A/N: Big thanks to Jill for beta'ing all 90 of the drafts I sent her for this chapter; Thanks to OCD for being amazing, and to EVERYONE who is rec'ing this around the fanfic world!

I ended up being able to respond to a lot of the reviews, but in the end, there was a chunk that I couldn't get to. I read and enjoyed them ALL, so thank you!

**

The Sunset

Carlisle POV

After Bella left, Jasper, Emmett and I took the opportunity to hunt. It had been over a week since our failed outing and we were all getting thirstier than acceptable, given our circumstances.

As we were leaving, I noticed Rosalie was back to standing by the bedroom door. It was more than a little perplexing but it was true to her personality. It would be interesting, to say the least, to see how that develops.

We didn't go far today, as none of us were particularly comfortable separating the group at this point. We hunted in relative silence, each lost in our thoughts of what it all would mean.

"He'll be stronger tomorrow," Emmett said, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. I closed my eyes, finishing up with my kill before answering.

"I know." I took a seat on the log next to Emmett. Jasper sat down next to me.

"What are we going to do about it?" he asked.

"I'm not sure… I'm not sure what to make of any of this. But I know that someone went to great lengths to keep him contained, and whoever it is probably isn't going to give up on finding him. We need to tread carefully here; I don't doubt that they have the resources to locate him if we get careless."

Emmett inhaled sharply, apparently beginning to see the full weight of the situation.

"So… if they find him… then what?" he finally asked, no traces of his former jovial self leaking into his question.

"I don't know," I answered. "We have Alice, so I would imagine that knowing of any impending attack will work to our advantage, but that assumes that we'll be involved in the attack. If they come for just him, then I'm not sure she'd see it in time."

"Why not?" he asked.

Jasper answered then, being the expert on Alice. "She's not really looking directly into his future much. She's getting glimpses here and there, but, until this afternoon, it was all so obscure that she couldn't really make anything of it."

"But she said it's starting to come together, right?"

"Yes," he answered, hesitant, worry leaking through his voice.

"Jasper?" I began, turning my full attention to him. "Is everything alright?"

He shook it off, forcing a half-smile onto his face. "Everything's fine. Yep, his future is clearing up, so you're right, hopefully she'll see if anyone's coming for him," he finished quickly, standing and inhaling. I knew better than to push this now, but I didn't like the idea of him hiding something from us.

I didn't believe he was keeping something that could lead us into danger; no, I knew he wouldn't do that; and neither would Alice, for that matter. But he was obviously shaken, and possibly in a big way, which brought on a new wave of nervousness.

He noticed my uneasiness and glowered down at me, begging me to drop it. It was always a difficult balance to find, being sensitive enough while keeping the family safe and the introduction of this vampire was making that task nearly impossible.

I stood, stalking over to him, eager to finish hunting and get back to the house, back to the rest of our family.

**

When we got home the sun had just started rising. Everyone began preparing for their daily tasks as I mulled over how to approach the vampire again. I needed to give him another dose of the antidote, my medical training demanded it.

With the feeding tube in place it wouldn't be difficult to actually get him to ingest the medicine; it was the initial approach that constantly cast a dark cloud over the situation.

In his defense, he had no idea we were trying help him. Every minute I spent with him it became more evident that he had been mishandled for longer than I could even conceive. However, something about his reaction to our approaches wasn't right. For as incoherent as he was, he had a knack for predicting the confrontations before they happened.

My only guess was that he had a gift; something akin to Alice's, possibly, although it could be anything. The one thing that I knew with certainty was that it heightened his fear and it made him more aware than he should be; it was disconcerting.

I retrieved my bag and slowly began the trip upstairs, dreading the uproar it would cause. I hated doing this to him. I hated breaking him when he was so broken, and I hated that he had no idea we were helping him.

But we are helping him, I had to remind myself. It's for the best.

Being a doctor, I had to handle people against their will more often than I cared to admit. It came with the territory. The problem wasn't just fighting him, though. The problem was fighting Bella. The problem was the way she looked at me every time I made him uncomfortable. I could only hope that she saw reason where he was concerned, but my gut told me this assumption was inaccurate.

And now, as I walked up the stairs, the problem became Rosalie.

"Carlisle," she said, walking toward me as I cleared the last of the second staircase.

"How is he?"

"Same. What're you going to do to him?"

"I'm going to give him some medicine so I can feed him in a few hours," I explained, channeling the patient father that they knew me to be. Admittedly, though, it was quickly slipping.

And when she stepped in front of me as I went to the doorway, it's safe to say that it was gone.

"Rosalie, this is not your place."

"The hell it's not. Who else is going to look out for him?"

I grumbled and took a deep breath. Bella and Rosalie had never been particularly close, and we had always been grateful for that. They were two of the most tenacious girls I'd ever met, so I knew that nothing good could come out of Rosalie's interest in the vampire.

"Rose," I began, preparing the same speech I'd given Bella twelve hours earlier. "I'm going to feed him. He'll never heal if he doesn't eat, please let me by."

She grumbled and moved aside, muttering about condescension and doctors.

I walked to his side quickly, not granting him the opportunity to work himself up to the point of insanity, the syringe already prepared. He was growling and struggling to get up, and I knew at this point that he'd be strong enough to get away, so I put a firm hand on chest, carefully avoiding the wound there. He growled viciously, both of his arms coming to mine in a power struggle, and as I stared down at him I noticed that he wouldn't meet my eyes.

His eyes were barely open but focusing intently on something beyond me. I turned my head quickly to look but found nothing.

I could feel his struggling easing under my hand, and I wondered if he was possibly beginning to trust me. I allowed myself to hope, for the briefest second, that he was starting to come around. That maybe, somewhere deep inside of him, he knew that we weren't here to hurt him.

He kept his gaze trained downward, his breathing fast and panicked before he finally turned away from me.

I let up my grip a bit. His fighting didn't pick up again.

"It's almost over," I said as I injected the syringe into the end of the tube. "You just need to hang in there for a little bit longer. Don't give up yet," I whispered to him.

I waited a few minutes, allowing the drug to flow through the tube before standing quietly and leaving.

**

Bella POV

By the time school let out, I was equal parts nervous and excited to see his progression. Alice had been distant throughout the day, but even when we had time to talk, she put on her carefully constructed façade. I asked her a million times what was wrong and she assured me that my vampire was fine; that I'd see for myself that evening.

I didn't think she'd lie to me, unless she was trying to save me from a public breakdown, but even so, if something was wrong then I figured that the Cullens would have ditched. Still, I knew Alice well enough to know that she was troubled by something. I tried to push it to the back of my mind, suspecting that it'd take some convincing to get it out of her.

By the end of the day our conversations had reduced themselves to simple pleasantries, so it surprised me when she walked me to my truck and hopped into the passenger side.

"You're coming with me?" I quirked an eyebrow, trying to decipher her game.

"Sure. I might as well make myself useful." She winked as she turned the volume to the ancient stereo as loud as it would go without the speakers crackling.

We rode to my house in silence, save for the occasional pointed glances toward one another.

When we finally got there, I was almost ready to just skip the side trip and go straight to the mansion. After all, Charlie had implemented my curfew, so it would possibly serve him right to have to fend for himself in the dinner department. But I knew that it was necessary to stay in his good graces if I wanted my weekends, so I sucked it up and started pulling the contents from the fridge.

Alice began preparing to cook, neither of us particularly eager to break the silence. The awkwardness had festered over the course of the day and it was officially blown out of proportion. I grimaced and sat down, watching her back as she maneuvered the kitchen.

Finally, she turned to me. "What's up, Bella?" she asked nonchalantly.

"You tell me."

She studied my unwavering face for signs of surrender before finally taking the chair next to mine.

"I'm worried."

I huffed. The lectures were getting redundant and tedious, and I wasn't sure how many more my brain could handle before it exploded.

"Hear me out," she began. I rolled my eyes in response. "Bella – what if he's dangerous? What if he gets better and has no interest in our lifestyle?"

"I've already thought about –"

She put a finger up, begging me to let her finish. "I'm worried about how close you're getting to him. Even if he never hunts humans and never leaves Forks, what do you expect from him?"

I considered how to answer for a minute. I tried to avoid thinking in terms of the long run, everything was already so unclear. But there was an undeniable truth that I had yet to acknowledge. So I played it safe.

"I… guess that I hope we could be friends? I don't see how it'd be any different than you and me, you know?"

She smiled, nodding her head and narrowing her eyes. "Mmhmm. Well, I just think you should be careful. There are so many ways that this could end unpleasantly, not the least of which is with you dead."

I averted my eyes and stood, heading back to the stove to finish cooking.

"Let me do this, you go shower and do your human things," Alice cut in. I stepped aside and handed her the spoon, silently leaving the kitchen.

**

When we got to the house at 4:30 I wanted nothing more than to head straight upstairs, but I knew that wouldn't happen when I saw the convention of vampires in the living room on my way through.

"Hey guys," I said, diverting from my path and leaning against the arm of the couch. "How is he?"

"He's stronger," Carlisle began as he stood to greet me. "Please be careful."

I crossed my arms in indignation, shaking my head slowly to myself. "I will be," I finally answered.

Esme chuckled, coming to my side. "We know you will. Don't mind him, he's just concerned for you."

I knew she was right, but the constant lectures were taking their toll. I looked at Carlisle apologetically, at which he smiled, telling me I was forgiven.

"Well, what are you still doing down here?" Emmett finally asked after a few moments of awkward silence.

I let out the breath I had been holding and felt the color return to my face. He smirked, exaggerating his eye roll toward the stairs.

"I'll uhh… I'll see you guys…" I started, not sure where I was going with this. "…later," I finished lamely.

When I made it upstairs Rosalie was at her post, eyeing me crossly. I pushed past her this time, unprepared to actually deal with her in the moment.

Seeing him then, I felt a flood of relief wash over me. My vampire was still safe, right where I had left him.

He didn't growl at me, he didn't open his eyes, he didn't inhale.

I carefully moved closer to him, waiting for him to acknowledge that someone was approaching him. His body tensed and lightly trembled as I drew near, the low rumbling growl instinctively resonating from his chest. When I was finally within an arm's reach I let our skin make contact.

He flinched and his eyes closed tighter, but he remained mostly still. Eventually, though, he inhaled, and his shoulders immediately relaxed as his shuddering let up.

"Are you okay?" I whispered, increasing the contact of our skin. He took another shaky breath as his growling ceased.

"Do you mind if I…?" I began to ask before removing my shoes and climbing onto the bed. I pulled the blanket off of his back a bit to look at his wounds, to make sure he had fed, and I found that they had certainly faded more. I crossed my legs underneath me and sat next to him, freeing his arm from the blanket. He complied without a fight, his eyes finally opening to me.

I held his hand in mine, tracing the veins in his arms and watching his face for signs of discomfort. When I saw none, I let my fingers graze the length of his arm.

I smiled as my fingers finally found his face. He looked healthier. His eyes were a little lighter, but not by much. His coloring wasn't much different than it had been, but his face had filled out more.

As I rubbed his hand, his eyes closed again. My hands trembled in sheer relief that he was more or less okay, but I had no idea how I would leave him again tonight. One night was more than I could handle.

He was almost tranquil, so I took the opportunity to lie down.

I ran my fingers through his tangled hair, trying to remove some of the knots without hurting him. He really was looking better. His eyes didn't come off as blank as they once had and I no longer felt as though he was looking through me. It wasn't just physically, either. His features had somehow softened and I didn't get the feeling that he was completely miserable anymore.

I told him about my night and the school day while we laid there. I explained that Alice was keeping something from me and that I wasn't sure how to get it out of her. She never kept things from me.

I watched his breaths slow for a long time, memorizing his face, memorizing the way his lips slightly trembled with every inhale, the way his eyes rolled back when he closed them. Eventually, though, as all good things must end, I became painfully aware of my humanness once more.

The guest room had an adjoining bathroom that I often made use of during my visits, and I very well might have been the only person to set foot in it since the Cullens moved here.

I pulled myself out of bed, trying to ignore the hurt that crossed my vampire's face. His fingers tightened around mine as I withdrew and my heart broke a little

"I'll be right back," I said, untangling our hands and moving to the bathroom.

When I passed the dresser on the way back to the bed, I hesitated. I thought for a minute about how I wanted to approach this, but inevitably I decided that it needed to be done.

I began rummaging through the drawers for a specific pair of pants. They were oversized flannel pajamas that I kept here for the purpose of sleepovers, and they were the most comfortable things in the world.

I finally located them and pulled them from the drawer, holding them out in front of me. I decided immediately that they would serve their purpose, so, with a new mission, I turned and stalked back over to the bed.

My vampire lay there, barely trembling, watching my every move as I approached him. He inhaled, letting himself calm, while I pulled the blanket back off of him.

He was lying on his stomach still, leaving his back exposed, so I flipped the pants over and brought them to his feet.

It took several minutes and more coercion that I ever would have anticipated, but after some struggle, the pants were finally in place.

It didn't seem comfortable to him, to be wearing clothes, but it seemed like a necessary step. He was sort of struggling in them, possibly trying to adjust to the feel, so I just sat with him, rubbing his back, waiting.

Finally, after he had mostly stilled and his trembling was at a minimum, I stood and moved to the west wall that was made almost entirely of glass to pull back the curtains. The sun was just beginning to set and the view of the woods from this room was astounding.

I drew all of the curtains as far back as possible, allowing the light to filter into the bedroom before I made my way back over to the bed.

"You know," I began. "The Cullen's told me I could pick any room in the house." I turned to look at the scene outside before continuing. "I picked this one, though, because Forks is never more beautiful than it is from this bedroom when the sun is setting."

I stood for a few minutes, stretching my legs and back, as the muscles throughout my body had grown tight and rigid.

I looked at my vampire and found him staring out the window intently, his body more motionless than I had ever seen it.

"Over the summer, Alice and I would sit here almost every night watching it set. Sometimes you can hear the wolves howling in the distance," I whispered, moving aside so he could get a full view of the forest. I leaned against the bed, my fingers tangling with his once more.

While I stood there, enjoying this moment with my vampire, I told him about the summers I used to spend with Charlie. The river that he fished at was partially visible from here, and I explained how my days used to be spent reading in the grass while my father caught dinner.

Finally, I climbed onto the bed. I sat at the foot, next to his legs, rubbing his calf through the pajamas. I turned to him and watched in awe as my vampire took in his new surroundings, as he finally began to breathe again.

He looked so at peace in that moment, so free. I wondered briefly if he had ever seen the sunset, or if he remembered it.

I thought back to that night, almost six months ago. The night when reality and fantasy merged into one and my life as I knew it was no more. I couldn't help but wonder where I'd be now if Alice had come just thirty seconds later. Before I could even recognize the feelings, I was stung with the bitter pang of regret. I could be so much more for him, and no one could stop me. I wouldn't have a curfew, I wouldn't have to worry about my vampire killing me, I wouldn't have to worry about the "what ifs" that Alice attacked me with this afternoon. And it could have been perfect.

I knew these thoughts were on a dangerous track so I brought myself back to reality.

I felt the bed shifting and I turned my focus back to my vampire. He was sitting up slowly, watching me intently as he nervously lifted himself. I smiled in encouragement, trying not to show my complete fascination and excitement with his forwardness. He was clearly hesitant and anxious, unsure of whether to proceed, so I moved over a little and patted the bed next to me. He looked to the spot, then back to me, before slowly working himself closer.

We kept eye contact, but from my peripheries I could see his frame shaking. As he inched his way closer to me, I put out my hand, wanting to guide him closer but needing him to do it on his own.

Finally, when my vampire was next to me at the foot of the bed, he curled his body up and laid his head in my lap. I think I could've died from the sheer happiness of the moment, but instead, I brought my hands to his hair and ran my fingers across his scalp, both of our attentions turning back to the window.

The sun was lower in the sky still, the trees just beginning to obscure the bottom of it. As my vampire watched the sunset, I watched him. His dark eyes mirrored the falling sun while the blank expression I had grown so used to began to soften. It wasn't a smile, but it was close.

**

A/N: The Vamp was naked for this long for a lot of reasons, they include, but are not limited to:

Would clothing be uncomfortable (if he's been unclothed for so long, would the weight/feel be something he doesn't appreciate?)

How would they get him dressed? (in this chapter bella needed some cooperation from him, so before he fed when he was still completely feral, it'd be near impossible)

Would he remove the clothes? (I tend to think that he would)

Would they hurt his wounds? (Maybe yes, maybe no, but it's something to think about)

Would he even care that he's naked (if he's running on instinct) – this is the biggie – for us, and for the Cullens, it's probably uncomfortable for him to be naked. For him, I think it's the last thing on his mind.

**

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