Chapter 13: Changes

Peter POV

Things happened quickly after I bit Bella. Alice saw what was going to happen milliseconds before it actually did and the Cullens had the house packed, loaded up, and ready to go in less than an hour. Carlisle came to tell me it was time to go and the result was not pretty.

In a feral attempt to protect my changing mate, I made to attack him but Jasper was there to catch me before I did, knowing that only he and Charlotte would be allowed anywhere near Bella. As a result, the two decided to ride in the van they had on hand just in case something like this happened.

The front part of the van appeared to be normal, even though it was separated from the back by a wall. The bottom portion was steel and the top portion was Plexiglas so the driver could see through it. The back, however, was not that of a normal van.

There were no seats at all; instead, the walls and ceiling were padded and the floor was a giant bed to provide as much comfort to the person changing as possible, whether they would notice the effort or not. I was just thankful to know that my Bella wasn't laying on the cold, hard, metal floor of a van while in transit to Alaska.

We made the trip in record time, stopping only for gas. The van was soundproofed, keeping the humans from hearing Bella's soft screams on the very few occasions she actually let them out. Bella's silence was causing me immense worry; I've never been around a changing vampire that didn't scream the entire time while their body was rendered immobile by the venom coursing through their veins.

We were in a remote corner of Alaska within sixteen hours of me initiating Bella's change. When Jasper opened the side door of the van, I jumped out in a crouch and scanned the area for threats before scooping Bella into my arms and bolted through the open front door, stopping with my back against the wall.

Char and Edward were in the living room checking each other over; being in the beginning stages of mating (and with the fact that Edward still wouldn't seal the bond before they were married first), they were a bit more worried about each other after being apart than Alice and Jasper were, who have been together for decades.

Esme muttered something to Jasper but I was too involved in staring at Bella's slightly altering face to notice what she said. Jazz walked over, put his hand on my arm to get my attention, and started leading me to the room that Bella and I were to share.

I gently laid her down on the bed and curled up next to her, prepared to wait for her to wake up. She suddenly started whimpering and she was shaking so hard she was nearly vibrating. I recognized this stage all too well: the venom was spread throughout every inch of her body now and causing her to feel as though she were burning alive.

Getting an idea, I was about to call Char upstairs but thought better of it since it was so hard for her to be away from Edward and I decided on Jasper instead. When he came in the room, I was laying on my back with Bella on her belly on top of me. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow and I chuckled a bit, feeling my conscious returning to normal.

"Jazz, the venom's fully spread. She was in so much pain she was nearly vibrating. I had an idea though; if I keep her on top of me like this, and one of you lay on her back, it should keep her cooler. I just don't like the idea of anyone lying on top of her though and I can't figure out what else to do. I need help brother, what should I do?" I asked him desperately.

He began laughing so hard that he had to sit down to keep himself from falling over. He must have been projecting because everyone downstairs began laughing and I would have been crying I was laughing so hard. Once he gained control over himself again he reminded me as to why I admired his intelligence so much.

"Brother dear, why don't you just take her outside and bury her in the snow?"

I laughed at the audacity of his statement, then got an idea off of his. Moving Bella off of me, I jumped out of the bed and went into the bathroom to turn the cold water on in the gigantic Jacuzzi tub.

"Jazz, I need snow, and lots of it. I'll just put her in an ice bath to keep her cool!" I exclaimed.

I heard Carlisle's voice from the doorway. "Peter, you can't put her in the ice bath yet, she's still too human and it would cause her to go into hypothermic shock. You'll just have to lay in the bed with her and wrap your arms around her to keep her cool for now."

I frowned and turned off the water. I really wasn't thinking very well right now. Sighing, I climbed back into the bed with her and wrapped as much of my body around her as I could. Her trembles slowed considerably and, although it wasn't the full effect, it would have to do for now.

Shortly after the half-way mark Carlisle told me that, if she started trembling again, it would be safe for me to put her in the ice bath. Fortunately, I never had to resort to that. Her trembling stopped completely about four hours after it started and never started up again.

At hour forty-seven, she began to stir. I called for Jasper, Charlotte and Carlisle; Jazz and Charlotte because they have the most experience with newborns and Carlisle because of his medical expertise. Carlisle checked her over while Jazz and Char stood to the side.

Jazz looked at me and said, "I don't feel any more pain or confusion from her. In fact, she seems to be feeling content and love right now."

Carlisle looked up and said, "Peter, I think she's about to wake up over twenty-four hours early. You'd better be the first person she sees so she feels safe. Be prepared."

The rest of the family gathered in the hallway as the three in the room backed towards the door. Just as soon as they reached it, her eyes popped open.

Bella POV

I wasn't quite expecting it when Peter bit me, but it wasn't a shock. He hesitated for a moment afterwards, then curled up next to me protectively until I heard Carlisle's voice telling us it was time to go. I felt Peter lunge away from me and heard a crash that sounded like thunder. Then I felt myself being carried downstairs and placed on a soft bed.

'I must be in the back of a vehicle,' I thought as I felt it rocking. I figured they must be moving me so that I wouldn't draw suspicion to myself or the family. 'Rose must be pissed,' I thought.

I didn't really feel much of the fire that everyone described. It was just a bit weird that my body was incapacitated while my mind was so wide awake. Maybe it has to do with being changed by my mate.

I felt myself being carried again and figured we were at the new house. Peter laid me in my bed (I knew it was Peter because I know the feeling of his arms around me) and I almost immediately started trembling.

'Oh, here's that insufferable burning that everyone described…but it's not so bad, just like a moderate sunburn on the inside,' I thought again.

As soon as Peter laid me on top of him I felt better. Jasper suggested burying me in the snow and I chuckled inwardly; then Peter wanted to put me in an ice bath and Carlisle said that I was still too human for it so Peter just wrapped himself around me again and I calmed.

I could feel my limbs lightening and, when I tried to move them, it worked. As soon as I started moving, Peter had Carlisle, Jazz, and Char come up to check on me. Jazz assessed my emotions but he left one out; not only did I feel content and love, I felt alive.

I heard everyone but Peter by the door and felt my heart give one last hard pump before I gained full use of my body. I opened my eyes, found Peter, and launched myself into his arms, clinging to him like a spider monkey.

A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter seems short and/or anti-climactic but I wanted to explain most of the change through Peter's POV with a little bit of Bella in there without spending too much time on it and adding a bunch of fillers.

Thanks to 01katie for pre-reading this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own, you don't sue!