Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns it all.

Rated M for several reasons.

Chpt 21 Beached

BPOV

The fight rages across the depression an' climbs up the slopes. An' despite the impressive an' methodical way we hack through the newborns there are still far more of them than there are us.

I feel like that little Dutch boy trying to plug a leak with his thumb. Thank god vampires don't get tired. Some of the Guard have teamed up in pairs which seems to be quite a good strategy, fighting back to back until their area is littered with body parts an' then moving on to more open ground.

The rhythm breaks down when one of us is injured, then a group of us will close around them while they heal. Newborns seem to be drawn to the injured, perhaps sensing weakness on some primal level. Whatever it is we get a good opportunity to take several out in one go.

So far I have managed not to get injured an' as far as I can tell no one else has been severely hurt. Even Alice looked reasonably unscathed the last time I saw her, mind you she was very sensibly staying on her toes an' out of the line of fire as far as much as possible, she's fast an' light on her feet.

I can feel The Major off the left an' much higher up in the trees. The fighting there is quite ferocious so I'm assuming he's still after Rutilio but I resist the urge to go after him, which isn't easy, even though Pete, Char, Simon an' some of our fiercest fighters are all up there with him.

Finally, after several hours, the fight starts to wind down. Hundreds is still lots an' Demetri is organising us into raiding parties to take out the ones still fighting or hunt down the runners. Again a part of me wants to go after The Major but one of the things he's taught me is to be flexible in a battle so after mulling it over I stick with Demetri an' his clean-up crew. Still I wish real mating bonds worked like the world of Sookie Stackhouse, then I could feel what he's feeling an' know he's okay.

I pause briefly in my work. It looks like an earthquake has struck, most of the trees have been toppled, the once vibrant eco system underneath is now probably only suitable for earthworms an' the ground itself has been traumatised by the ginger vampire, soil churned an' rocks exposed. The air is thick with smoke from the fire an' crushed vampire flakes, the fug they create together rolls across the valley like gun smoke after a more conventional battle.

A quiet moan grabs my attention an' I search around until I find Elise buried beneath a tangle of trees an' looking regrettably thinner than she did when the fight started.

It takes only a few moments to free her from her leafy prison an' I throw her arm around my shoulders and awkwardly, she's much taller than me, drag her to a safe spot away from the lingering battles.

I settle her onto the ground checking over her crushed torso with no real idea from Pete's speech how crushed is too crushed. She's obviously in a lot of pain but there are no stone bones poking through her marble skin, that's got to be good. Right?

A body crashes into me, sending me toppling over her prone form an' into a nearby boulder. Ouch, face plant.

Sharp teeth sink into my shoulder an' I howl in rage as I flash my shield out, cursing because I should have thrown it up around Elise an' I as soon as I dragged her free and stopped paying attention to what was going on around me. The newborn's mortal scream is cut off abruptly an' once more I find myself with someone else's teeth, separated from their mouth, stuck in my flesh.

Growling viciously I kick the body away turning to attack anything else that's stupid enough to think we're an easy target.

"Leave me Mistress." Elise croaks as a group of unhinged looking newborns descend on us. "I am going to get you killed."

"Shut up Elise." I snarl. "This isn't one of your stupid stories, noble self sacrifice is a crock of shit, trust me, I know."

I wait until they're almost on us an' then fling my shield out throwing them backwards in a wide arc. With newborn speed they spring back up an' crowd in again.

Leaping over Elise I attack them head on.

Whirling like a dervish I lay into them but it's like a level finale on one of Pete's stupid video games, they just keep coming. With a depressingly clear memory I recall what it was like to see Jasper overwhelmed in that Pennsylvania parking lot, now the same thing is happening to me. How quickly you can go from being in control to silently saying goodbye to your loved ones an' how right he was when he said everyone comes up against something they can't defeat occasionally.

Behind me Elise screams as one of the pluckier newborns grabs hold of her ankle an' starts dragging her away from the rock she's clinging to for dear life. Shrieking I kick him away an' turn to throw my shield out again an' again as I fight but it's getting weaker and less effective.

One of the newborns grabs me from behind an' another launches herself at me teeth bared in triumph.

Finally I shout out to the nearest vampire who I trust to help me.

"DEMETRI!" I scream as I kick out at the middle aged, school teacher like, lady who wants to rip my throat out.

A fluid vision of black fury is beside me within seconds, ripping the homicidal teacher away from me an' then flipping himself over my head and removing the head of my unwanted embracer.

Limp arms fall away an' I leap forwards with him to finish off the last of the group.

When the last one is decapitated I fall to my knees beside Elise an' study her critically while I heave for pointless breath.

She looks fatter an' I tell her so. Probably the first time in history a woman is glad to be told that particular bit of news.

Demetri's hand settles on my shoulder an' I place one of my own over it automatically.

"Thank you." I whisper with real feeling.

Without speaking he gently plucks the unwanted teeth, one by one, from my shoulder.

Briefly he squeezes an' kneads the muscles, working out the foreign venom, then releases me.

"It was a pleasure Mistress." He says quietly.

Gradually others join us returning from their missions an' bringing our wounded with them.

The Major an' his fighters are now out of sight over the horizon an' a familiar discomfort settles into my chest. Again I fight the urge to go after him. If I can trust anyone to end the misery that is Asturias then it's him.

With strong fighters here now to protect the injured, I venture out with Demetri to view the devastation.

"You did well Bella." He says earnestly.

"Bella?" I ask, good judgement on temporary vacation.

"Sorry, Mistress." He mutters.

"Demetri . . . ." I begin.

"Don't, Mistress." He holds up his hand. "What can you say?"

"I . . . ."

" . . . . love my mate." He finishes for me.

I search around for suitable words, while I struggle he nonchalantly flicks his arm out an' decapitates an onrushing newborn who has materialised out of the gathering gloom.

"It is better to have loved once than never at all." He says, striding away to throw his prize onto the fire.

Oh shit, shit, shit. Shit!

Shit!

While I contemplate this newly realised problem the rest of the Guard trickle in, in various states of disrepair. Surprisingly even Alice limps back an' my opinion of her lifts skywards.

Finally spent I collapse to the ground, mentally searching for the missing. The Major I can feel, not too far away an' heading back here. Char an' Pete are with him. Vaguely I am also aware of other members of the Guard, family, heading home. Even without venom we're all staring to feel connected. I recognise Simon, Alfredo an' Nicholas before they approach.

Wordlessly Demetri an' I start darting out to round up anything with blood in it, heading further an' further each time in search of something appropriate.

"We lost him." The Major states, dropping down onto his haunches an' latching onto the neck of the 'animal' I have brought him. It's a cat of some sort but so far my vampire life hasn't left much room for study, so I couldn't tell you what sort it was. But is smelt nice an' from the sounds he's making he's clearly enjoying it.

Finished he pushes the carcass away an' pulls me down to the ground with him, wrapping his arms tightly around me an' burying his nose in my hair. A demonstrative action which surprises me.

"You are well?" He murmurs, sniffing me delicately.

"Yes." I answer, rubbing my face across his arm.

"Good." He releases his hold on me slightly an' looks up at Demetri.

"Heading north Master." Demetri answers his silent question.

"One hour." The Major decides. "Then we go after him."

Pete an' Char curl up next to us, Pete's head on my knee an' Char's hand around my ankle.

Glancing up I lock eyes with Demetri an' briefly he lets me see pain on his face before his piratical smile breaks out an' he whirls to the task of organising the Guard.

For a moment I wish he had a mate of his own an' then I realise how transient that might be so I wish him eternal love instead. Like mine. Ours.

As if he can read my thoughts The Major's arms tighten around me again an' I lean back into him. This time my eyes meet Alice's an' I can't decipher her expression other than that the last few hours have been a traumatic experience for her. Whatever is going on in her head Char growls quietly in her direction an' she looks away. However I think about her I can't help but feel sorry for her, the only thing she has to lean at the moment is Carlisle an' I can't even begin to categorise my feelings for him or his recent actions. But frankly they don't seem very compassionate to me.

Damn Edward, an' his selfish decisions, to hell. Some of us are still paying for them in one way or another.

When the hour is up we rise to our feet in silence an' form up behind Demetri.

Butt Watch is on again. I share a guilty smirk with my sister, there's absolutely nothing wrong with looking but neither of us is going to admit to it. Especially not me.

Rapidly the run gets boring until we start to draw close to the northern coast of Brazil.

The smell of the ocean excites me, despite my desire to get Rutilio dealt with as quickly as possible an' before he can cause any more trouble. If I weren't surrounded by family I'd already be stripping down to my underwear in preparation for a dip in the sea.

Regretfully Demetri informs us that our quarry is once again moving away rapidly, the obvious method this time a boat of some sort. Reluctantly The Major agrees that we will now have to wait until Asturias makes land somewhere before we continue after him.

So much to our surprise we find ourselves appreciating the sunrise an' cooling our heels on a beach overlooking the North Atlantic.

Well most of us do. Behind us, in the shade at the edge of the beach, The Major, Pete an' Demetri are plotting an' re-strategizing our next move with the state of the art technology that is a couple of sticks, a few pebbles an' a shit load of sand.