*Disclaimer I own nothing recognizable, all those rights go to Stephenie Meyer. As all Song Rights go to the listed artist. I only own any original characters.

A/N: First I want to thank everyone who reviewed, followed, and added this story to their favorites list.

Secondly, I apologize for the very late update. Real life has become out of control lately, between my hockey commitments and the two foster children (an 11 month old we named Paige and a 2 year old we named Jacob) that my husband and I have decided to adopt. With all that going on, my time and focus has been else where... I'd like to say I can get back to my timely schedule but with such a full plate I can't promise anything other then to update as soon as possible and sometimes if I know it will be a good bit between updates I might post two chapters just to give myself a buffer.

With all that said, on with the show...

Breathe No More

I've been looking in the mirror for so long

That I've come to believe my soul's on the other side

Oh, the little pieces falling, shatter

Shards of me too sharp to put back together

Too small to matter but big enough to cut me

Into so many little pieces if I try to touch her

Song-

Breathe No More

By: Evanescence

It had been three weeks and while the bruises faded, bones knitted, and the tube was removed from her throat, Bella was still lost in the blackness of her own mind. Why should she leave the darkness? It was appealing and calming, nobody reached out and hurt you. So she fought against the voices that ever so often penetrated the darkness that pleaded with her to wake up and not to give up. The most persistent voice was the one that hadn't left her since that day she pulled herself into the dark closet in an attempt to seal herself away.

Right now Sammy's voice kept pushing its way through. She heard about how Grandma, Billy, and Harry of the tribe had come. How they gave him new clothes, and toys, and how he got to eat food that didn't come from the trash and that Billy and Harry had even taken him to a King's game for his birthday. Again the voice faded but the words never did. Everyday would be a tale of his events; but all his words were cutting her even deeper and pushing her to fight what tried to pull her to the light even more. She didn't want to go back to the light. 'What was there to go back for anyway?' flashed through her thoughts.

Obviously everything was still about Sammy. She didn't know why he was here in the first place; he left her to be punished. He knew their father was going to teach her a lesson; teach her what it felt like to feel their pain that she caused them. She didn't want to go back into the light and cause Sammy anymore pain now that she knew what it felt like. She learned her lesson and God she just wanted to remain in the darkness. She fought harder against the light that pulled at her eyes to open; she fought hard using all the hurt and pain and every vicious memory to claw at the edge of the darkness. Her mind flashed those rage filled soulless brown eyes into the forefront. The ghost of a memory of a calloused hand could be felt on her throat, before it tightened enough to cause her to lose her breath as it pulled her off her feet and into the air. And then the echoing crack of breaking wood and earth shattering pain as her back went through the table, which caused the light to start to quickly fade and the darkness to suck her in, as her body started to shut down and her heart to slow with each beat slower than the last.

Bella never heard her grandmother when she told the skeptical men that her granddaughter had her blood, and therefore she was a fighter, plain and simple. Thing was Bella was proving her Grandmother right but instead of fighting for life, Bella was fighting for death and was winning.

The screaming of the machines had Allison drop her book from shock as her eyes darted up to see the heart monitor dropping way to quickly, and in a blink the slowing beeps became a shrill flat line. With a scream and reflexes she didn't know she had at her age, she darted to her feet and ripped open the heavy door.

"PLEASE HELP!" her voice echoed causing nurses to stop and turn on a dime.

Quickly she was pushed back as three nurses rushed into the room and quickly took action.

"What's happ-," Sam's sleep caked voice whispered as he opened his eyes at the chaos of noise. His question forever frozen on his lips as he watched like a deer caught in the headlights as nurses surrounded his sister, pumping wildly on her chest, as another gathered supplies, while another rolled a cart into the room. They were quickly followed by a blonde stoic looking doctor, who from the moment when he took over his sister's care a few weeks ago, caused him to feel uncomfortable and agitated, just like Billy and Harry had been at the sight of this man. This made Sam even more nervous to have this doctor around his sister and with the life he lived, he learned a long time ago instincts were nothing to ever doubt.

"Charging," the bell like voice of the doctor pulled Sam from his thoughts to see the blanket that covered his sister thrown to the floor and for her gown to be ripped from her body. He could see she laid bare expect for the wrappings that held her rips in place. "Clear," the doctor called out causing everyone to back away as the doctor held the two paddles down on Bella's chest, which caused her to jolt erratically. As the paddles were pulled away, the monitor still shrilled at the lack of heart beat. Sam's heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest as he watched. He didn't understand what was happening but he knew it wasn't good; he could feel the sweat building on his forehead and palms as his breathing started to labor, only to become worse with each jolt of his sister's body.

"Doctor, you need to call it. She's gone-," cut through Sam's paralysis induced haze, causing him to launch himself onto the doctor; small growls were emanating in his throat as he pounded the doctor over and over with his small fists.

"NO, NO YOU CAN'T LET HER DIE! YOU CAN'T TAKE ALL I HAVE LEFT. YOU CAN'T TAKE AWAY THE ONLY THING I LOVE. YOU'RE A DOCTOR, YOU SAVE LIVES, NOT TAKE THEM!" he screeched all the while a growl stayed in his throat, causing everyone's eyes to widen at the strange sound. The reaction was expected but the sound was something they had never heard before.

"Miss, please!" a nurse yelled as she still pushed onto Bella's chest. "MISS!" the nurse now shrieked trying to be heard over the shrieking boy, the shrill scream of the machine, and through the woman's haze. Finally Allison looked at the nurse dumbly, "PLEASE TAKE YOUR GRANDSON AND GET OUT!"

Allison remained frozen as the words jumbled through her mind and tried to make sense of them. Finally the loud scream of, "NO," from Sam had her putting the words in a working sentence and quickly she lunged forward grabbing at the combative boy.

"Sam, we have to leave," she tried to soothingly tell him as she pulled on his arms.

"NO! HE IS GOING TO LET MY SISTER DIE!" a snarl erupted from him as he thrashed harder.

The doctor truly felt sorry for the boy; it was evident in his eyes how much he loved his sister. Hell, the boy had been raising the girl not as a brother but as a father. No matter how many cases of abuse he'd seen as a doctor, he couldn't understand it. He couldn't understand how someone could do this to their child. Waking from his musing, the doctor saw the shock on the faces of those around him. 'This can't happen, not now, and if possible not ever' raced through his mind, as he took in Sam actions and sounds.

Bending down to the combative boy, "I won't," he softly but sternly promised the boy.

Instantly Sam stopped fighting and raised his enraged brown eyes to meet the citrine eyes that had always given him the chills. Everything in Sam screamed not to trust him, but something was forcing and helping the promise in those untrusted eyes to reach deeper than what screamed out to maim and distrust.

"But you need to leave now, so I can do that. Okay?" his musical voice made Sam's hairs stand on end. But again something came over him, something he couldn't explain. It felt as if something was almost touching him, calming him, making him see past the rage and let the words seep deeper into his core.

'Trust and believe past your instincts. I'm here for her, my sweet boy,' was whispered in a voice he hadn't heard in so long. It was as if she was here, right by his side. Was it her that he felt? Was it really a mother's soothing touch?

"Can you do that, Sam?" the man's soft voice cut into his crazy thoughts, causing his attention to flicker back to the strange man. Sam could only nod his agreement and allowed his grandmother to pull him from the room.

As he cleared the doorway, his eyes caught the lifeless body of his sister but it was the sight next to it that caused his jaw to drop. There stood a woman with a face and smile he could never forget, her long wavy chestnut hair cascaded over her shoulders and down her back, as she glowed an unearthly glow. She looked just as he remembered her, the only thing different was he always remembered her eyes being a deep chocolate brown but now they looked down on Bella in the same green color of his sisters. "Mama?" Sam cried out, causing the specter's beautiful face to look at him and give him a dazzling smile.

"Remember what I said, my sweet boy," she whispered.

"CLEAR," was yelled out as the heavy metal door slammed shut cutting the connection and for Sam to drop to his knees in hysterics.

"Mama is here. She is here!" he screamed as he felt arms tighten around him.

"I'm sure she is, honey. I'm sure she is here watching over her baby girl," a hard swallow was downed. "Possibly she is here waiting to embrace her baby girl for the first time and welcome her home into the world of the spirits," said the cracking voice of his grandmother.

The words rang in Sam's mind, causing pure panic. He knew he saw his mama; she was here. Suddenly his mother's words rang in his head, 'I'm here for her, my sweet boy,' He didn't remember there was more to her words than just those. Quickly his grandmother's words echoed, 'Possibly she is here waiting to embrace her baby girl for the first time and welcome her home into the world of the spirits.'

Sam's heartbeat hit new levels as he started connecting the dots of the puzzle together. He remembered being told when his mother died that you never cross over alone, a loved one was always there waiting to guide you home. His fear spiked, he thought it was a blessing but now hated seeing his mother because what other reason did she have being here other than to take Bella away with her. "NO!" bellowed from Sam as he struck out, knocking his grandmother accidentally in the mouth. This caused Allison to lose her grip as she bit into her lip and tongue, sending blood flying. Sam quickly righted himself as he scurried to the door and started to pound away, "NO! MAMA, YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME. YOU CAN'T TAKE HER HOME."

"What the-?" Harry yelled as he and Billy grabbed ahold of the boy trying to reign him in. But no answer came as Allison was having trouble talking at the amount of blood and swelling of her tongue.

"MAMA, I SAW YOU; I KNOW WHY YOU'RE HERE! YOU CAN'T DO THIS. I GET TO TAKE HER HOME, NOT YOU!" Sam screamed out as he tried to jerk out of Harry and Billy's grip. Billy threw Harry a confused look, 'What all had they missed?' raced through their minds

A nurse came charging down the hall with a needle, pausing as she reached the struggling boy. Her hazel eyes looked up at Billy asking for permission; Billy nodded his consent. The nurse quickly pulled up Sam's sleeve a bit and pushed the needle into his skin, forcing the medication into his body. This caused Sam's actions to slow and finally for his body to fall over in a heap in Harry's arms as the sedative finally calmed the boy and quieted the hallway.

"What the hell happened?" Billy asked as he helped up a struggling Allison.

She still couldn't answer as her mouth and tongue wouldn't allow it but even if they were capable, she wasn't sure she could speak as her emotions were all over the place, proving the tears in her eyes weren't from the pain but from the emotions that rolled through her at the events.

"Miss, please come with me so a doctor can look at that," the nurse motioned for Allison to take a seat in a wheelchair.

"Go. We'll stay close by and let you know what's going on and we'll watch Sam," Harry said as he pulled the boy closer to his chest for better support.

With a nod of consent, Allison was wheeled away from the turmoil. As Billy and Harry walked towards the waiting room, Harry groaned in frustration as he sat in preparation for the long night ahead.

"Looks like we missed a hell of a dog and pony show."

"Appears so," Billy sighed taking the seat next to his old friend. As he took in the sedated boy, he couldn't help but feel guilt. Guilt for his actions and guilt for hoping maybe everything took care of itself. 'You're a monster, damned for hell' his conscious sneered in disgust. He wished he could argue it but he knew you couldn't argue with what was true.

So The Cullen family has made its presence known... while its only Carlisle right now the others are around and will be making their appearances in the next two chapters.

Again sorry for leaving this on a bit of a cliffhanger, but just felt the best place to end this one. I know the chapter is short but the next two will make up for it, plus things will finally be settled and Bella's fate will be decided in those next two chapters.

Thanks for reading. Please review as they are appreciated... however flames are not.