Chapter Seven

EPOV

As we took our seats in the den, Bella seemed so tiny sitting beside me, I wanted to pull her to me and keep her safe from what she was about to face – kind of like I did back in the car.

It was so much simpler to face a physical danger than one like this. Again, I tried to read her, to get anything from her but she is still silent. Why Bella, out of all the people in the world?

I realized that I'd come to rely too heavily on my talent. I obviously should have been working on actually learning to talk to someone, actually listening to someone instead of slinking around in dark corners having a damned pity party.

I couldn't help myself from mentally checking in with my parents and my siblings in order to gauge their amount of dread.

Strangely enough, Alice was expectant and excited. She was happy at the prospect of a new sister. Jasper was excited for Alice; although, he was fighting his baser urges. Like me, he found Bella's smell particularly appealing.

Esme was experiencing a mix of emotions and thoughts. She seemed so serene and composed on the surface but of all of the family, her mind was consistently the busiest. She was always running through a number of her "to do" lists. She was always keeping track of everything and everyone. This situation with Bella was no different.

Esme's talent was not as showy as mine or Alice's or Jasper's – not a party trick so much – but it was a gift whose depth and breadth had no bounds. She had taken Bella's well-being into her orbit in less than a day.

And then my father, Carlisle – his age, his experience, his world-view – all of these things I had tremendous faith in. If anyone could see me, Bella, Charlie, all of us through this – it was Carlisle. Hell, he saved my life and here I was - hale and hearty (and not eating people) ninety-some years later.

His thoughts were comforting. They were organized. He was weighing where to start. Like the physician he was, he was seeking a way to do the least harm.

Again, I wished I were suave or funny or… or something that would be what she needed under these extreme circumstances.

I did know that she didn't need a virgin, vegetarian vampire with no social skills who was just as apt to kill her as kiss her.

My thirty seconds of wallowing in self pity were up as Bella spoke up unexpectedly in a forced but brave tone.

"Is Charlie OK? Is that why I'm here?"

Carlisle cleared his throat in one of those human-like gestures that he had mastered over the centuries to put people at ease.

"Bella, you are certainly an intuitive girl" he said calmly.

Her frustration continued and her voice seemed pleading, "Please, enough…I mean just tell me. What the heck is going on?"

Carlisle sat and gave her a moment to let her vent her emotions. Over the centuries, he had found that humans will often calm after such an outburst.

After a minute she spoke again. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just tired. I don't travel well. Please just tell me what's up."

Before I could stop myself, I had reached over to take her hand. I wanted some sort of connection. I needed some sort of connection.

I chastised myself for touching her yet again. Even though she had already told me that she found me cold, I cannot seem to stop.

At least she didn't draw away from my hand. I will touch her while I can. Once she heard our revelations I seriously doubted that she will be seeking out my attentions. I would be satisfied if she didn't try to run away from us.

I squeezed her hand very gently and I was rewarded with a corresponding squeeze.

Carlisle leaned forward, making eye contact with Bella. He spoke softly in what I have come to think of as his doctor voice.

"First and foremost, I want to give you my word that your father is fine. He is safe and receiving the best care we can provide but there is a lot of information that we need to tell you. Some of it is going to sound fantastic but we are all here to answer whatever questions you might have."

I could feel Jasper pushing feelings of acceptance directly toward Bella. The strength of these waves remind me of exactly how powerful Jasper can be when he chooses.

I let out a sigh of relief when I feel Bella's heartbeat slow. At least she wasn't immune to Jasper's gift.

Carlisle continued slowly.

"The wolf that attacked the car on the way here, it attacked Charlie this morning."

At these words, she began to cry silent, hot tears. To my surprise, she gathered her feet up under her on the sofa and turned more fully toward me. She released my hand only the clasp both arms tightly around my neck, burying her face into the side of my neck.

Without deliberate thought, I slide my arm under her and lift her onto my lap. One of my hands cradled the back of her fragile head and the other making soothing motions up and down her back. It seemed so instinctual; nothing had come so easy to me before. Then I amended this thought, nothing had come so easy since I began to hunt.

If you had asked me this morning, I would have said that I wouldn't know the first thing about comforting a human girl but here she was in my arms. Her heart beating, her tears wetting my neck and I realized that I would kill to keep her safe, to keep her happy. At this thought, a growl stirred in my chest. Thankfully, she was too upset for it to register.

BPOV

"The wolf that attacked the car on the way here, it attacked Charlie this morning."

My worst fears had come to life. The dread that I had been feeling was confirmed.

I didn't think for a few minutes, I just reacted in a blur of emotion. Without conscious thought, I turned to Edward. When I pulled myself together, I realized that I was clinging to him. He was holding me as me as if I were a child.

He whispered in my ear as I continued to inelegantly sob into his neck, wetting his shirt.

"It's OK Bella. Charlie's going to be fine. I promise. When you are ready, we will explain the whole thing as best we can."

I pulled back a little, getting ready to look at him, when I felt him kiss me on the cheek. It was so soft; it was like the ghost of a kiss.

I had just been kissed by the most handsome boy I had ever seen while sitting in his lap nonetheless - and his parents watched. This whole thing was crazy.

I took a deep breath and turned back to Edward's father. I croaked out an "OK."

And he continued.

"You may have noticed that the wolf you encountered is huge and potentially much more dangerous that what one would normally expect from such an animal."

"I would go so far as to say that it isn't a normal wolf but that isn't our primary concern right now. No, you want to know about your father and rightfully so."

As Mr. Cullen began to talk, I felt better. He had a reassuring manner. He gave you the impression that everything would be OK, as if he could handle pretty much anything – sort of like a super hero who moonlights as a Calvin Klein model.

"Edward and I were…" he paused briefly. "Edward and I were out very early this morning for a run when we found your father. He was in a bad way when we found him; I want you to know that. I didn't have many choices."

Edward chimed in. "Bella, Carlisle is a doctor – a very good one. When we found Charlie, he was losing a lot of blood but he was conscious. His thoughts were of you. Charlie didn't want to leave you. He wanted Carlisle to do whatever he needed to do to save him."

Dr. Cullen, as I now know him, picked up the story seamlessly from Edward.

"As a physician, I assessed Charlie's condition. Given the circumstances, I had only one …" again he hesitated before continuing.

"I had only one alternative available to me. It was a radical one but one that I knew would be 100% successful. Not only would it save Charlie, it would heal his every wound. With Charlie's consent, I proceeded. We didn't have much time."

I was confused. "Did you operate right there, where you found him?"

"I didn't operate in a traditional sense. Given your father's injuries, it would not have helped even if we had the luxury of time. No, I exposed Charlie to a very rare pathogen that had the ability to heal him. "

When I get confused, I sometimes get a bit sarcastic. Unfortunately, now was one of those times. "You had a some kind of rare medicine or something with you during your morning run? That doesn't seem very plausible."

Surprisingly, Dr. Cullen laughed, taking my comment in stride. I was momentarily stunned by his extraordinary good looks – back to my super hero (now doctor) who moonlights as a Calvin Klein model.

His handsome face grew serious before he answered, "Bella, remember when I told you that some of the things that I was going to tell you were going to be incredible? Well, this is the main one. Not only is this fact almost unbelievable, simply being privy to it will put you at risk. But circumstances are such that it seems that you are to be drawn into our world no matter what. I would rather you be well informed and reassured rather than suffer from half-truths and misconceptions."

Dr. Cullen moved then, taking a seat on the ottoman in front of me. Esme moved to sit beside me. I suddenly realized that I was still sitting in Edward's lap (still making zero effort to move I might add).

Why wasn't I feeling embarrassed? Why were his parents so OK with my glaring lack of boundaries? I wondered about these things while I also worried about whatever else was coming my way. Obviously the parents had moved in closer for the bad news.

Dr. Cullen began to speak as soon as Esme had settled.

"I had this pathogen available to me, Bella, because I am a carrier of this particular agent. Actually, our whole family carries this pathogen."

Sarcastic question Bella raised her hand and I asked, "But I thought you weren't related – that you were foster parents or something."

"Another astute question, none of us is related in a traditional biological sense but at one time or another, each of us has been exposed to this pathogen and while it is not the reason we are a family, it does shape the way we live and the choices we make. It also gives us some similar physical characteristics."

I put my foot in my mouth, "Are you saying that you all are HIV positive or something? How could that save my dad?"

Before our conversation could continue, a new voice sounded from behind me.

"For heaven's sake Carlisle, just tell her. Say the word. She's going to have to get used to it sooner or later."

The owner of the voice came into my line of sight. She was a tall blonde. She carried herself like she could be a queen and her voice matched her bearing. She sounded confident and ready to take charge of the situation. It surprised me to hear someone address Dr. Cullen in such a way.

Trailing behind her was her perfect foil - dark haired to her blond. His features were masculine and fierce. He'd be the perfect football player, clearing the way for any quarterback although in this instance, it seemed like he was focused on defending the woman at a moment's notice. Although, they were not touching in any way, something subtle in their body language made it quite clear that they were a couple.

The man smiled and dimples appeared on his face suddenly making him seem boyishly handsome. "Damn, Rose, let Carlisle take care of it."

Dr. Cullen addressed me, "Allow me to introduce the remainder of our family. This lovely creature is Rosalie and this is Emmett."

The lovely creature kind-of sneered my way and of all things, Emmett curtsied in my direction, which had me laughing for the first time in a while.

They both took seats on the couch recently vacated by Dr. Cullen and Esme.

Dr. Cullen shakes as head as if in defeat before he begins again.

"Bella, perhaps Rose is correct. Sometimes, the simplest explanation is best. What my daughter is alluding to is that we are, for lack of a better word, vampires."