A/n Another quick one-shot that I have had on my computer for a while since it was hard to end. I'm setting this sometime after New Moon. there is a little B/Ed fluff, but it's more of a B/C bonding because as I said before I love Bella and Carlisle bonding.
R and R
The sun was shining brightly, for once, and I was out shopping. I had decided to walk because it had been a while since I had done something as simple as go to a store because I wanted to. Since the sun was shining, I was sans vampire, but I was happy because I knew exactly where my vampires were right now.
I hadn't wanted them to know how broken their abandonment had made me, but between Jasper's ability, my flimsy acting skills, and the rumors about town, they all knew. Thanks to that, they had taken to alerting me when any of them were going to be absent. Even Rosalie had warmed to me a little, but I was waiting for the other shoe to drop in that relationship.
As I passed the front of a clothing store, I tripped over a crack in the pavement of the sidewalk and managed not to fall. I sighed at my clumsiness, and took a moment to look into the store window. Through the glass I could see male manikins wearing suits. My eyes glided up to their faces, fully expecting to see a generic manikin face or one of the headless variety. At first I was startled, my eyes, reflected in the window, were comically wide, and then I began to laugh so hard that I had to sit on the ground to avoid falling.
People began to look at me and I tried to stop laughing. I managed to quiet the laughter, but I couldn't stop my body from shaking with it.
Some amount of time later, a lot apparently because the sun had started to merge with the horizon, I heard a car pull up to the curb. I looked up as I wiped away my tears of mirth, wondering what kind of danger had found me now, and how mad Edward would be when he had to come rescue me tonight.
That thought faded when I had wiped enough tears away to recognize the car. I got to my feet and somehow managed to trip on that broken piece of sidewalk that I had saved myself from before. My hands got scrapped up a bit, and my jeans a bit dirty, but as falls went, I figured that I had gotten off easy.
I brushed off the gravel that got stuck to my hands and slipped into the car. The cold hand that grabbed me pulled me into a lap and I blushed as I emitted a startled squeak.
The cold body closed around me protectively and I melted into the embrace. A cold hand gripped my left wrist gently to examine my hand. I looked up and it was only then that I realized just who was driving the car.
I used the hand that wasn't being held to cover my mouth, pressed my lips into a tight line and let my head tilt so that my hair would cover my face. One look at that vampire made me remember why I was so amused only mere moments before.
"Bella?" Edward asked in a voice that was filled with worry. I wiggled in his arms, forcing Carlisle to let my hand go in the process. Once Edward had sufficiently loosened his hold on me I turned to the side so I could face him and look away from Carlisle at the same time. If I was going to explain I couldn't be looking at him while a did.
"Bella, have I done something to upset you? Carlisle asked.
I frowned, startled by how upset he sounded. "What would make you think that?" I asked after I had turned back to him.
"The way that you reacted when you noticed me spoke of some discomfort." His golden eyes went back to my hands then, examining, but not touching.
For a second I stared wide-eyed at Carlisle, wondering what was going on in his head. Suddenly, I understood Edward's frustration with being unable to hear my mind because it would be really convenient to know just what Carlisle was thinking right then.
I reached out with a hand and Carlisle allowed me to turn his palm up. Then I placed my hand back in his. it had to be obvious by now that the scrapes were superficial, but i knew that he just wanted to see that with his own eyes.
"Edward, do me a favor and tell me exactly what he's thinking."
"He's just reviewing his latest interactions with you wondering if he's done anything wrong. Along with half formed apologies to the both of us. Now he is thinking about grounding me for actually telling you what he was thinking."
After taking a moment to wonder how one went about grounding a vampire I spoke."Look out the window." I said pointing the direction that I meant.
Both sets of golden eyes peered out the passenger window and into the store front. For a moment I wondered if the manikins looked the same to them as they did to me. Once I heard the laughter start I knew that they noticed the resemblance as well.
"Something you want to tell us, Dad?" Edward asked.
"I plead the fifth."
"Dad, it looks just like you." I joined in amused again now that Carlisle was no longer upset.
Carlisle looked away from me very suddenly.
I tried to get his attention wondering what had happened now, but after a minute I gave up. "Edward translation please?"
"Bella think about what you said."
"I just said that the manikins looked just like him." I answered with a huff, a vampire boyfriend could be so difficult sometimes.
"That's all?"
"Edward, you were sitting right here when I said it. With your vampire enhanced hearing you should have heard me."
"What did you call Carlisle just now?" he prompted.
"I called him..." then I trailed off as a blush engulfed my face. Despite my embarrassment though, I moved my hand back into Carlisle's. It took a second, but he looked at me, "Am I allowed to call you that?" I asked shyly.
There were soft words spoken by Edward that were inaudible to me. If Carlisle hadn't spoken at that moment I might have scowled at Edward for doing that.
"I would be proud to be called that by you, but I wonder if I deserve that honor."
I growled softly. "Can self-doubt be passed through venom? I think so because both of you are peas in a pod when it comes to that. Of course you deserve to be called Dad. You do all the things a dad should do, you take care of me, and help me when I have problems. I'm the one that should be thinking that is an honor because I get two awesome men to call dad when some people don't even get one."
In was during that silence that there was sudden movement. Somehow I ended up in the backseat cradled in Carlisle's arms as Edward drove. It I was less startled, I would have yelled at them for treating me like a hot potato.
"You don't know how much that means to me," Carlisle said once we were situated.
"I think I have an idea," I murmured as my eyes closed without my permission. The mixture of purring vehicle and literal cold comfort forcing me into slumber. The last thing I was aware of was a cold kiss pressed into my hair.
A/n2 I didn't put this at the start because I didn't want to reveal the joke to early. This was inspired by some manikins I saw in a store front, to me, they really did look like the actor that played Carlisle, I laughed so hard at that and when i got home and then I wrote this. Hope you enjoyed.
