Chapter 17

Title: Only Human (17/27)

Author: Amethyst Jackson

Rating: M/NC-17
Category: Drama, Angst, Romance
Pairing: Edward/Bella
Summary: A wish sends Bella back in time to Chicago, 1918, and to a human Edward.
Disclaimer: All this genius belongs to Stephanie Meyer. I’m just having a little fun.

My birthday passed uneventfully, which…was confusing, to say the least. I didn’t dare tell anyone
else what day it was – the last thing I needed was another failed celebration. I worried that my
birthday was the catalyst that would send me back to my time – that the approximate two months
was all the time I’d been given to fulfill the wish.

But the hours passed normally, one after another, and I was still there in 1918, still living the life
I’d established. Now it was midnight; Edward’s warm body was curled around mine, one arm slung
over my waist, and nothing had happened.

My birthday was over, and nothing had changed.

A gnawing fear kept me awake into the early morning hours. I realized I’d been putting all my eggs
into the very small basket that was my birthday. If that particular day wouldn’t send me back, what
would? Would I return once my wish was completed…and how long would that take? Or would I
be completely unable to return, regardless of what happened?

I knew it was very likely that Edward would fall ill with the coming of the epidemic, and if he
did…well, obviously, I would have to make sure Carlisle changed him. I couldn’t let him die; that
would destroy me. But once he was a vampire, I wouldn’t be able to stay with him…he would be a
newborn, with all the instability that Edward had been warning me about. He wouldn’t be able to
be anywhere near me. And if I couldn’t go back to my time…where would I go?

I finally fell asleep with those thoughts circling in my head, and I dreamed of being lost in the dark,
unable to find my way home. I kept calling for Edward, but he never came.

I woke to more darkness, but Edward was there, shaking me slightly. “Bella? Are you awake?”

“Yes…” I was still half in my dream, disoriented.

“You were calling for me in your sleep,” he explained as his warm hand cupped my cheek. “Are
you all right?”

“Just a bad dream,” I replied, snuggling into him. His warmth was comforting. “I’m fine now.”

“You sounded so scared,” Edward whispered, stroking my hair soothingly. “I felt helpless; I didn’t
like it.”

“Sorry,” I smiled. “I guess you’ll have to find a way to walk around in my dreams and rescue me
from my subconscious.”

Edward laughed. “Right. Like I could ever wander around people’s minds.”
Fortunately, Edward assumed I was laughing at the joke.

September 13th quickly turned into September 20th. It amazed me, the rate at which time seemed
to be flying by. It felt like just yesterday when I’d tumbled into this time and first laid eyes on a
human Edward. In fact, every time I laid eyes on him felt like the first time. My mind couldn’t
adjust to it.

I think I’d been a little too helpful today. Elizabeth didn’t mind me spending too much time in the
kitchen if I really wanted, but the cook did mind me getting underfoot – and spilling. I spilled a lot.
So I’d been sent shopping for apples, now that they were in season, mostly to make me feel useful.
The planned apple pie was superfluous given the cake already baking in the oven.

Other than my fear of running into Norman – I would most certainly end up kneeing him in the
groin, and that wasn’t very ladylike – it was a beautiful day. The vendor, a middle-aged man, smiled
warmly at me as I perused the selection, picking out the best apples.

I had almost finished when there was uproar behind me. I turned around, seeing a crowd of
people surrounding a man on the ground. When I realized exactly what I was witnessing, I froze in
place, dropping a forgotten red apple into the dirt.

The man was clammy-skinned and sweating, clearly ill. He was struggling to get up, but he seemed
to be too weak. Two other mean were trying to help him, but he appeared to have a tenuous grasp
on consciousness.

It looked like the flu. And I knew that this year’s flu would not be ordinary; it would be
devastating.

I hurried home, apples forgotten.

Once I got home, I realized I’d overreacted a bit. Perhaps what I’d seen was merely one sick man
with a perfectly normal strain of flu. It might not be the epidemic I was waiting for after all. And
everything was perfectly normal in the Masen household. Elizabeth was at her desk, working away
at her correspondence, whatever that entailed. And both Edward, Sr. and Jr. would be home soon.
Everything was as it should be.

When Edward finally came home, he was alarmingly cheerful. He promptly dragged me out of the
parlor, upstairs to my bedroom. I pondered the possibilities; was his virtue getting restless again?

“I have something for you,” he said excitedly as he shut the door behind us. I sat down warily on
the bed, examining his flushed cheeks and bright eyes.

“All right,” I sighed. I wasn’t going to ruin his fun, not this time. “I’m ready.”
He reached his hand into his jacket pocket as he sunk down onto one knee. I fought the urge to
bury my face in my hands and block out the image. Was he really going to propose to me again?

Oh, but he was. The small box in his hand taunted me as he looked hopefully into my eyes.

“Isabella Swan, this will make it official,” he said, unable to keep the smile off his face. What a
hopeless romantic he was. “I swear, I will love you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”

His life would be much longer that he’d ever imagined, but still, I knew the words were absolutely
true. He would love me forever…every single day of forever, just as he’d promised. My heart
clenched.

Edward opened the tiny box, revealing a small ring nestled in the cloth lining. It was gold, and
much smaller than his mother’s ring – a circular sapphire with a tiny diamond nestled on each
side. I smiled. He’d worked so hard to buy that ring.

“Yes, Edward. Of course I’ll marry you.”

He rewarded my tolerance with his crooked smile and happily slid the ring onto my left hand. The
new weight on my finger was comforting; I’d felt strange without the first rings Edward had put on
my finger.

“It’s very pretty,” I commented, amused by the exorbitantly pleased expression on his face. “What
made you choose a sapphire?” He couldn’t possibly know it was my birthstone.

Edward shrugged. “It just reminded me of you. It looks like it’s full of hidden thoughts and
mysteries…and it’s beautiful, of course.”

He got off his knee and joined me on the bed. His arm wrapped around my waist and his chin
rested on my shoulder as he surveyed my newly adorned hand. “I’ve been thinking,” he
murmured. His breath fluttered against my ear, making me shiver. “If I can convince my father to
let me get a better job within the next few months, we might marry in a year. If I save properly.”

My heart broke for him. How could I tell him that he didn’t have another year? That none of the
dreams that hung heavy in his words could come true?

I plastered on a false smile before I kissed him, fiercely, trying to tell him without words how sorry
I was. He mistook my desperation for enthusiasm, responding with abandon. I didn’t mind; I liked
the feel of his fingers digging into my back and his tongue sliding against mine.

The metallic ring of the dinner bell shattered the moment. We pulled apart reluctantly, both with
faces flushed and short of breath.

“I think she did that on purpose,” Edward said ruefully, brushing back the hair that had come
loose from my bun while we kissed.

“We can resume this later,” I said, to which he grinned.

“We’d better.”

Hand in hand, we went down to dinner. His parents were already seated, and they looked up at
our entrance. Elizabeth’s eyes zeroed in on my left hand, but thankfully, she didn’t jump up and
grab at it like I was half-expecting. She merely gave me a warm smile as Edward pulled my chair
out for me.

The normal small talk followed – Elizabeth asked how her husband and son’s days had been, like
the devoted wife and mother she was. Edward didn’t stop smiling for the duration of the meal, but
his father didn’t seem to notice. In fact, his father had been a little out of it the entire time. I took a
closer look at him and realized he was sweating. But it was a little warm. It could be nothing.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who had noticed. Elizabeth was peering at him now with a
worried expression, and Edward had caught on as well.

“Father? Are you all right?”

Edward Masen, Sr. looked up blearily. “Fine, fine. Just a little under the weather, I suppose.”

“Perhaps you should lie down,” Elizabeth suggested, feeling his forehead with the back of her
hand. “You’re feverish, darling.”

“You may be right,” he sighed. “Yes, I think I will lie down a while…”

He stood shakily from the table and wandered almost aimlessly out of the room. I glanced
between Edward and Elizabeth, who wore matching frowns of concern.

“Perhaps I should go look after him,” Elizabeth said, tossing aside her napkin. She moved calmly
from the table, but it was easy to see the panic in her eyes. The panic that was spreading rapidly
through my body. I glanced at Edward, who was watching me now.

“Edward? What is it?”

He looked down at his half-eaten food, clearly considering what he wanted to say. “I’m
just…worried, Bella. There were stories in the paper last month about an epidemic in Boston,
some kind of…congestion of the lungs. It killed within days…hours, sometimes. What if…”

“What if it’s come here?” I finished, having already reached that conclusion. “I saw someone
collapse in the market today. He was too weak to stand…”

His throat tensed as he swallowed heavily. “I think you should leave the city for awhile, Bella. I
don’t want to risk you catching this.”

“Not without you,” I argued, knowing he would never leave his parents now.

“I can’t – I’m needed here, Bella.” His eyes pleaded with me, but I couldn’t give him what he
wanted this time.
“If you’re here, that means I’m needed here, too. I won’t leave you now. And I care about your
parents, too – I am part of this family, aren’t I? I can’t run away.”

Edward sighed, his expression pained. “I knew you wouldn’t agree, but I had to ask anyway. But
Bella, if anything happens to you –“

“Hush now,” I said, reaching across the table for his hand. “We’ll weather this together.” And I
gave him a reassuring smile that I didn’t feel, but his shoulders relaxed anyway. Maybe I’d become
a better liar since coming to the past.

I wanted nothing more than to crawl into his arms and cry, but this time, I had to be the strong,
selfless one. Edward could never know just how bad this would become, and I couldn’t let my
fears overwhelm me. The possibility existed that we would all succumb to the influenza – I had no
guarantee I wouldn’t fall victim, too. But I had to do my best to take care of Edward now; I could
worry about myself later.