Carlisle heard the others reentering the house. After withdrawing the sample from Bella's chest, he had bandaged the needle mark, helped her into a new shirt and then settled her in bed for a much needed nap. Back in his office, he studied the sample under his microscope. Upon realizing what the substances were – for they were in fact absolutely foreign from Bella's body – he had taken the chair at Bella's bedside and called the family in.

They found him there, an unmoving statue by the sleeping Bella. His arms rested on his knees, his eyes were latched on the pulse in her neck. If it was anyone else, they would worry he was thinking about draining her. Instead, finding Carlisle in such a pose worried them far more.

When the silence was finally split, it was Carlisle, "May God forgive me for what I have allowed to be inflicted upon my daughter." He closed his eyes then reopened them, "and for what I must tell her next."

Esme looked at him with concern, "What do you mean Carlisle?"

He looked at her with deep sadness in his eyes, "I have to call Edward home. As soon as I've informed Isabella."

Jasper shook his head empathetically. There was no doubt in his voice when he said, "She isn't remotely ready Carlisle."

Leaning forward, Carlisle caressed Bella's hair and despair was plain to see on his face, "I know. There is no choice. She's human." He paused and then let them know what he had just realized, "The mating bond is killing her."

Beyond giving an order to avoid using Edward's name, Carlisle refused to answer any more questions until Bella had woken and consumed a meal.

Sam had been leaning back against the pillows he'd been propped up against. Now he struggled to toss the covers off his lower half and stand up. It had been roughly twenty hours since he first awakened and Old Quil had just brought him up to speed. To say he was livid was a gross understatement. He suspected his general lack of strength was the only reason he wasn't fighting back his wolf at the moment.

Emily pushed back against his shoulders, "No Sam, you're not ready to be up."

As weakened as he still was, he found he was improving quickly and her strength did not outmatch his. He pushed her aside with a gentleness contrary to his grumbling answer, "I'll be damned if I'm going to lay in this bed while Bella is running for her life."

He made it to the end of the bed only to find Old Quil and Billy teaming up against him. No matter, he knew of one person in this house who would help him outside. Looking at the white patch on his thigh, he yanked it off. He nodded in satisfaction – there was a barely visible scar that normal human vision like Charlie's wouldn't even notice. How he loved his wolf's healing capabilities.

"CHARLIE!" he tried shouting but it was more of a call followed by a heck of a lot of coughing.

Charlie had been relegated to the living room since the briefing topics included information he wasn't privy to and he now came hurrying into the bedroom.

From where he was supporting himself on the footboard, Sam said, "I need to get outside and call a pack meeting. Emily and these elders think I should be in bed with Jake while Bella is out there alone. What say you Charlie?"

Shoving past Old Quil, Charlie tossed Sam's arm over his shoulders and wrapped his own around Sam's torso. "I say we have an Alpha to get to his pack, Sam."

Once outside, Sam directed Charlie to walk him out to the middle of the yard and then shooed him back. Resting his arms against his thighs to catch his breath, Sam took a minute before calling his wolf forward.

Charlie watched in awe as a giant beast of a black wolf took the place of the young man. Like the man, the wolf seemed tired yet determined. Throwing his head back, the wolf let a howl rip through the late night air.

Within minutes, Emily's yard was filled with the beasts who all seemed to be excited to see their leader. All save one, who with a single bark from Sam, bowed his head and whined. When Sam's wolf began growling at the newcomer, Charlie guessed this must be the infamous Paul. More yips, barks and occasional growls were exchanged in what Charlie could only define as a wolf conversation.

At one point, the must-be-Paul wolf seemed to argue back at Sam. Then a loud, deep bark came from Sam and an invisible hand all but shoved the must-be-Paul's snout into the ground. Charlie surmised this was the Alpha command he had been warned about.

Soon after, the meeting seemed to break up and all but three of the wolves departed. Sam shifted back to his human form.

Promptly dropping to his butt in the dirt, Sam again took the time to catch his breath. Then he indicated to the wolves – no, they were humans now – standing next to him. "Charlie, you've met Seth; this is Jared and Quil."

Somehow the boys had managed to find clothing so Charlie didn't feel that odd shaking their hands.

"Paul is no longer my second, he has been demoted and will run patrol under Embry's direct control. He will be unable to disobey a direct order from Embry or Jared as doing so would disobey the Alpha command I issued. When I return, I will decide his fate."

Charlie nodded his head. He was more concerned with protecting Bella at the moment; justice could wait.

"Jared is my new Beta and will be in charge of the pack here. Seth and Quil will join me in seeking Bella." Looking behind Charlie, Sam raised his voice, "Em, call Sue. Tell her to bring what information she has on Bella's location."

Turning back to his audience, Sam said, "We leave in five hours."

Charlie nodded, reaching down to the clearly exhausted Sam and helping him up, he said, "Well then pup, you'd better get some rest."

They made their way to the back door where Emily insisted on sliding under Sam's other arm. She kissed him on the cheek and said, "As much as I think you're being a fool, I love you for it."

They tucked Sam back into bed next to the still silent Jake. When Charlie made to leave the room, Sam stopped him. He looked over at Billy who had remained tending Jake. "When Sue gets here, have her work with Charlie to narrow down the search."

Billy started blustering with alarm, "Sam! We can't tell Charlie!"

Sam just rolled his eyes, "All due respect, Billy; Charlie wasn't born yesterday." Turning to Charlie, he asked, "Who is Bella looking for?"

Charlie didn't bother denying what he knew, "Carlisle Cullen."

Holding his hand out, palm up in Charlie's direction, Sam said, "See Billy?"

Billy sighed and hung his head. Charlie walked over and clapped his old friend on the shoulder, "That's about all I have figured out that you three didn't tell me Billy. Don't be too hard on yourself. Sue and I can work with names and locations. You can keep all the treaty nonsense to yourselves."

As Charlie left the room, Sam called after him, "Chief, do all your work from the Res so you won't be overheard!"

Charlie looked back and gave a half nod, indicating he understood.

Sam settled back into the pillows and looked over at Emily. Taking in the dark circles under her eyes, he lifted the covers, grabbed her arm and yanked her down to the bed. Settling her against his shoulder, he said, "You're getting some rest too Em."

When Bella finally did awaken, she was surprised to find three nervous and one determined looking vampire in the room with her. Remembering the events from before her nap, she rubbed her chest. She noticed Carlisle cock an ear like he was listening.

"Is everything ok?" she asked.

Reassuringly, he said, "I'm sorry Bella, I'm just taking extra care to monitor your heart right now."

Not giving her a chance to follow up on the revelation, he said, "Esme has dinner ready for you, where would you like to eat?"

Wondering about the strange sample, but trusting Carlisle would explain himself soon, Bella turned to Esme. "I think I'd like to eat in the living room, if that's ok?"

"Of course, Bella dear." Esme stepped forward and helped Bella from the bed and to the washroom. Bella blushed heavily as she realized Carlisle's attention still remained focused on her heart acoustics.

Once downstairs and settled on the now familiar couch, Alice softly placed a tray on Bella's lap and asked, "Is this ok?"

Nodding her head, Bella said, "Thanks Alice."

Before she could pick up her fork, Carlisle leaned in with two of her pain pills in his hand. Accepting the offer, Bella swallowed them down with some of the milk on her tray.

She knew Carlisle had been monitoring her vitals since she first arrived, but his new focus was making her uneasy. In an effort to distract herself, she asked, "So…do you know what that was in my chest?"

Carlisle' eyes flickered to Bella's and back to her neck. "It's not going to be a simple topic, Bella; don't you wish to finish eating first?"

Blushing, Bella admitted, "You're making me feel like I'm going to disappear any second."

Carlisle didn't grin as she expected, but he did repent. "My apologies Bella."

Sitting on the sofa across from her, he clasped his hands and bowed his head as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Sighing, he looked up at her and offered, "If you'll keep eating, I'll talk."

Bella nodded and speared a bite of her chicken. Carlisle waited until she had safely swallowed before he said, "There isn't an easy way to say this Bella… when you saved Sam's and Jake's lives you sacrificed your own."

That statement caused Bella's fork to stop in midair. Esme, Alice and Jasper all froze in semi-horrified shock. This sounded far more final to them than Carlisle's earlier explanation for recalling Edward.

Bella, however, was curious. She looked Carlisle over, then finished serving herself the bite of chicken. When she was done chewing she said, "I'm clearly alive. I feel like I'm getting better, not worse. And I'm obviously not turning into one of you all…"

Carlisle grimaced, "I'm going to talk around the subject Bella because I don't believe it is safe for you to experience further episodes." He indicated his heart and Bella understood he meant the mate-bond reactions.

"The Good Lord works in mysterious ways, Isabella. What was intended to harm you, God used to protect you. You see, you did, in fact, ingest wolf's blood and venom. By forcing you to journey to us, Paul has actually saved your life."

Bella thought she would have Carlisle examine her head after this conversation. So far she wasn't horrified as she figured she should be. She found what he was saying interesting and after a serving of mashed potatoes, she asked, "So it was wolf's blood and venom in the vial?" The others remained silent observers of the conversation.

"Yes Bella. I'm well aware that our venom is deadly to the wolves. But you ingested blood from two individual wolves. It would seem that they are able to work together within your body to contain our venom. The silver center of the layers I extracted from your chest was Victoria's venom attempting to infuse itself into your heart. Sam's and Jake's blood trapped it to prevent that from occurring."

Bella nodded her head. In some strange, mortal enemy logic, this made sense.

Esme spoke up, "But if you removed both the venom and wolf blood, shouldn't Bella be fine?"

Carlisle shook his head, "What I removed was exponentially more than Bella could have ingested for having spit the blood out. We know our venom replicates itself. My current theory is that the wolf blood is doing the same. Therefore, although I believe all the venom is removed, it would be wise to assume that both substances are still in Bella's system. We know the wolf blood is due to Alice's continued missing visions."

Rubbing his eyes in a practiced human gesture of fatigue, Carlisle looked at Bella and said, "There is yet more."

Having finished her meal, Bella moved on to the cup of tea Esme had also placed on the tray. Leaning back into the pillows she assured, "Whatever it is, I can handle it Carlisle."

Carlisle looked Bella over silently. She was clearly still tired and weakened, yet her overall condition had improved since her initial arrival. She didn't seem overwhelmed with what he had disclosed so far. He believed Bella could handle the remaining information, though it wouldn't come easy. And the simple truth of the matter was he didn't have the luxury of not telling her.

"When I performed the first ultrasound, I noticed something I wanted to examine better. To that end, I accomplished a second while you slept. There are marks on the sack which encases your heart. Such as I have never seen on any human heart in all my years."

Bella found herself riveted in what Carlisle was telling her. As astonishing as the information he had just revealed was, of course it would be her that made medical history in the eyes of the only doctor in existence with over 300 years of expertise.

Carlisle continued speaking, "I noticed your 'reactions' seemed to have intensified earlier. Would you agree with that assessment, Bella?"

Bella said, "Yes, but I thought I was just aggravating the broken ribs."

Carlisle shook his head, "As much as I genuinely wish that were the reason, it is not. Bella, when I separate from Esme and experience that 'reaction' is it as if my heart is literally being pulled from my chest. If I were to mark on my heart where it was being pulled from, the locations would match with extreme precision what the ultrasound revealed on yours."

Stunned, Bella sat and absorbed what Carlisle had said. Then she questioned, "So the venom…?"

"The venom increased the pull beyond what your human heart can handle. It turned what I surmise was a psychophysiological reaction into a true physical one."

Carlisle gave her a moment to absorb this information before delivering the final blow, "I'm sorry Isabella. I know you aren't ready for this, but I have to call him home."

Bella's eyes snapped to Carlisle's. He was right, she wasn't ready for this. "No, he doesn't…he was very convincing with everything he said, Carlisle."

Almost as soon as her chest began to ache, Carlisle was there, his palm pushing with strength against her breast bone. Through the now familiar, gasping breath, she said, "That helps."

Carlisle lips thinned, "It's because we are pushing against the threads yanking at your heart."

"I'm sorry Bella. There is no surgery or medication I can give you to fix this. The threads aren't of a physical nature, so they cannot be cut. Your heart won't withstand this for long. We either turn you immediately or call your mate home."

As the tears recede from Bella's eyes and her heart calmed, she finally agreed, "Alright, call him."

Esme walked into Bella's bedroom. Yesterday had been a full day for the poor girl. For them all really. Thankfully she had been sleeping peacefully all night, although Carlisle had once again given her the stronger pain medicine due to the repeated abuse her rib cage suffered. She knew he planned to wean Bella down to over the counter medications beginning today though.

After Bella's capitulation, Carlisle had directed Jasper to contact Emmett. He and Rose were to go retrieve Edward without being told why. Esme could see that it tore Carlisle up that he couldn't trust Edward to return alone after being told of Bella's situation, but that was the reality they found themselves in.

In addition to that, they knew through Alice that Edward had not hunted in some time. Sending Emmett and Rose was also a precaution against Edward's control slipping during the trip to Ithaca.

As the two were currently overseas, Jasper estimated the trio would arrive in Ithaca three days from now.

Carlisle never left Bella's side anymore. He explained Bella's heart currently showed no indications of damage, but wanted to track any and all changes after each episode. He admitted to Esme that he was concerned a single severe episode would be enough to trigger a heart attack. If that happened, Carlisle wanted to be immediately available to intervene. He had also explained that Bella's unique condition put them in uncharted territory for cardiovascular medicine. Esme didn't need him to tell her that a healthy heart was a prerequisite to survive the change should it become necessary.

Esme settled herself on Carlisle's lap. She ran her hands through her mate's hair in a soothing motion. Carlisle wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his body. Resting his head against Esme's, he asked, "How are you love?"

"Me? I'm doing fine as long as Bella is. I'm concerned with how you're holding up though."

Sighing, Carlisle spoke the truth. "I'll be alright, Esme. Once I get past the shock of Edward's falsities." Carlisle shuddered, "How on Earth he ever thought those lies would help Bella." He shook his head, thinking back to the terrified, uncertain girl he found outside the hospital, "He completely destroyed her confidence. And to leave her in the woods, of all places…"

Esme rested her head on her husband's shoulder, and took to rubbing his back. "He'll answer to both of us when he gets here." She said with absolute matronly authority. Then, because she knew their son so well, she asked, "Do you think he'll ever forgive himself when he learns…?"

Carlisle blew out his breath, in a practiced human reaction, "No, but I think Bella will eventually teach him to let it go. However, that future will be a long time coming for them. She has healing of her own to do first."

They sat in silence, reassured as Bella's chest beat with each breath she took.

After a while, Esme asked a question she had been thinking about since yesterday's revelations, "Carlisle, why didn't James' venom do this to Bella?"

"His never got a chance to get near Bella's heart. Edward removed it while it was still contained in Bella's arm."

Question answered, her concern turned to Carlisle again, and she asked, "When will you hunt?" She reached up and traced what were the beginnings of semi-dark circles under Carlisle's eyes.

He took her hand in his and kissed her palm before lowering it to their laps. "I'll be fine, Love."

Esme nodded, "So you won't hunt."

Squeezing her hand, he said, "I can't leave her side. Not until he's returned and the mating bond is healed."

Esme pursed her lips, "Which will not occur until Bella believes in Edward's love for her, and accepts a relationship with him again." It wasn't a question.

"I know Love, it may be some time. We will cross that bridge if and when we come to it." It would truly have to be quite the time span between hunts for him to become a danger to any human. The hardship he would endure in the meantime was simply his penance. Bella was worth that and more to him.