Forwarding Note:

We all deal with the tragic roller coasters in life, but it is up to us to be strong, to be the percentage that

gives a fuck about another human being no matter the circumstances. Karma is one hell of a thing...

THE EVIL NEVER OUTLASTS THE GOOD.

This chapter is dedicated to you readers and reviewers. 'Cause life fucking licks balls without you. *hugs and hearts*

Shena

FINALE PART 2

(LONG)

-*-EPOV-*-

Our Farewell (Within Temptation):

In my hands
A legacy of memories
I can hear you say my name
I can almost see your smile
Feel the warmth of your embrace
But there is nothing but silence now
Around the one I loved
Is this our farewell?

Sweet darling, you worry too much, my child
See the sadness in your eyes
You are not alone in life
Although you might think that you are

Never thought
This day would come so soon
We had no time to say goodbye
How can the world just carry on?
I feel so lost when you are not at my side
But there is nothing but silence now
Around the one I loved
Is this our farewell?

I watched in horror as the ember ignited and started to singe her hair, effectively sending smoke and the stench of singed, blackened human hair into the air. I gasped as I reached up to brush the embers away with my deformed hand. The ember of straw sputtered at first, but then died down as my hand provided starvation of the oxygen it needed to continue its heated torture. When I pulled my hand away from her freshly singed hair, I slowly grasped her shoulder and turned her so that I could look at her face. She was eerily still, and didn't even bother to wither when I pulled the ropes from her bound wrists.

Even in the pale light that still illuminated the small, dirty old barn, I could see the burn marks that viciously covered half her face. Straw stuck to the side of her cheek and her eye on that side was half-closed. The sobs that threatened to consume me came without shame. I picked her up and hugged her gently, as to not cause her anymore pain, to my chest. There, on the barn floor, in the dirty air, in the pale light of the overhead fluorescent lights, I rocked with her in my arms, the tears dropping from my eyes and falling into her dirty, partially-burned chestnut brown hair.

I could feel her shallow breathing against my solid chest, her chest rising slowly against mine. I could feel, with every breath she took, it getting more and more shallow.

"Bella, please don't go," I begged, placing my cheek to her burned face. "Please don't leave me here."

I pulled Bella away from my chest just enough to hook my arms under her knees and lift her limp body in my arms. I made my way to the barn doors, which now stood ajar thanks to Rosalie's escape after setting fire to the hay, and walked with her in my arms into the cold, windy October night.

"I didn't leave you, Bella," I said softly, looking down at her face while walking to the end of the trees that lined the orchard. "I was here the whole time. Return the favor, Isabella. Stay for me," I begged of her as I laid her upon the cold leaves that littered the orchard floor and stroked the unburned side of her face.

I heard a small, wheezing gasp escape her slightly open lips, and I brushed my fingertips across them. The portion of her lips that were burned where chipping pieces of skin and a small bubble of saliva had developed in the corner of her newly-deformed lips. That half of her mouth was burned upward in a sick, painful smile.

"Bella, listen to me," I told her, even though I knew she could not hear me. "I'm going to heal you, alright? You . . . you need to be here. You need to live for me, Bella," I told her, softly rubbing her forehead as I looked into her eyes. "I love you."

I lifted my hand, completely prepared to scar myself, to take away her pain, her suffering. To make sure that she would not become a memory in my heart, or a name in a carving, or a poem I would only recite to myself.

Before I could even get the energy to call upon the blue, healing light and the dull hum, I heard her gasp deeply. Looking down at her face, even in the darkness of the moonless night, I could see her eyes flutter open and a gurgle and cough as she fought for air to fill her lungs. Her eyes looked around fleetingly until they located my own wide, desperately-bright eyes.

"Bella!" I shouted in desperate, welcomed relief.

I wanted to bend down and touch my lips to hers, but I refrained, afraid that I would hurt her if I did so. Instead, I touched her cheek softly and smiled at her. I caught her expression and the smile dropped from my face.

"Edward," she gasped so softly that I had to bend down to hear her. "Don't."

"Don't what, Bella?" I asked her, closing my eyes briefly, hoping I'd heard her incorrectly.

Her face twisted in pain, and her lips barely moved.

"Don't . . . heal," she choked out, closing her eyes again.

"Bella!" I shook her gently, "Bella, please don't close your eyes! Stay awake! Bella, I have to heal you. I can't, no . . . won't, live without you. Do you understand?"

"Promise," she whispered, opening her eyes slightly to look at me from under her heavy lids.

"No, I can't let you go! DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME!" I roared at her, unwilling to listen to what she was asking of me.

"Let me go, Edward," she said, lifting her hand in a tired gesture to touch my arm. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you fucking apologizing? Sorry for what? You're going to be fine, Bella," I assured her, clasping my hand over hers that was resting on my arm. "I'm going to heal you, Bella. Losing you is a far greater loss to me than skin. Than these fucking bones! I would die for you, Isabella, but don't you dare do the same." The tears started to once again explode from my eyes as I looked down at her and saw the truth smacking me in the face.

She was dying.

And she was begging me not to heal her; wanting me to promise.

"Just promise," she whispered, letting her hand fall from my arm.

"But I just found you. You don't know how you changed things for me, made me understand that I am not alone in the world; that there are people worth being with, worth sharing my gift with . . . worth loving. You walked into that fucking orchard because you were sent to me!" The tears spilled onto her face, but I let them fall, unabridged. "You told me that everyone had buried secrets, and that nobody was perfect, but you were wrong. You are perfect, Bella, and I am begging you not to separate from me," I sobbed, watching as her head turned to the side and her eyes lulled open and closed. "I can fix this."

She did not answer me. Whether it was because she knew there was no way I could fix it, or because she was just too weak, was unclear. I could see that she was fading away, and the pain in my chest grew with uncontrolled pressure. It felt as if my heart was going to explode. I looked down at her through watery, blurry eyes and did the only thing I could ever really do for her.

I promised her.

"Bella…" I whispered, reaching my hand around her neck to lift her head slightly. "Bella…"

I hugged her gently to my chest, the silent acknowledgement that I would abide by her promise understood by us both as the moon peaked its rays over the spot at the edge of the big, expansive apple orchard that we had both come to know as Eden. The place in which I had found my Eve, and she had found her Adam, the place where we had made love for the first time, the place where I whittled the carving for her, and the place where the dream catcher she gave to me once hung on the bark, the dark feathers blowing in the chilly wind.

I felt the small heave of her chest against mine, and then there was nothing.

I knew, then, that she was gone. There was nothing I could do but hold her cool body against mine, and rock with her in my arms. The sobbing came relentlessly and without shame. My hand curved around the top of her head, and I pulled my lips to her ear. For though I knew she could never hear the words I was about to speak, they said everything. In a shaky, sobbed filled voice, I recited the poem; the one I was going to recite to her the night Carlisle chased her from Eden. The one I started to say, but never got the chance to share with her:

I never felt a thing
before you touched my heart
and when you touched my body,
I thought I'd fall apart.
When you kiss my lips,
I feel you deep within my soul
then you wrap your arms around me
and say you'll never let me go.
When I tremble at your tenderness
and melt in your arms,
I know you really love me,
and you'll keep me safe from harm
you know I've never loved
or been loved in any kind of way-

But now, there was another verse which I had to add:

So I cry for my loss and the things I am about to give away

With nothing left to do, I moved my lips away from her ear and gently laid her down on the hard, cold, dirty earth. Her body was limp and catatonic. I reached up to her still-beautiful face, stroked her cheek with my fingers, then, with all the bit of strength I had left, I reached up and closed those beautiful, chocolate brown eyes for the final time.

And then, I lay down beside her on the same hard, cold, filthy earth, clasped her increasingly colder hand in mine, and wept.

-*-RPOV-*-

Sweet Sacrifice (Evanescense):

It's true, we're all a little insane.
But it's so clear,
Now that I'm unchained.

Fear is only in our minds,
Taking over all the time.
Fear is only in our minds but it's taking over all the time.

You poor sweet innocent thing.
Dry your eyes and testify.
You know you live to break me. Don't deny.
Sweet sacrifice.

One day I'm gonna forget your name,
And one sweet day, you're gonna drown in my lost pain.

I stopped running and turned to the darkness behind me slightly. Off in the distance, the barn was now fully engulfed in the ravages of fire. The flames should have gotten to the both of them by now. I turned back to make my way to the burning barn. I would have to play my part, still. I would tell Carlisle of Edward and Bella's defiance; their secret meetings in the barn, since he had chased them from the orchard. He knew of my plan only to a degree. He had no idea of my ability to light fires with my concentration, and I would, of course, leave that noticeably out of my explanation. Carlisle would ask about my face, I knew that. That was something I would have to figure out before his eyes rested upon my new face, minus the wide laceration to one eye and cheek.

"Edward said he was going to use candles for light, so he wouldn't alert anyone that they were in there," I would tell him, hugging him close and forcing sobs to clench my throat. "He knew the dangers of fire," I would add for pity.

"Shit," I whispered to myself.

The trees I was passing were the ones I went past earlier. I'd never been in the orchard this deep before, and I was lost as I left the main path and followed the dense trees that surrounded me from all sides. I started walking back slowly, trying to find my way out of the puzzle of trees. I looked up into the night sky to see if I could see the smoke from the burning barn, so that I could follow it to take me back to the right track. I could see the slight plumes of smoke in the distance to my left, so I turned that way and walked among the dead, bare trees.

This night was shaping into one that was unexpected, but worked to my advantage. I didn't count on Edward even bothering to go into Eden, since the bitch left him. I regretted using him as bait, but he overstepped his boundaries; was going to stop me from being normal. I purposely set fire to his pants, knowing he had plenty of time to shift out of them, but still giving me plenty of time to get back to Bella, who was still unconscious and bound in the barn. I had not counted on his little trip to the barn, though. I underestimated him; there was no doubt in that.

I had waited an entire year, a year with a deformed face and hand, with the knowledge of what happened that night. I even thought maybe it was just some fucked up delusion that I had from the smoke inhalation. But, when I saw Bella for the first time, walking through the trees late at night, her thin pajamas swaying in the wind, I knew I had to try it. I refused to be a fucking freak anymore. I refused to waste my life hiding away, for fear of ridicule and teasing. The reaction of Emmett no longer bothered me like it once did. After the fire and my face became the object of ugly despair, I stopped even believing that I could heal, that I could possibly reverse the healing.

Until I saw her; saw Bella.

I could see how Edward looked at her perfectly unflawed skin. The way he was enamored with her beauty. It angered me. She was getting the attention that I so craved! That I used to get! Jealousy meshed with anger, and I was determined to do whatever it took to get what I wanted. I had never wanted Edward to heal me. Because the regret of what I would do would be evident on his face every day that I looked at him. As for her, there was a cold indifference with her immediately. I couldn't give a shit about her.

I ducked through the trees and finally caught sight of the orange, white-hot flames through the broken limbs ahead of me. I was a few steps from the outer edge of the tree line when I saw movement on the ground. I tightened my walking up so that I was a little more silent as I stepped out of the trees. At first, I could see nothing but dark earth, but as the orange flames poured from in between the slats of the barn, I could just make out two figures lying on the ground.

I backed up slightly, not altogether sure who the figures were. I heard what sounded like crying from one, but the other was stock still. Turning my back slightly to the trees as I made a wide circle around them, my right foot skidded on a wet leaf and a snapping of a twig resounded loudly into the nearly-silent night.

"Fucking cocksucker," I seethed, watching as the figure farthest from me popped up quickly and looked around.

The light from the fire caught me just as his eyes locked on mine in a bitter, unloving glare.

Edward.

My eyes shifted to the figure lying on the ground, unmoving. Bella laid still, her eyes tightly shut, and her right hand across her heart. Even from the distance in which I was shrouded, I could see that her chest did not rise.

"I'm going to fucking kill you, you bitch," Edward assured me, the look in his eyes confirming this threat.

I watched as he wiped his nose on his sleeve. He was still in his boxer shorts, which were filthy and ashy, and had holes in them.

"Edward," I murmured, "You should really rethink that theory. You know I will win. Just let me do the talking. You won't have to say anything. All you need to do is agree," I reassured him, walking sideways, my hands finding the tree trunks behind me as I did so.

I knew he had no intention of letting me go without a fight. I knew that she was dead on the ground, and I knew he would expect me to pay for that. Fleetingly, for an instant, there was a feeling of remorse. It quickly subsided when I saw Edward walk toward me, a look of pure rage across his features.

"Edward," I called, "I have no issues lighting you the fuck on fire again, and this time, I'll aim higher," I boasted, staggering backward toward the burning barn.

He said nothing as he came toward me, his fist curled up at his sides.

"Did you fucking hear me? I'm going to kill you, Edward. Like I did with that little whore lying over there," I invoked.

"There is nothing on this planet worth living for anymore, Rosalie, you made sure of that," he said. "How long?"

"How long what?" I asked, stopping my retraction as he stopped himself in front of me.

"How long did you know you could transfer the burns, Rose?" he asked calmly.

"Since the fire," I replied, pressing my hand automatically to my new face, as if to make sure it was still unblemished. "Since I transferred them to you."

"And you thought it would be a good time to transfer them again? Why not me, Rose?"

"You never gave me a chance to! You never slept, Edward. And when you did, you would always make sure it was in this damn orchard! She was easy. She was a walking target, Edward. Vulnerable, alone . . . she was asleep half the time, for fuck's sake," I spat at him. "I didn't think she would die, Edward. Not from a simple transfer of my burns!"

It was the truth. I knew the fire would get to her eventually, but I had no idea that the transferring of my burned, desecrated skin would be her death. But then, I didn't know how the transferring worked. I had no idea if it was like being in a fire, with your face being charred and raw with pain, or what. I didn't really have time to think, or care, about that.

He said nothing. Instead, he walked slowly, fluidly again. Walking closer to me as I backed up against the side of the burning barn. His eyes were fixed on my face, as if he was admiring the new flesh that wrapped around my bones. He stopped suddenly, and cocked his head.

"You know what, Rose?" he asked, a small, unnerving sneer unfurling across his face. "Death is too good for you."

I saw his eyes dart above me at the eve of the barn roof. Quickly, his eyes returned to mine and he started his ascension once more. I could not back up anymore, because my back was against the hot, expanding wood, blocking my way.

"Death is an evoking emotion, Edward." I replied, feeling my way across the hot planks of wood behind me. "We all do it sometime or another."

"Some sooner than others, Rosalie," he shot back, still coming toward me, eyes ablaze.

Suddenly, in a move that was both unexpected and surprisingly fast, Edward reached up to the eve of the roof that hung down from the intense heat of the fire, and yanked it down with his hand, so that the burning wood fell upon us both, knocking me to the ground and pinning the lower half of my body under the ashy wood.

I gasped in pain as the wood crushed my body tightly. I tried to move my legs, to free myself from the wood-prison, but the planks were too heavy, and the small fire that engulfed the top of the pile stopped me from pulling the planks free. I doubted I could free myself even if there was no fire. I was laying half inside the gaping hole that once belonged to part of the roof, and which, now, had dangerously low hanging beams exposed, and half outside the tree line.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Edward struggle to get out of the heavy material that trapped him to the ground. Finally, after kicking himself free of the wood, and with bleeding scratches on his legs, he stood and brushed the dirt off his legs and walked over to me. His face, at first, was impassive; unimpressionable, as he bent down to look me in the face.

"Get it over with, already," I gritted my teeth, and gasped at the painful pressure the lumber placed on my legs. "Kill me."

"You haven't been listening, Rose. I told you . . . death is too good for you. Too easy," he said.

The expression he wore on his dirty, scratched face left no doubts in my mind. I saw him cock his hand back as far as he could, and slam it into my face, causing the laceration from the pulley to throb in protest.

I was fucked…

-*-EPOV-*-

Fight Inside (Red):

Enemy, familiar friend
My beginning and my end.
Knowing truth, whispering lies
And it hurts again.

What I fear and what I've tried,
Words I say and what I hide.
All the pain, I want it to end
But I want it again.

And it finds me
The fight inside is coursing through my veins.
And it's raging
The fight inside is breaking me again.

I'm still the same, pursuing pain.
Is it worth all that I've gained?
We both know how this will end,
But I'd do it again.

I really wanted to kill this fucking bitch, sister or not. Her blood relation to me didn't matter anymore. Nothing did. The thing I found that had made my life bearable – livable – was no longer breathing. But I could change that. Would change that. I was smarter than her fucking bleached blonde ass thought I was.

I smashed my fist into her face with all my might again, making her head rock back in fast succession from the first punch. I heard, and saw, the first flow of blood crack from her nose as she gasped in pain.

"Is that all you have?" she taunted, the blood flowing down her nose, into the crevice between her lips. "Still weak."

"I don't want to hurt you too much. You're not the only one that would be affected by that," I told her, turning myself around and heading back to the shadowy tree line.

"What are you doing?" she called across the empty area.

I didn't answer her. Instead, I walked back over to where I had laid Bella earlier and knelt down beside her, taking her cold hand that was draped across her heart, into my hand. I looked down at her face, which, other than the burns that disfigured half of it, looked peaceful and serene. I took my deformed hand and stroked her cheek softly, unspoken words and unadulterated emotions filling my tired, sore eyes.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Rose shouted once again, her voice hoarse.

"Shut up!" I yelled at her from over my shoulder.

Turning back to Bella, I brought my lips down to her ear and softly whispered to her.

"I know I promised not to heal you, but I'm going to do it anyway. You have to trust me, Bella," I told her lifeless form in a hushed tone. "I am going to fix this. Like I promised I would," I told her quietly, releasing her hand and getting to my feet beside her.

I had to try; had to use what little hope I had. She was the one ray of light that brightened up even the darkest of nights in my life. I had an idea, one which I had no clue if it would work, but I was willing to try it. And if I had to sacrifice myself to do it, I would.

For her. For Bella.

I bent down, and for the second time tonight, hooked my arm under her knees and the other around her back, and lifted her, kissing her cold, chapped lips before walking with her in my arms toward the burning barn, and toward Rose.

"You can't help her, Edward! You're being stupid."

"Am I?"

I placed Bella gently an arm's length away from where Rose was trapped on the ground.

"You see, Rose, I'm wondering, since it worked out so nice for you, if I could do the same thing. Conduction is relative. Two people in between a conductor," I told her, placing my good hand on Bella's chest, "that conductor being me, could possibly transfer," I told Rose, placing my deformed hand upon her back, "and pass between whoever I am touching at that particular moment," I said. "Like a human magnet."

The look on her face told me that it sunk in. She was aware, fully aware, of what I was about to try. Her lips curved downward in a frown, and her struggle to get free of her prison increased. Her hand flew to my hand that was still lightly upon her back, as she tried to pry it away. But my grip was too much for her.

"You're going to fucking kill yourself; passing healing through your body to transfer it between two people. Are you fucking serious?" Rose spat, still struggling to pry my hand from her back.

"I'm deadly serious, yes. I am going to try. What good am I to her," I said, pointing at Bella on the ground, "If I didn't?"

With the crackling of the barn in the background, I closed my eyes, concentrating as hard as I could. As one withered against my touch, and the other remained still and cold as ice, I could hear the slight hum and see the blue flash behind my eyelids.

I was attempting something that would bring Bella back . . . or kill me.

As things stood at the moment, one interconnected with the other. If this didn't work, I would die anyway. I would heal her by myself then, taking engrossing death onto me; collapsing my soul and sacrificing it for her to live, to breathe again….

Then, only then, would I truly live.

-*-BPOV-*-

Pale (Within Temptation):

The world seems not the same,
Though I know nothing has changed.
It's all my state of mind,
I can't leave it all behind.
Have to stand up to be stronger.

Have to try to break free
From the thoughts in my mind.
Use the time that I have,
I can't say goodbye,
Have to make it right.
Have to fight, cause I know
In the end it's worthwhile,
That the pain that I feel slowly fades away.
It will be alright.

I know, should realize
Time is precious, it is worthwhile.
Despite how I feel inside,
Have to trust it'll be all right.
Have to stand up to be stronger.

Oh, this night is too long.
Have no strength to go on.
No more pain, I'm floating away.
Through the mist see the face
Of an angel, who calls my name.
I remember you're the reason I have to stay.

I opened my eyes and was immediately shrouded in bright lights. I shielded my eyes from the obtrusive light as I sat up slowly. The light subsided, and I lowered my hands from my face. I felt familiar textures as my hands hit the ground on either side of me.

I looked down and saw the same twigs, rocks and dirt that I could find in Eden. I lifted my head up to see what was in front of me. I gasped at the sight before me. I was in Eden, the same familiar trees swaying in the small breeze that came out of nowhere; the trees were no longer bare, however. The trees were full and luscious; apples as red as could be hung from the green leafy foliage. Everything in Eden glowed; the trees, the apples, the dirt, the daylight was one big, bright light.

I stood quickly and looked around for someone, anyone, who might be here, as well. There was no one.

"Edward?" I called out. My voice seemed to echo and dissipate somewhere in the distance.

Where was I? Was I dead? Was I dreaming?

I caught sight of the glowing path that led into the clearing and started to follow it. The path was familiar. Not just in the fact it was a part of Eden, but I felt as if I had done what I was doing now; somehow repeating.

I stepped, a moment later, into the clearing that Edward and I had come to use every night. Everything looked the same, except for the two large, wooden carvings that stood in the middle of the clearing. I then understood why I thought I knew this place. I had dreamed of it once.

I closed my eyes quickly and tried to remember the vivid dream I once had, the one that I never explained to Edward:

I visited Eden. I had walked along the same road, the same path there. I was not sleeping this time, nor was I visiting a dead Eden. The trees were full of apples and blossoms. The pink and white buds falling like heavy snow in the winter. The bark was a light shade of chocolate brown as my hands curved over them. The path in the clearing Edward showed me was now bathed in the brightest sunlight; the rays illuminating the finer branches that littered the ground. I walked forward into the empty clearing. The logs were gone, replaced by two full sized carvings made from the trees that surrounded me. One, the one on the right, was a striking resemblance to me. My features etched in the bark with precision and care. I was wearing a replica of the pajamas I wore the first night I met Edward. The other carving was of Edward. Again, the resemblance was striking. Unable to resist, I reached out to touch his carving; my hands lingering and brushing over his face, the intricate curve the wood made on his shoulders. My hands curved to touch his wooden ones. As soon as my warm skin found his fingers, the carvings hands had started to open. Light poured from the opening at his hands. I gasped and took a few steps back. Hesitating a little, I moved closer when the light faded. I reached my hand inside the hollow spot his now departed hands made. My hands found something hard and smooth. I extracted my hands. Inside the small, pale palm of my hand, there lied the carving that now hung around my neck. There was one difference; the male carving on the tree was gone. Just the female remained.

I opened my eyes and looked down at myself, and sure enough, I was wearing the same pajamas as the first night I met Edward, as did the carving that now stood erected in the clearing.

"Edward," I breathed quietly, looking across from my carving to his.

It was the perfect replica of him. His carved eyes still held light inside them, and his hands, which remained closed, had am immense light pouring from in between whittled wood. I wanted to reach out, much like I did in my dream, but I kept my hands beside me. I circled the two carvings in the clearing, not sure what I was doing here

"Where am I?" I questioned myself.

There was a slight cracking sound emanating from Edward's' carving. I quickly swung my eyes over to his carving. The carved hands started to open slowly, casting a shadow, brightness filled the clearing now. It was so bright, I found myself sheathing my eyes once again. The cracking continued as the hands began to open further and further until they were fully opened and the light evaporated as fast as it had come.

I walked over, infinitesimally slow, to the newly opened hands. I reached inside the hollow of the hands, much as I remembered doing in the dream. As I hit something cold and smooth, a soft, musical low voice, sounding distant, floated from the dark space inside the dark space of the open hands.

"Come on, Bella," the soft voice pleaded. "Come on!" The desperation in the voice hurt me to hear.

"Edward?"

The voice softly repeated the pleading. The voice, now clearer, but still sounding far away, was Edward's. I would know that voice anywhere.

"This has to work," the echoing voice resounded from inside the hands.

I suddenly knew that I was not in a dream, as I first thought. This place was not a sanctuary for my unconscious thoughts. This was a place I had come, only on a spiritual level. As I realized that this was my interpretation of heaven. It had Eden. Eden was my heaven. I backed up away from the brightly lit clearing. I didn't want to be here. I wanted to be with Edward. I didn't belong here, yet.

As if Heavens version of Eden agreed, the brightness of the lights flickered; fading into darkness. The trees began to lose the pink and white flowers; becoming bare and dead once more, and I could feel a chill upon my body as if the winter had come in that instant. I gasped as the air whipped solidly around me, causing goose bumps to appear all over my exposed skin.

Suddenly, without warning, I felt myself falling as if there was no ground underneath me. As my body fell into blackness, I could feel pressure upon my face. I reached a hand up to feel around where the pressure was indenting on my skin; scabs and deep dents that were under my fingertips began to fade, being replaced by smooth, unburned skin.

It felt like a long time that I was falling in through blackness, when suddenly a whooshing passed my body, and I felt solid again.

With a deep gasp, and the arching of my back, I opened my eyes into the deep, black night, and into the blue, humming light of Edward's entire body. Each shockwave that went through his hands into me arched my back, and made my eyes roll slightly.

Edward was nothing more than a blue light, nothing other than his hands could be seen…

And I could feel my heartbeat through my ears…

The Eden I now lay in was the one I had always wanted…

I could once again raise my chest, and breathe….

-*-EPOV-*-

"They say angels come from the sky. Tonight, I am lucky, for one fell, and I rescued it."

By Thomas N. Wiser

I could feel her chest rising underneath my hand, but there was little consolation in that, because I had no idea if it was because of the force of the electric-like current coursing through her body, or if it was actually her, alive and breathing once more.

I could hear Rose screaming and withering underneath my hand, and, from the corner of my now-open eye, I could also see the flames from the barn start to crumble the structure. A piece of the roof fell at Rose's feet with a crackle. I could feel the power of the dual transfer. In honesty, it was making me tired.

I pushed it harder than before, the blue light engulfing me with lighting flashes and my hands red-hot to the touch. I looked over to Bella, and saw her eyes were open. Relief and elation washed through me as I realized that she was alive. I could not see if the half of her face that was burned remained, so I could only hope not.

Slowly and carefully, I pulled my hand from Bella's chest, releasing the healing that was coursing through me from Rose. Like a magnet, my hand reacted by wanting to replace itself upon her chest. I took the deformed hand and placed it with my other on Rose's back.

I gasped as my deformed, burned hand started to build pressure, and then I could feel the burns erase, as if they had never been there. Rose gasped in pain once more, and my eyes found her sprawled out hand by her side on the ground. The burns had returned, curving her hand inward once again.

I immediately removed both my hands from her back and turned back around to my angel; my Eve. To my utter relief and jubilation, Bella was sitting up, her hands touching her legs, which were straight in front of her. I crawled across the ground on my knees.

"Bella!" I called, emotion choking the words. "It worked, you're here!"

I crawled over to her and reached my hands to her face. She was no longer burned or scarred. Her skin was a smooth mesh once again, red staining her cheeks. It had worked. The dual healing/transfer worked!

"You're . . . you're beautiful," I told her, letting the tears drop from my eyes onto Eden's ground. "It worked."

Bella looked at me and then touched her hands to her face. The relief in her eyes swelled my heart, and unexpectedly, but not unwelcomed, she flung her tired arms around my neck.

"Oh, Edward!" she cried into my neck.

"You left me," I accused her, not really meaning it, though. "You fucking left me."

"I'm here, now!" she said, pulling away from my neck so she could look at me. "I came back for you."

"I didn't think it would work! But I had to try, Bella. I had to," I replied, crushing my lips to hers in relief, tiredness and all around fucking elation. "Don't do that ever again!"

Her mouth, no longer deformed, melted with mine; her hands stroking my chest in short, scratchy strokes. My hand clutched her cheek to deepen the kiss. She had come back for me, and I wanted her to know, that I wanted her back for me, too. She was mine. She belonged to me, and what happened tonight made that very clear.

Bella's eyes suddenly went wide as she stared at something over my shoulder. A second later, an ear-splitting crack, and then the sound of wood falling had me pushing Bella back with my body planted in front of hers. Wood from the barn cascaded down onto us as it fell apart, ravaged by fire. As the dust settled, and the wood pieces came to a rest, the only sound in the silent night was the painful screams of Rose, who was now buried under all the weight of the barn. It had crashed down on her body.

"Can you walk, Bella?" I asked her, not sure if the crushing of the planks before the transfer would affect her.

Bella shook her head. "I don't think so."

I stood, brushed off the little bit of boxers that was still intact, and lifted Bella up, cradling her like a child. Once she was securely in my hands, I looked down at her dirty, but still incredibly beautiful, face and kissed her lips.

"They say angels come from the sky. Tonight, I am lucky. For one fell, and I rescued it," I recited against her lips.

I walked with my Bella, my Eve, and my wanderer. Back through Eden, and into the clearing we had come to share with each other.

As we made our way through the dense, smoky trees, Rose's screams became more distant, until, after a few minutes, they sounded no more….

The end

A/N:

*Epilogue coming in one week. PDF E-Book for offline reading, will be available then as well, on my profile.

*New story to start being posted the week after next. Check out my profile for details on what the story is about.

*To my amazing Beta, whom I have bothered with countless emails and stuff. Susie, I love you to pieces. You make my final chapters come to life,

and the corrections and adds fucking amazing. Love you, my dear Beta (I hope my permanent Beta?)

check her out here: xlavendermoonx