*Twilight is not mine*
How did I end up in this situation? I asked myself as I rolled out of bed and put my warm feet on the cold hardwood flooring. I hissed in displeasure as the cold ran up my body, but continued on my way. I can't act like the teenager I really am and burry my head under my pillow to block out the screeching noise that woke me up from my peaceful slumber.
"Hush, my love, Daddy's here. Daddy's got you," I picked up my little angle from her crib, which was only a few feet from my bed, but I thought it was much too far. It's not the cold that really bothers me; it's the time it takes for me to get over there when she's crying in the middle of the night.
I started panicking when I couldn't get her to calm down. She didn't smell, so she didn't need a new diaper, and she wasn't suckling, so she wasn't hungry. I ran into the bathroom as fast as I could without causing anymore distress to my baby girl. I searched one handedly for the baby ear thermometer thing, which had to be in the back of the medicine cabinet. I stuck it in her ear and waited. A few seconds later, the thing beeped and I checked the digital screen.
"One hundred one degrees farenhight," I said slowly, not comprehending what that meant quiet yet.
That didn't last long. It clicked in my head that my princess needed help and I was outside with her bright pink diaper bag slung over my shoulder. I had Ell buckled in her car seat and was pulling out of the driveway by the time I remembered to tell Mom where I was going. I searched blindly in the diaper bag for my cell phone, which wasn't there. I must have left it plugged in. I ran my fingers through my messy hair and sighed. Mom will just have to freak out for a while.
El started coughing and my foot pressed down harder, "Hush, my love, Daddy's here. Daddy's not going anywhere," I whispered to her. She started cry louder after the coughing.
I turned into the hospital parking lot and pulled into the closest spot. I tore the keys out and grabbed the diaper bag before getting Ell gently from the back. Her eyes were bright red and snot was running from her little pink nose. I held my angel close to me and walked briskly to the sliding doors at the front of the hospital. Ell was still wrapped up in her blood red blanket from her crib to keep her warm and dry in this new rainy climate, but I forgot a jacket and real shoes. Her cries turned to whimpers when I picked her up, but she was still not the happy baby I put to bed last night.
"Oh my," the elderly lady behind the front desk said upon my entrance. She stood up and angled her head a bit, no bout trying to get a better view of the baby in my arms. "Can I help you, sir?" she asked.
"Yes, "I rasped, "My baby girl has a fever and she started coughing and I don't know what to do," my voice became weaker and weaker with every word I said and the lady smiled kindly at me.
"Is this the first time she's gotten sick?"
"Well, yeah," I smiled sheepishly. I took a tissue from the box on the counter and started drying Ell's little face. She scrunched up her nose at the evasion of her personal bubble. I smiled slightly at her cute annoyed face before turning back to the lady, who I now noticed was wearing a name tag. "What do I do, Miss. Mary?"
She smiled at me, "Just fill out these forms. I'll get the doctor for little..."
"Ell. Elizabeth Carmella Masen-Cullen."
"That is such a beautiful name."
"Thank you," I smiled and took the forms to the uncomfortable waiting room chairs. I put the diaper bag on the floor and sat down. The clipboard of forms went next to me as a situated Ell in my lap. I tucked one ankle under my thigh and placed Ell's neck at the crease in my bend leg to support her head. I grabbed the clipboard from the chair and started filling out the forms.
Ten minutes later and I had one question left. A throat was cleared above me.
"The doctor can see you now, Mr. Masen-Cullen."
"Please, just Edward," I smiled up at her and handed her the now completed forms before shifting Ell into my arms and grabbing the diaper bag.
"This way Edward," she smiled at me, curiosity shinning through her polite gaze, "that was an interesting way you held little Ell."
I smiled as I followed her, "You learn some things after eight months of high school with a little girl to take care of."
"What about her mother and your mother?"
I tensed, "Her mother just left on my front porch when no one was home because she didn't want to deal with a baby," I said harshly, "My mother believes that when I'm home I should care for Ell, even if I have to study for a big test and Ell will not stand to be put down. Oh Man."
"What is it?"
"My mom, I didn't tell her I was going anywhere. She is going to freak when she finds my room empty."
"Don't worry Hun; I'll call her for you. Is the number on the forms?"
"Yes, It's under Esme and Carlisle Cullen."
"Not Masen-Cullen?"
"Nope," this subject was not touchy, but it made people feel awkward, so I avoided it.
"Oh," she left it at that and opened a plain white door for me, "Dr. Byrd is waiting for you." I walked inside to find and Elderly man washing his hands in steaming water with a grimace on his face. "Harold, you old bat, what are you doing?"
"I can't have cold hands when examining a little one, Mary, you know that," he smiled kindly at her and she blushed lightly.
"Harold, you have a patient to take care of, and I have a phone call to make," he raised his eye brow at this but asked no question about it, just held his hand out for the papers, "Nope I need these for the number. You have the patient and her father."
He turned to me then and held out his hand, I shifted Ell into my left arm to shake it, "Hello, I'm Dr. Harold Byrd."
"I'm Edward Cullen, and this is Ell," I nodded to the angle in my arms.
He smiled and held out his arms for her. I was very reluctant to let him hold her. Doctor or not she didn't know him, and she didn't take well to people she doesn't know. I didn't do too well when she was out of reach, either. He seemed to understand this and just asked me to unwrap the blanket. "So, what is wrong with this angel?"
"She has a fever, and started coughing on the way over here," I stated, blushing slightly at the simplicity of what caused my worry.
"Hmm, I take it you left in a hurry after that?" He gestured towards my clothing and my blush deepened, giving him a good laugh. He turned around and grabbed something off a table, an ear thermometer thing. I looked down at Ell, who started squirming in my arms.
"Hush, my love," I whispered, bringing her head up to kiss her forehead. I brought her back down and Dr. Byrd put the thermometer in her ear. She liked it even less than the one from home, and she started whimpering louder.
"Do you know of anything that will calm her down, son?" he asked me after she shook the thermometer out of her ear. I nodded and started humming Clair de Lune. "Well, I didn't think it work that well," he stated.
"It's her favorite from Debussy," I smiled at my little angel. The rest of the check up went along smoothly.
"Well, it seems Ell just has a little cold. She'll be fine in a few days. Just make sure she's getting plenty of rest and fluids."
"So, I over reacted, right?" He laughed a little at that.
***"Not in the least bit, son, she's your baby girl. You did just right by her," he patted me on the shoulder then led me out of the room. "Did you make that call, Love?" Dr. Byrd asked Miss Mary, who blushed and nodded.
"Your mother sounded very lovely, but she seemed to panic when I told her where you were. She said she was on her way, and not to move," I shook my head at that. Mom started over reacting like that ever since I found out about Ell.
"Did she say when she'd be here?" I asked.
"Oh, she should be here any minute now," she responded, looking out the window. A few minutes turned out to be only a few seconds, because at that moment my mother crashed through the door, dragging my still have asleep father behind her.
"Edward, dear child, what were you thinking not waking me up?" Mom took me by the shoulders and shook lightly, though it was still enough to disturb Ell, who had fallen asleep shortly after the check up. She woke up with a loud cry of distress and I cuddled her closer to my chest.
"Relax, Mom," I told her, trying to calm down the screaming infant in my arms.
"Relax? RELAX? You want me to relax when I wake up to a phone call telling me that my son and grandchild are at the hospital," Her voice got louder and louder with each word she spoke, making Ell cry louder.
"Dad, help," I asked, turning to look at him. There was no way I could handle two upset women, I could hardly handle the single one in my arms!
"No, son, I think you should handle this one on your own. I'll just be over here, trying not to sleep," he laughed at me as I turned back to my mom, who was turning slightly red in the face and was pacing now.
"Mom?" I asked timidly. Ell had started calming down now, seeing as no one was yelling now.
"Who knows what could have happened to you to get you stuck in the hospital, Edward?" she stopped pacing and stared into my eyes. I saw the old grief there that I can hardly remember, seeing as I was only four when it happened. I shifted Ell into one arm and pulled her tight to me with the other.
"I'm not leaving you any time soon," I whispered in her ear, using the same words my birth mother, her sister, said to me when we found out about her dieses. Of course, she did leave me only half a year later.
"I know Edward," she sobbed back, clinging to me. I looked up to Dad was talking to Dr. Byrd and Miss Mary talking to someone hidden from my view. I didn't try to see her; I just wanted to go home now.
"Mom, can we go home now? I need to Get Ell back to bed," my angle started squirming again, but didn't cry. She was hungry. I grabbed a bottle from the diaper bag that had a premeasured amount of formula in it, and a thermos of water, that was lukewarm by now. I poured the water into the bottle of nasty powder and shook it, ewe. "I need to sign out, don't I?" I asked after I was done grimacing at the nasty concoction I had to feed to my daughter.
"Yes, do you want me to take her?" she asked, though she knew as well as I did that she would only eat if I fed her, which was a pain during school, but we managed through visits after ever class.
"Nope, I've got her," I sifted her again so that I could get the sling thing out of the bag and put her in it. I swear that thing was like an extra set of arms. She started drinking readily and I went up to the front desk to sign out. Of course, now I could see who Miss Mary was talking to.