Eep! I know, it's absolutely unthinkable that I went a month without updating. I'm sorry to say, this story gets terribly neglected, partially because I have another work in progress that takes precedence, and partially because this one is really hard for me to write. I've never paralleled a book before, and I'm terrified of making mistakes! XD

I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. Portions of dialogue in this story are taken from Breaking Dawn.

Chapter Three – A Lie is Just the Truth Waiting to Be Itself

I was under the distinct impression that the bloodsuckers had forgotten that I could hear just as well as they could. They kept talking upstairs or in other rooms of the house, thinking that I couldn't hear what they were saying. Most of the time their conversations were about Bella and her transformation, or they were about Nessie and what to expect. Once in awhile though, they actually had the nerve to talk about me. It made me angry, and I had to fight with every fiber of my being to keep my anger hidden from Jasper and Edward. Somehow, I had to be able to focus on my goal of winning Bella's heart while keeping my goal a secret from those two. The only option I had was to force myself to focus on Nessie and use her as a surrogate for Bella.

Carlisle and Edward were upstairs talking about Bella again. I could hear that her heartbeat had changed multiple times over the past few days, and the changes seemed to mean something to the doctor. Edward was brooding and beating himself up, as usual. He was convinced that he must have done something wrong.

Now, I had never witnessed a vampire transformation before, and God willing, I hoped I would never witness one again. Nevertheless, it was obvious to me that Bella was going to be just fine. I had no idea why Captain Wonder Sparkles couldn't figure that out, but for some reason, he was wringing his hands and moping about like the world was coming to an end. Not that he didn't deserve his suffering. If the circumstances had been different, I would have loved to spend some time reveling in his pain. As it was, all I could do was try to keep focused on the baby, the one that I had supposedly imprinted on.

The doctor was still trying to convince Edward that Bella was all right, directing him to listen to her heart, reminding him about the other bloodsuckers and how their injuries had healed. It made me sick, knowing that Edward had been around to see so many other human lives snatched away like he'd done to Bella. At the same time, I couldn't help feeling a twinge of compassion for the doctor, knowing that he'd done what he thought was right. Regardless of his misguided reasons for keeping them "alive," the fact remained that he had never changed anyone who had had another choice. No matter what I thought of the others, I respected the doctor as much as I could possibly respect an unliving monster.

"She must be in agony," I heard Edward whisper.

My heart sank. I'd been told that the transformation was excruciatingly painful, and I hadn't given much thought to what Bella must be going through. I clenched my jaw and forced myself not to think about the fact that she'd chosen to endure this suffering over spending her life with me. It didn't matter anymore anyway. She was going to be one of them soon, and there was no way to turn back the clock. All I could do was focus on the future and do everything I possibly could to make it as happy of a future as I could for Bella and her daughter. In a short time, her suffering would be over, and she would never experience any type of pain again. If any good was coming of this, it was the fact that Bella wouldn't be able to injure herself by tripping over her feet any longer.

"We don't know that," the doctor was reassuring Edward once again. "She had so much morphine in her system. We don't know the effect that will have on her experience."

"Bella, I love you. Bella, I'm sorry," Edward whispered.

I clenched my fists and moved to snatch Nessie away from Blondie. It was the only thing I could do right now to keep my thoughts from betraying me. Blondie shot me a dirty look, but didn't bother to argue with me for once. She probably had to go put more peroxide in her hair or something.

"I'll deal with it later. We'll deal with it," I heard Edward say. As if I needed another reminder that he and Bella were a single unit. No matter. As far as either of them need be concerned, their daughter belonged to me now.

"Hi Nessie," I murmured softly. She had made it clear that she didn't really care for the "Nessie-Wessie" moniker, so I'd trimmed it down. After all, I couldn't have her going around using her talent to tell everyone that I was calling her by some name she didn't like. That would go directly against what everyone knew about imprinting. "Did you miss me?"

Nessie pressed her hand to my face in response and showed me pictures of myself sleeping passed out on the couch. She had been fascinated by my drooling and wondered what it was. I couldn't help laughing at the absurdity of it.

"Well, honey, there are lots of different kinds of people," I explained to her. "There are vampires like your dad and your aunt Rosalie and your mom—you haven't really seen her yet. Then there are regular people, and there are wolf-people like me. Vampires don't drool, but other types of people do. It's perfectly normal, even though people like your aunt Rosalie will try to tell you that only dumb people drool. She can't help it though. She's a little special herself."

Blondie snorted and stamped out of the living room, probably wishing she'd been able to think of a good retort. I had no actual intention to turn Nessie against her; quite the contrary, I figured it would probably be useful that she wanted to help take care of her. I certainly didn't know the first thing about making a baby happy. Still, I wanted to make sure she didn't take measures to turn Nessie against me. This was only going to work if I committed to it fully.

"It won't be long now," I heard the high-pitched voice of the excitable pixie leech upstairs. "See how clear she's becoming? I can see her so much better." She went on to babble some more about her freaky visions of the future. It amazed me how they could just accept mind-reading and soothsaying and emotional manipulation as being perfectly normal traits and not something out of a freakshow or horror movie. I shuddered a little before abruptly remembering that Nessie was a freakshow herself. Dammit, I'd have to watch myself more closely.

"She's going to be dazzling," I heard Alice say a few minutes later.

She always has been, I thought before I had a chance to stop myself. Fortunately for me, Edward voiced exactly the same thought. Well, at least the two of us could agree on one thing.

I settled in front of the television where Emmett was watching a baseball game. I tried to feign a lack of interest in the game, but once the Mariners pulled a two-run lead, I had a hard time focusing on Nessie any longer. I shifted my attention to the game, and that was all the invitation Blondie needed to come along and reclaim her "property."

"It's my turn," Blondie insisted as she yanked Nessie away from me with more force than was really necessary. I snarled out of reflex.

"Hey now," Emmett warned me. Without bothering to get up from the couch, he held out his hands to both sides to keep Blondie and me from lunging at one another. His wife hissed at me, and I saw that she had a bottle of blood in her hand, ready to feed Nessie. I didn't really enjoy feeding blood to the baby, so I decided not to bother putting up a fight anymore. I just leaned back to watch the game for awhile instead. I could always get the baby back when Blondie was done playing Mommy.

A little while later, I could practically taste the excitement from upstairs. I listened closely and could hear Bella's heart thrumming faster than a hummingbird. I was panicked for a moment, wondering if maybe Edward had been right after all. Was she going to die? The doctor didn't seem alarmed, which calmed me a little.

"It's almost over," he announced.

"Soon," Pixie spoke up. "Should I have Rosalie…?"

"Yes—keep the baby away."

Dammit, why was Blondie the first one they thought of when it came to keeping the baby away? Obviously I hadn't done a good enough job yet. If I had, it would have been "Should I have Jacob…?" I had to do better. I had to be the one they thought of as Nessie's best surrogate parent if her mother and father weren't immediately available. Everything depended on this. Maybe I shouldn't have let Blondie feed her after all.

A few more minutes went by. Bella's heartbeat, impossibly, grew even faster, and then…

Nothing.

Her heart had stopped.

Forever.

I allowed myself to let out one small sigh of mourning for Bella's humanity. I would not allow myself to dwell on it any further than that. Bella was a grown woman, and she had made all of the decisions for herself. The fact that she had made all the wrong ones didn't change the fact that she'd been well-informed about what she was getting herself into. At least she had survived the ordeal somehow. At least Bella would still be around to bring sunlight into my world, even if she also brought with it the sickly-sweet ammonia scent of leeches.

Before I even realized what was going on, Pixie had appeared at the bottom of the stairs and disappeared again, bringing Esme, Emmett, and Jasper along with her. I couldn't help feeling a little jealous. I wanted to be there when Bella woke up too. I wanted to be the first thing she saw on opening up her eyes to her new life.

Still, I had more important matters to attend to. Like making sure everyone else thought that what I really wanted was to make sure Nessie was safe and sound, not facing any danger from her newly unpredictable and bloodthirsty mother. I had made arrangements with Edward to face off against Bella before allowing her to see Nessie, as a "safety precaution." Of course, my true motivation was that I wanted to see Bella for the first time without Nessie around so that I wouldn't accidentally spend too much time lingering on her face when I was supposed to be watching her daughter with quiet awe, but somehow I slipped it past the mind-reading bloodsucker. He'd agreed to my plan. Now that Bella was awake, it was going to be harder to put things past him. He was no longer preoccupied with worrying about her well-being. It was good that I'd had a few days to practice.

I'd also made him promise not to tell Bella about my imprinting on Nessie. I was afraid I might not be able to keep up the charade with Bella in front of me. If she didn't know about the alleged imprinting, I could write it off as me somehow misinterpreting some strong emotions I felt. After all, it wasn't as if I had any personal basis for comparison; only what I'd seen in the heads of Sam, Quil, Jared, and Paul. I could be forgiven for making a mistake when emotions were running so high. If Bella knew about my imprinting ahead of time though, she was much more likely to figure out my elaborate scheme.

She knew me too well.

Therefore, I had to wait until I was certain of my own abilities. Did I have the strength not to race to her and scoop her up into my arms the moment I saw her, kissing her with the same passion and fury as that stolen kiss last year before we'd fought the newborns? Could I really keep myself focused for long enough to convince her that she could trust me to be in her life now without complicating matters?

Ugh, I really sucked at this. I'd let my mind wander to that memory for too long. Edward apparently had his hands full though. I couldn't tell what was going on upstairs, exactly, but Bella was sure making a lot of noise. It was like she was racing and tumbling around the room up there. I snickered. If anyone could find a way to be a clumsy vampire, it would definitely be Bella. Maybe she'd gotten her legs stuck in the blankets and tumbled to the floor.

Why wasn't she saying anything though? I really wanted to hear her voice. I wasn't sure if she would sound the same. Would she be different enough that I would lose interest in her? I couldn't decide whether I should hope for that or not. On one hand, some things would definitely be a lot easier if I no longer wanted Bella for myself. On the other, I had thrown myself into a pretty strong act in order to keep that possibility open. Even if I did think everyone would probably give me a pass because of the high emotions, it was still going to look suspicious enough that I'd probably be forced to leave town for good just to save face.

Well, really, what did I care if I had to leave town?

If I couldn't be with Bella, what was really left for me in this place anyhow?

Gritting my teeth, I forced my attentions back to the baby. Blondie looked at me curiously, probably because she could hear my teeth grinding against each other. "Nessie is upset," I growled softly, hoping that would be enough to explain away my sudden strange actions. Blondie's expression softened infinitesimally.

"She wants to see her mom," she whispered.

It was all I could do to block myself from thinking "So do I" loudly enough that Edward would hear me. What was going on up there anyway? Then, at long last, I heard it.

"Oops." The voice was musical, like tinkling bells. Bells. Hah. I patted myself on the back for that one. Underneath the strange, too-perfect, auto-tuned quality of her voice, it was definitely Bella. So it was true. She was all right after all. I breathed a sigh of relief, letting the joy of the moment wash over me. Nessie's mother is okay, I thought aloud. That was safe enough to think.

For the next several minutes, I did my best not to listen to what was going on up there. It seemed that Bella and Edward were reconciling, not that they had been arguing in the first place. It was hard to handle. She should have been mine, by all rights. Still, I took comfort in knowing that I would never, ever be banished from her side now, thanks to my quick thinking. I gazed at the tiny baby in Blondie's arms, allowing the goofy smile I'd been fighting back to overtake my features. Blondie just rolled her eyes at me and finished feeding the baby.

One thing was certain. I really did have to protect Nessie with my life. She was my ticket into Bella's world.

"Everything was… very dim before. I remember the baby couldn't breathe," Bella was telling Carlisle in response to his question about her transformation. I snorted. So very, very Bella. She was obviously hiding something. The transformation had been excruciating for her, just like it was for every other bloodsucker. I felt terrible about the fact that I hadn't been able to do anything to ease her suffering, and even more terrible about the fact that no one else seemed to know her like I did. They took her explanation at face value and didn't notice the way she was glossing over the details.

Edward didn't even know her like I did. How could he claim to…? I stopped myself. I would ponder this question later, after Edward was gone and couldn't hear me think any longer.

"Of course your thirst must be very uncomfortable," I heard the doctor apologizing to Bella. I shuddered involuntarily. It was unthinkable to imagine Bella as one of those bloodthirsty creatures, going around slaughtering living creatures to drink their blood. Fortunately, Blondie's attention was too focused on washing out the baby bottle while balancing Nessie on her hip to pay attention to my strange mannerisms.

"I want to see her. Renesmee." Bella sounded insistent. I panicked inwardly. I had worked this out with Edward. I was supposed to see her for the first time without Nessie around. That was the way it had to be. My cover was going to be blown if she came downstairs now, because there was just no way I would be able to tear my eyes from her face. Of course, I managed, with Herculean effort, not to think any of these things. Instead, I mentally shouted at Edward. It's not safe! It's not safe! Remember what we talked about?

"You don't want to put her in danger, do you?" Edward asked. I exhaled sharply. Thank goodness Edward could be trusted to hold up his end of the bargain. He owed me anyway. I had saved all their hides from the wrath of Sam's pack, not once, but twice, and permanently. Sam had wanted to tear them apart before Nessie was even born, and I was sure they would have come for her even after her birth if not for the fact that it would have been unthinkable to destroy her now that she was my "imprint."

"What about Jacob?" Bella asked, causing my heart to leap out of my chest. "And Charlie?" she added. Excellent, not only had she finally remembered that I existed, but she'd even thought of me ahead of her own father. I beamed with pride. I was still important to her. She was still herself.

"Jacob is still here?" she gasped in shock after receiving their answer. I couldn't help chuckling to myself. Did she really think I'd run off and leave her just because she wasn't human anymore? I thought she knew me better than that. Granted, I'd given her all the reason in the world to think that I hated vampires on principle—and, to some degree, I did—but this was different. This wasn't about who was a vampire and who was a werewolf. This was about me and her.

"Bella, there's much to discuss, but we should take care of you first. You have to be in pain…" Edward began. At least he was actually concerned about her well-being. I could give him that much, especially after seeing how much pain he'd been in during the last few weeks. I grudgingly admitted that he did care for her more than I'd originally believed.

"But Jacob—" she protested. Good. She was worried about how she'd hurt me. Good. That would work in my favor later.

I was getting impatient. Couldn't he hurry up and take her to feed so I could see her and plant the seeds for my ongoing role in her life? But no. The pixie had something to do, and although I had no idea what it was, it sounded like it involved some scampering around.

"Edward gave me grief for not getting you to a mirror before the wedding," she said. I groaned. Really? Did we have to stop the world so Bella could look at her new pretty face? Couldn't we get on with this? My palms were sweating with anticipation, which was pretty unusual for me. I couldn't actually remember the last time I'd sweated at all.

"The eyes?" Bella sounded hesitant. "How long?"

"They'll darken up in a few months," Edward explained, going on to talk about animal blood versus human blood. "They'll turn amber first, then gold," he finished.

I had known her eyes would be red at first, but I hadn't really given it much thought until now. Would it sicken me to look at her? I hoped not. I hoped I could contain myself.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally heard Bella agree to hunt. Thank goodness. Now it was just a matter of time before they got back and I could truly set my plan in motion. I was a little worried. After all, just like I knew Bella better than any of them did, she certainly knew me well enough that she might see right through me, even after I'd fooled everyone else. I'd have my answer soon though. The only choice I'd have if she figured things out would be to run away and live out the rest of my life as a wolf, but that was fine by me. I'd done that for months already, and I didn't really mind doing it again.

"Is Renesmee…okay…with Jacob there? He doesn't like her much." I was startled to hear her mention me again, but I grinned like an idiot anyway. She was going to be so surprised when she found out that Nessie was the reason I was still here and would always be here.

"Trust me, she is perfectly safe. I know exactly what Jacob is thinking."

Almost, I blurted out mentally. I was going to have to get better at this, I chastised myself. I turned my attention quickly to the window, knowing that I was better off watching the action unfold than trusting myself with my own inner musings while Edward was around. First Edward landed outside, then a few seconds later, a blur in a stunning blue dress.

The girl wearing it was even more stunning than the dress.

She was beautiful. She was graceful. She was a predator. She was a vampire.

She was Bella.

I gaped, open-mouthed, in awe of her beauty and grace. Bella had always been beautiful, but I was going to have to get used to seeing her be graceful. And those shoes. Bella would have broken her neck wearing stiletto heels a few days ago. Just as I finished this thought, she began pulling off her shoes and chucking them back to the window up above. Typical Bella.

Edward jumped across the river effortlessly, and then Bella prepared to follow. She backed up much farther than was really necessary, and when she started to make a running start, her dress split open. It was all I could do not to burst into hysterics, but my resolve was utterly destroyed when she started ripping open the seams on her own dress. She'd probably wanted to do that from the moment she'd realized she was wearing it. Now she had an excuse. A rumbling chuckle escaped from my throat as I imagined how the pixie-like vampire would have reacted if she'd just shredded it to bits the minute she awoke.

She turned back to the house for a split second, and I realized she must have heard me. Well, that was all right. Now at least she wouldn't be worrying so much about her daughter. She needed to feed, after all. In spite of how I might feel about her being one of them, I didn't have any desire for her to be in pain. At last, she turned her attention back to the task at hand, and she took a flying leap across the river.

She was more graceful than any ballerina could hope to be, and more powerful than any creature in nature. Before I had time to linger for long on these thoughts, she ran after Captain Wonder Sparkles into the trees, and she was gone.

Now I had to prepare myself for "meeting" her all over again. At least I was free to think my own thoughts for the next few minutes. I couldn't mess this up. Everything had to be perfect.

Bella deserved nothing less.