We reached the first landing and I still felt Jasper’s power over my emotions.  I wondered if he would concentrate on us all night and, if so, whether he would be able to reach us effectively from two floors down.  Surely Jane would not allow him to leave the living room. 

Bella and I passed Carlisle’s father’s cross at the end of the hall and began to climb the second stairway to our room. 

But halfway up she tripped on her dress and sat heavily on her hip. I tried to help her to stand, but she resisted.  I crouched beneath her on a lower step and was surprised to see quiet tears on her cheeks.

“Bella?” I asked as I wiped her tears with the backs of my fingers.

“No more tripping,” she said, her voice eerily calm.  “Ever again.”

I nodded, feeling a dull, aching loss well up in my chest and throat.  My eyes stung. “No more tripping,” I agreed.

We held each other for a long minute.  I tried not to think about all the things I would miss about her humanity, though I’d taken note of each little quirk since the day we’d met and knew I wouldn’t forget a single one. 

But Bella’s tears stopped as quickly as they had begun. Jasper’s influence aside, it was obvious to me that she did not wish to allow herself to indulge in self-pity. My heart twisted, and once again I found myself in awe of her courage.

“But just think.”  I sat back, stroking her cheek, and smiled.  “No more me-having-to-save-your-life.”

As I’d hoped, she laughed and shoved me good-naturedly in the chest. 

“That, too,” she breathed.  “I think I owe you a few.”

Our smiles dropped and we looked into each other’s faces in the dark stairwell for a while.  Then we stood at the same moment and continued climbing, hand in hand.

As soon as we were inside the bedroom I pulled the thick curtains across the long window.  It was insult enough that there were strange vampires on our land, waiting for the word to attack; I wouldn’t give them a peep show, too.  Between the drawn curtains and the heavy fabrics hanging on the other walls, the room was as silent as a crypt, a morbid coincidence that wasn’t lost on me.  I switched on the lamp – a small, warm night light I’d put on the stereo cabinet months ago for Bella’s benefit.