Hello. I just want to let everyone know that the outfits for this story are and always will be (unless I forget) posted on my profile. I guess that's just the Alice in me. Hehe.

Chapter 4 - Elizabeth and Carlisle

One minute I was standing in a park in 1918 Chicago talking to a boy who had long since passed away, and the next I felt a tingle go down my spine before, plop, I land on my ass in the meadow. At least the I figured out what the tingle was and I could brace myself for it next time. I cursed a blue streak as I also realized that even though I was dead, my butt still hurt when I fell on it.

I was still sitting on the ground when Destiny walked up. She cocked one of her perfectly arched eyebrows at me and I found myself wondering if she plucked them. I somehow doubted it.

"Is there any way to make this traveling stuff a bit more…I don't know how to put this. Can I upgrade from riding in the cargo hold to coach, cause that's kinda what this feels like?" I tried to not sound whiney but I don't think I succeeded because Destiny just lifted the other brow to line up with the first.

"It doesn't exactly work like that, Cai," she said. "There is only one way to go through time. Now if you're done being picky, we have work to do."

I nodded and rose up from the ground, pausing briefly to wipe the grass off my backside.

"So what's next?" I asked. "It doesn't seem like that visit would have changed much of anything."

"It didn't, and it wasn't supposed to. I just wanted to begin to get Edward used to your presence. Our next step is to make sure that he becomes a vampire."

Her words hit me like freezing cold water and my head shot up. "Wait just a damn minute," I said. "Do you mean to tell me that I am going through all of this to pave the way for some blood sucking monster?"

Destiny somehow managed to stay patient with me after my little outburst. "Do you remember the first name on the list that I gave you, Carlisle Cullen?" I nodded and she continued. "He is the one who was supposed to turn Edward. Edward was going to learn Carlisle's ways and sustain himself off of animals. He will go through a rocky period, but that will help to create the man that he needs to become."

"Oh, I guess that changes things." It did too. I had great respect for Carlisle when I read about him and I hoped that I could change his fate. A man like him didn't deserve to die. "Let's get this show on the road, then. What do we need to do this time."

"Well," Destiny looked me up and down, obviously assessing my appearance. "This time you will be in a public place, so I can't have you go in like that."

I looked down at my jeans and leather jacket. "No, I suppose not."

Destiny snapped her finger and suddenly my whole outfit changed. I found myself in a deep blue long sleeved dress that came down to just above my ankles. The collared top billowed out and came back in, to be fitted at the waist. The skirt was made up of two layers, one shorter than the other. My legs were incased in black stockings and my feet were crammed into shoes that I was sure would be killing me in about in hour. My red hair was pinned up and tucked under a hat that looked absolutely ridiculous. Then again, I thought all hats from that time period were ridiculous. All in all, I was in a very nice outfit, especially for the time.

Destiny seemed to notice the question in my eyes as she spoke up before I could ask it. "People from that time period tend to let high society do what they want to. If you look like this, no one should bother you about being in the hospital."

After a moment of silence, Destiny spoke up with my instructions. "Start by talking to Elizabeth Masen, Edward's mother. If that doesn't work, you'll have to go directly to Carlisle. I don't want to go to him unless you have to, as he will be able to smell the fact that you're not exactly human anymore."

"What do you mean?" I squeaked. "Do I smell bad now or something?"

"No, no! You just won't smell like food to a vampire. He may not feed on humans but he will still pick up on it. Just be prepared for that if you have to talk to him directly." She paused for a moment. "Are you ready?"

"Yep."

Chicago, IL - December 1918

This was, by far, the most depressing place I had ever been in. Along both walls people lay in cots at various stages of dying. Doctors and nurses hurried to and fro and I saw one nurse cover a young woman with a sheet before she turned away. A few moments later, someone else loaded her body onto a gurney and wheeled her away.

I had to fight to keep myself from crying. It would serve no purpose, and I had a job to do.

As I walked through the halls, few people paid me any attention. Those that did were quick to dismiss my presence.

It took awhile, but I finally found Edward. I moved to sit by his bedside and I grabbed the cloth that was sitting in a basin of water by his bedside. As I rung out the cloth and applied it to his hot forehead, I noticed how different he looked. His skin was beyond pale and slightly gray and his bronze hair was plastered to his head and dull. As I wiped the sweat from his face he opened his eyes briefly to look at me. The already bright green was now practically glowing with fever and I couldn't stop the tear that escaped me. He looked like he was about to say something, but his exhaustion took over and he passed back out.

I put the cloth back in the basin and looked to the cot next to his. It was obvious it was Elizabeth Masen. She had the same bronze hair and the same green eyes that were currently staring at me curiously.

"Can you save my son," she whispered to me.

I closed my eyes briefly to collect myself. Then I sat down on the edge of her cot and picked up her cold, clammy hand and held it. "I can't, but I know who can."

I could tell she doubted me, so I continued. "There is more than meets the eye to Dr. Cullen. He can give your son another chance at life, though it is not the one that you expect. I can't tell you exactly what, but I can tell you this. One day he is going to meet a beautiful young woman with dark hair, and the love that they will share will be the kind that people write stories about. There is happiness in his future. But you have to ask Dr. Cullen and only Dr. Cullen to use whatever means necessary to save your son. Can you do that?"

I saw the hope light up in her eyes and she nodded. I pushed a lock of her hair away from her eyes as I stood up. I went around the corner and watched the Masens. It didn't take long until a very attractive doctor came to her bedside. His blonde hair was smoothed back from his pale face and his eyes were a shade of golden brown, that was as eerie as it was beautiful. My guess was he was Dr. Carlisle Cullen.

As much as I wanted to watch the interaction, I knew that if I stayed Carlisle would sense me. With great reluctance, I pushed off the wall and walked to the front door of the hospital. I decided that since I had to wait anyway, I might as well give my feet a break from the killer shoes.

Chicago in December, regardless of the year, is freaking cold. However, after being inside that hospital, that was quickly turning into a tomb, the clean cold air was welcome.

It wasn't long that I sat there before the wind began to pick up. It blew by me and picked up the loosely packed snow that covered the ground. The white crystals seemed to just hover in the air before they began to swirl around me. It was then that I noticed that none of the trees around me were moving. This odd wind was completely centered around me and nowhere else.

"I take it this means I need to go visit Dr. Cullen," I said to no one in particular. As soon as the words left my mouth, the wind stopped and the snow fell back to the ground. I stood up and brushed off what snow had landed on my skirt. "I'll take that as a yes then."

I walked back into the hospital and tried to figure out where I was suppose to go in order to find him. I figured he must have some kind of office somewhere, so I began walking the halls and reading the signs on the doors.

Finally, after making it to the third floor, and after walking a hell of a lot of hallways, I found it.

Taking a deep breath, I knocked tentatively on the pine door. Almost immediately I heard a soft, "come in."

I poked my head in the door to see Carlisle bent over something. I cleared my throat. "Dr. Cullen."

Carlisle looked up at me curiously for a moment. His nostrils flared slightly as he took in my scent. His curiosity instantly shifted to confusion at my scent. I decided not to play around with him and just tell him why. I figured if he was a vampire, why couldn't I be whatever the hell I was.

"My name is Cai Drake. I'm basically dead, hence the peculiar scent."

Carlisle's eyes widened impressively and I was pretty sure that if his jaw fell anymore I would have to go find a spatula to help get it off the floor. Finally, he seemed to find his vocal cords again.

"How…why…how…wha…how?"

"As for how I'm standing here, I'm not really sure. What I am…nope, not sure on that one either. The why I'm here however, that I can answer."

He never took his eyes off of me as I took the chair on the opposite side of his desk. I decided to cut right to the chase. "You have to save Edward Masen."

Carlisle closed his eyes for a moment and took his own deep, albeit unnecessary, breath, as if to gather his emotions. He opened his eyes and looked at me. "I'm doing everything I can to help Edward and his mother, but this disease is powerful. I don't think that I can save them."

"I know that Dr. Cullen. I wasn't referring to saving him by medical, or even human means."

Realization dawned on him. "You're asking me to turn him into a vampire?"

"That's exactly what I'm asking."

"I don't know. I've considered it but there are so many questions. What if he isn't able to stick to animal blood the way I do? What if he doesn't want this life? What if he ends up as alone as I've been all these years?"

I knew I couldn't erase his worries without giving too much away, but I hoped to help ease them some. "I know what lies far ahead, and the outlook is good, for Edward at least. On top of that, if you don't change him, fate will go so off course that lives will be unnecessarily destroyed. Your life is Edward's fate, at this point, it doesn't matter if he wants this or not. At the end of the day, he needs it, and so do you and a lot of other people."

Carlisle covered his eyes with his hand while the information I had given him sank in. "Alright. Elizabeth begged me to save him anyways, it was like she knew. I guess you had something to do with that."

I just smirked at him. I was never I good liar, so I wasn't even going to bother. "I didn't give her any specifics. So, are you going to do it?"

Carlisle nodded.

The deep tingle alerted me to the fact that I had succeeded. With nothing more to do here, I stood up and headed for the door.

"Miss Drake?"

I looked back at Carlisle.

"Just out of curiosity," he said. "Will you be popping back up again."

I flashed him a huge smile. "Oh, I think you can place your bets on that one." I walked out the door and at the same time the door clicked shut, I fell into the void that led back to the meadow.

And thank again to SparklingTwilight for editing. I'm the queen of stupid mistakes. She has a new story up called Tides of Destiny. It's a nice tropical and lemony B&E story. So remember; reviews make Star very happy.