Hello lovelies! Did ANYONE see the direction this story was gonna take, coming? If you've read the original version, you knew, but for you new readers, I hope y'all enjoyed the turn it's taken. I know there were some concerns about character deaths, but fear not! We've got a ways to go with this story, so me killing someone off so soon? Nah. Well, in this story, anyways...

Read on! I'll see y'all at the bottom.

Chapter 6

BPOV

"Edward's heart rate started slowing…" That phrase was going to be on a loop in my head, forever.

Jasper saw my panicked face and went on to explain.

"Calm down. Alice gave Carlisle the go ahead for him to change Edward. She had a vision that, either way, whether you were asked or Carlisle made the choice, Edward would have been changed, regardless. Just don't be mad. He did it to save him. Carlisle was afraid of this happenin to him. The slightest sign of his organs faltering and it would have been a slim chance for it to work. He was already so weak as it was, that he had to make the decision fast. He could have flat-lined at any moment. So he looked to Alice to make sure." He then looked over to Esme. "Alice got everyone else out of the house before he did it. So don't worry."

I had to let that sink in.

Edward was becoming a vampire, too.

It made me feel slightly better, actually. I know I probably should have been mad that I wasn't asked, but I really just have to roll with this stuff now. I have no idea about anything in this new world that I've gotten myself into. And, I guess I did sort of give him the go-ahead to do it earlier when I said I couldn't go through this without Edward.

If Carlisle says that Alice can see the future, then I guess I should trust that. I'm taking a huge leap of faith trusting these people, but what else am I supposed to do? Anything I've ever known about vampires before, seems to have no bearing on the things that I've heard so far. So I really have to go on blind faith, for now.

I nodded my head so they would have some sort of acknowledgement that I heard and understood Jasper.

"I guess we should head back then. Bella should be ok to be around Edward now since the venom is working its way through his body." Esme said, turning to run.

"Is that what changes us? I've never heard what really changes a person into a vampire. I guess I'll have to have a crash course on vampires when I get back. Most of the stuff I thought before doesn't seem to totally fit anymore into my vision of what vampires are." I chuckled a little, running right beside her. This was going to be a LOT to take in.

Jasper let out a laugh. "Little one, you're going to have loads of fun learning about what we are and what we can do. You've only really skimmed the surface of things." He said with a crooked grin.

Oh this is going to be seriously interesting.

"Ok, so venom changes us into this?" Esme nodded to me. "You said that it was working its way through Edward's blood. Does it change how blood smells or something?" I had to know to make sense of why it would be ok now as opposed to earlier.

Jasper piped in and took over. "Yes, it changes it, in a way. It basically burns the blood that is in your body and takes its place. It changes everything about you. It stops your heart, your skin becomes pale and hard, your eyes become red, but will turn the golden color ours are now. Our senses become heightened, as well. We can see and hear things so much more clearly. Our sense of smell is extremely heightened as well. You will be able to smell EVERYTHING. And I do mean everything. Things you never even thought you'd smell in your life. Obviously you've noticed we can move in the blink of an eye.

"Venom is also produced in our mouths. It helps us when we hunt. It also is a reaction to the smell of blood, which you may have felt happen earlier. It's all a learning process." Jasper smiled at me.

Holy fuckballs! That's a lot of shit to take in at once. But for some reason it was filing itself away in my brain. I guess that's part of the change, too.

We were coming back up to the house and I could sense tension, most likely that someone was in pain.

Oh hell, it's Edward!

I ran into the house but was caught around the waist by someone. I looked up and saw that it was Jasper.

"Calm down. It's just the change that has him in pain. I'm guessing that you two are mates, not just in the human world but in our world, too. It has bonded you two in a huge way. You're able to tell when he's hurting. But you just have to take a deep breath. You can't let him know that you're panicking over this. Just take a few minutes to control yourself, then go up there."

I really didn't want to wait any longer. I wanted to be up there with Edward right now while he's going through this shit. I want to be able to hold his hand like he's done for me before when I was sick with the flu and didn't want to be alone while I felt like hell. He always made me feel better.

Rosalie came over from the kitchen and led me up the stairs to, apparently the hall where the room Edward was in.

There seemed to be some magnetic pull towards him. Like I didn't even have to have Rosalie show me where he was. I sort of knew on my own.

"Take deep breaths and calm your nerves." She put her hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. I guess she was trying to focus on my emotions.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "What are you doing?" She seemed seriously confused.

"What do you mean? I'm trying to calm my nerves, like you said. Am I missing something?" I was the one that was confused, now.

"Why can't I get a read on you? A little while ago I could feel your emotions but now it's like they're not even there. Are you doing something?" She asked, tilting her head. "Jasper! Have you been able to get a read on her emotions?" She called down the stairs to him.

What the fuck?

Jasper looked around the corner from the living room and shook his head. "No, nothin. I wasn't sure if it was just everything being jumbled for her just after waking up, or if it was something else."

She narrowed her eyes and turned back to look at me.

"I honestly have no clue what you're both talking about." I said, then she raised an eyebrow at me.

"What's the problem, Rose? I thought you were bringing her to see Edward?" Carlisle asked, coming out of the room Edward was obviously in.

"Dad, I'm not sure how or why, but neither Jasper or I can get a read on her emotions. It's like they aren't even there. I couldn't feel anything earlier when she woke up. But I felt it when she was running towards the house a while ago. I'm not sure what it is. Do you know?" Rose asked, still not looking away from me.

"What? You've never had a problem sensing emotions. How is that possible?" Carlisle was just as flabbergasted as we were.

"Can you guys clue me in as to what the hell this has to do with why I can't see Edward?" I asked, seriously getting frustrated.

"I'm sorry, hon. I just want to make sure you've got yourself under control…"

I had to cut her off. "Look, I'm fine. I'm just really anxious about being away from him. Can I please go in?" I was about to start getting violent if they kept me away from him much longer. I NEED to see that he's ok.

"Come on in, dear. We'll talk about this more later. And we'll try to figure out what is blocking your emotions from Rose and Jasper." Carlisle led me by the small of my back into the room.

What I saw scared the ever loving shit out of me.

Edward was all bruised, and broken. The color was gone from his handsome face. There were cuts all over him. He just looked so lifeless. Which, I guess he kind of would since he was as close to death as he could be.

I probably should have prepared myself better for this. I knew he was in bad shape. Although the memory of being out on the highway is a little fuzzy, I still remember him looking like he had been through the ringer.

But this was just too much to look at. He looked so frail and not like my strong, unwavering Edward.

A small, strangled sob escaped from my mouth. Apparently since I can't cry anymore, that's all I can do.

"Is he… he seems like he's in a lot of pain. Is that the same thing I felt when I was bitten?" I asked quietly to Carlisle.

He sighed, looking apologetic. "Yes, I'm afraid so, dear. It is quite painful but it will be over in several days. Yours was surprisingly shorter than normal. It was about a day and a half or so. I doubt his will be that quick, but we'll have to keep a watch on him. I'm sure you will be in here with him most all of the time."

I nodded, not able to look away from Edward.

I wanted to go over there to him and curl up in his arms and fall asleep like we always did at night like this. I wanted the security that only his arms provided. Being so far away from him for so long makes me crave that touch more than ever.

"Can… can I go and lay down with him? I just want to be close to him. I need to be close to him." I was practically begging him now.

He came up beside me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Yes, you can. Just be gentle. You are extremely strong now and he is still not fully one of us, yet. You don't want to crush him. It's an exercise in your control that we are going to have to work on more, later, but just be as careful as you can. For now, think of it as you're handling glass when you're around him. Even the slightest touch could break him."

I inched towards the bed where Edward was lying. His heartbeat became the only sound in the world to me. Like a beacon. It was fast, much faster than it was earlier. But it was still like music to my ears.

I stood at the edge of the bed just looking at him. My need to touch him started to get the better of me. So I crawled onto the bed and scooted up beside him. Laying my head on the pillow next to him, I just stared at his beautiful face. I brought my hand up, ever so carefully, and stroked his cheek. He was still so warm.

I don't know if he knew it was me there, but his head turned slightly towards my hand, as if to get closer to its touch. There was no other movement, so I looked over to where Carlisle still was in the room to see what he thought.

"It happens sometimes. And with it being your touch, he may know it's you, dear. Just keep doing things like that, maybe he'll know you're here and it will make him fight it out. You remember how it was to fight against the darkness; it's the same thing he's going through." Carlisle said, then turned to leave. I guessed he wouldn't be far away.

I then took his hand in mine and brought it up to my lips to kiss. I kept it there for a while, just to have it close to me. I hoped he could feel the ring still on my hand.

After several minutes, his hand gripped mine in what would feel like a death grip to a human. I made sure not to grip his back too tightly, but I squeezed it just slightly to let him know that I was here and that I wouldn't leave him.

There was an overpowering feeling of love at that point from him. Like subconsciously, we knew what was going on with the other. We were on the same wave-length. It was an understanding between us. Kind of like it always has been.

I moved so I could lay my head against his chest. Still holding his hand in mine, I brought it up to my face and started purring.

Wait… purring? Woah, didn't know that was part of the package.

"It's because he's your mate, Bella. I can see the confusion on your face. I don't have to read your emotions for that one." Rose's voice came from the doorway where she was standing. "Your whole being knows he's your mate, and your body responds to it. Most of us… purr. Yes, we seem to have a feline complex for many aspects of our lives, but you get used to it. It's a way that we connect to each other without using words or lots of touches. It's another way to say that you love each other. Don't be too freaked out about it. If you're gonna be ok up here, I'm gonna head down with the others. Alice and I were going to go hunting. Don't worry about Edward. He'll come through just fine." And with that, she was out the door and down the stairs.

I sat there and took that in for a few minutes. Who knew vampires could purr? It's always been thought that vampires were bat-like and never seemed that people would give them a second thought. People either made up the story to explain their own fears, or it was done by vampires themselves, in which case would be very smart. It would throw humans off of the trail of real vampires if it was cemented into people's brains that that's what vampires were like, not what they really are. Either way, humans couldn't be further from the truth.

I focused back on Edward. I was still laying there in his arm and just listening to his heart. because that's all I really could do. I brought his hand over so that it was resting with mine on my stomach. I wanted him to know our little Olivia was waiting for him. That she was still here with us.

I could still feel the warmth of him. It radiated from him through my body and felt like I had a heated blanket over me. It felt good. It felt like home. Warm and safe and secure. I thought he felt that way before all of this, but now it just felt magnified. I love it.

I started purring again. Why? because I can. And because it felt like I was laying my own claim to him, for some reason. That could be part of the mate thing they were talking about earlier.

I had heard how some animals lay claim to their mate by covering them with their scent. Maybe that's what I'm trying to accomplish. It could be something I'm doing without really knowing in my head. It could be my natural instincts coming into play.

Then I realized I was rubbing his hand on my face and then it hit me. I AM marking him with my scent. Ehh, whatever. We HAVE had sex before. We made a baby together, it's not like we're new to this. It just feels like a territorial thing to me. He's MY mate, he's MY fiancé, and he's the father of MY child. He's MINE and I want it to be known that I won't let someone else touch him.

Jesus, I feel like a lion fighting for its territory.

I laid there for the rest of the night until I saw the sun peak out from the horizon. I thought all night about these things and I didn't know what to really make of them. I didn't want to leave him alone but I wanted to ask them something.

"Carlisle?" I called towards the door.

In an instant, he was there. "What is it dear? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just… want to ask you or one of the others about something." I bit my lip nervously.

"It's ok Bella. You can ask me anything you need to. I won't judge you or think you're crazy. It's normal for you to have questions about what's going on. You can ask any of us anything. But if it's something you're more comfortable talking to a woman about, Esme is always ready to listen. She's the mother of the house and treats each of the other four as her kids. She's the nurturing one. You don't have to worry, just ask."

Huh. Wow, it felt good to know I had those options. From my time talking to Esme earlier, I could tell she was one I would go to if I needed a female or a mother's advice. And Carlisle was so full of knowledge and was so compassionate. I don't even think normal parents were as wonderful as the two of them were.

"Umm, Rose mentioned last night that Edward was my mate. And that the… purring thing was normal for mates. But… is it normal to want to claim them like… I guess normal animals do? Is marking them with your scent part of it, or feeling like if someone else came along to take them away from you that you would literally rip them to shreds? I just feel so overwhelmed with emotions that make me feel like… I'm some sort of possessive psycho or something. Carlisle, I trust you. I have no choice but to. But, is this normal at all? Were the others this way when they found their… mates?"

"It's ok. What you are feeling is perfectly natural for our kind. Yes, it's completely normal to feel possessive of your mate. That's how it is for us. We only ever really have one mate in our existence, so when we find them, it's an all-consuming feeling that our whole being sings for them alone. It's a connection that we share as mates that can't be broken.

"Marking each other with the other's scent is very much a part of it. It lets other vampires know that you have been marked and claimed as a mate and that you should not be messed with. Males are far more possessive than females are, my dear. So when Edward wakes, don't be surprised if he feels threatened by us and wants to protect you to the point that he'll try to kill one of us if we get too close to you. I don't want you to be alarmed when that does happen. Your connection with each other will, more than likely, be extremely deep considering your predicament. Being the parents of the Una Potente will make you far more drawn to your mate. It's caused by the overwhelming feeling to protect him and your child.

"That is another thing that will make your bond to each other that more unbreakable. The fact that you will have your child together will be the strongest thing in the world for you to feel. It will make you feel like the strongest person in the world. If anyone were to come near your mate or your child, then they would probably lose an arm, or worse. That's how you will feel at times. Like even now. Your hand is still on your stomach. Most mothers do it out of habit to protect their child from something, subconsciously. It's the same way for you now. You want that child to be protected and nothing can ever hurt her. It will only ever get stronger once she is here. She may be the 'Powerful One' but she still needs your protection. You think you are possessive now… wait until she actually gets here." He laughed lightly.

"So I'm not crazy for feeling this way?" I asked.

"No, dear. You are perfectly normal, like us." Carlisle said as he sat down in the chair next to the bed. "When I first found Esme, I was drawn to her for some reason. She had fallen off a cliff when she was traveling back to her home in Maryland. I was almost too late to save her. But I'm so glad I did. She is positively the best part of my life." He told me with a smile on his face, then it turned contemplative.

"Rose lost a baby about a year before I found her. She'd slipped into a deep depression and tried to starve herself. That didn't seem to be working how she wanted, and she threw herself down a flight of stairs. She was alone in her home and I'd been passing by and could tell someone was in distress. I found her and changed her.

"Emmett is her mate. Rose found him where she worked at, and she saw something in him that she didn't want to let go of and they talked, a lot. She was so very protective of him. Emmett was attacked by a bear one day. Rose wasn't far away when it happened, but she didn't trust herself to change him. So, she brought him to me to save. She couldn't lose him.

"Jasper and Alice were a slightly different story.

"Alice had cancer. She didn't know it at the time and it got to be too advanced. There was no real treatment for cancer back then. But she was in a ward of my hospital and she found me, specifically. She looked at me and said, 'Please help me. I know you're different, so please help me."…" He rubbed his hand over his face before he went on. "I swore I'd only ever do this to someone who didn't have a choice. I've had plenty of patients die. But, Alice knew something that I didn't, at the time. She knew she would have a life beyond her human life. She didn't know exactly what it would be, but she knew it wasn't the end for her.

"And really, she didn't have much of a choice. She was slowly dying. No one knew what cancer really was back then, and there was nothing that could be done for her. She convinced me to go ahead and change her before things got too far for her." He paused again and looked over at the window.

"Alice saw something one day, about two years after she'd been changed, and she took off into the woods. This was during the Civil War, and she returned shortly after with Jasper in her arms. He was in uniform and they were both drenched. She said he'd been drowning in the river. He'd been being chased by Union soldiers and had fallen off his horse, into the river and he slammed his head into a rock, knocked into unconsciousness. Alice begged me to change him. She couldn't stand to see him die.

"So, as you can see, we each have our quirks with our mates, but we are very protective. We've always somehow known that we were supposed to find our mate, at some point. We just never knew when fate would drop them in our laps."

Holy hell. I just stared at him, dumbfounded.

"You'll feel the other side of it when he wakes up. It's like magnets with most all mates. Don't try to second guess what you're feeling, my dear. It's all part of the process. You'll see a lot of it when you're around the others more. Is there anything else you wanted to ask?" He asked.

Something was nagging at me. It was at the back of my mind but I wasn't sure if it was relevant.

"So… he'll still feel the same as he did when he was human when he wakes up? He'll still love me the same way?"

"Oh, my dear. Of course he will. Don't doubt his love for you. If anything it will grow by leaps and bounds when he wakes up. Don't dwell too much on the 'what if's right now. You'll only work yourself into a frenzy and we'll have to take you outside to calm down. You could lose your focus and hurt him. He's still not quite at the point where he won't get hurt, yet. I'll check with Alice to see if she has an estimated time of when he might wake. Just stay with him and if you see any changes, let us know. I'll be back soon, dear." He stood and was out the door.

Esme came in to check on Edward later in the day. Her motherly instincts were coming out to shine. She was so concerned about how he was doing and how I was holding up, so far.

After she left, I laid with Edward for a while longer, just listening to his heart and to his breathing.

Carlisle came back and said he noticed some changes in Edward. When I looked up at Edward's face, I could see them too. His face seemed more defined and sharp. His skin was a pale color now. And his skin, I had noticed while holding his hand, was becoming harder. His injuries seemed to be fading away.

"Bella, it will still be a while until he's awake. Would you like to go get yourself cleaned up and changed?"

He was right. I had been in these clothes for a few days and I needed to get showered before we delved into this again when Edward woke.

Alice brought some clothes in for me. I quickly showered in the bathroom attached to the room Edward was in, so I wouldn't have to be too far away.

Once I was done in the shower, I left my hair to air-dry, and dressed in a dark grey sweater dress, black leggings, and dark grey, almost knee high, sweater Ugg boots.

I would have killed to wear this when I was a human. So comfy.

When I came back out into the room, I laid back down with Edward, pulling his arms back around me. I stayed there for the rest of the day and into the night again. Carlisle would come and go, and Esme came in again to see if I needed anything. I just shook my head no. I just wanted him to wake up. She stayed and talked for a short while about herself. Telling me more about her story.

Early the next morning, I was still holding onto Edward's hand. I was wholly focused on him. Wanting to know if he was ok, telling him I was still here, vocally, and mentally looping it through my own brain. I wanted him to know that he was going to be ok and we were still going to be parents. (Still something I need to ask the others about. As in 'how is it possible if no other vampire has ever been able to have a baby?') I would mentally tell him how much I love him, how much I miss him, how much I can't do this without him.

Sometime during these thoughts in my mind, I could swear I heard something in my head. It wasn't anything that was coming from me. It felt like someone was trying to tell me something. Like there was a tapping on a door in my head that someone wanted to come in.

I tried to focus on it as hard as I could but couldn't exactly figure out what it was.

It started nagging at me after a while. I wanted to know what the hell this was that was going on in my head.

I didn't tell any of the others, yet. I wanted to see if it was something I could figure out on my own. Partly because I didn't want to rely on them all the time to tell me things. I also wanted to see if I could do something on my own, to prove to myself that I can handle this life. I know I have so much more to learn, but I want to try and figure out a thing or two for myself.

A bit later in the afternoon when Carlisle made his way in to check on Edward again, I was almost to the point of asking him if he could help me figure this out because it just kept going in circles in my head.

But something stopped me dead in my tracks as I sat down and took Edward's hand.

A voice I have been desperate to hear since the night I thought I'd never hear it again.

BELLS. Where are you?

A/N: Still with me? We had some more explanations here, but also, more questions. We'll get to some more of those questions and answers in the next chapter(s).

I will see y'all next time!