EDIT: If you're seeing this, YAY! You have survived the Great Chapter Crash of November 2020! Enjoy!

A/N: So I apologize for the lapse in the schedule; you would think the beginning of my week off from school, I would be able to post on time, but I kind of just was a vegetable for the past few days. Also, I was trying to figure out how much and specifically what I wanted to include in this chapter. It is a little longer than my usual amount, so I hope that makes up for the lag, as well as the short previous chapter.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

Chapter 25: Progress

Edythe's hands were clamped tightly on the cool steel of the banister, the reinforced apparatus and her own stubbornness the only thing keeping her upright. Carine stood behind her as Edythe faced toward the large empty space in front of the staircase, refusing to allow the vampire to see the look of discomfort on her face.

Carine was not fooled though; she could see the slight tremor running through Edythe's body, the quiet sucking of breath through her lips, and she took a half-step closer, her hands grazing Edythe's elbows.

"I'm fine," Edythe said between her teeth, using more effort than was necessary to modulate her voice to make it sound calm, despite the pain. Carine stepped back, though begrudgingly, allowing Edythe to hold herself. She turned to her left, glancing up to the next landing, where Jessamine was standing, hands held out, as if invitation. Edythe closed her eyes and took a deep breath, steeling herself before forcing her limbs to move. Slowly, more slowly than she liked, she stepped precariously up the stairs, one at a time, holding onto the railing tightly.

Carine moved with her sideways, ready to help her if needed. But Edythe refused to allow herself to show even the slightest inkling of weakness. But, in her mind, she felt as if she were climbing Mount Rainier with a hundred pound bag strapped to her lower back, rather than going up a flight of shallowly inclined stairs in her own house.

The ten steps or so to Jessamine felt like ten miles, too much for too long. But she didn't say anything as she pushed her body through the emotions, forcing her legs to lift, to invite the pressure on her aching back to carry her own weight as she made her way toward the landing. After what felt like a marathon, Jessamine's hands were finally within reach, and Edythe half collapsed into her. Jess caught her easily, Edythe clinging to her sister as she tried to ignore the agonizing pain radiating through her body.

"Good, that's enough," Carine praised her as she rubbed her hand comfortingly down Edythe's tender spine. Edythe let out an exhausted sigh of relief, leaning into Jess' side. Carine could see the look in Edythe's face and she made to reassure her. "You're doing well, Edythe. You'll be back to normal soon enough," she promised. Edythe gave her a small smile in response, though she did not share Carine's enthusiasm or optimism.

It had been over three weeks since being discharged from the hospital, and nearly six weeks since the accident and her surgeries, and still Edythe felt no where near any progress. She was allowed to walk on flat surfaces without aid, though the resident vampires always watched every move and always was there if she faltered so much as for a quarter of a second. Getting out of bed or standing up was painful, especially for her back, but Edythe was working on forcing herself to ignore it.

Her right shoulder was healing steadily, to the point where she no longer was forced to keep it in a sling or without any use. The physical therapy exercises she underwent with Carine had allowed her to gain minimal mobility, where she could brush her teeth and use a fork on her own, though sparingly. Edythe's ribs had completely healed, a feat she was majorly grateful for, as she was able to sleep on her stomach once more, granted as long as she kept a pillow under her hips to keep pressure off her back. The lacerations and bruises that had covered her body were all gone by now, with merely a small scar or a tint of yellow to remind her of their previous existence.

But the pain in Edythe's back seemed to wane at a much slower pace than the rest of her injuries, and it was this discomfort that greatly hindered her ability to move freely. Carine assured her it was normal and it would take at least six months before she could begin to do normal activities without issue, but it felt like it would take much longer at the rate she was going. And it was made even worse now that she no longer had access to potent pain medication.

Dr. Vernetti had been following up daily with Carine the moment Edythe left the hospital, and last week, had suggested the removal of the central line and pump, moving Edythe to pills. Edythe was thankful to have the gigantic plastic tube removed from her leg—which she hated having to always work to keep it clean, whether through constant cleaning or wrapping it in plastic wrap when she slept or showered—but the glee she might have felt from being free from the last of the wires was lost on her.

Because she had yet to find relief in the oral medications; though more concentrated and stronger than simple over the counter NSAIDs, they failed in the task of ebbing the pain from her back and shoulder. Edythe took them religiously without complaint, but she had begun to give up on the prospect of their effectiveness. But she did not want to worry her parents or Beau any further, so she had put on a satisfied face, all the while pushing down the pain. She had a feeling Jessamine was privy to her dishonesty, but her sister had yet to bring it up—or, at least, Carine had not confronted Edythe about it.

Today was a particularly bad day; the drugs should have taken effect an hour ago, timed with Carine's effort to increase Edythe's strength by having her try climbing the stairs. Jessamine was only on the second landing and the vampires knew Edythe could do no more.

Jessamine easily lifted Edythe and eased her down on the top landing on the staircase on the third floor. Edythe waved off Jess's attempt to help her, insisting on walking to her room by herself. Jessamine acquiesced, but her face was still troubled. Edythe moved slowly, planning on taking a short nap before Earnest brought her the lunch he was preparing; sleep had been Edythe's one escape from the pain, where her unconscious mind was able to dull the discomfort enough for her to pass the time, and she hoped she could so once more.

As Edythe stepped into her room, she closed the door most of the way and shuffled toward her bed, her eyes scrunching and her face wincing as she settled on the edge of the mattress, laying carefully on her side and dragging herself to the center, allowing the pain and misery to overcome her aching body. She pulled her throw blanket over herself, intent on trying to sleep, but found after ten minutes with her eyes closed, all she could register was the incessant pounding in her limbs. She pressed her face into the pillow she lay on, trying to keep her sobs quiet as tears leaked silently down her cheeks.

She was unsurprised when only a few moments had passed before she felt the dip in the bed and a familiar cool hand engulf hers. She let out a small inhale, a low, choked sound, as Jessamine settled besides her, her honey eyes sad as her human sister curled her body around her. The vampire tried to push as much calm and soothing vibes as she could into Edythe but found, as she suspected, she was unable to make much of a difference.

Jessamine had found that physical pains, from physical wounds and maladies, were not as easy to take away as emotional, intangible pain. Though she could try to overwhelm someone with good feelings, she was powerless to remove the reason behind the pain itself and, as a result, the person in question felt little relief in the long term. Jess had tried for weeks, since Edythe had first woken up from her surgeries, to ease her pain, to little relief. And it hurt the vampire dearly, to have to watch the human girl suffer, with no way for her gift to help her in any real way.

Edythe cringed, distressed, as she heard Jessamine call for Carine; her mother was there immediately and her golden eyes turned soft and concerned as she took in the look on Edythe's face. She stepped forward immediately.

"What happened?" Carine asked.

"She's in pain," Jessamine admitted with a forlorn grimace. "She has been for a while. But she didn't bring it up. I didn't want to say anything, but…" She trailed off as her eyes fell to Edythe, where the trembling had intensified. Carine's concern grew and she immediately disappeared from the room, returning a half second later with a glass vial and packaged syringe. Her eyes raked over Edythe as she heard her daughter make a small pained noise.

"Shh, Edythe, hold on, Carine's going to give you something," Jessamine said gently, flipping her hand that Edythe's fingers clamped around to brush soothingly across her skin. Carine moved to the bed, and Jessamine carefully lifted Edythe up into a sitting position, leaning her human sister against her side as Carine reached for Edythe's arm. The needle pierced the forgiving flesh of her forearm and Edythe flinched and moaned, but did not move to pull away; Carine administered the buprenorphine as quickly as she dared, her eyes on Edythe's face as she waited impatiently for the opioid to take effect. Once she finished the administration and ensured the site had clotted, Carine stroking her fingers against the side of Edythe's face.

"Edythe," she whispered, "I just gave you something stronger; give it a minute to work." Edythe's face was tense, her teeth gritted around the sound she wanted to let out, as if that would ease the aching pain. She nodded tightly, and Carine looked up at Jessamine.

"You can't do anything?" Carine asked in a low voice; Jessamine could see the disquiet in her mother's eyes, how much she hated seeing Edythe suffer this way, as she had for weeks. A similar expression was on her own face, she was sure. But she shook her head, her honey blonde hair tossed behind her shoulder as she continued to let Edythe hold onto her.

"I can't make the physical pain go away; if I remove the emotional portion of it, it still doesn't stop whatever is hurting her," she admitted regretfully. Carine nodded minutely, figuring as much, before she turned back to Edythe, her hands ghosting over her to hopefully distract her.

"It's not stopping," Edythe whispered after a few moments, her voice cracking; her jaw was locked, a clear sign of her lack of relief. The phrase was intended to be a statement, but it came out more like a forlorn plea. Both Carine and Jessamine were loath to be unable to do anything but wait.

"I know, darling. You'll feel it in a minute, I promise," Carine assured her, her fingers running along Edythe's skin, a comfort not just to Edythe but to herself. They all sat, tense, while they waited for something to change. Finally, after another long moment, Edythe's grip on Jessamine relaxed. Carine let out a small sigh, readjusting her position so she could meet Edythe's eyes. Her gaze was far away but no longer uncomfortable.

"Better?" she inquired; Edythe nodded and, despite her fatigue, she tried to move, to shift closer to Carine. The vampire knew what she wanted and easily moved to settle on the bed, taking Edythe from Jessamine. Edythe leaned heavily into Carine, her right shoulder and rib cage laying against her frigid body; Jessamine moved to adjust the blanket over Carine's lap to keep Edythe from freezing. Carine pulled her close as Edythe sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, not meeting either of their gazes.

"Don't apologize for something that's not your fault," Carine said firmly.

"I can't rely on it forever," Edythe countered dully.

"If you're in pain, you need relief. You cannot heal if you're hurting," Carine said. And she meant it; as much as Carine wanted Edythe off pain medications, to start to really heal, she would not tolerate her being in that kind of discomfort for the sake of avoiding tolerance.

Edythe nodded slightly before falling still, content to not move and allow the chill of Carine's body temperature to soothe her aching head and body. Though she leaned in her, Carine could still feel the slight tension, the careful way Edythe held herself. It was something she had only done since the accident, in too much discomfort to allow her body to relax fully. Carine noted it, as well as deciding to call Dr. Vernetti later. Her head dropped, her lips against Edythe's forehead, as Jessamine quietly besides her, pushing gentle calming vibes into both of them. Despite her actions, Jessamine felt a surge of anger.

"I'll kill him," she said suddenly, her voice tense and filled with acid. Carine looked up at her and was surprised to see her eyes were black, all traces of gold gone.

"I'll kill him for doing this to her," Jess hissed quietly, not wanting to disturb Edythe's momentary peaceful state of mind. "I'll kill him for making her go through this."

"Save some for me," Eleanor said from the main floor; Carine and Jessamine had barely heard their arrival, occupied by Edythe. A half second later, Eleanor was standing in the doorway, leaning on the door jamb. Royal appeared behind her, his face as hard as stone. His eyes were on Edythe, his jaw set tight as he looked at her. Though it had been weeks since the accident and the scare with the blood transfusion, Edythe was not much stronger than she had been when she woke up, and that scared her siblings relentlessly. She tried to put on a facade when she was conscious, but they could see how much she was struggling. And all they could do was watch.

Carine spoke to Dr. Vernetti after Edythe had finally felt enough relief from the pain medication to move. Beau had arrived from school and immediately was concerned, though Edythe assured him she was fine. Carine stayed in her office as she took the call, but her ears were half-listening to the two humans one floor up.

"She hasn't been getting any relief from the oral medication," she had informed him, and they were a couple of minutes into a discussion of the merits of using another analgesic with a similar mode of action when she heard quick footsteps from Edythe's bedroom, with a quiet whisper — "bathroom". As she listened, she heard Beau move haphazardly across the carpeted floor to the attached en suite and heard the solid sound of Edythe being placed the tiled floor, along with the sound of fluid against porcelain.

Carine recognized the sounds and immediately moved toward the hallway. She arrived and stood in the door frame of the bathroom, watching as Beau and Eleanor crouched besides Edythe, who was bent over the toilet, violently sick. As soon as she was able to take a breath, her stomach would lurch again, invoking a strong gagging reflex. Even when she had nothing left in her system to bring up, Edythe continued to dry heave, all the while tears leaking from her eyes as her body was racked with pain from the uncontrollable reflex.

Eleanor held her hair back for her, a comforting, frigid hand on the back of her neck, while Beau kept his arms wrapped around her, his hands at Edythe's waist and back, ready to take her weight if needed. It was a posture the three of them were familiar with, with vomiting being a recurrent side-effect of the pain medication. It was the primary indicator that led to the two doctors working to remove the drugs from Edythe's system, her vomiting become so severe that her throat had started bleeding and she had started throwing up blood from the intense effort of stimulation.

Carine stepped away from the bathroom into the hall, knowing Edythe wouldn't want any more of an audience than she already had. The physician relayed the development to her colleague, who was equally troubled.

"I mean, it's still relatively new, but a few practitioners in Ohio have had success with Oclacitin," Paul recommended, "It's similar to a NSAID, but stronger and meant for more long-term use. We can keep her on the buprenorphine until she gets a decent dose into her system to see how much it changes."

"I"m willing to try anything," Carine said, "Is there any in the pharmacy?"

"I'm emailing you the script now," Paul responded. Carine sighed, a small smile on her face. She thanked Paul once more before hanging up, moving toward her office. When she returned to the bathroom, Edythe had finally stopped dry heaving, leaning against Beau limply. He sat on the floor with her in his lap as Eleanor knelt besides them, her hands against Edythe's clammy skin. Carine automatically reached for one of the spare water bottles kept in the cabinet underneath the sink before crouching down besides her children. Edythe seemed to sense her approach, and her eyelids opened half-way, feeling too embarrassed and miserable to put any more vigor into the movement.

"Mom," Edythe murmured almost inaudibly, her voice cracking from the dehydration. Carine's heart cracked slightly, another small fissure to open the newly healed one; for every progress Edythe made, she seemed to take two steps back. Gently, she snaked an arm around Edythe's back, lifting her up into a more upright position. In her other hand were two white pills, anti-nausea medication she kept on hand for this exact purpose.

"Open," Carine ordered gently. Edythe obeyed, taking the medication without complaint, though she began coughing after forcing them down. Carine offered the water and Edythe worked to quiet the hacking as she swallowed a few gulps. She exhaled again, exhaustion adding to her jumble of emotions and leaned heavily into Beau, her body sagging. Silent tears slipped down her cheeks as her family watched her helplessly.

"It's okay, Edy, deep breaths," Eleanor murmured to her softly; her normal jubilated mood was deflated, an emotion she was more familiar with since Edythe's accident. Though Edythe was technically older than her by a couple of decades, Eleanor had been physically the oldest of the Cullen children when turned. At twenty years and her previous role as caretaker in her human life, she had always felt a personal duty to protect her family, from any and all threats.

Eleanor and Edythe had always been close, and given their physical difference in ages, had easily adapted to a big sister-little sister relationship. Eleanor cared for Edythe deeply, and the her inability to get rid of the threat that loomed over Edythe and, by extension, the rest of the family, made her on edge, and her moods had been less than her normal, carefree self. Her somber eyes took in her little sister, and ached for her weakness, wishing it was as simple as a medication or nap that could heal her. But she had learned the hard way that human healing was not so streamlined. Even worse, there was nothing Eleanor could do for Edythe except provide comfort, and hope for this to be over.

Archie stepped into the room then for a moment, his eyes locking with Carine's. He held up the paper he held in his hand—the printed prescription—his eyes questioning, asking for permission. Carine nodded silently, and he was gone, on his way to the local pharmacy to pick up the medication. Carine combed her fingers through Edythe's hair as she spoke.

"Dr. Vernetti wants to try Ocalcitin," she told her quietly, "It's not an opioid, so the vomiting should stop, but it should be strong enough to make you comfortable." Edythe tried to nod, but it only made her head ache. She was content to just lay here until Archie returned, hopefully with something that could bring her relief, without making her retch her guts out.

Ocalcitin was a tough pill to swallow, literally. Edythe commented that for something that's meant to provide pain relief, the capsule was so big that she had a hard time getting it down. She was thankful she only had to take one twice a day though.

Carine kept the infusion of buprenorphine high enough in Edythe's bloodstream to maintain a therapeutic dose while the new drug got settled. And, to everyone's immense relief, it helped. Within three days, Edythe was off the opioid injections and able to function almost normally without pain. Jessamine had confirmed the human's words to Carine when she had made to reassess her. The empath assured her mother that Edythe did, in fact, carry less pain, and it became more obvious as the days went on.

Edythe was hardly able to do cartwheels, but her mobility took a significant positive turn after incorporating the Ocalcitin; she found she was able to move her shoulder with little discomfort, as well as slightly twist her back. Such small feats were impossible before, but now, she could focus on these areas with Carine during her physical therapy to work on getting her muscle tone back. She wasn't back to normal—not even close—but she didn't feel stuck in a ditch, as she had since leaving the hospital.

Two weeks after being on the new pain medication, Edythe and Beau received good news: acceptances to the early admission at Ithaca College, thereby solidifying another major piece of the puzzle for the next chapter of their lives. With this news, the Cullens began making more concrete preparations for the move, and Earnest spent some of his spare time with Edythe and Beau, going over the finer details of the house he had purchased to remodel for the Cullen's new home.

Edythe and Beau would be sharing a room, a situation that neither of them minded in the least. They did not explicitly let this fact be known to Charlie, but the police chief was able to infer as much. He was extremely proud of his son for his acceptance, but equally torn at the idea of his leaving. As a result, Beau felt inclined to spend more time with his father, and Edythe encouraged it. Though being apart from one another was insanely difficult for both of them, Beau knew Edythe was feeling better, enough that he felt less guilty leaving a couple of hours earlier from the Cullen house on certain days to spend some of the evening with his father.

Beau was taken aback at how large the new house was; calling it a house was not even appropriate, with 'mansion' being the more suitable choice. Built in the latter-half of the 19th century, it was a glorious, white structure, with a full porch that wrapped around the main floor of its three stories. The land itself was massive, situated north of Ithaca proper, butting up against the Cayuga Lake.

With an average of a hundred and fifty-five sunny days per year, only twenty or so more than Forks, it was the next best place for the Cullens to live. The other Cullen siblings decided to start in college along with Edythe and Beau, planning to occupy their time with graduate school or other projects since they planned to stay in the area for approximately ten years. The arrangement allowed them time to spread it over a more appreciable and believable time zone, while also giving some explanantion about why Edythe looked younger than the rest of them, but was somehow already in secondary education. Edythe and Beau would be starting as freshmen, of course, with Edythe intending on completing her prerequisite course within two years. Amanda Thompson had already secured positions for both of them at the local clinic, where Beau and she would be introducing and training Edythe there. The young veterinarian was looking forward to their arrival, inviting the entire family to her home as a welcome get-together. Beau and Edythe had already accepted the offer.

Life seemed to be going on, though often the days melded together as Edythe spent day in and day out in the house, unable to leave. Though, of course, her siblings provided adequate entertainment, they weren't always there, constantly taking shifts to search and hunt down Victor. Now that their move date was more secured, the Cullens had started to look even harder for the redheaded nomad, unwilling to leave Forks without ensuring he was disposed of and no danger was left to the town. As a result, many of Edythe's mornings were spent entertaining herself as half her siblings watched over Beau, while the other half perused the forest of the Olympic mountain range. Her parents, of course, stayed with her at the house.

Earnest was out back, hand sanding a door for a new furniture piece he wanted to place in the living room, while Carine was in her office, working through a couple of diagnostic cases the hospital had forwarded to her. Edythe had eased herself down the stairs after spending a couple of hours with Carine, just talking about the move as the doctor worked.

Now, Edythe paused on the landing of the main room, trying to determine what she wanted to do. Her eyes rested on the TV, wondering if she should finish that inane sci-fi show Beau had her watch. Quickly squelching that idea, she moved to the kitchen's entry. She wasn't hungry though, having eaten another course of gourmet breakfast and lunch prepared by Earnest. She debated to go out to sit with him while he worked until Beau and her sisters arrived home, but her gaze rested on the last piece of furniture in the large room.

Though she hadn't really looked at it—let alone touched it—for months, Edythe could see Earnest had kept the piano completely clean and polished as new. The white wood glistened against the lighting in the room, the pearly white keys hidden underneath the pale lid, the gold emblem glinting in the center of the fallboard. Edythe couldn't seem to grasp what she was doing until she was placing a hand gently on the edge of the instrument, holding herself steady as she took the one shallow step onto the platform. She glanced around the room; now she had lost her vampire hearing, it was hard to tell when her family was in the room if they didn't make noise, but she saw she was alone.

Carefully, as quietly as she could, she pulled the bench out from underneath, easing down onto the white cushion. With one hand, she lifted the hinge of the lid, revealing the white and black keys laid before her, untouched and unaltered since before her change.

She lay the lid back carefully before scooting herself over to sit in the middle. She raised her hands tentatively over the keys, and noted her slightly trembling hands, though she wasn't in pain in her shoulder.

But she tried to ignore as she let her hands fall, focusing on her fingers gradually rising up the scales. Of course, the tuning was perfect. The familiar movement was comforting, but she was hesitant to play anything. But, after a minute of playing with the keys, she decided to try.

Hesitantly, she began the first few measures of Beau's song, adding the harmonizing line as she grew more comfortable. She found, with exceeding relief, that she could, in fact, play much the same as she did before, though she had to focus on her hands a bit more. Her fingers moved across the keys with minimal thought, the familiar muscle memory guiding her as she continued through the first verse of the song, unaware of the pausing of the rustling in the office and in the back of the house.

As she continued on in the song, Edythe found her fingers shifting, the song changing and morphing into something else. There was small lifts and tilts, a flowing base line with a playful, jovial harmon, so similar to the original piece, and yet distinctly different. It flowed unrelenting into her fingers, from where, Edythe did not know. All she could feel was relief, to have one more normal thing in her life, to have something go right.

She realized how much she missed playing, and was disappointed she had avoided it for this long, for the sake of fearing of being unable to play. She realized, even as she worked, the song moving upwards in the notes and taking on a corporeality of its own, that it very well could have been she would have never been able to play again, had her injuries from the accident been slightly different from what they were.

Given that, her fingers seemed to react, and the song became stronger, fuller; it was still Beau's song, but there was added lines and notes, adding a completeness to it that had not been there before. Where before, the song was filled with the age-old torment of the impossibility of her and Beau's love, now that had been resolved, replaced with musings of possibilities and hope and eagerness.

The human was completely unaware of the audience behind her, where Carine was standing at the second floor landing, Earnest at the back entrance, and Archie, Eleanor and Beau at the entrance from the garage. They didn't dare move, unwilling to break the air in the room, intoxicating as it was for the rest of them.

Though Jessamine wasn't present, they could feel Edythe's emotions in her playing as clearly as if Jess had been broadcasting it across the house. There was a happiness, a lightness there that they had yet to see in Edythe, either since the accident or even before. Their melancholy, serious sister had been a staple of the Cullen household for many decades, a feature they had found familiar in the consistency. But, as they watched and listened, that seemed to fall.

Never had they heard such positive notes, such wholeheartedly delighted and comforting sounds, come from Edythe's fingers.

And the result was infectious.

Their smiles seemed almost plastered on their face as they listened to her play, the song never seeming to resolve to a close, wrapping in and around itself as Edythe willed it to continue on. She herself was smiling, her eyes focused on the eyes as she poured her unabridged emotions into them.

Even as she felt the light hands on her shoulders—only pressing lightly so as to not disturb her—she did not stop. She tilted her head up and to the side to look at Beau, whose cerulean blue eyes met hers. Seeing the buoyant delectation and peace in her eyes, he couldn't help but lean down to kiss her gently on the lips. She returned the gesture in kind, smiling underneath it.

When they broke apart, she murmured a quiet "I love you", which he returned, her fingers never ceasing their movement. He kept his hands on her hips, his lips against her ear as she played, just simply enjoying—as the rest of the Cullens did—the happiness there, and the given promise of new beginnings just ahead.

A/N: No, Ocalcitin is not a real thing. So don't try to Google it. Also, again a reminder that I know very little about human medicine, hence I chose to not use specific drugs names unless I felt mildly confident in them.

There is probably three to five more chapters before the Cullens move (remember when I mentioned I had no idea how long this story would be? This is why). And I know this chapter may seem like a bunch of snippets in time, but it would even longer than forever to immortalize every little detail of the time spent in real life. Hence, I cut stuff down to the basics, but I tried to keep it as a smooth transition.

Anyway, back to the normal schedule moving forward. Thanks for reading! Please drop a review if you feel inclined to give your thoughts :)