Holy crap, we're almost done here!!! This is the second to last chapter!! I think I might cry! Okay, anyway...yeah. This story is wrapping up soon, and the sequel shouldn't be far behind. I think I've finally got my time line and everything set, and the first two-three chapters written. I'm still open to ideas, as there are gaps that will prove to be difficult. I hope you all like this chapter, and then up next is the epilogue, and then I get to cry.

Thanks go out to ., sleepthroughthestatic, catarinanicole, and monkey-luver14 for the awesome reviews. And special thanks to Scampifish for letting me pick her brain AGAIN!!

Chapter Twelve: Change

I heard voices around me. There were several, all in the same hushed, serious tones. I thought they were talking about the dead. Then I realized they were.

"Maria isn't going to make it. Her heart is failing now, there is nothing we can do for her."

"What about Adele?"

"She's still strong. Listen."

A moment of silence. I could feel my heart in my chest, punching out a frantic, though steady, rhythm.

"Should we do it now?"

"I don't think we have a choice, Carlisle. Her left leg is completely shattered. She's worse then Esme was."

"Do it now, before she fully wakes up. She'd prefer it that way, I can tell."

"Edward…"

"She can hear us. She's worried, but only about us. She doesn't want you to do anything you are not comfortable doing."

"Wait! Listen."

Absolute silence. My own heart was still fast, still fierce, but I knew, somehow, that they were not listening to me.

"She's gone."

"I should have stayed with her."

"There was nothing you could do, dear. We knew it wouldn't take long. She's much better now."

"I could have saved Maria. I could have tried."

"No, you couldn't have. She was a lost cause from the moment he made his decision. You were right to focus on Adele."

"And still, we cannot save her life. We have left her alone in the world, completely broken."

"She's not alone! She has us."

"She will be heartbroken."

"Over Maria, yes. Her father's death will mean nothing to her. It will probably be a relief."

"If we had sent Edward instead of Emmett, he might still be alive. Edward can run faster, he could have caught him before he went over the edge."

"Do you think Adele would want for her father to live after he killed her mother? It is better like this, Carlisle. She will finally have a family that loves her."

"She's an orphan Carlisle. She has nowhere to go, and she won't want to be crippled her whole life. That leg is not going to heal, and I don't see her arm healing either. Her ribs are snapped, probably piercing some of her internal organs, and her skill is cracked. She's not going to recover easily or well."

"She's thinking. She doesn't want to be alone. She needs people, and she needs to dance. She can't be confined to a chair her whole life. She wants you to do it. She says…she says you promised to give her life, if it came to that."

There was a pause. One long, intense pause. All I could feel was my heart. Then, a soft voice.

"I did make her that promise. I'll need your help Edward."

"Yes! It's going to work out perfectly, Carlisle. Your idea will work, and she'll come out of it just fine."

There was activity, and I was moving. I was surrounded by cold, and there was the sound of doors. And then, suddenly, I was still. There was still activity around me, and voices I couldn't quite hear. I felt cold hands, moving softly along my skin. There seemed to be little to prepare, because the next moment, I heard Carlisle's voice.

"Adele, I'm going to give you something for the pain. You'll feel it sting." He paused. "I'm sorry. I wish I could take it away entirely, but I don't think that's possible."

"It's okay." I don't know how I found my voice, but I did. I was surprised at how hoarse it was. "Thank you."

He didn't say another word, though I felt something cold against my forehead. The next thing I knew was pain.

--- --- ---

It was burning, kind of like being in an oven. It hurt, but only if I let myself think of it. I didn't want to. I let my thoughts wander everywhere else. I choreographed my own ballet. I grieved for my mother. I thought of anything that wasn't the pain. And, occasionally, I would hear a voice, and I would focus on that voice. But the whole time, I stayed silent. I didn't want anyone to have to deal with the pain except for me.

Finally, the pain started to ebb. I heard someone enter the room, and Edward's voice filled my ears.

"Adele, we're almost done. The pain will stop within the hour. You might be a little…on edge at first, but don't worry. We're all here for you."

I heard more footsteps, and could hear the differences between them. My eyes flicked open. Edward was looking down at me. He winced for a moment, then rearranged his expression.

"I look that bad?" My voice was hoarse still, but from the pain now.

"Not at all." He shook his head, smiling. "It's just the eyes. They take some getting used to before they change. But…you do look different."

"How?" I asked. He laughed. The burning was leaving, slowly, but I wanted to sit up. I tried, but Edward put a hand on my shoulder.

"Not yet, Adelita." He said. "We want to wait until Carlisle comes."

"I want to see myself." I said. I heard more laughter, and saw my family crowding the doorway.

"I've got the mirror!" Alice said. I watched her walk forward and she was not the usual blur that she was when she used vampire speed. I saw her every motion as though she were performing them separately. I also jumped slightly, as I saw dust in the air for the first time. Floating along, like a leaf down a lazy stream, they only seemed to animate when something else moved them. I looked back to Edward, to tell him that I understood why he was so easily distracted. Even he was clearer, more defined. I could see every fleck of topaz in his eyes, and every strand of hair on his head.

"It takes some getting used to." He smiled, and I nodded in agreement. I wanted to sit up still. The instant I thought it, my body reacted. I was sitting up. Jasper eyed me nervously, and I allowed his wave of calm to wash over me. As it did, I felt it against my skin, like a warm breeze.

"Hmm." I said, biting my lip gently. "That's new." My voice sounded different now too. Now that the pain was almost gone, I could hear the more musical tone to it, the subtle rise and fall of my voice. I focused again on that warm breeze, which was now enveloping me. As I concentrated, I felt it pull tighter around me. Cautiously, I reached a hand out, feeling the usual tingle as I reached for the gift. As I closed my hand, drawing the tingle back in, I could feel the warmth come with it. "Edward?" I turned to him, but he had been in my mind already. He nodded, and I concentrated on sending the calm to him. I saw it now, a light blue haze in the air, as it folded around Edward. He smiled, nodding.

"Try it with another emotion." He suggested. I nodded, putting my mind to work. I suddenly found there was much more space in my head to do this. I drew the haze back, and tried to change it. I sent it out again, this time a dull gray color. As it drew around Edward, he yawned, and his eyelids dropped. I grinned, laughing. He hadn't yawned against his will for nearly fifty years.

"Take it back" He shuddered as I pulled the haze back, storing it in a corner of my now expansive mind. He heard my unspoken question, and nodded. "Try it."

I did. I pushed the tingling out, this time aiming for him. I saw it make contact, but he had no reaction. When I felt the buzz of electricity with it, I pulled back, taking some of that electricity with me. Even before I had stored the buzz, I could hear the thoughts of my family. There was a lot of shock, though Jasper was curious, and wary. His experience was telling him I should be tearing apart the room, not performing experiments.

"It's like a storage compartment." I explained to Carlisle. "There is a place for every new addition in my mind. They don't mix at all, they just stay in their own area."

"Fascinating." He said. He came closer, Jasper on his heels. I didn't try to calm Jasper, as I was sure he wouldn't appreciate it.

Alice watched him with wide eyes. I saw her expression change as she slipped into a vision, the change back. She glared at me. "Don't even think about it, Adele. You are not stealing from me."

"Just let me try." I begged. "I swear, I'll give it right back."

She sighed. "Fine." The pulsing was out before she could finish. I found her gift immediately, but it didn't want to budge. Finally, after a struggle, I managed to free a piece off, but it seemed heavier than the other two, more reluctant to come. When I set it down, it settled, though slowly, as though it didn't like its new home.

"That's a good theory." Edward said out loud. Everyone gave him a slightly exasperated look, and he explained. "Adele thinks that because Alice's gift is such a distinct part of her make-up, it is harder for her to steal. Alice had her visions as a human, while Jasper and I didn't develop our habits until our human lives had ended."

Carlisle was nodding. "She may be right." He stopped, as though he were nervous about something. I looked at him curiously, unsure of the thoughts running through his head. He smiled suddenly, and crossed to me. His hands weren't cold as he swept the bangs from my face, his hands cupping m y face gently. "Adele. Can you forgive me?" I saw the worry in his eyes, and heard the traitorous thoughts. He still wasn't sure he had done the right thing.

I smiled. "Of course…Dad." His eyes shone, and he leaned forward to kiss my forehead.

--- --- ---

I had been in my oven for three days, and woke up, ironically enough, on Christmas morning. After my first hunting trip (which was remarkable only in how clumsy I turned out to be, for a vampire) we gathered around the Christmas Tree, which I could now smell perfectly, and opened presents.

In my pile was a few new pair of pointe shoes, some new dance clothes (courtesy of Alice, naturally), a collection of Shakespeare's complete works,

I looked around, smiling at my new family. Jasper was already setting up his Civil War chess game, and explaining the figures to Edward, who was clearly not listening. Rosalie was staring at the model car box, intent on figuring out how to put the thing together before opening it. Emmett and Alice were entranced by the Monopoly money, the board laying abandoned in the corner. As I glanced around, I couldn't find Carlisle or Esme. Edward shook his head as I asked where they were.

In a moment, Adelita.

I looked back down at the new pointe shoes, measuring out the ribbons, when I heard two sets of footsteps returning. I looked up, and saw my parents sitting next to me. Carlisle had a small box in his hand, which he placed in mine as my eyes turned to it.

"This is one is from all of us." He explained. "And your mother."

I nodded, realizing I couldn't cry. I slipped the ribbon off the box, pulling the top with it. Inside, gleaming a bright silver in the weak winter light from the window, was my charm bracelet. Except it was different. My eyes inspected each individual charm, and I felt myself smile. It was my charms, mixed with a few of my mothers, and a few new ones.

There was my toy soldier, with my old letter A still there as well. My ballet slippers were now next to a shining silver quarter note. I saw lots of animals, and realized that Edward had been talking behind my back.

"There's one from each of us." Carlisle said, circling the chain around my wrist. I nodded, my eyes grazing over each and taking it in. A mother duck from Esme, a bear from Emmett, a piano from Edward. They were all there, forever kept around my wrist.

And then there were the familiar ones. My mother's puppy, and her bright emerald teardrop, so much like my father's, and mine, eyes.

"We wanted to remember that color." Esme said softly. I bit my lip, and smiled.

"It's perfect." I whispered. I hugged first Esme, then Carlisle, enjoying the tinkling sound of silver around my wrist. "Thank you."

He smiled, brushing a hand through my hair. "You're welcome, mija." I smiled. For now, everything was perfect.