Keep Holding On. Chapter 1
(Information to know)
The Cullen's
Carlisle Cullen: human, age 33, widower, Head E.R doctor at forks hospital
Esme Cullen: human, Age 17, senior at forks high
Emmett Cullen: human age 15, sophomore at forks high
Alice Cullen: human, age 7,3rd grader at forks elementary
The Swan's
Bella Swan: human, Age 33, widower, Head pediatric Oncologist at Forks hospital
Edward Swan: age 17, senior at forks high
Rosalie Swan: age 15, sophomore at forks high
Jasper Swan: age 7, 3rd grader at forks elementary
The Denali's: family friends of the swans
Elaezar: Head pediatric oncologist at Seattle grace, vampire
Carmen: Head nurse of pediatric oncology at Seattle grace, vampire
(Carlisle's POV)
"Daddy" Alice calls as she jumps on me to get me up.
"Alice" I groan and roll over.
Alice tumbles off me and lands on the bed next to me. She starts to giggle but then stops and a look of pain comes over her. I sit up and pull her to me.
"What hurts pumpkin?" I ask worriedly.
"My ankle I hit it on the bed post" she says. I grasp her ankle and check it over. She winces and tries to pull it back.
"Ok pumpkin I'm done. I don't feel any damage" I say as we get out of the bed.
I pick her up and carry her downstairs.
"Alice I told you to let dad sleep" Esme says and takes her from me.
"its fine ez I need to get to work soon anyway" I say.
"Dad its not right. You get called in last night at 11, didn't get home till 4 and you have to be back at 8" esme says as she starts a pot of coffee.
" I know sweetie but that's what my job entails" I say as I pull her to me and kiss her forehead.
We hear loud foot step coming down the stairs.
"Emmett how many times have I told you to walk not stomp down the stairs" I say as Emmett walks into the kitchen.
"to early" he whines as he sits down by the counter.
Esme pours three cups of coffee. She goes to hand one to em but I grab it.
"Emmett your too young for coffee" I say and dump that mug before grabbing mine from esme.
"thank you my dear" I say and sit back down.
Esme sits Alice down on a stool next to me. Esme goes to the double fridge and freezer and pulls out a pack of chocolate chip waffles.
Alice squeals at the sight of them. I roll my eyes and stand up and grab a piece of fruit and a yogurt. Esme makes them the waffles.
I finish my coffee and head upstairs to change into my work clothes. I change into a simple blue work shirt, black dress pants and a blue tie. I sit on my bed and put my shoes on. I grab my lab coat from the closet and grab my briefcase.
I head downstairs to get my car keys and say goodbye to the kids. I find them in the kitchen still eating.
"I'm leaving kids. I won't be home till 4:30." I say and the nod. I go over to Alice and hug her.
"Be good for you siblings" I say an she nods. I kiss her cheek and then leave for my car.
(Alice's POV)
after daddy left esme helped me get cleaned up and dressed and puts my long hair into a ponytail.
"Go wait with Emmett while I get dressed pumpkin" she says and I nod and skip out of her room.
I head downstairs and Emmy is sitting watching TV. I jump onto the couch next to him.
"Hey squirt" he says as he pulls me onto his lap.
"What are we watching?" I ask.
"SpongeBob" he says and I clap my hands. We watch SpongeBob for a few minutes until esme walks down.
"Ok get your backpacks. Time to go" she says.
I scamper of ems lap and grab my pink backpack. Esme grabs her messenger bag as does Emmy.
Esme leads us out of the house and locks the door before we get into her car. She turns the radio on and I bob my head to the music. A few minutes later we pull up in front of my school. Em gets out and helps me out.
"Have a good day Ali" he says and kisses my forehead.
I scamper into the school to my class room where my friends are sitting. In the morning we do our reading and math. After math we have playtime and then lunch. After lunch we have recess.
My friends and I were playing on top of the jungle gym. I was climbing on the rock wall.
I was half way up when my foot slipped and I lost my grip and tumbled to the ground. I scream and start to cry.
My friend's all jump at my scream.
"Alice" Ms. Brandon screams as she runs over to me. I start crying as I feel pain everywhere. Ms. Brandon stops next to me and kneels down.
"Honey don't move" she says. She pulls out her phone. She calls into the school to get the nurse. A few minutes later the nurse comes running out.
"What happened?" she asks.
"I fell of the rock wall" I say and she presses around my body and whimper.
She reaches my ankle I hit this morning and I scream. She pulls up my pant leg and gasps. I look down and my whole foot and ankle were bruised.
"Alice when did you hit your ankle?" she asks.
"This morning" I say.
"Ok honey we need to get you to the hospital" she says.
"No ambulance! I want sissy" I cry.
"I'll call the high school and see if I can get her sister out of class" Ms. Brandon says and gets up and walk a few feet away from us.
(Esme's POV)
I was sitting in sixth hour English class when Mrs. Cope came in.
"Esme I need you to come with me there's a family emercancy' she says and I quickly pack my bag and get up.
"We need to get Emmett" I say and Mrs. Cope nods and we rush off to his gym class. Em sees us immediately and rushes over.
"What's wrong?" he asks.
"There's been a family emercancy. I'll explain more when we get to the office" Mrs. Cope says.
Em nods and runs off to the locker rooms. He comes out in his street clothes and has his messenger bag slung over his shoulder. We walk to the office.
"I need you to sign out and your father will need to call in tonight and dismiss you guys" she says and I nod and sign ourselves out.
"We just got a call from the elementary school. Alice fell off the rock wall and needs to go to the hospital and she didn't want an ambulance" Mrs. Cope says and I gasp.
"The school nurse and principal are out with her on the playground just pull up to them" she says and I nod.
Em and I leave and rush to my car. We get in and rush to the elementary school.
When we get there I see the nurse and principal. The nurse is kneeling next to Alice and the principal is standing behind her. She waves me over. I pull up as close I can and put the car in park before getting out. Em and I run to Alice.
"Sissy" Alice cry's.
"Shh I'm here pumpkin." I say.
"I checked her back for any injuries and didn't find any so she should be able to be moved but I recommend laying her down in the back seat." The nurse says. Em picks Alice up and she cries out in pain.
"Shh its ok baby, we'll get you to daddy" he says softly. I get the back door open and move her car seat so em can lay her down. A student aid comes with Alice's backpack. I place it on the floor of the back seat.
"Thank you for letting us get her" I say and the principal nods.
I get into the driver's seat and pull out and head towards dads work. When we get there em carries Alice in.
(Carlisle's POV)
I was working on paper work in my office when a nurse knocked on the door.
"Dr. Cullen we have a patient that is requesting for you" the nurse says.
I get up from my desk and put my lab coat back on and drape my stethoscope over my neck. I follow the nurse out of my office and down the flight of stairs to the Emercancy department.
"Kids" I say frightened and rush over. Alice is laying in Em's arms crying.
"what happened?" I asked as I take Alice into my arms.
"She fell of the rock wall at school. The nurse was worried about her ankle and that Alice is complaining about her whole body hurting" rose says.
I walk to the nearest room. I lay Alice down and she whimpers.
"Shh its all right pumpkin daddy's here" I coo to her knowing she was afraid of the hospital.
"Dr. Cullen the director would like to speak with you" the nurse from earlier says.
I sigh but follow her out into the hall. Dr. Taylor is standing at the nurse's desk.
"Carlisle" he greets.
"What do you need to speak with me about Matt?" I ask.
"I heard your daughter was in" he says and I nod.
"Based on the towns policy you cant treat her " he says.
"Matt you know she is scared to death about being here" I say.
" I know Carlisle but you cant treat her. If you do you risk losing your license of medicine along with this hospitals and I can't let you take this risk" he says.
"I've assigned Dr. Kolher to her case" he says and I sigh but nod knowing their was no point in arguing.
I walk back to my family and dr. Kolher is there already. She is by the counter waiting.
"Hey baby girl, due to the rule here I can't treat you but Dr. Kolher here can treat you. She's one of the best doctors that works here" I explain to a scared Alice.
"No daddy only you" she whines.
" I know baby but I cant. But I'll be here the whole time" I say and sit in the chair next to the bed.
Dr. Kolher comes over and takes her stethoscope from her pocket. She listens to Alice's heart and lungs. Alice squeezes my hand tightly. Esme and em try to distract her throughout the exam as well.
"This bruise looks pretty nasty" says and I look down and gasp.
"I want to draw some blood to run some tests" Dr. Kohler says and i nod.
Alice start to cry knowing that it would involve needle.
"Shh I'm here" I say and pick her up and set her on my lap. Dr. Kohler quickly draws the blood.
"While this is being run I want t get a x ray to make sure she doesn't have a concussion" Dr .Kohler says and I nod.
"Daddy what's that?" she asks scared.
"It's a picture we take of your head to make sure you don't have an owies on your brain that we cant see" I say and Alice looks confused.
"It will be fine baby. There's no needles" I say and she nods and hugs onto me but she whimpers a little. I rub her back.
" we can take her down right away for x-rays" dr. Kohler says.
"Dr. Kohler do you mind if I go with her?" I ask.
"Of course not Carlisle and please call me Aubrey" she says and i nod.
I standup and follow Aubrey down to radiology. When we get there Dan the head tech greets us. I walk into the room and lay Alice down. She whimpers.
"Shh its ok baby. I'm going to lay this mat down on you so you don't get cold" I say and grab the lead mat.
I lay it on Alice to cover her whole body except her neck and head. I kneel down next to her.
"Baby I need to go stand with Dr. Kohler for a minute but I'll be right back after we finish the x ray" I say and Alice nods.
"Stay still baby" I say and kiss her forehead before standing back behind the protective glass.
After a few takes Dan says were done and I go and get Alice. I walk own to the room while Aubrey goes to get the blood test results.
Esme and em are sitting doing homework when we come back. I set Alice on the bed and she tells esme and em about the x rays. Aubrey comes in with printed x rays and Alice's folder.
"Well good news is she doesn't have a concussion" Aubrey says and puts the x rays up. I study them and agree that Alice doesn't have a concussion.
"Her blood results on the other hand aren't so good. I faxed them to a specialist in the hospital who will meet you guys in conference room 1A" Aubrey says and I nod.
I pick up Alice as nervousness courses through me. I see esme and em have frightened expressions on their face as well. Alice just holds onto me and hums. She was so care free. We reach he conference and are the only ones there. We sit down together. A few minutes of waiting the door opens.
"I'm so sorry I'm late" the new doctor said as she walked in from behind us.
She walks to the other side of the table. She doesn't have a lab coat on. She's just wearing pediatric scrubs with a stethoscope around her neck.
"My names dr. Isabella swan, but please call me Bella or dr. swan. I'm the hospitals Head pediatric Oncologist." She says and I feel my world come crashing down.
My baby hand cancer. Esme and em are already crying. I hold in the tears but I hug Alice tighter.
"Now I looked at her blood work and it looks like she has Leukemia. But to guarantee it we need to run a few tests." She says and I nod. "First would be a bone marrow biopsy. For this procedure Alice will be sedated and I will also numb her hip." Dr. Swan says and I nod. Em nudges me demanding my attention.
"Dad what's leukemia?" he asks.
"Leukemia is a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow" I say and em nods.
"How deadly is it?" esme asks.
"We caught it early so it's not as bad as if we caught it late" dr. Swan says.
I knew the next question that was going to come out of my children's mouth.
"She's not going to die" I say to both of them.
I look down at Alice and she's looking confused. Of course she didn't know what cancer was. She was too young when her mother died of breast and cervical cancer. She was only a year old. Emmett was 9 and esme was 11 when Ashley died. I was 27 at the time and Ashley was two month short of 27. I'm brought out of my thoughts when Alice pull on my shirt.
"Daddy it's rude to ignore people" she says and dr. Swan giggles.
"Sorry what were you saying?" I ask.
"I was saying we could do the procedure now" she says.
"OK. Em, ez why don't you guys head home" I say as we stand up. They look at me like I have two heads.
"You don't need to see these tests. I'll call your school when we get Alice into a room. Go home do your homework and make dinner. I will be home with your sister as soon as her tests are done" I say and they nod and walks away. Alice holds onto me and I feel wetness on my shoulder.
"Pumpkin what's wrong?" I ask softly. " I don't want any more tests. I want to go home and have a snack and play" she cries.
"Shh is ok baby girl. After we run these tests I'll get you a snack and then you can play with your toys that are in daddy office" I say to her as I rub her back.
I look at the clock n he wall and notice that it was only 1:30. These tests would take around an hour to an hour and a half. We get to a room and I set Alice down and dr. swan moves out of the room to get supplies.
I sit in the chair and call the high school and excuse esme and Emmett the rest of the day. Dr. Swan comes back and Alice sees the needles and screams. This was going to be a long day.
"Shh its alright baby. I know you don't like needles but daddy is right here pumpkin" I coo softly and pick her up. Dr. swan lays out a gown for Alice to change. "baby can daddy change you?" I ask softly and she nods. I sit her down on the bed and strip her out of her clothes and put the gown on. "Daddy why can't I have my undies?" she asks as I fold her pink my little pony underwear. "Because baby some of these tests will be performed on your hip which is right here and your undies cover your hip" I say and point to her hip. She nods and I have her lay down on the bed. Dr. Swan grabs the syringe filled with the sedative and makes her way to us. Alice starts to cry and I rub her arms and also pin her to the bed.
"Shh it's all right Alice. This is going to make you sleepy. Good girls who don't fuss to much while I give them shots get candy" dr. Swan coos softy to Alice.
"Candy?" Alice asks.
"Yes candy." She says and Alice calms down.
"That's a good girl" dr. swan says and quickly injects the sedative. Alice yawns and I rub her forehead which soothes her more. Her soft snores fill the room. Dr. Swan quickly gets Alice in position for the bone marrow biopsy and numbs her hip. I sit at Alice side and held her hand in mine and watch her sleep.
"OK I'll send these to the lab after one more test I would like to preform" she says and I nod.
"I'm going to preform a spinal tap to see if the cancer got into the nervous system" she says and I nod.
"I'm going to need you to hold Alice in fetal position" she says and I nod and move to Alice and position her body. quickly takes the sample and take it down to he lab.
"I'll run these to lab. You can change her and take her to your office. I'll call you with the test results either tonight or tomorrow morning" she says and I nod.
"Oh and one more thing" she says and reaches into her scrub top pocket and pulls out a Lolli pop. She hands it to me and I chuckle.
" Aa promise is a promise" she says and walks out of the room.
I change Alice back into her street clothes and pick her up. I walk down to my office and set Alice down on my couch and have my personal nurse get a snack for Alice when she woke up.
(Alice's POV)
When I wake up and open my eyes and notice im in daddy's office.
I sit up and look around. Daddy is at his desk wit his back to me. I look on the table and there's a juice box and a package of gold fish. I get off the couch and grab the snack before walking over to daddy.
"hi pumpkin" daddy says and pulls me onto his lap. I hold the gold fish up to him and he opens them for me. I snack while daddy works. After I finish my snack daddy sets me down.
"Why don't you go play. We still have a half hour before we can go home" he says and I nod and go to the little toy chest he keeps in here for me. I sit down and bring my Polly pockets out and start to play with them. I play for awhile until daddy shuts down his computer and grabs his brief case.
"put your toys away baby and then we can go home" he says. I quickly put my toys away and then run to him. He picks me up and we leave the hospital. When we get into the car he hands me a Lolli pop.
"Dr. swan gave this to me for you since you were a good girl when she gave you your shot to make you sleepy" daddy says and unwraps it for me.