Back to our regularly scheduled programme of Edward worrying.

Chapter 9

He gave it four hours before he started to worry. Jasper and Alice had quickly taken over the four surviving captives, ensuring they were fed and had water. Then they led them from the camp. Alice had foreseen sun later the next day and they needed to get them to safety before then. The drug runners who had survived – all three of them – had been tied up in one of the buildings. Once the two vampires had delivered the foreigners to a town and ensured the authorities were contacted, they would return to assist Rose and Emmett in finding the other men who had left camp the day before. Hopefully that would not take long. They would be no more than a day behind when they headed east to Rio, and without being burdened by Bella, they would hopefully reach the island before she woke to her new life.

But Edward wasn't worried about that. The pressing concern was that it had been four hours of slow progress through the mountainous jungle and Bella had not uttered a single word. The thought of her screaming in pain horrified him, but it was almost preferable to the silence.

'Why isn't she…why is she so quiet?' he whispered to Carlisle. They were keeping a steady pace, but Esme was not the fastest amongst them, and Edward was loath to run too quickly with Bella's body in his arms, fragile or no.

Carlisle glanced at him as he replied. I am unsure Edward. But her heart is strong; you can hear it. I don't believe there is any reason to worry.

It wasn't the reassurance Edward had wanted. He clutched Bella tighter as they passed the south border of Bolivia into Paraguay. From there, they would run straight east to Rio. But the sun would be rising soon. Alice had estimated they would only have until mid-morning before they would reach more populated areas as the sun made an appearance. Their pace would slow while they made sure to take routes that kept them out of human sight. Even with their speed, they could still be seen; shining streaks passing by. There was no need to temp it, Alice had shown him, before she and Jasper left with the German, Mexican and two other men.

You'll need to stop at mid-afternoon. It's going to be too crowded and too sunny. You'll need to wait until evening when the clouds come in again. Then you'll have a straight run to the city before dawn. They'll be a boat waiting at the usual dock.

By the time they made it to the island it would be barely a day after Bella was bitten. She would burn for much longer. They would be safe on the island. There was enough game for a few vampires and the rest could hunt on the mainland. It was the ideal situation, which was why they had chosen it. But there had been weeks of holiday in South America planned; to give Bella a human experience and let her see the world and now that had been cut short. What should have been an intimate experience – and a promise kept – had been torn away because of a few criminals in the mountains.

We should never have come, Edward told himself, knowing how useless hindsight was. Hold on Bella. I promise it will stop soon. He had no choice but to believe that she was experiencing the pain. He remembered it with a shocking clarity, the burning agony. He was not optimistic enough to think that she would be spared. Something was keeping her quiet. Maybe her own desire and will was enough. Carlisle, after all, had managed to remain nearly silent in a rotting potato cellar. It was possible. And Edward knew how strong his fiancée was.

Fiancée, he said, savouring the word in his head. And soon my wife. For eternity. They had only this last hurdle to overcome and then they would have that. Forever.

'Just a few more days,' he whispered in her deaf ear, not caring if she could hear him or not. He had been aware of Carlisle's voice as he turned; a vague sense of peace and calm and spoken words and clearer thoughts. Hopefully, Bella could hear him too and know he was there.

Alice's prediction had been right, of course. By mid-morning the clouds had cleared and they were running under a brilliant blue sky. The villages were still sparse in this area, but that would not last forever. Indeed, as morning waned into afternoon, they saw more buildings and ploughed fields as they ran. Around three it because impossible to continue. There were few areas of forest in which to conceal them and it was better they not be seen. At the last thick patch of trees they reached, Edward called a halt.

'We'll stop here until sunset.'

Carlisle nodded. Esme looked relieved. Vampires could not tire like humans, but she looked worried and mentally exhausted from what had no doubt been a hellish few days since Alice had alerted them to the kidnapping.

Edward found the bowl of a fallen tree and eased himself down. Bella's arm flopped limply down next to him. Her heartbeat was strong and fast and beautiful, but he wished she would make some independent motion.

Carlisle settled down next to him and Esme leaned against him on the other side. She reached a hand up to stroke through Bella's tangled and dirty hair.

'We'll get that washed before she wakes up. She'll prefer to be clean.'

Edward frowned. 'I don't think she'll even notice Mom. Not with the thirst.'

'Still,' Esme said, as if ignoring what he'd said completely. 'I'll wash it.'

'Her heartbeat is stronger,' Carlisle remarked out loud.

'I know,' Edward agreed. They could both hear the continuing worry in his voice.

The afternoon passed in near-silence. The forest around them was full of life, though thankfully not human. None of them wanted to risk a hunt, however, with humans so nearby. The forest area was surrounded within a few miles by farms and collections of villages.

Instead they sat against the fallen tree and listened to the sounds of insects, birds and larger mammals, and the strong thrum of Bella's dying heart.

The cloud returned an hour before sunset and Edward made full use of it. 'Alice said we should reach the coast by early morning if we leave now.'

'We'll run as fast as we can, Edward,' his mother assured him. He smiled at her gratefully while he adjusted the still-warm body in his arms.

'Will you let me take her a while?' Carlisle asked.

Edward shook his head. 'No. Thank you, but no. I need to do this.'

The blond vampire gave him a measured look for a moment, but then he nodded. Very well.

They ran again. Darkness pervaded the world as they headed east, racing the next day's sun. It was shortly after five in the morning, local time, when the lights of Rio appeared below them. They're usual dock was south of the city, away from where the big cruise ships parked. Rio was a city that never slept, and so they went slower now to avoid being seen, keeping to the outlaying neighbourhoods to the south. They reached the coast a few miles south of the docks and used the beach to reach the boat. Alice had shown Edward the specific details in her mind. He called on those now as he led the way to a waiting motorboat.

Carlisle took the wheel and within a few moments they were racing out through the harbour, passed anchored boats and into the open ocean. At full tilt it was well over an hour to the island, but they had time before the sun rose. Time enough.

In his arms, Bella made no sound beyond her pulsing heartbeat.

xxx

Dawn was a glimmer on the horizon line when the island came into view, the dark shape looming out of the black ocean, invisible to anyone other than vampires.

'We're here, love,' Edward whispered. He felt a marginal sense of relief. They were safe on this island, separated from the rest of the world. Bella would be safe until she woke from the transformation.

Bella, of course, made no sign or sound that she had heard him. The boat came to a gentle bump against the dock. Esme jumped out first to tie the boat up as tightly as possible, and with a helping hand from Carlisle, Edward managed to climb up onto the stable wood without jostling Bella at all.

They walked slowly up to the house, as if there was no longer a great rush. They were here, and apparently Edward's feeling of relief was shared by his parents. Instead, Esme ran about flicking on lights. It never used to be that easy, but since solar power had become readily reliable, the island ran off the panels on the roof. In the tropical climate just south of the equator, that meant nearly unlimited power.

Edward made his way to the bedrooms, choosing to lay Bella down in the smaller room rather than the master suite. It was the first time she had been out of his arms since they'd left the camp the night before and he was almost loath to let her go.

Esme appeared at his elbow as soon as he'd laid her down against the mountain of pillows and soft linens. 'She needs a bath. She'll be much happier to wake up without the stark reminder to what's happened.'

His mother was right, of course. Bella was covered in dirt and no small amount of smudged blood. Her clothes were a write-off too. 'Thank you,' he whispered to her.

Esme softly combed her hand through his bronze locks. 'So do you,' she suggested with a slight smile.

'Later,' Edward promised her.

For the first time in days, Edward left Bella. It almost physically pained him to do so, but he actually needed a moment apart. He needed to breathe.

Carlisle was standing in the light of the living room lamp, gazing out at the dark ocean. 'Alice called.'

'She did?' Edward asked, surprised. He hadn't heard the phone or the conversation.

'The other captives are safe back in La Paz with the authorities. You'll have to wait for the full story at a later time, as Alice sounded in a rush. They found the hunting part and have…taking care of things,' he went on. There was a slight note of disgust in his voice, warring with a much more prevalent one of satisfaction. Even drug runners and kidnappers were people and Carlisle hated violence of any kind. 'Emmett and Rosalie are still after the other party; however Alice saw that they should catch them soon. Apparently there was rain in the mountains which temporarily threw off their scent.'

Edward nodded unnecessarily, his thoughts and senses attuned to the bedroom where Esme had undressed Bella and was working on a sponge bath.

'She'll be fine, son,' Carlisle said, picking up the train of thought with ease.

Edward looked slightly sheepish. 'I'm listening.'

'I know,' his father smiled. 'Alice plans for the four of them to arrive in Rio tonight. I'll take the boat to meet them. We should return before dawn.'

'And Bella? Has she seen…' he trailed off as the blonde vampire nodded.

'Tomorrow morning.'

'That's soon,' Edward said, because he wasn't entirely certain what else to say. The declaration left him feeling like a human who couldn't breathe. Soon, too soon, something's wrong.

'Yes, but then, Bella has always defied explanation,' Carlisle went on with a quirk of his lips, eyes shining. It clearly said: Stop worrying. 'Her heartbeat is strong, Edward; you can hear it. The wound to her leg was already healed before we reached Rio. I have no simple explanation for why she remains so silent, but we can consider it a blessing. She'll wake in just over a day and we will all be here for her when she does.'

Edward nodded.

Edward, Carlisle continued silently. He took the few steps forward required to reach his son and embraced him tightly. Edward clung to him. We reached her in time. All will be well. This is what she wanted; what you both wanted.

His son gave no answer, but Carlisle could feel him relax marginally.

'I believe Esme may have something in our room for Bella to wear. Something comfortable that will not be a burden for her on the first hunt,' the doctor went on. He hoped that discussing the situation logically and sticking to facts might help keep Edward grounded.

'I'll have a look,' Edward agreed, drawing back from the embrace.

His parents always left something in the house. It wasn't much, because on a tropical island one didn't need much. Especially a private island, his brain continued before Edward firmly reined in that thought. Not really the time for it. There was a light pair of lounge pants and a t-shirt. It wasn't ideal, but it would have to do. Likely whatever Bella wore for her first outing would end up a mess anyways. And Alice would have clothes soon enough.

The idea of hunt rolled around in the mind-reading vampire's head. Edward couldn't quite help the slight smile that tinged his lips at the thought. In another day, Bella would be like him. They would be equals, physically. She had been his better in every other way since the day he had met her, but it would be wonderful not to worry about a paper cut.

Esme wasn't quite done washing the blood and dirt from Bella's skin, so Edward just set the clothes by the door and wandered back to the living room. Carlisle was out on the deck now, still gazing at the waves. In the spare room, Bella's failing heartbeat raced on.