Originally this was going to stay in Google Docs until Unsinkable Ships is finished, but when I got to the end of this chapter I just had to post it now. Not sure how fast updates will come, as I'm also working on my fic Unsinkable Ships at the same time. This one wouldn't leave me alone, so I started working on it. Hope you enjoy!
Yes, I know that Billy is a bit OOC, but I just follow the characters.
I do not own anything but my own plot. If you recognize it, then it does not belong to me.
Without further ado, I bring you 'Disillusioned'.
Carlisle sighed as he parked in front of the Swan house in late January, four months after his family had left Forks behind. He had reluctantly followed Edward away from Forks, along with the rest of his family, but his heart ached for Bella. When Alice had told him that he needed to come back, he hadn't hesitated.
The cruiser was in front of the house, but the truck wasn't, which was probably best. Bella would try to hide things, and he needed to get the truth. His interactions with the Chief were limited, but he knew that Charlie was a smart man.
In a flash, Carlisle darted to the door and knocked, listening to Charlie's footsteps as he walked to the door. When the door opened, he could see the look of surprise on his face. Clearly, Carlisle was the last person he expected.
"Doctor Cullen, what can I do for you?" He asked warily.
Carlisle felt a tinge of regret. Clearly, Bella wasn't doing well if Charlie was taking that tone. It spoke of subtle resentment, though the man would never show it outright. "I was hoping to talk to you about Bella, see how she's doing." Charlie scrubbed his face with his hand, his expression saying more than words ever could. Silently, he turned and walked back into the house, leaving the door open in invitation.
He followed the Chief into the house, closing the door quietly behind him as he took the indicated seat on the couch, watching as Charlie took the recliner. Carlisle waited patiently, knowing that Charlie would speak in due time. After a couple moments, he did.
"I'm lost," he began softly. "She's just a shell, I've never seen anything like it. She doesn't eat, she barely sleeps. When she does she wakes up screaming at least twice a night. She's lost a lot of weight, for her anyway. She tries to hide it, and the other day I got fed up and told her I was sending her to her mom in Jacksonville. That seemed like it got her attention, and she went out with the Stanley girl that night, but she's still not functioning. I can tell it's just a façade, trying to placate me." Charlie heaved a deep sigh. "I don't know what to do for her anymore, Carlisle."
Carlisle felt his heart break, listening to Bella's father talk. He had known it would be bad, but even he hadn't expected something like this. "I knew it was a mistake," he said sadly. "I told Edward that, but he was adamant. Said he didn't want to do the whole long distance relationship thing, and nothing Esme or I said would convince him. He was going on about a 'clean break' and how she would get over him. I told him that's not the type of person she was, but he's a teenager. You know how they are," Carlisle said wearily.
Charlie chuckled humorlessly at that. "Yeah, I do. Bells is as stubborn as they come, I'll tell you that."
Carlisle couldn't help but laugh. "I noticed." The two sat in silence for a minute, and Carlisle could hear Bella's truck now, still a mile or so away.
When she was a couple blocks away, Charlie tilted his head slightly. "There's Bella," he said evenly. Suddenly, he shot Carlisle a look. "I'm not sure how she'll react to seeing you," he said nervously.
Carlisle shrugged. "I'm sure she'll be emotional, but that's understandable."
They were silent as they listened to the truck come to a stop and turn off outside the house, and Carlisle listened carefully as she walked up to the house. Her breathing was normal, but her steps were slow and her heart rate was elevated, indicating that she was weak, and her heart itself didn't sound nearly as strong as it once had. The front door opened, and they waited impatiently as she made her way slowly through the kitchen, staring at the floor.
When he looked up at her, he felt his jaw drop. For all that he had expected, even after talking to Charlie, this was so much worse than he had been prepared for. For the first time since he turned, Carlisle cursed his perfect vision. He didn't want to see the minute details that Charlie couldn't. He could see how weak her heart was by watching her pulse beat in her neck, not moving the skin as much as it should. Her skin had lost it's shine, a detail that most humans wouldn't see, but to him the difference in her skin stood out the way it would to her if he stepped into the sun without any effect at all. She looked exhausted, with his sharp eyes he could see that the bags under her eyes literally had bags of their own, the darkness under them reminded him of his own eyes.
What was the worst, though, was how skinny she was. He could clearly see the contours of her bones beneath her skin, could clearly perceive the way her clothes hung on her bony frame. The girl had lost at least thirty pounds, and he could see the diminished muscles where her body had begun to use it as a fuel source to keep itself going. Even though Charlie didn't have the senses to pick it up, one thing was horrifyingly obvious to Carlisle. Bella was well into the slow stages of death.
Before he quite knew what he was doing, Carlisle stood up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Charlie start, and realized he had moved much too fast. Right then, however, Carlisle couldn't find it in himself to care. Still, Bella hadn't noticed him.
"Bella, what have we done to you?" Carlisle said softly.
Finally, she looked up, and in the moments before recognition took over, he saw how dull and completely lifeless her eyes were. He saw the exact moment when she recognized him, and waited what seemed like a long time before she decided he was really there in front of her. She took a couple steps forward.
"Carlisle?" She whispered softly.
"It's me, Bella." She reached out tentatively, brushing her fingers against his shoulder, clearly wondering if she was imagining him. When she realized she wasn't dreaming or hallucinating, she launched herself at him with a cry, wrapping her skinny arms around his neck like a vice. Carlisle caught her, and wrapped his arms around her tiny frame as he felt her begin to cry into his shoulder, hot tears soaking the fabric of his coat.
In one smooth motion, he bent down and scooped her up, before walking over to the couch and settling her on his lap. He could feel her shoulders heaving, and after several moments her fingers began to scrabble against the zipper of his coat. For a moment Carlisle was confused, but then realized that she must be seeking the familiar sensation of his cold, hard skin, and quickly unzipped his coat. Sure enough, Bella immediately curled against his cold chest, winding her arms tightly around his waist as though afraid he would disappear.
"Bells..." Charlie began, clearly intending to chastise her, but Carlisle waved him off. Bella needed this, and he had no problems being the one to comfort her. Charlie still looked slightly embarrassed at Bella's behavior, but stayed silent. At the moment, Charlie was the least of his worries anyway. His concern right now was for the young woman currently in his arms, whose sobs had finally turned to gasps. One hand made circles on her back while the other gently stroked her hair, doing his best to soothe her.
Ten minutes later, he heard her heartbeat and breathing change as she fell asleep, still curled up in his lap. He felt his lips curve up slightly in amusement, and looked up at Charlie. He gave Carlisle a look of surprise.
"Wait, is she asleep?" Charlie asked in disbelief.
"Just fell asleep, I heard her breathing change."
"Wow. You've got good ears, doc." Carlisle chuckled lightly. With her face that close to his ear, he could pass it off as human level hearing to notice her breathing change.
"So I've heard. Does she normally have trouble falling asleep or just a lot of nightmares?"
"Both," Charlie said sadly. "I hear her tossing and turning for hours, she'll be asleep for maybe an hour and then the screaming starts. Normally happens two or three times a night."
Carlisle looked down at Bella sadly. "I told him..." He whispered, threading his fingers through Bella's hair as she slipped deeper into sleep.
Charlie was looking at Bella carefully. "She's been out five minutes and I can already tell she's sleeping better than she has since he left," he muttered.
"Would you mind if I stayed until she wakes up? If she hasn't been sleeping then I'd hate to wake her," Carlisle said.
"If it means she gets the sleep she needs, you can stay as long as you want," Charlie told him. "On one condition," he said seriously. Carlisle raised his eyebrows in question. "Make sure she eats?" He pleaded.
"Of course, Chief Swan. I'll make sure she does." Carlisle slipped his shoes off and gently shifted so he was laying down on the couch, with Bella laying down on top of him, head resting on his hard chest. Charlie heaved himself out of the armchair and disappeared down the hall, coming back moments with a blanket that he threw over them.
"Couple of guys from the res were gonna come down, but I think I'll call and tell them I'm coming up there instead..." Charlie trailed off, wandering in the direction of the phone. Charlie looked back over his shoulder as he grabbed the phone. "And it's Charlie, not Chief Swan." Carlisle chuckled.
Just then, a car pulled into the driveway, making Charlie turn around and swear to himself.
"I don't have any problems with them," Carlisle said evenly.
"You're not the one I'm worried about," Charlie muttered bitterly. "Ridiculous prejudices..." Carlisle could hear Charlie muttering to himself as he went outside to meet Harry and Billy, who were both staring at his car with contempt.
"I was just gonna call," Charlie told them. "Figured I'd come up to the reservation instead, seeing as Doctor Cullen dropped by."
He saw Billy and Harry glance at each other briefly. "Just the doctor?" Harry asked Charlie.
"Just Carlisle, yeah. Why?"
Billy and Harry looked at each other once more, clearly in silent conversation. "He isn't the one I have problems with," Harry said slowly. "At least not as much as the rest." Billy nodded in agreement, and looked back to Charlie.
"We'll be civil," Billy said evenly. Charlie gave them both a suspicious look before nodding his consent.
"Fair enough. Just so you know, I know the situation looks... compromising, but it's the first time she's slept properly since September, so I'm not gonna complain."
Harry and Billy both gave him strange looks, but followed him into the house nonetheless. On his way through the kitchen Charlie grabbed one of the chairs and set it next to the recliner. Carlisle turned his head and held out his hand to greet the newcomers, his manners overriding the dislike he knew they held for him.
Both men took turns grasping his hand briefly, much to Charlie's surprise.
"Carlisle," Billy said evenly.
"Billy," he returned. "Harry. How are you today?"
"Well enough," Harry returned. "Yourself?"
"I'm ali- I'm here," Carlisle said, changing his mind mid sentence, knowing they would scorn his usual response.
"What brings you back to Forks?" Billy asked, somewhat sharper than was necessary, but Carlisle overlooked it.
"I was in Seattle for a medical conference and wanted to check in and see how Bella was doing." He paused, unable to help the frown as he looked down at her tiny form. "I'm glad I decided to stop by. If Charlie doesn't object I'd like to look after her for a while, make sure she puts on some weight." Carlisle glanced at Charlie then, who nodded.
"That would be great actually. She's gotten so skinny."
"I'd like to see her up over a hundred before I leave," he told Charlie honestly. "I'd peg her at about eighty, eighty-five right now."
Billy looked up at Harry then. "We'll have to tell Sam to pull the guys back a bit."
Carlisle realized he spoke of the wolves, and interjected. "That won't be necessary, so long as they know it's me. Alice might visit, but I'm not expecting anyone else."
Billy looked at him warily, seeming slightly surprised. "And there won't be any..." he glanced at Charlie briefly. "Conflict?" Carlisle took this to mean hunting, and responded as such.
"We prefer to go a couple hours when we're out camping," he said meaningfully. "No use in your own backyard."
The pair of Quileutes looked to each other, before Harry responded. "Fair enough."
Charlie watched the conversation with confusion clear on his face, before shrugging it off.
Carlisle sat, or rather laid, by silently as Charlie and his Quileute friends watched a few football games, not keeping much of an eye on any of it. He was far more focused on Bella, who was still out cold on his chest nearly 6 hours later. Carlisle relaxed and closed his eyes, deciding to feign sleep for Charlie's sake. Now he thought about it, he had no idea if the other two men knew the technicalities of vampirism.
"So how did that happen?" came Billy's voice about ten minutes later. Carlisle presumed he meant Bella sleeping on his chest, and wasn't wrong.
"She came in, saw him and damn near launched herself at him. I was gonna tell her to cool it, but he didn't seem to mind. I'll be the first to admit she needed it, but it took me by surprise, I'll admit." Charlie paused before going on, his tone rather grudging. "But hey, if it means she actually sleeps then I'm all for it. She hasn't slept like this since before they left."
Carlisle heard one of them sigh. Billy, he thought. Harry didn't seem to be quite as vocal about them. It made sense, Billy was Ephraim's heir. "I'm not so sure Charlie," Billy began. Charlie sucked in a breath, but Billy cut him off. "Hear me out Charlie, please. I know you don't like it and I'm bound to silence where the details are concerned, but I will tell you that their… group, is bad news. Maybe not the Cullens themselves, for the most part, but others… like them, are not people you want to mix with. And being too involved with the Cullens will surely bring others like them straight to you."
Charlie sighed heavily. "There's something strange about them Billy, there's no denying that. Anyone paying attention can see they're not quite human. I don't know what's up with them and I'm not sure I want to, but I know what they've done for my daughter. Most of them at least. I'm not happy with what Edward did but neither is he," Charlie stated. Carlisle had stopped breathing entirely, frozen as he listened to Charlie speak. If his heart could still beat, it would be pounding it's way out of his chest right now. "He means to take care of Bella, and she showed more emotion in ten minutes today than she has in months. I listen to her scream in her sleep every night, only to wake up and watch her push food around her plate and refuse to actually eat anything. Then he comes here today and she comes back to life, so to speak. Now she's slept longer since he's been here holding her like that than she has in the last week. Do you honestly expect me to rip that away from her?"
Carlisle heard another sigh, Harry this time. He heard movement, but no one spoke and he didn't dare open his eyes to see what was going on. He heard Charlie walk to the kitchen, pick something up, come back and hand it to Billy. Next, there was the scratch of pen on paper, followed by a grunt and Charlie leaving the room once again. When Charlie was out of earshot, Harry spoke. "Billy, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Helping him pull his head out of his ass. He can tell for himself they're not human and he still doesn't have the sense to keep himself and Bella away from them."
"This violates the treaty and you know it," Harry said sharply.
"Not as long as we don't tell him what they are it doesn't."
Harry sighed deeply, sounding annoyed. "You're a fool, Billy. This is crossing the line."
"Well at any rate it's too late now. He's got the suggestion and he'll go with it no matter what we say."
"You should have asked me before you told him to do that."
Carlisle listened intently to footsteps going up the stairs, the sound of Charlie rummaging in the bathroom cabinet for something and a sound of victory. The footsteps came back down the stairs and Charlie came to stand next to where Carlisle laid on the couch.
Carlisle had no idea what was transpiring between the three men in the room, and it terrified him. He knew that they couldn't flat out expose what he truly was, it would violate the treaty in a way they weren't willing to do. They could, however, do something to make Charlie afraid of him, which he was quite sure was happening around him. It took every bit of willpower he had to continue to feign sleep, because he needed to know what the two men were trying to show Charlie, and also because he couldn't expose the fact that he had been listening to them. Edward was more annoyed by his gift than anything and Carlisle knew that, but right now he would kill, maybe literally, to have the same gift.
Charlie shifted his weight, and Carlisle felt the heat from his skin as Charlie gently grasped Bella's arm and moved it gingerly to her side. Carlisle was positively dying to know what was going on and what Charlie was about to do, but he was drawing a complete and total blank. And by the time he figured out what was going on and had a chance to stop it, it was too late. Charlie had already pressed the metal disc of the stethoscope to his chest. Directly above his silent heart.