A/N: For Sarah, my first fan of DoD 3

Samantha loved her, that was all that mattered. It was a mantra in her head as she stared down at the glittering engagement ring, a simple band with an ostentatious diamond. Eliza had been dating Sam for nearly three years, her longest relationship with anyone, male or female, they simply understood each other in the simplest of ways. It was not their relationship that she doubted, but the world's viewpoint upon it. In almost a thousand days together, Eliza had only met Sam's parents once, a tense and perilous dinner that ended with cowing, "Come home with a husband or don't come home at all!" Effectively ending any relationship he had with his daughter.

Thus, when Sam took Eliza up to Seattle to watch Aida on the big stage and popped the question as the cast bowed, fear filled the woman. Though Eliza was bisexual, Sam prefered only women, so logically she had nothing to fret over being blamed for, but still the worry nagged in Eliza's mind: was she ruining Sam's relationship with her parents by being with her? Logic stated it was not so, for Sam would always end up dating a woman, she would not force herself to enter a relationship with a person she was not attracted to, but still the thought persisted.

"Penny for your thoughts, Radimaze?" Sam asked with a playful grin, manicured nails gripped loosely on the steering wheel as she turned down the radio, Adele singing 'Hello'. The two had met when the Port Angeles theater produced a female-led version of Aida, where Eliza played the part traditionally held by a man, while Sam played the female lead and title character. They had spent so much time on the stage that their character's names had become pet names for one another.

"No, I'll take a dollar." She replied cheekily, grinning at her partner from the passenger seat of the Bronco, Sam's pride and joy. There was silence for a beat, before Eliza spoke again, "I need to tell my mom soon."

"What, that we're engaged or that we're leaving the country?" Sam pondered, spinning the wheel as they twisted their way down from a plateau. It was the most direct route back to the Rez, though it consisted of winding roads.

"Both." Eliza replied flatly, a frown tugging at her lips as she spun the ring around her finger. It was Sam's idea to use their degree to teach abroad, to explore before settling down. There was a restlessness in Sam she feared she would never satisfy, though it was also what drew her to the woman. "My mom is convinced vampires live in Italy."

They both laughed before Sam took her right hand and placed it on Eliza's thigh, her left hand still on the wheel. She squeezed slightly, "And the loch ness monster is really your cousin's girlfriend."

Eliza giggled at that, "Nessie is a rather nice girl, a bit young but still pretty." Sam threw her a look as they turned the final bend, a playful one of suspicion, as if asking if she should be worried. "Not my type though, I like my girl with fire in her gut-" The sentence was replaced with a sharp gasp as her seatbelt locked into place, throwing her forward an inch before flinging her backwards as a horrible crunch tore through the air.

The car accident took five seconds in total, from the moment of impact to when Eliza opened her eyes, though it felt like a small eternity. There was a sizzle in the air, the smell of smoke and gasoline. Had they hit something, someone? Blood dripped into her eyes, the first sign of harm and Eliza squinted through the grey, where was Sam?

"Samantha?" Dread coiled like a viper in the pit of her stomach, "Oh god, Sam? Aida? Please!" A sob shook her entire frame, the car was split in two, as if someone had sliced it cleanly in half, separating the driver's side from the passenger's.

"Samantha? Sam?" A voice echoed in a sneer, "Oh god…!" Cruelty in the form of laugher rang in Eliza's ears as a woman, no a creature, appeared before her.

Her limbs were slow to respond as she yanked at her seatbelt, desperate to free herself from the entrapment, her instincts screaming to run, run, run. Red eyes bore into her, moving purposely slow despite how quickly she had moved before. Eliza squirmed, yanking and pulling on the buckle as the monster appeared in front of her, breathing heavily, taking in her fear. The monster's eyes morphed from red to black just as she opened her mouth inhumanly wide, revealing a perfect, sharp set of teeth. Pain, harsh and biting racked Eliza as the creature pierced her neck, draining her of her life's blood.

A thousand thoughts filled a second's worth of time, regret, sorrow, longing. A whimper unvoiced as she desperately thought of Sam, hoping she was okay, needing her to be okay, thinking of her a moment before, laughing and teasing.

"Penny for your thoughts, Radimaze?" Eliza jumped, startled out of her mind upon hearing Sam's voice, the soft music playing from the radio. She glanced around, eyes wild, they were driving down the road, Sam moved to place her non-driving hand on Eliza's leg.

"Stop the car, Samantha!" Her voice was shrill, panicked and made Sam jump. Eliza never called her by her full name, unless she was scared or angry.

"Eliza, what's wrong?" Sam asked, lessening their speed but still continuing down the road, they were approaching the final bend.

"Stop the mother fucking car!" In her panic, Eliza reached for the wheel, sending them twisting and turning before the car buckled against a tree, leaving both driver and passenger in a daze, but remaining together. The world was spinning, blood dripping into her eyes from the same head wound she had before, was time repeating itself, or was she losing her mind?

"Sam? Oh, god, Sam!" Her fingers reached out in the dark, entangling with Sam's own digits. Relief and fear whirled into one, what had she done?

"Sam? Oh god Sam!" A voice mimicked, cold and uncaring.

"No...no, no, no, no no…." The creature was back, eyes of red turning dark as the scent of blood filled the air. Eliza watched, helpless, as she moved towards the injured women, though this time she seemed to sniff, eyes returning to crimson as the monster moved towards Sam instead of Eliza this time.

"Mate…" The word was broken, filled with horrified realization as the creature turned away from Eliza and moved towards the other injured party. The monster cradled Samantha towards her like a broken doll as the world went black.

When Eliza opened her eyes, she was being held and for a moment she thought it was Sam's arms she was in. A siren wailed in the distance, growing louder as it approached. "Miss?" The voice was familiar in an unknown way, like she had heard it a long time ago.

"Her name is Elizabeth, she's looking for a Sam." Another voice supplied, seeming uncomfortable, restless even. How did he know such things?

She blinked open her eyes once more, this time focusing on the face of a blond man with eyes of honey gold. "Dr. Cullen?" Only one man had looks like his, kindness leaking from his eyes. "Where's Sam?" 'Where's Aida?' She thought, not daring to voice it.

The doctor's face hardened before softening in a practiced fashion, like a man used to giving bad news. 'It's all my fault…' Her last thought was of the red-eyed monster, of death. As she slipped back into unconsciousness, she did not see the faces of the men who had come to rescue her from the crash, conversing in quick, soft voices, planning how to cover up the mess another of their kind had created.

A/N:

A flashback before we spring back to the present. I'd love to hear your theories/predictions for this fic!