Hi,

So here's the second update to the story! Thanks to EvieFortune for favoriting, and to xXDaniLynnXx for favoriting AND reviewing. You guys are the best :D. This chapter is shorter than the last (3.5k opposed to 6.5k), sorry about that, but I'll try to make the third longer. Please review and give me feedback, whether it's compliments, constructive criticism, or ideas. My question of last chapter still stands, because I'd like to take what you, as the readers, want in consideration. And, that's about it! Enjoy the chapter!

Oh yeah, Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or H20: Just Add Water. The only thing I DO own is my OC, Helena Grace.

-ShiningStars13

Carlisle was the only one who stayed calm. Centuries of experience in the emergency room were evident in his quiet, authoritative voice. Like one of the senior Apollo legionnaires.

"Emmett, Rose, get Jasper outside."

Unsmiling for once, Emmett nodded. "Come on, Jasper."

Jasper struggled against Emmett's unbreakable grasp, twisting around, reaching toward his 'brother' with bared teeth, his eyes still past reason.

Edward's face was whiter than bone as he wheeled to crouch over me, taking a clearly defensive position. A low warning growl slid from between his clenched teeth. I could tell he wasn't breathing. His continued presence worried me slightly – hello? Vampire that thirsts for my blood especially right there, while I'm bleeding? For a moment, I wondered if it was because of the godly blood in me. But why wouldn't the others feel it too? Then I snapped myself back to the present.

Rosalie, her divine face strangely smug, stepped in front of Jasper – keeping a careful distance from his teeth – and helped Emmett wrestle him through the glass door that Esme held open, one hand pressed over her mouth and nose.

Esme's heart-shaped face was shamed. "I'm so sorry, Bella," she cried as she followed the others into the yard.

"Let me by, Edward," Carlisle murmured. Yes, listen to the doctor, and go away while you're at it.

A second passed, and then Edward nodded slowly and relaxed his stance.

Carlisle knelt beside me, leaning close to examine my arm. I struggled to keep my face a calm, impassive mask – shock, frustration, fear, anger… none of them emotions I wanted to show right now.

"Here, Carlisle," Alice said, handing him a towel.

He shook his head. "Too much glass in the wound." He reached over and ripped a long, thin scrap from the bottom of the white tablecloth. He twisted it around my arm above the elbow to form a tourniquet.

"Bella," Carlisle said softly. "Do you want me to drive you to the hospital, or would you like me to take care of it here?"

"Here, please," I whispered. If he took me to the hospital, it would take much longer. Not to mention Charlie would almost certainly find out.

"I'll get your bag," Alice said.

"Let's take her to the kitchen table," Carlisle said to Edward.

Edward lifted me effortlessly, while Carlisle kept the pressure steady on my arm. I can walk, you know! I thought with another surge of annoyance.

"How are you doing, Bella?" Carlisle asked.

"I'm fine." My voice was a little short.

Edward's face was like stone – although come to think of it, he did rather resemble a marble statue… it was a fairly good comparison.

Alice was there. Carlisle's black bag was already on the table, a small but brilliant desk light plugged into the wall. Edward sat me gently into a chair, and Carlisle pulled up another. He went to work at once.

Edward stood over me, still needlessly protective, still not breathing.

"Just go, Edward," I sighed.

"I can handle it," he insisted. But his jaw was rigid; his eyes burned with the intensity of the thirst he fought, so much worse for him than it was for the others.

"I'm fine," I said. "Carlisle can fix me up without your help. Get some fresh air."

I winced slightly as Carlisle did something to my arm that stung.

"I'll stay," he said.

I glowered. "Why are you masochistic?"

Carlisle decided to – finally – intervene. "Edward, you may as well go find Jasper before he gets too far. I'm sure he's upset with himself, and I doubt he'll listen to anyone but you right now."

"Yes!" I agreed, too eagerly. "Go find Jasper."

"You might as well do something useful," Alice added.

Edward's eyes narrowed as we ganged up on him, but, finally, he nodded once and sprinted smoothly through the kitchen's back door. I'd bet ten denarii he hadn't taken a breath since I'd sliced my finger.

A numb, dead feeling was spreading through my arm. It was welcoming, erasing the sting. There was no pain now. Just a gentle tugging sensation.

If she hadn't been in my line of sight, I wouldn't have noticed Alice give up and steal out of the room. With a tiny, apologetic smile on her lips, she disappeared through the kitchen doorway.

"Well, that's everyone. I can clear a room, at least," I half-joked.

"It's not your fault," Carlisle said, probably intending to be comforting. "It could happen to anyone."

I raised an eyebrow. "Could," I agreed. "Except it usually happens to me." It wasn't a lie, either. I might not actually be a klutz, but I did seem to have bad luck… not that all demigods didn't to some extent.

He laughed again.

"How can you do this?" I asked. "Even Alice…" I trailed off, surprised by his control. Clearly, this was much more difficult than he made it seem. Vampires were not like most monsters I'd met, even if these were a rarity among their species.

"Years and years of practice," he told me. "I barely notice the scent anymore."

"Do you think it would be harder if you took a vacation from the hospital for a long time? And weren't around any blood?"

"Maybe." He shrugged his shoulders but his hands remained steady. "I've never felt the need for an extended holiday." He flashed a brilliant smile in my direction. "I enjoy my work too much."

"What is it that you enjoy?" I wondered, slightly curious. It didn't make much sense – for a vampire to struggle for years to get to the point where he can easily endure the scent of blood, all to work in a hospital.

His dark eyes were calm and thoughtful as he answered. "Hmm. What I enjoy the very most is when my… enhanced abilities let me save someone who would otherwise have been lost. It's pleasant to know that thanks to what I can do, some people's lives are better because I exist. Even the sense of smell is a useful diagnostic tool at times." One side of his mouth pulled up in a partial smile.

I mulled that over while he finished sewing up my arm. "There," he said, snipping a thread. "All done." He wiped an oversized Q-tip, dripping with some syrup-colored liquid, thoroughly across the operation site.

"In the beginning, though," I pressed while he taped a long piece of gauze securely in place. "Why did you even think to try a different way than the obvious one?"

His lips turned up in a private smile. "Hasn't Edward told you this story?"

"Of course. But I'm trying to understand what you were thinking…"

His face was suddenly serious again.

"You know my father was a clergyman," he mused as he cleaned the table carefully, rubbing everything down with wet gauze, and then doing it over again. The smell of alcohol burned in my nose. "He had a rather harsh view of the world, which I was already beginning to question before the time that I was changed." Carlisle put all the dirty gauze and the glass slivers into an empty crystal bowl, then lit a match and threw it onto the alcohol-soaked fibers.

"That ought to do it… So I didn't agree with my father's particular brand of faith. But never, in the nearly 400 years now since I was born, have I ever seen anything to make me doubt whether God exists in some form or the other. Not even the reflection in the mirror."

God, with a capital G, well that's a bigger matter. But the ROMAN gods… oh sure, I've even met some of them. In fact, Jupiter is my dad. So, what kind of God/gods did you mean by 'some form or the other' again?

He smiled at me. "I suppose I should take you home now."

"I'll do that," Edward said. He came through the shadowy dining room, walking slowly for a vampire. His face was smooth, unreadable, but there was something wrong with his eyes – something he was trying very hard to hide. Like Reyna, except Edward wasn't as good at it.

"Carlisle can take me," I protested. I looked down at my shirt; the light blue cotton was soaked and spotted with my blood. My right shoulder was covered in thick pink frosting.

"I'm fine." Edward's voice was unemotional. "You'll need to change anyway. You'd give Charlie a heart attack the way you look. I'll have Alice get you something." He strode out the kitchen door again.

I looked at Carlisle nervously. "He's very upset," I stated.

"Yes," Carlisle agreed. "Tonight is exactly the kind of thing that he fears the most. You being put in danger, because of what we are."

I shifted slightly. I'd been through worse; tonight paled by comparison.

Carlisle offered me his hand and helped me up from the table. I followed him out into the main room. Esme had come back; she was mopping the floor where I'd fallen – with straight bleach from the smell of it.

"Esme, let me do that," I offered.

"I'm already done." She smiled up at me. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine," I said, then at the surprise on her face, added, "Carlisle sews faster than any other doctor I've had." That seemed like something Bella would say.

They both chuckled, so it must have done the trick.

Alice and Edward came in the back doors. Alice hurried to my side, but Edward hung back, his face indecipherable.

"C'mon," Alice said. "I'll get you something less macabre to wear."

She found me a shirt of Esme's that was close to the same color mine had been. Charlie wouldn't notice, I was sure. The long white bandage on my arm didn't look very serious now that I was no longer spattered in gore.

"Alice," I whispered as she headed back to the door.

"Yes?" She kept her voice low, too, and looked at me curiously, her head cocked to the side.

"How bad is it?" I couldn't be sure if my whispering was a wasted effort. Even though we were upstairs, with the door closed, vampires had excellent hearing.

Her voice tensed. "I'm not sure yet."

"How's Jasper?"

She sighed. "He's very unhappy with himself. It's all so much more of a challenge for him, and he hates feeling weak."

"It's not his fault. Tell him that."

"Of course."

Edward was waiting for me by the front door. As I got to the bottom of staircase, he held it open without a word.

"Take your things!" Alice cried as I walked warily towards Edward. She scooped up the two packages, one half-opened, and my camera from under the piano, and pressed them into my good arm. "You can thank me later, when you've opened them."

Esme and Carlisle both said a quite goodnight. I could see them stealing quick glances at their impassive 'son', much like I was, although I did it a bit more stealthily.

It was a relief to be out in the cool night air; I hurried past the lanterns and the roses, now unwelcome reminders. Edward kept pace with me silently. He opened the passenger side for me, and I climbed in without speaking.

On the new dashboard was a big red ribbon, stuck to the new stereo. I pulled it off, throwing it to the floor. As Edward slid into the other side, I kicked the ribbon under my seat.

He didn't look at me or the stereo. Neither of us switched it on, and the silence was somehow intensified by the sudden thunder of the engine. He drove too fast down the dark, serpentine lane.

We stayed silent for the rest of the drive, until he pulled up in front of Charlie's house.

He killed the engine, but his hands stayed clenched around the steering wheel.

"Will you stay tonight?" I asked, hoping he'd say no.

"I should go home."

I considered what the line would be between what I wanted, and what Bella would want. "Just to watch me open the rest of my presents, for my birthday." I finally decided on.

"You can't have it both ways – either you want people to ignore your birthday or you don't. One or the other." His voice was stern, but not as serious as before.

"Okay. I've decided that I don't want you to ignore my birthday. I'll see you upstairs."

I hopped out, reaching back in for my packages. He frowned.

"You don't have to take those."

"I want them," I responded automatically.

"No you don't. Carlisle and Esme spent money on you."

And they have billions – if not trillions – of dollars remaining. "I'll live." I tucked the presents awkwardly under my good arm and slammed the door behind me. He was out of the truck and by my side in less than a second.

"Let me carry them, at least," he said as he took them away. "I'll be in your room."

I forced a smile. "Thanks."

"Happy birthday," he sighed, and leaned down to touch his lips to mine.

We kissed for a minute, then he pulled away, smiled, and disappeared into the darkness.

The game was still on; as soon as I walked through the front door I could hear the announcer rambling over the babble of the crowd.

"Bell?" Charlie called.

"Hey, Dad," I said as I came around the corner.

"How was it?" Charlie lounged across the sofa with his bare feet propped up on the arm. What was left of his curly brown hair was crushed flat on one side.

"Alice went overboard. Flowers, cake, candles, presents – the whole bit."

"What did they get you?"

"A stereo for my truck." And various unknowns, although I was pretty sure that the stereo would remain my favorite.

"Wow."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Well, I'm calling it a night."

"I'll see you in the morning."

I waved. "See ya."

"What happened to your arm?"

I scowled and cursed silently in Greek. "I tripped. It's nothing."

"Bella," he sighed, shaking his head.

"Goodnight, Dad."

I hurried up to bathroom, where I kept some of my pajamas for nights when Edward stayed over. I shrugged into a matching tank top and cotton pants, hissing when the movement pulled at my stitches. I washed my face one-handedly, brushed my teeth, and then headed to my room.

He was sitting in the center of my bed, toying with one of the silver boxes.

"Hi," he said glumly.

I went to the bead, pushed the presents out of his hands, and snuggled next to him. As usual.

"Hi. Can I open my presents now?"

"Where did the enthusiasm come from?" he wondered.

I shrugged. "You made me curious."

I picked up the long flat rectangle that must have been from Carlisle and Esme.

"Allow me," he suggested. He took the gift from my hand and tore the silver paper off with one fluid movement. He handed the rectangular white box back to me.

"Are you sure I can handle lifting the lid?" I muttered sarcastically, but of course, he just ignored me.

Inside the box was a long thick piece of paper with an overwhelming amount of fine print. It was a good thing I didn't have dyslexia, like most demigods, although I did have a minor case of ADHD. It still took me a moment to get the gist of the information.

"We're going to Jacksonville?" I asked reluctantly, hoping I sounded more excited to him than I did to myself. It was a voucher for plane tickets, two, for both me and Edward.

"That's the idea."

"Renee's going to flip. It's sunny though, you'll have to stay inside all day."

"I think I can handle it," he said, and then frowned. "If I'd had any idea that you could respond to a gift this appropriately, I would have made you open it in front of Carlisle and Esme. I thought you'd complain."

I thought quickly. "Well, of course it's too much. But I get to take you with me!"

He chuckled. "Now I wish I'd spent money on your present. I didn't realize you were capable of being reasonable."

I set the tickets aside and reached for his present. He took it from me and unwrapped it like the first one.

He handed back a clear CD jewel case, with a blank silver CD inside.

"What is it?" I asked, confused.

He didn't say anything; he took the CD and reached around me to put it in the CD player on the bedside table. He hit play, and we waited in silence. Then the music began.

I listened carefully, then realized what it was. It was his music, his compositions. The first piece was 'my lullaby'.

"It's beautiful, Edward," I said.

He smiled, but then frowned. "It's late," he noted.

I nodded. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

He nodded, too. "At school," he promised, kissing my forehead before disappearing swiftly out the window. I waited a few minutes, then slapped pause on the music.

I went inside my closet, and pried up the loose floorboard. Under there was a scuffed leather satchel stuffed with all my demigod belongings: my purple Camp Jupiter T-shirts, an extra pair of jeans, my spare Imperial Gold knife, a book on Roman Mythology, and what I was looking for- a spray bottle filled with water, a prism, and my bag of denarii.

Using the spray bottle and prism, I painstakingly created a small rainbow, then tossed a denarius in and chanted, "O, Fleecy, do me a solid. Show me Jason Grace at Camp Jupiter."

I suppose I should explain. See, a couple years ago, I was on a quest for Arcus, goddess of the rainbow (long story), and ended up meeting a cloud nymph that worked for her, Fleecy. Apparently Fleecy can connect messages through rainbows for demigods, although she rarely does – all you need is a rainbow and a denarius.

I flopped down on my bed and waited, tapping my fingers against the footboard. Finally, an image of my twin brother shimmered into existence.

He was in his praetor's house on the Via Principalis, washing dishes.

"Hey, Jase," I said, smirking.

Jason jumped, sloshing water all over, before turning to face me. "Lena!"

I smiled.

"How's it going with the Cullens?" he asked.

"Alright," I said and shrugged. "I found out some new things. Apparently there is this group of vampires called the Volturi, who are, and I quote, 'the closest thing the vampire world has to royalty.' So they could be a possible threat. Actually, I think they probably would be one, if they knew we even existed."

Jason's brow furrowed slightly as he thought. "You're probably right. I'll let Reyna know. But Lena, you're hurt," he said, suddenly noticing my injury.

I pulled my arm closer to my side. "This? Oh, it's nothing. I tripped a little too convincingly at the party the vampires threw for me, where they gave me a new stereo for my truck by the way, and I of course knocked over a table and landed on top of the then shattered crystal bowls." I didn't like lying to him, but he'd freak if he knew what actually happened. Not that it was even that bad.

He nodded slowly. "Just be careful. I don't want to lose you."

"I know," I said softly. "I miss you, Jase."

He sighed. "I miss you too. But we really need to learn more about these vampires, for the good of the legion."

"When do you think Reyna will ask for me to come back?" Although Jason was a praetor too, he hadn't been for too long, and Reyna still made most of the decisions.

"Probably in the next three months. You've found out a lot, there can't be that much left. Although…" And by the way he hesitated, I already knew I wasn't going to like what he had to say.

"Spit it out, Jason."

"Reyna was considering the possibilities of allying with these vampires. True, their kind poses a threat to us, but these Cullens seem to have more control. And they are powerful. It might be in the best interests of Camp to try to form an alliance."

I stared at him for a minute. Form an alliance… with the Cullens?

We both sat in silence for a while.

"Well, happy birthday, little sis," Jason finally said, smiling again.

I glared at him. "I'm only younger by less than an hour. Besides, I can still kick your ass, Grace."

He laughed quietly. "Sure, you can. Oh, and I got something for you. It isn't much, but… I thought you'd like it. I'll give it to you when you get back."

"Tell me what it is now?" I pleaded, making big doe-eyes at him.

Jason shook his head, still smiling. "Sorry, no. When you get home."

I frowned. "I hate you."

"You don't mean that."

"No, I guess I don't."

We were both quiet for another few minutes.

"I should go. I have school tomorrow," I reluctantly said.

Jason nodded. "I have my duties as praetor. Goodnight, and happy birthday."

"Goodnight," I replied, and swished my hand through the image, cutting the connection.

I fell back down on my bed, tossing the plane tickets on the floor. Double checking that my alarm was set for the following morning, I slowly sank into a dreamless sleep.