Hey everyone. Ok, I know I always say that I'll get back to a usual schedule, but it was my birthday week. So I get a little slack. I turned twenty, by the way :3 Anywho... back to the sad, depressing, horrible life of Bella Swan.

Seven: The Beginning of the End

Bella didn't exactly wake up the next morning. Not all the way at first. Her eyes were too heavy to lift, but her mind was too restless to stay silent. And so, she felt her consciousness awake first. For a time after that, she could hear nothing but the muttering of familiar voices, echoing off of the far walls of unseen hallways. Footfalls that softly paced with worry along creaky old floors. And the slow, uneasy breathing of the room around her. Where was she? There was no background noise of a hospital, no static of a television from her living room. So where? After a long, dark silence, Bella opened her eyes.

The only light in the black room she lay in came from a small candle holder, which flickered softly within the shadows. The room that she was in was an old room for sure. The wood of the walls were decrepit and rotting, the floor covered in a thick layer of dust. Still examining her surroundings, Bella's eyes lead her to a small structure beside her. It was a stand holding an upside down blood pouch, a little machine pumping small squirts into her arm by the minute. The other pouch it held was clearly an IV drip, and was fed through her hand. Bella's mouth was dry and tasted like cotton. Her eyes were puffed out, and her stomach still crawled with hunger. Thankfully, her head had been propped up with two pillows, else she wouldn't have had the strength to look and see that her door was open a jar. After a moment, a figure gently made her way inside.

"Hello dear," came Esme's kind voice. The candle light flickered against the outlining of her soft body, her eyes woeful and sympathetic. She walked forward and laid her cold hand on Bella's forehead. "Good... your fever's broken. You had us quite worried." As Esme checked Bella's IV and blood pouches, Bella kept her eyes on her form. A small woman, Esme had a true mother's heart. Though Bella hadn't the time to really get to know her, Edward's adopted mother always came off as the gentlest of creatures. Her hair always in a messy bun, her gold eyes doleful and innocent. Bella wondered, randomly, how such a sweet woman could have ended up loving such a stern man as Carlisle. But it made no difference. Esme turned back to Bella and sat on her bedside, taking her hand comfortingly. She tried to smile, but Bella could see the clear worry behind that mask. "I'm going to make you some food. I'm sure you're very hungry. Does beef stew sound all right?"

Bella opened her mouth, trying hard to talk. The only thing that came out was a cracked groan. Esme pet her cheek. "Don't speak, dear. Just nod yes or no." She nodded. "Good then..." Esme ran her thumb along Bella's temple, allowing a wave of calm to spread over her body. Like morphine. Bella suddenly felt extremely tired, but managed to raise her hand to Esme's to stop her. The vampire blinked in surprise, but took her hand away. Bella let her cracked lips close and open, that horrible mucus taste swelling within her mouth. But she ignored it for now. Instead, she mustered up all her strength to actually speak.

"Where... is Edward?" she croaked. Esme's face twisted with sadness as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"He's hunting at the moment, dear." Despite her good intentions, Bella could spot her lie. "Don't worry about him." He was blaming himself. Bella knew he was. He was off somewhere, wallowing in his own shame and loathing. She wanted to protest, but had no more strength to speak. Esme stood then, still holding her hand. "You just wait here. I'll be back soon enough with some stew. You'll need strength." With another pet to her temple, Esme left her.

The whisper of her footsteps faded the farther she got, leaving Bella with an overwhelming sense of loneliness. Gingerly, she dragged herself up to a sitting position, letting her head rest against the windowless wall behind her. Her eyes were now able to see the floor beside her bed. Somehow, they had been able to retrieve her things. Her unopened suitcases and backpacks set up neatly in a corner of the room. The camera, given to her by Edward himself, lay cold on the table beside it. Woozy, she had to close her eyes for a moment more before she could settle her body again. Before she knew it, Esme was back with a bowl of hot beef stew. Only this time, she had a few other faces trailing behind her.

"Hey kiddo," came the ever up beat voice of Emmett Cullen. Though he wasn't as cheerful as he might have been under the circumstances. Beside his big body, Rosalie stood, her pale hand clutching his large forearm. Rosalie had the sort of body that women in old paintings had. Rounded, supple and exquisitely beautiful. Only her constant frown of worry stopped her from being completely celestial. And in front of them both sat the little, scrawny boy of Jasper. Fourteen, but raised to have the mind of a child, Jasper's big eyes were watering in the middle of his gray, ashen face. His dark pigment had been drained long ago the day he was turned, having been a young slave in his human life. The minute they all stepped inside, Jasper took off from where he was and threw himself onto Bella, hugging her tightly around the middle. Bella blinked in surprise, and softly pat his head.

Esme rubbed his back after setting the stew down on the tray beside her. "Don't hurt her, Jasper. She's still healing." Sniffing, Jasper pulled away only to curl up beside her like a lost puppy, hugging her arm. Emmett smiled sadly as he and Rosalie approached her, his large, shovel like hand going to squeeze her shoulder.

"Sorry you couldn't come back to us under better circumstances," he said kindly. Bella only nodded, still not being able to regain her voice, and brought her bowl of stew to her lap. She was sure that the stew was good on its own, but for someone who hadn't eaten in over three days, it was heavenly. With shaky hands, she was able to carefully feed herself little spoonfuls. "On the bright side, at least we found you in time. Any longer and you might have been – "

"Emmett," Rosalie snapped in a hush. There was an awkward moment between them all, but Bella didn't particularly care about semantics at this point. The more she sat up eating, the more she was able to gain back at least a little strength. She swallowed a chunk of beef before wiping her mouth with the back of her wrist.

"What happened to Alec?" A cold front fell over the room. At the mention of that name, no one dared even speak. That is, until yet another voice joined the conversation.

"He left the country yesterday." The others didn't turn as Carlisle entered the room. They probably already heard him coming. The man stepped into the light, his gold eyes a much darker shade than the others. Other than that, everything on him was either white or pale, including his blond hair. Carlisle walked forward, the others clearing a path for the doctor, and he put a thermometer in her mouth. "He left the country just a day after you went missing. I've informed the Volturi of what has happened, and they'll deal with him accordingly." Standing, Carlisle double checked her pouches and then removed the thermometer. "Back to normal it looks like."

Bella didn't blink, staring up at him. "Will he get away with it?" This question caused even Carlisle to hesitate. Esme carefully took hold of his arm, her eyes full of concern. After a moment, Carlisle put the pen back in his pocket.

"I don't know," he said honestly. Esme let her head droop, none of the others even able to look Bella in the eyes. "As much as I wish I could tell you different, there's nothing we can do about this. It's out of our hands."

A sudden wave of injustice flew over her. Her lips parted, and her insides twisted and tied in the most painful ways. "You mean... you're not even going to try – ?"

"There's nothing to try. Alec is a Volturi. Vampire royalty. And with us being Peace Keepers, we can't so much as send a complaint."

His blunt words were enough to make Bella physically flinch. It took a moment to really register, but after that second of numbness was over, a new misery began to settle over her. Seeing her eyes well to tears, Jasper sat on his knees and hugged her shoulders. She returned it weakly, glad to have at least some form of comfort. No matter how little it might have been. The others took this as their cue to excuse themselves, Esme turning away before her own tears could show.

"Bella." Carlisle's new, tender tone drew her attention back up to him. For the first time, Carlisle's stern and pointed face looked... human, to put it plainly. His eyes were sympathetic, his features softened and sad. "There's something else. Jasper, if you please?" The boy didn't want to, but he begrudgingly obliged and left the two of them alone. "Believe me when I say I don't want to tell you this. But I can't give you back to your father just yet."

Bella sniffed, rubbing her tears away with the heel of her palm. "Why?" she asked wretchedly. There was yet another stifling pause.

"Because you may be pregnant."

Bella's body froze over. Had she heard that right? Surely there was some misunderstanding. "That... h-how is that... no..."

Carlisle raised his hands to take hold of hers, trying to calm her down. "We don't know for sure. It's just a possibility. Alec is a genetic vampire, remember. He was born that way. Which means he can reproduce, unlike us."

Tears were now pouring down Bella's face without restraint. Her face was twisted in terror and misery. Reaching up, she gripped her oily hair, trying to stop herself from hyperventilating. Carlisle gripped her shoulders. "Calm," he said quietly. "Take a breath... Easy now." Oddly, Carlisle was able to get her to settle before she could be sent into hysterics. When her head lifted back up, Carlisle took out a cloth and wiped her tender, red eyes.

"We don't know for sure," he continued. "There have only been a few instances of vampire and human blood mixing. It's a rare thing. So you have just as much chance of not being pregnant at all. We just need to see, all right?"

"H-how soon will I know?"

"A typical pregnancy test won't detect it," he said. "So I have sent a sample of your blood to the lab at the hospital. I know what to look for in the results." An odd moment transpired then. A sweet moment, mind. A moment that Bella needed, but odd none the less. Like a father consoling his daughter, Carlisle brought Bella into a hug. It was a bit awkward, as Carlisle's body was stiff and wooden, but Bella could feel his intentions. His regret and his guilt. Those long, thin fingers went up to her hair and he pressed her there.

"I'm sorry," he heard him say. Bella's tears replenished then, but for a different reason. "I'm sorry, Bella. This should never have happened to you." Tilting her head to look at the back of his, she softly pat the lower end of his back before he pulled away. "Finish your food," he said, standing quickly. Still strong and poised, Carlisle turned from her, his silhouette blocking most of her candle light. "You'll need your strength."

Without a glance back at her, he was gone.

I swear, I'm not secretly depressed! I blame the Dead Island trailer music... By the way, are some of you having trouble with your email alerts? Last time I posted, I didn't get an email conformation... Just wanted to see if it was me.

Reviews so that I know who's still reading!

~T.