Chapter 7 - Awakenings

A/N: I'm sorry it took so long to update - I have chronic pain that moves through my body. I couldn't type because I couldn't use my left hand all day yesterday. bah, humbug.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, New Moon, or Eclipse. I just like having fun with the characters and world the wonderful Stephenie Meyer created.

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Edward POV:

While Bella was undergoing the Change, I tried hard to be nice to Jacob. It was easier to be nice to him since I knew that Bella was happier when we were both there. Alice took my place soothing Bella with cold hands for a little while so I could talk to Carlisle.

"We're going to have to fake her death, Edward. There's no other choice." Carlisle said.

"I know. Plus, we'll need to move soon - we have been saying that for a while. But with Bella being a newborn, it's going to be even more important." I replied.

"I've been thinking about it, and what makes the most sense is for the two of you to die in a car crash. That will also give us the reason to leave - we don't want to stay where you died." I nodded, Carlisle was making a lot of sense.

"I'm guessing you're going to suggest my Volvo for this scheme." I sighed.

"I'm sorry, but yes. Bella's truck is parked at Charlie's house, and it just doesn't have the speed for a crash that incinerates everything."

"Fine. But can you work on the plan with Emmett and Jasper? I need to be stay with Bella."

"Sure. But that's something else I wanted to say to you - Bella finding comfort from cool hands is normal. That was the case for all of you when you were going through the Change." He paused, and I nodded. "Where Bella is different is that she is also finding comfort from Jacob's hot hands, and Mystic's warm body. I don't understand why that is happening. We always knew that something was unusual about Bella, but I wanted you to know that I've never heard of anything like this happening."

I nodded again. "But how many people are friends with vampires and werewolves when they Change? Bella is wonderfully unusual. I look forward to meeting who she becomes when her Change is complete." I smiled at the thought.

Carlisle broke me out of my reverie, "Go back to Bella. She still has about 24 hours. Emmett will help me with the crash."

I took my place at Bella's side again, Jacob and I trying to help her through the Change. As Alice started to walk from the room, I heard her thoughts, Bella may be having a painful time right now, but how lucky to be loved by two hot guys. I worry about them, though - what will happen to the other when she chooses one? Maybe there's another way ...

Jacob POV

This "Change" thing takes forever. I haven't really eaten for 2 days, and I'm starving. I want to be here with Bella, but I also need to eat and check in with the pack. I don't want to leave her with Edward alone, but I guess I don't have a choice. I should probably go get Stripes from her house, too.

I turned to Edward, "I need to run home for a bit - I hope Mystic can cover the heat for Bella. I've got to eat and check in with Sam and the rest of the pack."

"OK," he replied. "We'll take care of Bella until you can come back."

"What did Carlisle talk to you about?"

"We had to plan Bella's death. Emmett is going to explode my Volvo soon."

"So I'll have to go to your funeral and hers?"

"Yes, but don't worry about crying for me. I've had a lot of funerals." Edward actually smiled at me.

"Don't worry, I won't cry for you, just for Bella - I wish this hadn't happened." I looked down at her, writhing in pain because I agreed to let Edward bite her. I hope this is better than having her be dead. I really do. No matter what I do mourn the loss of her as my human friend. "I'll go pick up Stripes from her house. Anything else we can worry about later. She wouldn't want her pets to go hungry or anything."

"Thanks for remembering. You're right. Emmett has been taking care of Mystic, but I think in the chaos he has forgotten about Stripes." Edward looked at me, "Thanks for worrying about her bloodsucking pet," he said with a grin.

"Well, thanks for helping take care of her dog," I returned with a grin. "I'll be back as soon as I can.

"I'll call you on your cell phone if anything happens here - she'll need to hunt as soon as she comes out of the Change. You shouldn't be there when she hunts."

"OK. I'll keep the phone with me." And with that, I walked out of the room, and back through the home of all the ... mosquitoes. I needed to get over my prejudice against them - they really were helping Bella so much.

I Changed into wolf form as soon as I left the house and loped back to La Push. Billy had left me a note that he was at Charlie's, so I was able to just eat a few sandwiches. I showered and put on some clean clothes, and walked over to Sam's house to tell him what happened with Bella and the treaty.

Edward POV:

I was surprised that I was able to joke a bit with Jacob - but after 2 days of sitting together, I was starting to see him as a person who cared about Bella, not just a rival and a dumb werewolf. Maybe werewolves weren't all bad. It's hard to battle 100 years of training, though.

About an hour after Jacob left, Bella started to thrash more. I held her tightly, and Mystic curled right up beside her. Bella's heart started to bead wildly, and I called for Carlisle.

"This should be close to the end," Carlisle said after listening to her heartbeat. "The venom is now at the heart. It should stop soon."

I held her close, so worried about her heart stopping - it felt so wrong to hear her heart stutter, then stop. Will the Change work? Will she understand why we had to do this? Will she be OK? Will she just die despite all we did? Will she still love me after this? Thoughts raced through my head.

I looked down at Bella's face, it was radiant with beauty. The Change had simply made her more of what she was - absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't help myself, and I kissed her. Just like Sleeping Beauty, she woke up.

"Edward?" She looked up at me, then down at Mystic, then over at Carlisle. "What happened? I remember playing in the meadow, then a lot of heat and cold and pain. What's going on?"

I took a deep breath, "You fell in the creek. You hit your head and a few other places, and you were bleeding a lot - internally and externally. Jacob and I both realized that you wouldn't make it to a hospital, so we agreed that I would bite you and he would clear things with the Pack about the treaty."

"So, I'm a vampire now?" Bella asked, with the beginnings of a grin.

"Yes. The Change was hard for you, and for some reason you needed heat from Jake or Mystic, and cold from me or Alice to comfort you. Jasper helped you handle the pain, too."

"But I thought the Change was hot? Why would I need hot bodies near me?" Bella looked confused.

"I don't know." I smiled at her. "You've always been special and unique!" I kissed her again.

Bella turned to Carlisle, "Do you know what was going on with my Change?"

Carlisle shook his head, "No. I'm confused. My only idea is maybe that your body needed the two people you care for to become closer? I don't know if they are emotionally closer now, but after two days of sitting next to each other, they are at least physically closer!" I was surprised to see a grin on Carlisle's face.

"Are you feeling thirsty, Bella?" I asked. This was the one thing I worried about - how could she handle her thirst and deal with her close friendship with Jacob?

"Is that what the dry feeling is in my throat?" she asked.

Carlisle nodded. "Yes. Edward should take you hunting. It would be a good idea to bring Emmett too, so they can help keep you away from humans."

Bella looked sad for a moment, but she gave Mystic a hug, and then stood up.

"Wait," I said, "Doesn't Mystic's blood bother you?"

"No, should it?" Bella asked.

I raised my eyebrows, "Usually any blood is attractive to a newborn. You might be even more unique!"

Alice bounded into the room, "I saw that you woke up, Bella! Oh, wow - you look lovely! I have to show you yourself in the mirror!" Alice shooed Carlisle away, but kept me close. Make sure you compliment her, Edward! She needs to feel beautiful. I blinked - of course I'd do that! Silly Alice.

I'll get Emmett ready to go with you, Carlisle thought to me. He's strong enough to help if there's a problem. I don't understand why she isn't attracted to her dog's blood, but it is a good thing, so I'm not going to worry about it too much.

Alice and Bella had walked into the largest bathrooms, and faced the full-length mirror on the wall. I heard Bella gasp, and then I walked in.

"Look at you, Bella!" Alice cried, "You have more curves! We'll have to shop for new clothes for you!" Alice's eyes were bright with excitement.

"I, I, I can't believe it. I look different, but it's still me." Bella seemed stunned by her reflection.

"Of course you're still you! You're beautiful and wonderful!" Alice said, hugging her. Now is when you say something, Edward!

I took the subtle hint. "Bella, you were gorgeous before - the Change just emphasized everything about you that I love. You look wonderful, and you will always look beautiful to me."

Bella looked worried, "Even with my eyes red? I don't like them like this!"

I hugged her tightly. "Of course I love you even with your eyes red! It will go away in a year. A year isn't that long to wait."

"Thank you Edward. I love you." She turned to me and kissed me.

I could hear Alice leaving the room as our kiss deepened - we didn't have the same boundaries as before, and our lips opened together for the first time. I could taste her sweetness, and reveled in it.

"Hey kissy-face boy! Your girlfriend needs to go hunt, or she'll get grouchy." Emmett came up behind me. I'm surprised I didn't hear him thinking before he got to me, but kissing Bella put everything else out of my mind.

I smiled at her, "He's right - we should go hunt. I haven't hunted in a few days either - I was with you."

Emmett took Bella's arm in his, and started down the stairway singing, "We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz!"

Bella giggled. "I think we need to be off to see the animals!"

"OK, then here goes." Emmett cleared his throat, and I followed them out the door, and into the forest. Emmett's voice rang out, "We're off to see the animals, the wonderful animals of the forest! If ever a wonderful dinner there was, the animals of the forest are it because, because, because, because, because, ... because of the wonderful dinner they are!"

Bella and I both broke into laugher along with Emmett. When we had finally stopped laughing, I had to be the serious one. "We should run for a bit, and be quiet so we can find something to eat."

Bella stuck out her tongue at me. "You're no fun!"

Emmett nodded. "You're right, he isn't any fun. Unfortunately, he is right."

With that dubious agreement, we ran into the forest. On the way, Bella suddenly stopped, gagging. "What is that smell?"

Emmett frowned, "Oh no - there are campers nearby."

"That is what humans smell like? But that's disgusting! How can you find it appealing?" Bella looked at us, confused.

"I think you react differently to different types of blood than we do." I said. I made a mental note to talk to Carlisle about this when he got back. "We should keep going - there's a herd of deer up ahead, and some other game."

Emmett and Bella nodded, and we started running again. A wolf cut across our path, but Bella ignored it, and kept running. Emmett and I shared a glance. Another mental note for Carlisle. When we reached the herd of deer, Bella was salivating. I showed her how to pick out one of the weaker deer, to cull the herd. She kept good control over her thirst, quickly draining 2 deer. Emmett helped her dispose of them afterwards.

I was thirsty, and a mountain lion was coming close to the deer. I asked Bella if she could smell it, and she could, but she said it didn't make her hungry like the deer did. Another mental note. I left her with Emmett while I hunted and fed. When I returned, we started running again. There was a farm near where we were running, and Bella noticed the sheep. More salivating. I had never found sheep particularly attractive, but Bella was having a very hard time controlling herself. I found a sheep that could be culled, and Bella quickly ate. After she finished and we ran a bit past the farm, Bella stopped running to talk to us.

"Wow." Bella said. "The thirst is strong! It's really hard to ignore. I hadn't thought it was that strong. I thought it would be easier to deal with."

I nodded. "Yes, it is very strong, especially for a newborn. But you are dealing with it very differently - you have no appetite for humans, nor for the larger animals. You only seem attracted to prey animals. That's really useful for dealing with the world, but it's also very unusual."

Emmett grinned, "We always knew you'd be different!" He punched her arm. She punched him back, and he staggered - he had forgotten that newborns were strong!

"Gee, thanks!" Bella retorted. "Well, if I have to be different, I'd rather it be this way - I don't want to hunger for humans. I'd like to be around them without holding my nose, though." At this thought, she smiled. Emmett and I smiled with her.

"Well," I said, remembering my promise. "We should meet up with Jake. I promised I'd call him after you fed. Are you up for a run to our meadow?"

Bella grinned, "So, you aren't actively avoiding him any more? You're actually being nice to him?"

"Yes," I groaned. "After he was so good to you, I have to be nice to him. Are you ready to find out how he smells to you?"

"Yes. But I want Emmett to stay with us, just in case." Bella looked a bit anxious, and I found myself hoping that she would be able to deal with Jake's scent.

"OK. I'll call Jacob now." I took out my phone and called Jacob, telling him that Bella was awake, fed, and ready to see him. "He'll meet us there in a few minutes."

"Ready or not, here we come!" Bella called, and the three of us ran to the meadow together.

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A/N: Please review! Sorry it took so long to update, but this was a long one! Next will be the meeting in the meadow ...