Once again. Thank you for the reviews. This is the final chapter.

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9. It begins. It ends.

She traipsed happily into the room two bottles of water in hand and dropped them both with a wet, sloshy thud. "Edward?!"

He was sweating profusely, writhing slightly on her bed, head slamming into the pillow. He held out his hand. "B-B-Bella, come here, quickly. P-p-please." He ground his teeth sharply as she spoke.

"Oh God! Oh No. No. No." She kneeled on the floor at his side pressing his hand to her cheek. It was clammy, slippery. "No. No. This can't be happening. Not yet. It's not time. I get more time. We get more time. It's only been about 22 hours. We have two more hours! No, no!" She started to cry. She felt stupid. He was the one in pain. "I won't let you go. I won't let you go yet!'

"Bella," he was breathing hard, straining to hold it back. His voice was small. He let the hand that was in hers go limp but the other one balled up the blankets and sheets, his knuckles were white. "I've felt this for a little while now. It's coming for sure. You have to call Alice. You have to get her here. Please Bella. You have to be strong for me. I need you to be strong. I need to know you'll be Ok."

"I can't. I can't." She sobbed. She was so weak. She was saying all the wrong things. Tears ran down her cheeks, pooled at the base of her neck. He was going. He was really going. She couldn't stop this. They would never have this again, never have the couch, the fridge, make love in the shower, never eat together, sleep together again. It was all going away. It was all wrong. So wrong.

Not fair. Not fair.

She needed to be strong. She couldn't be strong. She wanted to die with him now.

Die! Oh God! Die.

"Oh Edward. Oh Edward. Oh No. No."

He jerked his hand away violently and let out a blood curdling scream that made the hairs on her arm and neck stand up. He writhed and whimpered screaming. It sobered her immediately to see him in such agony.

"Ok. Ok. I'm calling. I'll call." She turned toward the phone. She couldn't see for tears. Her hands were shaking. Her throat hurt. She couldn't swallow. How could it be so beautiful and then just be gone like this?

"It's Ok, Bella we're here." She turned to see Alice, Jasper and Emmett standing at the foot of her bed by the window. "We heard him screaming."

"Jasper, Emmett take him." The walked over to pick him up carefully.

Without thinking Bella launched herself at them. "NO!" A wave of calm came across from Jasper but she fought it to be miserable. "NO!"

Alice was there, then, holding her back. Alice held Bella up and kept her from sliding to the floor in a puddle of grief. "Guys, take him. I have her." It was the last she saw of human Edward as they jumped through her window with them into the black, wet night.

She collapsed against Alice. Alice was cold and hard like Edward was usually cold and hard. Something about that made it a little better. Faintly. She turned and cried into Alice's shoulder. Alice held her like a child and let her cry it out. She didn't soothe like Edward did with little words but she patted Bella's back and smoothed her hair, knowing Bella would exhaust herself in time.

When Bella was empty of tears and heaving sharp dry misery, Alice sat her down on the bed and brought her one of the water bottles that had hit the floor.

"Drink, Bella." Bella obliged robotically. "Breathe."

Puffy and swollen, Bella nodded and gasped air. She was going to live. Damn. Alice lay her down on the same spot that Edward had been, placed Bella's head gently on the pillow and tucked her into bed like a three-year-old, arms over the folded covers, hair smoothed behind her. When Alice was satisfied that Bella was all acceptably in a sleeping position. She sat down on the other side of the bed above the covers and leaned her head against the wall, looking out the window.

"Aren't you going to be there for the," she couldn't say change.

"Jasper, Emmett and Carlisle have it well in hand. I think they can manage without me." She turned her amber eyes to Bella's face. "Besides, I promised Edward I wouldn't leave you alone."

"You did?"

"He said whatever happened I was to make sure you weren't alone. With Charlie not here, I thought I would see to it personally. You can sleep. I won't leave you."

"You don't have to."

"Yes, Bella, I do."

"Oh Alice this hurts so much."

"I know. I knew it would."

"Can you see yet what's going to happen?"

"No, it's still all shrouded in," she considered, "a haze. I don't know. It's very frustrating for me and it hurts like Hell."

"What do you think will happen?"

"I don't know, Bella. I really don't."

"What does Carlisle think will happen?"

Alice sighed and then shrugged. "He thinks, actually, that Edward will be the same as before."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"That's comforting."

"Good." Alice shut the lamp light off. Then the room was dark. "Sleep now."

"Alice?"

"What?"

"Thank you. Even if that was a lie. Thank you." In the blackness she heard Alice smile.

"It wasn't and you're welcome. But remember whatever happens I won't leave you alone. I'll stay with you. I'll be here as long I as I need to be."

"Thank you for that too. You're a good friend."

"I'm your sister, Bella. We're family. We were always meant to be family."

Family.

Bella drifted into unconsciousness with the thought, her heart weary and cracked. Old wounds of abandonment seeped blood. In her dreams Edward was pulled out the window again and again from her.

She awoke in the pitch dark and it was still. Her face still felt puffy. She could only breathe out of one nostril. "Alice?" She croaked.

The room was quiet and empty. "Alice?!" She was frantic. "Never leave me? You left me the first chance you got!"

Then the light was on and she was blinded, stabbing brightness assaulted her eyes, they watered what little liquid they had left. She felt cold, hard lips on her forehead.

"Alice didn't abandon you. I asked her to go."

"Edward? Edward!" Am I dreaming? Is this some kind of sick dream that I have to wake up from?

She forced her eyes open and saw his face there before her. He was smiling, white marble, back to normal.

"This can't be happening. How long was I asleep?"

"Two hours. It took an underwhelming two hours to go back to normal again."

"But, how is that possible?"

Shut up, stupid, just be happy for once.

"I don't know. It just is. I could go back and writhe around on the floor for a while but I'd rather be here with you."

"Are you?" She pulled her blankets up to her throat and he smiled his crooked smile. She could see clearly now where the vampire parts and the human parts met. She knew now that she had always loved that smile because it came from the man inside – the man he had been in1918 and the man he had been yesterday. There was more of the human inside than she had ever realized.

"I'm the same as before, restraint and all. It's like it never happened." She pouted. He held the sides of her face with cool, hard, vampire hands. "But I have these beautiful memories of 22 or so magical hours. They are dimmer now that everything is vibrant again, but they are all there."

He kissed her in that cold, vampire way – carefully.

"I thought I lost you."

"Nope."

"No, I really did think that."

"That was silly then. Stop doing it."

"Are you staying?"

"Try and drag me away. No really, try. I guarantee you can't."

"Do you still want to drink my blood?"

"Yup every last drop. But they fed me before I came back here. They barely let me leave and followed me here. But Alice has seen that I am fine now. So all is well." He brushed back a stray hair from her cheek. "That's why there was a delay when you called out she was talking to them about what she had seen."

"Are you going to be able to stay and not drink my blood?"

"Absolutely. A life without you has no meaning or purpose." He stretched out beside her above the covers. "Besides I want to see you walk down the aisle to me in virginal white and secretly know that I deflowered the bride – a lot."

"Edward!" She laughed, hit him and regretted it instantly. He wasn't soft and fleshy anymore.

"Yeah, I know. I'm a beast." He pulled her fingers to his lips and kissed away the sting.

She snuggled up to him and let his coolness seep into her pores. He steadied her and lay still keeping her covered.

"So how was your day as a human?"

"By far the best day of my entire existence. Nothing in this life or my previous life comes close, apart from the day we met, of course."

"But that was a horrible day. You wanted to kill me. I almost made you go against everything you believe it."

"Yes but it has lead to every day since with you – for that I have been truly blessed."

She began to drift a little. He heard the change in her heartbeat and breathing.

"Sleep, Bella. Tomorrow is another day."

Then she was gone, falling into peaceful dreams knowing he would be there when next she woke.