AN: Thanks for all the great responses to the story so far. I'll work to do better at updating faster. I won't bore you with the reasons why this took so long, but I can assure you that a month-plus delay wasn't in my plans. Suffice it to say that the characters weren't talking, and life wasn't cooperating.

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Bella POV

I couldn't say where I was. It swung from utter darkness to blinding brightness, harshly loud to suffocatingly quiet, being in the midst of a massive crowd to standing in complete isolation. But through it all was numbed pain, my total inability to breathe. How could I? Breathing meant living, living meant remembering. Remembering…as if I could forget.

"Bella, we're leaving."

"Why? Another year—"

"It's time. How much longer can we stay here, really? Carlisle doesn't look anything close to the thirty-three years he's claiming. We'd have to leave soon anyway."

There was a growing pit in my stomach. "When you say we-?" I couldn't believe I'd gotten the question out, hoping even as I said the words that he wasn't implying what I thought he was.

"I mean my family and myself."

He couldn't be meaning…could he? "I'm coming, too. I just have to find a reason to give Charlie."

"No, Bella. You're staying here."

"No, I'm not. We belong together. If you go, I go."

"I don't want you to come."

I stared at him, unable to believe what I'd just heard. "You—don't—want—me?" If he didn't want me to come with them, he was really saying he didn't want me.

"I shouldn't have let this go on so long—I should never have let it begin in the first place."

"What?" He wished none of it—including us—had ever happened? Why was he saying this?

"I'm tired of pretending, Bella. This isn't good; it can't ever be good."

I didn't say anything. There wasn't anything I could say. I knew only too well that I wasn't good enough for him. All he was doing was saying it aloud.

"It will be like I never existed, as if we never met. You can go on with your life the way it should be. Just, please, don't do anything stupid or reckless." With movement too quick for me to see, he came close, pressed a cool kiss to my forehead, and was gone before I could refocus my eyes.

Why had I ever thought I deserved him, that he could want me?

I heard faint noises sometimes—at least I thought I did—but had no desire to investigate them. What did they matter? How could anything matter now?

Eventually, though, something did penetrate the otherwise impenetrable fog I resided in.

"Hey, Bells," someone whispered. "You wanna wake up? Charlie's really worried about you. Everyone is, really. Me, too. C'mon, Bells. I miss you." It—he—sounded familiar…Jacob? Why was Jacob here with me? He couldn't stay here—he wasn't meant for a place like this. Jacob was bright and warm and this place was cold and dark. I had to make sure he didn't get stuck here with me.

"Bella?" I heard the voice, coming from a long distance. With great effort, I forced my eyes to slit open. Being greeted with an array of fuzzy lines made me close my eyelids again for a little bit before trying again. "Oh, Bella, thank goodness." There was a noise, and I could hear the voice—my mom's voice—calling for someone.

"Welcome back, Bella," someone new said. She had some kind of uniform on…a nurse?

"Oh, baby!" I had to close my eyes again in the face of my mother's enthusiasm.

"Mrs. Dwyer," the new voice spoke again, "please let me have a little space to check on Bella. I promise to give you time with her in just a moment. Perhaps you could let her father know she's woken up. We'll need some privacy, young man."

I managed to focus my eyes with a lot of effort and saw that my dream thoughts had been right: Jacob was here. "Hey, Bells. Good to see you." He defied the nurse a bit and moved so I could see him better. "Glad you listened to my advice."

I blinked, not sure what to say—or if I could even say anything at all. Jacob didn't seem to mind. "Listen, Bells, I gotta run, but I'll be back as soon as they let me, okay?" I must have given some kind of acknowledgement, because he left then.

"Hello, Bella," the nurse told me, reaching to either side of my head and removing what turned out to be an oxygen mask.

"Who?" I rasped, in a voice that wouldn't work right.

"I'm Amanda," she said. "Do you remember why you're here?"

I managed to twitch my head in a slight 'no'.

"You got sick and had trouble breathing, then you developed pneumonia, and your dad brought you to the hospital. You've been wearing a mask to help you get enough oxygen."

"When…"

"We can leave that off until the doctor has had a chance to see you, and he'll decide if you can stop using it or if you still need some extra help, either with this or with a nasal cannula. But hopefully you won't need the help anymore now that you've woken up." My face must have been its usual expressive self, because she added, "Oh, did you mean how long have you been here? Four days."

Four days? I'd been lost in that fog for four days?

A noise in the hallway made Amanda turn away. "I think that's your parents. I'll let them see you for a few minutes while I update the doctor, and then we'll have him in to check you over."

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My mom rushed right to my side, but my dad hung back just a little. Maybe it was to give her time with me first—or else just to keep a little distance from her overly exuberant emotions; I only wished I could do the same.

"Oh, baby," Renee cried. "We were so worried about you. Phil, too—oh, I'll have to call him in a minute. He wanted to be here, but he couldn't get the time off from his team; it's the middle of the season, you know. But I know he'll want to know you're okay. We'll have to get you all healthy again. I'll have to find a store—I'm sure some crystals will do the trick. Or maybe some herbs—the tribe here must have someone, don't they?" As usual, my mother bounced from one thought to another, without the need for me to make any comments; a good thing, because I couldn't think of anything to say, and wasn't sure I had the breath to say anything even if I did. And breathing was a definite issue, with as tightly as she was hugging me.

"Bella needs to breathe, Renee," my dad finally interjected.

"Oh, I'm sorry, baby," she let go and took a step back. This gave Charlie room to come stand by my bed.

"How do you feel?" he asked me.

"Tired. I don't know."

"Bella, what happened?" Renee wanted to know. "How did you get so sick? And where's Edward? Why isn't he here?"

I felt the stabbing pain in my chest again; I definitely couldn't breathe now. Fortunately, I was spared the obligation of finding an answer to give, when my dad did it for me.

"The Cullens moved, Renee. Dr. Cullen got a job offer in Los Angeles, and they moved right after school let out for the summer. Edward broke up with Bella before he left."

"Oh, baby!" Renee commiserated.

"Chief Swan, Mrs. Dwyer," the nurse, Amanda, was back. "Dr. Gerandy needs to examine Bella now. If you could go to the waiting room now, he'll find you when he's done and let you know how she's doing." Both my parents gave me hugs before stepping out of the room.

Dr. Gerandy came in and started checking me, taking my pulse, listening to me breathe, and whatever else doctors look at. "You've been pretty sick, Bella," he told me. "But I think we've gotten you over the worst of it now."

I just nodded. He had no idea. Over the worst of it? How could that ever be?

"We'll keep you here for a little longer, just to make sure you're breathing fine on your own. Then you'll be able to go home." Dr. Gerandy kept talking, maybe about medicines and recovery time, but I tuned him out. It didn't matter. I drifted off to sleep again; a normal sleep this time.

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This is a little shorter than I usually like to post, but I think you've waited long enough for a new chapter, and as Bella's fallen asleep on me this is a good place to pause.