His World

Michael Jonas Cullen (25)

Lily stopped outside the house and turned swiftly to Carlisle. "Where's Leah?"

Carlisle furrowed his brow. "She left... Vera, she didn't want to be here when you were transitioning. It's a difficult thing to witness."

Lily frowned. "Is it really that bad to see?"

Carlisle placed a hand on her arm. "Sweetheart, most people spend the transition thrashing and screaming out in pain. She really didn't need to see you in that state."

"Did I..." Lily bit her lip. "Was I that way?"

Carlisle pursed his lips before answering honestly. "Yes. I thought because our child is a boy, and because his venom works in the same sense our does, that perhaps your transition wouldn't be quite so difficult. You also had morphine in your system, just as Bella had. Apparently, my theory about the morphine helping things go smoother was no correct. I'll have to talk with her about that one another time, see what her transition was truly like. I was truly hoping it would be easier on you, given how different the pregnancy was."

Lily pulled in a deep breath out of habit. "Did she say she was going to come back?"

"She didn't say when," Carlisle said. He smiled, changing the subject. "Do you want to meet our son?"

Lily nodded. "Yes."

Carlisle put an arm around his wife and led her slowly into the house. Lily was itching to just bound forward to find her baby but allowed her husband to take the lead. She could smell the wolves and recognized why Rosalie typically complained about it. It wasn't a pleasant scent. She glanced up at her husband as they walked through the house to where Rosalie was holding their child. Carlisle smiled in encouragement, his voice low. "We won't let you hurt him. I promise you that."

Lily was still worried. The thirst wasn't terrible and she felt it was under control, but she could still feel it. It was still there in the back of her vast mind, making itself known no matter how she tried to squash it down. Her head felt huge, like she had sudden access to more space than she knew was possible. How much knowledge could she manage to squeeze into the new space she had? How much medical knowledge could she add to what she already had? That thought turned her mind to another train of thought. Would she be able to practice medicine as she always had? Carlisle had told her how it had taken him decades- if not centuries- before he had enough control to trust himself in a public medical setting. Where would the medical community be when she was finally able to rejoin the practice? Worry filled her mind as she followed Carlisle without a thought on moving her feet.

"What's wrong?" Carlisle asked, pausing to turn and face her. He held her arms gently in his, their bodies close as he looked down at his wife. His brow was furrowed. "Have you fed enough?"

"It's not that," Lily murmured. She gripped his arms with her hands, barely mindful that she was now stronger than he was. The new vampire looked up at him through her lashes, her eyes a blazing, startling red. Her body moved as quickly as her mind worked, and she stood on her toes to touch her lips to his. The feeling that spread through her body overcame her and she deepened the kiss, her hands tangling in his hair and tugging as her teeth caught his bottom lip.

Carlisle's response was immediate as his arm wrapped around her and held her close. Before he could allow his carnal instincts to overcome his rationality, he pulled away just enough to look down at her. It barely registered in his mind that he was now leaning against a wall, Lily pressed against him. He reached up and smoothed her hair with an adoring smile. "This is quite different than before, isn't it?"

Lily nodded, the absence of her blush almost at the forefront of her mind. "I really don't mean to attack you this way. It just... it all feels so different now. Better. It's almost hard to bring myself to stop..."