Disclaimer: Once again, Twilight is not mine; I just play in Stephanie Meyer's sandbox. My incredible betas Im2xshy and Kzintikiller keep me motivated and on track for which I am eternally grateful.
Author's Note: Okay, so I know it's not Saturday and it's been six weeks since my last update. It goes without saying that I suck. Thank you much for being patient with me, I hope I haven't lost you all by now with the delay. I'm SO sorry this new chapter took so long. I never had any intention of it taking this long. As I told you in my last update I went on vacation for 10 days, but when I got back, I brought a cold with me, then I got slammed at work (did I mention I write a lot work) and then I tweaked my back so it hurt to sit up for about a week.
To make matters worse, I was a little blocked on this chapter. I didn't want to just do a replica of Bella's change from Breaking Dawn and so I struggled with what to do. And so, while things in this chapter happen similarly to canon, this is my spin on it. Although to be honest, I have to say that this is not my favorite chapter as it's transitional and not especially exciting.
However ... the good news is that once I got past this chapter, the next chapter flowed out much easier and I liked it much better. There are actually some things that happen in it that I thought were more interesting. It is currently with my beta and I should have it back in the next couple of days. As soon as I get it back and make any tweaks that I need to, I will post it. You have all been so patient with me, the least I can do is post an early chapter for you.
So here we go ...
Previously in Chapter 48: Edward and the others saved Bella after Riley dumped her at the landfill and Bella was undergoing her change. The first part of the previous chapter was from Esme's POV as Alice came in and wanted to give Bella a "spa day" so that she was not permanently stuck with hairy legs and so on. The other part was from Bella's POV while she was burning and talking to Anthony in her head.
Chapter 49
CARLISLE
Lifting her wrist, I took Bella's pulse, or attempted to, but there was no pulse to be found there. I'd encountered the same situation at her other wrist and at both ankles. She no longer had radial pulses as the venom had finished it's work in her extremities and had pulled back to occupy her head and torso. As for her breathing, which had been such a concern before, it was now down to a predictable one breath approximately every five minutes and I knew that even that would also be gone very shortly.
Even though it had only been two days since the process had started, both situations were a clear signal that she was nearing the end of her change. Despite Alice's prediction that Bella would wake early, I was still surprised that it was actually working out that way.
All vampiric changes I'd seen or been apart of in the past had lasted approximately three days. From a medical and scientific standpoint, the issue of why it was taking so much less time for Bella intrigued me and I'd spent the last couple of hours analyzing the situation. The only two factors that were different in Bella's case were the use of the morphine and the administration of a massive dose of venom all at once, rather than through a bite or two, as was the norm.
While I couldn't completely rule out that the morphine had somehow sped up the change by interacting with the venom, or because it kept Bella calm so she was not fighting the change, I really didn't think that was the case. I firmly believed that the reason for the accelerated change had to be the large amount of venom we had given Bella. Normally, the person changing was bitten once or maybe twice and therefore a relatively small amount of venom was introduced into the body. However, by using not only Edward's bite, but the syringes of his venom, we would have all but overwhelmed her body with it.
Of course, right about now, the point was moot, but it was something to keep in mind if we were ever faced with changing someone else. Burning for two days was much more preferable to burning for three.
Jasper's voice pulled me from my musings. "Carlisle? What's the verdict?"
"As Alice predicted, Bella's change is almost over. I believe she should wake any time now."
Jasper nodded and then addressed everyone who was gathered in the room to await Bella's awakening. "Remember what we talked about. After her ordeal, Bella may be upset when she wakes. Edward will speak to her first while Rose, Alice and Esme stay behind the rest of us until we can decide if Bella can control herself."
"But Jasper," Alice began as she leaned a large gilded mirror against the wall. "I told you, Bella will be fine when she wakes up."
From the look on his face, Jasper was unconvinced. Even though I couldn't imagine Bella being a threat to any of us, during his time in Maria's service, I'm sure Jasper had seen his share of out of control newborns and he was erring on the side of caution, especially where Alice was concerned.
"Please Alice, just humor me," be pleaded.
Alice, ever unconcerned, rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine."
Esme, who had been Edward's biggest source of support during Bella's change, spoke into the silence left by Jasper and Alice's exchange. "I think she looks like the Sleeping Beauty you read about in fairytales, Edward."
"I would have to agree," I seconded.
Any blemish or trace of Bella's physical ordeal with Victoria had been healed by the venom, and it had gone one step further to sharpen and perfect every aspect of her appearance. Her hair was thicker, shinier and a deeper chestnut color, her skin was pale and flawless, and her figure, while still slim, had filled out slightly, restoring the weight she'd lost in the last six months and giving her just the hint of curves. The final touch was the fact that Bella had been scrubbed, waxed and buffed during her 'spa day' and was now dressed in the simple, but stylish clothes that Edward had requested.
From the chair beside Bella's bed, Edward smiled. "She has always been beautiful to me. Even when I found her in the landfill, broken and filthy, she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen."
Smiling, Alice walked over to look down at Bella. "She's not just beautiful, she's perfect."
As if Bella had heard Alice words and didn't like them, her heart began to pound furiously and her body gave a hard jerk as her heart made one last, fruitless stand at keeping it's mortality. Suddenly, her back arched sharply lifting her torso off the bed. Then, just as suddenly her body went lax and she slumped back into place.
With one last beat, her heart went silent and her breathing ceased.
"Okay, everyone, take your places," Jasper instructed. As we had promised Jasper, we moved to the far side of the room, putting Alice, Rose and Esme behind us.
The moment Bella's body had given its sudden jerk, Edward had risen to his feet to lean over her. Then as soon as her body had gone silent, he gripped her hand and spoke to her. "Bella?" He waited for a moment and tried again. "Bella, love, you're safe now, please open your eyes."
From my place across the room, I watched as her eyelids twitched and then her eyes snapped open. Edward said her name again but she didn't answer him, instead, her gaze was riveted upward as if there was something fascinating on the ceiling above her.
Gently, he reached out to stroke her cheek. As his fingers touched her skin, she startled badly and then in the next moment, Edward was leaning over the empty bed with an equally empty hand and Bella was crouching in the furthermost corner of the room, a growl rumbling in her chest.
"Wow, did you see how fast she was?" Emmett said smugly.
"Emmett, be quiet," Jasper admonished, but I noticed he didn't argue the point of her speed. Even to vampire eyes, her movements had been very fast.
Edward ignored the rest of us as he focused on Bella. He slowly walked around the bed to her. "Bella? It's okay, no one is going to hurt you. You don't need to be scared."
Bella stared at him and then suddenly blinked and recognition came into her eyes and her growling stopped. "Edward?"
He grinned at her. "Yes, it's me."
Slowly, she rose from her crouch and a wide, warm smile split her face as she ran to him. Well, perhaps 'ran' was not an accurate description, what she did was more like 'jump' to him. She leapt across the space between them in one bound and wrapped her arms and legs around him. Although her movements had once again been quick, Edward had apparently been ready for her because while he staggered under her weight, he remained upright. If he hadn't been ready, it was likely she would have tackled him to the floor.
"Oh, Edward, you saved me," she said with a little sob. "Thank you. I love you so much."
He chuckled. "I love you too ... ugh," he said as his chuckle morphed into a groan and his voice sounded a little strangled. "Uh, Bella, not so hard, love, when it comes to you, I'm the breakable one now."
Immediately she released him and took a step back. "Oops, sorry," she said sheepishly.
Smirking, Edward pulled her close again. "I didn't mean you should stop hugging me, just be a little gentle with me until you get used to your new strength."
She smiled shyly up at him. "But you'll help me, right?"
Edward couldn't seem to stop grinning at her. "Of course I will." His smile faded as he turned serious for a moment. "How do you feel?"
Taking a little step back, she held up her hands and stared at them, touched them to her hair and then ran them down over her body. Although her steps were anything but wobbly, something in her expression and demeanor made me think of a newborn colt.
With a look of wonder on her face, she finally looked up at Edward. "I feel great, amazing actually," she said. "Everything is so much ... more. It's like having new eyes and all new senses that are a thousand times better than when I was human. To be honest, it's incredible, but a little overwhelming."
"I know," he agreed. "But with time you'll get used to it and it will become second nature to you."
"I'll take your word for it." Then she reached up and touched Edward's cheek. "You're so beautiful."
Emmett snickered but Rose elbowed him to keep him quiet.
Edward took her hand from his cheek and kissed her palm tenderly. "I was thinking the same thing about you," he told her. "So you're all right with the fact that I changed you?"
Blinking at him in surprise, she frowned. "Of course I am, we talked about this when you found me, didn't we?"
He nodded. "Yes, we did but I just ..."
Her eyes were searching his face and she took a sudden step back. "Unless you're sorry that you did."
"Edward ... " Jasper hissed as he obviously sensed a shift in Bella's mood.
Edward ignored him and pulled Bella in close rubbing his nose against hers Eskimo style. "No, love, I don't regret it one bit, I'm thrilled with it actually." He cupped her cheek. "We're the same temperature now and I don't have to worry about hurting you ever again. Best of all, I get to keep you forever. I could never regret that."
Bella visibly relaxed against him. "You had me worried there for a minute."
He stroked a hand down her back. "You never have to worry about how much I want you."
Leave it to Emmett to ruin the sweet moment. "Aw, she's fine," he groused. "She's not going to freak out or anything."
We all ignored him as I turned to Jasper. "Well, Jasper, what do you think?"
Jasper stared at Bella as I assumed he took her emotional temperature. "I don't know how to explain it, but Emmett's right, she seems fine, at least for the moment."
For the first time, Bella seemed to notice the rest of us. "Hi everyone," she said, then she looked at me. "What does he think about what?" Bella asked.
"It's nothing," Edward told her. "Jasper just keeps expecting you to start attacking all of us."
She frowned. "Why would I do that?"
I answered first. "Sometimes newborns can be a little ... out of control."
Bella looked from me to Edward. "But I don't feel out of control." A hint of worry came into her expression and she took a step closer to Edward. "I won't just snap or something, will I?"
Now it was Alice's turn to chime in. "Of course not, don't be silly. You're fine, Jasper and Carlisle are just being worrywarts." She maneuvered around Jasper to wrap Bella in a hug. "I'm so glad we found you in time."
Relaxing at Alice's words, Bella hugged her back and laughed lightly. "Me too."
So as to not overwhelm her, the rest of us slowly came forward to greet her. "Let me be the first to officially welcome you to the family, Bella," I said giving her a hug.
Esme was next. "Immortality suits you," she said as she hugged Bella. "And I have to agree with Edward, you look beautiful."
As soon as Esme had released her, Emmett, being Emmett, couldn't help but play the part of the bull in the china shop and he snatched her up into a hear hug and swung her around. "I missed you little sis! It was SO boring without you around! We're going to have so much fun!"
Bella laughed. "I missed you too, you big lug!"
Rose snorted. "Come on, Emmett, put her down, she's not your new toy."
He laughed and spun Bella around once more and then set her down. I hadn't expected Rose to hug Bella, since hugging wasn't really Rose's thing, but she surprised me and I'm sure nearly everyone else in the room when she did exactly that.
"I'm glad you're all right," she said quietly. "And don't worry, we'll make that bitch pay for what she did."
As she hugged Rose, I saw a flicker of emotion cross Bella's face, but I couldn't tell if it was anger or sadness and then it was gone as she put on a smile as Rose released her. "Thanks, Rose."
That left only Jasper to officially greet her, but he still hadn't moved from the original spot where he'd been standing and had continued to watch Bella carefully as she interacted with all of us.
Now it was Bella's turn to look at Jasper, she wasn't staring at him like someone who was trying to exert some kind of dominance, but instead she seemed to be trying to figure something out. It occurred to me that she was probably really seeing all his scars for the first time and I hoped her vampire instincts didn't make her see him as a threat.
"Um, Jasper how did you get so many scars?" she said carefully as if she were talking to a coiled snake.
"It's a long story," he replied.
All of us were silent as we waited to see what she would say to that and how things would play out between them. It was no secret that Jasper still blamed himself for what happened the night of Bella's birthday and the events that followed it, but he held no ill feelings toward Bella. If anything, part of him felt compelled to make it up to her. In this case, he was just being cautious. We also knew that Bella didn't hold him responsible in any way for what had happened to her.
After a moment, Bella looked up at Edward and then back to Jasper. "I'll make you a deal, Jasper. If you promise to tell me that story sometime soon, I promise that you can be my vampire babysitter until you're satisfied that I'm not going to massacre everyone." She smiled at him. "We can even play cards and you can cheat like Emmett does and when I get mad you can help teach me how to calm down."
"HEY! I don't cheat," Emmett protested, but we all ignored him; he was a notorious cheater.
Whatever Jasper had thought Bella was going to say, it apparently wasn't that because he blinked at her in surprise and appeared to be momentarily speechless. But slowly, his intense look faded and he smiled back at her.
"It's a deal," he said walking forward to give her a hug. "And I have to admit it's going to be nice not to want to kill you all the time."
Bella laughed at that, her laugh more bell-like and lyrical than it had been when she'd been human, but before she could comment, Alice was suddenly bursting with excitement. "Oh! Bella, quick, come over here!" she said as she took Bella's hand and dragged her over to the large mirror she'd propped against the wall and gesturing to it like a game show hostess. "Edward told me I could be the first one to show you what you look like. So ... Tah-Dah!"
With Edward and Alice flanking her, Bella stood in mute fascination as she studied her reflection. As she'd done earlier, she touched her hair and her face, but now her expression didn't exactly scream that she was thrilled with what she saw.
She looked up at Edward. "What about my eyes? How long will they be red like that?"
Edward spoke quickly to reassure her. "They'll darken up in a few months," he said gently. "Animal blood dilutes the color more quickly than a diet of human blood. They'll turn amber first, then gold."
That didn't seem to comfort her as much as he'd hoped. "They're going to look like that for months?" she said, her voice a bit higher and clearly more stressed than it had before.
Jasper stepped closer in case he needed to intervene if Bella's emotions got the better of her. However, it wasn't necessary. Bella caught his movement in the mirror and it was enough to snap her out of her upset.
"No, I'm fine," she said as she looked at herself in the mirror again. "It's just a lot to take in."
We were quiet while Bella continued to study her reflection. "Bella?" Jasper asked.
"Yes?"
"How did you do that?"
She frowned at him in the mirror. "Do what?"
"Control your emotions," he told her. "I've never seen a newborn do that. I could feel you were upset about your eyes, but when you saw we were concerned you reined it in. I was prepared to help, but you didn't need it."
She turned away from the mirror to look at him. "I don't know. I just did. I didn't want any of you to worry about me." She frowned. "Is that wrong?"
"No," Edward said. "We're just a little surprised, but happily so, over how well you're doing."
Aside from the fact that she was indeed doing splendidly and since she clearly knew all of us, even the question of her memory no longer seemed to be an issue, it occurred to me that we were ignoring the proverbial elephant in the room, so I spoke up. "Edward, perhaps you should take Bella hunting."
"Oh, of course. I'm sorry, Bella, you must be terribly thirsty," Edward said.
"I hadn't thought about it, but now that you mention it ..." She frowned and rubbed a hand over her throat and her voice took on a slightly rough tone as if it were bone dry. "My throat is burning."
"You definitely should feed," Jasper put in. "It's important for maintaining your control."
Edward nodded in agreement. "We can go hunting right now. I know some places that will be far enough way from humans that they won't be a problem."
"But I don't know what to do."
"Your transition has been so easy so far, I wouldn't be surprised if hunting will turn out to be the same way," Jasper said encouragingly.
Edward took her hand. "I'll be there to help if you need it."
"All right then, let's go."
TBC...
Note: Well, there you go, my spin on Bella's first moments as a new vampire.
Up next in Chapter 50: Bella and Edward return from her first hunt and they meet with everyone else to discuss Victoria.
Oh, and we learn that Bella may have a new talent that no one expected. Ooops, I've said too much. ;o) See you then.
