AN: Urgh. My brain is going to explode if I keep starting on the next chapter right after the other. Oh well. We all know that I'm not going to finish what I start in the future. Bah. I'm just lazy. Leave me be. Plus I've just gotten hooked on Artemis Fowl. Ohmaigawd such a good series! You wouldn't believe how pissed I was when I couldn't finish it because we had to drive somewhere. Yeah. I can't read in the car otherwise I get a headache and extremely nauseous, which isn't good.
And I want to read Eclipse now! And you know what sucks! I can't get it till the twelfth because I'm going to art camp. Aw. But I'm going to send my parents out to get it for me because they know how much I love the series.
Oh. Edward just needs to stop being such a stubborn arse and change Bella already. He's so aggravating sometimes! Yes. Edward Cullen pisses me off to no end at times. Someone seriously needed to slap him when he was emoing in New Moon.
I also need new music. So, if you would kindly provide me with some of your favorites I'd be most appreciative. I need music to write, so yeah.
--
.relapse.
sixth symptom – fever
--
Everyone was breathing heavily by the time Edward slipped into a drug induced slumber, a thin trail of blood trickling down from his lip to his chin. However, it was quickly wiped off along with the sweat with a damp cloth. Then his shirt was buttoned up again and the covers were pulled over his now still form, for which everyone was thankful for. Having the other sleep was for the best. However, no one had expected the other's condition to be so unstable that Carlisle would be forced to use a sedative to calm the boy.
Everyone was wondering the same thing: What the hell was going on with Edward?
"It seems Edward is suffering from hallucinations," Carlisle murmured, brow knitted in worry. "This is troubling." There was a brief pause as he seemed to mull things over in his head, but then he turned his attention to Jasper. "Jasper, are you alright?" Carlisle asked, eyes settling upon the wounded vampire. He watched as Jasper sucked at the cut on his hand and gave a small nod. "May I see?" There was a small moment's hesitation, but Jasper soon enough held out his right hand for the doctor to examine.
Carlisle frowned as he gingerly took the offered hand. Edward had gotten Jasper good. The wound was small but deep. The skin around it had turned an angry red as blood seeped out in a slow trickle.
"Hold on a moment for me, Jasper," Carlisle said as he snapped on a pair of latex gloves before going back to the wound. He gingerly pressed his index finger to the swollen area around the bite mark, earning a sharp hiss from Jasper.
"That hurts."
Beads of venom – most likely Edward's – were visible in the bite marks. Harmless in theory to a vampire, but irritating just the same as it had caused this sudden swelling. Sighing, Carlisle opened one of the drawers in the small medical cabinet stationed at Edward's bedside and took a small cotton ball and a bottle of antiseptic out. Carefully he unscrewed the top and let a small amount of the bottle's contents spill out onto the cotton ball, which he then applied to the wound while Jasper stared in confusion.
"Better safe than sorry," Carlisle explained, "Wouldn't want you getting an infection of some sort. After all, mouths aren't exactly the cleanest places when it comes to bacteria." He then tossed the used cotton ball into the bin and pulled out a roll of bandages. Wrapping up Jasper's hand was done swiftly and meticulously. "It'll stay swollen and irritated for a while because of Edward's venom, but you'll be good as new in a few days."
"Okay," Jasper said as he looked down at his hand. Great. Now the humans at school would be swarming all over him, asking what had happened. All that blood so close to him, the thought of it frightened him and made his stomach rumble at the same time. How horrible.
Carlisle must've sensed the other's dread for school the following day as the doctor then made a suggestion. "Perhaps it would be for the best if you remained at home until your hand heals. Is that alright with you Jasper?"
"Yes." There was a small pause.
"You should probably go and hunt now," Carlisle said softly. Jasper nodded. He knew full well of the hunger rising up from the pit of his belly. It also didn't help that Bella was so close by with her heart still pumping that tantalizing blood through her veins.
"I'll go with you," Alice said as she took Jasper's uninjured hand. She offered a small reassuring smile to Bella. "Don't worry, Bella. Edward's going to be fine. He'll be showing off for you soon enough. We both know that he loves to do that." However, deep down, Alice was just as concerned as Bella was. Everyone was.
"Yeah," Bella said with a small smile, blush rising to her cheeks.
"We'll be back soon," Jasper murmured, keeping his eyes away from Bella. No need to look at those pulsing veins right now. "Don't worry yourself too much. Edward's stubbornness will pull through," he said in a reassuring tone, letting a soft tendril of calm reach out towards the worried girl in hopes of easing her anxiety.
Bella let out a soft sigh as calm enveloped her in a soft, warm blanket of security. "Thanks Jasper."
"My pleasure," he replied with a smile, eyes flicking up for a second before he was whisked out the door by Alice.
Bella couldn't help but smile as she watched the two leave the hospital. However, there was a faint hint of longing in that smile. She wished that she too could walk out with the person she loved, but that was impossible at the moment as Edward was fast asleep on the bed in front of her.
"Bella?" It was Carlisle's voice which snapped her out of her own meandering thoughts.
"Yes?"
"I've been meaning to ask you. How did you get that bruise on your cheek?" Carlisle asked with genuine concern, golden eyes peering at her swollen cheek, which was still an ugly dark brown color.
"Oh. It's nothing," Bella said quickly, letting out a nervous laugh. Oh how she hoped that Carlisle couldn't sense that she was lying. "Don't worry about it. I just fell again."
"Oh Bella. This habit of yours is dangerous," Esme murmured.
"I'm just a natural klutz," Bella said, smiling sheepishly, cheeks pink. Everyone but Rosalie chuckled. Seems the vampire was just as sour as ever. Perhaps even more so after Edward's little episode as she merely snorted.
"I'm going home," she said curtly before briskly walking out the door.
"Rose!" Emmett called out after her, but only got the slamming of the door in response. He turned to Bella and offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Bella. I'll see you later." He then broke out into a full out grin and pulled her into a great big bear hug.
"Don't snap her in half now, Emmett," Esme scolded.
"I'm fine," Bella squeaked as she was lifted up off the ground. "Emmett. Down. Please?"
"Sure," Emmett said, laughing softly as he set her back down on her two feet. "Don't look so down all the time. You're like a little sister to me and I don't like seeing my baby sister all glum." His grin grew even more as he ruffled her hair before darting off to search for his runaway wife with one last 'see ya'.
"I should go too," Carlisle said with a small sigh. "Still have patients to attend to." He moved towards the door and was about to turn the doorknob when he turned towards Bella. "That was a pretty heavy dosage. It's about ten times what you received after your run in with James."
"Wow," Bella said. Carlisle chuckled.
"I suppose so, but it means that Edward won't be waking up for a while. However, you're welcome to stay as long as you like. I'll tell the nurses that you're an exception to visitor's hours, but don't push yourself. Plus we wouldn't want your father to get worried. It's already rather late."
"Thank you," Bella said, extremely grateful. At the mention of Charlie she nodded. "I didn't really give him much of an explanation when I left. I should probably call him."
"Yes. That would be for the best," Carlisle said before stepping out of the room, shutting the door softly behind him.
"You're welcome to use my phone," Esme said as she pulled a small silver cell phone out of her pocket.
"Oh no! I couldn't," Bella said, "I mean. There's a pay phone back in the waiting room. I can just use that."
"I insist. Don't worry about using up my minutes or anything silly like that. I hardly ever use this phone for much," Esme said with a light-hearted laugh. Bella blushed as using up Esme's minutes had been exactly what she'd been afraid of doing.
"Okay," she finally said, admitting defeat as she hesitantly took Esme's phone, flipped it open, and called her father.
Her conversation with her father was more or less as she'd expected. Not even a second after she'd spoken into the receiver her father was bombing her with questions, asking where she'd gone at this hour of the night, if she was okay, what was going on, why she hadn't told him where she was going. The usual bombardment of questions. Of course, it took forever before he finally let her speak, but it happened and she answered all of his questions. She'd hoped that her dad would be understanding and let her stay with Edward for a bit, but that idea was thrown out the window when he demanded that she get home right that minute.
Sighing, she hung up the phone and handed it back to Esme, dejected expression her face. "My dad wants me home," she murmured, arms falling to her sides, shoulders slumping. Esme offered a sympathetic smile.
"There wouldn't be much excitement tonight anyways. All Edward is going to be doing is sleeping." Edward seemed to snore a bit louder at that point as if to emphasize what Esme was saying. "So go home and get some rest so you won't be sleeping in class tomorrow. You can come here after school. Edward should be waking up around then," Esme said in that motherly fashion of hers. Bella couldn't find it in her to protest and nodded.
"Alright. Good night," she said, casting another glance at Edward.
"Would you like a moment alone?" Esme asked, her own gaze following Bella's. Really, it was rather obvious that the girl wanted to say goodnight to the sleeping vampire, but was perhaps to shy to do so in front of Esme. Well, it certainly seemed to be the case as Bella gave a small nod, cheeks flushing crimson. "I though so," the mother figure in the Cullen family said with a serene smile upon her features. "Don't keep your father waiting for too long though." Then Esme gracefully strode out the door as well, leaving Bella alone with Edward.
It took a few moments after the door clicked shut for the umpteenth time for Bella to realize that she and Edward were alone. She stood there dumbly for a moment before swallowing and moving to stand at the sleeping boy's bedside.
He looked so peaceful there, golden eyes shut, bronze hair splayed out across the white pillow. It was hard to believe that not too long before he'd been thrashing about like a caged animal trying to escape. Bella couldn't deny it. The Edward she'd seen then had frightened her. His expression had been the same as the one he'd had when he'd struck her across the face earlier that day. Her cheek seemed to throb in a sort of reminder. Had she really done the right thing by hiding the truth? Had Edward been hallucinating then too? It was more than likely so, but shouldn't she have disclosed that information to Carlisle? She wasn't sure.
Sighing, she turned away from the beautiful boy on the bed and walked towards the door. She flicked off the light and was about to leave when something stopped her. Something was urging her to turn back around and return to Edward's side. It was tugging at her, pulling at her heartstrings, whispering persuasively in her ear. Finally she turned her head back and the moment she saw the vampire completely bathed in moonlight she couldn't help but return.
It had been a stunning sight to say the least. Edward was even more beautiful in the moon's pale silver light. It made his skin glow in an ethereal way, made his hair sparkle and gleam in a way that would make any supermodel jealous in an instant. Really, Edward was too perfect to describe in words. Bella certainly couldn't find the right one to describe how gorgeous he was in that moment – not that he wasn't always gorgeous, but whatever.
She couldn't stop herself as she let her fingers run through those silky coppery locks. No knots. She should've expected just as much from the perfect creature before her. It still puzzled her why Edward had chosen her when he could've had someone as beautiful as Rosalie. After all, she was just an ordinary girl, a Plain Jane so to speak. There wasn't anything special about her. Or at least that was what she thought. Edward seemed to obviously think otherwise as he'd seemed to have fallen head over heels for her. Okay, maybe her immunity to Edward's – and a lot of vampire's – powers made her a little bit special, but still.
Carefully, she let her fingers slip downwards, skating over his smooth blemish-free skin, marveling at how it glowed. Her brown eyes followed her fingers, mapping Edward's face with both sight and touch. Before long her fingers were tentatively resting at the corner of the boy's lips. Her mind willed her to go on, reassuring her that Edward had been shot full with enough drugs to keep him under for quite some time. It didn't take long before she gave in.
Edward's lips weren't as soft as she'd thought them to be, but then again, she couldn't really trust her brain when he was kissing her. After all, he had that awful habit of dazzling her with every little thing he did. Each and every one of his graceful movements left her in awe and perhaps with a tad bit of jealousy too. Bella wished that Edward would hurry up and change her so that she could enjoy the same grace and beauty. However, Bella couldn't help but have a sinking feeling that she'd still be a klutz, vampire or not.
In any case, his mouth wasn't as soft as she'd remembered it to be, though it didn't really bother Bella much. However, when Edward's lips moved moments after the pads of her fingers had come to rest upon them, she couldn't help but let out a squeak of surprise. The other's sharp teeth were now visible, glinting dangerously in the moonlight. Feeling a jolt of fear run through her, she jerked her hand back and stared.
Curiosity gripped Bella in the moments that followed. She found herself wanting to touch those glittering razors. She'd seen them before, been so close to them that only the barrier of Edward's lips kept her safe from them, but in that moment she really wanted to touch them, to see if they were just as sharp as they appeared.
Her fingers trembled slightly as they reached out towards the vampire's teeth. They were mere centimeters from their destination when Bella quickly drew them back. Touching them was a foolish thing to do, but Bella couldn't help herself. Of course, this didn't keep her from berating herself.
"Curiosity killed the cat," Bella said firmly, letting her fingers curl into a fist. Looking would just have to do. There was a small pause. "But satisfaction brought it back," she finished, chewing on her lower lip. Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes. She'd decided. What was the worst that could happen? Getting turned into a vampire? No problem! She'd been trying to get that for months now anyways.
Leaning down to get a better view of what she was doing, she carefully let her index finger reach out again, but once more she stopped short of her goal. However, it wasn't by her own volition. No. Edward had stopped her.
Bella let out a startled squeak as Edward's fingers curled around her wrist, keeping her fingers away from their destination. His body shuddered slightly as he exhaled heavily in a sort of tired sigh. It took a moment before he spoke.
"What are you doing, Bella?" he mumbled, eyes still closed. His voice was thick with sleep and his words were slightly slurred thanks to the drugs that should've kept him out cold for another twelve hours at the very least.
"You're awake?" the very surprised girl squeaked, eyes wide. How could he possibly be awake after having those drugs pumped into him? And more importantly, was he going to flip out on her like he flipped out on Emmett and Jasper? It was odd. She'd been constantly pestering him to bite her, but right now the last thing she wanted was for Edward to sink his teeth into her. After all, if his jaws had really done what they'd done to Jasper then she didn't even want to think about what they could do to her.
"Mm. I suppose so seeing as I'm replying to your question," Edward replied in the same sluggish fashion as before. His tongue was heavy in his mouth, causing the words to come out mumbled and soft. Actually, barely audible in Bella's case. Unlike the Cullen's, she hadn't been blessed with superhuman hearing, so she had to strain her ears to hear Edward.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, easily sliding her wrist out of Edward's hand, which flopped down to rest limply upon the bed.
"Tired," he said as he held back the urge to yawn. He grunted as he shifted about a bit, trying to make himself more comfortable. The hospital bed, which had seen a great deal of years, squeaked unpleasantly. He winced. Maybe it would've been better for him to just have stayed still. After all, he was tired enough that he'd have even slept on a slab of lumpy rock and not given a damn. Lying down was heaven in itself. No mattress required.
"I figured as much. Carlisle shot enough drugs into you to knock out a baby elephant for days," Bella said with a wry smile. Edward chuckled once, smiling as well.
"Is that so? Well, that explains it," he murmured. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "But it doesn't explain why your fingers were almost in my mouth." Bella blushed vividly, glad for the darkness even though Edward could probably still see her blush as if it were still daytime. Stupid vampire vision.
"Um." She hastily tried to come up with some sort of excuse, buying herself a few seconds with that ever so useful place word. An almost plausible excuse had just popped up in her head when Edward sent all her quick thinking to trash bin.
"The truth, Bella," he said.
"Who said I was going to lie," Bella demanded, crossing her arms in a defensive manner. Edward laughed at this outburst of hers. It was rather amusing really.
"Bella, you forget that I'm very good at reading people. Although I can't see into your head I still know quite a bit about what goes on inside that head of yours," Edward replied, feeling rather proud of himself when he heard Bella finally sigh in defeat.
"Fine. Fine," she grumbled, "I was just overcome with the urge to touch your teeth."
"I'm sorry. What?" Edward asked, brow furrowing as his eyes finally opened. Her words puzzled him. After all, why on earth would anyone in their right mind want to touch a predator's teeth? "I don't think I heard you correctly. Did you say that you wanted to touch my teeth?"
"Yes," Bella squeaked, blushing even more. It was almost as if all the blood in her body had just decided to rush to her cheeks.
"Why?" Edward asked, completely flabbergasted. Really, sometimes Bella had the oddest urges.
"I don't know. I guess I was curious to see how sharp they really were," she muttered, squirming around beneath Edward's gaze, which she refused to meet by the way.
"And I suppose you just happened to forget that my teeth are all coated in venom?" he asked. Bella nodded and Edward let out a sigh of exasperation. "What am I going to do with you, Bella?" By now he could feel the heat radiating from Bella's face, which was now the same shade of red as fresh brick.
"I was just curious," she grumbled, hugging herself now as she shifted her weight from one for to the other.
"Curiosity killed the cat," the bed-ridden boy reminded Bella.
"And satisfaction brought it back," she shot back, quite tired of hearing that expression.
"But you're not a cat."
"You think?" Her tone was obviously sarcastic. It seemed that the constant rush of embarrassment had left her rather irritable. Plus it had been a long day and she might've been a little cranky as well. However, this quickly shut Edward up. The guilt came swiftly enough afterwards. "Sorry, Edward," she murmured, head hung in shame.
"No. It's okay. I got what was coming to me." He sighed. "But please, Bella, don't go sticking your fingers in my mouth while I'm asleep. I don't want you to get hurt."
"I know. It was a stupid idea."
"It was."
"Hey! You're not supposed to agree with me," Bella exclaimed.
"Sorry," Edward replied with a soft laugh. However, he quickly stilled when he saw the dark bruise on the girl's cheek and a scowl appeared on his face. "What happened to your cheek?"
Bella stiffened. Did Edward not remember? How could he not remember? After all, he'd been the one who'd done that! Now this left her with two options. She could tell him the truth and fill him with even more self-loathing than he already had or lie and save them both a whole lot of agony. She opted for the latter.
"I fell again," she answered with a goofy-looking grin.
"You really make falling a habit don't you?"
"I guess so. I mean, it happens at least once every day."
"Are you alright? It looks painful," Edward said in a worried tone. Bella laughed cheerily.
"Oh no. I'm good. It's just a bruise. Completely forgot about it until you mentioned it."
'Liar,' a voice from the back of her mind sneered. Of course she hadn't forgotten about it. How could she forget it? After all, it could very well be the most painful injury she'd ever received. Edward had given it to her after all. What had possessed him to do that anyways? Had he been hallucinating? Seen something else in her place? However, all this thinking was for another time and she quickly shut the voice up before it could provoke anymore thinking.
Her eyes finally drifted back up to Edward's and found that the vampire's eyes had closed once again. Giddiness welled up within her as she stared at the serene expression the other had. Really, if she hadn't known better then she'd have thought he was nothing more than a normal seventeen year old boy, who just happened to be really sleepy. Smiling to herself, she pressed a soft kiss to Edward's forehead.
The kiss dragged the vampire back up out of the slumber that had seemed imminent at that moment. He offered a small noise in question and let his eyes flutter open for a moment. However, a moment was all he could manage before they slipped shut once more.
"Sleep tight, Edward," Bella said with a grin. There was a small pause before she added, "Don't let the bed bugs bite." Edward merely grunted to that. It seemed that he couldn't be bothered to formulate words at the moment. Bella laughed. "I love you."
A heavy breath left Edward before his eyes opened again and a smile tugged at his lips. "Love you too," he murmured. There was a pause before that smile turned into that crooked grin of his that Bella loved so dearly. "Now gimme a kiss."
Bella couldn't help laughing at the kissy-face Edward made. "How about a please?" she teased.
"Bah. Can't I get away with impoliteness just this once?" he asked.
"Oh fine. Just this once then," Bella replied before leaning down to press a quick good-night kiss to her boyfriend's lips. However, she altered her course at the last minute and kissed Edward's forehead instead.
"How cruel of you," he grumbled, pouting. Of course, he was grinning soon enough.
"That's what you get for being impolite," Bella said as she let her fingers gently brush some of the other's hair back off his forehead. When her fingers touched his skin the smile she'd been wearing quickly faded down into a frown.
Noticing the sudden change in her expression, Edward frowned as well. "Is something wrong, Bella?" he asked. It took a good thirty seconds before he got a reaction out of the girl.
"Oh no," she replied, pulling her hand back, "I just thought you felt warm for a second, but it was just my imagination. Now go get some sleep. I'll be back tomorrow."
"Mm. Okay," he replied, eyes closing again. "Good-night, Bella."
"Good-night, Edward."
--
"Jesus Christ! His temperature is shooting up!"
"Get some ice in here now!"
"What the hell are you doing just standing there? Get Dr. Cullen right now!"
"Where is that ice?"
"I'm here."
"Dr. Cullen! Thank God!"
"He's burning up!"
"Is the ice bath ready?"
"What the hell is Kerry doing? We need more ice!"
"Nearly."
"We have to get him in there now!"
"I'll lift him."
Edward felt himself being lifted up into the air, which jolted him swiftly into a state of consciousness. What was going on and why was the room so hot? It felt as if he was going to fry. Where had this sudden heat come from? It felt as if he'd just been swallowed up in a cloud of lava. Either that or he'd just been stuffed into a cremator. He gasped as the heat intensified within him, flaring up sharply, causing him to writhe in the grasp of the doctor that was holding him.
"Hot damn! One hundred and five degrees? We need to cool him off now!"
The urgency that particular voice carried worried Edward. It certainly didn't comfort him! That was for certain! But one hundred and five degrees? Were they talking about him? No. They couldn't be. It was impossible for his body temperature to go that high, but right now it sure as hell felt like he was exactly that temperature. However, the hands holding him were pleasantly cool. He could feel the chill radiating from them through the sweat-drenched pajamas he wore and his fevered skin sucked up the cold greedily. It wasn't long before he felt just as hot as ever.
Another groan left the feverish boy as he tried to squirm away again, but the doctor held him tightly. Just who was holding him exactly? Because whoever they were they had one strong grip. He tried to open his eyes again. It took a few tries, but finally he managed to pry them open.
The world was a blur at first, muddled and mushy like the lasagna he'd seen in the school's cafeteria on Thursday. Steadily it came back into focus and then back out again. Another groan and a few blinks, the blur of color steadied itself and the room stopped spinning. He squinted against the harsh light that filled the room and tried to make out of the doctor's face through the red fevered haze that had fallen over him.
"Carlisle?" he mumbled, still not quite sure who it was.
"I'm here," the doctor, who Edward had now determined to be Carlisle replied. Edward let out a breath of relief, but that feeling was short lived as a gut wrenching pain gripped him, causing him to curl up as he let out a pained noise.
"Ugh. Wh-what's h-happening to me?" Edward gasped, clutching his belly tightly. It burned. Oh sweet lord. How it burned! "Ow. It hurts." Daggers were being thrown at the walls of his stomach. It felt as if he were going through the change again.
"Everything's going to be fine, Edward. Just hang on a little longer," Carlisle replied, trying to appear as calm as he possibly could in order to reassure the boy writhing in his arms.
"Argh!" Edward let out a cry as the pain intensified. "It hurts!" His belly twisted and twisted along with those millions of daggers that had been planted inside him. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and let out a sob. This was worse than the change! Much worse! It was burning him from the inside out, blackening his innards, scorching them. He imagined his insides melting, sliding down to rest in the pit of his belly, a sea of bubbling liquidated tissue. What an awful thought.
"I know, Edward. I know," Carlisle whispered soothingly to the boy, wishing that he could just numb away all that pain, but he couldn't. All he could do was try to cool the boy's pyretic body down as quickly as possible.
Once he reached the large basin that was filled with ice and water, Carlisle gently set Edward down into it. A shrill shriek left the boy as the cold hit his hot body and he reflexively gripped onto Carlisle's arm. His body shook as he held on tightly, determined not to let the doctor go. However, he held on a little too tightly, nails digging down into the skin of the arm he clung so desperately to.
"No. No. No. No," he repeated, shaking his head furiously as he struggled to pull himself out. The cold burned his skin more than the heat had and the ice cubes clung to him like leeches.
Carlisle didn't flinch when he felt Edward's nails dig down into him. Even though the stinging in his arm was unpleasant, it was bearable and just a mild irritation really. Carefully, he pulled the boy's hands off his arm while murmuring soothing words in Edward's ear, telling him this was going to make everything better, that everything was going to be fine, that he just needed to bear it a little longer.
Unfortunately, the ice didn't seem to be helping as the boy grew hotter and hotter, more and more feverish. His head was swimming, the world was spinning, and he felt sick to his stomach again. He no longer had any strength to cling to Carlisle and slipped down deeper into the water.
It swallowed him up in an icy embrace, causing his lips to quiver as they turned an unnerving shade of purple. His eyes slid closed as the ice slowly melted around him. The water rose to his chin, bathing him almost completely in frigidity. Thoughts laced with feverish delusions tumbled through his brain and soon he lay completely still in the now almost lukewarm water.
"I'm going to sleep now," he murmured to no one in particular and let out heavy sigh. "I wonder if Mother will recover." There was a moment's pause before he opened his eyes and gazed up at Carlisle. "What do you think?"
A sad smile tugged at Carlisle's lips as he gently ran a hand over the top of his 'son's' head. "She'll be fine," the doctor whispered back, lying for the other's sake. Really, how could he upset a deluded, feverish boy?
"I'm glad," Edward replied with a weak smile before closing his eyes again. He let out one last shuddering breath before slipping into the thick cottony haze of sleep that shielded him from the turmoil of reality.
Once he was sure that Edward was fast asleep, Carlisle checked the other's temperature. He frowned. It was still too high, but much lower than before, which was quite a relief. After telling a nurse to fetch some towels and a new set of pajamas, the elder vampire lifted the sick boy up out of the water, not paying any mind to the fact that his clothes were quickly becoming wet. He set the boy down on one of the towels that the nurse had so kindly provided and gently dried Edward off before redressing him.
Chewing anxiously on his lip, the doctor lifted Edward back up into his arms and returned the now sleeping boy to his hospital room, which really wasn't too far away. The gears in his brain clicked and clacked as they went round, trying to comprehend recent events. How could a vampire succumb to such symptoms? Such human symptoms! It was baffling! And Carlisle didn't like it one bit. This situation reminded him all too much of what had transpired all those years ago. Nearly a century wasn't it?
His brain finally hit a possible hypothesis as he tucked the unconscious vampire into bed. However, it was absolutely ridiculous and had he not been desperate for an answer he'd have probably never even considered it. Then again, this whole situation was ridiculous. A vampire getting a fever? Preposterous! In all his immortal life Carlisle had never thought of anything as impossible as that. Well, he'd thought it to be impossible, but tonight had just proved him wrong.
He checked his watch. A quarter to two. His shift was almost over, but the idea kept nagging at him from the corner Carlisle had shoved it into. He stood dumbly at Edward's bedside, wondering if he should act on his hypothesis and run a test, which was after all simple enough in itself, but there was that possibility of discovering that his idea was clearly too far-fetched and that he'd wasted precious time.
"But aren't I wasting time just standing around here?" he murmured to himself. He gave a nod, answering his own question. Then he carefully pulled a syringe out of the small beside medical cabinet. Finding a nice spot on Edward's arm, he added a tourniquet and then sterilized a spot with a wipe before pressing the needle in.
It slid in easily much to his surprise. Then he remembered that it had gone in quite smoothly earlier than evening as well. Odd. Brow furrowing, he made a quick mental note of it as he drew out some blood and some venom as well, though that was unavoidable.
Once the vial was full, Carlisle slid the needle out and placed a green band-aid on Edward's arm, figuring that the boy might like the particular shade. Tossing the used syringe into the bin, he pulled off his gloves and then tossed them in as well. Then it was off to the lab, to which the doctor proceeded with his carefully-capped vial.
--
It was nearly a quarter past two when Carlisle pulled his eyes away from the microscope, a stunned expression on his face. He rubbed his eyes, squinted for a moment, and then went back to look through the microscope. The doctor pulled away again, expression now one of mixed shock and horror.
"Oh God," he breathed, staring down at the slide upon which Edward's attacker wiggled and squirmed in a pool of red. Carlisle couldn't believe his eyes. What he'd seen on that strip of plastic was something that was familiar yet not at the same time. On there were two sorts of microorganisms on that little slide. One Carlisle knew very well and the other? Well, the doctor was too concerned with the other to care about the one he didn't recognize. He'd worry more about the devil he knew than the one he didn't. A mistake.
He stood up quickly, knocking over the stool he'd been sitting on, adjusted his jacket, and raced out, completely forgetting about turning off the microscope. However, wasting electricity was the least of his problems. He had other more important things to worry about.
Hand shaking slightly, he picked up the nearest phone, which happened to be at a currently empty nurse station. Punching in the numbers at a lightening speed, he waited until there was a click and soft hello.
"It's back," he said softly in a near hiss. "The Influenza. It's back and it's hurting Edward."
--
AN: Woah. Twelve pages. That's pretty good for me. Okay. I did start this quite some time ago, but I got lazy and didn't finish it to now. Don't like it? Bite me.
In any case, I'm leaving for camp and won't be back till the 12th of August. Then comes my birthday! Yes! I'm finally turning 15!
