Chapter 2

June 8, 2001

Seattle, Washington

5:30 pm

The sky was a great canvas, painted blue, purple, orange, pink, and gray, a soothing combination to many who sat beneath it, finally at the end of a long day. A slight breeze blew across the park, tickled the leaves of giant trees and gently caressed the faces of every individual that had come to the park for a blissful afternoon under the setting sun.

Carlisle Cullen sighed against his wife's shoulder in content while he watched his children running around around him and his wife. This was such a nice release after a long and tiring day. "I love you," Esme whispered against his ear.

"And I you, angel," Carlisle said and turned his head to give his wife a kiss.

"Eww, Daddy!" a little girl's voice rang out and the couple broke their kiss with a simultaneous eye roll. Alice skipped over to her parents, who were sitting on the grass, and plopped herself down with more grace than most kids her age. At seven years old, she had boundless energy and seemed to be ubiquitous. With her constant laughter and seemingly never fading smile, anybody could see that she enjoyed life and was extremely happy. And she positively glowed with life. Green eyes dancing with silent, constant laughter, she gazed at her parents happily and Carlisle swore he could see the questions that were forming in Alice's mind.

"Daddy, why are leaves green?" she asked and paused briefly for an answer that Carlisle had no idea to, before continuing on. Sometimes when she was bored, she would spew questions and really didn't care if she got answers or not. "Why is water clear? Why is a baby kangaroo called joey? Why do baby girls get pink blankets?" As Alice went on and on with her questions, Carlisle and Esme tried to stifle their laughter. It would seem that Alice was extra bored today, for the rate at which she was firing her questions was a bit faster than normal.

"Alice, why aren't you playing with your brothers any more?" Esme finally asked, cutting Alice off mid-sentence. There was only so much they could take before Alice's high voice brought on a headache, however horrible it was to admit.

"Because they wanted to climb a tree and I didn't want to," Alice said.

"Why not? It's fun," Carlisle said in amusement as Esme whipped her head around, trying to locate her sons.

"I don't know," Alice shrugged and turned to find her brothers. It wasn't hard to find them, since Edward's mop of bronze hair stood out quite clearly, even as the lighting in the park grew dim.

"Boys, be careful!" Esme called as she saw Emmett give his little brother a boost onto the lowest branch of the tree before climbing up as well. Alice giggled softly when she saw Esme staring at the tree with the intensity of a hawk.

"So, Alice," Carlisle said, "I've got a question for you."

"What?"

"Well, I have been meaning to ask you guys this, but how does your little healing power work? I'm quite curious." He had never really found the chance to ask either of his twins about their power. Every time he thought he would ask, something else would distract him. And now that his twins were old enough to and had a pretty vast vocabulary, he was indeed, quite curious to hear what they had to say.

"Um, I don't really know how to describe it, Dad," Alice said. "It's like an... energy, I guess... that's always there. I don't know. I can just feel it and when I want to use it, the energy gets transferred to the person and they heal. I'm not sure how it works, it just happens."

"Hm, so you can use it whenever you want to?"

"I guess," Alice replied.

"And this energy that you say, can you describe that a little more?" Carlisle asked and Alice shrugged. Before answering, she crawled into her dad's lap and rested the back of her head against his shoulder.

"It flows within me. I don't know how to put it in words, Dad. It just flows."

Carlisle chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Maybe I'll ask Edward about it then. Do you guys ever talk about it?"

"No. It's something that we share but doesn't have to actually talk about." Alice shrugged again. The truth was, she and her twin could communicate without words most of the time. She couldn't explain how, just like she couldn't explain the gift that they had, but they were that in tune with each other. Sometimes, she mused, they were even able to feel each other's pain when something happened.

Carlisle wanted to ask more questions for the sake of his scientific mind, but he also knew that Alice couldn't really answer him. Though her description of the energy intrigued him even more. It was unlike anything he had ever heard of. But then again, he had never believed in the supernatural until the day of his children's birth. He thought a little more about what Alice had said, and was prepared to ask another question when Esme interrupted with a shout.

"Boys, be careful!" she nearly screeched and Carlisle saw her getting to her feet. He felt a rumble in Alice's small body as she laughed slightly.

"The whole park can hear you, Mom," she giggled and playfully covered her ears with her hands. Carlisle stifled laughter of his own when Esme turned her head and gave them both a glare.

"Mom, look at how high we are!" Emmett's voice boomed and both Carlisle and Alice looked toward the tree to see that the boys were indeed quite a ways off the ground. Father and daughter waved in amusement at the boys just as Esme gave a huff of frustration that sent Alice into another fit of giggles.

"You kids get down this instant! You're too high up as it is!" she yelled at them. This time, Carlisle cringed at the harsh, demanding tone. Esme could be scary when she was angry... which wasn't often.

"Oh alright!" Emmett called back and nobody could mistake the tone of frustration saturated in his voice. The three Cullens watched with varying degrees of attention as the boys made their way down the tree. It made Carlisle and Esme so proud to see how careful Emmett was being as he helped Edward step from branch to branch. They were near the bottom branch in no time.

"Mom," Alice started when the three of them no longer felt the need to scrutinize every move the boys were making. However, just as Esme turned her head, the sound of a branch snapping tore through the air as loud as a gunshot. Seconds later, the soul wrenching screams of a child in pain shattered the peacefulness of the afternoon. A split second of surprise froze Carlisle and Esme where they were watching in horror as their little bronze haired boy became a crumpled heap at the base of a tree, screams resonating around the park like a siren from the depths of hell itself. But they found moments later, that the sudden silence was even more terrifying than the screams.

Alice was the first one to react. She sprang to her feet and dashed across the grass faster than anyone had ever seen her run, as if she was being carried by the wind itself. "Edward!" she screeched in a voice shrill with fear and pain, no doubt feeling her brother's pain as well. "Edward!" Her second call for her twin broke her parents out of their horror stricken state and they ran after their little girl as fast as their feet would carry them.

Dropping to her knees beside her twin as she reached him, Alice couldn't shake the anxiety as she took in the sight of her brother crumpled there like a carelessly thrown rag doll. His face, paler than a sheet of paper and marred by a scrape that bled crimson onto the ghastly skin. What scared her the most, however, was the sight of the white bones sticking out at a ninety degree angle from the mutilated flesh from his arm. Edward was still conscious, despite the pain that he must've been feeling, though Alice didn't know if he was lucid enough to even comprehend her presence. "Hang in there. I'm here," she whispered to him and placed a gentle hand on his cheek. His agony glazed eyes met hers, identical green eyes locked together, reassuring each other without words. She reached out a hand and touched it to his cheek, the touch sending his eyes closed, lashes feather light on pale cheeks. So caught up in their own world, neither of them noticed the approach of their parents until they spoke, words tumbling over each other's.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Emmett sobbed, hysteria in his voice. Alice snapped her gaze away from Edward's briefly to look at her older brother, whom she hadn't even noticed until now. "I couldn't catch him... It just happened so fast! I'm sorry!" As Esme rushed to assure her son that it was not his fault, Carlisle assessed Edward's injury and shook his head.

"Compound fracture," he muttered. "Let's go to the hospital." He made a move to pick up the small boy, but Alice shook her head at him.

"No need, Dad," she said and gave him a look that suggested he should've known better.

"But...," Carlisle said and he shook his head, unable to wrap his head around the idea even though he did know better. "Can you heal this? Wait, why isn't he healing himself?" The second question he wondered to himself.

The only reply he got from his daughter was another shake of her head. Black hair scattering around her head. Then she leaned over and placed her forehead against Edward's and closed her eyes. "Ali," Edward muttered with moan and a slight twitch of his head. Carlisle reached out a hand, before pulling it back, knowing that Alice wouldn't want him to interfere. On the other hand, Esme was holding a now quiet Emmett in her arms while both of them looked on in awe at the twins. The truth was, even after seven years, the whole concept of healing by touch was just too other worldly to wrap their minds around completely.

"Hush, Eddie," Alice whispered as she concentrated. "I got you."

"Love you, Ali," Edward replied and relaxed a bit under his sister's gentle touch. Emmett, Esme, and Carlisle then witnessed the most amazing healing process they have ever seen to this day. This injury being the worst one so far. The protruding fragment of bone seemed to get absorbed back into the arm as the family watched. While fresh blood created crimson rivers against Edward's pale skin, the white bone was slowly pulled back into the arm and disappeared beneath already healing flesh. The arm then set itself to its normal, straight position with an audible pop. When no traces of the bone was left, the split flesh drew itself together and scabbed over, only to lose its scab a second later and leave no trace of the wound having ever been there.

A moment of silence settled over the family of five before Alice pulled back from her brother and smiled at him. "Thanks, Alice," Edward whispered to her and gave her a smile that brimmed with appreciation. He lifted his previously injured arm and flexed the fingers. "It's so weird, having the power used on me."

Laughing softly, Alice ruffled his hair a bit. "Does it? Maybe it'll be my turn next time."

"Let's hope not," Esme commented.

"How do you feel, son?" Carlisle asked as he helped Edward sit up.

"Fine."

"Peanut, I'm so sorry," Emmett said solemnly and Edward quirked an eyebrow at his brother. He hardly ever used that name anymore, reserving it only when he was scared or teasing. Getting up, Edward moved over and gave Emmett a hug.

"It's not your fault, Em," me muttered. And really, it wasn't. Emmett hugged his brother back with vigor, still trembling from the scare of seeing his brother fall out of the tree, his small hand slipping through his own as he tried and failed to catch Edward. "It's okay." The two brothers stayed in their embrace for awhile longer before pulling apart.

"Let's all go home," Carlisle said eventually and everyone nodded in agreement. As the family headed toward their car, Edward took Alice's hand in his, a sign of comfort that they had been using since they were infants.

Alice turned to him, her green eyes shining softly in the dim light and meeting his identical gaze. "I was so scared," she whispered and shivered.

"I know," Edward said and put an arm around her shoulders and touched his head to hers. "But I'm okay." Alice nodded and put an arm around her brother's shoulders as well, but Edward could sense that something was still bothering his twin. She was still afraid of something, but he knew she would tell him if she wanted to so he didn't pry. They were still the same height as they've been since they were only toddlers. The twins neared the car before the rest of the family since the family had decided to give them some space to comfort each other.

"Edward," Alice said, "what if you get hurt someday and I can't get to you in time?" Voicing the thought aloud made her shiver violently. Until today, she had never even considered that possibility. She never had to. So far in their lives, they've only been separated a day at the most and neither of them had ever tried to imagine they that would change because they were two parts of a soul in a sense. So why would they ever want to be separated? Then again, they were only seven and it wasn't something seven year olds generally thought about.

"There are doctors like dad, Alice," Edward told her in response to her question. He wouldn't let her see it, but the question had made him rather uneasy as well. "Everyone else in this world has to live without special powers and they get by."

"But people die when doctors can't save them," Edward," Alice whispered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms.

"Everyone dies eventually," Edward mused.

"I know, but...,"

"It's alright, Ali. Don't worry about such things."

"What if I can't get to you in time when you're hurt?" Alice asked again, working herself into a terror stricken state. Instead of answering, Edward wrapped his arms around his sister and held her close. He didn't really have an answer to her question other than what he had already said before.

The twins were still holding each other close when the rest of their family found them. "You kids alright?" Esme asked.

"Why the miserable look?" Emmett asked as he came up behind the twins and laid a hand on each of their shoulders. Edward and Alice glanced once at each other before breaking their hold.

"We're fine," Edward answered for the both of them.

"Let's go home," Alice said and everyone piled into the car, sighing gratefully as they settled into the seats.

Faint snores could be heard from the backseat as Emmett, sandwiched between the twins, slept. Other than that and the soft purr of the engine, the car was silent. Thinking that she'd put on some music, Esme pressed the power button to the radio and paused for a moment as the news came on. "Earlier this afternoon, an earthquake of 8.4 magnitude killed fifty people. Search and rescue workers are still looking for survivors. No further fatalities have been reported."

A shiver ran up Esme's spine and she quickly switched to music. She glanced at Carlisle, seeking his reaction to the news, knowing such reports interested him. He gave her a quick glance and shook his head before turning his eyes back to the road. Esme needed no words from her husband though to know that they were both feeling the same thing. Grief and sympathy for the families of those people, as well as thanks for the safety of their own family. Having children with the ability to heal was sort of like an insurance for them, though Esme felt guilty of admitting it.

Still awake in the backseat, the twins met each other's eyes as thoughts and feelings were silently shared across their bond. They had learned an important lesson today. Their power couldn't be taken for granted, it didn't ensure their survival. A time may come when one of them wouldn't get to the other should something terrible occur. The thought of having to let go of each other like so many people had to was an unspeakable terror festering in their hearts.

Simultaneously, the twins reached across Emmett and clasped each other's hand in reassurance. They still had each other, and that was all the reassurance they needed now. Unknown to the twins, their mother was watching their silent interaction in the mirror.

Blinking back sudden tears, Esme wondered why she suddenly felt a horrible, horrible sense of dread in her heart.

~To Heal~

A/N: Thanks for reading. Review if you'd like, though I would certainly appreciate it.