I had just finished up with a patient when I received a really unexpected phone call. I looked at the caller ID and it was the chief of police, Charlie Swan. "Hello Charlie, what can I do for you. Did Bella fall and break something again?" I chuckled to myself. That Swan girl is always hurting herself. She is so clumsy, but she is so sweet. "No Stephen, it is Bella, but I need your help." "What happened?" I was in doctor mode now. He sounded like he was on the brink of hysteria. "When I came home from work I found a note saying that Bella had gone out with Edward Cullen, and I waited for her, but she never returned! I think something may have happened to her, and I need you to come help me. I have a search party, but when we find her I don't know what condition she'll be in." This news startled me. Hadn't the Cullen's left town? Why only last week Dr. Cullen had left his resignation letter with a note explaining that he had been offered a better job in LA. "Charlie, the Cullen's left a couple days ago. I don't think that she was with him, but I'll be right there."
When I arrived at the Swan house, it looked like the scene of a crime. There were cops everywhere, and about ten cars sat in the driveway. I got out and looked for Charlie. "Dr. Gerandy!" I turned and saw Charlie with two other cops coming toward me. "Stephen, thank you so much for coming. I don't know how to thank you. I don't know if she will be hurt or not," Charlie said. He looked like he had been through hell. I knew just from the times Charlie had taken Bella to the hospital that he cared for Bella deeply. When she never came back, well, I hate to think of how he was when he first found out.
I asked Charlie what I could do, and he told me that I could follow him and search for Bella. Just as we were about to set out, a deep voice called out, "I've got her!" I looked and saw a tall boy, from the reservation no doubt because of his tan skin, and saw him carrying a small body, who I immediately knew was Bella. Charlie dashed to them, and said, "Is she hurt?" The boy said, "No, I don't think so. She just keeps saying, 'He's gone.' " I suddenly remembered that Bella had been dating the youngest Cullen boy, I think his name was Edward or something like that, and she must have just heard that he had left. Charlie asked Bella if she was alright, but she merely said his name. Charlie took her, though he staggered under her weight, and carried her into the house. I soon followed, taking out my instruments from my medical bag.
Just as I walked in, I heard Charlie telling someone to grab blankets to warm her up. I sent to her side and said, "Bella?" She looked at me with confused eyes, but soon recognition showed up on her face. "Dr. Gerandy?" she asked. "That's right, dear. Are you hurt, Bella?" I was happy that she was able to remember things, but her eyes looked lost, and that frightened me. I waited while she seemed to contemplate something, until she finally said, "I'm not hurt," in a small, timid voice. I touched her forehead, feeling for a temperature, and then checked her pulse. Her vitals seemed normal. "What happened to you?" I asked, though from her reaction, you'd think I had asked if she was ready to die. I tried a different approach and asked, "Did you get lost in the woods?" She looked at everybody in the room, before she answered in a voice so soft I had to strain to hear, "Yes, I got lost." I nodded, feeling under her jaw. "Do you feel tired at all?" She must be tired, and a good night's rest would help a lot. She nodded, and closed her eyes.
After writing everything down in my notebook I turned to Charlie and said, "I don't think there's anything wrong with her. Just exhaustion. Let her sleep it off, and I'll come check on her tomorrow," I looked at my watch. "Well, later today actually." We both got to our feet before Charlie quietly asked me, "Is it true? Did they leave?" I sighed and said, "Dr. Cullen asked us not to say anything. The offer was very sudden; they had to choose immediately. Carlisle didn't want to make a big production out of leaving." Charlie's face turned into a grimace. "A little warning might have been nice," he grumbled. "Yes, well, in this situation, some warning might have been called for." I gave Charlie some advice for looking after Bella, and left. I thought about the whole situation on my way home, and knew that if that Edward boy ever came around here again, Charlie would shoot him for hurting his daughter like that.
