Chapter 4

Meetings

Bella:

Edward Cullen introduced himself, and asked me to confirm my name.

I nodded, and just gave a short reply, "Sure, but I haven't seen you in a while."

He looked up, and replied, "I had to visit some relatives."

I nodded, and turned back to my phone, and he spoke again, seeing i was clearly not interested. I heard the teacher come to the front of the class, as he explained the exercise we were going to do with the microscopes. We were to look at onion cells, and determine the different stages of mitosis. He handed us the slides, and I labeled it off the bat.

"Prophase." I declared.

He looked over at me, "Mind if I have a look?"

I nodded, and he confirmed it, "Indeed. So, how are you enjoying the weather?"

"Hate it...Are you really asking me about the weather?"

He inclined his head, stifling a laugh, "I guess I am."

I shrugged, and he named the next sample.

"Anaphase." he said.

"MInd if I check?"

He nodded, and as he wrote on the sheet. Then he asked, "So, if you hate the cold and rain, why'd you move here?"

"It's a long story," I said, trying to dismiss the question. Then I added, "It's kinda complicated, too."

"I'm sure I can keep up."

"My mom remarried." I didn't know why I was telling him. If anything, I was a little put off by him asking so much.

"So, you don't like the guy?"

"He's great, actually. Do you mind if we get back to this?" I asked him, and I pulled out my phone to see if I missed any calls. Then I went back to the exercise, and declared, "Metaphase."

"Why didn't you move in with your mother and her husband?"

"Her guy is a minor league baseball player, and he moves around a lot. So, I came here to live with my dad."

"So, now you're unhappy?"

"I'm starting to get used to it. It's growing on me, really."

"So, why-" and I could see how Damien felt about my constant questions. I told myself I would not push him on it if I was actually this bad. I mean, it started as a normal conversation, but it did feel a little bit intrusive. I turned to him, and asked him, "Are those trick contacts? Your eyes keep changing color for some reason."

He turned back to his work, "No, it's the flourescent bulbs, it plays tricks"

"Look. Don't take this the wrong way. I'm sure you're a great guy, but I want to get this done. So, let's stick to this and we can talk whenever."

"When would that be?" He seemed like he was trying very hard not to sound almost demanding.

I shrugged, and just looked to the sheet, "I don't know. Tomorrow..the next day...just not right now."

As soon as the bell rang, he stepped out of class quickly, much to my relief.

Damien:

I checked the blood samples from the last victim. As suspected, there was no sign of rabies within any of the removed blood cultures. I did notice one particular trait of the silvery liquid. It canabalized the proteins of every blood cell that came into contact with it. In fact, I found that the liquid was very similar in chemical composition to snake venom, but much more potent. If anything, the compound might've had some traits to induce paralysis, but I had no way of testing for that without lab mice. Also, I did not want to risk exposing any organism to this, no matter how curious I was. I went ahead, and placed everything in cold storage, including the dead blood.

I looked in the directory that Charlie had shown me, and found the name of the medical examiner, Dr. Carlisle Cullen. I decided to give him a call.

A Nurse answered, "This is Dr. Cullen's office."

I spoke up, "Hello, my name is Damien Summers from the Forks Police."

She sounded stern, "Young man, this office has no time for prank calls. If you call again, I'll call the police."

I cleared my throat, "I see, would you like me to put Chief Swan on the phone?"

She stuttered a little, and then, "I'll transfer you now."

I waited, and heard another voice, "Yes, this is Dr. Cullen."

I looked over the reports as I spoke, "This is Damien Summers from the Forks police."

"Ah, yes. Charlie told me you would call. What can I do for you?"

"I'm looking at some blood cultures from the last victim in the other town. I've run some of the usual tests to check for animal bacteria, but haven't found anything that would indicate such. I did, however, find the bites to be more human than any animal."

There was silence on the other end, and then, "I believe it's best you come to my office at the medical center. It would be best if you came as soon as possible."

"Should I bring over everything I have?"

"Yes, of course. Maybe, we can conceive a few theories."

I hung up and prepared to leave. That was when my own cell rang, and this time I caught it.

"Hello?"

Bella was somewhat furious, "Where the hell have you been, baby?"

"I've been working. Look, I saw that I missed your calls, and I am really sorry about that. It's just been a really busy day. I'm going to do one more errand, and then I'll be done. I swear."

She softened, and said, "I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to give you a hard time, baby."

"I missed your calls. I get it. Listen, babe, I have to talk to someone in a few, can I call you back?"

She got a little tense again, "For the job?"

I had to get serious with her, I hated to do it, but I did need her to see how important this was, "It's the medical examiner, Bella. He might be able to help me with a case I'm working on."

She calmed down very quickly, "Ok. got it. Can we have dinner later?"

I had to smile at that, and my tone was much lighter, "Now that would be something to look forward to. I promise I'll try to be quick."

"No, baby. I'm sorry about being a bitch. That wasn't cool. I know you're doing something important."

"I didn't say that, Bella. You know that, right?"

She sighed, and I remembered why I loved this girl so much, "Yea, but i wasn't being fair. Do what you have to do, but remember who you're coming home to, alright?"

"Right. Love you."

She sighed even deeper, "Love you, too." and I hung up.

I arrived at Dr. Cullen's office only a few minutes after I got off the phone with him. I came up to the front desk of the medical center, and asked for him. A few moments later, the doctor had come out to greet me, himself.

"Damien Summers, I presume."

"That's right. I brought everything I needed" I said, lifting a small cooler, and a cloth binder with all the files. We went to his office, and showed me a lot of the cultures he had collected, as well. After we went over all the files, he looked over at me, and asked me to sit down.

"So, have you seen anything like this before?"

"Damien, I have to tell you something. First, I need you to keep an open mind about this."

I almost stood up, but only seconds later, he was standing behind me, and placing his hand on my shoulder, holding me to the seat. "Please, I need you to calm yourself. This is very important."

"I will calm myself when you let go."

He released me, slowly, and suddenly he was back at his seat, "You know, already, that what attacked those people was not an animal."

"Was it you?"

"Why, no, Damien. Of course, not. I've sworn to protect humans."

"So, you're not?"

"Neither are you, apparently." He regarded me with a somewhat sympathetic look, making me uncomfortable.

I demanded, "What do you mean by that?"

"I suppose you have your own journey of self discovery to make. For the moment, I will tell you what I am. I am what you would call a vampire."

"But if it wasn't you that attacked those people, then who?"

"There are others like us, but they are hostile. I know this is a lot to take in, but I knew that if you continued to look into more about the attacks, you would find your way to a vampire eventually."

"So, you're just giving me a heads up before I'm up to my neck in all this. I may need some time to process all this, if you don't mind."

"Actually, that does make a lot of sense. Charlie told me you were extremely intelligent, and very adaptable to different situations. I believe I do need to show you more before you make your final decision. I want you to come to my home over the weekend to meet the family. This way, you can have all the information, and after that, you can process."

I inclined my head, "I'm a little wary of this. I hope you don't mind if I come armed."

He nodded, "I can understand your need for caution, so I will allow it."

The same nurse from the front desk came in, "Dr. Cullen, Chief Swan's daughter is here. I believe she was in some sort of car accident."

My chest became tight, as I gripped the arms of my chair. Carlisle looked to me, and said, "I'm going to check on her. Come with me, if you'd like."

I stood up to walk with him, but my legs felt like there were stones attached, and I could almost hear her on the phone again, her sweet voice. It took all my strength to keep myself calm.

Bella:

I held the phone close to my ear, "Love you, too." I was walking through the hallway as I said this. My cheeks burned hot, but I didn't care. I felt great, and as I walked out to my truck, I noticed Edward Cullen giving me a bit of a scowl. He was all the way across the parking lot, so I didn't really give it another thought. I turned to get into my truck and turned just in time to see a minivan skid out of control, and coming right at me. Before I knew it, Edward Cullen was ducking with me, as I leaned against my truck, and holding his hand out, holding the minivan at bay. That moment seemed like everything was slowing to a stop. Once everything went back to regular speed, he was looking into my eyes. He abruptly stood up, and walked off before everyone else crowded in around me, asking me if I was alright. Jessica was saying she had called 911, and the fellow driving the van, Tyler, I think his name was, was peering out the open window. He was profusely apologizing as Mike came up behind me, and holding my shoulders to see if he could support me or something.

Mike put one arm around my neck, "Let's get you to the FMC, ok? I'll drive you there. Just hang on to me.

I pulled away from him, and said, "I'll be ok. Just don't touch me right now. I don't feel too good. I think I'm gonna hurl, or something." He blanched and hastily retreated as I got into the ambulance that had just arrived.

A half-hour later, I was sitting on a hospital bed, as the nurses came in and checked my vitals for like the third time. Tyler was in the bed next to me, and he continually apologized to me. I had already told him I was fine, the first thirty times he said it. I couldn't understand why he wasn't angry because he looked like he took more injury than I did.

My dad walked in, his hurried pace brought him to me in seconds, as he looked over me.

"Bella, thank god." He turned to Tyler, "You can kiss your license goodbye, Mister."

I reached up to calm him, "Dad, I'm ok. Really."

The doors opened to let more guests into this drama.

"Dr. Cullen, thank you for seeing my daughter." Charlie said, he saw that Damien came up not too far behind, "You heard? It's good that you're here."

I could see him looking over at me, and his shoulders seemed to sink in relief. I felt so bad for him, it made me wonder what they must've told him. I held my arms out for him, and Charlie took one hand, telling me to wait.

The Doctor shined a light in my face, "You seem to be doing fine. No sign of head trauma, or any kinda of latent injury. If you like, you can go home."

I nodded, "That sounds great to me." I jumped off the bed, and went to my boyfriend. Charlie asked the Doctor to speak for a moment, while I held Damien close. He sounded so scared, I hadn't seen him like that since the day I met him, "I'm here, baby. It's ok."

"You can't believe all the things that were running through my head."

I shushed him, holding my hand to his lips, "It's over. Nothing happened." He let me go, then, and I motioned with my head to my father and Cullen, motioning that I needed to say something else before I left. "You know, it could've been a lot worse. Edward saved me. I don't know how he got to me so fast, but if it weren't for him, I'd be a pancake."

Dr. Cullen inclined his head, and he looked over at Damien, who also wore a pensive look, finally saying, "Well then, how lucky he was. You should get home and get some rest."

Charlie put his arms around both of us, and lead us out of the emergency room. "Well for now, let's just get something to eat. I will meet you both at the diner. Bella, you better call your mother."

"You told her? She must be going nuts." I took Damien's hand, and he squeezed mine in return. I looked back to him, and he was still wearing that sober look on his face. "I told you, I'm ok. You can relax."

He nodded, and then I turned to him, "Why was he looking over at you?"

He shook his head, "It's nothing. He asked me to look at some more files at his house for my case."

I didn't mean to, but I narrowed my eyes at him a bit, "Why do I get the feeling you're not telling me everything?"

"It's nothing I can really explain, Bella. I'm kind of at a loss, and then hearing about you...it just all took me by surprise."

"Again, you're not telling me everything, baby."

He looked aside, and then looked me in the eye, "I have to sort it out for myself before I can really say anything."

I threw my hands up, "Like your past?"

He looked away, his face somewhat gruff, but I could tell that i hurt him. I wanted to say something, and then I heard the Cullens arguing. Apparently, Edward's father, and sister were arguing with him about what he had done. I was looking over at him, and I could almost sense that Edward was hearing our conversation, because he had a smug look on his face. I turned back to Damien, who was about to leave, I reached up to touch his face, and I could see he was letting out a breath as he made himself relax.

"I'm sorry, baby. I shouldn't have said that. I know you'll tell me in your own time. I just want you to talk to me. I need you to talk to me. This isn't going to work if you keep trying to bottle everything inside."

He nodded, and held me close, "I get it. We will talk, and I know I keep saying that. I really mean it, though." He kissed me, then, and I felt warm all over again.

My eyes wandered to Cullen as I held my boyfriend, and he scowled as he regarded us. As Damien let me go, I held his hand, and told him we had to talk to Edward, since he had saved my life. I figured, if Damien thanked him, it would at least clear the air with him, and he'd see I was already taken.

I called Edward over, and he walked over brusquely, He was glaring at both of us, but Damien bowed deeply. "Thank you so much, for saving her. I am indebted, sir." It was a good thing his head was down, because if looks could kill, Edward would be under arrest for striking down an officer. I pulled Damien back up, and he looked between me and Edward. He motioned his head to one side, showing me he would be waiting while I talked to Edward. He leaned against a wall not too far away, and nodded at me to tell me I had privacy.

To Edward, I spoke up, "I saw what you did."

Edward looked at me, "Ah, not sure what you mean."

I gave him a suspicious look, and told him, "You stopped the truck with your hand." When I looked to Damien, he was looking away.

Edward glared at him again, and then turned that cold look my way, "Can't you just thank me and get it over with?"

"Thank you."

He rolled his eyes, "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

I shook my head, "No, not really."

He turned away, angrily, "Well then I hope you enjoy disappointment."

I tried again, "I won't tell anyone, I swear."

He narrowed his eyes at me, "Well good because no one will believe you anyway." He walked off.

I walked to my boyfriend, and shook my head a bit, "I told you he was a bit of douche."

He inclined his head, as he held me, "Well, let's be glad that douche decided to save your life. I'll always be grateful."

I looked up at him, "He really hates you."

He shrugged, "I'm used to it."

I frowned, "Don't be. Someone loves you."

We stood in the hall of FMC, holding each other, and I asked him, "So, how was your day?"

"All things, considered, they could've gone better. Up until a few moments ago, I thought I went straight to hell."

"I know I haven't been very fair to you. I've been totally uncool with you, and that's not what you need right now."

He stroked my hand through my hair, and held my chin up to his face, "I know what I need right now."

I looked up at him, and asked him, "Oh yea, what's that?"

"All I need is you." He leaned over, and we kissed for a long moment.

When we parted, I gave him a smirk, and said, "Prove it."

He took my hand, and we walked right out of the hospital, our pace quickening with each step, and my smile getting wider and wider. At last, he picked me up, and carried me out of the double doors, my arms wrapped around his neck.

Continued...

Alright. That's the 4th Chapter. I'm hoping I can get more done this week. I will definitely have time, before school starts up. I'll have so much to do, once the semester starts, but I will definitely make time to write more. This is one of those pet projects I actually enjoy. So, Yea. Critiques, Comments. and feedback. Until Next time.