Disclaimer: All rights are wholly owned by Stephenie Meyer. Any characters that may appear here are for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Note: A big thank you to KzintiKiller, TwilightMomofTwo and katmom for their guidance and support. You guys rock!


Ch. 7 - Awakening

The fire was out. Finally I could feel my arms and legs and fingers and toes were free of the horrible burning ache. Except for my throat; it still burned. Worse than being thirsty, worse than after running a mile. My throat was the Sahara Desert at high noon. I was afraid to open my eyes, but my ears wouldn't cooperate. I could hear breathing. Six, no seven distinct sounds of breathing were nearby. In the background, music was playing. It sounded familiar and I liked it but I couldn't put a name to it.

I tried to hear more, and it was as if my hearing stretched out. Down below I could hear some talking, and a low background roaring as from many voices. A television. That's what it was. In the same area there was the buzzing of an insect that thumped several times as it bounced against a hard surface. A fly must be banging against a window pane somewhere. There was a whirring noise and a rush of air next to a low humming. I wasn't sure what that could be.

I stretched out in a different direction. I could hear the rush of the wind through the trees, the babbling of a rushing river. Bird song drifted to my ears and I thought I heard the screech of a hawk. Further still there was some kind of mechanical roar. Cars? Yes, the rushing of cars and the rolling of tires on pavement. All of these sounds came to me at once, and struck my ears as a low, growling roar. But I found if I focused a bit, I could sort the sounds into distinct units.

My nose twitched and I could smell a musky, spicy scent in the room that seemed vaguely familiar, but was stronger than I remembered it. The air was swimming with it.

My mind confused me. It seemed I was able to pay attention to each of these sensations at once. Sound, scent and feeling all reached me at the same time. I sifted through vague memories, and could only remember seeing or hearing one thing at a time.

"Can you hear it? Her heart stopped," someone spoke. "She should be awake soon."

Some part of me thought I should be concerned that someone's heart had stopped. That was usually bad. I noticed a warm pair of arms around me and I was lying on a warm body. Somehow that didn't seem right either.

"Bella honey, can you hear me?" the voice said. Bella. Oh, that was me. But the voice that spoke was different. It had a subtle extra timbre to it. A hand stroked my hair and came to rest on my cheek. A warm hand. That was wrong. Who was holding me? Fear shot through me like wildfire. Without thinking, I shoved the body away and sprang in the other direction, knocking something over in mid-flight. I came down in a crouch, my hands curved into claws. My face whipped right and left, looking for the danger I had sensed. My breath came quickly through my teeth, lips pulled back in a snarl.

There were seven of them. Two males stood closest to me. The one with bronze-colored hair was closest, next to the bed, his hands held in front of him, ready to grab. A blonde one stood on the other side of the bed, watching me intently. Four others stood near the door; two males, one huge and the other not so, stood in front of two females. A third dark-haired female picked herself off the floor and moved to stand with the others.

"Bella? Calm down, we're not going to hurt you," the bronze-haired one said quietly. I glared at him. I wasn't going to give him the chance. "Jasper?" he asked.

"I'm on it," the blonde one said. "She's pretty keyed up right now. Very angry, very thirsty. Be careful."

They didn't move closer, so I held my position, keeping a wary eye on them, looking for an escape. They all had smooth, pale skin. My eyes seemed to zoom in on their skin, revealing a crystalline structure that refracted rainbows of the available light. I looked at my hands…and saw the same thing. For some reason that seemed wrong.

A foot stepped closer to me. The bronze-hair's hands reached towards me. "Look out!" someone screamed. I screamed back and lunged. My blow caught him across the face and he fell backwards across the room. Suddenly I was knocked back by something. The big male. We crashed to the floor and somehow he got his arms around me and pinned mine to my sides. I lurched to my feet and tried to throw him off. He lost his hold for a second but got his feet back on the floor, and swept my feet out from under me. I landed on top of him, and his arms locked around me again.

"Jasper!" he yelled in my ear.

Two more bodies flew into us. The bronze-hair grabbed my legs and the blonde my feet. I ground my teeth and tried to kick, tried to wrench my arms free.

"A little calm would be nice Jasper!" the bronze-hair shouted.

"I'm working on it!" said the blonde-hair through his teeth.

I glared while I continued to struggle against the three of them. Then a quiet, familiar voice came to my ears – low and calm, velvet smooth. The voice of an angel reached through the haze of anger.

"Calm down, Bella. We're not going to hurt you. You're safe here, love."

I had heard that voice before, and my mind stretched in its direction, reaching up towards the surface. It felt like a blanket had been slowly thrown over my head. There was no danger, only peace. The sound that I recognized as my frenzied breathing slowed, then returned to a normal pace. The haze that covered my vision seemed to clear…and…

I saw Edward's face. I didn't recognize him at first because it was like seeing it for the first time. I could see it so much more clearly than before, even down to the light from the fixtures refracting off his skin. The perfection of it stood out even more than what I remembered. The plane of his brow, furrowed with effort, I longed to smooth with my hand. The straight line of his jaw, and the lips that I was aching to have smile that crooked smile. But there was a mark on his otherwise flawless face.

"Ed…Edward?" I whispered.

The look of effort on his face gave way to relief as he looked at me. "Bella? Are you all right?" he said.

"I'm fine, but your face…did…did I…" I sputtered.

"Take a swipe at him? You sure did!" Emmett's laughter boomed in back of me and shook the pile of us.

"Oh no!" Guilt washed through me. My first act as a newborn vampire was to attack my husband. I tried to reach for him but Emmett still held me in a grip of steel. "Let go Emmett!" I said.

Edward and Emmett looked at Jasper. For some reason Edward frowned briefly.

"Go ahead," Jasper said. "She's not angry anymore."

Emmett let go and began to extricate himself. Jasper got up as well, but kept a wary eye on me. I threw my arms around Edward and pulled him to me. His body moved easily toward me. That was also different. Before it would have been me who was pulled to him; a mouse trying to move a mountain. "I'm so sorry Edward! I didn't mean it!" I said.

He winced, "Ow! Um, take it easy Bella. You're a lot stronger now."

That was weird. I couldn't remember how many times I had bruised myself whacking him on the shoulder when he teased me. And I'd made him say "ow". I relaxed my grip. "I'm sorry. I was just upset I hurt you."

He shifted me into his lap and started to rock me like a child. That at least hadn't changed. "Shh, Bella, it's all right, it's all right. You didn't know what you were doing. You must feel very disoriented right now." Edward started stroking my hair, and I was glad that it still sent a shiver through me.

I looked at his cheek and ran my fingers over the welt on his face. His skin was no longer the ice cold that I remembered. It was the same temperature as mine; or rather mine was now the same temperature as his. Nor was it hard as granite; it had the same amount of give that mine did. That would take some getting used to. At the same time the wonder of these new sensations filled me, the guilt rose in the back of my throat. The thought that I was the one to hurt him made me want to hide my face. "Does it hurt much?" I asked.

"Nothing permanent, but I did feel that," he said. He worked his jaw back and forth, then he grinned. "In fact, if you'd like to track down Jacob and punch him in the face again, I guarantee he'll notice this time."

I grimaced at his reminder. My memory of that day seemed a little hazy now, and I had to think to bring it back. It had been months since I had fractured a knuckle punching Jacob. I flexed my hand and realized that the residual ache was gone. My hip also hadn't bothered me while Emmett and I had been wrestling. Side benefits of the fiery transformation process.

Edward continued to trace the features of my face, a happy smile on his lips. "So how do you feel sweetheart?" he asked.

"Ugh. Not like me," I said. "There's too much to see, too much to feel. Like the whole world is shouting at me all of a sudden. It's like I'm standing in front of a whole bunch of TVs in the TV store. Before I could only watch one at a time to make any sense of it. Now I can watch every single one at the same time, and it all makes sense. Almost like my brain got bigger to keep track of everything."

Edward nodded. "Now you see why I said our kind is easily distracted."

"I guess so," I marveled.

"Are you thirsty?"

I hissed and sucked in a breath. "I wish you hadn't said that. My throat was bothering me before but now it's all I can think of. It's awful."

Carlisle stepped forward with a large, covered coffee mug and passed it to me. "Here, try this," he said.

I took the mug and looked up at my new family. I could say that with conviction now. I was one of them. I wondered that I had never before noticed the shining, luminous quality that seemed to shimmer about them. Emmett, who had always been like a man-mountain next to me, still loomed over us, yet radiated a warmth that came from more than his smiling face. From Esme and Carlisle, who stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders, I felt a wave of love and kindness. Rosalie stood behind Emmett, her glorious beauty seeming to pulse in an aura around her, but also formed a barrier of some kind. Little Alice, my favorite sister, stood watching me with a huge grin on her face. She had always been so graceful I felt like a clod next to her. Now it seemed that even standing still, gravity had no hold on her, flowing and graceful in stillness. I looked at Jasper, and my eyes widened in shock. The myriad, faint bite scars I had seen on him before, now stood out like beacons to my vampire eyes, crossing and criss-crossing his skin like a Maori tattoo. They fairly screamed menace at me.

Lastly I looked at Edward. I was never able to see past his beauty and perfection with human eyes. Or maybe that just showed how besotted I was with him. But as I looked at him now, it was as if he had an air of – I struggled to find the words – I guess honor and goodness surrounded him. No wonder he tried so hard to do the right thing regardless of the cost to himself.

Bemused, I dropped my eyes and sniffed at the mug in my hands, one eyebrow raised. They say that memory is most easily triggered by the sense of smell. Suddenly my mouth began to water. Even with the mug covered, I knew that smell of rust and salt. But instead of making me ill, I wanted it. I opened the lid and took a cautious sip. It was warm and a little salty. It reminded me of a protein shake, but the flavor was off and not completely satisfactory. It still tasted pretty good to my parched throat, so I tilted the mug back and chugged the contents. When I finished I was still a bit thirsty, but it was bearable now. I licked my lips and asked, "Was that…"

"Black-tailed deer," smiled Carlisle. "I can get whole blood at the hospital but we thought we should try and see if we can keep you from acquiring the taste for humans."

"Wow," I said. "The smell of blood used to make me pass out." I held out the mug. "Is there any more?"

Edward chuckled. "Brothers, I think it's time for a hunting trip," he got up and helped me to my feet.

"Welcome to the family!" Alice cried out, and darted forward with her arms wide.

It was like my mind was in somebody else's body. Startled by the sudden movement, I leapt backwards with a snarl. I crashed into the bookshelves and crouched, hands ready to rip and tear. Empty shelving cascaded to the floor. Someone, the bronze-hair, stepped in between us, hands in front of him.

"Bella honey, just calm down," he said. "Nobody's going to hurt you." He spoke quietly, calmly. The blonde-hair was frowning at me again. I wondered if he would attack first this time.

"Easy now. It's all right. We're just going to stay still and let her calm down. Right Jasper?"

Like someone was talking to a skittish horse, slow and tranquil. Reassuring. The feeling of calm slowly fell over me again. I blinked, then shook my head and straightened up. When my eyes opened I could see Alice standing behind Edward. Alice, my sister, whom I was about to tear into. Horror and self-revulsion washed over me. My shoulders drooped and I covered my face with my hands. "How am I going to do this?" I wailed. "I'm so jumpy. I think everything is going to kill me and before I know what I'm doing…" I shuddered and dropped my hands. "I hurt Edward, and I was going to hurt you Alice," I said in an agonized voice. "I didn't even know it was you." I looked at my family. "I don't recognize any of you when I'm like that."

"Your body is adapted to being a predator," Carlisle spoke. "The fight or flight response is naturally faster in our kind, absolutely instinctive. As you get older you'll be able to control it better."

I wondered how hard it was going to be to control myself. "Jasper?" I asked. "I feel pretty calm right now. How much of that is you?"

Jasper tilted his head slightly, assessing me again. "Right now I'm not doing anything, and you seem fairly normal to me. Well, as normal as a bloodthirsty vampire can be. It seems once you're back to a calm state, you're able to stay that way until something sets you off again. It's very much like a new werewolf. Just try to stay calm and not get angry."

"Easy for you to say," I said. But he seemed to be right. I searched myself for angry thoughts or feelings and couldn't find any. Though anger was a bad thing right now, I felt oddly cheered by the fact that I could feel any human emotion. If I could feel anger, I should be able to feel other things as well.

"It's all right," Alice said as she stepped slowly forward. "We'll just need to be more careful until you're used to things." She carefully gave me a hug.

"Welcome to the family," she repeated softly with a happy smile. "Want to have a look at yourself?"

"Um, okay," I said a little apprehensively. Images of Nosferatu and Bela Lugosi flashed through my mind. I knew it was silly but I ran my tongue quickly over my teeth and was rather relieved to find I had not sprouted fangs.

Alice took me by the hand and led me to her room. Edward and the rest of the family followed closely behind. Alice stopped in front of the full-length mirror on her closet door.

"Et, voila," she said.

I gasped. The first thing I noticed was my eyes. They were no longer brown, but practically glowed crimson. Demon eyes.

"My eyes," I said, shocked. "How long?"

"Anywhere from six months to a year, depending on how long it takes the human blood in you to be diluted out," Carlisle answered.

The girl in the mirror put her hands to her cheeks and her mouth dropped open. Her skin was pale and smooth as alabaster. The few freckles that came from living in Phoenix were gone, leaving the skin clean and unblemished. Her long brown hair was still mussed from the earlier tussle. Some of the angles of her face seemed to have softened a little. The eyebrows were still the same. The laugh lines around the eyes that had come from Charlie's side were smoothed away. The nose was still not too big and not too small. Except for the eyes it was still essentially me. There was something like the aura that surrounded the others that made me seem a little more attractive than before. I ran my fingers through my hair, hoping it would be changed into long, thick, glossy chestnut that moved and flowed like it was alive. Like Rosalie's hair only brunette. I gave an inward sigh. You can't have everything.

"I have to admit, part of me is a little disappointed," I finally said. "Not that I expected to change into Rosalie." Rosalie smiled a bit at this comment. "But I was hoping I'd get a little more help in that department." I turned to Edward. "What do you think?"

Edward looked intently into my eyes reflected in the mirror and pursed his lips. "I think I'm a little disappointed too."

My eyes flew open as if he'd struck me, and my fingers went to my lips. I'd never thought of myself as vain but it still hurt to hear it from him.

Edward chucked ruefully and took my face in his hands. "Not that way, love. You've always been the most beautiful girl in my world. You still are." He kissed me softly. I was surprised at the warmth and softness of his lips as they slid over mine. The warmth started to grow in my stomach, and I was happy I could still feel that. That was one of the things I worried about losing. Too soon, he pulled back, but I could tell by the glow in his eyes he could feel it too.

"I was actually hoping I would be able to hear your thoughts after you changed, and we were more alike. Yet here I stand, just as frustrated as the day we first met." He sighed.

I had gotten used to the feeling of kissing a statue; a statue with lips that moved and slowly warmed at my touch. He had gotten used to kissing me, but never truly lost himself in the moment like I could. All the while we kissed he exerted iron control over his strength and impulses, so as not to injure me. While it was enough for us at the time, part of me felt I was cheating him. Now his lips were as warm and soft as mine, and raised goose bumps at the new sensation. It felt good to know that I wouldn't be cheating him any longer.

Alice picked up a brush and started brushing my hair. When she was finished and the silky chestnut flowed through her fingers she turned me back to the mirror. For a moment we stood with our arms around each other.

Edward started at the reflection of the two of us side by side. His eyes widened briefly as he looked at us. I wondered what he was thinking about. He cleared his throat.

"I'm sure Bella is still thirsty. We should go hunt. Alice do you see any problems?" he asked.

Alice's eyes lost focus as she searched the future. After a moment she frowned into Edward's eyes reflected in the mirror.

"Well?" Edward prompted.

Alice pursed her lips, her pixie face locked in concern. "I'm not sure. I can't see so well." An edge of panic touched her quiet soprano.

Now it was Edward's turn to frown. "You're right, what's going on?" He looked from me, to Alice and back again. His eyes widened and his eyebrows went up in surprise. "Think something Alice. Recite the Declaration of Independence."

She looked at him like he was crazy but didn't say anything.

"What's going on?" asked Emmett.

"Shh!" Edward shushed him.

Edward waited for a moment, then he gently pushed us apart.

"Oh my god," he said in a voice full of wonder.

"What?" everybody in the room asked at once.

"Bella has a gift," he said, still awed. "When she and Alice were touching they were both silent. When Alice let go I could hear her again." He frowned. "And earlier, when Jasper, Emmett and I were holding her, I couldn't hear them either."

"Awesome!" Emmett suddenly grinned. "Now we can keep him from cheating!"

"Alice, can you see now?" I asked. We all relied on her talent so much I worried about the dangers we might not see coming.

"Yes, all better," she smiled in relief, now that we weren't touching.

"Wait, wait." Now it was Jasper's turn to frown. "I thought…" He stared at me intently, and I looked back wondering what he was up to. "Bella, you're not sad right now, are you?" he said, in an incredulous voice.

"No, should I be?"

"Yes, you should." Jasper looked to Edward. "Did you see?"

"Amazing," Edward marveled. "Jasper can sense what Bella feels, but he can't adjust her mood."

"So that wasn't me calming you down when we tussled earlier," Jasper said, concern written all over his face. "If it wasn't me, what brought you down?"

"I heard a voice, coming to me through a kind of haze," I said. "It was very calm, very soothing. I found I wanted to listen to it."

"I think that was me," Edward said, in surprise. "I wonder…" He reached for my hand. Then his mouth flew wide and his eyes almost bulged from his head.

"What?" we all chorused again.

"I can't hear you. Any of you!" The shock on his face was tangible. I felt my heart sink as I realized that just by existing, I took away something that was so much a part of him.

"I'm sorry, Edward," I said miserably. "Do you think maybe I could turn it off?"

He gave his head a shake and the shock was quickly replaced with a beaming smile. "Are you kidding? This is the first peace and quiet I've had in ninety years! Why do you think I have all the music? I have to drown everybody's thoughts out somehow."

I crinkled my forehead as I thought about this. The thoughts in my head had always been closed to Edward, but we thought it was just how my brain had been wired. Charlie had also been a little fuzzy to Edward, but not silent. Now this. Like I was some kind of big mental eraser. "You're not mad?" I asked as I searched his face.

"Not in the slightest," he smiled.

"But this isn't normal, is it?"

Edward grinned wryly. "You were just changed into a vampire, and you're looking for normal?"

"Enough," Esme broke in. "Poor Bella must be suffering. Go hunt. We can talk about this later." And with that the family filed out of Alice's room, back to their normal pursuits. My thirst was bearable, but I would like to get something soon.

Although I was normally pretty indifferent of my wardrobe, I was sure the blue dress was fairly inappropriate for a hunting trip. "If we're going hunting I'm going to change out of this dress," I said.

I headed back to our room. And of course as I crossed the threshold my toe caught the door post. The sad part was, my brain could see it coming. My enhanced reflexes took over and kept me from falling, but my flailing hand crashed into Edward's desk.

I pulled my hand out. Not a scratch. I looked at the broken desk and sighed. I never thought I'd become as graceful as Alice, but I had hoped the two left feet would remain in my human life. "Sorry Edward," I said, sheepish.

Edward raised an eyebrow. "You know, this might be the first time we've ever had to childproof the house. I'll tell Esme to put away her breakables." I wrinkled my nose and stuck my tongue out at him.

Edward closed the door and I went to change. "Did you stay with me the whole time?" I asked.

"Yes." He started taking off his tie.

I sighed mentally. "I wish you hadn't seen me like that. I knew you'd blame yourself."

Edward was silent for a moment. "I could never leave you while you needed me," he said quietly.

I smiled my thanks and gently touched his cheek. "So what do you think? Do you miss the smell and me being soft and warm? Do you…hate my eyes?" I couldn't help the insecurity that crept into my voice.

Edward gently wrapped one arm around me and brushed the hair back from my face. With his thumb caressing my temple he gazed into my eyes. "They are different, but still very deep," he murmured. "Like looking into the depths of a ruby. And your skin." He let his fingertips rove softly across my cheeks as he examined them. "It's so soft and pale. Like camellia petals. It's lovely," he mused.

"As for the rest." He drew his nose to the top of my head, then inhaled his way down the side of my face, to my neck and shoulder, where his lips settled and moved in a way that sent shivers down my spine. He squeezed me close and gave a happy sigh. "It's wonderful. You have no idea."

"So did I turn out okay?" I asked, my eyes closed, savoring the feel of his arms around me.

"More than okay," he said with a smile, his voice warm with admiration. "You're absolutely perfect. I couldn't ask for anything more."

A little dazed by his open adoration, I gave him a quick kiss, reluctantly left the circle of his arms and moved into the closet. There I unfastened and took off the dress, placed it on a hanger and put it away. The hip brace was the last reminder of my human frailties. I reached down and with a sharp ripping sound, opened the Velcro fasteners. I took it off with a feeling of relief, and briefly tested my weight on my hip. Unnecessary of course.

I held up the brace. "This is one thing I'm not going to miss," I said, and dropped the brace into the trash basket with a satisfying clang.

Edward grinned. "The emergency room is going to lose their best customer. The economic impact will be devastating."

I made a face at him. "If Carlisle is in danger of getting laid off, we can always send them some business. I never did get around to running over Tyler."

"Throw in Mike, and you've got a deal," Edward laughed.


To be continued...

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