Creation

2. Comfort

At some point during the course of the morning Edward had situated himself on the couch in his bedroom. For hours he had been sitting, staring at Bella as she struggled to deal with the pain that he had inflicted the night before. It seemed to him that her cries were much quieter when he was in the room. Of course some of the loudness had been taken from her voice from all of the screaming she had done, but Carlisle had also said that at some point her vocal chords would fail, just as the rest of her body would.

Idly Edward wondered if she would fall into an exhausted sleep, or whether she was past that necessity. He couldn't remember if he had slept at all during his transformation. Then again the feeling of dying wasn't exactly something she could ignore for long enough to doze off. If sleep were on his own agenda, he seriously doubted that he would have been able to shut his eyes. That went for the rest of his family as well.

When he had left the living room that morning, Alice's head had been hidden under a pillow on the couch. She had caved under the stress of hearing a dear friend dying. It hadn't surprised him at all, really. Even her constant good mood needed a break. She would be back to normal when things were over, though. He wasn't worried about anyone. They would survive.

Edward dug Bella's ring out of his shirt pocket. It had been Carlisle's idea to ease the process if there were fewer trinkets and garments to get in the way. That suggestion explained her current state of half-dress. In her frustration at the lack of something to grab onto, Bella had begun to rip at the nightgown Esme had given to her. As a consequence, one of her long legs was bared, and the left strap of the gown was at risk of snapping.

Edward struggled with his emotions as he watched Bella through dark, thirsty eyes. One part of him was entirely taken with the vision of her writhing in pain on the bed. To him, it wasn't difficult to imagine her cries as cries of passion, and her movements cause by his own hands. The other part of him was guilty at thinking such things.

His thoughts strayed to the night of their wedding, a time that seemed so far away in his mind. The wedding had just been days earlier, and Bella hadn't wanted to spare any time in making her transition. But he had promised to uphold his end of the bargain. That night he had taken her in her human state of being, loved her as much as he was able. The restraint had been difficult, but she was so fragile and he was so afraid of breaking her.

"Oh. Bella," he sighed softly. "Am I such a monster for these thoughts?"

Turning her head to the side, Bella stared at Edward with eyes half-lidded in exhaustion. Her mouth was open, taking in heavy breaths, trying her best to compete with lungs that were slowly beginning to suffocate her. Her chest heaved with the struggle, threatening to spill her breasts from the torn garment. As if reading his mind, Bella reached up and clawed at the gown, breaking the strap and freeing herself from its confines.

"What was the purpose in that?" Edward asked.

"Can't…breathe," she gasped.

"You'll get over that," he assured. "After tomorrow you won't need to breathe."

A skeptical look came across Bella's face as she took in Edward's claim. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that what he said was true. But laying on her death bed, she couldn't help but wonder if he was only trying to comfort her. She worried that maybe the whole situation was a ruse. It was an unfounded fear, but one she couldn't shake.

Edward had picked up one of the sheets lying in the floor with intentions to cover Bella's exposed body. Not that it mattered if everyone in the house saw her nudity, but he wanted some things only for his eyes. Her body was at the top of that list. He was far too possessive of it.

"Are you cold?" he asked as he laid the sheet over her body. His hands lingered on her skin, still feeling the warmth of living flesh. She hadn't yet taken on the cold, stone-like quality that was characteristic of vampire skin.

"I hurt," she said pitifully, reaching out to pull him down to her level.

Edward took a seat on the edge of the bed at her unspoken command. Immediately he felt her warm hands wrap around his arm, squeezing and scratching. She was still such a frail creature, and he wondered if he would eventually get over their equality after the years they had spent together. He had always been the protector. Would she still see him that way after the change?

"Bella," he said as he lay down at her side. "I know that this is difficult for you, but it'll be over soon."

Closing his eyes, he tried his best to imagine the future. It was hard to see Bella as the blood-drinking, crazed newborn that she would become. He knew that it was only temporary, but the first few years he knew would be difficult for her. They would also be difficult for him as well since he would be the one teaching her how to survive in her new life.

"Edward," she gasped, taking in large breaths of air. "H-hold me."

It was easy to hear the tears in her wavering voice. She was ready to cry, though with all of the things happening, Edward couldn't figure out what one specific reason was the culprit. He assumed that there was nothing he could do but stay with her and comfort her as much as he could.

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A/N: Typically I completely write all of my multichaptered stories before I post the chapters, but like an idiot, I didn't do that for this story. Hopefully the last chapter will be posted in the next week or two. Have a paper due next week.

LLsiLindroLL is my AIM screen name if anyone wants to nag at me about posting.

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