Dreams Only Last for the Night

EPOV

The wolves parted and Emmett warily walked into the clearing. He was carrying an older man, who I guessed was the one who had spoken. He was tan like the kid, Jacob, and had long black hair tied back with a piece of leather. There were crows feet around his eyes and his legs hung limply, like mine used to.

"What are you talking about, dad?" Jacob said. "I've never heard that before." The old man smiled sadly.

"That's because it has been forgotten over the years, especially since no one could figure out who or what it was talking about. The vampires completely ignored it, and we thought it was going to be one of us." His gaze moved to Bella. "Apparently we were wrong."

I looked down at Bella, her eyes closed and her body shaking. He was right. She was a human with the powers of a vampire. She was bleeding just like a human, feeling pain, and knowing she was seriously injured. I looked up at the old man, and then at Emmett. He jerked his head behind him and I saw the others standing outside the clearing, looking yearningly at me, but unwilling to upset the wolves between us.

"Why is she so important?" Jacob asked, not whining so much anymore. The old man's smile immediately turned to a frown.

"There is a Reaper that has been disrupting the natural order for the past few centuries. He has been taking the lives of those who were not ready, and for no particular reason. He seems to enjoy the pain of the families that are left behind." He paused for a second before continuing. "What she is supposed to do is rid the worlds, both human and supernatural, of him and his rampage." I looked down at Bella and back up at him.

"How is she supposed to do that?" I asked shakily. He smiled sympathetically at me.

"While she's like this? She won't. We need to get her some blood before she falls into a coma."

Just as he finished his sentence, Bella's whole body started shaking violently. Her eyes shot open and rolled back into her head. Her wounds started bleeding faster and faster, soaking my lap and the ground around us.

"Bella," I whispered, letting go of her head, but not moving my hands. She convulsed for another few seconds before her back arched and she fell limply to the ground. Her wounds continued to bleed, but she didn't move.

"She needs blood," Carlisle's voice said from above me. I looked up to see the others standing around us, looking down worriedly at Bella. Rose and Jasper ran off, I guess to go get as much as they could find.

"They won't get enough in time. Animal blood won't heal her fast enough," he said sadly. I looked down at her, knowing what he was saying, and felt my heartbeat quicken. The only way to save her was to give her mine.

I quickly grabbed his hand and dragged his nail across my wrist, trying not to make a sound. A thin red line appeared and a single drop of blood ran down towards my elbow. I put my other hand under her chin and gently opened her mouth. I put my wrist against her bottom lip, letting the blood fall in. Her body shook once and I put my wrist against her mouth, seeing her fangs slowly start to elongate.

I waited a few seconds, letting the blood run into her mouth before I took my hand from her chin and squeezed my wrist. I felt it run faster and she jerked her head, one of her fangs finding its way into my wound. I held in a cry of pain and slowly moved my arm until I felt the other. My breathing turned ragged, but I let a small smile break out on my face when I felt her pull. Her lips moved against my wrist, making a seal around the wound. She pulled again and my breath hitched.

I looked down at her wounds and gasped. All the blood that had not yet touched the ground was flowing back into her. I felt like I was watching something rewind, all of the drops forming one long line that led right back into her. She kept pulling, eventually having enough energy to hold my wrist to her mouth by herself. Her grip was just enough to keep it there, but not enough to feel like she wasn't going to let go.

She pulled a few more times before I started getting lightheaded. I felt my head start falling forward at the same time that Bella's lips slowly left my arm, her fangs gently leaving my wound. The weight of her head left my lap and her hands moved from my wrist. I felt someone pick me up, but my eyes drifted closed. My stomach was flipping like crazy and I had to do everything I could not to hurl on whoever was holding me. I was set down gently and propped up against something.

"Come on, son. Stay with me," Carlisle's voice said. I struggled to open my eyes and saw him kneeling next to me. He gave me a small smile and put his index and middle fingers against my neck for a few seconds. He nodded slightly to himself and he started looking around for something, holding my wrist so it was level.

"Here," a voice said from above me.

I looked up to see the kid, Jacob, holding a shredded shirt. Carlisle nodded in thanks and took it, laying my arm down and ripping it into strips. Jacob took my arm and held it up while Carlisle wrapped it, tying it tightly. I leaned my head back and looked straight up, finding out it was a tree I was against.

"Sit back and relax for right now, kid. You did good," Carlisle said, putting his hand on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and sighed.

Carlisle kept pressure over my wound, but it didn't hurt as bad anymore. I guessed that I was getting numb to it, but I didn't know how that could happen. I sighed again, not able to think clearly at that moment. I heard movement and a thump somewhere in front of me, but couldn't get my eyes open again to look. I drifted into a half sleep for a little while before I was awakened by someone picking me up again. Someone with small hands laid my wrist across my chest, maybe Alice, and kissed my cheek.

"Take them back to our house. They can rest there until they are well enough to travel on their own," the old man's voice said. The person holding me paused for a moment before they started walking.

I continued to drift in and out of sleep, any step unlike the others awakening me. Two steps sounded like they could have been on wood, like steps, but I passed out again too fast for my mind to decide.

When I woke up again, my head was cushioned by something soft and my feet were propped up. My head had fallen to the side and my arms were resting on my stomach. The pressure of the wrap around my wrist was still there, but the pain was almost completely gone. I opened my eyes slowly and turned my head, immediately squeezing them shut as my head spun.

"Don't move too fast just yet," someone said from somewhere near my head. I sighed and went to put my hand over my eyes. My arm felt like lead and I gave up with another sigh. The person laughed.

"Don't worry. It'll get easier soon enough. Your body just needs to replace the blood you lost." The voice was male and there was something in my head that was telling me I knew who it was, but it wouldn't give me a name.

The one thing that did manage to stir up my memories was the word blood. I sat up quickly, smacking my wounded wrist on the side of whatever I was laying on, and my stomach clenched. I leaned to my right, the side I hit my wrist on, and hurled the small amount that had been in my stomach. There was a sound like something hitting the bottom of a bucket and I started falling, unable to get my bearings and right myself.

"Hang on there, son. I did warn you," the voice spoke, an arm catching me across the chest. I opened my eyes and saw a bucket sitting on the floor, a mess that I could have done without seeing inside it, and the side of a couch under me.

"Where is she?" I asked, my voice no more than a hoarse whisper. I was leaned back onto the couch and Carlisle's face came into my view. He his eyes looked tired, his body not able to betray that fact. He brought a chair next to the couch and sat down.

"She is upstairs. We were not sure how she would react to you being in the same room right after she had fed from you, especially since I haven't changed your bandages yet," he said quietly. I slowly looked down at my wrist, the bandages bloodied but more so in two spots.

"Is she okay?" I asked. He looked at me worriedly and I felt my chest tighten.

"She is still alive, but she has been constantly fighting to stay so since you fed her. You gave her enough to survive, but she is having a tough time. Rose and Jasper were able to get three deer for her and she completely drained them, but she lost almost all the blood she had. The real problem is that I do not know how she heals. The only thing I have been able to figure out is that she needs blood in her body. If she does not, then she dies. That is what we are focusing on right now. Billy, Jacob, and the others are trying to see if they can find anything on her in their old texts, but so far the only reference is the prophecy," he explained all at once, his eyes looking at his hands in his lap. I released a breath I hadn't known I was holding and closed my eyes.

"Do we know if she will wake up?" I asked, not opening my eyes. I heard him sigh and squeezed my eyes shut tighter.

"I truly do not know. I do not think she will die, but waking up is another matter. She may be in this coma forever for all I know. We need to find out more before I can say anything for sure." He rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand and closed his eyes, looking like he had a headache. A girl came in the room just then, her skin as tan as Jacob's and her hair just as dark. She had a glass of water in one hand and held it out to me.

"Here. Figured you might want to rinse your mouth out after that," she said not looking at my face. She seemed to be focusing on my wrist, but I didn't care. Carlisle helped me sit up more, being careful to do so slowly. I took the water, mumbled a thank you, and drank down the whole glass. I looked for a table to put the glass on and she offered to take it, still not looking directly at me. Carlisle seemed to be able to tell what was about to be discussed and walked out. I smirked.

"You don't understand?" I asked. She looked at me then, tilting her head to one side.

"Huh?" I looked at my wrist and back at her. She looked away then and I smiled, feeling my eyelids start to get heavy.

"You don't understand why I did it." She shook her head.

"No, I don't. You helped something that lives to kill others to sustain itself. You let it bite you so that it wouldn't die, like it should have. No, I don't get it," she said her face slowly turning stone-like as I watched her.

"So, you have never felt such strong feelings for someone that you would be willing to give your own life to save theirs? You have never felt so in love with someone that you value their life above your own?" I asked quietly. Confusion crossed her face, but she didn't say anything.

"I love Bella more than I have ever loved anyone. She gave me my life back in a way I never thought anyone could. I thought I had lost everything worth living for and the first day I met her, she made me think differently." I shrugged. "Maybe you need to have something like that before you can really understand what I did." Her face slowly softened and she nodded a couple times.

"I still don't think I would be able to do it for one of them, but I may be a little biased. I can't help that though. It's in my nature to hate them. But maybe if it was someone else, like someone from the pack…I think I would have done the same. You're right. Maybe you even need to have it happen before you understand…" She let her thoughts trail off and turned to go.

"Get some rest. You still look exhausted." I nodded once and yawned, causing her to shake her head and let a small smile break through. She offered her hand and I took let, letting her take some of my weight so I could shift down the couch and lay down. She walked away and I closed my eyes.

"Leah," I heard her voice say from behind me. I smiled tiredly, and half-opened my eyes.

"Edward," I responded. She let the small smile come again and inclined her head before walking away. I closed my eyes and was asleep in seconds.

*~*~*

I was able to sit up the next day, but I had to take it slow at first. My head still spun, but it settled after I closed my eyes and sat still for a few seconds. I wasn't able to stand without almost fainting until even later, but I wasn't in much of a rush. Bella still hadn't woken up yet.

Leah checked in on me throughout the day, but she never stayed to talk long. I didn't see much of anyone else either. Esme or one of the others brought food every now and then, since I stubbornly stayed on the couch the whole day. I only left for the bathroom and immediately went back. The T.V. was on for a while, but I couldn't concentrate on it so I turned it off.

I laid on the couch for the rest of the day, letting myself doze off every now and then. I jerked awake any time someone walked in or by the door, my heart racing until I found out they weren't there because of Bella. My interest completely disappeared and I would lay back down with a sigh, answering any questions with as little words as possible.

Esme brought me a sandwich at one point and looked down at me sadly. She set the plate down on the coffee table and sat down on the corner of it. I was staring at the ceiling, my vision unfocused. She put her hand on my arm and I turned my head towards her.

"You are a mess, Edward," she stated. She shook her head when I didn't respond. "I understand how you must feel right now, but moping isn't going to help her at all. You can't just shut down because she isn't here." I slowly shook my head.

"I don't know what to do, Esme. I feel like I'm losing everything all over again, except this time it's in slow motion. I have to sit here while she slips away and I can't do anything about it. At least with my parents, it was over before I knew they were even gone," I whispered, feeling a single tear streak down my cheek. Esme kneeled down next to the couch and wiped it away with her thumb.

"Oh, Edward. You're not going to lose her. She wouldn't let herself be taken that easily. You just have to keep your faith in her will to fight and have the patience to wait until she wins. She will win, Edward. Don't doubt that." Esme smiled softly and kissed my forehead before getting up and walking out.

I laid there thinking about what she said for a long time, finally sitting up and eating once I realized how dark it had gotten. I rubbed my forehead with my hand and felt how dirty I had let myself get. I sighed and stood up, making my way towards the bathroom. I shut the door behind me and undid the bandages around my wrist. Two angry red spots were still there, but the skin had already healed over the punctures. I got ointment out of the medicine cabinet and set a fresh pack of gauze on the counter with the old bandages and got in the shower.

I let the warm water pound at my back and hissed in pain when it hit my wrist. I took a quick shower after that, trying not to let the water touch it at all. I got out and wrapped a towel loosely around my waist. I ripped open the gauze and flinched when it twisted the newly healed skin. I squeezed the ointment tube over them being careful not to touch them with the end. I laid the gauze over it and slowly pushed it down, stopping as soon as the first shot of pain hit my wrist. I laid one end of the bandage on the gauze and pressed it against my stomach. I got the first wrap done, after dropping it a few times and finished it up quickly. It wasn't as tight as Carlisle had done it, but it wasn't bleeding anymore so I left it like that.

I got dressed in the clothes I had had on before, seeing as though none of us had expected to be staying in someone else's house, and used my good hand to shake the water out of my hair. I walked back to the living room and sat down on the couch. I sighed deeply and laid down, staring at the ceiling for a while until I finally managed to drift off again, Bella finding her way into my dreams in a way I never would have expected…

Everything was white. Everywhere I turned, all I saw was white. There were no sounds or smells, nothing but white. I looked down at myself and saw that I was in the same clothes I had fallen asleep in, right down to the wrap around my wrist. I started walking in the direction I was facing when I heard something. It sounded like a woman's voice, but not one I had heard before. It was bell-like, the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. But I still felt like I knew who it was.

"Only a little while longer…" she said, her voice like an echo. I looked all around for her, but there was still just empty space everywhere.

"Hello?" I said quietly, feeling weird breaking the silence.

"Not much longer now…" she said, sounding like she didn't even hear me.

"Where are you?" I said louder, starting to feel my heart rate pick up. "Why can't I see you?"

"Stop panicking and focus. It's not your eyes that you are seeing me with," she said. I didn't know what she was talking about, so I just closed my eyes and listened to her voice as she talked.

"It will be some time tomorrow, but I'm not exactly sure when. It was very hard for a while, but they helped me a lot. Without all of you, I would have died right there in the woods. I don't know how to thank you for what you did."

Bella's image exploded into my mind and I opened my eyes. She was standing just a few feet in front of me, her clothes the same ones she had been wearing but without the new rips and holes I knew were there. Her head was down and she had dark circles under her eyes, but she looked a million times better than the last time I saw her. I took the few steps separating us and wrapped my arms tightly around her. I felt hers snake around my waist and turned my head towards her neck.

"You don't need to thank me," I said quietly. She raised her head but didn't open her eyes. "You just need to wake up." She half smiled and opened her eyes. I felt my own widen when I saw them. They looked just like everyone else's. The molten gold I had come to look for was much less and her eyes moved as she looked at me. She must have realized what I noticed and laughed lightly, me burning the sound into my mind so I wouldn't forget it. I left my arms around her, but pulled back enough so that I could see her.

"This is my mind's image of me. I can talk and see because I had been able to before," she said. 'It's almost like being normal again, except for the fact that it's only in my head."

"Do you know why you can't see or talk? Is it just because of how you changed?" I asked, still speaking quietly. She smiled sadly and nodded.

"It's only an idea and I'm not even sure it can really happen." She shrugged. "It's the only thing I've been able to come up with, but I have my doubts about it." I nodded once.

"What about your healing?" I asked. She tilted her head to the side, confused. "Carlisle was trying to figure out exactly what was going on with you, but the only thing he knows is that you need blood in your body or you die. Do you know anything else?"

"Well, he's right about that, but I don't know how much else I can tell you. I'm not one hundred percent sure about any of this. I've been finding things out as I've been going along. The only thing I could tell him is that the blood that's in me is the blood I've drank recently. It gets used up when I use my powers or just by every day things, like with you and food. It just lasts a lot longer. I have to feed when I feel myself slowing down. It means I'm running low on energy, which is blood. That's all I've been able to figure out just yet," she finished, shrugging.

"That's okay. It's still something," I said, resting my chin on the top of her head.

We stood like that for a while, not saying anything but being in the company of each other. I started feeling something, like something pulling on me, and realized I was waking up. I pulled back slightly and looked at Bella. She smiled sadly as she looked back at me. She brought her hands up to either side of my face and gently pulled my head down to her.

"Just a little while longer, Edward," she whispered, her lips brushing mine as she spoke. Then she pressed her lips to mine. We kissed only for a few seconds before she faded away and I woke up, full of more hope than I had had in a long time…

A/N: WE HIT OVER 200 REVIEWS!!! WOOOOOOOOO!!! …Sorry, go a little excited there… And I'm actually updating on time! *GASP!* I can't believe it either!

Anyway, this was one of the slower chapters, but that's why I added the end, there. Hopefully it was worth it. Oh! And there was a question about who was alpha for the last chapter. There is going to be a conversation in the next chapter that will answer your question. I don't want to just give things away!

The title of this chapter is the sub title of the song Stay Awake by All Time Low. I think all of us can understand why I picked that instead of the actual title for this chapter…

So far it looks like the poll story is a go, but only 9 of you have voted! Please give me your opinion! If it's not going to be something a bunch of you are interested in, I'd like to know before I go and put it up just to not get any reviews. And it is NOT an A/H story, just in case I forgot to put that…

Please review! :-)