Previously…

Everything was in slow motion; I watched her drop to the ground, not conscious enough to hold out her arms to break the fall. I watched her warm, little face hit the cold snow and her long hair splayed out over the ground.

We sobbed together on the floor of the emergency room. After a while a nurse came and led us to an empty hospital room. Carlisle came in, and what he said shattered my fragile heart. Aurora wasn't ever going to wake up. Ever.

Bella POV:

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. I held her hand; the one not connected to an IV, and rubbed it with my thumb. Edward knelt beside her bed and my plastic fold-up chair with his head on the bed and his hand in my free one. I couldn't bear to look at her face, with the tubes down her throat, breathing for her, eating for her. The dark circles under her eyes.

I didn't have the strength to let her go, we didn't. It'd been nearly three months. And still I let her suffer. The doctor said the only thing she could feel was pain, and I let her feel it. What was wrong with me? What was wrong with me?! "What's wrong with me?" I let out a strangled sob. Edward looked up for the first time since I woke up this morning, from a one-hour sleep. I didn't sleep much besides that, one, two hours a night.

"Bella, how can you say that? There's nothing wrong with you. Nothing. This is not your fault," his eyes were burning into mine, and his own pain intensified my own.

"Yes, it is. How can I let her suffer this? What kind of mother let's her baby suffer this? I'm not strong enough to let her go, and because of it all she feels is pain," my breathing was uneven and my voice raspy, my eyes watery.

"Bella, do you think any mother on the planet is so easy to let their child…die?" he choked on the word, "And don't ever say that you're not strong. You've been stronger then anyone should ever have to be. You're stronger than me, stronger than anyone I've ever met in my hundred years. Don't. Don't say that," his eyes were black, he hadn't hunted in months, he refused to leave. And they were in agony, as I'm sure were mine.

"But Edward-," he put his fingers to my lips.

"No, Bella. No buts. Not now, not ever. Not from you. You don't have a reason," he stood up and took me in his arms. And I let loose the sobs I'd been unsuccessfully trying to hold in.

"Edward! Edward!" I cried his name and I felt his body shake with unshed tears. He ran his hand through my ear and tried without avail to comfort me. We couldn't be comforted, him nor I. We were losing our baby girl. How could we possibly be comforted?

"Shh, Bella. Shhh, I promise you, love. We'll get through it, together," I noticed how he said "get through it" instead of "it will be okay". He was being honest, because we both new nothing would ever be okay again.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. We both looked up to see it open and a man I hated with all my heart walked in. I had no reason to hate him, this wasn't his fault. He was just an easy target.

"Mr. Cullen, Miss Swan," he nodded at us and he looked nervous. I couldn't imagine why. And I couldn't ask Edward in the presence of another human, if he could even read his mind. He'd told me his mind had been so clouded his power wasn't working well.

"Yes, Dr. Solomon?" Edward's voice was hard as steel, apparently I wasn't the only one who blamed him.

"I, uh. Um. Uh. May-Maybe, if you could-si-sit dow-n," and for the first time since Aurora had been diagnosed there was emotion in his voice, and in his eyes. True remorse, and sorrow. Edward sat down on the chair I'd previously been occupying and pulled me down on his lap.

"Yes?" Edward's voice was still hard, but I could detect uncertainty there. And fear. Fear of what? Could things get worse?

"I've w-ent through Aurora's fi-le. I've foun-d something-g," he drew in a shaky breath, "odd."

"Odd?" my voice was louder than I expected. More fierce. "Like what?"

"Well, uh,"

"Uh, what?" Edward's voice was on the verge of being angry, and I could just imagine it creeping up to irate if the good doctor didn't tell us what was going on.

"Do you recall the tests we took a few months back?" he was talking fast and I barely made out what he'd said.

"Yes," Edward was confused again.

"We compared them, to the first test results back when she was first diagnosed," he was looking down at the folder in his hands. "And, well," it would appear he couldn't any longer, so he just handed the papers to Edward. He took them as gently as possible looking like it took a great deal of effort. He looked at them, I read them, too, and being the non-med school graduate I really couldn't make any of it out. Suddenly Edward went rigid, and the look in his black eyes terrified even me, though he was staring at Dr. Solomon.

"The. Blood types. Weren't. The. Same?" his voice was low, and deadly. And I had a feeling the only thing keeping him from killing the man in front of us was that I was sitting on his lap.

"Wait? What? The blood types weren't t the sa-," I gasped, and the realization of what had happened hit me. They had mixed up the test results, with somebody else's. My baby girl had never had a chance of getting better. The answer was always no. "The blood types weren't the same!" I launched out of my chair and the next thing I knew I was screaming at the top of my lungs at the bastard that had ruined my baby girl's chance. And then, what about the other child? The child that had received my baby's results. The negative ones. While we received their positive one's. Had they listened as we had? And taken the instruction of the doctors? Had they not pursued treatment when their baby could have been okay? "How many other lives have you ruined?!" and with that final word I sank to the ground, sobbing , barely able to breathe. Edward, through his rage, managed to lower himself to the ground and pull me into his lap. He didn't say anything, not to me…but, "Get out," it was directed at Dr. Solomon. He didn't appear to hear. "Get out now and I may spare you your life, though I'll see to it you never practice medicine again. Leave. Now!" his voice was quiet and dangerous, and only at the end did he shout, on the last word. Dr. Solomon got up from his chair and just as he was about to walk out he turned back to us.

"I truly, truly, am so, so sorry," I looked up at the sound of the sincerity in his voice and saw tears running down his face.

"I'm sorry Dr. Solomon, but unless your sorry can save my little girl I don't forgive you," my voice shook, but it was determined, and angry, but only just. And with that he walked out, closing the door to leave us to our miseries.

In the three months I'd left the hospital only once, and I left her room when needed. Antoinette wasn't allowed up here, so I went down to the lobby to see her whenever Alice brought her over. The one time I'd left was before Rora had been allowed visitors; Esme practically forced us into the Volvo and followed us to my house to bring a change of clothes for each of us, and some things for Rora's room at the hospital. She'd left us there after she saw us into the house. We'd packed things for all three of us, and Antoinette, too, because she'd be staying with Esme and Carlisle while we were with Rora.

And somehow in all that grief we'd decided that while we still didn't know the outcome of Rora's condition that we should make love to each other while it still meant something to us. In the brief time we had together I almost forgot how sick my baby was, that she might not live to see tomorrow. But, besides that day we hadn't stepped foot out of this hospital.

For the most part the days ran together, one ocean of endless grief after another. But I very clearly remember the day that things started separating again. Edward and I were sitting in the cot that was left in the room for us. And I was thinking of how doomed she was, that there was no chance of her surviving. And that thought led to all the other people in this hospital that had no chance, and that to the thought of every person who never had a chance. And finally to the vampire sitting beside me who had a hundred years ago lied in a hospital bed much like the one in front of me and new he had no chance, and yet he was sitting here, because one man had the power to save him. "Edward!" he looked at me startled by the sudden outburst.

"What is it, love?" he put his hands to sides of my face and rubbed his thumb on my cheek.

"You can save her! You can save her!" tears were flowing down my face, but for once they were happy.

"What? What do you mean?" he looked confused.

"Edward, you can save her the way Carlisle saved you!" he froze.

"Bella," he shook his head slowly, "I-I,"

"You what?!" my voice was confused now. Why was he shaking his head? This all made perfect sense!

"Bella, think about what you're asking," his eyes were pained again, but a different kind of pain.

"Think about it?! What's there to think about?! You can save her! She doesn't have to die! What is there to think about?!" I pulled my face from his hands and jumped off the cot. "Tell me, Edward! What is there to think about?!" he was standing not a second after I was and he tried to take me into his arms again but I pulled away. "Don't you touch me until you tell me what the hell there is to think about!" I was yelling at him, and he didn't even look mad.

"Bella, listen-," he tried to grab my hand but I didn't let him.

"No! No you listen! You can save her!" I pointed to the sick baby on the bed. Angry tears were flowing freely now as I yelled at the only man I'd ever love again.

"Bella, I know, that I can. But is that what's best for her? Is that better than…di-ieng? Is it really better?"

"Of course it is! What do you want her to die?!" some of the tears turned betrayed.

"No! Of course not! How could you even say that? She's just as much my daughter as she is yours, why on Earth would I want her to die?"

"Then why on Earth would you ask if saving her was best?!"

"Bella, please, I'm not saying no, I thought about this a long ti-,"

"You've already thought about this and you didn't tell me?!" I was furious now and surprised no one came in to tell us to stop until I remembered Carlisle had gotten us in a sound proof room.

"Yes, but it was just as a last resort-,"

"Don't you think that at this point we should be looking at last resorts?! She's been like this for three months, Edward!"

"I know, but Bella, please, let me explain, and please actually listen to what I tell you. She'll be four years old forever; her mind will mature while her body stays four years old. And immortal children have a harder time controlling their bloodlust, suffering that will be no better than this, but this, Bella, you can end this," suddenly my brilliant revelation didn't seem so wonderful. Could she possibly win?

"I-I can't let her die, Edward, I just…I can't," a wild sob escaped my lips and I fell to the floor, but Edward wouldn't allow that, he caught me around the waist before my knees could hit the linoleum.

"Okay, then we'll do it, okay? We'll do it. If that's what you want," I nodded into his shoulder as he cried with me, tearless sobs.

"You forgot to tell her that it's illegal to create immortal children, Edward," I looked up, startled at the voice, I hadn't heard the door open. Rosalie was standing there, her eyes were like golden ice, hard and cold and unwelcoming.

"I don't care, Rosalie. The Volturi can do whatever they want to me," Edward stared at her, daring her to protest.

"Can they do whatever they want to your "daughter" and your precious Bella, because you know she'll ask to be changed next," Rosalie's eyes were now on the other side of the fence, they were burning like the pits of hell, and I'd never seen anything scarier.

"Naturally. And I'll die before they lay a hand on them. Besides, who said they had to know? Are you going to tell them?" Edward's tone was rising to meet hers.

"Of course not. But do you think you'll be able to keep it a secret for the rest of eternity? All someone has to do is see your immortal baby and all of us are dead! I won't let you kill us Edward, and I'll die before you touch your teeth to that little girl's skin."