We carefully made our way around the rocks, trying not to get caught on the jagged edges. They looked sharp enough to tear us to shreds. Every now and again waves crashed over them, spraying jets of water up around us although we were mostly dry.
We seemed to have been walking for hours but it was fun, exciting almost. At least it was for me, I liked the dangerous side of it, but Eleazar looked like he just wanted to go home.
"How much longer are we doing this?" Garrett grumbled. "Can we go home yet?"
I rolled my eyes. "Soon, I promise." For a nomad he didn't like the outdoors much.
"Good," he and Eleazar muttered simultaneously.
Carlisle didn't say anything and when I glanced back at him he had his arms folded tightly across his chest and I could see him shivering although he was a way from me. It was weird; I didn't notice the negative temperature at all.
Suddenly it clicked; he was soaking wet. The icy wind would cut straight through his drenched clothing. He would be freezing. The only thing I could do about it now was to try and get home faster.
I forced the other two to pick up the pace, making them both whine and groan. "It's not that hard. Just get on with it," I growled, annoyed. I moved closer to Carlisle to try and keep an eye on him. He trembled so much that he had problems keeping his footing and tripped several times, catching himself only just in time.
Suddenly he slipped, landing hard on his hands and knees. The smell of blood immediately filled the air.
"Shit," Eleazar swore, pulling him back onto his feet before the water rushed around him. "Are you okay?"
He nodded, wiping his hands on his now ripped jeans, trying to clear the blood away. He kind of looked like he wanted to cry but he didn't. "C-can we go h-home now please?" he asked softly, not seeming to know what to do now he was bleeding.
"Of course we can," I assured him, putting my arm around his waist to ensure he wouldn't trip again. He was unbelievably cold. "You'll freeze to death if we don't! You should have said you were cold; we would have gone back sooner."
"It d-doesn't matter. I cant really f-feel it," he mumbled.
That worried me even more, that he had gone numb from the cold. I felt terrible for not noticing before, especially because I knew that he would probably get sick from this.
Esme was going to kill me.
Sure enough, by the time we got home he was already coughing and his shivering only seemed to get worse.
I sort of pulled him in the door and into the kitchen. "Come here, can I see your hands?" I carefully used a cloth to try and get rid of as much of the blood as I could without hurting him too much.
He didn't seem to care and just stood there, shaking.
I quickly bandaged the wounds and then dragged him into the lounge, making him sit by the fire.
"What happened?" Tanya asked, standing beside me, watching my every move.
"Ahh, he slipped and he's really cold," I explained sheepishly.
She sighed and called Esme's name up the stairs.
"What happened?" She was immediately with us, appearing from nowhere. She sat next to her husband, hugging him and glaring at me. "You're freezing! Why are you so cold, Carlisle? Nobody else is wet…"
"I'm uncoordinated," he mumbled, leaning into her.
"You cut yourself too?" She gently touched one of the bandages, being careful not to hurt him.
He didn't answer her but I didn't know whether it was because he was coughing again or just because he was tired.
"He tripped on the rocks and they're kind of sharp," I told her awkwardly.
She rubbed his side. "You need to get changed, love, otherwise you'll never warm up." She took his hand and led him up the stairs.
Esme POV
After he was dressed again he seemed to bit more alert, although still cold. He sat on the bed with me again, pulling me into his arms and holding me there.
I cuddled into him, loving the closeness of the gesture.
He kissed the top of my head. "I need you to be nice to Alistair." He was smiling but I knew he meant it seriously.
"I wont touch him," I promised. Inside I was mentally cursing the former nomad; he knew that Carlisle got sick easily but he still took him out in the cold. What the hell were they doing out there anyway? He could have killed him had he fallen the wrong way. I ground my teeth at his stupidity.
"Calm down, love," Carlisle chuckled, kissing the side of my face. "It's not his fault."
"It is his fault," I muttered tightly, angry.
"No it isn't. I was dumb enough to go out there. Alistair did nothing wrong. He helped me. And I'm not really sick anyway."
His words disarmed me a little and I nodded.
He pulled away from me a bit, coughing again.
"Not sick, huh?" My heart softened. "Lie down, you're still shivering."
Once he had done as I asked I covered him with a blanket, lying next to him and cuddling into him again.
"You're enjoying this aren't you," he teased, smiling.
"No I'm not," I lied, protesting.
He laughed, tightening his grip on me.
I pushed him lightly. "I don't like you being sick…I just like looking after you, that's all." I reached up to press my lips against his.
He pulled away. "You're going to get sick if you keep kissing me."
"I don't care." I did it again.
"What are you doing?" He was trying not to laugh but couldn't keep the smile off his face.
"What do you think I'm doing?" I slid on top of him a bit more.
He slid his arms around my waist, pulling me closer.
"I think I know of an, um, activity that might warm you up," I teased, kissing that base of his neck.
"And what might that be?" he asked, biting back a smile. He ran his hands up my back.
I kissed him again, harder this time.
"I think that if you keep doing what you're doing, you're going to end up with a cold." He hugged me but it was clear he wasn't going to let me take things any further.
"Okay, but you really are freezing." I could the heat draining out of me just from touching him even though we had a blanket between us. Worried, I got up and turned up the thermostat, sending more warm air into the room.
"And now you're going to cook," he chuckled.
"That's fine with me."
When he sat up again I settled next to him, cuddling into his side. He slid his arm around me, kissing the top of my head.
Already I was uncomfortably hot but I tried not to let on, knowing he would feel guilty.
"How about I stay here and read until I'm warm again, and you go back downstairs with the other so you don't get too hot?" he suggested quietly.
I frowned, not liking the idea of leaving him much. "Do I have to?"
"If you don't want to overheat. Or you can turn the temperature down again-"
"But the you'll just get cold again. It defeats the purpose," I interrupted, liking that even less. "Fine, I'll go downstairs, but I swear to god if I come up here and you're not in that blanket, there will be trouble."
He laughed, picking up the blanket and wrapping himself in it. "Happy?"
I reached over and pulled it tighter, only making him laugh harder, before stepping away again. "Now I'm happy." I handed him his book. "And don't you dare move!"
