Disclaimer: I have no claim on any of the characters from Twilight or New Moon all rights go to Stephenie Meyer.

Summary: Edward leaves Bella alone in the woods after telling her he didn't want her any more. As she is lying on the cold forest floor; Bella remembers three important things. Edward made a promise not to leave her, and Edward never broke a promise, and third it was her body, her heart, what right did he have to make this choice for her? Bella realizes that Edward was covering up his true feeling about her. She goes to bring Edward home.

Last Time:

Jasper POV

The simple feeling of his happiness made me joyful.But now Edward's joy lay battered and broken before me. Bella's body portrayed Edward's emotions perfectly. Even though leaving Bella had been his choice, leaving her had broken him and had thrown him into a darkness I had never experienced before. Edward's very being seemed to have withered and died; much like the prairie grass in the hot Texas sun.

I couldn't seem to pull my eyes away from her ashen-colored face. Carlisle had sewn the gash on her forehead closed while butterfly band aids pulled closed some of the lesser cuts on her face. A large purple and black bruise lay cross her right cheek; it seemed to blend with the dark circles under her eyes.

I had no reason to ever believe in fate until it found me on rainy day in a small diner -- when I stumble across my own angel, announcing that I had kept her waiting. Fates cord had firmly wrapped Bella and Edward together (just as it had Alice and I).

Pain had been what had made Edward run. I however, had a strong feeling that it was going to be fate that returned him to us. Bella was Edward's liquor, just as much as Alice was mine.

I soon found myself running a finger across Bella's crescent scar. Seconds later, Bella's body stiffened on the bed. Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest. Right before a familiar name slipped from her lips.

"No, Edward, don't!"

Chapter 7: Love the Medicine for the Soul

Carlisle POV

I bolted to the bedroom at the sound of Bella's scream. She was calling out for my lost son. As soon as I entered, Jasper looked over at me with panicked-filled eyes.

"Carlisle, I didn't…"

"I know you didn't, Jasper."

It was evident that she was having a nightmare. With her body in its weakened state, I knew the stress of the dream she was having would only drain her reserves even further. We needed to keep her clam. If we didn't the result could be catastrophic.

"Jasper, we need to calm her."

I found my own nerves calming as Jasper used his talents on Bella.

"Shh, it's all right, you're safe Bella, everyone one is safe," Jasper soothed.

I winced as the half truth slipped free from Jasper's lips. Bella was indeed safe, but I had no way of knowing if Edward was. He had severed his ties to us over a month and a half ago. I hoped that Jazz's voice would be enough to soothe her.

Thankfully, our methods seemed to have worked Bella's heart beat was slowing to its normal rhythm.

"Is Bella going to be all right?"

My amber eyes locked with Jasper's bright topaz. A deep sigh escaped from within me when I answered him.

"She is for now, though I can not safely say for how long. Bella has been through so much. The emotional wounds that Edward must have caused, coupled with the trauma her body has been through the last months as well as the accident she was in today. Unless she finds the will within her, it's not promising."

Jasper voiced another question. I however knew where he was going and didn't let him finish.

"If the outcome looks that bleak then why not…"

"Because that is not what Edward wants for her," I answered in a resolute tone.

I relaxed a little as I felt Jasper's hand gently touch the top of my right shoulder.

"Carlisle, though Rosalie may be resentful for your choice to change her, know she holds no ill will toward you any more. Alice and I didn't choose this existence and neither did you. Who are we to tell Bella no when she is choosing it? Alice said she has never been so sure of a vision as the one she saw of Bella becoming one of us."

I shook my head as I pinched the bridge of my nose between my fingers. I couldn't make this decision for Bella. I had done that to Edward already. I needed to be sure if this was still what Bella wanted. Then there was Edward to consider. I was afraid of his reaction if I did this without his approval.

"I can not make that decision in good faith, knowing that Edward would despise me the rest of eternity."

"Or maybe he would thank you -- Carlisle, look at the alternative...."

My eyes snapped open to look at my adopted son.

"Why are you surprised that I said that? It's the truth. If Bella remains human, the end of her life will come and then not only would Bella be lost to us forever, but Edward as well."

Jasper looked like he was going to say something else, when his eyes shot over to Bella and widened. I detected the answer right away -- some time in her struggle in bed, Bella had torn open one of the stitches in her head and a small trickle of blood had oozed from the fissure.

Without a word to me, Jasper disappeared out the door. I quickly fixed the stitch, disposed of the blood-speckled gauze and made my way through the door after Jasper.

"Jasper?"

I found him standing in front of the door that led to his and Alice's room.

"You may go back and visit with Bella again if you would like."

The battle that raged on the inside of Jasper could be seen from not only his eyes but the way he had held himself.

"Carlisle, do you ever regret allowing me to come into your home, knowing how I lived?"

His words confused me at first, for I wasn't quite sure what he was talking about. Then I understood. Jasper, wanted to know how I felt about the lifestyle he previously chosen.

"No. Not once have I ever judged you, Jasper. And I never will. We are just as flawed as the humans we once were. We can't change that. The only thing we can do is to try and be better in this existence."

I could only hope that the sureness I was feeling was reaching Jasper as well. As I looked into his eyes once more, I noticed that the battle had calmed a little and the doubt was waning.

As I was making my way back to Edward's room to check on Bella, Jasper looked toward the top of the stairs and there stood Alice. Emmett, Rosalie and Esme were right behind her. Jasper spoke before I could, concern coating each word.

"Alice, what is it? Did you see something about Bella?"

Alice shook her head at us.

"No, it's about Edward. He went back to Forks to see Bella. When he found out that she had left, he decided to go after her, but then Laurent showed up in Forks too. Victoria's hunting Bella. Laurent was going to go kill Charlie. Edward saw that and the two of them started to fight, but I don't know how it ends. It just ends, like there's nothing. Emmett and I tried to reach him but he's not answering our calls. Edward has to be alive." Alice said, panic in her voice.

I was about to assure Alice that she was right, when I heard a soft gasp of air and then the irregular thump, thump of a human heart.

Bella! Her heart was arresting!

As I ran to her, the soft sorrow-filled voice of Alice echoed behind me.

"Oh God, Carlisle, do you think Bella heard our conversation? Did it have this effect on her?"

I didn't have time to wonder, Bella was dying before my eyes. Her pulse was thready and she had suddenly stopped breathing.

"Jasper, I need the crash cart that Emmett and I stole last week."

I had not been here long enough to have the credentials I had in Forks. Though Alice's suggestion to have a defibrillator had been odd two weeks ago, I had gone and stolen one from the hospital.

As I continued to blow air into Bella's lungs I prayed that her heart would keep beating. The second Jasper returned with the equipment I had asked for. I intubated Bella and attached the ambu bag.

I was very aware as Bella's heart began to beat irregularly that it would not sustain her life without intervention.

"Jasper, I need you to squeeze this bag every three seconds."

Charging the paddles to two hundred, I quickly tore open the front of Bella's nightgown. I then glanced toward my family.

"I think its best if everyone else leaves."

Alice however refused to go. Jasper gave her hand a squeeze; Alice stopped breathing as I placed the paddles to Bella's chest. The sound of the charge moving through Bella's body was almost unbearable. There was no change, so I charged it to three hundred. The force of this charge jolted Bella's body off of the bed.

Bella's broken heart continued to beat in an unproductive rhythm. I was fearful to try a stronger charge or to even try again -- how much more injury could it take before it gave up completely? I saw the battered bodies of humans every day, this however, was vastly different -- this was our Bella.

There was no way for me to deny that the words Jasper spoke earlier had merit behind them. If Bella no longer existed, Edward's death was inevitable.

We would be right back to where we had just been -- my family would be shattered. Only this time there would be no way to repair the damage.

Letting out a breath, I charged the paddles and tried again. Bella's heart suddenly thumped wildly in its last moments. The doctor in me wanted to call the time of death. The father in me wanted to scream and cry and ask her why.

Then all fell silent. Jasper's hand was frozen on the ambu bag; his eyes unable to leave Bella's expressionless face. Time seemed to stand still as reality set in: we had just lost one of our own.

Alice gasped suddenly and her eyes flicked to the doorway.

"Edward!"

The second I looked over at my son, I could almost see the cracks streaking across his skin as his eyes stared at the still body before him. I took in Edward's disheveled appearance rather quickly: the left sleeves of his shirt and jacket were gone; a huge slash was in the front of his shirt exposing his torso.

No matter the condition of his clothes, he was alive and that was all that mattered. At least for now.

"Try again," he said.

He knew the same truth that I did -- it was too late.

"Edward, it's too late to do anything more."

Edward's stance in the doorway was full of determination. His right hand was gripping the door frame.

"Try again, Carlisle. We will not give up on her. So try it again, please." he said through gritted teeth.

I couldn't help but think back to two months ago. As each day went by I would watch Edward fade before my eyes. My heart broke at the sight of the shadow that once had been my brilliant son. The light had left him gifting me with a lunar eclipse.

Now he was begging me to do this for him. He had never asked for anything before. Edward had hope that Bella would be all right. It was only a small piece of hope, but it was enough to bring a small flicker of light back into him. To deny him his plea would be sentencing him back to the dark void he had fallen into.

I charged the paddles once again while Jasper squeezed the bag inflating Bella's lungs. The force of the charge jarred Bella's body. There was a loud crack as the wood of the doorframe broke in Edward's hand. A cry of anguish erupted from Edward as he fell to his knees.

"Please Bella, come back. Don't go where I cannot follow you."

His eyes where pleading with me once again.

"Once more and that is all I will ask of you."

Looking into my son's eyes I could feel the weight of his sorrow pressing down on me. Had I still been human, I would have fallen to my knees and wept with him. Submitting Bella's body to all of this went against my better judgment. I however, would do anything to rescue this broken young man before me with the light-hearted one from months ago.

I flipped the switch charging the paddles for one more round as my son pleaded with Bella to stay with him.

"I know that this is selfish of me to ask however, I am a selfish, self-righteous being. So I'm begging you to come back to me, Bella."

Placing the paddles to her chest once more, I activated them. I was shocked to hear the movement of the heart muscle telling me she was in vtac. Bella's heart quivered again as it let loose its first thump-bump; another shock had set her heart back into sinus rhythm.

Bella's chest moved as she gasped for more air. The action made her gag reflex kick in due to the tube in her throat. Edward had already moved to her side to calm her as she regained consciousness.

"Easy love, there's a tube in your throat to help you breathe. Take a deep breath for me and then blow out as hard as you can and I'll remove it."

As Bella leaned forward, Edward seemed even more frightened to touch her than before. So I laid one hand gently on her back and the other on the front of her shoulder. Once the tube was gone, Bella pulled in another breath.

"You came back, you're really here." Bella spoke in a whispery voice of disbelief.

The weight of my son's sadness was gone from my shoulders as I watched a small smile appear on his lips.

"I did, it was inevitable for me to do so. And yes, love, I'm really here. I will never stray from your side again."

Alice and Jasper disappeared out of the room, and I remained silent as Edward gently kissed Bella's forehead and then softly pressed his lips to hers. Alice reappeared suddenly in the room, with a brand new night gown in her arms.

"Ok, now everyone out just for a minute." Alice commanded.

Just as Edward and I were about to leave, Bella spoke in a whispery voice.

"Laurent came looking for me didn't he?"

Edward's body stiffened beside me.

"Don't lie to me, Edward Cullen. You've done enough of that. Your sleeves are missing. I had a dream that you where fighting him and you lost those very sleeves in my dream. And then I saw…"

Bella's voice trailed off when Edward interrupted her.

"Not right now, Bella. Let Alice freshen you up a little and I will do the same. Then I'll come back and answer your questions."

Alice called after Edward as we left.

"There's a change of clothes for you in the bathroom, Edward."

"Thank you, Alice."

I did my best to keep my thoughts silent. I knew that Edward didn't need to be burdened with my worry for him when I knew Esme would probably give him a healthy helping of it anyway.

"Carlisle, will you stay with Bella until I've change my clothes. Just in case…" Edward asked.

I didn't need his talent to read minds to know what he was asking me. He wanted me to stay in case Bella's heart was to stop beating.

'Edward, there may be other damage to Bella's other organs.'

"I know, Carlisle."

Edward's head jerked to the left to look over at Jasper.

"Not yet. She still needs to experience a few more things as a human first. Then I will fold to her wishes."

My gaze traveled over to look at Jasper as well. There was no doubt in my mind what it was he had been thinking about. The same thing that he had mentioned to me minutes ago. I, however, never imagined that Edward would give Bella what she had begged him to do barely a year ago.

I thought about saying something to him and then thought better of it. I couldn't help but think back on the events of a few months ago.

We all watched as Edward had slowly slipped back into the dark shell he had once been in. Esme was sure that I would have the answers to fix this. I knew of only one, but I had been too afraid to go against my son's wishes.

I sighed as I pulled Esme to me, "Giving Edward what he wanted has only caused us to lose him. I had hoped for that to never happen again."

My own words haunted me at that moment.

"Perhaps, I hoped for too much, to soon?"

I had spoken them the night of Bella's birthday, once Edward had left to take Bella home. We each had thrown blame around. But were Esme and I to blame? Bella had told Edward she didn't want a party for her birthday. Edward had told us that. And in our own excitement we hadn't been able to tell Alice no.

"I'm finished cleaning Bella up, Carlisle."

The sound of Alice's voice floating out into the hallway brought me out of my thoughts. I turned and glanced into the bedroom.

"Thank you Alice, how does Bella seem to you?"

"Tired, but she won't go to sleep until Edward gets back. She says it's because she wants to make sure that he wasn't a dream."

Edward emerged from the bathroom sporting the clean clothes that Alice had spoken of. I resisted the urge to check Edward's stone cold skin for any signs of bite marks. I couldn't help but wonder if Laurent had managed to sink his teeth into Edward.

"He didn't Carlisle, so there is no need for you to worry."

My gaze followed Edward as he walked back into his room to be with Bella. Alice danced out of the room and into Jasper's arms. Emmett and Rosalie walked down the hall hand in hand. I was aware of Esme presence beside me, but remained silent as I watch the sight of my son and the human who had stolen his heart.

Bella spoke softly to Edward, "You promised to answer my question."

"And I will Bella, love. After you've rested, so humor me please. I'll be here when you awake up. I left my heart with you, and there it will stay."

I caught the subtle glance of Edward's eyes looking at Bella's neck. Alice had put Edward's gift back on Bella. By the look on Edward's face, it's meaning spoke volumes. He and Bella were indeed one.

I wrapped my arms around my wife as I stood there in the doorway.

"Our family is whole once more."

But somehow I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more in store for us.

Wow, another chapter finished already. I'm amazed at myself.

TaintedDarkInuShemeeko