Disclaimer : I don't own a thing so there! Lol.

Ok, so I would just like to say a massive thank you to kokocokiecrazy7 and XxSacrificeXx for their reviews, it really does mean a lot you guys, and also a big thank you to all of those who added this story to your favourites and alerts list, it's very much appreciated. :)

Chapter 2

Carlisle's P.O.V

In all 15 plus years of my medical profession, I had never felt as attached to a particular case as this. I had only started my shift a half hour before, when an emergency came in. It was numerous casualties involved in some sort of road traffic accident. The 1st patient, was relatively uninjured, suffering from minor whip lash and shock. I immediately sent him into the ER to one of the young residents to deal with, whilst I awaited the more seriously injured patients to arrive.

"This is Charles Swan, he has a major trauma to the head"... As soon as the paramedic had said his name, everything else seemed to just go on auto pilot.

I knew this man. Chief Charlie Swan of Forks Police Department. He was a regular in the ER, often being called when a few of the patients got abusive towards staff. He was a quiet man, kept himself to himself, he was neither married or had children to my knowledge. I knew he was a keen fisherman, having seen him on many an occasion, meeting up with other men his age, at one of the fishing lakes I passed on my way to the hospital. He like myself took his job very seriously, and Forks was a safer town because of it.

I began treating him, my autopilot remaining firmly on, as a forced myself to forget who he was. That was the one problem in such a small town like Forks, far too often you were treating people you knew, your friends and neighbours. It was hard, but also the personal edge to it, made it much more rewarding, well when things went right.

"He's losing blood faster than we're getting it into him". One of the nurses told me.

"His heart rates dropping". Another nurse warned.

Within seconds he flat lined, and the crash trolley was pushed to my side. A nurse was already trying to resuscitate him, as I held the defibrillator paddles ready. For the next 20 minutes, we fought in vain to save his life, but in the end, nothing could bring him back.

I always hated loosing a patient, and no matter how many times I had been told as a young doctor, that it got easier, it never did. Charlie Swan was little older than myself, with many more years ahead of him, and all too sudden, it was over. Life at times seemed very cruel.

I was knocked out of my thoughts by the screaming of a young girl. She was screaming for her Dad. Her voice held fear, and pain. As I rounded the corner, she was clearly thrashing around in a blind panic, having been strapped securely to the bed. A young doctor was trying to treat her, but his inexperience seemed only to be making the situation worse. Stepping up, I took over, a look of pure relief washing over my young colleagues face.

"Ok so, who have we got here"? I asked, wanting more information.

"This is Isabella Swan, she has a minor trauma to the head, possible broken ribs, possible spine injury, a broken right arm, and a broken right tibia".

"Isabella Swan"? I asked, nodding my head towards where Charlie Swans body still lay. The nurse nodded her head as I pinched the bridge of my nose in thought. "Right ok, Isabella, my names Dr. Cullen, I need you to try and calm down for me sweetie, ok". I spoke softly to her.

"I want my Dad"! She screamed, fear contorting in her every feature.

"Isabella, you have a lot of injuries, and we need to look after you, you have to try and calm down and stay still". I told her, as I began trying to check her over, but her thrashing and screaming continued. "Ok, let's give her a sedative, and then book her in for x-rays. I want her kept under supervision".

The sedative quickly took affect and she fell into a light slumber as she was taken for all her x-rays. Her arm and leg were quickly put in plaster, and the gash on her forehead, and arm were stitched up. Eventually she was moved to a quieter part of the ER, where I eventually made my way to sit with her, until the sedative wore off some and she was awake.

Looking at her laying in bed, she looked so young and helpless. I began to wonder why I had never seen her around town before, or why I had never seen her with Charlie at the parent evenings held at school. The only explanation I could come up with was that, she lived out of state, probably with her Mother.

A nurse came in, coming to check her vitals, obviously unaware that I was sat with her. She smiled gently, but carried on anyway, recording her findings on the chart hung on the end of the bed.

"Can I get you anything Dr. Cullen"? She asked politely.

"Um, no. No thank you". I told her, and watched her leave. "Actually, yes, could you bring me Miss Swans file please, I need to look for emergency contact details". I asked before she managed to get out of the door.

"She has no emergency contacts Dr. Cullen. Just Chief Swan". She turned to tell me, a sad look on her face.

"Thank you". I replied, a wave of sadness overtaking me.

In cases such as this, child services would need to be called. Isabella was 16 years old, still too young to legally be able to live on her own, and with no other contact she would need to be put into foster care. I was though, in no rush to do this, she would need to be in hospital for a few weeks at the very least, and hopefully, when she awoke, she would be able to tell us her Mother's details.

Seeing her like this, made me thankful that I had such a large family. My wife, Esme and I, had been unfortunate not to be able to have children of our own. We were married fresh out of high school, and began trying for children as soon as I got my residency at Massachusetts general hospital. After 6 months of trying, and still no pregnancy, we took some tests, and found out that Esme was unable to fall pregnant. This was a blow for us, we both very much wanted children, and a big family, since we both were the only child to each of our parents. But Esme, always one to never let something stop her getting what she wanted, immediately pushed us through the adoption process, as well as looking into fostering. Our first chance came a year into my residency, when we were asked to foster a small family. 3 children to be exact. At first I thought at 26 years of age, 3 young children were a bit much, but seeing the delight in Esme's eyes, blew all my doubts away. We were blessed with 4 year old Emmett, and 2 year old fraternal twins Edward and Alice.

They had only been with us a month, when we put forth the motion to adopt them. They were a handful, 3 young children were definitely not easy work, but already we saw them as our babies. Finally the adoption papers went through, and we officially became a family of 5.

11 years later, we were living in Seattle, I was working at Virginia Mason hospital, where I was treating 15 year old Jasper Hale, who by the looks of it had just taken a severe beating. He and his twin sister Rosalie both looked as though they were beaten regularly. Jasper only got defensive when I pushed for answers on how he had been beaten so badly, Rosalie sat beside his bed quietly. After a while I managed to get her alone, and finally pulled the truth from her. Immediately upon finding out how their Mother was an alcoholic, and Step-Father was the one beating them, I called child services, and spoke at length about the situation. Then I called Esme, who told me what she wanted, even though I already knew her answer. That night, we added Jasper and Rosalie to our family.

Having 5 hormonal teenagers in 1 house was incredibly hard work. But fortunately both myself and Esme had been left quite the nest egg by both of our parents, and along with my successful career, and Esme's very successful business as an interior designer, the kids wanted for nothing.

About 2 years ago, I heard of a job going here in Forks. After living in cities for such a long time, and constantly worrying that the kids would end up in the wrong crowds, we decided it would be a good move. Granted we knew the kids could still end up in the wrong crowds, no matter where they lived, but the idea of a small quaint town eased our fears slightly.

Our fears were quickly erased, as the kids immediately settled straight into the school here. They had always stuck together, even more so now we were living in such a little town, and to our shock, we began seeing slight romance bubbling in our family. First with Emmett and Rosalie, and not long after with Jasper and Alice. We were both very much against this at first, worried mainly if it got too serious, and then if a break-up ensued, it would cause problems for the whole family. But with promises that they would all be very careful and considerate of the rest of the family, they were left to their own decisions.

Even with the inner dating of our family, Edward, was the one I worried about most. Often thought of as the 7th wheel, he didn't seem to mind that his Brothers and Sisters were dating each other, and he never shied away from spending time with them, but although he thought myself and Esme were blind to it, we knew. Edward was what many would call a player, he dated many girls, often stringing them along, until he was bored. He was popular in school, in the sense he was good looking and good at sports, though his grades were always B's or higher. Of course Esme, hated the fact that her youngest son strung girls along, We had given him a good talking too, given him ground rules, but in the end, it was his lesson to learn, so long as we didn't have girls Fathers banging on our doors, claiming he had gotten their Daughters pregnant.

"Dad"? A croaky voice spoke.

I stood slowly, leaning over Isabella's bed slightly, so she could see my face. My movements were slow and deliberate so as not to startle her. Her eyes still looked drowsy, but the sedative hadn't completely worn off yet.

"Isabella, I'm Dr. Cullen, do you remember me Sweetheart"? I asked softly. She nodded gently. "How are you feeling? Are you in any pain Isabella"?

"Bella". She croaked.

"Bella". I confirmed with a smile. "Bella, have you got your Mother's contact details, we need to get in touch with your next of kin". She shook her head, though I could see she was slightly confused. "Do you have anyone we can get in touch with Bella"? I asked, using a different approach.

"Just Charlie... my Dad". She replied.

It was the response I was dreading. I now knew I had to tell her, that she had just lost her only guardian, her only family. A kid like her, shouldn't be alone in the world. I knew with certainty, that as soon as she was well enough, she would be put into foster care by child services, passed from family to family, until she reached 18, where the system would spew her back onto the streets leaving her to fend for herself.

"Where's my Dad"? She asked, her lower lip trembling in fear.

Oh God, what was I going to say to her. Of course telling relatives that their loved one had passed away, was always extremely difficult. But this, this was beyond difficult. How could I tell this young girl, that her Dad had died, that she had no-one left in the world? How can you even begin to put that into words? Tears were pooling in her eyes, as though she was reading my mind, and knew what I was about to tell her.

"Bella". I began, heaving a deep breath. For the first time in my medical career, I had no idea what to tell her. "Charlie, your Dad, when he came in, he had well a lot of injuries". I could see her begin to understand what I was about to say. "I'm so sorry Sweetheart, but he didn't make it".

She lay staring at me, tears now overflowing from her deep chocolate eyes, a look of disbelief contorting her face. I prepared myself for her hysteria, but it never came, she just looked at me, almost letting everything sink in. I began to worry that she hadn't fully understood me, or even believed me, but her tears told me otherwise.

"Is there anything I can get for you Bella"? I asked gently.

"Can... can I... go see him"? She asked hesitantly.

"Of course you can. I'll go and arrange something for you ok". I told her. "Would you like me to get a nurse to come and sit with you, while I go and sort something out for you"? I asked, as I picked up the sedative injection, knowing it wasn't need, yet anyway. She shook her head, letting me leave.

Once outside, I headed back into the main ER, disposing of the needle and syringe safely. I was slightly worried at how calmly she had taken the news. Obviously I didn't want her thrashing around or being hysterical, especially with her injuries, but I was worried that she wasn't more unhinged by the news. I quickly decided we would need to keep a close eye on her, hoping really that it was all down to delayed shock.

"Can you get Charlie Swan cleaned up, Bella would like to see him". I told 1 of the nurses, before going off in search of a wheel chair for her.

10 minutes later, the same nurse came back and reported that Charlie was ready. Nodding my head at her, I popped my head into the room, making sure there was nothing that would be too disturbing for her. Charlie looked very peaceful, thankfully, there was only 1 of his injuries that could be seen, and it had been cleaned up nicely. I sighed heavily, questioning whether I should be allowing her to see him this soon. Believe it or not, in my 15 years of being a Doctor, I had never had a situation like this. Sure I'd had young girls having lost parents before, but never had I had one that hadn't had any next of kin. It was very hard to decipher whether this was the right thing for Bella.

"Ok Bella. Whenever you're ready". I told her, taking a seat beside her again.

"Does he... does he still look like Charlie"? She asked timidly.

"Yes". I told her. "He looks very peaceful".

She nodded her head, pushing herself with her left arm into a sitting position, wincing in what I was sure was pure agony. Without fuss, I helped her get comfortable in the wheel chair, before sitting back down, twisting her chair so she was facing me.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want. There really is no rush at all. Take your time ok"? I told her clearly. The last thing I wanted was her rushing into this before she was ready.

She nodded once, before I stood and began pushing her steadily from the room. A few of the staff cast sorrowful looks her way, but for the most part, she just seemed oblivious to her surroundings. All too soon, we were stood outside the room. A wave of nervousness crashed through me. Rarely was I nervous about anything, but this I clearly was.

"Are you sure"? I asked again. She nodded, taking a deep breath, obviously readying herself. I too followed suite before pushing her through the door.

Carefully oh so carefully, did I make my way to where Charlie lay, Bella never took her eyes from his restful state. She seemed to be dealing with this well, but whilst her eyes remained on Charlie, mine remained on her, watching carefully for any signs of distress. I was hoping and praying I had made the right decision, but I also knew ultimately it had been her decision.

"I'll be right over there". I told her, resting my hand on her shoulder.

"Can I stay a few minutes"? She asked, though didn't avert her eyes to me.

"As long as you like". I confirmed.

I stepped into the shadows at the far side of the room. My stomach painfully tying itself in knots, hoping this didn't end badly. I was ready though, ready to whip her straight out, if things got too much for her. I watched with a heavy heart as she slowly, cautiously raised her own hand and placed it over her Father's. I could see the huge tears from where I stood, and wanted nothing more than to wipe them away for her, to wipe everything away, and make it better. I couldn't though, no matter how hard I wished. She was saying something, and I strained to hear, trying to make sure whether she was talking to me, but after a second, it was clear she was talking to Charlie. Seeing her talking to him, wrenched my heart even more.

Was she telling him she was ok, was she telling him how much she loved him, and how much she was going to miss him? Or was she telling him things she wished she'd told him when he were alive, the chances having been ripped away from them both. Either way, this was there moment, and I wouldn't move within hearing distance unless she beckoned me.

After another few minutes, she looked toward me and nodded her head. I stepped forward, as she raised Charlie's hand in her own, kissed it lovingly before placing it back down by his side. I heard her whisper 'I love you', softly to him, then sitting back into her chair, closing her eyes, almost as though she couldn't bare to see herself moving away from him.

We were silent as I walked back to her room. I was emotionally drained, as I was sure Bella was. A nurse passed me, telling me Bella had been moved up into her own room upstairs. I nodded, thanking the nurse, and headed toward the elevators. I finally got her into her own room, still no words having been spoken between us, but yet it was oddly comfortable. Well as comfortable a silence you can get with someone who has just lost their whole family in the space of a few hours.

I helped her into bed, making sure she was comfortable, and that she was in no pain. I showed her how to use the buzzer for the nurse, and told her if she was in any pain at all, she was to buzz and they would come give her some more pain relief. She seemed oblivious to the injuries she had, and although my duty was a Doctor was to inform her, I felt she had, had enough information pummelled at her for one day, I would go over her injuries with her tomorrow, if she hadn't already asked one of the nurses.

As I left her room, I turned in the doorway to see her staring out of the small window into the early evening sky. My heart literally bled for her. She had seemed to have taken everything in her stride, but I knew it was only a matter of time before that stride faltered.

"If you need anything, anything at all Bella, you ask one of the nurses to page me, and I'll come. Ok". I told her.

She turned to look at me, forcing a small smile on her face, murmuring a thank you, before staring back out of the window. It didn't matter that my shift had ended nearly an hour ago, even if it was in the middle of the night, I would come, I would come because I felt a pull toward her, and she had no-one else. I nodded once, then exited the room, before walking to the nurses station. I gave the nurse there instructions to page me if Bella needed or wanted me, regardless of what the time was.

With my instructions left, I headed to my office. I walked straight in, took my lab coat off, and grabbed my own jacket and car keys before leaving. The whole drive home, I thought of Bella. What was going through her mind? Did she know what was going to happen to her? And why did I feel so responsible for her?

I wasn't like most Doctors in the ER's I had worked in, who believed that our only job was to patch them up, and anything else was someone else's problems. Of course, I agreed that there was only so much we could do for a person, even more so if they clearly didn't want the help. But with Bella, it felt different. I felt responsible for her, and I couldn't fathom why.

Before I knew it, I was home, pulling my car into the garage. I felt guilty being able to come home to my family, when Bella couldn't. Trying me hardest to shake my thoughts, I walked into the house, seeing only Alice, sat in the living room, watching re-runs of Dallas. For some reason, she had managed to pick up my wife's taste of cheesy soap operas, and was currently addicted to Dallas, often telling me our family was a lot like the Ewing's. I could faintly hear the thump thump of music and knew it was Rosalie in her room. I could smell dinner cooking, and knew Esme, was in the kitchen. The boys, were off camping, something this morning that I regretted not being able to with them, but now I was thankful I had, had to work.

"Hey Dad". Alice called, blowing me a quick kiss, but too engrossed in the episode to come and greet me personally.

"Hey baby girl". I walked to the couch and leaned over, pecking her head gently. "If your Mom asks, I've just gone for a quick shower ok".

"Sure thing". She replied, her eyes still glued to the screen.

I laughed to myself. Alice was my youngest daughter, younger than Edward by 13 minutes and 19 seconds to be exact, and boy did she never let us forget it. She was short, about 4ft 10inch, her short black hair stuck out in every direction possible. Her every feature reminded you of a little pixie, Emmett had even nicknamed her Tink after Tinkerbelle, when they were younger. She had neither Edward or Edwards looks and her personalty was the far side of the spectrum compared to her Brothers. Whilst they were playing sports, Alice loved to shop, and I dreaded my monthly credit card bill, luckily though either Rosalie or Esme managed to rein her in before she maxed it out. Though she was overly cheerful, and could befriend anyone within seconds, she for some reason, always kept her cards close to her chest, never really letting anyone fully into her life. She was most close to Esme and Edward. Obviously because Edward was her twin, and they clearly had the 'twin thing' going on for them, but we presumed, until we came into their lives, there had been little or no motherly figure present for them. Therefore, being surrounded overprotective Brothers and Dad might I add, she bonded extremely well with Esme, spending most of her free time helping with Esme's business or watching Dallas, amongst the other old cheesy soap operas that Esme was also addicted to.

I climbed the stairs heading toward my own bedroom, Rosalie's music getting louder with each step. Despite the noise, I truly hated coming home to a quiet house. This way it felt as though someone actually lived here, rather than just existed within the walls. As I passed Rose's door, I knocked gently, but loud enough for her to hear over the music, and then proceeded to pop my head around the door. She was laid on her bed reading a magazine, and smiled widely up at me.

"Hi Dad". She spoke sweetly.

I knew she had an inner battle with herself as to whether or not to call me Dad or Carlisle, and very often she alternated it. Slowly though she was beginning to refer to me as Dad more often. Either way, I never felt the need to make a big deal out of it. All the kids knew they could call myself or Esme by our names, or Mom and Dad, we simply we wanted them to be comfortable.

"Hi Pumpkin". I smiled at her, as I crossed the room, kissing her forehead the same as I had with Alice. "You have a good day"?

"If you think preventing Alice from maxing out your card again counts as a good day, then yeah". She laughed gently.

"I call that a very good day. You've probably saved me a few thousand dollars there Rose". I told her with a gentle laugh f my own. "I'm gonna grab a shower before dinner". I told her, leaving her again.

Rose was truly 1 of a kind. She had very little trust in people, but once they gained that trust from her, you were surprised by how open she would become with you. I knew a number of the kids at school referred to her as the ice queen because of her harsh exterior, but that was the only way she knew how to protect herself from those she failed to trust. She was simply the polar opposite to Alice. Rose had soft blonde curls that cascaded down to the middle of her back. She stood tall at 5ft 11 inch, and probably could pass as a young model. She walked with a graceful purpose, so very much unlike the whirlwind of Alice. Like Alice. She was always fashionably dressed, and loved to shop, Rosalie did it in a much more sedate, held back manner, where Alice was a hurricane of activity. Again like Alice, Rose seemed quite happy to have her Brother's and Sister as her only allies, never really allowing anyone from the outside in, which did worry both Esme and I, but we just hoped the older they got, the less dependent on each other they would become.

Once in the sanctity of mine and Esme's room, I headed straight for the bathroom, turning the shower on immediately, giving it chance to heat up. I rolled my tired shoulders, as I undressed, then slipped under the hot spray. The heat was far too hot, tingly my skin, almost burning, but my aching muscles loved it. The heat made my body relax, but it couldn't do anything for my mind.

My mind was still completely on Bella, laid alone in the hospital room, no-one there to talk to, to comfort her, to tell her everything would be ok. She had lost everything in her life in one afternoon. I had no idea what she must be going through. As a Doctor, you couldn't afford to be biased towards patients, but right now I wished out of all the patients I had lost, I wished Charlie had been the 1I managed to save against the odds. If that made me a bad Doctor, then I could live with that, because then at least, Bella would have her Father.

Having had enough of the heat, I switched the shower off, and reached for my towel, wrapping it safely around me, before stepping out onto the cold tiled flooring. Immediately I saw my lovely Esme, sat on the counter by the sink, a worried expression gracing her soft features.

"Alice said you were home". She spoke so softly. "She said you looked stressed". She added.

I stepped closer to her, leaning against the counter between her knees, my hands naturally falling to her waist. I leant in leaving a soft kiss on her ruby lips. Her hands rubbed up and down my bare arms soothingly. We had long passed the need to greet each other with meaningless words. Esme knew without me telling her, that I had missed her that day, or any day I was away from her really.

"The boys get off ok"? I asked after a few minutes.

"Yes. They called when they got there too. Jasper and Edward weren't impressed though. Emmett managed to disturb a beehive so they had to sit in the Jeep for nearly 2 hours until they calmed down". She laughed quietly as she told me of our eldest sons latest misadventure.

"Sounds about right for Emmett". I chuckled, as I pulled away, helping Esme get off the counter and led the way into the bedroom, where I began pulling clean clothes from my closet.

"You wanna tell me about it"? Esme asked, bouncing down on the edge of the bed.

"Did you know Chief Swan had a Daughter"?

"No. I didn't even know he had a wife". I could see the confusion on my wife's face, but I knew she would let me explain in my own way.

"Yeah, 16 year old, Bella". I told her. "She was in a car accident today. With Charlie". I added, taking a deep breath. "He didn't make it".

"Oh honey". She said softly, and I could already hear the emotion climbing up her throat. She reached out for me, pulling me to sit beside her. "What about... about Bella"? She asked, treading carefully over her words.

"Pretty banged up, she'll be in hospital for a few weeks, then need physical therapy, along with counselling". I told her. "But the worst of it is, she hasn't got anyone. Charlie was her only next of kin". I looked over at her, seeing the tears spill over cheek bones.

This was Esme. The most caring person I knew. She didn't even know Bella, yet she was upset for her. She had always cried whenever any of the kids cried. She had spent the whole day crying with 7 year old Alice when her goldfish Prada, had died. She cried for hours with pride when Emmett at 14 got the game winning touchdown in his 4th ever football game. She cried when Edward at 11 years old composed his first every song and dedicated it to her. She had spent numerous hours crying with both Jasper and Rosalie when they had bad dreams about their pasts. But mixed in all those many hours of crying, were 10 times more happy memories of her doing things purely for the kids. She helped in their schools, baked cakes for the bake sales, she put up with Alice dashing around the mall, the whole time keeping up with her, carrying most of the bags, she gossiped with Rosalie, she spent hours upon hours watching the boys play football and basketball. I could barely remember the last time she had done something for herself. It was always for me or the kids. So selfless was my wife.

"I spent practically my whole shift with her. I can't ever remember Esme, getting this involved with a patient, but I feel... responsible for her".

"What will happen to her"? A quiver was present in her voice. I knew she had a vague idea, but she wanted it confirming.

"Child services will have to be contacted, and once she's released from hospital, she'll be put into foster care, probably bounced around from family to family, until she's 18, then she'll be left to fend for herself".

"Will she have to deal with Charlie's estate"?

"Probably, if she hasn't got a next of kin, it's very doubtful that he has". I told her, pinching the bridge of my nose in thought. "I was thinking of waiting a few days, then trying to help her plan the funeral, and deal with everything else. Poor kid probably has no idea".

"Do you think, maybe she could... could come and stay with us"? I looked up into my wife's eyes, tears still brimming in her brown orbs.

"I don't think it would be fair to Bella honey. I mean child services will be find somewhere to put her, and it just means uprooting her again".

"No... Carlisle I mean permanently".

If I was honest, now she had planted the idea in my head, it did intrigue me. Could Bella actually come and live with us? Would she want to? Could we handle another teenager? Could we handle one with her problems? I forced myself to not let myself get carried away. Sure I felt attached to Bella, and wanted her to be safe and relatively happy after what she had been through, but I just didn't want to get my hopes up.

"We already have 3 17 year olds soon to be 18, and 2 16 year olds soon to be 17! Are you sure you want to add another to that list"? I asked, though I knew from the determination in her eyes, what her answer would be.

"Really what is 1 more mouth to feed, 1 more back to clothe". She told me, no doubt present in her voice.

"It's 1 more person to worry about. 1 more to put through college. 1 more"... She cut me off placing a finger over my lips.

"It's 1 more person to share our love with".

Ahh so I think I'll be leaving this here. Please if you wouldn't mind pressing that little green button, yep that one there, and leaving me a review. I do like review. Thank you xxxx