Disclaimer: I own nothing, please don't sue me.
Summary: One shot, Bella/Edward. The couple get to know each other a little better
Author's note: This is my first ever Twilight fanfiction and I read the book this morning. I rushed through it to find out the ending so I may have got details wrong. Also, sorry for any mistakes as I don't have a beta reader.
Sometimes it amazed me how Edward still found questions to ask about me, even though we'd been talking in such detail for so long. The melodic sounds playing softly from his CD player relaxed me as I sat on his floor, my back against the brown leather couch he had in there. It was only the second time I had been to the Cullen household so I was still nervous at times. With quick greetings to his family, Edward had whisked me up to his bedroom, put on some background music and sat down on the floor. I had followed suit by joining him and we began to chat.
"What's the funniest reason you've ever had to go to hospital?" Edward asked a smile on his handsome face. I knew he was just making conversation and wanting to joke with me but somehow I got the feeling that he was doing a risk assessment, trying to gage what seemingly harmless things I could make into a threat.
"Urm…" I paused, chewing gently on my lip as I tried to think "When I was three I shoved a pea up my nose and had to have a doctor to get it out."
Edward laughed and, although I was blushing with embarrassment, so did I. He was about to ask another question when I remembered there was a sillier cause of a hospital trip. "A couple of years ago I got sunburned whilst wearing fishnet tights and my mom rushed me to hospital. She thought I'd picked up some weird disease or something!"
"It could only happen to you!" Edward's shoulders were shaking with laughter so I gave them a soft shove. He turned to look at me; one of his long beautiful stares that I knew would dazzle me into thoughtlessness, so I didn't meet his eye. Cold fingers on my chin turned my face to see him. "Sometimes I think keep you alive might just be impossible. If anything bad is going to happen, it'll happen to you. It's no wonder your mother overreacted."
"What about you? Had you been to hospital much before the whole influenza thing?" talking about Edward's life before Forks was interesting, but in the way that you might be interested in the back-story of a character from a book you were reading. It was intriguing but not real. As he thought, Edward slung an arm around my shoulders. He took a deep breath, most likely for my benefit since he only breathed out of habit, before launching into his answer.
"I was born at home, most people were in that time, but I did have the midwife there. I was a healthy child with some common sense so for the most part I probably didn't need to visit hospital. I certainly don't remember going but it was so long ago and human memories fade fast. Since I became a vampire I've been treated at home, by Carlisle."
"You can get hurt?" I was shocked, he seemed so indestructible. This was a man who hunted bears for his lunch, how on earth could ever need medical treatment. Edward's eyes darkened as he became serious.
"I may be immortal but I can be harmed, it just takes more than it would for most people." Edward took in my bewildered expression and continued "I was ambushed, I hadn't been paying attention to peoples thoughts, I hadn't realised their plan. They tried to burn me to death. It almost worked but Carlisle stopped them. He cared for me for many months whilst I healed."
"Who's they?" tears welled in my eyes, I couldn't bear the thought of anyone hurting Edward.
"They were a cult, thought of themselves as vampire slayers. I think I was the only one they had ever caught that wasn't human." He stopped, spying the tortured look on my face. "Bella, it was a long time ago. I'm alright."
I turned into him, wrapping myself around him slowly. Once his arms were around me, his scent filling my mind, I began to clam down, but only slightly. I was terrified at the thought of loosing Edward, even if the incident had been before I was born. I felt breath on my neck, as if Edward was talking, but he was doing it too low for me to hear any sound. A second later Jasper came into the room and I felt my self relax totally and completely.
"Is she alright?" Jasper enquired, keeping a safe distance as ever. He was only making polite conversation as he knew full well how I had been feeling until he had manipulated my emotions.
"She will be." Came Edward's response "She's struggling to learn about me being hunted."
Jasper stayed in the room only for as long as it was necessary for his claming effect to stay with me after his departure. I knew Jasper didn't yet trust himself to be around me although I couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment. It was as if he were rejecting me as his brother's girlfriend, although I knew he was only protecting me from himself because I was his brother's girlfriend.
I untangled myself somewhat from Edward's comforting grasp, but I didn't move completely away from him. I mumbled the word sorry, to me it was unintelligible but I knew Edward would hear me. He pulled me back into a hug, cuddling me as tight as he dared.
"You care for me so much." It was a fact me both knew.