Day Off, a twilight fanfic

Disclaimer: While the attempt has been made to be medically accurate, some artistic license has been taken, and statements made by Carlisle and other medical personnel are not to be regarded as authoritative.

Do not post without permission. Do not copy/print without including the above disclaimer in its entirety.

The woods looked the same no matter which way they turned. The trail they had been following had petered out to nothing, leaving them with no idea of how to get back on the main trail. They had drunk all their water hours ago, back when they thought the smaller trail was a shortcut to the trailhead. Now they realized that it probably hadn't been an actual trail at all.

"Aren't you supposed to stay in one place when you get lost?" the woman had asked doubtfully.

"That's if you think someone is likely to be looking for you," her husband had told her grimly, and so they had continued on.

Now she clung to his hand, stumbling at every other step, wincing at the sharp knife of pain in her blistered heel.

Suddenly the trees ahead of them thinned, and the back of a large house rose in front of them.

"It looks deserted," the woman whispered, almost sobbing in disappointment after the first quick jolt of relief.

"Maybe, but a house means a road, and if we can get inside maybe it still has running water." Gripping her hand, he pulled her after him across the wide lawn.

oOo

Carlisle

It was not often Esme and I had the house to ourselves, in the middle of the afternoon or any other time. But today we did, and I had just finished an article I was writing for a medical journal and was about to go in search of her when a knock came at the door downstairs.

I hurried to answer it; it was unusual to have visitors out here. "Hello," I greeted the two humans who stood on my doorstep looking ragged and exhausted. The woman, especially, seemed ready to drop, and I focused for a moment on her heartbeat. It was a bit faster than it should be, but steady.

The man seemed to sag slightly with relief when he saw me. "We thought the house was empty," he whispered, his throat so dry his voice was hoarse. "We got lost hiking…wandering for hours…"

"Come in," I invited them; "sit down."

The woman clung to her husband's hand, limping badly as she followed him to the sofa. I frowned slightly, my eyes narrowing with concern, but said nothing then as I hurried into the kitchen for water.

"Thank you," the man said as he took the glass I handed him. The woman didn't even take the time to be polite, but gulped at the water so fast she spilled it on her shirt and nearly choked.

"Slowly!" I warned, putting out a hand ready to take the glass from her. She gasped for air, then tipped the glass for the last drops. I would offer them more later; too much all at once was hardly wise.

"Thank you," the man said again. "You don't know how glad we were to see your house… I'm Ed Walker, and this is my wife Sarah."

I smiled. "Dr Carlisle Cullen," I introduced myself. "Mrs Walker, I couldn't help noticing that you were limping as you came in; are you all right?"

"Please, call me Sarah," she insisted. "It's just a blister."

"Would you like me to take a look at it?"

"That would probably be a good idea," Ed Walker said firmly.

I nodded. "I'll get my bag and be right back."

Esme met me at the top of the stairs. "Carlisle?"

I put a hand on her arm. "Just a couple of lost hikers."

Her face was instantly sympathetic. "Do they need anything? I could —"

"Thou had best stay up here for a bit," I cautioned. "I'm going to check a blister on the woman's heel; if it's as deep as I think it is there may be blood." I bent to snatch a quick kiss from her lips before hurrying into the study for my bag.

When I returned downstairs, Sarah had removed her hiking boots and socks.

"It will be easiest if you lie on your stomach," I told her quietly. I knelt on the floor, opening my bag beside me and pulling my gloves on. I wore a pair of thin cotton knit gloves under the disposable latex ones; they impaired my sense of touch slightly, but kept patients from noticing how cold my hands were.

I gently cradled Sarah's foot in one hand as I examined her blistered heel. As I had expected, the blister was large and deep; several layers of skin had been rubbed away.

Sarah drew in her breath with a sharp hiss as I swabbed the raw flesh clean. "Sorry," I murmured. I covered it liberally with soothing ointment and expertly wrapped a bandage around it.

"Thank you," Sarah said softly, sitting up as I peeled my gloves off.

I nodded. "My pleasure." I glanced up at Esme, hovering at the top of the stairs, and called her too softly for the humans to hear.

She flitted down the stairs and into the room, and I stood with a smile as if I had not known she was coming. "Esme." I slid my hand around her waist, drawing her against my side. I dropped a light kiss in her hair. "Esme, this is Ed and Sarah Walker; they were hiking and got lost in the woods. Mr and Mrs Walker, my wife, Esme."

Ed Walker got to his feet, a courtesy that I noticed was fast disappearing. "Nice to meet you, Esme."

Esme caught my slight frown and elbowed me gently. "If you want him to call me Mrs Cullen, don't introduce me as Esme," she whispered for my ears alone. "Would you like something to eat?" she asked aloud.

"Well…if it's not too much trouble…"

"Not at all!" And she was gone from my side, disappearing into the kitchen. I let my eyes follow her fondly as I bent to close my bag.

Ed Walker grinned knowingly. "Newlyweds?" he guessed.

I chuckled softly; Esme and I would soon be celebrating our ninetieth anniversary. "Not quite, but she's as beautiful as the day I married her."

"Thank you!" Esme's voice floated from the kitchen.

I shook my head, a smile in my eyes, and offered Sarah a hand to get up. "Shall we see what she's fixing you?"

Sarah's blister was on the back of her heel; without the boot chafing against it she was able to walk without limping, though she still dragged both feet with weariness.

"How long were you walking?" I asked conversationally, sitting down at the table with them.

Ed Walker took a bite of his thick roast beef sandwich before answering. "We got started around eleven…stopped for lunch at twelve. Guess we got lost sometime between one and two; been wandering ever since." He took another bite and looked up at Esme with a smile. "This is delicious, Esme."

"Thank you," she said softly. She came to stand beside my chair, and I wrapped my arm around her possessively.

"Jealous?" she teased softly.

I let the deviltry in my eyes answer for me as I looked up at her. "This was supposed to be my day off…" I breathed.

She laughed, running her fingers around my neck as she slipped away. "Don't get carried away, Carlisle. You have guests to tend to."

Mr Walker winked at me. "You sure you two aren't newlyweds?" He had not been able to hear our words, of course, but he hadn't missed the way Esme was flirting with me. It was hardly fair of her to tease me like that when I could do nothing about it…

"Quite sure," I said dryly. "How about you?"

"Oh…we've been married about five years now," he said indifferently. I did not doubt he loved his wife; I had seen his concern over her blistered heel. But that was before he had seen Esme… I growled under my breath and wished Edward were there to tell me what the man was thinking. Though on second thought, perhaps I preferred not to know.

"Sarah?" he said suddenly, concern in his voice; if he was slightly infatuated with my wife — and who wouldn't be? — at least he still cared deeply for his own.

She had drooped over her plate, her head dropping and her hand limply releasing a half-eaten sandwich. I had not been paying special attention to her heart or breathing, but monitoring patients was second nature to me now; I was sure I would have noticed if something was wrong. I focused on them now, finding them well within normal ranges. "I think she's just asleep," I assured him. "Why don't you carry her to the sofa?"

His eyes darted back and forth, slightly panicked. "Carry her? I-I'm not sure I can…"

I studied him for a second. Perhaps my judgment of human strength was off; he was not an overly large man, but I wouldn't have thought Sarah too heavy for him. Still, I didn't press the point but walked around the table and gently lifted her myself.

I laid her on the sofa, tucking an afghan around her. She curled onto her side, and I heard her breathing shift as she went into a deeper sleep.

When I returned to the table, Ed Walker was finishing Sarah's sandwich for her. "Any chance you can give us directions back to the trailhead?" he asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "You seriously think I'm going to let Sarah walk back with that heel? When she wakes up I'll drive you around by the road."

"No need to trouble yourself —"

I raised a hand to halt his protest. "Oh, no trouble at all." So it was decided.

We sat in the living room, Ed Walker in the armchair, Esme and I on the loveseat. She sat curled against me, my arm around her shoulders. We made conversation with Ed, talking quietly so as not to wake Sarah.

When she did wake, it was to sit up with an expression of bewilderment. "What…? Where…?"

Ed laughed. "We got lost hiking," he reminded her.

"Oh…" She blushed. "I must have fallen asleep; I'm sorry."

"Perfectly understandable," I assured her quickly.

"Dr Cullen says he'll drive us back to our car," Ed told her.

"Oh…good. I don't think I could walk it." She tossed back the afghan and began slowly pulling on her socks. But when she reached for one of her boots, I spoke firmly. "Not with that heel. I'll pull the car up; you can walk that far in stocking feet. Do you have bandages at home?"

"We have gauze."

"That will do. Here." I took a container of ointment out of my bag and handed it to her. "Change the bandages every night, and put some of this on. Don't wear any shoes that will rub against it. And if you think it might be getting infected, have a doctor look at it."

She nodded, her eyes wide and solemn.

I smiled. "I don't mean to scare you," I assured her. "Likely it will heal with no trouble at all, but it never hurts to be cautious. Let me go bring the car around."

Ed whistled softly when he saw my Mercedes. "Some car!" he said appreciatively. "How fast does it go?"

I chuckled. "Faster than I'll admit to driving. Do you want the front or the back seat, Sarah?"

"Back," she said quietly; I wondered if she wanted to make sure she wouldn't be able to see the speedometer.

I drove faster than I usually did with a human passenger, letting Ed fully appreciate the abilities of the car, but still well below my speed when I was alone. The trailhead wasn't actually far from the house, going straight through the woods; no more than five miles or so. But there was no direct route by road, and by the time I had seen Ed and Sarah safely on their way and returned to the house, darkness had fallen.

I let myself hope that the house would still be empty, but I could hear Emmett's loud laughter even as I drove up. Sighing, I stopped the car and got out. No one would disturb us in our room, of course, but it wasn't quite the same… Almost without meaning to, I glanced up at the window, and saw Esme's figure silhouetted there. A slow smile crossed my face as I crooked my finger and beckoned to her.

A moment later, she was running across the lawn as I leaned nonchalantly against the side of the Mercedes. "Want to get lost in the woods?" I half growled, my voice low with invitation.

Esme laughed and slipped her hand into mine. Together, we ran for the inviting darkness of the woods. My day off was finally beginning.

The End

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