I don't own these characters.

Chapter 20: Changed in the Night

EPOV

Logically, I knew Bella's transformation was about to change everything. Newborns were an unknown commodity. Many awoke with little to no memory of their previous life. They could get some of it back if there were someone around to give the reminders, which we had that in our favor. They needed so much tending and training. She wouldn't be able to be around humans which was going to make it virtually impossible for her to go to Volterra. Could we get Bella to Italy without encountering any humans? Possibly, thought it was complicated. I could fly, but I didn't really like the idea of leaving a newborn Bella in the back of the plane while I flew.

Beyond the bloodlust, there was more to it. They didn't know their strength or have any sense of immediate identity. There was a reason we called them newborns. They couldn't be left alone, and they didn't do what you wanted them to. One felt deprived, not of sleep in our case, but of normalcy I suppose.

On the other hand, if she didn't go, what was the alternative? Leave her here by herself? Leave someone here to guard her? I started to think it we simply had to find a way to bring her along if we were going to go.

Plenty of other things would change as well. Our relationship, for example. It had been tenuous at best, newborn in its own right. Fragile and flailing at the same time. What would it be now?

If she was conscious of her previous life instantly, how would she feel? She had no opportunity to see her family one last time, or to wrap up her affairs. Admittedly, she'd probably already come to terms with much of that when she saw Riley destroyed, but she would have to mourn it all over again.

I was dealing with my own sense of failure. Garrett's words clung to me. What had I done, indeed? My family knew me all too well. Esme and Carlisle, especially, kept reminding me that it wasn't my fault. Logically, I knew it wasn't anyone's fault really. Not even Demetri's. I understood that it took years; decades even, to build the kind of tolerance to the close proximity of human blood that would have been required to avoid an attack. I also understood that I moved as fast as I could, and if I couldn't get there in time, no one could have. Ultimately, I could also accept that Bella's transformation was probably an inevitability.

We moved Bella up to my room, where I sat vigil. There was nothing I could for her but be there. I could listen to the whimpers and the cries and eventually the screams. I could hold her hand, I could kiss her forehead, and I could whisper in her ear.

Jacob, Leah, and Seth were having a very difficult time with it all, each for different reasons. Jacob was upset over what he perceived to be the loss of a friend. Leah was pissed that another bloodsucker existed, and Seth worried about how this would all play out with the rest of the pack. He had no regrets about leaving the others on principle, but he remained hopeful that the pack would someday be harmonious again. Even if they never reunited, he hoped for that civility.

The first thing I noticed about Garrett I didn't get from his mind or from my own vision. I was too focused on Bella to really see anything about anyone. It was everyone else's reaction that stuck out. "His eyes aren't red," they thought. ""What an odd color," they observed.

The hue was hard to describe, though we'd all seen something similar. The red wasn't gone, but it was fading, giving way to something lighter, something more human.

Kate was the first one to call it out. "So, short supply of humans lately?"

Garrett laughed at her audacity.

"You're a feisty one," he teased. "If you must know, I've been on the run for a bit, and at first it was a convenience thing. I was in some fairly remote areas, and it was simply easier to try a bear than to seek out humans. I didn't' find it completely revolting, and it may have triggered some curiosity. So, now I'm just kind of trying it out."

"Just for fun huh?"

"Just to prove I can," he smirked.

She raised an eyebrow at him, but the corners of her mouth also slid into a smile.

It wasn't until we got Bella settled in my room that they got to the task of getting information from him. He was cautious. He said he wanted to get to know the place better. He wondered if there were really werewolves around; he asked Demetri and Felix more about the Volturi.

He was holding back from them, and I was the only one who knew it. I didn't get all the details, but I knew enough. He genuinely cared about Bella. He insisted on hearing the full story of the bite before he would give up any information. He was concerned about how she was going to feel when she woke up. His next stall tactic was that he wanted to see her again before telling the rest of his story.

Obviously, I knew he was coming, and I could hear both his steps and his thoughts as they approached. He didn't need to announce his presence. They all heard the sounds she was making; they all knew the pain she was in, so when he asked, "How's she doing?" I didn't feel the need to respond.

"You don't trust me," he stated.

"Likewise," I answered.

"Touché," he retorted. "But then I don't trust anyone. You do."

"Maybe I'm learning not to."

"No, you can claim to be a monster all you want, but you're really just a good kid."

"I'm hardly a kid," I scoffed. It was typical of vampires to use their both their human and vampire years as a sign of their wisdom.

"Of course," he said with a bemused expression.

There was no place to sit in the room. Bella's head rested in my lap, but she was otherwise outstretched on the couch. He might have tried to come closer, but given her proximity to me he simply stepped into the room and stood a few feet away. It was also a power move on his part. He was just as comfortable standing, and in that position, he towered above me; my vulnerability was evident as I held her still semi-fragile head. The transformation wasn't complete. She would be easier to destroy in her current state. I wouldn't let anyone near her without a fight.

"You think I set her up?"

"You didn't?"

"Not like you think," he claimed.

"What do I think?"

"You think I'm the bad guy."

"I thought I was the mind reader," I argued.

"You don't know everything, Edward."

"Then enlighten me."

Garrett inhaled needlessly and knelt down in front of us, in front of her. He touched her hand. He was only thinking about her and the first time he met her. I saw the image of her playing out in his mind. She was so damn feisty . . . and naïve. I remembered her in the hall way at Forks High school with her fists balled and her legs spread, the same stance she had when I saw her in the woods. It was similar when she met Garrett, though I saw something there that I'd never witnessed personally. She'd been scared. Most people wouldn't have noticed it, but her eyes weren't as fixed, and her hand twitched in his memory.

"I have never lived as close to humans as you have, at least not for a prolonged period of time," Garrett began. "So, I suppose I've never felt emotionally connected to any of them."

"I never did either," I admitted. "Bella is special."

"That she is."

"Is that why you saved her that night?"

"I never intended to hurt her, but I certainly wasn't going to let that little shit have his way with her. Stepping in complicated things, but I have no regrets about it."

"Stop talking in circles or stop hiding your thoughts. I don't care which. I just want to know what's going on. "

Garrett removed his hand from Bella's arm and sat down on the floor. He stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back on his elbows. It was such a relaxed pose for a tense moment.

"I guess it started a few years ago. I was really bored. It happens in cycles, you know? I got along just fine for a while twenty years or so, and then it just seems pointless. People don't really change. My life certainly never changes. I just start wondering, what's the point? Boredom usually gets me in trouble."

"I know how that goes." Maybe it was simply the consequence of loneliness.

He looked up andsmiled at my interjection.

"Yeah well, it was around that time that I ran into acquaintances of mine who went on and on about some new world order bullshit and we all better look out because the end of life as we knew it was coming. I didn't think much of it, until they mentioned the name Stefan."

My head cocked, and I heard the gasp from someone downstairs.

"Romanians," I confirmed.

"Yup, but you must have known that."

"We certainly suspected involvement."

"And?"

"We concluded they couldn't have been the instigators," I admitted.

"Because?"

I was amazed by how well he was controlling thoughts. Unlike most, he didn't have to come up with random ridiculous ideas to cover himself. When he held back this thoughts, there was just silence, just like in a conversation. I must have given him a funny look.

"I spent some years around a woman whose particular talent was detecting lies. I honed certain skills then," he said matter of factly.

"Again, I thought I was the mind reader."

"I'm just perceptive." Though he didn't hide his pat on his own back.

"I guess so. Anyway, we figured they were not known for their proactive behavior, nor were they particularly strong, so gaining a followers would be difficult."

"Well deduced."

"So there is more to the story I take it."

"Of course. I began hearing rumblings in various places. Nothing particularly solid or consistent. Some talked about a takeover. Some of it was general discontent with the Volturi. It seemed the rumors changed depending on the particularities of the region. That was a clue for me. I'd spent a fair amount of time studying revolution and propaganda use so the signs were fairly obvious to me. That was the key to the Romanian's offense. They didn't want to actually be on the front line; they just wanted to plant seeds and wait for someone else to cultivate them. I was one of many who showed up to do the dirty work."

At that point, he let his head fall back against the wall and he thought for a bit about his history, about the wars he'd seen, the people he'd been involved with, albeit peripherally.

Then like a floodgate, he just opened up. It poured out. His meeting with the Romanians. How they drew him into the fold with talk of injustice and the need for change. His desire to see that realized. He was in it for the cause, the rebellion itself. It brought him to life after years of boredom. The goal at first was simply recruitment. Bella's blog presented an opportunity. They knew the Volturi were watching so they decided if they removed Riley, they could replace him with a contact of their own. They hoped by ramping up her information, they would attract the kind of attention that would lead to change.

I drew a circuit around Bella's face with the tips of my fingers, keeping my skin in constant contact with hers. I'd known boredom. Before Bella, it was all I knew. I could empathize with falling into something unexpected, finding the one thing that made it all seem purposeful again. I understood letting that one thing take you places you shouldn't go, believe things you shouldn't believe. I alternated looking at Bella and watching Garrett. The more I watched him, the more I realized how remarkably humanlike he was something I rarely saw in those who drank human blood; they took on a very different tenor over the years.

When they didn't have to consider how humans reacted to them, they tended to be less fluid in movements; they didn't have the little ticks and habits humans developed just to offset physical needs. When Bella was cold, for example, she tended to hug herself tightly. Vampires didn't do that. I noticed Jake had a tendency to shove his hands in his pockets when he was nervous, clearly not knowing what to do with this hands. Vampires didn't get nervous in that way. They didn't have adrenaline to make them shake or blood to heat up their cheeks. The more you were away from it, the more you forgot those little things, the less it mattered.

Garrett was different. He looked like a man. If his eyes weren't the odd color they were, I could forget what he was. What we were. I looked down at Bella whose face was contorted in pain, though oddly silent. I shifted, and I felt the button in my pocket.

We were all vampires now. I remembered the girl I'd saved so many years ago. She was likely long gone from this earth, but it was for her. All of this. There was protecting Bella, which took on a new meaning now, but I realized maybe for the first time, that it went beyond me and my needs. It's about what kind of species we were and could be. It was about being right. I had given very little thought to the vampire world as a whole. That thought now both embarrassed and angered me. I wondered how we could have lived so long the way we did, knowing what we knew without ever questioning whether we could have a broader impact. Could we show others how to avoid drinking from humans?

I had reservations about how much Carlisle knew but hadn't told us. Has he tried before? Had we all just assumed there was nothing we could do? Had we simply given up? Or we were too selfish to care?

"I said it before. I volunteered to be the one to contact Bella. I will admit my intentions were not necessarily honorable. I didn't care one way or another which way it all went. I just thought it was an interesting challenge."

"What was the goal, Garrett?" It wasn't really a question.

"I didn't know it then, but there was more than one. At the time, I thought I was a part of the inner circle. I assumed I had all the information. Now, I'm not so sure. I'd come across Stephan and Vladimir over the years, and I liked them. They complained a lot, but then again, so did I. They said they wanted to challenge the Volturi. We planned to use Bella for two reasons: to piss them off and to spread more rumors and information to those who didn't have a clue."

"It seems you succeeded."

"Depends on how you look at it, huh?" Garrett admitted letting his gaze fall on Bella. He seemed genuinely regretful in that moment.

"What about Riley?"

"Fuck," he let his head hit the wall behind him; any harder, and he probably would have left a mark. "We were just detaining him. That's what I thought. I'm pretty sure the Romanians weren't in on all that, but I'm still not entirely sure. James showed up out of the blue, said he wanted in. I never should have trusted him, but then again, I didn't really think much about it all. We knew we could use his skills."

"Bella said he used Aro's name."

"Yeah," he acknowledged.

"When did you know?"

"Just before I found her in the woods."

"How?"

"Mostly a hunch, but then someone overheard him talking in Italian. It just fit."

"Why? What the hell was Aro trying to do? If he had access to Bella then, why all the charade?"

"I don't know man. We're all confused. I still think there's more to all this than even I know."

"How much we were a part of it?" I asked.

"You, meaning?"

"My family."

"I'd like to tell you your name never came up, but it didn't take much talking with Riley or much time with Bella for us to hone in on you all. Vladmir insisted Carlisle involvement would be very influential."

"I gathered that. So, we're all part of the game too?"

"I suppose. Everyone wants you on their side, Edward."

"Hell of a way to get us there."

"I'm sorry. I really am," Garrett answered.

I stared at him a minute.

"How's your resolve?" I asked suddenly, motioning toward his eyes.

"It gets easier every day," he shrugged. "Didn't go into it thinking it would be forever, but it's kind of hard not to go there when I see that." He motioned to Bella.

She screamed shortly after. Though we knew it wasn't in response to our conversation, it felt oddly timed. The screaming carried on for several hours. Esme came and checked on us. Several others invited Garrett out hunting with them, and he slipped quietly out of the room, knowing his own limits. We all knew human interaction in this area was inevitable, and Garrett wanted to stay strong. It didn't surprise me in the least that all three Denali sisters volunteered to join the hunting party. They may hunt for blood, but they never turned down fresh meat.

They begged me to hunt, but I refused. I would go when Bella woke. I could wait for that. There was no real reason for me to be well fed. The only humans anywhere near happened to be wolves whose scent was so repulsive they'd caused a tracker to turn tail and run. I wasn't worried about my resolve in their proximity. Besides, they were staying away. I knew they were conflicted on many levels at this point. They were struggling with how to deal with the larger pack. They'd been passing general information through Billy and Sue, but this was big. A vampire bit a human. This was cause for attack. The problem was our sides were too evenly matched for a fight to do any good. So, they could try to force us out but it was unlikely to be successful. Plus, as much as they were upset, they understood that the original bite had been an accident. My aiding the process didn't really count.

So, the rest of the pack remained in the dark; the three weren't sure how to deal with anything.

Sixteen vampires was an impressive number. It didn't measure up to the thirty who remained in the Volturi guard though. They had us almost two to one. Was going to Italy really the best move? If we went, when would it happen? Could we take Bella? How could we get her there? Who else could we realistically invite without raising very large, very bright red flags?

We hoped Garrett would carry more definitive news about the enemy, but he had only confirmed what we'd already assumed. Though we were still short on a couple of major pieces: what was Aro trying to accomplish and who all had he incorporated into his fold? On the other hand, he had been the bearer of good news as well. For example, we now knew that Maria didn't appear to be a threat from any angle. Apparently, Stefan and Vladimir wanted nothing to do with her, but they'd been smart enough to send in a few spies to verify that she was basically still doing her own thing, but remained largely as unorganized as ever.

Shortly before Bella's transition was complete, we'd come to a few conclusions:

First, the Volturi were on their way. Dates were murky, but we were down to a matter of a week at most. There wasn't time to find additional allies, and frankly, we didn't feel comfortable brining anyone else into the fold without confidence in our own success. Alice had been unable to get read on the outcome, probably because no one could fully commit to any particular path.

Second, the Volturi's goal in coming was suspect. The entire guard leaving Volterra and come to the U.S. was absolutely unheard of. They clearly knew something was happening here, but how much? And how had they received their information. What was the likely outcome of that? It wasn't good. It seemed most probable that the majority would be executed for treason, conspiracy, or some other trumped up charge. On the other hand, a select few—Alice and Jasper almost certainly, likely Kate and Eleazar, and maybe me—would be highly sought after by Aro. He may very well use them to get to us.

Going to Italy was a risk, but so was staying here. Either way, we had to deal with the challenge with the added stress of a newborn.

We hoped that we could at least count on the Romanians themselves as they had been so integral in this process, but Garrett was resistant to the idea. He made two arguments: First, that they weren't the type to keep anything quiet as they liked to expose all of their escapades which could open us up to risk. The second was that they would be likely to sell us out any point they thought they could negotiate a deal with the Volturi. Basically, he didn't trust them.

This pissed me off. The Romanians were ultimately to blame for a lot of the mess we were in. They were certainly indirectly responsible for Riley's destruction. His loss had affected Bella deeply, which in turn, impacted my disposition toward them. Ultimately, it was the impetus that put all of this in motion. Without their interference, maybe things would have been different. Perhaps, my family would not have been involved.

As if sensing our urgency, Bella sped through her transition. We were expecting three full days. Our combined experience told us that was the minimum length. Though Eleazar said he'd seen plenty take longer, no one could remember anyone completing the process in fewer than seventy two. We were alerted to her impending awakening by massive fluctuations in her heart rate. It happened differently for everyone. For some, the heart went from a reliable rhythmic beating to nothing in the space of one beat. Others, like Rosalie experienced a subtle, gradual slowing until there was nothing. Bella was all over the place. The speed would spike to an all time high, slow to almost nothing, and then return to normal again.

"There is no reason to consider this abnormal, Edward," Carlisle assured me, answering an unspoken concern.

"It's like her body is fighting the transition. Maybe she's having second thoughts."

"You worry too much," Carlisle insisted.

"Yeah, well, given the circumstances, I would say there's plenty of cause."

"About some things, but not about how Bella feels for you."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to. Why else would you be worried about her changing her mind."

He looked away from me, but he was pleased with himself. It was the kind of statement that might have made me take off skulking in the past. I didn't handle having the truth handed to me very well. I had a much greater concern today though. Some things were more important that my disgruntled reaction to my family's goading.

I nearly threw a sharp comment his direction, hoping draw just enough reaction to sting him, but things changed. I could feel her closer to the surface. She'd been so deep in her herself, had it not been for the beating and the breathing, I would have that she was no longer with us. When the whimpering and screaming ended, it was replaced with such a profound lack of sound or motion that I'd disallowed much talking in the area, afraid I'd miss a clue that something had gone awry.

"She's close," Carlisle announced.

"I know. I can feel it."

"Do you want me to me to leave?"

I shrugged. "It's up to you." In honesty, I was both afraid to be alone with her and scared of how she would react to me when she woke. Maybe a neutral party would be better.

One final spike of her heart rate, so incredibly fast, it seemed it was going to shoot right out of her chest. And then, that was it. It didn't' sputter; it just stopped in the middle of a beat.

In the next second, her eyes were open, and they locked on mine directly. I imagined my own heart racing in anticipation. Instead, I sighed. I could call it an exhale which would be far more appropriate, but if I'm telling the truth, it sounded a lot more like a sigh. Then I waited. Her eyes didn't quite focus on anything. They burned a bright red hue, but the real fire was in the curiosity with which she took in the ceiling and then again my face.

She made a motion to try to sit up and unaware of her own power was bolted upright and smacked me in the head in the process.

"Ouch," I yelled involuntarily.

"Oh my god, are you okay?"

It was the first thing she said upon waking up to her new life. Once the words were out her mouth, her hand instinctively went to her throat.

"Are you thirsty?"

Her eyes narrowed as she considered the question. "No, yes, I mean, I don't know. I don't sound like me."

"No, it will be different."

"But I feel like me. Do I look like me?"

"You do to me," I answered.

"Is that good?"

"It's great, Bella."

"Can I see?"

"Are you sure you want to? The eyes can be unnerving at first," I informed her.

She opened her mouth and then swallowed hard.

"Does it burn?"

"Yeah," she rasped.

"You're thirsty."

So many things flashed across her face. Fear, confusion, general uncertainty.

"If you don't want to hunt, someone could bring you something here," I suggested.

The conversation occurred with her sitting on my lap. One of her hands was against the back of the couch; the other was on my shoulder. My own were wrapped around her waist. Our faces were close enough that anything could happen, yet neither of us were bothered by the intrusion on our personal space. Bella licked her lips, and I squeezed her slightly.

"No one is talking," she said suddenly.

"What?"

"Downstairs. I hear so much breathing and shuffling, but they're not talking."

"No, they're waiting to see how you are."

"Oh."

"The heightened sense of hearing is something else that's unnerving at first."

"Yeah," she whispered.

"So, hunt?"

"Maybe."

Bella swung her legs off of me and stood up. Once again she was surprised by how fast it happened and she propelled forward with a lurch. She caught herself easily though and righted herself again.

"Wow, this is . . . different."

She's been in my lap so long that the absence of her body left my own confused and longing.

"Bella?"

She turned toward me. I was stunned by the calmness of her response. I anticipated a jitterier, emotional, and upset Bella. I expected normal newborn anxiousness.

"Yeah?" she responded.

"I'm sorry."

"Let's not do that," she said, her expression turning grave. "Not right now anyway."

"But you remember?" I pressed.

"I remember everything."

She swallowed hard again; I knew she was trying to alleviate the burn in her throat. I stood up.

"We should go. It will be better. You can focus more after you hunt." I motioned toward the door and took a few steps that direction.

She nodded, but she didn't make a move to join me.

"I'm scared, Edward."

"About what?"

"I don't know what I'm doing, and I've never . . . I've never seen anything die before other than Riley. What if I can't do it? Plus, I've heard all your stories. Once we leave this house, what if there are humans around?"

"You're not going alone."

"You'll be with me?"

"Always, Bella. Always."

She seemed comfortable with me, and when we got to the bottom of the stairs, I knew the others were waiting patiently to see if she would face them. I turned my head in the direction of the living room, but she shook her head and looked at the door. She wasn't ready for the others. That created a dilemma for me. I didn't know that I wanted to take her out hunting alone. She didn't know it yet, but she was likely faster and certainly stronger than I was. I wouldn't be able to control her if she came across a human.

"We'll follow at a distance," Carlisle assured me.

"It's going to be fine," Alice encouraged.

Though we could have flown with the wind, Bella took tentative steps out the front door into the light of day.

"How long has it been?"

"About 2 days."

"Really? That's fast isn't it?"

"Yes, very."

"Does that mean it worked okay?"

"You're perfect Bella."

She smiled weakly, not entirely convinced.

"Are the wolves still here?"

"For now," I answered. We continued to walk slowly. For us. It was a faster pace than Bella would have handled as a human, and she seemed unaware of the difference.

"Is Demetri still here?"

"Yes, unless, do you want me to send him away?"

"No," she answered shaking her head. "I just didn't know how everyone would feel." Her voice cracked on that line. "Sorry. My throat," she croaked again."

"Come on, Bella. We can move faster. Run with me."

And from the moment I said it, I knew how much was behind the statement. When she let herself take off, when she opened up letting instinct take over, I realized how much I'd wanted this. She was faster, but not by much. We still felt like equals, partners.

She took down a deer with little coaching.

It took her longer to drink than it did me. So, I was able to watch her standing above her prey. She touched the doe gently, appreciatively. I walked to her side, and took her other hand in mine. She leaned into me.

"Will you do something for me before we go back?" she asked quietly.

"Anything," I answered honestly.

"Kiss me."

"Especially that," I teased. She smiled weakly, still wrestling with her emotions, but she turned to face me. I took her face in my hands, steadying her, and me. I hesitated, giving her a chance to back out.

"What are you waiting for?"

She grabbed my hands and pulled them on them forcing me into contact with her. She stood up on tip toe but yanked me down to her simultaneously.

Her lips found mine greedily, hungrily. The tentative and hesitant movements were abandoned in favor of aggressive, wet kisses. Her tongue slid into my mouth masterfully. It was warm and captivated me. In those minutes we acknowledged everything we'd been through; she had anger, and she showed it to me. I gave some back. But the anger was only a slight piece of the emotional puzzle. We had passion and excitement and trust and even love. I didn't question it, not from either of us.

She pulled away grudgingly, licking her lips as she did.

"So, are we still going to Italy or what?"

E/N: First off, last chapter response was so encouraging. You were amazing, and RH broke the 2K finally. I love you, love you, love you.

So, we get more on Garrett and his motivation. Are you inclined to trust him? What kind of control do you think Bella will have? Capable of playing a role in the upcoming conflict?

Next chapter is a blog, and I know some of you love them; some of you don't, but the good news is, it's the last one because it's the first one.

Voting is on for La Femme Noire http://www (dot) fanfiction (dot) net/~lesfemmesnoires There are some great fics by some fabulous folks there. Check out the ones by legna989, ahizelm, and theladyingrey.

Finally, nominations for the Eddies and the Bellies opened today. I can think of a certain Emmett I'd like as a brother *cough* Deconstructing Dracula. Have fun nominating all your faves. Staceygirl aka Jackbauer had a a nice short fic with Good Enough. And many of you already read it, but I put out a little one shot recently that's kind of fun and a nice break from the heaviness of RH. It's called Just this once, and you can find it in my profile. If you like it, it might fight one of the categories.