My Wish

EPOV

The images slowed down. Aro must have found the one he was looking for. The two bodies were lying on the floor in the living room, only part of them visible from where we were looking from. We moved closer to the doorway, the bodies coming more and more into our line of sight. There was a mirror hanging on the wall and we looked into it as we passed by. Bella's face looked back at us, her eyes unfocused and slightly white in the middle.

I thought back to what she had told me in the meadow. This guy had made her blind even before he changed her, so this memory had to be the one when she was changed. That brought up the question of how we were seeing everything perfectly, but I held it in until we were done here. I felt a rising dread as my mind made up different scenarios about what we were going to see, but I quickly shut them down and paid attention to what was going on.

Bella continued to walk slowly towards the living room, the three of us still seeing everything out of her eyes. I could feel her need to call out, to call to her parents, to hear their voices and know they weren't who was on the floor. There was a small sense of frustration, a sense of knowing what would happen if she did, but it was quickly squashed by fear and her own sense of dread that magnified my own.

She took the last two steps into the living room, stopping at the feet of the first body. It was a woman, her brown hair splayed out on the floor around her head. Her eyes were open, revealing a deep brown under the milky film that was quickly taking form. She was facing away from Bella, lying on her side. I felt Bella's breath catch in her throat as she looked down at her mother. She bent down and almost touched her face before stopping herself and standing back up. She looked over at the other body, knowing exactly who it would be.

He was lying face down on the floor facing away from Bella. His left arm was twisted into an awkward position and his legs were splayed. His right arm was up by his face, some of his fingers pointing in odd directions. She slowly walked over, the desire to wrap her arms around herself and curl into a ball in the corner growing more and more. She kneeled down on the floor next to him and noticed something shiny on the floor. Most of it was under him, and she gently pulled on the cool metal chain.

She heard the tinkling sound of metal hitting metal and a tear slide down her face as she pulled out her dad's dog tags. Her hands shook as she held it up, wiping the slick wetness off of them. She couldn't see what it was with the poor lighting in the room, but she knew it was blood. She dropped the chain over her head and tucked it securely under her shirt, the cool metal all but reassuring against her skin.

She stood up and closed her eyes, making everything go black. She was sobbing quietly her hands fists at her sides. She kept blaming herself, over and over again. She kept repeating "it's all my fault, it's all my fault," not paying attention to the sounds around her. But I heard them, which meant, somewhere in the back of her mind, she did too.

Footsteps. Almost silent, but sounding purposely loud enough for her to hear.

"Is-a-bell-la," an arrogant male voice called. Bella tensed, her sobs cut off with her fear. "I told you I would never leave, and that means you can't either. So come here like a good little girl. It won't hurt, I promise." The voice almost started laughing.

Bella knew better now than to trust him. She backed away slowly, hearing his voice from the back of the kitchen. Her heart was beating out of her chest, her breaths short and shallow as she tried to make as little noise as possible. There was a slight pain in my hand, but I couldn't think of what could be hurting her.

Bella started backing towards the door, which hadn't been closed all the way when she came in. It would be an easy escape. Something blurred in her vision and the next thing she knew, the door was closed and locked, both with the knob and the deadbolt. Her heart clenched with fear and she started back towards her parents. She glanced at the stairs, knowing the only way out now was an open window.

"There's no escaping me, Bella. I thought you learned this already, but I guess I'll have to teach you again. Your parents didn't understand, either. They told me to stay away from you, but I just can't do that." He tried to sound pitying, but there was an underlying sense of exhilaration, like he was enjoying what was happening.

Bella's eyes widened, his voice being closer than it had been. Her breaths came even faster and she looked around the room, starting to panic. She looked down at the floor, wishing they were there, wishing they could help her, tell her what to do. She noticed two dark spots on her mother's neck, and large dark lines running down to the floor and under her. They were on the side she was laying on, which was why Bella hadn't seen them before. She took a few steps over towards her father, looking around his neck. He had the same marks, and the same dark pool under him. Confusion raged in her, along with terror.

"Come here, my girl. You know I will get you anyway, but don't you want to make it easier?" He sounded like he was just around the corner behind her.

Bella ran up the stairs, completely forgetting about being quiet. He knew exactly where she was, and she knew it. She crashed into the banister and tripped up the first few steps. The voice laughed, the sound echoing in her mind.

She continued running up the stairs, lifting her feet higher to avoid tripping again. She made it up and crashed to the ground in her haste. I felt my own heart beating, not only with her exertion, but with her absolute terror. The pain in her hand increased, and I felt it like it was my own. It was a sharp, piercing kind of pain, but I was brought back by a loud crash right above Bella's head. He laughed again and Bella took off down the hall. She knew she was trapping herself if she couldn't get out the window, but she had no other choice.

One door was open, her bedroom door, and she barreled into it, slamming the door behind her. She pushed the lock button, hoping to buy herself some time. She ran over to the window, and fumbled with the lock. It hadn't been open since summer, and the lock was stuck. She tugged at it with all she had, but it didn't budge. She tried again, using her weight to pull it back. It slid half way, but he burst through the door before she could get it all the way open. She suppressed her scream as best she could, but his shadowed face broke out a toothy grin.

He knew he had won.

Bella kept tugging at the lock, a last ditch effort to save herself. The lock slid free just as his cool arms wrapped around her like thick metal bands. She let the scream out this time, but his hand clamped tightly over her mouth. His other arm was wrapped around her waist, his hand securing the hold by clamping on her hip.

"See?" he said in her ear. "I told you I would get you." He walked over to the door with her and kicked what remained of it shut. He kicked the rest in front of it and then walked over to the bed. He threw her down and paced in front of her.

"Now the question is what to do with you." He stopped his pacing and tilted his head, like he was listening to something far away. He smiled and looked down at Bella, his face a blur of shadow. "Well, that takes care of that. Someone must have heard your mouth when you screamed. They're talking to a dispatcher, but it doesn't sound like they are taking the call very seriously." He leaned over her cowering form, an arm on either side of her to keep himself up.

"I guess you'll just have to die now. It is a great disappointment, though. I was going to have so much fun watching you squirm."

He leaned down, his nose brushing against her neck. She tried to move away, but he clamped down on her arms. He inhaled deeply and sighed. Bella's heart was beating so fast, it felt like it was going to stop at any moment. Her chest actually hurt with the force of her heartbeat.

He started kissing her neck, moving from under her ear down to her collar bone. He made sure to go over the pulsing vein in her neck, seeming to relish in the feel of her heartbeat under his lips. He placed one more slightly low on her neck, at about the level of her parents' wounds. Bella was completely frozen with terror, not able to move any part of her body no matter how hard she tried.

All of a sudden, he grabbed her arms and picked her up. He tossed her up into the air and kicked her across the room. Her back slammed against the wall and something cracked. Her head hit not a second later and bright lights erupted in her vision. She heard him walk up to her as she crumpled to the floor and tried to lift her arms to shield her face. He kicked her in the stomach and then proceeded to pick her up by her hair before continuously punching her stomach. He let go when he heard her gag a few times and she fell to the floor with a loud thump. She landed on her side and lay there, tears trailing down her face while she held in her sobs.

"My, my, Isabella. What are we going to do about those tears? I think I should just put you out of your misery now, but what fun would that be?" He laughed again.

He grabbed a fistful of her hair and flung her across the room. She slammed against the headboard and rolled down off the pillows. Her vision went black from the impact and she closed her eyes. Her whole body was on fire with pain, and she couldn't move. He grabbed one of her legs and turned her so that she was laying down on her back on the bed, her head just below the pillows. She felt his weight pushing down on the bed next to her and kept her eyes closed tight.

"Look at me, Isabella. Now," he said, his voice slow and sharp. She didn't and a sharp pain erupted on the side of her face. "Now, Isabella." His voice was lower, more sinister, and it sounded like he was having trouble shaping his words. Bella passed it off as the result of the hits to her head.

She opened her eyes and her vision slowly cleared. She almost screamed when she saw him. His eyes were deep blood red and sharp teeth protruded out of his mouth, dimpling his lower lip. The rest of his face was still in shadow, but the fangs poking out of his mouth were completely visible.

"You like them, my girl? I hated having to keep it a secret from you for so long, but now you can know. You can know because you are never going to see another day." His tone was light and his words were slurred slightly, but it didn't take away from his seriousness. Bella knew she was going to die. What he was never really clicked in her mind. Only that one simple fact.

He reached over her, propping himself up on one hand. The other shot down at her neck. His hand clamped around the back and he forced her to sit up. He rubbed his thumb across the side of her neck, a smile creeping across his face.

"This will only hurt a little, my Bella."

Just as his fangs pierced her skin, I was ripped out of the image, a crushing pain in my hand and a ripping sensation coming from my chest. There was a sense of falling before I hit something hard, my vision black from the pain. I heard someone yelling something and the grip on my hand disappeared, but I couldn't tell what anyone was saying. A bright white light started growing in my vision, but very slowly. My body kept getting lighter and lighter, like the weight of the world was leaving my shoulders…

BPOV

I couldn't do it. I had been able to watch, but I couldn't go through that again. It had felt like the greatest level of intrusion, like he was looking directly at my soul. He wasn't going to do it again, even if it wasn't real.

I attacked his shadowed face, my arms suddenly finding the energy to move. I had kept his face hidden to make it easier for me to let Aro watch, but now I let his hate-filled face show. His dark brown hair was spiked up like usual and his mouth was twisted into a fanged smirk. His perfect features stared back at me through my memories and I lashed out.

He was just out of my reach each time, but I still felt something give way. It was strong at first, like I wasn't doing anything to it, but it eventually started loosening. I kept up my attacks and felt my progress growing with each swipe of my hands. I heard someone yelling and hands grab my wrists and shoulders, but I didn't see anyone. I thought he was messing with my head and kept it up. His evil grin kept growing, making me renew the effort in my attacks. Someone screamed, but it sounded really far away. My ears seemed to hone in on where the sound was coming from and I finally understood parts of what was being yelled.

"Bella!" a voice screamed. "Bella, you need to calm down! He's not here! It's just in your mind!" I couldn't place the voice and I kept going, feeling that I was getting closer and closer to finishing him.

"Bella, it's not him that you're hurting! You can't hurt him right now! He's just in your head." I faltered slightly, the voice's words confusing me. I turned my head back and forth, looking for who was speaking.

"Bella, it's me," the voice said softer. "It's Alice. Please, Bella. You need to stop." Her voice had the sound of tears and I listened intently, needing the distraction from what I was still seeing.

"Relax, Bella. You need to relax so we can try to help him. You're still hurting him, Bella." This just confused me more. Who was I hurting? The only person I saw was him, and his smile was slowly fading into a scowl. I thought back to who had been around me when we started and immediately knew who she was talking about. I couldn't feel his hand in mine anymore, and I gasped in shock.

"Bella, please relax. You need to relax and come back to us. Edward needs you now, Bella. He needs you to relax so you can help him." I hesitated for just a moment before letting my body slump against the floor.

Someone grabbed my hands and murmured softly to me, but I wasn't listening to them. I was listening to the shallow, harsh breathing of the person lying not too far from me. I reached around slowly, and one hand let go. The other kept holding on, so I searched around for him with my free hand. I was still seeing my old room, but his face had finally disappeared when Alice mentioned Edward. I blinked away the image until the murky shadow world I currently lived in reappeared.

I searched for the blurred human shape I had come to look for all the time and found it, my hand reaching Edward's head. We had managed to fall off the couch so that our heads were facing each other. I switched my vision to see if he was in pain, and his aura was a pure, bright white. His soul seemed to be partially floating above him, his arms, legs, and most of his torso seeming to be floating on an invisible breeze. Only the upper part of his chest and his head were still in his body. I felt an involuntary gasp escape me as I ripped my hand out of the grip that had been holding it and pulled myself over to him.

No, I thought to myself. No, no, no…This can't be happening. I felt the tears flowing freely as I looked down it his face, still unable to see any of the details, but able to see enough to notice his pain. I pulled myself up so that I was kneeling and set his head in my lap. I put my hands on either side of his face and rubbed my thumbs slowly across his cheeks. A hand landed lightly on my shoulder, but I didn't turn away from Edward.

"He is dying, child," Aro's voice said from next to me. My whole body flinched and he squeezed my shoulder soothingly, even though it did nothing to calm me. "His soul has been separated from his body. He, quite literally, is just barely hanging on. But you can save him, Isabella." I tensed and felt my eyes become unfocussed as my mind concentrated on his every word.

"All you have to do is put his soul back, my dear. I know you can see where it has come loose, so all you need to do is make the connections again. All you have to do is will it, and it will happen."

I turned to him, blinking once to refocus my eyes. His soul was perfectly encased in his body, a solid red line outlining his form. Just from seeing how Edward's outline was fuzzy, I could tell the line on Aro had been made because of him being a vampire. His soul was trapped in his body because he couldn't die like a mortal. I looked at the rest of the Cullens to find the same thing, except their outlines were a bright gold color.

"Or you could just change him," Aro said, throwing out the option I thought he was going to say in the first place. I looked at him and he looked back. "It has to happen eventually. He is a human who knows about our kind, and now yours. He has to be changed." I looked down at Edward, but I couldn't imagine him being some kind of blood thirsty monster. I couldn't imagine him with red eyes and fangs sticking out of his gentle mouth. It left me with only one option.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself so that I could focus. I kept rubbing my thumbs gently across Edward's face, which actually calmed me more than my breathing. I guessed it was the warmth coming from his body, letting me know that he was still there, but I shook the thought from my head. I couldn't afford to start wondering about something I could never know for sure at that moment.

I took one more deep breath before opening my eyes and letting my vision tunnel until just Edward's soul and the form of his body lying on the floor were all that I could see. I let my gaze wander from the very top of his head all the way down his body, trying to find the connections that Aro had mentioned. From what I could tell, they seemed to focus on the joints of his body. They had the form of bands or thread, but most of them had snapped from the force of my power. The ends were frayed and stretched out, which must have been the resistance I had felt.

I took the nearest one into my power, which happened to be at his elbows. It was hard to tell what I was doing, but it almost looked like my power had taken on the form of two hands, smoothing out and mending the threads until they were able to be reconnected. I let those go until I was ready with all of the others before moving to his other elbow and continuing down until I got to his ankles. I never physically moved, but my power stretched to where it was needed.

I finished with his feet before turning my attention to getting his soul back where it belonged. I focused my power on the area just under where the connection between Edward's body and his soul broke, trying to push it back down into his body.

It was like trying to move fog.

I could feel myself growing frustrated, my concentration faltering and any progress undoing itself as I watched. My energy was starting to drain as well, fatigue deciding this was a good time to set in. I took another deep breath and pushed everything that didn't involve helping Edward to the very back of my mind.

I started gently running my power over his soul, caressing the very top. It moved down slightly under the pressure, but did not recoil like it had when I tried to force it. It had seemed to bounce right back out as soon as I had managed to make any progress, making me waste my energy. I thought about it for a second and almost smacked myself. His soul was acting just like Edward, which was only normal. I hadn't even thought about it, but, just like his soul, Edward did not respond well to being pushed around. I would have saved precious time and energy if I had stopped to think for just a second, and I mentally scolded myself for it.

I refocused again, continuing to gently coax his soul closer and closer to his body. It started resisting more as I brought it closer, but I took half of my power and used it to wrap the threads around his soul and fuse them together so that they were whole again. I breathed a sigh of relief as the last threads glowed softly as they fused and his soul settled itself back into his body.

There was a flash of light before Edward sighed weakly, everything back in its right place. I sighed again, closing my eyes and letting them shift back to my normal vision before opening them again. I only managed to get them half way open and I could feel myself swaying back and forth. Apparently I wasn't the only one to notice, because Jasper's voice sounded just as I started falling slowly to one side.

"She's going to pass out," he said. Arms wrapped themselves around me gently, pulling me back until I was leaning against his chest. My eyes slowly drifted shut, but I fought to open them again. I felt the weight of Edward's head disappear from my lap and tried to move my arms to find him. They barely moved and Jasper rubbed a hand up and down my arm.

"Shh…" he said soothingly. "He's fine. Emmett's laying him on the couch. He's already waking up." I sighed in relief. I seemed to be doing that a lot, but there wasn't much more I could do without Edward to translate for me. Jasper seemed to feel my half-hearted frustration and chuckled quietly. I heard someone move next to me and felt that hand on my shoulder again.

"You did well, young one," Aro's voice said. I didn't have the energy to turn my head, but he didn't seem to care. "He will make a full recovery. I must warn you now, though. He will wake up at any moment, but he will fall into unconsciousness not long after. He will stay that way for quite a while before his body has fully healed from the ordeal. And you need to make sure this does not happen again. It will not be as easy or as successful the next time. It may not work at all." He seemed to wait for a response, but I couldn't give him one. I amplified my understanding and Jasper got the hint.

"She understands, sir," he said seriously. I saw Aro nod from the corner of my eye and stand up.

"He will probably be out for the entirety of the weekend, and possibly Monday. She will be out for a while as well, but I cannot give you any kind of estimate with her power being able to help her recover," Aro said. Jasper picked me up, one arm under my knees and the other around my shoulders. My head lolled to one side until it hit his chest. There was silence for a few seconds until Alice's voice broke it.

"It's getting harder and harder to see her, but it looks like she'll wake up about the same time he does. From what I can tell, that'll be late Sunday night." No one said anything, letting it sink in. Both of us would be out for almost two entire days.

"I must be getting back now," Aro stated, breaking the silence. "I know they will have questions, so I will tell you the rest of what I know. The person who changed her is what we know as a reaper. He is one of the beings that takes the souls of those who have died and brings them for judgment. Isabella has a bond with this one because he is her sire. The only way to break this bond, and in turn destroy the control he has over her, is for her to overcome the only thing keeping them linked. It is her fear. Once she overcomes that, he will have nothing over her."

I couldn't get my mind to wrap around what I was hearing. I was just so exhausted. Aro's information was filed away in my mind for later when I could think clearly. I heard a soft groan come from my left and knew Edward was waking up. I tried to turn my head towards him, but I couldn't move.

"Be-…" he started saying. His voice faded away. Jasper walked somewhere and I tried to get myself out of his arms, but he held on.

"Stop, Bella. He's fine. There's nothing more you can do for him," he said gently. I knew he was right, but I felt like I had to make sure. Jasper sighed and walked again. He stopped and bent down next to the couch. I could just make out the rise and fall of Edward's chest as he breathed steadily and felt myself relax.

"Go ahead and check him, Bella," Jasper said. I blinked slowly, allowing my eyes to switch over again. The room turned black except for the glow of the souls around me. Just as Jasper had told me, Edward was fine. His soul was still in his body and all of the ties were still there. It was a beautiful sight. I smiled as much as I could and let my eyes drift closed. I didn't fight to keep them open this time, my fatigue becoming too great to fight. My mind wavered between wake and sleep, allowing me to hear what was happening around me.

"I bet this was a lot more eventful than you had expected, wasn't it?" Carlisle's voice said. Aro chuckled.

"Yes, but very informative. Never in my wildest imagination did I expect to find someone like her on an anonymous call about a stray vampire. It makes my heart glad to see her in such good hands, though, my friend." Something in what he said confused me, but Carlisle pointed it out.

"This person called about a stray?" he asked, sounding just as confused as I was struggling to.

"Yes. They mentioned a vampire without a clan being involved with a young human. They said the human knew about us, which is why I had to come. They were right on all counts, but the situation is much different than I had been prepared for."

"I see," Carlisle said. "That still does not bring us any closer to finding out who it was."

"No, I'm afraid it doesn't," Aro responded. "But from what I can see, you have enough of a mystery on your hands already." He seemed to think for a moment before speaking again.

"I will do you a favor, my old friend. My brothers insisted on having you change the boy while I was here, but I will be lenient. I will give you one year to change him. That should give you enough time to get him ready, especially since he should finish his schooling before he is changed. I know it is not much, but he needs to be changed, whether you do it now or wait. I have given you the choice instead of forcing it."

"It is greatly appreciated, Aro. I'm sure we will have no problem convincing him, since he has wanted to be changed since he found out," Carlisle said. He didn't sound all that thankful, but he was trying very hard.

"Now I really must end my imposing on you and your family. I was supposed to leave a little while ago, but I am sure Marcus and Caius can handle things on their own for a short time. Ah, well, it seems like my work is never done. Goodbye, my old friend. I hope to see you with an all vampire family the next time we meet." He sounded extremely suggestive, and Carlisle noticed it too.

"You will, Aro. We will take full advantage of your kindness." I don't know what happened next, nothing being said, but the front door opened and closed with a finality that told me Aro had left. I could actually feel the sigh of relief that came with his absence.

There was a squeaking from the couch as Jasper started walking again. A door was opened and the next thing I knew I was being laid down on the bed. I heard someone else approaching and a soft voice that made my still heart flutter.

"Where is she?" Edward's half-awake voice said weakly. I tried to open my eyes, but they felt like lead.

"She's right here, man, and she's fine. Just tired," Emmett said from next to me. I felt the bed lower on my right side and a hand grabbed my own. His warmth spread through my hand as he rubbed his thumb across my palm a few times. I tried to move mine, just to let him know I was there, but all I got was a twitch. It seemed to be enough for him because he entwined our fingers and squeezed my hand once.

"Get some rest, you two. You need it," Emmett said, his voice sounding like he was near the door. Edward said something, but I was drifting further and further into sleep.

A door closed and I felt Edward move around next to me. I was gently pulled onto my side and his arms wrapped around me. He moved my arm so that it was on his stomach and not squished between us and my head was resting on his chest. I sighed contentedly, letting him know that I was okay with this. He chuckled lightly, rubbing my back as I continued to slowly drift off.

"If I could take back everything that happened to you, Bella, I would. In a heartbeat," Edward said, his voice getting heavy with sleep.

I smiled sadly. There was no way for anyone to take back what happened to me. It happened, and now I had to live with it. There was no going back. What I didn't have the chance to tell him before I fell asleep was I would have done the same for him.

A/N: That…was super long. Well, not really, but it felt like it as I was typing it. So, to answer the question a few of you asked, yes, Edward was seeing Bella's memory with them. You'll have to wait for the next chapter for the explanation, but I will tell you that much.

Also, it is going to be a little hard to update next weekend. I am going away on Friday and won't be back until either Sunday night or Monday afternoon. I am going to try to get the chapter done before I go away, but I don't know if I will get it done.

The song is a touching one called My Wish by Rascal Flatts. :P