AN: I'm nervous about this one!

Thank you babylopez2008 for being my pre-reader.

Thank you DreamOfTheEndless, khartgrove513, JLS0823, juney83uk, sujari6, traceybuie, hnwhitlock2000, sandy4321, team jazper, april666king, IcarusToSun, plbsmiles, Angel N Darkness, and timidvampire for reviewing.

I'm so flattered by the huge response the last 2 chapters got from you guys. Thank you for reading this.

SM owns all things Twilight. I don't :(

Enjoy...

Edward

There are no words in my vocabulary. I literally can't begin to describe the desire I feel.

Drink, the monster tells me.

No, I need to stop, my rational side replies.

Drink!

I've never tasted anything so sweet, or so perfect. For the first time in my existence, it feels like my thirst is finally being quenched.

How can I go back to animals after this?

I can feel my human facade slip. Even when I sense that I've gotten rid of the venom, I still struggle to stop. That is, until I hear the most beautiful sound imaginable.

"Edward, I love you..."

Her words cut through the intense thirst I feel.

I pull away instantly, panting for unnecessary breath. I need to get her scent out of my system.

"Edward, I knew you could do it," Esme tells me as she puts her hand on my shoulder.

"Do what?" I ask angrily. "I fed from her. I'm disgusting!"

"You stopped."

I did.

Wait... did she only tell me she loved me because she thought something bad was going to happen? Does she think she's dying?

I look down at her and immediately notice that something is wrong. Now that my faculties are returning to me, I can hear the rapid beating of her heart, the shallowness of her breath, and her closed eyes.

What have I done?

Esme leaves my side but returns within seconds, carrying a half dead baby deer. She must have caught it while I was feeding from me.

"Take this. It'll help get rid of the taste of her blood," my mother instructs me.

"How can I possibly drink now?"

I look up at Esme. She looks incredibly weak.

"You need it more than I do," I tell her.

She nods hesitantly.

"I can get you something else."

"No. We need to leave. Bella needs help."

I start to pick her up carefully from the floor, but Esme stops me.

"Carlisle is on his way. I called him a few minutes ago. We should wait for him before we decide what to do."

I nod once while placing Bella back down carefully.

She seems so much more fragile now.

I can't lose her.

A tearless sob escapes from my chest.

"Oh, Edward." Esme moves to my side and puts her arm over my shoulder. It offers me little comfort. I want an embrace from the deathly white angel lying in front of me, not my mother.

"Have faith," she tells me. "You have to have faith."

Now isn't the time to get into a debate over our beliefs. It kills me that all I can do is wait.

"She looks dead," I say, distraught.

Her skin is so pale.

"She's breathing."

"I took too much. He took too much."

Her heart... it's beating so fast.

I've handed her a death sentence, just by being around me.

Alice told me to run, she told me to get here as fast as I could. Did she know this would happen?

I scramble to find my phone. It rings before I find it.

Alice.

"I'm sorry, Edward. We lost her."

No...

"She's going to die?" I ask quietly, with all of my breath leaving my body. I stare at Bella as I say this. The rapid pulsing of her heart soothes me. It reminds me that she's still alive for the time being.

Is there really nothing I can do?

I've killed her.

"We lost the nomad. She escaped. Jasper thinks she has some sort of gift for evasion."

I bark out a dark laugh.

"I meant Bella. Was the fight not part of your vision?"

"I saw it," she says quietly. "I didn't see her being bitten though, not until it was too late. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? What the hell does that mean? Is she going to die?"

"Right this second... I don't know. Carlisle will be with you in approximately ten seconds. I'm sorry, Edward. Please, look after her. We're on our way." She hangs up before I can utter a response.

In my anger, I throw my phone into the woods. It damages several trees in its path. I grab my hair with both hands and pull on it with frustration.

"Edward, I'm here," Carlisle says as he enters the clearing.

I've never been so relieved to see him.

He kneels next to me, on my other side, putting a large medical backpack on the ground, no doubt filled with supplies.

I think I smell blood in there. It's definitely not Bella's.

"She's been out since the end of the fight. I think she's lost too much blood," I tell my father.

I believe she has, he thinks.

"Is that a bite mark?" he demands. He looks angry.

I nod and reply, "She cut herself to distract the vampire and save me. He got to her before I could and..." I don't need to tell him the rest.

Self-less to the end, I hear him think before he can filter his thoughts.

"Don't, just... don't," I say.

"I'm sorry."

Carlisle assesses the damage to Bella, quickly getting into doctor mode. He scans her body up and down, and uses his heightened senses to detect any problems.

"She needs a blood transfusion," he begins as he opens up his backpack. "I'll set up an IV too," he adds. "We won't be able to take her to the hospital. They'll ask too many questions, and then there will be Charlie to deal with."

Charlie... he'll need to be told. I don't know what though. Now doesn't seem like the time to think about it.

He sets up the equipment quickly and efficiently, attaching what's needed to Bella. I watch the blood slowly enter her body, wishing it would go faster.

"Her heart is beating quickly to compensate. We'll have to listen out for it. It sounds like there may be the possibility of dealing with tachycardia later on to me."

Meaning her heart could beat even faster than it is now, possibly resulting in a heart attack.

I have two medical degrees. I know what he's talking about.

Basically, her body could give up on her at any time.

Is it time to give up hope yet?

No, I have to be strong. For her.

I just want her to wake up. Please.

Please wake up, is the only phrase that is being repeated in my mind. She just has to be okay.

"Son, we need to be realistic about this," Carlisle says as he bandages Bella's fresh bite mark. He moves on to cleaning her cut on her other arm before applying a bandage also.

"What do you mean?" I ask quietly.

"You sucked the venom out. While that was very noble of you, it may have been best to have let it run its course... I think we need to contact the Quileutes."

"I've damned her to death by trying to save her?"

"No, Edward," responds Esme. "You did the right thing. We don't know if she wanted to become one of us. You gave her a chance to decide for herself later on."

I scoff at Esme's logic. Because of me, she might not even have a 'later on'.

Bella! Esme and Carlisle both think at the same time.

I look back down.

Her eyes are open!

"Bella!"

She blinks her eyes slowly several times. She looks so tired.

"Talk to me, please," I beg.

"Edward," she whispers.

I grab and hold one of her hands in both of mine. She's almost as cold as I am.

"Bella, I need to ask you something," my father interrupts. "If things should take a turn for the worst, do we have your permission to change you?"

She looks confused.

I move my face closer to hers and say quietly, "We could be together, forever."

She takes in a deep breath. Her body starts to shiver.

"She's going into shock," Carlisle says.

"Bella, stay with me," I demand.

"Her heart rate's increasing. It's the tachycardia," the doctor informs us.

Esme begins to quietly cry beside me. Her gentle sniffing turns into tearless sobs.

I can't lose her. Not like this.

I make a decision. She may hate me for the rest of her existence, but I can't live without her. She's too young to die now. I don't know what I would do if she did. I don't want to find out.

I move from my position in front of her face to her ear.

"I love you, Bella. You can get through this. You have to," I tell her.

I change the angle of my face, so my mouth is directly over her pulse point. I kiss it gently, giving my parents enough time to stop me. They don't. I bare my teeth and sink them in to her skin. I remove my mouth quickly and do the same to the other side of her neck, closing the wound when I'm finished. I go on to do this along her other two exposed pulse points in the creases of her elbows.

I hope it's enough.

We wait for the venom to take a hold of her depleted blood stream.

It doesn't take long for her to start writhing in pain once again. I can't bear to hear her scream, knowing that I'm the cause of it.

I don't deserve her, yet if she survives this, she's stuck with me for the rest of eternity. I'm truly a selfish creature.

"We need to move her," Carlisle says. "We should take her back to our house where I can keep an eye on her progress. We will also have to inform the Quileutes that we had no other choice and just hope that they believe us."

My father begins to pack up his supplies. He removes the blood bag. She won't need it anymore. He throws everything quickly into his backpack, which he then slings over his shoulders. He and Esme both stand, leaving me kneeling next to Bella.

Carlisle walks around to the other side of Bella's body. He squats down and slides his arms underneath her.

"No!" I roar.

He immediately flinches away from her.

"I'll do it," I say more calmly.

He nods and moves towards Esme. They begin to walk away from us, in the direction of our home.

I pick up Bella and cradle her in my arms while trying to calm her down. I think it begins to work as soon as I touch her. I try to angle her so she comes in to contact with as much of me as possible. It's not easy but I manage it. It can't be comfortable for Bella either, but she's already burning from the inside out. I trick myself into thinking that my cold skin is cooling her down.

I hope I'm helping.

It takes longer to reach our house than usual. We had to be careful to avoid anyone who may have been in the area. Bella's screams would have attracted unnecessary attention.

When we reach the house, I immediately take Bella to the room next to Carlisle's office. You could describe it as a miniature hospital ward, with all the medical supplies that a doctor may need.

I lay her down on the bed. She begins to writhe once again. I can tell she's trying hard not to scream.

Carlisle, Esme, and Rosalie enter the room.

I immediately run over to them, standing directly in front of my sister.

"Where the hell were you?" I demand from her.

"Edward, please calm down," Esme tells me.

I take a step back to look at my sister properly.

"I thought you actually liked her," I say.

"I did, I do," she corrects herself.

"You've been distant since she found out about us. Why?" I ask.

She huffs, not wanting to answer my question. I stare at her until she does.

"Because I knew it would blow up in our faces. She got too close to us. If something bad had happened, our entire family would have been implicated. And now it has," she explains.

I growl before I can stop myself.

"You wanted the truth. Now you have it," she says before walking away. Her thoughts remain blank.

"Arghhhh! Kill me! Someone, please..." Bella shouts.

I run back to her.

"Bella, I'm right here. I'm not leaving you. I'm sorry... I love you." I plant a kiss on her forehead.

Her screams stop but her writhing doesn't.

I climb on the bed with her and hold her close. It seems to help.

If this is what it takes, I'll stay here for three days if I have to.

"I'm going to call the Quileutes," Carlisle informs the room before leaving.

"Let me know if you need anything, anything at all," my mother says before doing the same.

If I could cry, I would.

What a mess.

What if the Quileutes don't understand?

That's easy to answer. I'll take Bella and run.

What about Charlie?

He's lost the mother of his child and now he's losing his child.

While holding onto Bella, I try to come up with a reason for her disappearance that Charlie might accept.

I think of nothing. Who could accept something like that?

I know I wouldn't.

Bella screams again.

"Sssh, its okay, Bella. I'm here. I love you."

I begin to hum a melody to her, hoping that it will help. I don't even know if she can hear me.

It's worth a try though, right?

At this point, anything is.

AN: Find me on twitter- lulabelle98

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