AN: Seriously, you all are too too kind with your reviews. And thank you for the birthday wishes!

Bella's POV

"Victoria?"

I don't know why they were so surprised. Why wouldn't she have come back to finish off the job? Do what James hadn't been able to do? Their obliviousness suddenly felt like the most irritating thing in the world.

"Yeah, James' mate, you know?" My voice was strained from the stabbing pain in my legs but that didn't stop the derisive tone from coloring my words. Part of me was convinced there was truth to what I'd said, if Victoria had ended things as I left Forks then none of this would have happened. I wouldn't be suffering from this endless list of symptoms, compulsively thinking about how one tiny pill could make them all go away. Then again, she may have dragged things out. Caused me another sort of agony altogether.

"Not long after you left she came to Forks. Looking for me I guess." They both kept watching me, with matching alarmed expressions, waiting for me to say more. But all I could think about was how my bones felt as though they were being crushed. Speaking of James…

"And she didn't find you?" Asked Carlisle, not bothering to hide his shock and curiosity.

Instead of answering, I gave him a withering look. He shook his head a few times before giving me an apologetic look of his own, "Right, no hard questions. I'll fetch the supplies for your infusion." He seemed reluctant to leave the room but ultimately slipped out, leaving Esme to erase the astonishment from her own features.

I could feel myself begin to tremble again. I didn't think it could be possible for a person to bounce back and forth from freezing cold to burning up within such a short amount of time. My eyes closed against the sensation. Esme pulled the comforter back up to my chest, straightening it out, but leaving my arm exposed for the dreaded needle. Even with the extra blanket she placed on top I still kept shivering.

"I'm s-s-sorry, Es-s-s-me," I surprised myself by saying, "that-t-t-t was m-m-mean of me." Seeing how tenderly she continued to care for me made me regret that way I had just spoken to them.

"Not to worry, dear," she said, patting my leg. Glancing down at me, her lips turned up in an encouraging smile before she took a step towards the door. It swung open and Carlisle came in, his hands full of saline bags and sterile packets. Esme stared at the smallest package and then back to me. Giving me an apologetic look, she slipped from the room.

As soon as she'd gone I went back to staring at the ceiling. For a moment I tried to stop the shaking that wracked my form by tensing all of my muscles. But I quickly realized that I didn't have the energy to do that for more than a second or two. It felt as though I no longer had any control over my own body. The sudden tears that began to slide down my face again didn't help. Feelings of helplessness and despair sunk into my chest, and it made me growl in frustration.

Without looking up from what he was doing, Carlisle spoke patiently, "It will be alright, Bella. I know it feels overwhelming, but we are just going to take this one day at a time."

I didn't say anything. An entire day sounded like an eternity. I was just trying to make it through the next hour. My unresponsiveness didn't seem to bother him though. He turned in my direction, holding a small needle and catheter in his hand.

"I'm going to place it on the inside of your forearm. Which arm do you prefer I use?"

From the corner of my eye I glanced warily at my left arm, rotating it to expose the skin underneath. When Carlisle's cold hand reached out to grasp my wrist I couldn't help but flinch. Maybe it was from the shock of the temperature when I was already trembling from chills. But I had a feeling it had more to do with the image of Will that flashed behind my eyes. After all, the proof of his violence still glared back at me from my other wrist.

"I'm sorry, Bella. It'll just take a second," Carlisle's warm voice sought to reassure me. As sharp a contrast as any to Will's abrasive shouts.

"It's fine," I grumbled out.

A moment later I felt a pinch in my arm and pictured the droplets of blood that would have slipped out of the catheter. A familiar dizziness clouded my head.

"Breathe, Bella," Carlisle quietly reminded me. I sucked in a breath of air through my nose.

"There we go," he said. Judging by how quickly he finished everything, I had a feeling he had been moving at his vampire speed. But now he took his time cleaning everything up and getting the IV bag situated.

"That's why I left Forks." My words were detached. The memory felt as though it were from another lifetime. In some ways it was.

"Hmm?" Carlisle gave me a questioning look while he placed the final wrappers in a small black garbage bag and tied it shut.

"Victoria. That's why I had to leave. I didn't want her to hurt anyone back home because of me."

He closed his eyes, absorbing my words. "So you left, hoping to lure her away."

"I didn't think I would make it far. I figured she was watching and that she would take me as soon as I was isolated." My tears were falling more freely now. Though it felt strange because I wasn't crying, not really anyways. There was no sniffling, no words getting caught in my throat. No, my voice felt distant. As though I was listening to a stranger discuss something as banal as the weather.

Carlisle's face was stricken. "You were going to sacrifice yourself," came his realization.

"You guys left me no other option."