Thanks to Gothic Girl 3000, La Belle Morte, LiTlTe BeLlA sWaN, aquakim, Anima Bella, angel in hell, VampireGirl007, and Outcastrebelchic for reviewing.
Medusa Sparrow-Descouedres: You are awesome, you know that?

6. Healed

My hand!

It burns!

I lay on the floor, my heart pounding, as I waited to die. The pain was spreading through my whole body and my mind was clouded. Then over the painful haze, I felt Alex. He pulled me into his arms, cradling me to his chest as the students gathered round. I could hear murmurs as people looked on with shock.

"There's been an accident!"

"Dial 911!"

"Someone, get an ambulance here now!"

"Lizzie, I'm not going to let you go so you might as well get back to me."

Alex snarled, his face twisted in pain.

"A…Lex…" I whispered weakly.

"Don't say anything, just stay still," he murmured, walking to the door. Someone hurriedly opened it for him and he passed through.

I looked up from my pain-induced haze and saw Marianne standing at the end of the corridor, her face ashen. She was also crying, looking remorseful as she stood alone, shaking.

"Marianne…I…" the pain of saying those two words made me grit my teeth, as I winced from the pain. Marianne walked towards me, her eyes brimming with fresh tears.

"I'm really sorry…Lizzie." She turned around and ran past me, crying.

I had lost a lot of blood by the time they rushed me to the hospital. The doctors didn't know what was wrong with my hand; Carlisle looked at it, and he claimed it was an acidic compound that could eat through human skin.

He looked worried when he said the last two words; I still had to ask him what he meant by that. I don't know how long I was in the hospital for; my parents stayed in my room all hours, and so did Alex, both taking turns to give the other privacy to be alone with me.

My parents liked Alex; I liked that. I was so glad that they accepted him and didn't question his motives about me, believing he cared about me. And having Alex sit by my bed and just watch me while I flickered in and out of sleep was even better. I was finally healed on the seventh day, after Carlisle tried some cures on me. I was free to go home that day, and my parents came along with Carlisle, as he was a doctor and as my whole family was past the visitor limit. Alex was there, too, as he reached over and pulled me to him, smiling hugely.

"Feel better?" He asked.

I nodded. "Just hunky-dory."

He laughed, and we looked past to see my parents standing in the doorway. Bella ran to me and hugged me, squeezing me as though she would never let go. She kissed my forehead softly, her large expressive golden eyes looking at me with relief and happiness. Edward hugged me softly, kissing my cheek as they pulled me into the circle of their arms.

"I thought you were dead," Bella breathed, her voice saturated with pain. "I couldn't have lived with that."

"Neither could I." Edward murmured. He looked past me to Alex, looking at him gratefully as he came over and took hold of my hand. "We can never thank you enough for what you did for our daughter. I appreciate your care, and I know that she couldn't have picked a better person to spend her life with."

The comments made me feel warm inside. I smiled at Alex, my eyes glowing.

"Thank you, sir." Alex mumbled, flashing me a stunning smile. I nearly melted.

Edward grimaced. "Please call me Edward – sir makes me sound to old."

Alex nodded. "Yes, s-Edward."

Bella laughed, not letting go of me. "Earth be damned if you ever turn old, Edward!"

He slipped his arm around her waist, smiling down at her as she looked up at him.

"Seeing as I have everything I could possibly wish for, I wouldn't mind turning old – as long as you were with me."

I looked at Bella, seeing her cheeks redden. "Stop with the hyperboles."

"It's not a hyperbole, it's the truth." Edward insisted.

She broke away from me, glancing at Edward to Alex and I and then back to Edward. "I think we'll wait in the car."

He nodded, smiling at me as he kissed my cheek, then went away with her. I was left alone with Alex.

A seventeenth of a second and then his arms were laced around my neck as he kissed me, his mouth hungry as it fastened onto mine. The kiss was urgent, demanding, as all reason stole away and I clung to him, unwilling to let go as our mouths moved in synchronization with each other, wanting more as we had been separated for seven days.

The kiss became less burning and he turned the kiss into something more innocent before it went too far, his mouth moving against mine softly, and then he pulled away.

"How I missed you," he murmured, his brilliant eyes shadowed with some remembered pain. "I nearly died when I felt our link break."

My heart leapt into my throat and my breathing came faster. "Alex! You wouldn't – wouldn't die because of me!"

"Without you, I couldn't live." He growled. "Keeping me alive would be torturous, to say the least!"

His intensity stunned me into silence. And yet…it felt so right. That I should be needed, that I would die without him, that he would not be able to survive without me. We were Romeo and Juliet at the very heart of their story.

"Promise me…" I dropped my gaze. "Promise me that if something happens to me, you'll try…try to stay alive."

He was frozen, his eyes panicked. "I'll make no such promise. But I could promise you the opposite."

A choked sob escaped from my throat and I leaned my head against his chest, the tears falling. To think of a world without Alex…it was as if the existence of this universe wouldn't even have been thought of.

A world without him was inexplicable, couldn't be. But a world without me…would survive. Would not be impacted by my death. Because, for certain, one day I would continue growing older and die, and Alex, the alpha werewolf, would stop his ageing unconsciously and have to watch whiles I withered away before his eyes. And he would stay young forever, as I never would.

Alex's arms wrapped around me as he buried his face in my hair.

"Don't cry. It hurts to see you in pain." He whispered.

I wiped away my tears, looking up at him. "But I could have…died…and you, you would have died too."

He nodded. "Yes. And we would have been together as we were meant to."

I sniffed, giving him a watery smile. "Sorry, Mr, I don't think any of us are dying – not yet. Maybe in a few years time."

He chuckled. "That's my girl."

I gripped his hand. "Let's go to the car, shall we? Or my parents will be wondering if something's happened to us."

His eyes gleamed. "Something?"

"You know what I mean."

He laughed. "As matter of fact, I do. And I hope that something had come up."

I gave him an incredulous look. "In a hospital room? You have got to be kidding me."

"Do I look like I'm pulling your leg?"

I sighed. "No. And maybe now we actually should be going."

He grinned, grabbing my hands, and raced to the car in two thousandth of a second. I loved that bit about werewolves having super speed.

Bella and Edward were lounging against the door, waiting for us; they were talking in low voices. When we arrived, they looked up, startled, as though they had been too preoccupied in their conversation.

"Lizzie, Alex!" Bella beamed, opening the passenger door and sliding into the seat gracefully as Edward went around to the driver's side of his silver Volvo. Alex opened the door for me and I slid in, thanking him profusely, until he glared at me.

I quietened down and the ride home Bella talked about school, what was going on, how everyone was. When we arrived, Alex opened the door for me. I sighed, fearful of facing the task of telling him to not be so protective of me that he treated me like an invalid – no, a princess – and clambered out. The door opened, and then the deafening roar met me just as I was about to cross the threshold.

"SURPRISE!"