"...the rush of the wind as I’d tumbled off the cliffs at Dover, shattering not my body but the boulders beneath me when I’d hit ground."

Loved that line. It reminded me /heavily/ of Hyper Ballad by Bjork. Perhaps some inspiration? Loved this chapter!

I loved this chapter. Well, I'm just a huge Carlisle/Edward fan.
I think it's kind of beautiful how Carlisle sticks up for Edward. It really is amazing

I am his mother. How could a mother have thoughts like that? Unforgivable.
*
well, dear esme you are right. what the hell? how can she tell him something like that.
even if it was his own decision.
Carlisle is the greatest dad ever ...
At the end, when Edward said his goodbies to Carlisle I started crying... It was very moving

Thank you! What a fab read. I've shared with everyone I know and they're excited to read it. I've posted it on my FB page as well, bragging about how wonderful a writer you are! Can't wait for the finish.

One more chapter? Of course I knew it was coming to an end...because this is where New Moon ends as well. You are awesomeness and again I love this story. However, I dont remember Edward grabbing Bella by the jaw in New Moon, did that really happen? Obviously I need to get back in touch with the original stuff...lol.

~ Cristina

"When my arms closed around him, the world shifted as surely as though Jasper had just stepped into the room. My mind finally accepted what my eyes had been trying to tell it for hours—that my son was real, that he was whole. This one, the one I had chosen first, the oldest and youngest member of my unorthodox little family, had been returned to me, intact. Edward’s body began to shake violently as soon as it came in contact with mine, and mine trembled in answer. It had been decades since we’d cried together—I cried rarely, Edward even more so. The last I could remember had been that rainy night in Vermont, when Esme and I had thrown our arms around our prodigal son and welcomed him home with open arms."-To me this section says it ALL. Giselle, your story is incredibly amazing, and I know I say this every time, but I LOVE IT! I cry almost every single chapter and its because this story is so beautifully written. Thank you so much for sharing your brilliance.

~ Cristina

"I found myself searching the faces of the people around me for some sign that they knew that my life had just changed..." Carlisle

You are so good at expressing the things that the reader would feel but never think about!

I know he's alive and yet Rosalie STILL made me cry!
"Dipshit" would definitely be in Emmett's vocabulary! lol
Still fantastic writing, but had to concentrate more with the switches.

"Canon fic that is better than canon" is correct. The depth of this fic is amazing.

This chapter made me cry... Not have tears in my eyes,not made a few tears slip down my face...It made me sob. It made me weep. The you-almost-hyperventilate type of crying. Your words are powerful. It touched my heart. Really. This is the first time I reviewed, because I was trying to read as much as I can, but even the first chapters made me tear up a little. So far, this is the most intense. I love it.

So your chapter end notes gave me the answer that I was pondering about your writing style. I could tell that you had a bible base with the impressive history you've shared in the beginning,then St Francis & Mother Theresa, then the scripture references.
So with you're ability to pull the reader into relationship with the character so passionately, you are able to speak a faith language to the audience, giving them the ability to hope that there is something real and concrete in this real world, through this fictional story. That is a spiritual gift, so thank you.

It never ceases to amaze me how much new insight you’re able to add to even the most explicit and detailed canon scenes. You capture Edward’s character and personality phenomenally.

It’s painful to experience Edward’s certainty that Bella will reject him, his living each moment in dread that it will his last with her, his certainty that he “was never going to make this right.” Yet even with this despair, he is determined to let her go if she wishes it, still hiding his own pain from her. I love the way you wrote: “Is it because I’m too late? … because you have moved on … That would be”—the worst kind of pain imaginable; the end of my world—“quite fair.” Their lingering misunderstanding about each other’s love is the heart of this scene and you’ve captured Edward’s experience wonderfully.

It’s also so beautiful the way you express the resolution, when Bella finally realizes that Edward really does love her. Edward’s response to her “You love me” is perfect: “this was the trust that should have fallen the moment those terrible lies had fallen from my lips. But Bella, my Bella, the owner of my heart and my soul, saw fit to see past the lie. … so much more, than I could ever deserve.”

Even when he declares his love, he still leaves so much unsaid, as in the moment when Bella kisses Edward, and he thinks “it was all I could do not to throw her to the ground and begin kissing her at once,” while all he says is a cool “Thank you.”

I also enjoyed your view on Carlisle’s thinking during the vote. Certainly he would be impacted by Bella proactively choosing to be changed, creating a unique experience in which he might have no lingering doubts about whether he had done the right thing. Maybe for him, Bella’s change will a turning point in which he can finally accept Esme’s perspective that, for her, like Bella, the change has been unambiguously positive.

words cannot express...so I will try to type through my BLINDING TEARS, how wonderful a writer you are...such a little fictional story...soliciting emotions of pain that I have been supressing myself. (the're not that big of deal). The big deal is how effective you're writing is! You have a gift, bigger than just storytelling. I can't put my finger on it yet, but I can tell...
It was brilliant to parallel Tony's and Edward's story. So impactful! I was just sure that Alice was going to read Tony's thoughts and find out that Carlisle would have ended up saving him. Would he have been relieved, or ashamed of his decision, summing it up as a "God complex"?
You mentioned Bellie Awards at the beginning of the chapter-was this for last year or this coming summer? New to this stuff so don't know about awards, but you would be my vote!

and this is why every woman in the land loves our virtuous Edward!

This is a great story, very well written and original, despite the setting. Really good.