Hello

I'm sorry this has taken so long and I'm sorry it's quite short considering, but I thought you'd be happy to know that there's been a change of plans. Instead of there being four chapters, there will be five. That's all the difference is.

Anyways, thanks for the crazy-amazing response I've had to this story and please - keep it up!

On with the chapter, I'll see you down the bottom!

I whizzed through the room and laid my love out on the examination table in Carlisle's office. I barely listened to his thoughts as Bella's heart slowed again and I whimpered. My hand pressed lightly against her chest and I cocked my head to the side. Her breathing was slow, too slow and her heartbeat near inexistent.

"Carlisle," I grounded out, gripping the table so hard that it whined in protest, withering in my grip. He was there beside me within the blink of an eye and placed a hand on my shoulder. I growled, jumping at the unexpected touch and looked at him.

His mind, which I read for but a second, sympathised with the pain that was buried in my eyes. At the image of myself, I flinched out of his thoughts and turned my attention back to Bella.

"Alice said I have to change her," I said, my voice hoarse with raw emotion. My fingers stroked her cheek, and for a moment I allowed myself to remember what the sight of her blush looked like for I'd never see it again. "But she said there'd be complications. She didn't have the chance to tell me what they'd be."

He frowned, his thoughts showing his discomfort at not knowing for sure the outcome of something. He looked at me after a moment. "Edward, do you think you could stabilise her and get her heart rate up nice and strong so I can check her over? I'd rather do that before we change her; perhaps we'll figure out what the complications will be for ourselves."

I growled uneasily at the thought of delaying her change. If I did so, even if I could get her heart rate up to a stable level, there was a change that it would make her worse.

Carlisle noticed this and sighed, smiling briefly at me, gripping my shoulder. "That's alright, son. I understand, do not worry. You change her when you're ready. Would you like for me to leave you alone with her? An occasion like this, no matter the circumstances, between a vampire and his mate is something to be savoured and kept for the couple's selves."

I looked at him and in his thoughts I could see the fear written on my face, evident in my eyes. He smiled at me, "I'll be back as soon as you call for me. I wouldn't go far – just downstairs with the others. I might even try to get onto Alice and see if she'll be able to tell me what the complication is."

I nodded, barely giving him a second glance as I looked down at my fragile mate. I whimpered, venom flooding my mouth. My instincts were pushing me into turning her now, but another part of me wanted to know what was wrong with her. In my one hundred and eleven years, I had never encountered anything that did this to the human body.

Except… I thought, but my mind instantly repelled the idea, shutting it down as I tried to think of something else; anything else. But if it was…

I growled at myself. No, it cannot be that. It cannot. Needing my father for all intents and purposes here with me to help me and give me his advice and thoughts on the situation, I called for him.

Instantly, he was standing before me, worried. "Edward, what is wrong, son?"

"Carlisle," I gritted out, gripping the examination table as I looked down at my weakening mate. "If I were to give you time to do a very quick examination and then change her, do you believe you'd be able to find what is wrong with her? Do you believe you'd be able to diagnose her from just that before the transformation began? I'd bite her as soon as you'd give me the green light, of course, but I was just hoping… I have a few speculations, and I–"

Carlisle cut me off as he raised his hand. He frowned, looking down at my fragile love and then at my face. He thought for all of two seconds before nodding, "I do. I should be able to, but Edward, as soon as I have finished, you need to change her, understood? I do not believe her heart will be able to withstand much longer."

I swallowed hard, my body reacting to his words but I managed to nod and slowly but surely back away from the table. I stopped just about two feet away, my eyes only on Bella. Every part of me was concentrating on her; each of my senses monitored her, picking up on anything that may have changed in the last few minutes. My body ached to be standing with her, but I clenched my eyes closed and fixed the image of her as a vampire behind my eye lids.

It will happen, I thought to myself, growling with the force of my thoughts. It will!

Minutes later, Carlisle's voice intruded on my heavy thinking. My eyes flashed open, landing on his form and he smiled, backing away. "I have everything I need, Edward. I shall be downstairs… unless you would like me here as you change her?"

I nodded, "please," I whispered painfully before glancing at him. My eyes could barely leave my love, but I knew I had to ask him. "Carlisle, is it too late? Is there a chance that she'll be able to pull through?"

Suddenly, Carlisle's hand was on my shoulder and I swallowed, glancing at him again. He was smiling sadly at me, his thoughts reflecting that he knew exactly how I was feeling. I snorted, shaking my head and frowning, to which he voiced his opinion.

"I do know how you feel, Edward," he said, quietly, softly but strongly. "I met my Esme when she was sixteen, and ten years later, I met her again in the morgue. I'd since the first meeting come to terms with the fact that she was my mate, but I was at a loss as to how to find her." He swallowed, his grip on my shoulder becoming harsher for a moment and I glanced at him again to see his eyes clenched closed. "To see her there, to hear how low her heartbeat was… Edward, it was torture in its sweetest measure. I was finally with her again, and yet she was close to death. It was only with our enhanced hearing that I could hear her heartbeat… and yet, she pulled through." He breathed in a shuddering breath, patting my shoulder. "Your Bella will be fine, Edward, but you must act quickly. Now go… I will stay with you as you bite her, but go."

I nodded at the urgency in his tone and flitted to Bella's side, looking down at her. My eyes took in her rosy skin, though pale as it was now and her scent one last time. I leaned down and kissed her cheek then her lips, before brushing my nose against her jugular. Baring my teeth and for the first time in Bella's presence, letting the venom flow, I pierced her skin.

I closed my eyes, taking in two deep pulls of her blood before I began to push the venom out into her system. When I was done, I sealed the puncture and staggered backward, my eyes wandering over her.

I looked at my father and he nodded, smiling in his approval. I nodded, but was not as calm as he was as I watched my mate.

"Carlisle, Edward!" Alice called then. Carlisle and I looked at each other, frowning for a moment before Alice burst into the room, her eyes frantic and worried.

"What is it, Alice?" Carlisle asked urgently, frowning.

Her eyes flashed to Bella before she said, "our futures went black just two minutes ago."

Carlisle and I looked at each other once again before my eyes fell back onto my mate's form. "The wolves," I whispered, looking at her as I swallowed, my eyes closing.

This was not what I needed right now.

Bloody dogs!

Anyways, don't worry... I'm feeling this story again, so I'll go about my business and see if I can't write the next chapter for today or tomorrow. But I've also found a loophole in the treaty and I must say, I think it's clever and original!

Please review and I'll see you within the next two days - and that's a promise!

bexie25

PS - What do you think is wrong with our Bella? What could these "impossible speculations" of Edward's be?