Chapter 8

Mercy

(Charlie)

The ride to the house was absolutely silent. I was in too much pain to think about much of anything, but neither Edward nor whoever rode in the back seat said anything, even though I knew that something was on their minds. The fire had begun to spread through my leg and seemed to be going north slowly, now up to my shin; it was also growing hotter by the minute. The trip took less time to get to the Cullen's than I even thought possible and when we pulled into the garage almost everyone was waiting on me.

Bella helped me out of the car before Edward had even put it in park. She just about tore the seatbelt off and yanked me inside in a flash; everything was a complete blur, and I could tell that this was close to her full speed. She gently laid me onto the couch in the family room, and looked at my wound. In the time since I lift the clinic, my wound had completely scabbed over, but the venom had made sure that I would be scarred for life, however long that would be.

Renesmee came downstairs and sat next to my head, rubbing my hair and face. I could still feel her warm skin on my face, and tried to put on a brave face for her but I was losing control of my emotions. I felt something trying to manipulate them, but the pain was winning. "I love you, Nessie," I whispered to her as she bent her face down to my lips and I kissed her cheek.

I could hear Edward and Bella talking in the kitchen. Edward said just above a whisper, "Carlisle is coming as soon as Esme can cancel his appointments for the afternoon."

Man this was weird; hearing everyone's conversations without even really trying to. Even though Carlisle and Edward had told me about some of the, well 'enhancements' I would get from the change, but I still wasn't ready for them yet.

"He'll be here in about an hour," Alice answered for her brother.

"What do we do?" Bella cried out. I could hear the hurt in her voice, and it tore me up inside. I knew that she never wanted this for me, even though it would have been a tough decision. Sue and I never truly connected like I did with Renee and had Sue still been here that might have affected my choice, but in the aftermath of Sue's death going through the transformation definitely seemed like it was worth it. But Edward had told me that, like Bella did with me, he didn't want this lifestyle for Bella, so I thought that we were more similar than we thought.

"He's already committed to going through with the change, so I think we should speed it up a little," Edward answered matter of factly. "One of us should bite him to put more venom in his system to make the transformation go quicker. Carlisle said that with the amount he has in him now, his change will be long and painful; maybe taking more than a week. We can't afford to wait, since the first thing the venom does is seal the veins. Once that happens, if can't be sped up."

"I'll do it," Bella said. I know that she couldn't shed tears any more, but I recognized the sound of her sobbing, and it broke my heart.

Renesmee ran into the kitchen in a flash and pled with Bella, "But mama, I wanna help Papa Charlie!" I imagined the pouty face she might have shown Bella; it was one we were all powerless against.

"No sweetie," Alice said in her high soprano bell voice. I always loved the way it sounded when she was being herself, and this voice could hypnotize me. I wasn't sure but I thought I could hear the whoosh of her shaking her head. "You're not venomous, and that's what Papa Charlie needs now; venom."

Did I really want this, and was it okay this way? The answer was just so easy, and if my precious Nessie wanted to help, then I wanted her to. "Let…her…help," I struggled to whisper out. It felt like each word took a whole breath to say. Everyone came back into the family room to be with me.

When they entered the room, the sun was shining brightly through the windows. I had never seen my in-laws in the sun and it was enchanting. The sun brightly sparkled off of their stone skin, shimmering like they were bright jewels. Of course they were, because they were all more precious to me then any diamond could ever have been. I looked up to see Edward also smiling and nodding at me. I must have secretly asked in my mind if I would be like that too.

"Are you sure dad?" Bella asked me using a voice that she tried to keep hidden from me until very recently when I learned the whole truth. It wasn't quite as high pitched as Alice's, but still rang like gorgeous church bells in my ears. It seemed ironic that I always called her 'Bells', and now her voice sounded like them. "Do you really want this?" She pointed at her body moving her hand from head to toe.

The fire was spreading quickly, now up to my mid thigh on my right leg. It wouldn't be much longer before it consumed my whole body, and I didn't know how I would act then, so I had to make my wishes known now. I nodded and said, "Uh-huh." Speaking was getting difficult and it seemed like the pain was overtaking all of my cognitive skills. I just wanted it to end, but I knew that the only way to end the pain quickly would be the wrong choice for everyone. I had to endure this for as long as it would take. If nothing else, I would be surrounded by people I loved, and if I had to die, wasn't this the best way to go?

"Alice, where exactly did you see the bites?" Edward asked. I had closed my eyes since my vision had gotten hazy and it was starting to give me a headache. It seemed funny that for as quickly as my hearing improved, my sight was beginning to fail me even though I suspected this was only temporary.

"There was something on his right ankle, one on the left thigh, another on his right arm, and the last on the left side of his neck."

"And the smallest was on the thigh?" Bella asked thinking back to what she remembered about what Alice had told everyone about her vision of me changing.

"Yeah?" Alice answered in more of a questioning tone, as I imagined that she was trying to think of what Bella was contemplating. Then I saw a look of realization on Alice when she came back downstairs with Jasper in tow. "Oh!" she yelled sounding shocked. "It's Nessie's bite on the thigh."

I saw Renesmee smile as she came back into the family room, which even with the pain I was in and through my cloudy vision, it made me smile. She returned to my side, and I could still gentry stroke her face; her perfect face that was just barely softer than Bella's new granite one. "I love you, Nessie," I whispered into her ear which made her tear up. "Please help me," I begged.

Renesmee and I both looked at Bella who was still standing next to Edward, but now they had moved to the back of the couch I was lying on. "Please, momma. I wanna help papa." She was begging her mother too.

Bella smiled, her absolutely perfect smile which had me hopeful. She nodded at Renesmee which made both of us smile again. Then she kissed me one more time. This kiss felt different; there was something in it that singed my cheek, but it was still showing that she loved me.

"Where exactly is the smallest bite?" Edward asked to Alice. She had sat at my feet and pointed out the location on my left thigh, just about four inches above my knee.

Renesmee lifted her right hand to my cheek. I saw through her eyes what she wanted to have happen soon; the two of us with Jacob hunting for deer or something. I smiled and nodded; speaking had become painful, but she was right. I couldn't wait to begin my new life with my family. Even though seeing through my failing sight was difficult, I did see the desire on her face which made me want what she saw even more.

Edward instructed Renesmee on exactly what to do. "Nessie if you want to help Charlie, bite him but you can't drink him. This will probably hurt you from the thirst, but you want to help him. Let you teeth stay in him for a few seconds, then lick the wound shut, okay?"

Renesmee nodded before kissing the spot she would bite me. "Right here?" She asked to a nod from Alice. When she bit me, it was really gentle. It didn't hurt at first, the pain that by now had moved almost up to my right hip was too much to ignore. But after a second, Nessie's bite began to burn even hotter than my other leg and the fire there moved north even faster. When Renesmee pulled away from me, she did exactly as Edward had told her to; licking the wound closed and then giving my 'boo-boo' a kiss to make it feel better. I smiled as she returned next to my face, this time with her running her fingers through my hair; something she tended to go when she was near me.

Edward must had seen the pain I felt from Renesmee's bite, as I heard him whisper to Rosalie, "Go take a swab from Nessie's mouth. Something's different with her now. I can feel it."

"Come on, Nessie," Rosalie belted out in her beautiful voice. Renesmee ran to her favorite aunt and went to do whatever Edward wanted from her.

Nessie looked bored; there just wasn't any other way to describe it. She had shown me the way Carlisle kept measuring her for the first year of her life, and the way she felt about it. Now it sounded like Edward had something else he wanted to check her for. I hoped it was nothing serious.

"Bella, do you want to help your dad too?" Edward asked holding her around the waist. I couldn't believe how much the two of them had become more alike in the last few years. In the past, the two of them looked so different that physically they looked like there was no way they should be together, but now they looked perfect together. I wondered if Tanya and I would have a similar change in the future.

She started to move for my left arm, but stopped. Edward had cleared his throat and said, "I'll do that one. You take his neck."

Bella moved to the right side of my face and gently caressed it. Her skin felt so cold and hard, but her hand was so gentle against me that it felt great. I didn't even feel Edward's bite until about a minute later when the burning started in my arm too. By now, the fire had begun to spread from Renesmee's bite into my chest. In fact the flame from all of the bites began to spread, almost consuming my entire body except for my head, but that would change very soon.

Bella still held me, with her hands supporting me as her cold face moved to the right side of my neck. I felt a gentle kiss and then something incredibly sharp pierced my skin. This was the most painful of all the last few hours, and it seemed to last for a long time. I knew that Bella losing control was a serious possibility, but I was relieved when I felt a tongue licking my neck. I knew that the physical pain was over, but now this couldn't compare to the pain that I was about to feel. My eyes shut as the fire began to overtake my consciousness.

By the time that Bella finished what I hoped would be the final bite, the fire had spread all throughout my body. There wasn't a single spot that still felt cool to me, but it didn't hurt that much. Don't get me wrong, it stung and was uncomfortable as all get out, but with my family by my side I knew I could endure anything. I felt even better when Alice said that she saw Tanya coming with some of her family to see me. I just hoped that she would approve of my change.

A few minutes after they finished, I was moved upstairs onto what felt like a hospital bed. Nessie had returned to my side, and was excited. I couldn't stop thinking about why Edward wanted to test something about Nessie, but was glad she was back next to me.

"I love you papa," she whispered into my ear. She began to kiss all of my bites which did make me feel better. My sweet precious granddaughter loved me; I didn't need any other validation to tell me I had made the right decision.

Her words made me lose it. I couldn't hold back the tears any more. She was the reason that I wanted to be immortal. I didn't want to have to lose her.

Shortly after I was moved I heard the sound of the garage door close and knew that Carlisle had returned. Man this was getting weird; I know they said that my hearing'd improve but this seemed too early for it. It took Carlisle and Esme less than a minute to run from the garage to the room that served as Carlisle's office. He looked surprised when he saw three new bites spread across my body and me resting somewhat comfortably. But there was a swab that was awaiting his attention.

(Carlisle POV)

I was surprised when I walked into my office and saw Charlie resting. He looked peaceful, and I wondered how much morphine they had given him. However I saw no recent indications of a subcutaneous injection on him, and figured out that he was doing this with no assistance other than the love of the family. I'd have to ask Edward later to see how bad his pain was.

"Carlisle," Edward said almost silently, "Rose took a swab from Nessie's mouth. The bite on the thigh was hers and it's the reddest of them all."

I looked at the bites and was stunned. As it touched it, I could still feel the venom coming from it. "Incredible," I gasped. We knew that Nahuel was venomous, but never before had Renesmee shown any indication that she was. This was potentially dangerous to Jacob, since vampire venom was poison to actual werewolves, while we weren't completely sure about the shapeshifters.

As I examined the swab, it confirmed what I suspected; it contained a highly concentrated venom. In fact some of the cotton had already been eaten away by its acidity. When I compared the sample's potency to my own, I was shocked; the sample's was significantly stronger. I wondered if Nessie was only venomous when she would want to be, or her desire to help her grandfather triggered her to secrete venom. The only way to test these hypotheses would be to wait a few days and swab her again, but in the mean time I would take another sample now to verify the authenticity of the test.

As I approached Renesmee with another cotton swab as she was sitting next to Charlie, she looked annoyed. "Again?!" She whined.

"I'm afraid so Nessie," I answered smiling as she opened her mouth to allow me to take a sample. "The last sample nearly ate away the cotton, and I want to make sure that you won't hurt Jacob. It seems that your venom might be even more potent than anyone else's is."

"I don't wanna hurt my Jakey!" She said, understanding why I was checking again.

This sample, while still venomous, was nowhere near the potency of the prior one. It led to the plausibility of the theory that Renesmee only secreted venom when she wanted to. I would check again in a few days and suspected that unless she wanted to, she wouldn't secrete any more. My bigger question was what about when she hunted. Venom allowed us to paralyze our prey, but it would linger in our mouth for weeks; during that time she couldn't kiss Jacob when the time came when they were ready to move to a more intimate level in their relationship. I suspected that this would happen one day.