This is a one-shot set post Breaking Dawn. Renesmee is a typically developing 3 month old with supernatural tendencies. Sophie is the younger sister of Bella who has come to stay with Charlie for the holidays. She is 8 years old and lives with her mother and step-father, Phil in Florida.
"Bella?" I awoke sometime in the night. It was dark and my room felt chilled, I snuggled beneath the pile of blankets in an attempt to ward off the cold. Despite my efforts, I only felt colder.
The doorknob turned and Bella appeared in the hallway, wearing a long, satin robe and matching slippers. "Soph, it's late. You should be asleep," she padded softly across the heavy carpet to my bedside. "Did the baby wake you? She's been up and down all night."
"No," I shook my head as she turned on the soft, bedside lamp. The light instantly reacted with my eyes causing pain; I winced, closing my eyelids against the offending rays.
"Soph?" my sister's eyes narrowed in concern and I felt her hand come to rest on the side of my face. "Sweetheart, you're burning up."
Her skin felt cool against my skin, I reached up to grasp her wrist, pressing her hand against my forehead. It did much to soothe the ache and heat.
"Edward," Bella called to my new brother-in-law. It seemed silly to have a brother-in-law at my age. The thought alone brought a slight smile to my face, but it was quickly replaced by a whimper as my stomach revolted against me. I released Bella's wrist and rolled to my side, pressing my palms against the pain.
I didn't even see him come in, but then he was kneeling at eye level beside me. I peered through heavy eyelids, catching a glimpse of his concerned gaze. His cool fingers moved across my forehead to my glands then my wrist.
"What hurts, darling?" his tone was gentle and put me at ease despite my discomfort.
"My tummy and my head," I sniffled, embarrassed to be so weak in front of them both.
Without warning, my stomach reacted and I threw up all down the side of the bed. Edward reached for a trash bin while Bella held my hair until I was done. Hot tears streamed down my cheeks when it was over and I kept my eyes trained on the floor just to hide my shame a bit longer.
I grabbed at my head when the baby began to shriek in the next room. Bella apologized softy before making a swift departure.
"Soph?" Edward's voice was patient with me even as he removed the soiled blanket.
No, I couldn't look at him, it was too embarrassing. Then his fingers rested beneath my chin, tilting it upward to look at him. His hands moved to rest on either side of my face, "It's ok," he reassured. "Let's get you cleaned up, hmmm?"
The tears blinded my vision as I nodded.
"Do you think you can walk?" he asked, gently, offering me a hand.
No, the answer was no...I didn't think I could walk, but I was going to try so I nodded.
"All right then, we're going to take this nice and easy." He pulled the blankets down, and helped me sit up. When I tried to stand, he placed a steadying hand on my shoulder. "Give yourself a moment."
The room was already spinning as my head pulsed painfully. We walked slowly toward the bathroom where he positioned me on the toilet seat long enough to turn on the bath water. My vision was flooded with little black spots and everything sounded loud around me. It was so hot. Too hot and it made my stomach churn even more. Edward leaned down to position the stopper in place and add some lavender bath oil when the wave of pain came. I pressed my right hand to my stomach, bending over in pain as the tears came in torrents. This time, I couldn't hold back my cries of agony before emptying my stomach once more. It went everywhere, all over myself and the floor. My vision was narrowing even more from the pain. Suddenly, gravity pulled me forward toward my sick and before I knew it, I was going down.
Edward and Bella's voices filled the room along with the baby's whimpers. Edward was the first one to me. Thinking fast, he threw a towel across the mess, and lifted me forward. Before I knew it, I was in his lap. He held one hand on the back of my neck with the other on my forehead. I was leaned forward toward my knees as he spoke in soothing tones.
"Just breathe, sweetheart. I've got you," he turned toward his wife. "Carlisle is working tonight. Give him a call and let him know we're bringing her in."
At that moment, the phone rang. "Alice," Bella commented, softly before stepping out of the room once more to retrieve the phone.
"It hurts," I whimpered, feverishly.
"I know, baby!" he looked me over, checking my coloring before lifting me up onto the counter. My stomach was hurting so badly I could barely sit up. Edward helped me wash up and change into another pair of pjs by the time Bella returned.
"Jasper and Alice are outside in the car. Rose and Emmett are going to stay with Renesmee. Charlie and Esme are meeting us at the hospital," she reported as Rose's voice came from the nursery.
I wiped at my tears with the back of my sleeve trying to be strong. "I can walk to the car."
Edward took one look at me and shook his head, "Nope..." With that, he lifted me up, wrapping me into a blanket before heading outside to the car.
Bella climbed into the vehicle before reaching out to put me in my car seat. I shrieked when the seatbelt went across my middle, bending over in pain. Edward climbed in on the other side of me, and held his hand up to stop her from securing it.
"No," he removed the belt and lifted me so I was resting against his chest with my legs across my sister. "Jasper..." Edward seemed to be making a request between gritted teeth.
I saw Alice reach her hand back and I grasped it gratefully as I felt a blanket of calm sweep over me. Not that it hurt any less, but still, for some reason, I wasn't so afraid.
The rest of the ride was a blur as I was so consumed by pain. When we arrived at the hospital, it was Dad who met us at the entrance and took me into his arms. I felt safe pressed against his heavy, winter Sheriff's coat. Take a deep breath, I breathed in his scent finding comfort in his presence.
Dr. Cullen met us at the entrance and led us past the waiting area into a small, private room. Dad lowered me onto the gurney and helped me into a gown.
"Well, hello, Sophia," Carlisle greeted me warmly though he was already setting to work doing a brief examination. "Can you point to what hurts?"
My shaky fingers pointed to an area on my lower abdomen which I held as another wave of pain came. "Oww, oww, owww..." I screamed out. Dad looked nervous as he reached for my hand. I could have sworn my nails broke his skin when I dug into them. He remained beside me, tight-lipped and strong as ever.
Carlisle watched with trained eyes, waiting a moment for the pain to pass before asking me to lie back. "Let me see," he helped me roll back over before lifting my pajama top enough to reveal my abdomen. In a very professional manner, he examined me closely. I bit my lip to prevent the whimpers, but eventually, he hit the right spot, and I doubled over in pain. "Sophia, it appears you have a very angry appendix. I am going to get you in so I can take some pictures of your tummy, but I'm pretty sure they are just going to tell me I'm right."
A nurse stepped in as Carlisle gave his orders. A ear thermometer made its' way into my ear and beeped a moment later.
"103.6!" Dad exclaimed.
Carlisle remained calm, "It's not uncommon for kids her age to have fevers so high. Let's see what we can do about getting it down." With that, he winked at me.
I was miserable. My eyes burned, head pounded, and stomach felt like it was being assaulted by a sledgehammer every few minutes. I just wanted to sleep, but I couldn't even do that. My lips curled and I knew it was coming. The sobs built up within me until they bubbled over in a quick burst.
Dad wiped the tears from my cheek, but as soon as he got rid of one there was another to replace it.
"Sophia, I'm going to start an iv. It's going to help with your pain and nausea," Carlisle moved his stool to my bedside, setting a iv kit down on the tray beside him.
"No..." I whimpered. "No needles...please, Daddy," I begged. "Don't let him."
Dad and Carlisle exchanged a quick glance before my father climbed onto the gurney beside me and wrapping me up into his arms. His lips pressed a kiss to my temple. "Close your eyes, babygirl...I've got you. Everything is going to be OK."
"But..." I started to argue.
Carlisle rested a hand on my thigh and squeezed reassuringly, "It'll only be a quick prick. I promise. You need this, darling, and the sooner the better. Now, eyes closed."
I was scared. And I couldn't do anything about what was happening to me. I closed my eyes tightly shut, pressing into my father's chest while he smoothed back my hair and whispered softly into my ears.
"Ready," Carlisle had already prepped me. "On three...1.." And with that, he slipped the needle in. I would have jerked my arm back had he not held it in a vice grip, but in all honesty, it wasn't that bad and soon he had me set up to an iv bag. The pain killer washed over me forcing my body to relax. Dad didn't move and held me even closer if that were even possible.
"The medicine is going to make you sleepy. Don't fight it," he interacted softly with my dad before departing. Before long, I found it hard to keep my eyes open.
"Close your eyes, babygirl..." Dad's voice sounded gruff. "I'm not going anywhere and I'll be right here when you wake up."
That was all it took and pretty soon unconsciousness overtook me.
When I awoke, the pain was back and stronger than ever.
"Ouch, Daddy, it hurts!" the pain was unlike anything I'd experienced before. Bella cross the room to smooth my hair back.
"Shhh, Soph, you're ok," Dad whispered over and over again. My body writhed on the gurney and I was nearly screaming out in pain when Carlisle and my nurse burst into the room.
"What happened?" he demanded, crossing to the bed in two strides. He lowered the blankets and examined my abdomen with his fingers. My response to his fingers must have answered his question.
"Sarah, prep the surgical suite. We need to get her in immediately," Carlisle's voice remained calm, but the nurse appeared flustered as she rushed out of the room. Two other staff came in behind her and began unlocking the wheels on my gurney to get me ready for transport.
"Carlisle, what's going on?" Dad pushed himself off the bed demanding answers.
"It appears Sophie's appendix have burst. It needs to be removed before it can get infected. We are going to take every possible precaution. Charlie, I'm going to treat her like my own daughter. I'm not going to let anything happen to her."
Bella was holding me gently, allowing our father to have a moment with the doctor. "Am I going to die?" I asked gritting my teeth against the pain.
"No, don't be silly," she shook her head like it was the most ridiculous question in the world. "You just going to go sleep for awhile and when you get back, you'll get to watch all the tv you can handle and eat a lot of ice cream for awhile. That doesn't sound so bad, does it?"
I shook my head, "No..."
Carlisle turned back to me, "Sophia, it's time for us to go."
I said a tearful but brief goodbye to my father and sister before being wheeled up to the surgical floor. The room we were entering was overwhelmingly filled with equipment that scared me. Carlisle lifted me from the gurney onto the even smaller table. "You are going to be just fine. I'm going to be here the whole time and when you wake up, we'll have that awful appendix out of you."
I latched onto him, pressing my face into his neck. He held me a moment before nodding to the surgical team around me. A milky looking substance made its' way into my iv and I was asked to count backwards from ten. Carlisle held my hand and smoothed back the matted hair from my forehead until I went to sleep.
I awoke what felt like moments later. I was in a small, curtained area with a monitor beeping steadily with my heart rate. I groaned and tried to roll onto my side only to discover a series of tubes and wires that prevented my movement.
"Welcome back, Sophia..." Carlisle's gentle tone came from the chair positioned near the doorway. He was by my side immediately, checking my vitals and making sure I seemed to be on the right track. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I might throw up," I admitted. A basin was on the stand to my left and within reach; I assummed someone had placed it there expecting that response.
"That's very normal after surgery," he leaned down to press a kiss to my forehead. "You've been in and out of consciousness for the past hour or so. You have a whole waiting room full of people worried about you."
"I do?" I knew my sister and Edward would be there as well as my father, but that was about all I'd expected.
"You're a very important member of our family now, Soph. The whole family came in to support you," he smiled.
"But I'm not your family, only Bella is..." my voice was shaky. I wasn't expecting to be grouped in with everyone else. I was just the sister who came to visit from time to time.
"But that's where you're wrong, child..." Carlisle climbed up onto the bed beside me and drew me close to rest my head upon his chest. "You have stolen each and every one of our hearts and on that day that we took Bella into our family, we made you as our own as well."
My eyes were drooping as the effects of the meds hadn't fully worn off yet. "No matter what?"
Carlisle smiled as I began to drift off, "No matter what..."