𝗕𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘 | 𝗧𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗫 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗩𝗘𝗟

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯

The Cullen's, bar Jasper and Rosalie who were still offering as much comfort as they could to Toni, stood in the living room in silence, the only sounds being the agonised ones coming from the room upstairs.

The past hour hadn't been fun or pleasant, for anyone, but there was nothing more they could do for her now, the venom working on its own.

"Carlisle," Edward murmured, breaking the silence. "It's going to be hard when she turns. She's famous. She won't be able to go anywhere. She can't just choose a new name like us."

Emmett shrugged. "It's not like she'll be able to go anywhere for a while anyway. Newborn, remember?"

Carlisle nodded reluctantly. "Emmett's right. We can figure that out later, when she's in the right mind to give her own input."

Alice sat down on the couch, opening the laptop in front of her. "Relax. It's going to be fine, from what I can see. Now, shopping, anyone?"

At the incredulous looks she received, she rolled her eyes. "Hello? If she's going to be living with us she's going to need her own things. The spare room hasn't been furnished yet, she's going to need stuff to keep her busy, and clothes. Lots of clothes."

Esme joined Alice on the couch from where she had been standing next to Carlisle, thankful to have something to do, hating to stand around feeling helpless while someone was in pain.

Carlisle sighed. "I'll call the hospital and school. I don't want to leave her until she's settled, and I don't suppose the rest of you will either."

At the confirming nods, he quietly left the room to make the calls.

Sharing a glance, Edward and Emmett joined the women on the couches and accepted the magazines Alice passed them.

Now all they had left to do was wait.

~

She thought she knew the meaning of pain. The meaning of fear. But she'd never been so wrong.

Because all of a sudden the shrapnel piercing her chest felt like a prick, the surgery felt like a mere itch, the water she had been forced to inhale was nothing more than uncomfortable, the electricity racing through her body as the water hit it a tingle.

She could hardly feel the hand in her hair, yanking her head to the side as the teeth - and what the hell? Teeth? - remained lodged painfully in her neck.

Because the fire, the fire that spread through her body more with every second was torture.

She barely noticed the tears streaming down her face, the sobs that escaped with her screams, when the only thing holding her up, the thing causing her this pain, was yanked away from her. She shakily reached up, feeling blood touch her fingers where they felt the wound.

The rest was a blur.

Something held her up, stopping her from falling to the ground and curling up into a ball until the pain was gone as she wanted to.

She could vaguely hear voices, although she couldn't comprehend the words.

"... transition... before it..."

"... clear... doesn't know..."

"Rose... hold her... check..."

A sharp pang went through her ribs and back as she was moved, intensifying her pain and a fresh scream was ripped out of her.

She didn't hear much after that, the overwhelming fire taking all her attention and blocking out any other sounds.

She was only brought back to the world around her as cold fingers brushed her hair away from the wound on her neck, and all she could think of was the man - thing - coming back to finish the job.

The thought gave her a burst of energy as she struggled against the arms holding her, paying no mind to the hysterical shrieks she was letting out. Hadn't he caused her enough pain?

Hands grabbed her face firmly, turning her head from where it had been buried, and she felt a rush of... something rush through her, and she could only describe it as water mixing with the fire, keeping it at bay, making it more bearable as her hair was gently brushed behind her ear and a pair of sympathetic golden eyes met hers.

A pair of words... her name... caught her attention, and her gaze darted fearfully towards a large man before the one in front of her tapped her cheek, bringing her attention back to him.

His voice, musical and soft with a slight southern accent, seemed to pass through the haze that clouded her mind, even as the pain reared up again. "Focus on me. It's okay, we're helping you."

She could feel herself trembling, writhing, beneath his hands and those that held her, and suddenly her brain caught up with the other words the large man had muttered while her attention had been fixated on her name.

"... dead... pronounced dead..."

Before the panic could properly take hold, a distant feeling of calm fought against it, and she latched onto the words the light haired man in front of her had told her. Help...

"Please don't let me die. I don't want to die."

It hurt to say the words, even in the broken whisper she used, but she managed to focus on the golden eyes in front of her.

He gently brushed away a tear she hadn't realised she'd shed, his fingers cold, but somehow nothing like those that had left her in this position.

"Are you sure? No matter how painful it is to live? Even if you beg for it?"

As tempting as it may have been at one point, this time Toni knew that no matter what, she couldn't give up. Not this time.

She met his gaze again, not having realised she'd looked away. "Don't let me die. Not even if I beg for it."

The blond nodded slowly. "You have my word."

That's when she let go.

Everything that happened after that point flashed past in a blur of pain and only pain.

Occasionally she could feel a rush of calm attempt to fight off the pain, but at some point her pleas to live had changed into pleas to die, begging for someone to just make it stop. That she couldn't put up with it anymore.

At one point she felt fingers glide along the edge of the reactor in her chest, and it snapped her out of the daze, if for a moment, as her mind went back to all the horrors the reactor had caused and she screamed, desperately trying to get her body to cooperate and scramble away.

After that golden eyes met hers again, whispering reassurances as pain racked her body, as hands held her down, as a sharp pain shot through her chest and it got harder to breathe.

She vaguely felt a hand stroke through her hair as the blond told her to breathe, that it would be okay, they were helping her.

And she clung to that, until even whatever the blond was doing to fight the terror, distress and pain, so much pain, that filled her, couldn't do anything to distract her as she surrendered completely to the pain, the world around her nothing but a distant murmur as fire seemed to engulf her.

Why wouldn't it just let her die?