Author's Note & Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I wish. Maybe someday I'll have characters of my own.

Read & Review. And please feel free to send me a message or something if you feel the need to point out an error. I like grammar. Grammar is good.


Chapter 3

BPOV

I felt like I had been burning my whole life. I had drifted in and out of a sort of consciousness – sometimes I was aware of the things that were going on around me and others I was completely immersed in the pain. Would this ever stop? Every time I managed to pull my head out of the fire, he was there at my side. Edward… The pain was fading now in increments so small they were almost as torturous as the raging fire in my heart.

"It won't be long now," a familiar voice said. I'd heard this voice during several of my periods of rationality. I opened my eyes to look for the person who belonged to the voice. There was a man standing at the foot of the bed. He resembled Edward in skin tone and eye color – but that was where the similarities ended. Looking at him was like looking at the sun. He had the blondest hair I'd ever seen and he seemed to radiate warmth and kindness. "Her heart is racing – it's almost finished," he said again.

As if to prove his point, my heart, impossibly, sped up. It felt as though it was going to pound right out of my chest and take flight. At the same time, the fire crept out of my arms and legs, rushing to a concentrated point in my heart. I thrashed back and forth on the bed, trapped between the opposing forces of a raging war. A war that neither my heart nor the fire could win. My heart would be consumed and the fire would burn out. I begged for it to end quickly. I would welcome death if it meant an end to this agony. My heart stuttered then, in answer to my silent prayer, and then fell silent. With its last beat, it took the fire with it. I breathed deeply, a gasping breath that scraped against my charred throat and waited for death to follow.

Seconds passed and I realized that something was wrong. Why wasn't I dead? My eyes fluttered open. I was stunned by the sight that met them. I could see everything. I could see the individual grains in the wood on the foot board of the bed, the threads in the denim of my jeans, dust particles that floated on the air in a graceful dance. I blinked several times, and moved to sit up. As soon as I had thought to sit up though, I was already upright and staring at one of the most beautiful and terrifying faces I had ever seen.

She had long mahogany hair and pale, pale, almost translucent skin. Her face and neck were composed of exceedingly graceful lines. Her lips were like rose petals, red and equally soft in appearance. And her eyes… Her eyes were a demonic, crimson red. I gasped and cringed away from her at the same time that this mysterious beauty cringed away from me. As I whirled around to flee from the frightening girl, I found myself face to face with 7 more of the most beautiful faces I had ever seen. I recognized most of them immediately as Edward's brothers and sisters, but thought that the lighting the school cafeteria had not done them justice. They were beautiful beyond anything I had ever seen before. The man who had checked in on me while I had been burning was also there, and also another female that I did not recognize. It occurred to me that she must be Mrs. Cullen – Edward's mother.

"Edward…" my voice was like a song despite the desperate thirst that was reminiscent of the fire that had coursed through me only minutes before.

Edward… He was there, in the center of the group of them, watching me silently. He was okay. He was here. He had stayed with me. My eyes locked with his for maybe half a second before I was flinging myself into his arms. My eyes pricked, but no tears fell as I sobbed against his chest.

EPOV

Bella had been flickering in and out of awareness for 3 days. I had counted every second, every heartbeat, every breath she had taken in that time and committed them all to my unfailing memory. I was certain that when she woke from this she would hate me. At least for now it seemed that she wanted me there. That she didn't know what I had done. When she screamed, she screamed for me. Part of me rejoiced that she didn't hate me – that she wanted me there with her. The other part abhorred her desire for me, even in unconsciousness because she was sure to take it back when she realized what she had become at my hand. This was my fault. I was a demon and I did not deserve someone as beautiful and innocent as Isabella Swan.

I had refused to leave her side at all, not to attend school, or hunt – I deserved to starve anyway. I knew in the minds of my siblings that the whole town was looking for her. Chief Swan, now beside himself with grief, had only agreed to call off the search party when Alice had planted the Bella's torn and bloodied jacket in the forest. It was concluded that there had been an animal attack. Carlisle stopped in often to check on her – and on me. She was nearing the end of her third day when he made one of these visits. "It won't be long now." I watched as he cocked his head to the side, listening to her heart. He nodded. "Her heart is racing…It's almost over." I knew this of course, but it was good to have him reaffirm it.

Suddenly her heart – her perfect, blameless heart – took off. I knew that it would only be minutes before the transformation was complete, and the rest of my family knew it as well for they had all gathered to watch – and defend if necessary. Newborn vampires were predictably volatile. Her heart stuttered once more before falling silent. We all drew in a collective breath and held it – waiting. It seemed like an eternity before she opened her blood red eyes.

I watched her carefully as she bolted upright in the bed and stared into the mirror that hung the length of the bedroom wall. She examined herself carefully before meeting her eyes in the reflection. She very nearly flew across the room away from herself, the terror evident in every line of her face. I wanted to step forward to comfort her – I remembered all too well the disorientation that she must be feeling – but held myself in check. I did not want to startle her any further, and it was very possible that I would be even more terrifying to her than her new reflection.

She whirled around and froze again, staring back warily at my family. Jasper, Emmett, and Carlisle stood close beside and behind me. But when her eyes met my own, the terror seemed to just melt off her face.

"Edward…"

She flung herself against me and I had to flinch, she obviously did not know her own strength, but my arms wrapped around her protectively, instinctively and I buried my face in her hair as she buried her face in my chest and sobbed against me. I rubbed her back slowly and made shushing sounds until her sobbing quieted.

"I know it's disorienting," I whispered, "but you're okay now."

"Edward, what happened? I thought I was dying."

I didn't answer, preferring instead to hold her closer. I wanted to protect her from the truth. I wanted to delay her inevitable hatred for as long as possible. Once she discovered what she had become – what I had made her – I was certain that she would never want to look at me again, let alone touch me. I couldn't understand why it broke my heart to think it. I had always thought myself complete in and of myself. Apparently that had changed the moment she stepped foot into biology 3 days ago. But she obviously was not content to wait for an answer and pushed away to look up at me.

"Edward?" Carlisle, perhaps sensing my inability, or unwillingness to tell her, spoke up.

"Bella, perhaps you'd like to sit for a moment. We have much to talk about." He motioned for her to follow him.

She looked up at me uncertainly. She still had not released her hold around my waist. I merely nodded. I couldn't follow her to the living room. I didn't want to be there to witness her initial grief when he told her. So, like the coward that I am, I fled. I had only made it as far as the river and was mid-stride to jump across when I heard her.

"What do you mean 'vampire'?"

Author's Note: I was sort of disappointed when I got home from spending all day in the car and found that I didn't have any new reviews. I wrote as much as I could in the car - but ran into a couple of problems. First, it was a VERY bumpy ride and it made it hard to write. Second, the next chapter will have some lemony goodness in it and I just couldn't bring myself to write that part while I was in the car with my parents.

Anyway - I really need your feedback because I'm not really sure that this story is actually any good. Thanks so much everyone!