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CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

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A/N:- Banner by FatesLoveQueen /oed60p

I own nothing. Boydblog helped me with this and I'll be forever thankful.

She fixed. I fiddled. Any mistakes that remain are on me.

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~ EDWARD CULLEN ~

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I cradled Bella carefully in my arms, anxious not to cause her any additional pain.

Emmett and Jasper raced ahead to get a car and drive back as quickly as possible. I would need to carry Bella some distance to the rendezvous point. I could have carried her all the way home, but I worried what would happen if Kieran's influence faded. If she fought her way back to this world, she would be in agony.

I ran as fast as I dared, but nowhere near as fast as I knew I could.

Kieran, Alice and Esme restrained themselves and ran beside me. Carlisle, Rosalie and Jacob all raced ahead to prepare for our arrival at home. Alice and I began to have an almost silent conversation; her thoughts and visions helping to guide my choices. I only hoped Bella would understand what I had to do to protect our secret and ensure her parents' peace of mind.

We reached the road where Emmett and Jasper had agreed to meet us. I listened out for their minds, happy to discover they weren't far off. Once the Jeep had come to a stop, Alice climbed into the car and helped me get Bella onto the back seat. I wanted to continue to cradle her in my arms, but the safest option was for her to be secured properly. I climbed in as soon as Bella was in the vehicle. Alice helped Bella stay upright so I could secure the five-point harness.

As I fastened the last clasp on the harness, I examined the damage to Bella's arm. I was relieved to see the swelling was reduced and the bone aligned.

'She's going to be fine, Edward. She's going to be wonderful.'Alice smiled at me as she sent me positive thoughts.

I nodded in thanks before turning my attention back to Bella. Her eyes were unfocused and I realized she wasn't even partly in this world. She was wholly under Kieran's influence and I was certain she would remember nothing about the change. It was a great relief to me to know that she was free from pain.

Kieran and Esme ran behind the Jeep as it tore a path through the forest. As he ran, Kieran kept Bella's thoughts flowing to me in a constant stream. I was able to witness Bella and I beginning to heal the rift she'd told me about in her other world. In the meadow she'd told me about the pain she'd experienced there at my hand.

Was that really just yesterday?

The rest of the drive was relatively peaceful. Alice explained the plan we'd concocted to Jasper and Emmett. Even before they'd heard all of the details, they were on board and excited to play their parts. I was glad that, for the most part, my family was willing to accept Bella into their lives so easily. It would make Bella's transition so much easier.

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The instant we got home, it became a madhouse. With barely another word spoken between us, everyone seemed to assign themselves to the tasks they were best suited.

Jasper called his 'contact' to obtain a marriage certificate and new documentation drafted for Bella Cullen.

Alice began to photoshop pictures of Bella and I together, expertly doctoring photos of a phony Vegas wedding.

Rosalie and Emmett ran to Charlie's house to leave evidence to show Bella had run away. They packed some clothes, not that Bella would be wearing any of her old outfits once she was immortal if Alice had any say in it.

Carlisle and Esme began to prepare themselves for a difficult conversation with Charlie.

I carried Bella up the stairs and laid her gently on the black sofa that resided in my bedroom.

Kieran and Jacob followed me, both determined not to let Bella out of their sight.

I felt a possessive streak run through me. I wanted Bella and I to have privacy in my inner-sanctum. I wanted to shut them out and stay with my Bella while she completed her change.

Yet, I still worried that Kieran could end his influence and leave Bella to endure the burn as the venom coursed through her veins, changing every cell in her body.

I took my place beside Bella. I'd made too many mistakes where she was concerned and this time I wasn't going to move from her side until she'd returned to me.

Jacob stood by the door, trying unsuccessfully to escape the concentrated vampire scent.

Kieran rounded the room to Bella's other side, but I shot him a venomous look. I may have spared his life so that he could help Bella, but I wasn't willing to just forget everything that he'd done. I certainly wasn't going to allow him a place at Bella's side while I waited for her transformation to be complete.

He backed away quickly, standing by the floor to ceiling window.

I heard Carlisle speak to Esme to let her know that it was time. I listened as he picked up the phone and called Charlie's number.

"Hello?" Charlie's voice had an edge to it that I recognized from when I dropped Bella home last night.

"Hello, Chief Swan, it's Carlisle Cullen."

"Doctor Cullen."

"I'm afraid this isn't a social call."

Charlie's breath hitched. I wished I was close enough to hear his thoughts but I had to judge his attitude by his tone.

"Perhaps this is something we can discuss in person?" Carlisle said.

"No, if something has happened, I want to know now."

Charlie's voice practically seethed with anger. I knew without the benefit of reading his mind that his anger would be directed solely at me.

"I'm not sure how to say this, but I think Edward and Bella may have run away."

"What do you mean?" Charlie was definitely angry.

"After Edward arrived home last night, we sat him down and spoke to him about breaking curfew in order to spend more time with Bella. We didn't feel it was in his or Bella's best interest to get so invested in their relationship again."

There was silence on the other end of the line. I could easily imagine the agreement running through Charlie's mind.

"I'm not sure how Bella was after we left Forks, but Edward was inconsolable while we were in California. He took their break-up far too hard and that's why I brought him back to Forks. I hoped he could finish the school year and maybe get some clossure. Esme and I didn't think his reaction was healthy and we tried to caution him. We asked him to stop spending so much time with Bella. He didn't take it well. He stormed out last night and we didn't see him again until this morning."

"What happened?"

"When he got home, we tried to talking to him again. We just wanted him to understand that he had the rest of his life ahead of him and that it didn't make sense to sacrifice his education over a teen romance."

Charlie grunted in agreement.

"We told him that now was the time to focus on school and his career. We thought we'd reached him because he was so calm when he left for school. But he didn't come home this evening. His car is gone and so are most of his clothes. Then we found the note."

"What note?" Charlie's voice pitched with anger.

I worried that maybe we'd made the wrong choice telling him this particular lie. I was about to say something to try to get Carlisle to calm Charlie down.

'He'll be okay, Edward. He's going to take it hard, but he'll be okay.' Alice's thoughts practically shouted at me before I could speak and risk ruining everything.

"Edward left a note saying that he and Bella have decided they don't want to be apart any more, and that they're going to get married."

"Married?"

"I'm afraid so. It looks like they left straight after school, they could be just about anywhere by now."

"They won't get very far if they don't have money."

"Edward has money. His parents left him a small fortune in a trust fund. He gained access to it on his eighteenth birthday."

"I'm going to call the station and have them send out patrols to look for them."

"Thank you Charlie. We just want Edward home, but we're afraid there isn't much we can do. They are both over eighteen."

I heard Charlie's reluctant agreement. "I'll still do everything I can to bring my baby home."

I felt guilty that I'd taken Bella away from him so soon after he'd got her back, but holding her hand as she became my equal, I couldn't regret the choice.

A fake marriage certificate was being drawn up to convince Charlie that Bella was happy, but I was determined to make it reality at the earliest opportunity.

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Once he'd finished the call with Charlie, Carlisle came upstairs to check on Bella again and to talk with me.

"Thank you," I said. "I know that call wasn't easy."

'I wish we were able to put Charlie's mind at ease. There isn't another way to do this though.'

"No. There isn't."

'I'm glad that everything seems to have worked out.'

I growled. "Not everything. Irina and Laurent are still out there."

"What did they do?"

"They helped Victoria," Kieran said before I had a chance. "They drew the pack away so that Bella would be vulnerable."

'I can't believe that Irina would knowingly hurt our family. Maybe she didn't know Victoria's plan?'

"Maybe," I said doubtfully.

Knowingly or not, they'd put my family at risk. They'd risked the lives of the people in La Push—people who had helped keep Bella safe—and worst of all, they'd put Bella's life in danger.

That was unforgivable and somehow I would make them pay.

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Over the next couple of days, the house remained a hive of activity. Carlisle and Esme each contacted Charlie regularly. During the first night, Rosalie and Emmett had driven non-stop to Oregon. They purchased a postcard and forged Bella's handwriting on the back.

'Dad, I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you before I left,

but I felt this was my only choice.

Just know that I'm happy.

I'll call you as soon as I can.

Love Bella.'

We hoped regular contact with my family and the postcard from Bella would help assuage Charlie's worry. He was upset that Bella had felt running away was her only option. Alice kept assuring me that it was the right decision, that eventually Charlie would begrudgingly accept 'Bella's choice'. His tone when he spoke to my parents didn't seem to support Alice's confidence. In fact, it was obvious that he absolutely hated me.

Jacob went home early in the morning, after I promised him someone would call as soon as Bella woke. I promised we wouldn't leave until he'd had the chance to say goodbye. He still wasn't entirely comfortable with what she was becoming, and worried that Sam would try to end her life.

Kieran stayed close, but mostly huddled against the glass, watching me and Bella in the reflection as he continued his influence over her mind. I could hear his jealousy, but overriding everything else was a burning desire to make everything right.

On the second evening, Alice hacked into Bella's email account and sent the photoshopped wedding photos to both Renee and Charlie. Each time Charlie received new communication from 'Bella', he called Carlisle to see if they'd heard anything from me.

In the last email, 'Bella' advised her parents she was going to honeymoon for a week and would call them after we'd decided where to settle. I understood that she wouldn't be able to see them for some time to come—if ever again—but this way she could at least have contact if she wanted to.

By dawn the following day, Charlie was the least of my concerns. Bella's heartbeat had begun to race, her body temperature had fallen, and her skin was paler than it had ever been before.

It's almost time.

Kieran seemed to realize the time was right too. In her other world, Bella was leaving the hospital to go home.

In all of the rooms around me, everyone heard Bella's ever increasing heart rate. The mood in the house began to lift as all of the scheming and plotting to cover Bella's disappearance from Forks began to become redundant. Her change was almost complete and soon she would be one of us. She could call her family and put their mind at ease, and then we could actually disappear. We didn't have to worry about Charlie storming the castle to find his lost daughter.

Esme called Jacob to let him know to come back. I couldn't break my promise to him. He said he would be over as soon as he could. I had no idea whether he was planning on bringing reinforcements. I had no choice but to trust his friendship with Bella. I was certain we could convince both Jacob and Sam that it was Bella's choice to be immortal rather than…dead. Once they knew she would be happy, and that I would ensure she would never be a danger to humans, I was positive they would accept her.

Over the next few hours, my family began to migrate to my bedroom. They all knew Bella was in the final stages of the change and wanted to be by her side when she was roused from her dream-state. Again I was spurred by the positive thoughts of my family. Even Rosalie eagerly anticipated Bella's assimilation into our family.

Kieran began to give Bella mental clues that it was time to return to us. He wasn't sure how long it would take before her mind would accept them—or even if she would accept them. He warned me that she wouldn't wake until she was ready.

I watched her other world in awe. I saw Bella slide a key that was identical to the one I'd left with her, into the door of her imaginary house. An almost blinding light surrounded her. She moaned as the light faded around her and she became firmly entrenched in the real world.

"It's time, Edward." Alice spoke, showing me what was to come.

Through her vision, I saw Bella's eyes open to reveal crimson irises. The sight was one that had once made my dead heart ache, but now made it soar. The prospect of forever with Bella by my side made me incoherent with excitement.

Bella was my mate and I would never doubt the strength of our connection again.

"Bella, my love? I'm here. Try to relax," I whispered.

Bella's face contorted with pain and I knew she was experiencing the last of the fire racing through her veins. I was glad she hadn't been conscious for most of her ordeal; I don't think I could have survived being by her side for three days while she screamed in agony. The thought of her pain made my own body ache in sympathy.

"It's almost over," I soothed.

Bella reached her hand out blindly and I encased it in gently in my own. Her fingers weren't fragile and breakable. Her skin was the same temperature as mine. I wanted to run my hands over her body and relish in the feel of her. For the first time ever, that thought didn't petrify me. For once, I didn't worry that I would hurt her.

I studied the changes in her. She was still undeniably Bella: her face was still love-heart shaped, only her cheekbones were more prominent; her bottom lip was still just slightly too full for her top lip, but it served to make her pout appear fuller. She was Bella, refined in ways she hadn't needed to be refined but that served to make her infinitely more beautiful.

"I told you she'd be perfect," Alice said. 'You can't keep your eyes of her.'

I smiled knowingly. I could have happily kicked everyone out of the room and stayed alone with Bella for hours…days…weeks. I knew I was never going to be able to get my fill of her or her love.

Bella's back arched off the sofa and she issued a low, pain-filled moan.

"It's okay, Bella, it's all going to be okay. You're doing so well. Soon we'll have all the time in the world to be together. I have no doubts. I love you."

I longed to reach out and stroke her forehead or her pale cheek, but I restrained myself. She was my Bella and I knew she would never intentionally hurt me, but she was also just about to be reborn as a being of incredible strength. She could hurt me so easily without even realizing. Bella would be stronger and faster than me and I would need to exercise caution around her.

Bella's heartbeats relentlessly pounded as they began to practically overlap each other.

Until suddenly, there was silence.

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A/N:- I wasn't going to post this until I had the next chap ready to go because I know everyone is chomping at the bit to know what happens next, unfortunately I know that with everything that's has been and will be going on with me at the moment I won't have another chapter for another little while. So this is a peace offering and a promise to post something more as soon as I can.