Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of these characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

Edward has been different lately, confident and happy. I had no idea what brought about such a marked change in my son, but I liked it. Esme noticed too and questioned if there was a girl behind the smiles. I told her not to question it, just to leave him be, and despite the fact that she was itching to ask him, she didn't question him.

I did wonder if something was happening between Edward and Bella as they were spending a lot of time together as he was helping her with her schoolwork so maybe she was responsible for the change in my son. Whatever was happening to him, I was pleased that he was so happy. I worried about him, he was studious and wanted to follow me into the medical profession. I just wanted him to be happy in whatever career he chose.

Edward had been to the winter formal dance at school last night, he seemed to buzz with excitement as he left, he was not the only one though, Esme was vibrating with excitement at seeing her son going to the event all dressed up in a tuxedo. Once he had left, she wiped away tears of joy from her eyes as I held her in my arms.

She had hoped to find out if he had a date, but I warned her not to. Our son would only confide in us when he was ready. Esme got slightly worried when Edward called telling her that the dance was a wash out and he was at Jake's. I told her not to worry and that they would probably have more fun there than at a stuffy dance knowing those two boys.

Just as we went to bed, I surprised her, pulling an envelope out from the drawer in my bedside table. I smiled as she pulled the contents out. Box seats to see Madam Butterfly, dinner at Rays Boathouse and as much shopping as she could manage. She gasped.

"Carlisle! What have I done to deserve this?"

I kissed her forehead. "Nothing, other than just being the woman that I love."

Her eyes misted over. "Oh Carlisle."

"Don't cry. I just wanted to spoil you. We can set off early and you can do some shopping." She threw her arms around me, and I in turn had mine around her. There was nothing that I wouldn't do for my wife, she was everything to me. The night I booked at The Monaco Hotel would just complete the day. I had packed her small overnight bag already and stowed it in the trunk of my car.

We left the next morning, leaving a note on the fridge for Edward to find.

Edward,

We have gone out to Seattle shopping and catching a show so will be back very late.
Don't wait up!

Love

Mom & Dad x x

I planned to call him later to say that we would be away overnight as I wanted to surprise Esme.

The day we spent together was fantastic. Just spending quality time with my wife, indulging her as she shopped to her heart's content. There was, of course, a fresh set of tears when I told her that we were staying over, followed by the promise of a night I wouldn't forget for a long time. If only we knew how true that promise would be, but not in the way either of us expected.

I called Edward, not getting any response from his cell phone I ended up leaving a message on the answering machine at home, full sure that he was still at Jake's enjoying some time with his friend or maybe planning a boy's night in without us there to supervise.

Dinner was amazing as was the performance. I was on my way to the bar at the interval to pick up the champagne that I had ordered for us and was on my way back to our private box with it when my cell phone vibrated in my jacket pocket. I had no free hand to answer so figured that I would check the number when I got a second. Upon opening the door to the box, I saw Esme was on her feet with her cell phone to her ear. She turned as he heard me, a look of panic written across her face.

"Esme, what's wrong?" I placed the champagne and glasses on the table, my hands taking firm hold of her arms as she stared at me, her eyes filling with tears. She didn't answer me, but started to mutter.

"No, no, no." She began to shake in my arms.

My eyes darted to the phone on the floor, the call was still connected and I could see Jake's name of the screen. I freed one hand to reach down and pick it up as I brought it to my ear I could hear Jake talking.

"Esme? Esme? Mrs Cullen?" Then he was talking to someone else. "I can't hear her. Shit! I knew I shoulda spoken to Carlisle first."

I wondered why he was calling, and what he had said to Esme to reduce my wife to hysterical tears. "Jake, it's Carlisle."

Taking a breath, my eyes remained firmly on Esme as she clung onto me.

"Shit Carlisle! Sorry, I didn't mean to swear. I didn't know what to do, I tried to call you, but you didn't answer." He blurted the words out in a rush. "It's Edward, there's been an accident, well, I think it's an accident. I don't know what happened, he's at the hospital."

I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. This was my son, our son, and here I was being told that there had been an accident and he was in the hospital. Had Jake told Esme this? It would explain her current state of distress. I pulled myself together and attempted to take control of the situation.

"Which one Jake?"

"Forks General. I'm sorry Carlisle there was nothing that I could do, we found him on-"

I cut him off, not wanting to hear the details right now, knowing that we would have a long drive back to Forks ahead of us. "Jake, thank you for letting me know. We will be leaving now and will go straight to the hospital. I'll call you when we get closer. Thank you." I ended the call, I moved Esme to the seat and knelt down before her.

"Esme, we need to leave and go home. Did Jake tell you what happened?"

She nodded slowly, tears streaming down her face. A bell rang out signaling the end of the interval. One of the theatre attendants put her head around the door, taking in the sight before her I could tell that she was confused.

"Sorry sir, but the second half is about to start."

I stood, leaving Esme in her seat, and spoke to the attendant. "We won't be staying I'm afraid. We have a family emergency, we need to leave, now. Can you call us a cab? We are staying at the Monaco."

Her face fell as she realized what I had said. "Of course sir. I will be waiting for you in the foyer." With that she left.

Returning to Esme, I took her hand and spoke in a low voice. "It's okay, we have a cab on its way. We will be home soon, I promise." As I led her on slightly shaky feet down the grand staircase of the Opera House, my cell phone rang again. I expected it be Jake again, but when I saw the number, my heart sank it was the hospital. I wanted to answer it, but right now Esme was my main concern. Edward would be in the safe hands of the team at the hospital and there was nothing that I could do.

Once we reached the hotel I escorted Esme to our room, she was still upset, but set about packing our bags, it was like she needed something to focus on. I assured her that I would be waiting in the lobby for her and that I would check us out so we would be quickly on our way home. I also used this time to call the hospital. I spoke to Dr Gerandy, he told me that Edward was listed as critical but stable. Currently, he was unconscious and under constant observation. I thanked him and said that we would be there as quickly as possible.

The drive back to Forks was thankfully trouble free, I really didn't expect to encounter much traffic this late at night and found myself speeding a little over the limit to reach our son. Esme was staring out of the window in the night, tears falling down her face. Nothing I could say would make this better, we both wanted to get to our son. As we pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, I parked my car in front of the ER, leading my wife inside ignoring the knowing looks from my colleagues. No one spoke to me as I made my way to where I knew Edward would be treated. Esme wanted to go inside and see her son, how could I deny her that? The least I could do was try and prepare her for what she might see.

Placing my hands on her shoulders, turning her toward me, I spoke while looking straight into her eyes. "Esme, this is not going to be easy. Edward is going to be in there, hooked up to a lot of machines. It's going to look worse than it is, there will probably be machines to help him breathe. Don't expect him to be awake, he'll look like he's asleep."

She let out a sob and I pulled her to me, kissing the top of her head as I muttered into her hair. "I'll be with you every step of the way. Right by your side." She pushed me away, wiping tears from her eyes as she nodded, indicating that she was ready to go inside the room. With no sign of Tom, I decided that we should step inside.

As we entered the room, I take in the sight before me, in all my years I had never felt so useless when faced with a patient. Then again, I had never been faced with my own child lying unconscious on the bed before me, barely clinging to life. I tried to regain my composure, taking hold of the folder which hung from the end of his bed that would tell me how my son was. The Doctor in me took over as I flicked through his charts reading the information before me.

"Hmm. Vitals are steady; there is nothing to worry about there. But he is still unconscious. Let me call the consultant and see what he has to say."

I turned and left the room, needing to get out of there. I thought that I would be able to cope, but seeing him lying there broke my heart. Pulling my cell phone from my pocket I called Tom and let him know that we were here. He promised to come straight down to see me. I waited, watching through the pane of glass in the door as Esme reached out and brushed Edward's hair from his face before she kissed his forehead. I knew that she was talking to him, but I couldn't hear what she was saying.

Putting on my brave facade, I quietly let myself back into the room and heard Esme sobbing. Immediately I went to her.

"Sssshh, Esme. Don't cry darling, he will be okay. I am sure of it. Come here."

She turned to me, pressing her face into my chest, muffling her sobs. All I could do was try to reassure her. "It's okay, Tom is on his way down. He will be okay." I continued with the reassuring noises until she stopped, knowing that once Tom came down I would need to speak to him in private, I couldn't let her hear everything first hand.

Tom walked in, giving me a small nod. "Carlisle, Esme. I'm sorry that I don't have much news for you at this stage. I can tell you that he is stable, but we are waiting for some tests to come back from the lab."

I looked at him, knowing that he was keeping something from Esme.

"What happened? Why is he here?" Esme asked.

"Well, Edward was found unconscious on First Beach and brought in by EMT's. We are treating him and he is getting the very best care." He dropped his voice. "I am told that there was alcohol and some prescription medication found with him. It helped us know the best course of treatment for him. But there are questions to be answered."

I was shocked. "What? How did he get hold of them, what were they?"

Tom took my arm and he led me away, dropping his voice further, to just above a whisper. "There are a number of injuries that I am concerned about. Bruises covering his torso, we haven't been able to take him for x-rays as yet to see if there are any broken ribs. Have you any idea what might have happened to him?"

I ran my hand through my hair. "No, we weren't home. I was treating Esme to a night away, just the two of us. Hence, the suit." I motioned to my outfit. "I have no idea what happened. First I knew was Esme getting a frantic call from Jacob while we were at the Opera." Turning to face her, I could see that she was exhausted, a combination of stress and worry. "I need to get her home so she can sleep. Then in the morning I can get some answers." He just nodded at me before he left us alone.

"Esme, let me get you home. There is nothing more we can do here, we can come back in the morning. I promise." I expected more of a fight than I got, but looking at the time it was nearly 2am and I knew that nothing would stop her from being here first thing. But I also needed to get answers.

Walking into our home, I escorted Esme to bed, tucking her in before I headed down to my office. I knew from what Tom had said that there was only one place Edward could have got hold of the painkillers from. I had hoped that I was wrong, but the moment I walked into my office my worst fears were realized. Papers were strewn across the desk and floor, the cabinet where I kept them locked away was open. How had he known where I kept the key? I was always so careful.

Picking up the papers and depositing them on the desk, I knew that I wouldn't get any answers until I could talk to Edward. I sat down in my office chair, staring at the mess all around me. I really didn't know where to start, should I clear up the mess? Would the Police be involved as Edward had my prescription painkillers in his possession, plus he had liquor too. Resting my head in my hands, I closed my eyes, overwhelmed by what had happened here tonight. We'd been gone only a few hours, how did things go so terribly wrong so quickly? One thing was for sure, I needed to call Rose and tell her, that was one conversation I wasn't looking forward to.

As I expected Rose was with Emmett, thankfully I talked to him first and told him what had happened. I got the feeling there was something he wasn't telling me. Emmett looked on Edward like a brother, and as such would do anything for him. I knew if there was anything serious happening, he would tell me about it.

The next couple of days we spent at the hospital, Edward's condition didn't change, it was good to see Bella there. Even though our son hadn't confirmed they were dating, I trusted my instinct, and her being here confirmed they were more than just friends. Now wasn't the time for me to ask her the question though, and I told Esme the same. Edward needed to have people who cared around him, and if Bella wanted to be here, then that was okay with me.

We were late getting to the hospital, I'd had to speak to the Police and file a report about the pain killers Edward was found in possession of. They told me I may face charges, but given the fact they were locked away and Edward had broken into the cabinet containing them, it would be unlikely. They said I could file a report against Edward, and I'd told them it was not going to happen. I'd sent Esme down to visit Edward after the Police were done, insisting on seeing some of my patients, to get back some semblance of normality while our son recovered. As I walked into Edward's room, I saw Bella sat at his bedside, her head resting on the bed. I smiled, but remembered what one of the nurses had told me. I walked over to Esme, resting a hand gently on her shoulder as I spoke.

"I think we need to get Bella home. There is nothing that she can do here. She must be exhausted, the nurses tell me she's been here for two days now and refuses to go."

Esme let out a gasp from my mom, "Two days? Oh Carlisle! How did we not notice? She was just here whenever I arrived, but I assumed she was going home as she always left me alone with him. We should get her home. This is no place for her. Not with Edward being… Being like this."

She places her hands on her shoulders. "Bella. Bella, sweetheart. Wake up, it's Esme."

I watched as she opened her eyes, looking around the room. "Humph, what's happened? Is he… is… Edward is he okay?"

"He's okay. Please don't panic." I reassured her. "He's still… Sleeping, sweetheart. How long have you been here?"

Bella blinked the sleep out of her eyes,"What time is it?"

"Sweetheart, it's 10 o'clock in the morning. Have you been here all night?" Esme spoke in a quiet voice.

"Yeah, I came back in when you went last night." She sounded sheepish. "I…I… I just needed to be here with him. This was all my fault! I'm so sorry, I don't know how or if you will ever forgive me for what I have done." She sounded almost hysterical.

Esme began to cry again, upset by Bella's insistence this was her fault..

"Bella, this is not your fault, okay. I will not have you blaming yourself for what happened, it was… Well, it was an accident. Edward didn't mean to… I know that. We just need to wait until he wakes up to find out what happened to him. If… When he wakes up, he will tell us." I was trying so hard to keep myself together, to stop the emotion I was feeling from carrying into my voice. I failed, miserably as my voice betrayed me.

Suddenly the machines Edward was connected to went crazy, there was a cacophony of beeping and alarms. My eyes flew to him as his body began to convulse on the bed before falling still. Esme and Bella both let out wails of despair. The beeping of the machine was getting faster and faster. He needed help, and he needed it now.

"Quick! In here, he's crashing!"I shouted, before I was overcome with emotion, no longer able to remain detached, I pleaded. "Please, it's my son! Do something!"

Esme let out a heart wrenching shriek as the team rushed into the room to help our son. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tightly while I tried to hide the truth from her. I wanted to help, to try and save my son, but I would be more hindrance than any kind of help to them. I had to let them do their jobs, I had to be strong. Bella came towards me and I extended my arm to her, holding the two near hysterical woman as they let out all the emotions and I provided the strength they needed from me. The whole time my eyes never left Edward and I sent up a silent prayer to whoever might have been listening to me, begging them to save my son.

Finally, I had to get Bella and Esme from the room, it was too much to see my colleagues doing what I done on so many occasions, trying to save someone's son. Standing outside in the corridor, it seemed like hours passed before anyone came to talk to us. The relief that washed through us all at hearing the words "Edward is stable." It felt like someone had told me we had won the lotto. They allowed us to see him, we sat at his bedside for hours, afraid to leave in case something happened. Finally, I managed to persuade Esme and Bella to go home. Both needed rest, and I knew if anything were to happen, I would be called.

I wasn't sure about leaving Bella on her own, but she assured us she would be okay. Esme invited her to stay with us, but she refused. She said Charlie would be home soon, so she wouldn't be alone. I wasn't going to argue with her, she said she was tired and just wanted to get some rest.

Once I pulled the car into and stepped out, Esme froze. She was staring out of the windshield, it was like she wasn't there. I rushed around to her side of the car, wrenching open the door to crouch down next to her. "Esme? Sweetheart can you hear me?" Tentatively I reached out and touched her arm. She didn't respond, her eyes fixed and staring at nothing. "Esme, we're home. It's time to get you inside." She turned her head to me slightly, not enough to look at me, but enough to let me know she had heard me. I continued talking to her. "Come on, let's get you inside before it gets too cold." I guided Esme into the house and upstairs. She sat on the edge of the bed, completely silent. I was worried about her, but knew given the events it would only be a matter of time before the fragile walls she had built around herself, would crumble. I intended to be there when they did.

After she'd showered and I'd made her a hot drink, she got into bed. I saw the tell tale signs of the walls beginning to break. Tears filled her eyes and her chin began to tremble. I climbed onto the bed, pulling her to my chest. She fisted her hands in my shirt as she began to cry in earnest. All I could do was hold her as she set free the emotions that were bottled up inside her. I wrapped my arms around her and held the love of my life against me as she broke apart in front of me. I wanted to join her, but I had to be strong, to support my wife through this and pray we all make it out the other side, unscathed.

The next day I woke as the sun rose, Esme was still holding onto me. I brushed the hair from her face, seeing the tracks of her tears. No doubt she had cried in her sleep. I wished there was more I could do, but there wasn't. No words I could say would change what had happened, or could reassure her. Edward had given us all a fright last night, having gone into cardiac arrest before us. Thankfully, he had been brought back. I had no idea what I would have done, what any of us would have done had he not made it.

Pushing those thoughts from my head, I managed to free myself from Esme's hold before taking a quick shower and putting some coffee on. I'd poured two cups of the steaming liquid and was about to take them upstairs, to wake Esme only to meet her at the bottom of the stairs.

"Morning" She uttered, her voice sounding scratchy. "Is there any news?"

"No, if anything changed, and I mean anything, Tom was going to call me." I handed her one of the cups of coffee, which she cradled in her hands as she made her way into the lounge.

"Carlisle, last night…" The words caught in her throat.

"It's okay," I replied.

"Thank you, for being there." She smiled back. "I love you."

"And I you, there is nothing I wouldn't do for you."

She walked over to me, pressing a gentle kiss to my cheek. "I'm so lucky to have you. Let me make some breakfast, then we can go see Edward."

After breakfast, we made our way to the hospital and toward Edward's room. I had to stop by my office to collect some files I needed to pass onto other Doctors. Once I made it to Edward's room, I was shocked by the scene that greeted me.

To my delight, Edward was awake, Esme was fussing all over him, and Bella was looking embarrassed. The last thing he needed was to feel crowded and I needed to find out what had happened.

"I'm going to talk to Tom...sorry, Dr. Gerandy. I will also tell Rose that you are back with us. She has been worried about you, we all have." With that,I left. Once outside the door I heaved a sigh of relief, Edward was awake.

Making my way through the hospital, I knocked on his office door letting myself in. "Carlisle, I can only guess why you are here." He motioned for me to take a seat. Instead, I leaned over his desk.

"Why didn't you call me? Esme and I have been worried about him. Wondering if he would be okay, what we might find only to walk in this morning to find him awake, and I wasn't told. Why?"

Tom settled back in his chair. "Carlisle, I wanted to call you. But Edward asked that I give him a few hours to get his bearings and work things through in his head. His body has been through a lot. I was going to call you."

I nodded at him. "But you could have called." I paused or a moment. "How long as he been awake?"

Tom looked at his watch. "A couple of hours or so. I should go and check on him."

We walked in silence back down to the room, as we turned the corner, we saw Esme leave the room, seemingly following Bella. Rose was pacing the corridor, speaking into her phone before she walked back into the room.

We quickly followed, I had to idea what had been going on in here, but the tension as palpable. Tom was annoyed, I could sense it.

"No, no, no. This will not do. There have been too many people around him. I am disappointed in you Carlisle. You know how important it is that patients, who have been through what Edward has, get their rest. I don't know what has been going on in here, but I could hear you out in the hallway."

He glared at me, I was embarrassed at the situation. I fought back a smile as Edward stifled a laugh as I spoke.

"Tom, I'm sorry. You are quite right." I turned my attention to Emmett and Rose. "Sorry guys. Dr. Gerandy is right, Edward needs his rest. We can visit tomorrow. Emmett, I will speak to you later about whatever it is that you know before you tell Edward. I need to be sure that you will not hurt his recovery. Tom, I'm sorry, I should know better; you are quite right. You know how worried we've all be about Edward following the… well,you know what I mean."

Edward looked confused. I knew it wasn't the time or place to tell him. Luckily Esme came back into the room, I noticed he seemed upset.

"I couldn't catch up with her. I hope you are happy,Rose." She sounded mad, but I had no idea why. She saw Tom and I standing in the room.

"Sorry, is everything okay with Edward? Tom? Carlisle?" Her eyes flitted between the two of us before she looked at Edward before she went to his side. She stroked his hair, tears must have filled her eyes as he reached up to brush them away. I put my hand on her shoulder before I whispered in her ear,

"Esme, we need to leave Edward to rest. We can always come back tomorrow. I promise that Tom will let us know if anything changes."

She looked at me, I knew she wanted to stay and I was prepared for a battle of wills. Luckily, Edward smiled at her before he spoke in a low voice.

"Mom, I will be okay. I could do with the rest,to be honest. I'm exhausted. Please just go home and I will see you tomorrow."

She kissed his forehead and quietly said.

"Sleep well,my angel. We will come back in the morning. Love you."

He managed a smile for her, I could tell he wanted to know what had happened, but I also knew it would need be dealt with when he was feeling a little stronger. As we walked out of the hospital, I knew there was still a long way to go. Edward was out of danger, but there was still a long way to go before things were back to normal. Deep down I wondered if things would ever be normal again.

Authors note:
Thanks to ETPhone Home for holding my hand on this, I hope you enjoyed it. This was written especially for Fandom for LLS and this is the third year I have donated a piece to this fantastic cause. If you would like to know more about this story, it is available on FanFiction and The Writers Coffee Shop – look for Loopylou992.