1Edward, Emmett, and Jasper were hunting in the mountains for the weekend. It was a dull and drizzly day, typical for the small town of Forks, Washington. Although I had never been one to enjoy the cold or the rain, the dreary, sunless town does have its perks. It allows my family to go outside during the day without making humans faint... Besides, the temperature outside now makes very little difference to me and my new cold, granite skin.
Anyway, because Edward was away and there was very little to do, I decided to bring Renesmee over to the Cullen's to play with Jacob for the morning, since he had been pestering me on the phone all morning, claiming that 24 hours was an excruciating length of time to be away from her. I eventually gave into his nagging and figured that I would take the opportunity to spend some time with my new family.
But everyone seemed to be busy doing their own thing today. When I saw Alice, she seemed to be in a particularly dark mood, but when I asked her what was wrong she said it was nothing and shut herself inside of her room. I hadn't seen her since. Rosalie was in the garage working on Emmett's jeep, trying to surprise him when he got home from hunting, and I still hadn't fully gotten over my aversion to fast, glossy cars. My appearance had been greatly altered when I became immortal, but a lot of other things had stayed exactly the same. Like how much I missed my old red pickup... As for Carlisle and Esme, I could hear them talking quietly in Carlisle's office, but the object of their discussion remained unknown to me. I didn't want to invade their privacy with my new, overly-sensitive ears. And so I was alone.
So far the weekend was creeping by at a snail's pace, as it always did while Edward was away. It really irritated me that I wasn't able to hunt with him. Being able to hunt with Edward and rid myself of the long weekends away from him was one of the many perks of now being immortal.
But Edward refused to risk Renesmee getting too close to a mountain lion or grizzly since, of course, our tiny child was only used to hunting small game.
I obviously agreed with him, and we would never leave Nessie home without either of her parents, but I still bitterly accepted being stuck here away from Edward for another of the miserably lonely weekends that I thought were well behind me.
So I sat there alone on the pale ivory couch, solemnly flipping through channels on the big screen TV, trying to occupy my impatient mind. When I finally decided that I couldn't take another mindless sitcom, I decided to see what Alice was up to.
"ALLLICEEE!" She appeared at the top of the stairs, looking annoyed.
"What is it, Bella?"
"I'm borrreeeed," I whined.
"Do you want to go shopping?!" Her face suddenly lifted.
"No," I said flatly.
"Fine, then I don't know what to tell you," she said disgruntled, and stalked back to her room.
I heaved out a long sigh and flopped back on the couch. I had returned to absentmindedly flipping through the channels, actually considering wether to take Alice up on her shopping offer, just for something to do, when I heard something that caught my attention.
Edward and the others were not expected home until the following afternoon, so I was considerably shocked to hear a distant car approaching the big white house and to immediately recognize Edward's scent.
Anxious excitement swept over me as I sat attentively on the edge of the couch and listened to the car draw steadily nearer. Carlisle and Esme, also curious of their unexpected return, appeared at the bottom of the staircase. We were all obviously wondering the same thing; what it could have been that brought them home a full 27 hours earlier than expected. I could now hear the car pulling into the driveway. Carlisle's puzzled eyes met mine and I shrugged, then we both looked over as Alice danced down the stairs to my side, her forehead creased with worry.
"Alice, what's going on?" Esme asked, maternal worry ringing in her voice.
"I don't know Emse..." Alice answered hesitantly.
Hearing a car door slam, we all returned our focus to the front door. Our curiosity was then answered as Edward proceeded through the front door, all of his weight being entirely supported by Emmett's strong arm wrapped around his side.
"Edward? Edward!" One look at his face and I could tell that something was definitely wrong. I bounded off the couch and was standing at his side in a fraction of a second.
"What's wrong? Is he hurt?" Horrified, I gazed up at Emmett for an explanation.
"He's sick," Emmett mumbled and shrugged, helping Edward over to the couch.
I froze in shock and my mind went blank. "Sick? What the hell do you mean "sick?" Vampires don't get sick!... do they?"
"Allow me to explain Bella," Carlisle said, raising a hand to calm me. "It is possible for vampires to experience characteristics of human illnesses, although it does not happen often."
I stared at him, bewildered. "It most commonly occurs when a vampire preys on an animal whose blood carries some sort of disease or parasite that our bodies are not compatible with," he continued. "I assume that is what happened in this case?" Carlisle looked at Emmett and Jasper for clarification.
Jasper nodded. "That would be my guess. He began to feel ill just after we hunted."
I sat down on the couch and scooped Edward into my lap, cradling him against my chest, the way he used to do to me when I was human. He felt very warm for a vampire. Much warmer than usual.
"So what does this mean? Is he going to be alright?" I could hear the worry and apprehension in my voice. Apparently Jasper could too, because I was suddenly overcome with a wave of calm. I shot him the most irritated look I could muster in spite of the overwhelming calm over powering my senses, and with an apologetic glance, the calm disappeared.
"The symptoms are very similar to a human with the flu. It will clear up on its own in no time at all. He'll be fine."
I stared down at Edward in my lap, not bothering to hide the worry and doubt that I knew he could see on my face.
"I'm fine Bella, sweetheart," he said as he reached up to stroke my cheek with his oddly warm fingers. His velvet voice was startlingly hoarse. I kissed his fingers as they lingered on my lips.
"Has this happened to any of you before?" I asked, returning my gaze to Carlisle.
"Only to Rosalie, about half a century ago," he said, beckoning to his side.
I noticed Rosalie's presence in the room for the first time, now standing beside Emmett in her grease splattered clothes. "The next few days won't be very pleasant Edward," she said. "It feels very odd to be sick again after so long. You'll need to be very gentle with him Bella," she said, turning her eyes on me. "He'll be a lot more sensitive than usual."
"Is he contagious?" I asked, my mind immediately turning to Renesmee.
"No, no. Not at all. The illness can only be passed from the infected blood," Carlisle said.
"All the same, would it be alright if Nessie stayed here for a few days, until he's feeling better?"
"Of course," Esme replied.
I lifted Edward from my lap and called Renesmee into the room.
"Yes Mommy?" she asked, climbing into my lap.
"Nessie, you're going to be staying here at Grandma and Grandpa's for a few days, alright?"
"Why Momma?"
"Because Daddy's sick sweetheart, and Mommy needs to take care of him." She touched her tiny hand to my cheek to silently express her thoughts to me.
"Daddy will be fine honey, I promise," I assured her. "And you can come visit when he starts feeling a little better."
She smiled sadly. "I hope you feel better soon Daddy."
"Don't worry little one," Edward said, pulling her into his lap and kissing her on the forehead. "I'll be better in no time."
"Alright Nessie," I said, pulling her into a tight hug on my own lap. "Go back outside and play with Jake. I'll bring her stuff over later," I added to Esme.
"Bye Mommy, bye Daddy!" Renesmee called as she leapt from my lap and flew out the back door.
"A little warning might have been nice, Alice," Edward said moodily.
"I didn't see anything, Edward," Alice shot back.
"Oh come on Alice, you can't tell me that you weren't watching out for Jasper.."
Alice cut him off. "Of course I was watching out for Jasper, but I didn't SEE anything Edward!"
And with that she wheeled around and flew up the stairs. A door slammed half a second later.
Jasper looked at me and I shrugged, then he followed after her.
"Alright, let's get you home," I said, after a moment of silence. I stood and brought Edward up into my arms.
"Bella, don't be silly, I can walk," he protested.
"Are you sure?" I asked doubtfully.
"Of course I am!" he said defensively.
I hesitantly lowered him from my arms and placed him on his wobbly feet. He staggered a little and I wrapped my arm around his waist to steady him.
"Edward...?" Esme started.
"I'm alright Esme, really." he said, answering her unspoken concern. "I think I would get more rest at home anyway." His eyes wandered to Emmett, who was now seated in front of the television, cheering loudly as Florida made a touchdown.
"Yes, you're probably right," she agreed with a sigh. "Well feel better sweetheart. Let us know if you need anything." She glided forward to kiss him gently on the forehead.
"Thanks Esme. Stop worrying." He flashed her my favorite crooked smile, although it was somewhat overshadowed by the sickness in his eyes.
"Bye everyone!" I called, as I led Edward out the door.
