4

It took Edward several long moments before he could feel himself come to terms with what he'd just seen in Alice's head. Of course, she was already on the phone in an effort to talk Carlisle out of what he was about to do. Carlisle, of course, had been hiding his thoughts from Edward for two days, and now he understood why. What a ridiculous idea to even entertain, he thought bitterly as he and Alice shared another look before bolting out of the house and climbing into his silver Volvo.

"Did you know?" he demanded.

"Of course not," she deadpanned. "You knew as soon as I knew. But why would he agree? It's absurd, of course, but why would he agree to change that girl?"

Edward scoffed, not bothering to call her out on the understatement of the century. They'd done everything they could to conceal their real identity, to stay under the radar so to speak. In the last five years, he'd gone from high school student to commuting college student. They were going to have to leave soon, knowing they wouldn't be able to pass as human teenagers for much longer, so why was Carlisle — who was arguably the most controlled of them all — so willing to change a complete stranger? Why? Just why?

"He turned his phone off," Alice said with a sigh. "Hurry."

Edward pressed his foot onto the gas pedal, and in a matter of seconds, he slammed his foot onto the brake, stopping next to the curb opposite of Chief Swan's house. Carlisle was standing on the front porch with Chief Swan and a woman with dirty blond hair and blue eyes.

As he climbed out of the car, Edward found himself lost in the beautiful human girl that stood in the rain. Her long dark hair hanging in wet tendrils around her, her T-shirt clinging to her body, but it was the smile that pulled at the corners of her delicate face that enticed him the most.

She stared at him — and him at her, trying to figure out this fragile creature. It was clear the human girl was ill, very ill. On the verge of death. He could sense the end of her life coming, sooner than it should have been for her young age. Very soon. She only had days left, if she were lucky.

While in the back of his mind, he could hear Alice cautioning him, hear the muffled hopes and pleas coming from Chief Swan's mind, and the desperation coming from the woman next to him, both wanting Carlisle to save the young girl, she was silent to him. Nobody had ever been immune to his mental invasions. His ability to read minds was something he hadn't always liked. In fact more often than not, he found himself blocking the mindless noise out, trying to find whatever peaceful silence he could find, yet this creature, this beautiful, fragile, delicate creature, was hidden from him, and he wanted more of her.

He couldn't seem to turn away from her, to stop staring at her. This need to be closer to her was overwhelming, yet he couldn't move, either toward her, or away. He just kept staring at her, even after Carlisle murmured, "I'll be back for her tomorrow. Noon. If she agrees, I'll change her, but only if she agrees."

Edward vaguely heard Chief Swan say, "Okay," before Carlisle was inside his car.

Alice grabbed Edward's arm, pulling him back into the car. Though, how his legs moved when all he wanted was to be close to the girl, he wasn't sure. It wasn't something he could explain, but he found himself in the passenger seat of his car, while Alice sped away, leaving the beautiful human behind. He closed his eyes, imagining her in his head as they drove back to the house.

"Are you going to stop him?" Alice asked, causing him to open his eyes and look at her. "You're not, are you?"

"I can't," he confessed. "I don't know why, but I can't."

"Good."

Though, why she thought that was good, he didn't know. Alice was blocking him from reading her thoughts, which made it even more confusing. What had she seen? And why was the fragile human so appealing?

—Stay—

Edward needed a moment to collect himself when they returned to the house, so he turned and headed into the woods, leaving Alice to . . . he didn't know what he was leaving her to do. He just knew he needed a moment to try to understand how he felt before he could go inside that house and fight for the fragile human, whose name he didn't even know.

"Edward."

Closing his eyes, he stopped in the middle of his run and turned around, finding Carlisle just feet away.

"Edward, please let me explain."

"You don't have to explain," he said, pointing to the side of his head. "I've already heard it."

Carlisle didn't smile, which just enforced how important his case was to him.

"I'm not going to say no."

"You're not?" he asked, clearly surprised.

Edward shook his head. "I can't."

"Why not?" Carlisle questioned. "It's not rational."

He smiled. "No, no, it's not. It most certainly is not."

"Then why?" he asked, almost pleading with him. "What do you hear when you look at her?"

Edward turned away and shook his head. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing," he repeated. "She's completely silent."

"Because of the tumor?"

Edward spun around. "She has a brain tumor?"

Carlisle frowned, placing his index finger against his temple. "I thought you already knew."

Edward rolled his eyes. "I could tell she was sick. But no, I didn't get all the details. You've done a great job at blocking me out, Carlisle. Well done."

"Can you blame me? If you had any idea I was even considering Charlie's request, you would have done everything you could to stop me."

Edward couldn't, and wouldn't, deny his argument. That's why he and Alice had hurried over to the Swan's house in the first place, but not anymore. Now, he knew that girl needed them. He just didn't know why he felt drawn to her.

"What changed, Edward?" Carlisle pressed.

"Why'd you agree?" he countered.

Carlisle folded his arms in front of him and smiled. "Because there's something special about her. I just don't know what. Your turn."

Edward pressed his lips together before saying, "Honestly, I don't know. I was prepared to . . . to stop you, but then she looked at me, and I . . . I just knew I couldn't stop you. Are you really going to do it?"

Carlisle nodded. "If she agrees. I don't know that she has a real understanding of what I am offering her, though."

Edward nodded. "They're not going like it. The others, I mean."

"I know."

"And yet you're still willing to change her?"

"I am."

"Then let's go fight for her." Edward dragged his hand through his hair. "Together."

—Stay—

When they arrived back at the house, Edward and Carlisle found Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, and Alice waiting in the living room with Esme. Esme looked at her husband fondly, and Edward knew she would side with them. Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper, however, were going to be harder to convince.

"Would someone like to explain what the hell is going on?" Rosalie asked, standing with her hands on her hips.

Edward resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her dramatics. It wasn't something they weren't use to, of course. She'd had a flare for the dramatic ever since her change so many years ago. Still, provoking her wasn't going help sell her, so he resisted the urge.

"Everyone, please sit," Carlisle said, putting his hands up.

Of course nobody moved. Emmett stood behind his wife while Jasper stood behind Alice, his eyes narrowed as he tried to get a feel for the room, so to speak. Edward, however, shifted his eyes to Alice, who gave a subtle nod toward his question and he knew Jasper would side with them.

"Or not," Carlisle groused, folding his arms in front of him. "Two days ago, Chief Swan approached me at the hospital and asked me to change his daughter, Bella, into one of us," he explained. "And I've agreed."

Edward laughed inwardly when the rage inside Rosalie exploded, though when she spoke, she was calm, collected. "No. That's insane."

"It's not," he said. "When you see her, you'll understand."

"See her?" Rosalie snarled, stepping toward him, but stopping when Emmett placed his hands on her arms, pulling her backward. "You can't seriously think we're going to allow you to do this?"

"I will be changing her," Carlisle stated as fact. "I've already decided."

"Why?" Esme asked, causing him to look at her, his features softening just a bit. "Just tell us why."

Carlisle shifted his eyes to Edward, who nodded, and then Alice, who nodded, before he explained, "She's dying. She has an inoperable brain tumor. They've exhausted all efforts to save her life, and so they've asked me to step in. I've agreed."

"But why?" Jasper asked. "Why did you agree? You can't just come in here and say you've decided anything, Carlisle, without explaining why. It's not like she's the first person to die from a brain tumor."

"Because there's something special about her," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know what it is, but there's something different about her." Carlisle brought his hand up to his chest. "I looked into that girl's eyes and I saw . . . I don't know. I just knew that I needed to say yes."

"You're costing us everything because some human gave you a sad story and puppy dog eyes?" Rosalie scoffed, shaking her head. "You realize that by making this decision, by saying yes, you're starting a war with the Quileute's, don't you?"

"We'll have to leave, which we were going to be doing soon, anyway," he argued.

"You think just because we whisk this girl away that they won't come after us?" Emmett asked, cocking an eyebrow. "She's the daughter of the police chief, Carlisle. They aren't just going to let that go. Especially since we all know he's best buds with Billy Black."

"Maybe not, but I cannot stand by and watch this child die."

"No, you'd rather put a target on all of our backs," Rosalie argued with a wave of her hand.

"Let's put it to a vote," Alice suggested, shifting her eyes to Edward before looking at each of them separately. "Everyone in favor of changing Bella Swan, raise your hand."

Carlisle and Esme immediately put their hands in the air, as one would have expected. Alice raised her hand, her eyes shifting to Jasper, who though was still reluctant, raised his hand. Everyone turned to Rosalie and Emmett, neither of them raised a hand, which Edward expected. Emmett wouldn't vote against his wife, and she wouldn't put her own selfish needs before anyone else. Everyone turned to Edward last, who slowly raised his hand.

"This is ridiculous," Rosalie murmured, "but I won't stop it. I just hope she's really worth it, Carlisle."

"She is." He shifted his eyes to Edward. "She really is."

And Edward knew he was right. Bella Swan was worth fighting for.

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