, my reason for everything. But as the pain coursed through me my mind blurred, taking the comforting image of his face away from me and leaving me with only the agony and depriving me of the reason why.

"Edward!" I screamed out, when his face had left my mind completely. I felt his cool arms around me, a stark contrast to the burning, and I needed more, more of that beautiful coolness.

There wasn't a single cell in my body which wasn't ablaze, as I squirmed and cried out in his arms. Jasper had been right; this was a million times worse than any pain I had ever experienced before. This was like taking the day that Jack burned my hand, but instead it was my entire body - every single cell. The inferno raged from the ends of my toes to the tips of my hair; each and every millimeter of me was ablaze and there was no relief from it, even with Edward's cool body pressed against mine.

Edward POV

Her body convulsed in my arms, her eyes shut tight against the burning pain that wracked her suffering body. I held her to me as tightly as I dared, hoping that the coolness of my skin could offer her some respite from the fire that raged through her veins.

I fought against her thrashing arms that flew around as she sought relief from the pain. Shushing her pointlessly, I ran my cool hands down her body, praying to a God I wasn't even sure I believed in that the three days would go by quickly. Watching her suffer like this, and knowing that she was going through this in order to be with me forever, was slowly breaking my heart. Selfishly I had wanted this; I wanted her to be immortal, strong, less fragile, less vulnerable, but this was torture. Slow, painful torture which now started could not be undone.

I told her over and over how much I loved her, not even sure whether she could hear me, but needing to say it nonetheless. I held her all night, never once relinquishing my grip on her body as she continued to writhe and cry out in agony.

Various members of the family came to check on us during the night. Jasper's presence seemed to be especially soothing to her, as he worked his voodoo on the room to calm her and give her some measure of peace as her body convulsed in pain. He stayed with us for a long while, talking reassuringly to me and pumping positive emotions towards Bella hopefully.

Carlisle dropped in and out repeatedly over the days that followed, checking on Bella's physical condition and re-administering morphine, though it didn't seem that it had much of an effect. Not quite managing to drop her mothering instincts, Esme came in halfway through the second day and forcibly removed her from my arms, telling me to go and get away from her crying for a while and promising to take care of her while I was gone.

I went and sat outside on the porch swing, which was doused in Bella's scent from all the time she had spent there. Emmett joined me after a few moments, sighing and sitting beside me as I listened to Bella's cries from inside the house.

"How you holding up, man?" he questioned, his face creased up in an uncommon expression of concern.

"I promised I wouldn't leave her." It wasn't an answer to his question, but it was what was on my mind.

"She's with Esme. She couldn't be with anybody better right now. She'll take care of her while you take a breather. That can't be easy to watch - you need to give yourself a break."

"Does she get a break?" I came back, fiercely.

"It's only one more day, Edward."

"You don't think that she's been through enough? And now this on top of it all." I tugged at my hair savagely, knowing logically that torturing myself over this was pointless and wouldn't do Bella any good, but old habits die hard, as they say.

"She's chosen this, Edward. It's what she wants. She knew it would be painful. She knew what she was walking into, but she walked in willingly because she loves you. You better make yourself worth it, 'cause I swear to God, Edward, if you hurt my baby sister, I will personally tear you from limb to limb. Like I intend to do to that bastard, Jack, just as soon as I get my hands on him."

"I won't hurt her," I said simply, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees with my head resting in my hands.

"See that you don't," he said, before clapping me on the back and sauntering back into the house.

When I returned to the bedroom, Esme had given Bella a cool bath and redressed her in a simple, white cotton nightgown. She was lying on top of the bedcovers with Esme's arms circled around her. Her writhing and crying seemed to have lessened somewhat, and I couldn't help wondering whether Esme's natural calm had caused that.

As though she was reading my thoughts, Esme shifted, lifting Bella off the bed so I could lie down before she placed her gently in my arms.

"I think the cool bath helped her some. She was much more settled in the cold water." I nodded my thanks to her, before turning my attention to the whimpering bundle in my arms.

"Not long now, angel. Not long until it's all over and you can be free of pain forever."

The rest of the time passed by agonisingly slowly, as her poor body suffered it's torment. We continued to hold her, to bathe her in the cool water, which soothed her, and Carlisle even tried reading her favourite books to her in the hope that maybe she could hear him. There was no indication from her that she could, but he persevered anyway, wanting to give her whatever comfort he could.

On the third day, I could sense her body starting to change. Her heart rate slowed dramatically, until it was barely beating and her back arched off the bed. The agony of the final part of the change ripped piercing screams from her parched throat. I held her to me tightly, remembering all too well the torment of those final moments, as the pain receded from the extremities of your body, and all converged painfully on your chest, making a burning ember of your heart and finishing the process.

"Nearly there, Bella," I crooned, stroking her hair and kissing her forehead as she cried. I carried on whispering words of comfort to her and trying to soothe her with soft touches, as her heart beat out it's final, slow rhythm. Then, with its final beat she let out an ear piercing scream, her body almost jumping off the bed, her chest leading, until her body went limp in my arms, her heart now silent and still.

I lay her back on the covers, leaning on my arm beside her and stroking down her cheek with the fingers of my free hand. The change from human to vampire had brought about subtle changes to her body - nothing dramatic, nothing that made her unrecognisable from the Bella I fell in love with. She just looked stronger, more durable somehow. Her body, which had still bordered on too thin and frail, now appeared more rounded, healthier, less breakable. She had always been pale, but now her face was flawlessly white, just the same as the rest of the family.

"Come back to me, Bella," I whispered, cupping her face with my hand and dropping my lips to hers. Pulling back, I saw her eyelids begin to flutter, her long eyelashes tickling against her high cheekbones. Then slowly, hesitantly, her eyes started to open. Blood red, they focused on me for only the tiniest of moments before they squinted shut again, her face scrunching up against her now heightened senses.

I don't know why I was startled by the colour of her eyes; I had known it was coming. But after spending so long enjoying her deep, brown eyes, the bright crimson caught me slightly off guard. As they opened once more, and remained so this time, I smiled at her, watching her carefully as she started to sit up.

Blinking rapidly, she looked around, scanning the room before her ruby eyes lighted on me.

"Edward," she tinkled, looking slightly surprised by the new bell-like tone to her voice. "Am I..?"

"Yes, love. You are." I smiled brightly, then tumbled to the floor as she threw herself at me, not realising her new strength in her enthusiasm. Laughing, I hugged her back, enjoying putting all my strength into it for the first time ever. "How do you feel, baby?"

"I...um... A little bit overwhelmed. Everything is so big, so bright. Has there always been so many colours? I can see everything; I can hear everything. How do you stand it?" Her hands flew up to cover her ears and her eyes closed tightly again as she buried her face in my chest. Then, scrunching her face up in confusion she looked up at me, her hands running softly down my chest. "You don't feel different to me now. Not like stone. Just... normal."

"That's because we're the same now; you're not so breakable any more." She nodded slowly, then a small smile started to creep onto her face.

"I'm married to you, and now I get to keep you forever." Her smile could have lit up the heavens, it was so bright. She threw her arms around my neck and pressed her lips up against mine in a desperate, passionate kiss, and for the first time ever I did not hold back. I threw every ounce of myself into the kiss and felt her do the same. Her fingers threaded into my hair, tugging lightly on the strands as our lips moved together in perfect harmony. Her tongue slipped into my mouth, tangling with mine as she pulled me closer to her, using my hair. No longer hindered by her need for oxygen, we stayed locked in this embrace for an infinite amount of time, allowing ourselves to truly let go and feel.

Breaking apart, I could still feel her smile as she rested her forehead against mine, her fingers still tangled in my hair.

"I love you, Edward. Thank you for doing this for me," she whispered, stroking my scalp with her fingers.

"I love you too, sweetheart. Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Her face scrunched up in confusion.

"Immortality."

If you fancy something a bit different and like Emmett, I highly recommend that you go and check out Subway Strangers by Miztrezboo. I started reading it the other day, and didn't stop until I was caught up!

See you all soon xx