Chapter Two! In one day! Woot!

It does go a little fast, I hope that's okay. If you have a problem, though, please don't hesitate to tell me :P

Um, I don't really have any witty comments to make, so...

Just read, already. (I did the disclaimer before, remember? I don't even know what the point is, everyone knows I'm not Miss Meyer)


"Doctor Cullen, one of your patients has a visitor." One of the nurse's at Chicago Memorial Hospital said to the tall, blond doctor. Dr. Cullen was very young, and at first the hospital was reluctant to hire him. But after they saw how proficient he was, they gave him an entire wing to take care of.

"Thank you, Ilene." The doctor murmured, looking up at the nurse briefly before turning his attention to the man whose arm he was stitching up.

Nurse Ilene smiled, happy the handsome doctor remembered her name, "I'll bring her in right away, doctor." And she walked away.

A few moments later, the nurse returned to the room, a young woman by her side. She whispered a sympathetic "sorry", before leaving once more. The young woman stood a few feet away from the doctor, patiently waiting for him to finish. Dr. Cullen stood up and turned to face the girl.

Holding out his hand, he offered her a small smile, "My name is Dr. Carlisle Cullen."

"Isabella Swan." The girl said quietly, shaking his cold hand. Her long brown hair was left down, and her eyes were slightly bloodshot, as if she had been crying for a long period of time. Dr. Cullen couldn't really blame her, if someone she loved was in here, dying.

"So, Miss Swan. Whom in particular are you wanting to see?" the doctor waved his hand lightly around the room.

"Edward Masen, sir." Her voice sounded tight, like she was trying very hard to not burst into tears again. But she kept her chin up and looked the doctor straight in the eye, and he admired her for that.

The doctor turned on his heel and started walking toward the end of the ward. As she followed him, she looked at all the other influenza patients. None of them looked like they would live to see another sunrise, and that scared even more than she already was.

Dr. Cullen had grown quite attached to the Masen's, even more so than the rest of his patients. He checked up on them every half hour, to see if they were awake, or if the fever was worse. He knew it was wrong, but he felt like they were special, important. He desperately did not want them to die.

When Isabella saw the two figures of Edward and Elizabeth, she choked on her breath. Lying on the crisp white sheets of the narrow bed, her Edward was panting and sweating, paler than normal. His bronze hair was sticking to his forehead, and his green eyes were squeezed shut in a picture of pain. Elizabeth wasn't much better. She to was sweating and pale, but her face was calm and her breathing deep.

The doctor put a cool hand on Elizabeth's head, and then turned to Edward. Placing his hand on the boy's shoulder, he gently shook it.

"Edward, a young lady is here to see you." He said softly.

"Is he awake." Isabella muttered, looking between the doctor and Edward. At the sound of her voice, Edward's eyes flew open.

"Bella!" He gasped, his voice hoarse. Doctor Cullen picked up a pitcher of water from the bedside table and poured Edward a drink. Isabella rushed forward and grabbed Edward's hand, stroking it.

They kept their eyes on each other as he drank deeply from the cup Dr. Cullen handed him. After he finished, the doctor gave Edward a needle to relieve some of the pain.

"I will leave you two alone for a while, now." He said, patting Edward's bed. Isabella looked at him gratefully and noticed his eyes were a light golden colour. It unnerved her some.

When he walked away, she collapsed in the chair beside Edward's bed. Leaning down, she kissed the hand that she was holding.

"Bella, you shouldn't be so close, you might catch it too." Edward rasped reproachfully, a slight frown on his face.

"I don't care." She whispered, her head resting against the pillow beside Edward. They fell silent for a long time, just enjoying the time they had left together.

Everyday for the next week, Isabella would come and visit for a few hours. If Edward were awake and felling well, they would talk or just sit together. If he was asleep or the fever was too high, she would read the newspaper or a poetry book to him. Elizabeth would often be awake, her fever not nearly as bad, but she was silent with the grief of her dead husband.

One day, Dr. Cullen walked up to find Isabella reading the paper to a sleeping Edward. When she noticed him, her smile was brighter than the sun.

"Look, Dr. Cullen! His fever has almost left! He is getting better!" Isabella stood up and stepped away so the doctor could lay his pale hand across Edward's head. She was right, Edward's fever was barely noticeable, nothing more than a light flush.

"Isn't is wonderful, doctor?" Isabella said lightly, sounding cheerful.

The doctor smiled at her, "It is. Much better than yesterday."

What Carlisle didn't tell her was that sometimes patient's fevers go away right before they die.

Isabella was sitting at the dining table with her family. Renee and Isabella were sipping their evening tea, while Charles read the paper.

Charlie cleared his throat, folding the paper in half and setting it on the table, "So, dear. How's young Edward today."

Isabella grinned, her eyes shining, "Oh, father! His fever has almost gone. I can't believe it happened so fast, but surely he will be out of the hospital soon."

"That's wonderful, sweetheart." Renee said, patting her daughter's hand with and encouraging smile.

Charlie nodded, "And then it wont be long until I'm handing you away, I suppose." His eyebrows rose at her.

Isabella blushed, looking into her teacup, "I suppose."

Carlisle ran his fingers threw his hair, frustrated. It was well past midnight, and he was the only person in the ward apart from the sleeping patients. He looked around desperately, trying to find an invisible door he could step through to easily solve his problems.

Poor Elizabeth Masen, it had all been so fast for her. First her husband dying, and then herself and her only child getting sick. Carlisle could only imagine what it would be like to watch your son die when you couldn't do anything about it.

But what had she meant? "Do anything in your power to save him." Surely she hadn't known? And if she had, what mother would want that for her child? A life of eternal damnation, to watch as the world slowly dies while you stay indestructible?

Carlisle had hated himself at first. He had spent years upon years of trying to find a way to die, so he wouldn't be thought of as a monster. He still tried to find a way. But he had found his penance, of sorts. Helping humans survive, instead of taking their lives. Surely that had to count for something?

So, if Elizabeth had known, was that really what she wanted for her Edward?

Carlisle had been thinking for decades know, trying to decide whether he should try to change some poor soul. Because, if he faced the truth, he was lonely. He had in deed met many of his kind, but what he wanted was a family. Not just a coven, but a real family.

Edward was dying anyway. He didn't have much time before the fever finally stopped his heart. And if he didn't want to stay with Carlisle, he could always leave, and Carlisle would wait until another opportunity rung.

But then…there was Isabella Swan. Either way, Edward would leave her forever. And the girl would be heart broken. Carlisle had watched them over the past week, and had seen the undying love between the two. Even when Edward was asleep, his wild breathing always calmed when his Bella was present.

Unless…Isabella was willing to give up her mortality to be with him.

No. He would not do that. A human that was going to die anyway he could change, but he refused to take away the life of a perfectly healthy human. She had her whole life ahead of her, and he wouln't change that.

But what if she wanted it? Asked for it?

Having made up his mind, Carlisle started to wheel Elizabeth Masen's body to the morgue.

Isabella sat with her back perfectly straight, fidgeting with the cuffs of her sleeves. Dr. Cullen had taken her into his private office, where she seated herself in the wooden chair across from the desk. Her eyes darted nervously around the room, searching for something to distract herself from the words she knew were going to come out of his mouth.

"Miss Swan," He started with a grim expression. For a second she almost thought she saw self-hatred flash in his golden eyes, but that couldn't be right.

"Last night, Elizabeth Masen died."

A small choked gasp almost escaped Isabella's mouth, but she didn't want to break down in front of the doctor, so she held it in.

"Before she died, she asked me to do anything, anything, in my power to save her son." He looked down to his hands, frowning.

"I should let you know, I am different then other doctors. I have a…certain quality, that most people would frown upon."

Isabella frowned, "You practice witchcraft for healing?"

Carlisle almost laughed at her suggestion, "Well, you could say that it is rather supernatural."

"I do not believe in ghosts, doctor. May you please just tell me what happened to Edward?"

Doctor Cullen studied her hard face, and decided to go with a direct approach, "I turned him into a vampire."

For a second Isabella just kept staring at him with that icy expression, and then she burst into tears.

"Why are you toying with me, you wicked man!"

The doctor stood up and walked around the desk to gently pat her on the shoulder. She didn't even care, for at the moment she was too caught up in the fact that her Edward was dead, and never coming back.

"I know it is hard to believe, Bella. But trust me when I say Edward is not dead." After a few more hiccups, Isabella raised her head from her hands.

"What do you mean, not dead?" Her tear streaked face turned up at him.

Carlisle mentally sighed with relief that she was listening to him, "I wasn't toying with your feelings, Bella. I really am a vampire, and I bit Edward. He is at my house as we speak, changing."

Isabella took a deep breath and tried to keep her mind open. Because she had learned to trust Dr. Cullen over the last week, she nodded.

"Okay, alright. But why are you telling me this? Wouldn't it just be easier to tell me he died, so it wouldn't plague my mind that he is still out there, somewhere?" Her voice wavered toward the end, and her eyes brimmed with tears again.

Carlisle sighed and kneeled down so he was eye level with the crying girl, "That is what I wanted to speak with you about."

She was silent, waiting for him to continue.

"If you wish, I could…change you too. Vampires live forever, Bella. They never age. You could stay with Edward…forever."

Isabella's mouth opened, but no sound came out. She closed her eyes and thought.

What would it be like, to live with Edward forever? She couldn't imagine herself being the exact same in two or three hundred years. But she also couldn't imagine her life without Edward.

Would you give up everything?

Would she give up her family for Edward? Her mortality? Her former life, to be with the one she loved?

Dr. Cullen was patiently waiting for her answer. She opened her eyes and stood up. Carlisle followed her example, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She took a deep breath, "Where do we start?"


Duh, duh, duuuh...

Okay, not really, it was kinda obvious.

This would be the time for me to make some snarky remark about how dumb Quinn is, but she knows it already.

If you reveiw, Mmlle Poulin will give you virtual chocolate ice cream :P (or not, she may not like you)