Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.

Summer of my Soldier

Chapter 14- I Will Always Remember

I stood in horror. Petrified, my feet did not allow me to move nor even think. It was no doubt my Edward, and there was no doubt that this sight was that of Alice's premonition. Now I understood her fright, and now I understood why she begged me not to come. I also understood why I had come. Still, despite the amount of terror I felt, the elation was stronger, and for a reason I did not understand, both my hands trembled as I smiled. I was terrified of my love, and yet I had never been happier to be in his presence. Edward was alive, no matter what form, and that was all that counted. Reminding myself to breathe, I felt the fear slowly wash away as my mind took hold of the fact that this man was my Edward. Knowing not what drove me to do so, I ever so slowly inched myself forward.

"Bella! Don't come any closer!" My heart swooned at the sound of his silky voice. He had grown more beautiful not only in appearance, but in sound as well. The beam of the flashlight shook in my trembling hand, illuminating two other pale forms beside him. I could not draw my eyes away from my stunning husband, curious as I was to his company.

"Edward." I sighed, contentness radiated through me. In a near trance, I kept nearing toward the red-eyed man that was my husband.

"Bella! You have to leave now!" Edward took one deep breath, and his head tilted back in what appeared to be ecstasy. Not understanding, I continued my movements.

"I am not leaving you, Edward." A hollow growl echoed against the rock walls, jarring me so that my feet remained in one place.

"You don't understand! I could kill you! Carlisle! Get her out of here!" My eyes welled with tears that cascaded down my saddened face. He wanted me to go? I did not believe my love had the capacity to kill me, for if he loved me even a fraction of how I loved him so, he never could commit such an act. He had to have been lying, but to hide what? Was it that he did not want me? Had the terrors of war or length of time away from each other altered his heart in such a way that he know longer loved me? Had he stopped writing on his own accord, and appeared to have gone missing to avoid coming home to me? Perhaps this was the punishment for my wickedness and cruelty, that I travelled all this way to find my love loved me no longer. It seemed that fate was harsh in its punishment, I was not that bad, was I? Was anyone deserving of this punishment?

Then the name he had spoken replayed itself in my memory. Carlisle. It was his commanding officer he called for. I was so deep in confusion! All I could do was stand there like a fool, scared, uncomprehending, and my heart both breaking and swelling at the same time. At that moment a bright flash of white appeared at my side, making me jump sideways half a foot at the least. A cold, stone grip rested on my shoulders, not allowing me to move. Beside me stood an eerily handsome man, his golden hair glimmering in the light of my flashlight, nearly the same color as his amber eyes. He had the same ivory skin, and his chilling touch reflected this well.

"Jasper, control yourself." The man beside me ordered as my heart began to race, and my nerves began to fray in anxiety. Jasper? Alice's Jasper?

"Jasper? Jasper is here?" I asked, not hiding any of my thoughts, for there seemed no reason to now. In this odd scenario, nothing withheld or permitted to be said would really make a difference. Either way, this was insanity in its finest hour, though it still felt so real.

"Shh, Bella, let me take you outside, I cannot explain here." Carlisle whispered soothingly into my ear, though it did not ease my soul.

"No. I am not leaving Edward."

"You are not safe here, trust me. If you do not come willingly, I will have to force you, now I do not want to do that, so please..."

"No! I have searched for too long to just leave him!"I yelled at him, my angry voice repeating itself through the echo.

"Bella, please. For me." Edward pleaded, his face twisted in agony and his hands latching himself onto the rock he leaned against. This I could not deny him, there was nothing he could ask me that I would not do everything in power to have accomplished. I could not answer him. Instead, I reluctantly stomped off in the direction that the mysterious Carlisle lead me in. We approached the mouth of the cave, and I stopped him in remembrance of the Quileutes outside.

"Don't worry, Bella, there are not here."

"How did you..."

"Look, there are many things to say and very little time in which to say them." He continued to lead me out of the cave, and walked me about thirty feet from the mouth of the cave until we could seat ourselves atop two large rocks.

The sky was still a deep purple, and not one ray of orange light had penetrated through the horizon. The camp looked hastily packed, and there was no trace of Jacob left in the path of dusty clearing. It seemed that they had forgotten about me, and did not even make the slightest effort to find me. I was now more glad than ever that I did not fall in love with Jacob Black, for it were as if he decided he loved me, and then the moment I was truly threatened, I was not worth the effort and time needed to be found. With Edward rejecting me and Jake leaving me, I was hardly cared for at all. With those thoughts, the last of my heart cracked and crumbled away.

As the last living part of me died inside my chest, Carlisle began his explanation.

"Bella, I can understand how hurt you must feel, but I swear to you that there is a reason based upon life or death that hurts you. Your husband, Edward, as well as Jasper and Emmett were severely injured after an explosion about fifty miles west of here. There was only one way that I could save them. My dear, do you believe in vampires?"

My eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat. Not too long ago I had read the famed novel Draculaby Bram Stroker, and easily recalled subtle facts about the fictional Count. He had pale skin, razor blade-like teeth, and glimmering ruby colored eyes. Though I had never thought anything more of it than a somewhat cheesy, yet classic, horror story, now it all seemed to fit. Carlisle spoke of many things, all the things that made up their appearances, of their eyes, of their strengths, of these strange abilities Jasper and Edward possessed, and of...their diets. He told me that it was incredibly difficult for him not to kill me, and not just to kill me, but not to drink my blood.

I could not describe the strange feelings that immersed me into confusion, more like an out-of-body experience that seemed more a dream, or a nightmare in this case, than reality. Of course, this could not be a nightmare because Edward was here. Vampire or not, I loved him more than life itself, even if that meant that life for me would no longer be possible. If I could not live with him, I would not life at all.

"Carlisle? I don't care how dangerous he is, I love him more than anything. I am not leaving here without him."

"Bella, you have to understand, he could kill you in an instant, your blood smells better to him than any other's. He told me many things about you, as well as he loved you with all your heart, and wished that you never saw him again like this. He thinks himself a monster, and he does not want to risk your life anymore than I want him to. I know how much you love him, but three newborn vampires can be incredibly difficult to control. I am afraid I cannot let any of them be in the presence of humans until they are under control.You see, it was Edward's voice warning you to stay away. He was afraid he would kill you."

"And how long will that take? I will wait here with them."

"It is hard to say, everyone is different. While I am a doctor and can be in the presence of blood with no temptation, I have lived this way for three hundred years. For Edward, I believe before he could be with you without the temptation to kill would be at least a decade..."

"Ten years? That long? Carlisle, I cannot wait that long. Isn't there any other way?" I pleaded with the vampirian doctor. I paused for a moment, thinking. "Make me a vampire." I looked him in the eye as I said this, trying to decode his expressions with no luck. Apparently he was good an actor as he was a doctor.

"WIth respect, this is not something I do because someone asks for it. This was the only way to keep them alive."

"And what is the point of letting them live for the people they love if they could not be alive to share life with them? Perhaps life is the wrong word, but what about Jasper and Emmett's loves? Alice and Rosalie? They would give anything to be with the men they loved, even if it meant this existence. You are married, aren't you? Edward spoke of her."

"Esme." He answered. "Her name is Esme."

"Is she...?" I could not speak the words.

"Yes. She had fallen from a cliff, and would not have lived otherwise."

"How would you feel if it were she that was a...vampire...and you were a mere human? What would you do in my place? If there is any other option, please share it." Carlisle sighed deeply, though he had no need for oxygen, and looked thoughtful for a moment. Strange as it was even for me to think of, I wantedto be a vampire. I wanted an eternity with Edward, to be forever young, and forever in love, and with my love. If I were to become a vampire, he could not, and would not want to, kill me. And what about Alice and Rosalie? Would they doom themselves to the same fate? Would we bring Carlisle to Forks, or them here?

It was all so bewildering, and yet as the sun had begun to rise, it was all so clear.

"I see your point." Carlisle stated. "You believe your friends will want the same fate as you?" He asked.

"More than anything."

"Well, if I should commit to doing so, and it would not please me, believe you that, then there are many details to attend to..."

"You will do it?" I asked, excited. I knew much was at stake, but if I were to remain human, it would be the death of me without Edward. Either way I was going to die, the only difference would be if I could spend my life-less existence in Heaven, or in paradise with my love.

"I cannot promise that. You will have to talk to Edward."

"If I speak with Edward, he could kill me."

"I will find a way. I promise." With that he left, and I was still sitting on the rock. So many things had changed, and I felt like there was nothing I could trust, like everything I knew could be a facade for something else. All I knew was my love and that I would do anything to be with him, even if it meant ending my life. However, something inside me told me that Carlisle would not change me unless I were dying, so I decided if he would not do so with me willing to give up living, he would be forced to unless he allowed me to die. I remembered Edward's ability, and that it was true he could not read my mind for a reason unknown to us, and then the two disk-like rocks. With that, a plan had formed, sick as it was.

"Carlisle?" I called into the cave about an hour later. He appeared only seconds later, a blur of gold and white.

"Yes?"

"I--I am a little worried about something. I think it could make Edward loose control."

"What is it?"

"Well, this makes me ashamed to speak of, but you are a doctor after all, well, what if he were to smell my blood? What would happen?"

"It is hard to say, but it would be nearly impossible for me to restrain all three of the newborns, why do you ask?"

"This is very embarrassing, but what if I were to bleed?"

"They would probably become riled up, you have not cut yourself, I would be able to smell it..I am confused." He admitted. Now it was time that I tried to make myself a convincing liar, something that would not be easy to do.

"But what if I were to...without cutting myself?" My face reddened as I spoke.

"How could you...oh." He said in realization of my femininity. "Ah, well, erm, that would be difficult...is there the uh, possibility of it...now?"

"I am afraid so." I could not believe I was speaking of such a personal thing with a stranger, untrue as it was. "Is there anything you can do?"

"I could put up the stones before the mouth of the cave, it could buy us a few seconds should anything happen...lock ourselves in, if you will, while we come to a decision."

"Is that all?"

"Unfortunately, yes." With that, he departed with a friendly smile, and heaved the large stones back onto their sides, and rolled them in front of the opening of the rocky cave. Sliding himself behind them, he reached out his ivory hands to pull the small, unstable rock where it had been before I kicked it, and set it in place, blocking off the entrance. I waited a moment to make sure he had walked back into the back of the cave before I approached the small rock. Poking it with my toe, it had wobbled as much as it had hours earlier.

I took one long, deep breath, and kicked the rock aside with little effort. Positioning myself so my head was clear of the stone disk, I shut my eyes, and waited for the pain.

"Bella!" An agonized cry came from my love, and then all was black.

Epilogue

Ten years had passed since the day I found my Edward. Nine years and three hundred-sixty two days passed since the day I was changed into a vampire. Nine years, three hundred-fifty one days had passed since Alice and Rosalie had arrived in France. Nine years, three hundred forty-seven days had passed since they too, were changed. Seven years had passed since we left Europe to live in Alaska with some old friends of Carlisle Cullen.

Ten years had passed and we did not grow old. Ten years passed and we did not sleep. Ten years passed, and we had weaned ourselves from human blood. Ten years had passed, and our eyes were glistening golden orbs. Ten years had passed, and our love only grew.

No matter how long we all live, I will always remember the summer that reunited me with Edward, and of the months we spent in each other's arms, refusing to let go even to hunt. No matter how long eternity will be for our coven named Cullen, I will always remember the summer of my soldier.

The End. The Beginning.