Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Full Summary: Juliet Young finds herself in a peculiar new place when she puts her faith and trust into Carlisle Cullen when it comes to the thing that's most precious to her: family. Carlisle finds himself falling for this bright girl in a dark place with every coming day. Troubles will find both of them along the path of getting to know one another, testing how far either of them can be pushed before just letting go and falling over the edge. This isn't a fairytale. This is their story.

Rating: T (This is subject to change in the future.)

One

"Doctor Cullen," Nurse Marty greeted with a sweet smile as Carlisle entered the Intensive Care Unit, his briefcase in hand. "I didn't realize you'd be here so early. Would you like me to have a coffee made for you?"

"That'd be wonderful, Marty," he said appreciatively, though he knew the coffee would simply go to waste. He had to keep up with the appearance, considering it was three a.m. and most humans around him were running on caffeine. "Have you checked your rotation? I'm in because we have a surgery to prep for in…" he paused, glancing at his watch. It was a necessary action. "Just over two hours. I had also hoped you could get a hold of Doctor Hysie for me. I wanted to consult with him over the patient's heart before we got started."

Marty nodded, her blonde curls bouncing. "Yes, of course." She could hardly suppress her smile. "The senator hasn't slept all night, but he's been wonderful to be around. You should know, his daughter is in with him right now. I left to give them some privacy. His wife's out in the waiting room with the rest of the family."

Carlisle nodded. "Thank you."

She mentioned something about making his coffee as she slipped away on down the hall. He couldn't focus on her words. It was hard enough to block out all the gossip flowing out of the break room. Normally he found it easier to block out the conversations of scandal and adulterous topics. He had no care for them, and it would only add fuel to the fire of Alice's comments on the cliché perceptions of hospital staff, anyway. Edward would no doubt humor her. But the gossip wasn't about who was now sleeping with who. It was about his patient.

"I hear the hospital wants to set up a PR thing," another nurse, Alyssa, said excitedly. "They want to use him and Doctor Carlisle to promote organ donation, since he can reach a wide audience."

"Can you believe the press hasn't stopped calling?" Nurse Lyn said. She was a nurse he didn't quite care for. He could hear the catty smile on her face just by listening. "I wonder if this is only about the surgery. I mean, it's not that big of a deal, is it?"

"He's getting a double lung transplant!" A technician, Andy, said with slight annoyance. "Of course it's a big deal! You've been working here how long, and you haven't realized that these things are life and death?"

There was a stretch of silence. Carlisle was already on his way to room four, where the senator currently resided.

"I have," Lyn said venomously, "but we're not supposed to think about that. But thanks for the reminder."

This time, the silence lasted. Carlisle approached the glass sliding door of room four. A nurse in dark blue scrubs—Trysta—sat at the computer stationed outside the room. She was checking over his vitals. The curtains were pulled shut inside, so he couldn't see within. He could hear, though, and felt ashamed for listening to the conversation. However, this is what had peaked his interest.

"There's no need to cry," the senator said soothingly. Carlisle could hear another heartbeat within; once staccato and quick.

"It's the machines," a girl's voice said back. His daughter. He could hear the effort she was putting in to keep her voice strong. "You know I don't like the machines."

"I know." The senator sounded tired and worried.

His daughter sighed.

"Are you ready for this?"

The girl gave a small laugh. "Are you? You're the one getting the surgery. I'll just be out in the waiting room."

There was a tense pause. "You know what I mean."

"I can handle it," she answered quietly. "You'll be fine. I know it."

"But if I'm not—"

"I don't want to hear it," she cut him off short. "You'll be fine, Dad. And I'll make you proud. I'll be strong, like you asked."

"Your mother is going to have a lot of people relying on her. And your brother…"

"He hates hospitals more than I do. I know. I'll take care of them both. Then after you recover, it'll be your job again." Her joke elicited a light laugh from her father.

"You're stronger than you realize, Julie."

"My strength is your strength, Dad."

Silence. He didn't have to be Jasper to feel the fear and worry emanating from the room. It was always hard to watch patient's families say their goodbyes.

Trysta turned around in her chair, regarding Carlisle with surprise. "I didn't see you there," she said, her eyes returning to the screen. "Marty went to go get his daughter some coffee. She's in with him right now."

Carlisle nodded, knowing more than this. He knocked lightly at the door before entering the room. The blinds were open, showing a dark expanse of the courtyard outside before it reached another skyscraper that glowed with yellow light that was the main hospital. In Forks, he rarely ever had to work the late-shift. He never slept, of course, but it was always strange to be around others at such a time and see them awake as if it were daytime.

The girl sitting in the chair beside her father looked less than fully alert. There were chalky dark circles under her weary eyes; no signs of crying showed through. Dark hair was pulled back into a pony-tail, revealing her face entirely. He'd seen her before, on the news. Not only was she a senator's daughter, but a best-selling writer, herself, and philanthropist. And to think, she was only at the legal drinking age.

Now she stared at Carlisle curiously, her eyes steeled from showing any emotion. She was holding her father's hand like she was a little girl, and to let go of him would be to let go of safety. Carlisle realized that, had positions been switched and it was he and Alice, it was doubtless Alice would do the same. If she hadn't, he would have.

The senator seemed restless. He wore glasses Carlisle didn't recognize and looked as if sleep had eluded him for quite some time as well. Still, there was a kind and open smile on his face. He had high spirits.

"Hello," Carlisle kindly said to the girl, Julie, as he extended his hand to her. "I'm Doctor Cullen."

She shook his hand. If she noticed the iciness of his touch, she didn't show it. "Juliet. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Carlisle smiled at her. It never ceased to amaze him how much fortitude a human so young could have in times like these. He'd seen older men and women in tears by now, and yet she held strong. His eyes quickly returned to the senator.

"I hear it was a sleepless night, senator."

The senator waved an unconcerned hand. "I already told you, call me Robert." There was a glint of good-natured mischief as the senator looked at his daughter. "You'd think a surgeon would have good hearing, would you, Jules?"

Juliet rolled her eyes and gave Carlisle an apologetic smile. "My father is probably the most humble politician you'll ever meet. He still doesn't understand why the press is all over this or why anyone would dare call him by his first name. But really, he gets sick of hearing 'Senator Young'."

"As I'm sure you do, by now," the senator—Robert—said.

Juliet shrugged. "It's not a big deal."

Carlisle pulled some papers out of his briefcase a moment later, scanning its contents. "It's after three a.m. now, Senator—Robert," he corrected himself. "We plan to have you in by four. The anesthesiologist should be in shortly."

Robert gave him two thumbs up. Juliet averted her eyes because of the heart monitor attached to her father's index finger and the IV's that were already sticking out of him. She steeled herself. Carlisle pretended not to take notice.

"I just wanted to check up on you," Carlisle said as he returned the papers to the briefcase. "I'll consult with Doctor Hysie in a few, and then I'll be back. I'll leave you two to your privacy."

As he was politely ducking out, he caught Juliet's eyes. There was a flash of emotion in them before she steeled herself again and made herself impervious. He'd seen pleading in her eyes. Before he left the room, he gave her a reassuring nod. He would make sure all went well for her father.

Heading down the hallway once more, he felt terrible about what he just did. He gave her hope when he knew any number of things could go wrong. Somehow, he'd gotten caught up in the need to reassure her.

When he returned several minutes later, he observed the two before entering again. Doctor Hysie had insisted on being present during the surgery, so that was settled. Now he watched as the senator rested his eyes, his hand still in his daughter's. His wife and son sat in two other chairs placed around the room. All eyes were on the patient, except Carlisle's was on the patient's daughter.

He knocked once more before coming in. The anesthesiologist was present, standing quietly in the back of the room. Everything was ready. As they wheeled the senator out, Carlisle felt uneasy for the first time in a very long time.

Juliet watched her father go. When he looked over his shoulder, she gave him a smile. Everything will be all right, it said. He returned the smile. After he was out of sight, her eyes lingered on Doctor Cullen. Today, he would be her angel.

Please give a review to give me your thoughts. Shall this continue, or should it be scrapped? Let me know! (Oh, and welcome to my world of Twilight. I do hope to make it very interesting for you guys.)