A/N: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter 3: No Place That Far

Carlisle POV

"Bella is turning," Edward said.

I stood up from the couch in my current home in Chicago. We had moved there after Bella's disastrous birthday party. When I mean we, it was actually only Jasper, Alice, Esme and I. Emmett and Rosalie took off for Europe. Edward had never let us know where he ended up, so this call was even more surprising. It was on his insistence that we leave the small town of Forks, Washington in the hopes of protecting the love of my son's existence. So this call was disconcerting on many levels.

"Edward, what do you mean that Bella is turning?" I asked. "What happened?"

"Apparently, Bella likes to live dangerously these days."

"Just tell me what's going on Edward!" I yell.

"I don't have much time, but I will give you the basics. The vampire I was tracking through South America made a u-turn, lost me, and headed back to Forks. She managed to get by the dogs in the Quileute tribe and attack Bella and bite her, and then she left Bella to the dogs." He gave a long shuddering sigh. "I need you here Carlisle. She is in so much pain, and even though I know what is going on with her, I can't stand to see her in pain. We are going to need to teach her everything, and I think it might be better if the rest of the family were here to help. I don't know how she feels about me at this point, and I don't want to distress her further…"

"Calm down son. I know how much she means to you," I tell him, calmly. "How far along is she?"

"This is only the first day," he whispers. "I am so afraid of something going wrong. What will happen if I can't keep up with her?"

"Edward. She has a couple more days of the change to go through. I will head out to you right now, and the others will join us shortly. Please, don't panic. Sit with her and try to calm her, if you can. She will be in a lot of pain, but she will get through it. I hope to be there by early tomorrow morning. Just let me get there, and then we can see what to do from there."

Edward sighs again. "Thank you Carlisle. I will see you then."

I click the phone shut and then call out to everyone. "Esme, Alice, Jasper…"

A few seconds later, everyone is in the room with me. I get right to the point. "That was Edward on the phone…"

Alice starts jumping up and down. "What did he say? Where is he? What is he doing? When is he coming home?" This was said all in a flurry of hurried words and phrases. It is at times like these that I appreciate having the ability to understand the fast speak.

"Well, right now, he is in Forks."

Esme looks up at me, alarmed at this turn of events. "He's in Forks? Is that were he has been all along?"

"I don't know," I say calmly. "But we have other problems as well. Bella has been bitten."

All three of them look at me with wide eyes. "Alice…didn't you see anything about this?"

"Nothing specifically," she says. She seems excited at the prospect. "I have been seeing Bella as a vampire in my visions for a long time now. That never changed, no matter what decisions Edward made. Those visions were always set in stone, I was just never sure of the timing."

"Well, I think we have the timing down now. I need to get there so I can help support him and Bella. Can all of you follow me shortly? The sooner I get there, the better," I ask.

"Of course," Esme says. "I will also contact Emmett and Rose and let them know what has happened."

"Thank you." I gathered my keys, kissed Esme goodbye, and hopped into the car to start the long drive to Washington. Well, here it is. The point in time that Edward hoped would never come, and the time that the rest of us hoped for. I pray that everything will go well, and maybe our family could be whole once again. And I am glad the Bella can finally be a part of it.

Edward POV

After getting off the phone with Carlisle, I look down once again to the beautiful angel in my lap. The beautiful angel that is currently in pain due to the transformation into her immortal body. Bella, how could this happen to you? This wasn't supposed to happen!

I sat there for another hour or so, and I then decided that laying down might be better for her. I picked her up and carried her up the stairs to the spare bedroom right next to mine. If only I had a bed in my room…

I laid her down on the bed. She was dry, but her clothes were stiff with seawater, and she really didn't look comfortable. I decided to change her into one of the shirts in my closet and cleaning her up a bit. Even during her worst moments of pain, I could still see the beautiful woman lying before me. She was my whole world, and now, I hoped she could truly be with me forever. I know that things will be hard for her. I will just have to convince her of my love for her. But I won't push her. We have eternity to come back together. And I will not leave her unless she asks me to. I she doesn't I will stay by her side forever.

I laid with her all night, soothing her cries when the pain got to much. My hand never left hers. Each moment, I spent listening to the beat of heart. I know it would stop eventually, but while it still beat, I would gladly listen to it until it finally stopped beating. Until the beautiful human girl finally turned into…a vampire.

As the sun rose on the second day, she started becoming more restless. She started talking a little bit. It reminded me of when she used to sleep talk. However, most of the words that came through were "burning", "pain" and "Edward". But the hardest thing to hear was when she whispered "Edward, please save me…" My heart broke for her at that moment. I didn't know what else I could do. Even after leaving her, it seemed like she still wanted me to save her. But I knew that I had failed miserably to save her this time. Oh Bella…I am so sorry!

In the late morning, I finally heard a car outside the house. Thankfully, Carlisle was here. He quickly came into the house, and because of Bella's moaning in pain, he knew exactly where we were. As he entered the bedroom, he went directly up to her, and starting assessing her condition. He checked her eyes, and he could tell she still had a heartbeat, even if it was erratic, as it had been all that morning. I let him do what he needed to do. I knew it would help him give me better answers to the questions that I needed to ask.

Once he was done, I begun by asking, "How is she?"

"Well, she seems to be moving right along. It seems she is about at the second day stage. However, I must warn you that it will only get worse before it gets better."

Bella seemed to have heard him, because all of the sudden the turned on her side and curled up into the fetal position, and then proceeded to start screaming again. Carlisle saw my distressed face, and he tried to calm me down. "Edward, you know she has to go through this. It is unfortunate, but it is the only way."

"I know. I just never liked seeing her in pain!"

"The calmer you are," Carlisle said, "the calmer she will be."

"Thank you, and thank you for being here," I said.

I stayed with her the next two days. I would bath her when she sweat too much from the pain and the fire of the change, and when that stopped, I just held her. About midday on the third day, she finally lay silently. Her heartbeat was very slow, and I was holding her hand while I put my head on her chest while listening to her slowing heartbeats. Just then I heard a beautiful sound.

"Edward?" I lifted my head up off of her chest and looked her in the eye.

"Bella, love? How do you feel?" I asked.

"Edward, what are you doing here?" She looked at me with a curious expression, but looked very tired as well. Her face was very pale, like she was only moments from death…which I knew she was, in a sense.

"Bella, when I found you out in the woods, I knew there was no way that I could leave you out there all alone like that. I have been by your side the last 2 days."

"But Edward, why? I know you don't love me anymore, so why would you try to help me?"

"Love, what I said that day, was the most horrendous lie I have ever spoken. You were the best thing that has ever happened to me. I realized that while I was gone. When I found you that day in the woods, I was coming back for you. I couldn't spend another moment without you, no matter what state I found you in. I love you so much Isabella, don't you see that?" I looked at her with as much love and hope as I could so that she would truly understand the meaning of my words.

Then, right before the last beat of her beautiful heart, she looked at me with love in her eyes and said, "I love you Edward, foreve…" and then she shut her eyes, her breaths stopped and her heart gave one last thump…

And Isabella Marie Swan died.

A/N: Ok, come on everyone! I want to see those reviews! And no, this is not the end of the story, not by a long shot!