AN: Thanks again to everyone taking the time to review, follow and favourite, it means the world to me!

Bella POV

I felt like I was sinking, like I weighed a million pounds and the earth could not support me. And so I sunk into the darkness.

As time went on and awareness came back the feeling of pressure on my back increased making it feel like something was pushing me down, deep down until I knew no more.

Pressure and pain in my back now but the sinking had stopped, I could now feel that I lay on my stomach on a flat surface but before I could think about it much I was pulled back under again.

I was slightly more aware now. I could feel something soft under my hands and face and feet, I could hear quiet muted noises around me. I tried to move my right arm slightly and immediately felt the pulling and pain, I could hear myself moan slightly before I felt something cold touch my hand and someone say something close by but I was asleep again before I could think about it too much.

I woke again and I could hear two male voices speaking gently to each other close by. The pressure that was once in my back was transformed into a very uncomfortable and painful pulling sensation. I was still very much… not… myself. I could feel the darkness trying to pull me back under and I had no recollection of why I was here, or even where here was. All I knew was that there was one person I wanted. Edw'rd. I tried to say but I didn't hear anything come out.

'Bella?' Apparently I had made some sort of noise because there he was; his voice was right next to me. 'Bella, can you hear me?' he asked and I could but I didn't think I was capable of responding; even pulling my eyes open was too much for me.

I felt his cold fingers in mine and I managed to twitch my fingers in response and felt a slight burn in the back of my arm. 'You're safe Bella, you have nothing to worry about, okay?' I wondered if the anxiety came out in the noise I had made.

'Can you open your eyes Bella?' Came another voice I recognized but I just couldn't place it in my muddled state. And I tried, god I tried to peel my eyelids open even trying to lift my eyebrows and forehead up to try and pull my eyelids up but it was to no avail.

I felt a cool hand on my forehead 'It's okay love, go back to sleep. I will be here when you wake up I promise.' I didn't need to be told twice and slipped under yet again.

I drifted in and out of consciousness for what felt like years, I'd half wake, someone would put a straw through my parted lips and I would try to get some water before they'd pull it away before I got too much murmuring about not over doing it. I recognized many voices, Edward, Carlisle, Charlie, Esme and Alice mostly. My eyes even managed to crack open a few times to see pale lilac walls and brown chairs and glimpses of my loved ones.

There finally came an awakening when I didn't feel the pull of anaesthetic keeping me under, but I also felt more pain than I had before and itching and burning and pulling. A light moan escaped from my lips as my face scrunched up from the increasing agony in my back, hip and arm.

'Bella? Can you hear me?' Edwards concerned voice said.

I nodded my head slightly 'Yes.' I whispered.

'Are you in pain?' he asked and all I could do was nod tersely. 'Okay love hang on I'm going to get Carlisle.'

It was a few moments before I heard the door open and close quietly, the pain had been blossoming into an agonizing crescendo. It took everything in me to stop from crying out in pain.

'I'm glad you're awake Bella, but I'm sorry you're in so much pain. On a scale of one to ten where would your pain rate?' He asked and all I could do was moan pitifully again clutching the sheets with my left hand. I had attempted to pull my right hand up next to my face to do the same but Edward's cool hand had stopped me. 'Ten?' Carlisle asked and I nodded.

'Alright I'm going to try to make it better.' I heard him doing something up near the head of my bed but I was in too much pain to open my eyes to see. It didn't take long before the tension in me began to ease as the pain drained a little bit I let out a sigh and relaxed into the bed as the medicine took away the worst of the pain.

'Better?' Edward asked and I nodded again opening my eyes finally for what felt like the first time in eternity.

'Thank you Carlisle.' I murmured and he sat down next to his son in my line of sight.

'Of course Bella, how are you feeling?' Carlisle asked me.

'Tired.' I said truthfully.

'I bet, you've been asleep for a long time. I had to keep you under to spare you the pain and to allow things to heal a bit before you woke up.' Carlisle told me.

'What happened?' I asked completely unable to remember what brought me to this hospital in such agonizing pain.

I couldn't help but notice Edward eyebrows furrow in concern 'You don't remember?' he asked and I shook my head.

'It's okay Bella, its normal with the trauma you experienced and with the medication you've been receiving.' Carlisle reassured me.

'Do you remember going to work on Saturday? It was pouring rain and it must have been a slow day because you left early.' Carlisle said. I remembered the rain, leaning on the counter at Newton's Olympic Outfitters when Mrs. Newton let me leave early.

I nodded 'I went to La Push.' It felt like a very long sentence as it croaked out of my disused throat. Edward presented a straw and I sucked down some much needed water then thanked him.

'That's right.' Carlisle continued. 'Do you remember what happened next?'

I thought back to that day, driving in the sleeting rain to Jacob's house, putting my clothes in to dry and wearing an outfit of his that was way too big. We spent hours on the couch watching bad T.V. and talking.

'I spent the day inside with Jacob because of the rain.' I said not understanding where my injuries came from.

Carlisle nodded 'And after the rain stopped? Do you remember going to the beach?'

I honestly hadn't until Carlisle mentioned it but now I could see it, how the wet sand stuck to my shoes from the storm, how Jacob and I walked watching the waves crash along the beach still riled up from the storm. 'Yeah…' I said quietly trying to remember. I went through my muddled memory trying to think of what happened, I remembered talking to Jacob and the conversation turning but I couldn't remember why.

'I remember Jacob getting mad.' I said furrowing my brow trying to remember why he was mad.

'Do you know why?' Carlisle asked and I shook my head.

'No I-' I stopped abruptly remembering something. 'Oh… Jacob said you'd kill me if we had a 'normal' honeymoon. I told him it was none of his business.' I whispered once I'd realized and Edward stiffened at this.

'I- I tried to run, all I managed to do was turn before he phased right next to me.' I said, my voice cutting out at the end finally remembering the pain. 'Jacob did this to me.' I said, voice cracking. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.

Carlisle nodded sadly while Edward dropped his head, even from my terrible vantage point I could see how angry he was. 'Yes he did,' Carlisle said 'we wanted to confirm with you the details but it's basically as we assumed.'

'Bella, you must be tired.' Edwards exhausted voice cut in. 'Do you want to go over the rest of what happened tonight or wait until tomorrow?'

'Tonight.' I said, quieter than I would have wanted.

Edward nodded 'What else do you remember from that day?' he asked me.

'I remember waking up in the sand covered in blood, in a lot of pain and Jacob was gone. I remember getting to my truck was slow and agonizing and I didn't think I'd make it. I remember calling Edward then my father, I remember seeing Sam and Seth and some others from La Push. I remember Charlie getting there but then it gets really blurry, I don't really remember anything else.' I finished.

'That's good Bella, that's very helpful.' Carlisle said. 'You should really try to get some more sleep now; it's the middle of the night.'

'No wait!' I said getting slightly more volume in my voice than I had been able to previously 'What happened after that? Where's Jacob? Is he okay?'

Edward scrubbed a hand over his face showing the exhaustion he was feeling. 'After Jacob attacked you he took off- just ran away Bella and left you for dead. By Sam's best estimate no one phased for at least half an hour after he attacked you but he thinks it was longer. It wasn't until Seth phased that Jacob told him what happened and where to find you. By the time they found you, you had already made it back to your truck and to your phone so it was almost of no help.

'Sam and Seth helped how they could, trying to stop the bleeding but there wasn't much they could do. You were brought back to the hospital where you had to receive two units of blood before you could even be operated on. Carlisle performed the surgery on your back, hip and arm; he managed to stitch you back together. But Bella…' He seemed unable to continue and this worried me, was I not okay? I didn't say anything just looked with concern at both of the Cullen's in front of me.

Carlisle took up where his son was unable to continue 'Bella the muscles, tendons and nerves in the back of your right arm were severed. While I was able to reattach them surgically I honestly don't know if you will regain full use of your right arm again. While it's possible I honestly don't think it's probable, and if it does happen it won't be back to normal for some time.' I liked that Carlisle was honest with me, he didn't sugar coat things and he said things like they were.

'Thanks for telling me Carlisle, and thanks for saving my life and doing what you could to save my arm.' I said to him earnestly.

'How are you taking this so well Bella?' Edward asked. 'After what Jacob did you should be furious.' He clearly felt enough fury for the both of us.

'I know it was an accident, I don't believe that Jacob hurt me on purpose. And while it sucks that I might not get my arm back to the way that it was, it's a small price to pay to get my life back. But who knows,' I said trying to bring in some humour and cheer Edward up 'I'm on some good medication, maybe I'll be angrier about it in the morning.' As hoped this brought a slight smile to Edward's worn face.

'Can I sit up Carlisle?' I asked, having a conversation laying on my stomach with my head turned to the side was not comfortable.

Carlisle shook his head 'Not tonight Bella, I want you to rest for the rest of the night. If you're feeling up to it tomorrow then we can talk about it then. I know you aren't very comfortable but I want to give your back and arm the best chance at healing without moving. Your arm is also going to be in a sling for quite a while- weeks at least.'

I nodded, feeling myself starting to drift off slightly. 'Bella, you should really go to sleep now.' Edward tried to convince me and I shook my head no.

'Not yet.' I said 'I need to know where Jacob is and if he's okay.'

Edward took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, Carlisle's face took on new lines as well- this couldn't be good. I felt my heartrate starting to pick up at the implications of these expressions.

'Jacob never came back Bella. He didn't stay with you, he didn't go to get you help, he just ran. Ran like a coward.' Edward said bitterly and my heart sank in my chest. Surely this couldn't be the case, Jacob wouldn't do that… would he?

I shook my head slightly 'He wouldn't have done that if he had another choice… he had to have a good reason.' I said quietly, hearing the doubt in my own voice.

'He didn't Bella!' Edward said angrily 'He lost control and he attacked you, then he panicked and showed what a coward he was by running away and leaving you to die. He didn't even attempt to tell anyone until finally one of the wolves phased. At that point he had no choice but to tell because Seth would have quickly read it in his thoughts.'

'Where is he?' I asked in a half whisper.

Edward shook his head again. 'We don't know. He started running and he never stopped.'

'Is the pack going to go after him?' I asked concernedly.

'No Bella.' Carlisle said. 'They're just as horrified by his actions as we are.' There was a pause that felt very heavy. 'We had a meeting Bella- the pack and our family.' I was shocked by this.

'You did? How long have I been out?' I asked not even thinking to pose the question before, it felt like it could have only been a day tops.

'You were attacked on Saturday evening, it is now very early Wednesday morning, 3:34am to be exact.' Carlisle said.

'Three days?!' I asked incredulously. 'I was out for three days straight?'

Carlisle nodded 'I kept you sedated to keep you comfortable and to keep your arm and back immobile long enough to heal a little bit. Aside from your arm you have hundreds of stitches in your back, if you had been awake and in as much pain as you would have been you surely would have attempted to move and injured yourself further.' It all made sense to me but it was still shocking that I had slept for three days straight.

I didn't have any words for this so I just nodded again. 'What came of this meeting?' I asked not having forgotten where we had strayed from in the conversation.

Edward sighed slightly again before speaking 'We couldn't allow Jacob to get away with this without some form of punishment,' he began and I felt my brow furrow again in concern- I didn't like where this was going. 'and so we met with them to come to an agreement on what should be done with Jacob.

We decided it was best to maintain our relationship as best as we could, we didn't want to incite a war if we didn't need to. The pack- or rather the tribe agreed to consider a punishment for Jacob and they came back to us with the decision to banish Jacob for his crimes.'

My heart sunk at this. 'Banishment?' I exclaimed quietly, my head lifting from the pillow as I attempted to push my way up slightly with my left arm. The pain immediately exploded across my back at the slight movement and a pained whimper escaped before I could stop it.

Edward had stood suddenly and gently pushed me back down 'Easy Bella, you can't move yet. Are you okay?'

I nodded tersely, teeth clenched in pain and said quieter and more contained 'Banished?'

Edward sat back down and started speaking again hesitantly like he was waiting for me to jump up 'In every sense of the word, banish him from Forks, La Push, from having any contact with his friends and family and…' Edward stopped talking; clearly the worst was yet to be said.

'And what Edward?' I asked him, not wanting to hear the answer but needing to.

'And banished from the pack. Sam removed him from the pack meaning he has no connection to anyone anymore, no mental link, no nothing.'

I felt like I couldn't breathe 'That's a fate worse than death.' I whispered 'That goes beyond punishment… that's barbaric.' Poor Jacob, all alone… forever. I felt like vomiting or crying- or both.

'Bella what would have happened if Jasper attacked Emily? Or Leah?' Edward asked sounding angry with my response.

I thought about it before I spoke 'The treaty would have been broken. The pack would have attacked us without a second thought.' I realised I said us including myself in the Cullen coven accidentally, no one mentioned it.

Carlisle nodded 'We came to them with a meeting; we let them decide the punishment. We deemed it acceptable even though it still isn't quite punishment enough for almost killing one of our own and leaving her to die. But without shedding blood we agreed this was the best punishment for the crime.'

'I know you're upset Bella.' Edward said once his father had stopped talking 'But Jacob couldn't get away with this, what if he had attacked me and injured me as grievously as he injured you. Would you not agree that he be punished?' Edward asked me and I realized he was right.

I begrudgingly nodded knowing that even though it was Jacob I would still want justice for him injuring Edward. 'I hate that this is the fate decided for him, but I can understand everyone's stance and why this was decided.' I said solemnly. 'Turns out I should have listened to you guys all along, I'm sorry that I didn't, I'm sorry that this happened.'

'No Bella. Don't do that to yourself.' Edward said vehemently 'This is in no way your fault, you cannot blame yourself for anything that happened.'

There was a slight pause before I spoke again 'I'm just sad. I'll never see Jacob again; I'll never be able to tell him that I forgive him.' I could feel the tears starting as I said the words and I tried to hold them back but it was to no avail. I couldn't even wipe them away from my own face as I was facing my right side and Edward still held it, restraining it in case I forgot that I wasn't allowed to use it.

Edward helped me out by wiping my tears away and kissing me on the forehead. 'I know my love and I wish there was another way. He had to be punished for what he did though, it was inexcusable and despicable. He left you to die, we cannot forgive that.'

I nodded my understanding but didn't voice the fact that I didn't agree with the punishment. Carlisle came over and kissed me on the head, telling me to get some rest which I did- after crying myself to sleep. My body finally succumbed to the need for sleep after this very long, very emotionally draining conversation and I drifted off to dreamless sleep.