I'm blinded the moment I open my eyes. Bright, white light in a clean, white room. And without my second pair of eyes, the light seems to smear over everything. I feel the hard, uneven bed that supports me, the sling my leg is in, the cradle of my chicken-winged arm. My right hand, which is covered in clean bandages, grips the rails of the bed, and I try to raise from the lumpy pillows. One thing is certain - I'm still alive, and I'm still human. The steady sound of my heartbeat on the monitor is sign enough. I reach up to detach the air tube that is taped to my cheek, wanting to scratch the hidden skin.

"Don't you dare," cool fingers catch my hand.

"I'm breathing just fine." I say with a smile. I look at Edward, at the fresh darkness under his eyes, the blotchiness of his cheeks, and the crooked grin that plays his lips. He sighs, reaching and ruffling my hair. "Thank you...I shouldn't have lied, shouldn't have left. I just … I'm sorry."

"Hey, you were worried about Charlie. I mean, Rosalie does want to tear you a new one, but Jasper is mildly impressed at the little set-up you created. It took Alice about an hour to realize you'd vanished. But it's all good now." His soft fingers caress my bandaged cheek, soothing the stinging pain. "Everything's as it should be."

"What all happened? Everything is so muffled and blurry."

"We tracked you down just in time. He had just bitten you when we tore him from your neck. We could see you start to change, but … you wouldn't have. Changed, I mean."

"Carlisle," I let out the tension from my shoulders. "He said my body was too weak. Had too little blood."

"James punctured your arms for that reason. He knew you'd feel the pain of changing, all the while your heart would just give out. If it weren't for Carlisle getting the venom out of you, I don't think we'd even be here right now."

"I'm grateful. Even if I could have changed, I wouldn't want to. I want to live as a human at least until I finish high school..." I rub my eyes, leaning back on the weird pillows. "God, how could I have been to stupid? Confronting a vampire alone, I'm lucky he didn't just … Charlie!" I shoot back up, and a hot bolt rushes my ribs.

"Don't exert yourself!" Edward gently pushes me back. "He's already recovered, been in and out of here to check on you for the last few days. That, and talking to your mom, Renee. She sounds horrifically like you over the phone." He deadpans for a moment. "You know, if she really does look like you, I might just have a heart attack."

"Yeah, one of me is scary enough. At least she can walk straight."

"Without tripping over thin air?"

"Or even a fallen leaf."

"There really is a God." As if knowing the others' thoughts, we flick the bird and laugh. "She just arrived today. She doesn't understand why either of you are in Phoenix in the middle of the semester, but Charlie came up with a decent enough lie...albeit, a fairly bullshit one, but it was good enough for her as far as I know. I'll update you if I run into her."

"So what is the story? How did I get hurt, why am I down here?"

"You're down here because you and Charlie got into a fight about you leaving Forks over the summer, about how you didn't want to feel as trapped as she did before the divorce. And upon arriving in Phoenix, you fell down two flights of stairs and out a second story window. Alice uh … Alice had a lot of fun creating the evidence."

We both laugh at the mental image, Edward pulling a chair beside the bed and sitting down. He pulls his knees to his chest and sighs. "You have some cracks in your skull, bunch of bruises. He completely snapped your left arm and right leg, and broke five ribs. They gave you so much blood you smelled like four different people, and none of them you."

"Must've been a nice change for you," I offer a wink. He looks away.

"Not even a little bit. I like your scent. It's more … more comforting than appetizing anymore. Smells like home. Oh," he picks up a bag and sets it on the nightstand, "Carlisle sent these. Shelly, Byron, Vonnegut. Things he thought you would like. As an apology for breaking that fifth rib."

"How did he do it?" From the look in his eyes, he knows exactly what I mean.

"I don't know. I could hear him, he was struggling. The taste was new, the sensation. The … the pleasure of it. Part of the reason why I could never give it up, really. It should have been impossible. But he looked at me, and he thought … 'I am better than this'."

He gently takes my bandaged hand, careful to avoid the tubes and wires connected to me, and squeezes.

"So um …" his face suddenly falls. "What do you remember?"

"I remember fighting James, and Carlisle biting me. Everything after that is just a big, black blob." Something akin to relief makes his entire body straighten up, and he looks toward the door. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, ma belle."

"What did you do to James? Was he hard to kill?"

"No, he was actually very easy. I think," he looks up in his head, lip curling, "that he got so used to fighting humans that he forgot how to take down even a single vampire. Once Carlisle arrived with the others, he was history."

"...what about the video?"

"Carlisle refused to let us watch it, but Alice stole it from him. But before any of us could ask, she destroyed it. I saw … flashbacks in her mind. She remembers how she was changed, where she was as a human. She was only a little girl…" His lips purse, a corner rising into a cruel grimace. "I wish we had taken more time with him. Made his pain last. Kept his head so he could live in misery."

"His head would still be alive?"

"Vampire biology is a strange thing...we can eat, breathe, sleep. But we don't need to. You can live without a body, but you'll become stone. Or … like stone. We can be frozen for centuries and not even realize it. Happened to the Romanians a few millennia ago." He mutters as if it's idle gossip, rolling his eyes into his skull.

I shake my head, feeling the catheter in my arm shift slightly. I squeeze my eyes shut and cover them with my broken arm, the cast acting as a good shield. "Fuuuuck."

"What is it?" He sounds worried, but my groan brings out a laugh.

"IV. Needles. Blood."

"A sadistic vampire intent on slaughtering you is no big deal, but a tiny tube in your wrist is enough to make you white as a sheet, and even a little shaky. Isabella, you are a wonder…" I stick my tongue out and turn my head to the left, wanting to watch the door for signs of my parents. Once the skin on my neck shifts, my eyes widen.

My hand, though sore and throbbing, reaches to touch the covered wound. And through the bandages, I feel icy cold skin, smooth as diamond. "Ah … Edward … Edward, my neck…"

"What's wrong with it?" He stands, stammering as my nails claw at the covering. "Bella don't! Shit …" He vanishes and returns with scissors, gauze, and bandages. The moment the air hits it, he lets out a chuckle. "Seems like there was a side-effect. A tiny piece of you has been changed."

"Oh great...at least my throat will never be cut."

"There's also the possibility that some of you changed on the inside. We'll have Carlisle check back in Forks. Well, if you go back. I can't say I'd blame you if you wanted to go back with your mom after all this."

"Hey, you're not getting rid of me that easily." Edward fixes up my neck, making sure that no one would know about my little episode of taking it off. "So, what does my mom think you're doing here?"

"She thinks I came down with Carlisle and the kids - Rose, Jasper, Alice - to bring you home." He chuckles, fixing the bandage and backing up. "You agreed to meet at the hotel we were staying at, tripped over your own shadow, and you know the rest. I even managed to break down in tears. She'll understand if you don't remember the exact details."

"Good." I close my eyes and chew my bottom lip. "I just hope she believes me … it'll be hard to lie about this. Harder than normal, anyway."

"I'll be here every step of the way. To the end of the line, ma belle." Edward looks toward the door and grins. "I hear your mother. I'm gonna uh, 'take a nap'." He quotes, and pushes away from the bed. He curls up on the faux-leather, hideously puce couch, and within seconds looks like he's been out of it for over an hour.

I can hear her now, talking in a rushed voice, a nasally undertone. Like she's been crying. She sounds exhausted. I want to jump out of bed and run to her, hug her tight, and promise that I'm okay. But right now, I'm barely in enough shape to get up and pee. I lay there and wait, impatiently.

"Hey," I glance at Edward's still body and chuckle, "don't forget to breathe." He lets out a dramatic sigh, and his stomach moves at a normal sleeping pace. And I swear the middle finger of his left hand just saluted me.

The door opens and I take in Renee's tear-stained cheeks and wild hair with a touch of guilt in my stomach. The lie is good, the lie will work. The lie will keep at least one of my loved ones safe. I can't stop the choking sob of relief from escaping my throat.

"Mom!" It comes out harshly, like a croaking frog, and is met with both of us starting to cry. Renee comes to me, kissing my cheeks repeatedly and looking over me frantically. Her eyes fall on Edward's still form, and she quiets herself a bit more.

"Boy never leaves, does he?" She asks herself, shaking her head. "First time I've seen him this entire time, he never came out unless the nurses made him."

"I don't want to talk about Edward right now, Mom." I lay my hand over hers, and she looks at me again. "I've missed you so much…"

"I've missed you too, little dancer. I'm so glad you're alright. I hated seeing you on all those machines, not knowing if you were going to wake up.."

"Don't think about that, Mom. I'll be just fine." Renee shakes her head and hugs me as tight as safe, and I feel warm tears falling on my cheeks.

"I was so scared.."

"I'm sorry, Mom."

"Your eyes have been closed for so long, seeing them has just made my day. My life, really. That doctor was so friendly. Dr. Cullen treated you the entire time, though …" she fans herself for a moment and giggles. "He doesn't quite look old enough to be a doctor, does he? Bit of a babyface. But so handsome!"

"It runs in the family." Edward laughs in his 'sleep', making Renee jump in her skin. "He does that sometimes."

"I can definitely see that. And those girls, Rosalie and Alice. Such angels, I can see why he took them in."

"They're an amazing family." I say, smiling to myself. "Some of the best people I've ever met."

She nods in agreement, looking over at Edward again, him keeping his charade of sleep very well. "You didn't tell me you had such good friends in Forks...or someone willing to follow you across the country to bring you back."

I cringe at that, then groan, my stomach lurching in pain.

"What hurts?" she demands, eyes looking over me. From the corner of my fuzzy vision, I see the light reflecting off Edward's eyes.

"It's fine," I assure them, holding my hands up. "I moved too quickly, that's all." Edward's eyes snap shut, and I take the pause to change the subject completely. "Where's Phil?" I ask, furrowing my brows.

"Still in Jacksonville. Oh, Bella, you're going to love Florida! Now that Phil's signed with The Suns, we can stay in one place. We can be a family again. You can come home." Renee's face takes on a softness reserved only for when she's truly excited about something. The monitor recording my heartrate exposes my internal panic. Her eyes widen for a moment, "are you alright, sweetie?"

"I … I'm not going to Florida. I live in Forks, I want to stay there." Edward is starting to tense in his 'sleep' - far too much for anyone who is truly deep in the REM.

"Bella, you don't have to anymore. Phil will be around so much more, and when he's away I'll be home with you. Well, half of the time." Another offer to sacrifice her adventure. Another pained look in her eyes that says it is made out of duty, not want. "You don't have to force yourself to say in Forks anymore. Charlie told me about your argument …"

"It was my PMS talking. Okay? I do want to live in Forks, I just wasn't thinking straight and Dad caught me at a bad moment. I'm settled in, my grades are still good, I've got so many amazing friends," she glances at Edward again, and I pull her away, "and Dad needs me. Mom, you have Phil to keep you company. Dad has no one up there. I can't just abandon him after just getting him back. Besides, he gets the wrong brand of tofu."

"Wait, seriously?" The idea of someone wanting to stay in Forks seems inconceivable to her. Her eyes flick over to Edward, then back to me. "I guess I don't really understand."

"I told you why. School, friends, Dad - ouch!" I shrugged. Bad idea on my part. Her hands flutter over me, looking for a safe place to pat. She look at my forehead and pats there - the only unbandaged part of me.

"And here I thought you hated it there."

"I hate everything when the cramping starts." She laughs, enjoying my period jokes a little too much. Honestly, if I didn't laugh about them, I'd cry. "It isn't so bad." This time she deliberately nods at Edward and points with her thumb.

"Is it the boy?" She whispers, winking.

I open my mouth to object, but nothing seems to escape. She scrutinizes my face, mischief dancing in her eyes. Through various stammers, stutters, and even curses, I find myself unable to come up with a reasonable 'yes, but also no' that she would believe.

"He's part of it," I finally admit, looking away from her. "Have you had a chance to talk to him?"

"No, but I have talked to his brother and those adorable nieces of his. I actually want talk to you about that."

"Oh? What about?"

"Well, and I might be wrong here, but I honestly think that boy is in love with you." She accuses with a straight face, keeping her voice low. Not that it will help, Edward is already starting to turn in his fetal position. Oh, this is awkward.

"He's my best friend, Mom. That's as deep as his feelings go. I think I would have picked it up if he was."

"You're so sure?" Renee sighs, setting her chin on her palm. "I've had good friends, best friends. None of them would go to the lengths Edward has." She looks over at the wall clock and then to her watch, getting antsy out of nowhere. "Mmh.."

"Something wrong, Mom?"

"It's Phil. He's supposed to be calling soon." She bites her lip, chewing it a bit. "I didn't know when you were going to wake up, I-I don't know when the phone will start ringing. I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Go ahead and call him, catch him off guard for once." I lean in and kiss her cheek, ignoring the pain in my abdomen. "I won't be alone."

"I know … but, if it's okay, I'll be sleeping here tonight too."

"Too?"

"There was a break-in at the old ballet studio. Someone just … burned it to the ground out of nowhere. There was a stolen car out front, no one knows who started it. And the security cameras were absolutely destroyed." A fond smile takes over Renee's face. "I remember how you used to dance…"

"Mom, I haven't danced since I fell off the stage." She laughs and nods. "Besides, while this is a decade too late … I never really liked dancing anyway. I just joined to make you happy."

"Oh! Oh … oh sweetie, I didn't know. I should have noticed."

"Water under the bridge or over the dam, Mom." She hesitates before hugging me again, her hand going to my hair. She tugs on it before leaning back and examining me. "Uh .. what?"

"I didn't realize hospitals did total haircuts for head injuries. How did I not notice my little girl's fuzzy pixie?"

"Oh, uh - Alice did it."

"Alice? The doctor's daughter? Isn't she, like, 15?"

14, actually. "She's my age, Mom. In the advanced classes. I had an argument with Dad's clippers and well, she saved me."

"That's adorable… alright, I'll be back tonight." Her voice comes off more as a warning than a promise, especially with the pointed look to Edward she gives. She trades places with a nurse who examines my various tubes and wires, interrupting the forehead kiss my mom attempted to give me. And in the corner of my eye, Edward's massive grin totally ends his sleeping charade.

"Are you feeling anxious, honey? Your heart rate got a little high there."

"My mom kept asking about my relationship with-" I point to Edward, and the nurse laughs to himself.

"Yeah, parents are like that. I'll tell your RN that you're awake. Dr. Cullen will want to see you soon." As soon as he closes the door, Edward is sitting on the foot of the bed, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Grand theft auto? Really?"

"It was a good car, too. Very fast. Very sleek. I almost wanted to keep it, but Carlisle smacked the back of my head at the suggestion." He confesses, unrepentant. "That nap was one of the strangest I've ever had. I can't believe you didn't take her up on that Florida offer."

"Well, there are a lot of downsides to going to Florida. Starting a new school, seeing people I don't know, losing my dad again, losing you and the rest of the coven. Overall it's a losing situation."

"But you'd be safer there. No vampires, no magic. Just you and the bright sun that you love."

"There are more important things in my life." He shrugs, crawling up a bit and laying beside me. "What, you tired of having to save my life already?" I push his arm, and he lets out a mocking mutter.

"If it weren't for the fact that I caused the danger in the first place, I'd save your life until the day we both die."

"Need I remind you that two of the three times you've had to save me, it was a human who caused it." I reach over and boop his nose. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be alive right now. Covered in gauze and plaster, yes, but it's better than being pumped with formaldehyde and put in a box."

"...I hate it when you're right."

"You love me," I tease, yawning softly. "All the same, if I could have survived the change, would you have let me?"

"That isn't my choice to make. None of us were changed because we had a choice, your story would have been similar to mine. Dying, heart barely beating. But Alice told me what you said. How you don't want to be a vampire. And Carlisle, he was smart enough to know the cost of letting you lay there."

"Thank you, Edward."

"For what..?" He looks at me, face screwed in confusion.

"Thinking of me, of what I want. I dunno, maybe someday I'd like to be like you. But not in high school. Not when I have so much I want to experience. With my gigantic nerd friend at my side," I reach for his hand, and tenderly he takes it. Edward's eyes twinkle, tears lining the bottom lid. "That way you can be my Lois Lane for a while, Clark."

"You and your superhero comparisons, and yet I'm the nerd here."

"Exactly right."

"Yeah, exactly right.." He runs his fingers along the lines of my palm, along my veins and pulse point. "Sometimes I wonder what this really did to me. But at the same time, my life was already over. Even if I lost my soul, I wouldn't have lost an entire lifetime like you would."

"My life was over when I sat next to you in biology." I remind him, earning an eye roll glare. "Who knows, maybe I'm on borrowed time before some epic finale. A battle that will change the world forever. Vampires and witches and gremlins, oh my!"

He laughs, holding his unoccupied hand to his temple. "Gremlins? Really?"

"I thought werewolves were overdone."

"Overdone, but more logical," Edward sums up, eyes locking on the door. A nurse comes in with a tray of food and smiles at us. "Thank you, sir."

"Of course. It'll be good for her to eat something solid for once." He takes his leave, and I look at the plate in front of me. Everything smells amazing, from the tofu burger to the milk in the carton. I glance at Edward, who leans back and raises both his hands, before digging in.

It tastes completely different than normal. Savory. Juicy. Even the cheese feels different on my tongue. Before I can stop myself, I've got half of the sandwich down my throat. It isn't until Edward grabs my wrist that I tear myself away from it.

"Not to um .. spoil your fun, but aren't you … vegetarian? Allergic to meat specifically? You have alpha-gal, you could go into anaphylactic shock! How did the nurse not know?" I set the sandwich down and we both sit on edge, waiting for something to happen.

Five seconds.

Thirty.

A minute.

And nothing.

"I mean …" I start slowly, hearing footsteps approach, "at the very least, I'm already in a hospital." The door opens and both Charlie and Carlisle freeze when they see the tense, wide-eyed expressions on mine and Edward's faces.

"Uh …" Carlisle looks at me, his eyes narrow. "At least the bonnie bairn is awake, but I am sensing tensions of some kind."

"There is indeed a disturbance in the force. Did we interrupt something?"

"Charlie.." Edward clears his throat, eyes never leaving the dropped food product. "How long have you known about Bella's meat allergy?"

"Since she was old enough to eat solid foods. Renee never got it diagnosed, but we both made sure she stayed away from it. Why?"

"Never got it …" He points at the burger on my plate. "That's beef. Real beef." I turn to the two men, who are now in the midst of panic. Carlisle rushes me, examining my face and throat for signs of swelling or inflammation. Charlie, meanwhile, is frozen at the door.

"How is it you're always one mistep away from death, lass?" Carlisle asks, pressing his fingers to my throat to feel my pulse … and then he moves them to the other side. The human side. That's when realization hits his eyes. "Ah, I'm a idiot."

"You are?" I ask, searching his face for answers.

"I am, yes, at times. Your case is unique. You've been out for a few days, whatever changes the venom might have made to you are set in. Perhaps, Miss Swan, vampirism cured your allergy. We know you're not going to change, or else you would have, so let's take this as … providence."

"P-providence?" Charlie sputters, his head whipping back and forth. "Really, Carlisle?"

"I've no other words for it. Your daughter is truly remarkable, Charles." He stands, looking around and picking up my glasses to examine them. "How is your vision?"

"Fuzzy as ever."

Carlisle looks back at Charlie and grins. "See? Providence. She's left human, with scars only warriors can boast, and the knowledge that Emmett will now use her as a guinea pig for his recipes." He sets my glasses in my hand and pushes the food toward me. "Enjoy. Now, Charlie," he goes to my dad and lays a hand on his shoulder, "we were discussing the other nomads…" Their conversation fades down the hall, and Edward simply goes to the couch and faceplants.

"Feeling alright?"

"I want to throw myself into the ocean for a month."

"I'd join you, but I doubt I got vampiric breath holding out of this."

"Please, don't even joke...I've spent the past few days thinking you were dead or dying. My sense of humor has officially collapsed." He splays out, kicking his shoes off and grabbing one of the throw pillows to cling to. I look at my set-up - the IV that is portable, the fact that I'm no longer on a ventilator, and how I can't use my right leg.

But I can try.

I spot the wheelchair at the end of the bed and make it my goal, scooting on my ass to the end of the bed with my IV pole as an oar. I shift, reaching with my good leg until I can pull it towards me and hop down onto the chair with minor shocks through my leg and rib cage.

Edward is sitting up by the time I've rolled over to him, and I offer him my arms. He opens his mouth to likely scold me, until his lip starts quivering, his hands start shaking. He pulls me over, carefully draping my leg on the couch, and holds me close, pressing his face into my hair.

I press my hands together on my chest, leaning against his shoulder and listening to his faint, soft heartbeat. He hums softly to me. My lullaby, my song. In that moment, the pain of the past few weeks has vanished. There was no James, never any James. No threat to my life. Just Edward, the knowledge that this amazing guy is by my side. And that I am, for once in my life, on the same frequency as someone else.