CHAPTER 10
After waving James and his Italian compatriots goodbye, Bella stepped back into the hall and shut the front door. As she turned, she almost bumped into Mrs Cope who seemed to be talking to herself. Bella thought she caught the words '…that wasn't supposed to happen…..Alice will be cross…'
'Sorry, did you say Alice will be cross?'
'Oh, did I? Silly me, a slip of the tongue, I meant Rosalie of course. I'm worried that Rosalie will be cross with Mr Carlisle for letting James tire him out so much.'
Bella grimaced, 'I'm feeling rather guilty about that too. I should have tried harder to remind James that Carlisle isn't well.'
'Tshh. James is perfectly well aware of that and Mr Carlisle could quite well have excused himself and gone to bed. You're not to blame in any way.'
'Well I'd better go and check on him again anyway. I'm surprised he asked me to say goodbye to James on his behalf, he must be feeling really ill not to be able to make the effort.'
'Don't worry, I'm sure he's just tired. I'll make him some nice soup for lunch and he'll be as right as rain by the time Rosalie gets here later.'
But Bella was still worried. It hadn't bothered her so much before, but now that Christmas was only three days away she was petrified that something would happen to Carlisle while she was all on her own with him. It was the reason she was here in the first place, but it would be so much worse at this time of year and with both Mrs Cope and Emmett and Rosalie not being on hand in an emergency, she was even more apprehensive.
In fact Mrs Cope deserted her only a few hours later. For the first time in years she was spending Christmas with her sister in Exeter and she was so excited about it that she rushed off straight after lunch, having barely remembered to say goodbye, or wish Carlisle and Bella a merry Christmas, and Bella had to run down the drive after her to exchange Christmas presents.
As the afternoon wore on Bella couldn't shake her feeling of apprehension. Carlisle had managed to get dressed at least and insisted he was only tired, but the bowl of soup Mrs Cope had made for him was practically untouched and the next time Bella went to check on him he was lying down again. She reminded him to press his call button if he felt unwell or needed her in any way, but he more or less told her to stop fussing, in a much nicer way of course.
Luckily Rosalie would be making her weekly visit in less than an hour. Emmett and Rosalie were flying off to Spain the following afternoon, which was the day before Christmas Eve and Rosalie had asked Bella to make sure Emmett would be ready to leave with her, because she wanted to do some last minute shopping with him before starting on the packing.
Wondering if Emmett was within shouting distance, Bella looked out of the window. She had no idea where he might be lurking and it had just started to drizzle again. When she went into the kitchen she noticed his phone was lying on the table and she muttered under her breath. She was sure he left it there on purpose sometimes, just so that Rose couldn't nag him.
Bella put her coat on and walked out of the back door. It was freezing out here! As she passed the conservatory she nearly tripped over an abandoned plant pot, which at least gave her a clue as to where Emmett might be, and picking up the pot and shouting out his name, she headed towards the potting shed.
As she walked up the path she could see the shed door was open. 'Hey, Emmett, are you in there? Rosalie asked me to remind you she's picking you up later.'
And sure enough, as she got closer Emmett emerged, looking rather sheepish.
'Oops, did I forget my phone again?'
'Yes, I think you know you did!' Bella watched him locking up the shed, then remembered the plant pot she was holding, 'Oh, hold on a minute….'
But a small movement over by the trees to her right suddenly caught her attention. Was that a flicker of grey among the shadows? It was difficult to see through the gathering dusk and the drizzle, but the patch of grey underneath the trees seemed to be growing and solidifying the longer she looked at it.
Suddenly she knew.
'No…'
The plant pot slipped through her fingers and smashed on the ground, but Bella was already running as fast as she could back towards the house, leaving Emmett standing open-mouthed.
Sobbing, she wrenched the back door open and ran down the passageway towards Carlisle's study, hoping against hope that it wasn't too late – she'd only left him five minutes ago! As she neared the open doorway she could hear Emmett thudding down the corridor behind her and as she reached the threshold all her fears were confirmed, when she saw Carlisle lying motionless on the floor.
-ooo-
As she rushed towards Carlisle, Bella felt Emmett brush past her and to her relief he quickly took charge. While he checked for vital signs, he calmly asked her to ring 999 and as she dialled the number with shaking hands and passed on the necessary information, Emmett was already beginning CPR.
By the time Bella finished the call, the shock had really kicked in and she had to sit down. She blamed herself for not forcing James to get rid of his friends earlier. Now Carlisle was gone and she hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye.
But Emmett was smiling up at her, 'Look Bells, he's breathing again!'
'Oh Em, thank goodness!' Bella sank to her knees and not knowing what else to do, took Carlisle's hand in hers, hoping he'd know how sorry she was.
Emmett was gently moving Carlisle into the recovery position. 'He's not out of the woods yet, but he's got a chance. Would you mind going and waiting outside in a minute to let the ambulance men in, while I stay here and keep an eye on him?'
'Of course not,' Bella hugged Emmett tightly. 'I'm so glad you were here. Where did you learn to do that?'
'Lifeguard at Perranporth beach for two years during college holidays.'
'Oh yes, of course, I forgot.'
'What made you rush back into the house though?'
Bella went red. It was strange, she couldn't really remember what she'd seen now. Surely it had been a trick of the light, not some sort of ghost?
'I just had a funny feeling that something wasn't right… Oh, Em, we nearly lost him! I'm sure he's not ready to go yet and I'm so grateful. How can I ever thank you?'
Emmett's voice was gruff when he replied, 'Don't be silly. I'm not a stranger round here. None of us want to see him go before his time, any more than you do.'
Already a slight tinge of colour had returned to Carlisle's cheeks and he opened his eyes and made an effort to move.
But Emmett stopped him, 'I think it's best if you keep still until the ambulance gets here, we don't know if you did any damage when you fell. Do you remember what happened? You were definitely a goner there for a minute.'
'All I remember is feeling very dizzy and then starting to fall,' Carlisle's voice was very weak and slightly slurred and they wondered if he'd banged his head, or even had some sort of a stroke.
'Sssh, don't try to talk.' Bella continued to hold Carlisle's hand, while Emmett borrowed her phone to let Rosalie know what had happened.
Meanwhile Carlisle was anxiously trying to tell Bella something and she leant closer to try to hear what he was saying.
'If anything happens to me, promise you'll look after Edward.'
Carlisle suddenly looked very old and confused. – he must think Edward was still a child. Blushing and hoping Emmett hadn't heard that, because she'd never hear the last of it, Bella gently stroked Carlisle's hand, 'Of course I will. Don't worry about anything now, the ambulance will be here soon and you're going to be fine.'
Bella watched Carlisle relax and close his eyes, then she looked suspiciously towards Emmett. He had his back towards her, but she wasn't sure if his shoulders hadn't just shaken with silent laughter. Oh god, how embarrassing to be asked to look after Edward of all people. She got up and walked towards the door.
'Well, I'll just go and wait outside for the ambulance to arrive then.'
-ooo-
The ambulance turned up five minutes later and while the paramedic ran his tests and went through a list of questions with Carlisle in the back of the ambulance, Emmett and Bella stood outside and waited for Rosalie to arrive.
Thankfully Carlisle already seemed to be much more alert, although he was very tired and pale and a stay in hospital looked inevitable. Rosalie still hadn't got there when the ambulance was ready to leave, so they decided Bella would go in the ambulance with Carlisle, and Emmett would put together an overnight bag for him and follow on with Rosalie.
The journey to hospital seemed to take forever in the rush hour traffic and all Bella could do was sit and worry, as the ambulance rattled and shook over the potholes and Carlisle lay with an oxygen mask over his face, hooked up to a beeping monitor which at least confirmed he was only sleeping.
This was almost as bad as when her mother was ill. Over the last nine months Bella had gradually come to see Carlisle as the father she'd never had and she suspected the feeling was mutual. The Lantern House was her home now and for the first time it really hit her that at any time the worst could happen. And it wasn't just Carlisle she'd lose, but all her new friends, the house and countryside she loved and the whole community she'd settled into.
She could possibly stay on in the house while its future was being decided and she knew Emmett and Rose, and even Mrs Cope, would gladly give her house-room if necessary. But what if she couldn't find another job straight away, or failed her degree in the summer and couldn't go on to do the teacher training she'd planned next? She'd always made her own way and she dreaded becoming a burden to anyone.
She thought of Edward and felt even more sad. Despite everything, she still hadn't been able to completely shake off the feeling that when she saw him again, somehow everything would be all right. But if anything happened to Carlisle there'd be no excuse to maintain any contact. Perhaps James really was the answer? But that in itself raised even more questions and moving to Italy to be with him would be a very big step, which she wasn't sure she was willing to take just yet.
But in mid thought the ambulance pulled up outside the emergency department with a jolt and the back doors opened, revealing the cheery face of the ambulance driver.
'All right Love? If you book him in at the desk, we'll get him settled. Ask for majors afterwards and someone will show you to the right cubicle.'
Bella joined the queue at the desk while Carlisle was wheeled in and after an initial flurry of activity they were left alone in a small cubicle, to wait for the outcome of numerous tests. Emmett and Rosalie turned up about half an hour later and by then Carlisle really seemed a lot better and he was sitting up and able to talk, although it was obviously an effort and Rosalie soon put a stop to it.
With her friends there everything immediately seemed a lot better all round and Rosalie was invaluable in speeding things up and asking the right questions. Before the ambulance arrived Bella and Emmett had phoned Edward, James and Mrs Cope to let them know what had happened and while Rosalie went in search of the consultant, they decided they'd better give them an update.
Bella started with Mrs Cope.
'Hello, Mrs Cope. Yes, don't worry, everything's fine and Carlisle's much better. Rosalie's here now and she's making sure he's being looked after properly, as you can imagine … Yes…Yes… Really he's making good progress. We're waiting for the doctor to come and talk to us when they've got all the results….Yes, try not to worry, I'm so sorry this has happened when you're not here, I promise I'll phone you again as soon as we get any more news.'
Phew, poor Mrs Cope, she must be worried sick and it had been difficult to persuade her not to come rushing straight back. But Carlisle really was a lot better and the doctor who'd assessed him had confirmed that whatever had happened, he no longer appeared to be in any immediate danger.
Bella glanced across at Emmett who was in the middle of a heated conversation with Edward on his phone. They'd barely managed to stop Edward driving down immediately the first time they'd rung and she could see Emmett was going to have to enlist Rosalie's help to persuade him it really wasn't necessary. Sadly there would be a time when Edward's immediate presence was required, but it was no use coming all this way for a false alarm, when his work was so pressing and he might have to drop everything again next week or the week after and drive all the way down again.
Bella dialled James's number and listened to it ring. She was still looking in Emmett's direction and she saw him glance at her, before saying to Edward, 'Yes, yes, she's coping, don't worry, she's fine.' Surely Edward wasn't concerned about her? No, it must be Mrs Cope he was worrying about, that would make much more sense.
The number she was calling went to voicemail again and Bella sighed as she left another message. That was the fourth time she'd tried to get hold of James without success. His flight had been quite early, so surely he'd got home hours ago? He didn't even know Carlisle had been taken ill yet, why wasn't he picking up his messages or answering his phone?
Rosalie came back with the consultant, who checked Carlisle over once more.
'Well Mr Cullen, you've been very lucky. Due to your general state of health and possibly the medication you've been on, the TIA or 'mini stroke' you suffered caused your heart to stop beating for a few seconds. If you hadn't been resuscitated immediately it wouldn't have been worth the effort, because the result would have been so severe.'
Rose interrupted, 'Are there likely to be any lasting after-effects?'
'Mr Cullen's already made a very good recovery, so it's unlikely, but we're carrying out further tests because there are some other areas of concern.'
Turning to Carlisle he continued, 'The initial x-ray was unclear, but there's a possibility that you have a blood clot on one of your lungs, which can easily be treated. There's also the suggestion of a chronic chest infection which we'd like to get resolved, plus your medication needs adjusting. We don't usually like to keep patients in over Christmas, but in your case it's advisable, just to make sure things are definitely back on track before we let you go home.'
Carlisle thanked him, but as Rosalie followed the consultant out of the cubicle, he looked pretty depressed.
Bella tried to be positive, 'Oh well, it was only going to be the two of us at home for the next few days anyway. The main thing is that you're going to be ok. You gave us such a fright.'
'I'm sorry I've almost ruined everyone's Christmas and thank you both for taking such prompt action. These days I'm barely worth saving, although I must admit there are one or two things I want to get finished before I go. But there's no reason for the three of you to stay in here with me any longer.'
'Don't be silly. I'll keep you company until you've had the second scan and we're sure they've found a bed for you, at least.'
'And I need to be here to take Bella home,' Emmett piped up. 'But I wouldn't mind getting rid of Rosalie, I can't even stretch my legs out with her in the way. I'll go and see if she can get a lift with one of her nursing friends, they must be changing shifts any minute.'
-ooo-
By the time Bella and Emmett left the hospital it was late in the evening and Bella was exhausted from all the stress and hanging around. As they crossed the deserted car park they made the round of phone calls again (James still wasn't answering) and let Rosalie know they were on the way back, before jumping into the freezing car and switching the heater on full blast.
As they waited for the windscreen to de-mist, Emmett looked at Bella searchingly, 'Are you ok, Sweetheart?'
Bella took in a big breath of cold night air, 'Yes, I'm fine now. Thank you for today. I'm sorry if I've been pathetic. It was the shock, I'll be better next time.'
'Don't be silly, you did great. But we'll cancel our holiday tomorrow. We can't just leave you all on your own now.'
'No, please don't do that! Carlisle will be well looked after in hospital over Christmas and Mrs Cope will be back by the time he's discharged. So there's no reason not to go.'
Emmett looked unconvinced, 'Well I'll speak to Rosalie, but she's pretty determined.'
'At least get her to leave any final decision until we've seen Carlisle again tomorrow.'
'Ok, I think I can manage that. Rose will be on the phone to the hospital early tomorrow morning, so we'll take things from there.'
'Thanks Em. I'm sure Carlisle wouldn't want you to lose your holiday on top of everything else.'
Once the windows had cleared a bit, they drove in silence for a while, until Emmett realised they hadn't eaten all evening and he insisted on stopping. The fast food restaurant they pulled into was jarringly bright and cheery and Bella didn't want to stay too long, but Emmett ordered her a burger and fries and made sure she ate them, while he ploughed through two big macs and a giant portion of chips.
Bella had to admit she felt better now that she'd had something to eat and while she waited for Emmett to finish, she had another go at contacting James. To her surprise he answered immediately this time.
'Oh James, thank god. Where are you? I've been trying to get hold of you all evening, to let you know Carlisle's been taken ill.'
'I'm sorry, my darling. I've been entertaining clients. Boring but necessary, I'm afraid. How is he?'
James sounded distracted and Bella got the impression he was barely paying attention to what she was saying. She could hear talking and music in the background – it sounded as if he was outside a bar or restaurant.
'He's fine now, thank goodness, I'm on my way home from the hospital. You sound as if you're busy, shall I ring back later when you've got more time?'
'No, I'm afraid I'll be occupied for several hours yet. Let me phone you tomorrow morning, at about ten?' He broke off and Bella could hear someone loudly calling his name, 'I'm so sorry, they're waiting for me to go back inside. Please pass on my good wishes for a speedy recovery to Carlisle. Goodnight my darling, I must go now, sweet dreams.'
He cut her off abruptly, leaving Bella feeling rather annoyed. She wondered what was so important that James didn't have time to return her calls and texts and it really bothered her that he hardly seemed to be concerned about Carlisle at all.
She looked up at Emmett, embarrassed that he'd heard the whole conversation. 'Is there something wrong with me Em? I'm beginning to think I have no idea what's going on in men's heads at all. Are you all just trying to drive me to distraction?'
'No, Sweetheart, but maybe it's good to have a bit of space and thinking time. This whole thing with James has happened really quickly, hasn't it?'
'Yes, I know. It's just that after Edward….'
'I don't want to pry, but I never understood why things suddenly went so wrong between you two. You know he really likes you? Maybe you should try talking things through?'
'I doubt if I could get past the throng of other women standing in the way.'
'Oh so that's the problem, is it? Don't be too taken in by that though, appearances can be deceptive. Not that any red-blooded male wouldn't find it difficult to ignore the amount of female attention Edward gets, but it's always been more of a safety in numbers thing as far as he's concerned. And I know for a fact that he's been working far too hard for the last couple of years to have had much time for female company.'
'Sorry Em, but I know differently and I really don't want to talk about Edward now. Can we just leave it please?'
'Ok, that's fine by me. All this girl talk is really not my thing. 'Emmett grimaced in distaste, 'I can feel my balls shrivelling up as we speak. Come on then, let's just concentrate on getting you home.'
-ooo-
After a restless night, Bella rang the hospital first thing in the morning and was glad to find that Carlisle was making good progress. He'd received treatment for the blood clot and been started on a different antibiotic and there were no immediate grounds for concern, although he still needed further monitoring.
Rosalie contacted Bella soon afterwards and she was relieved to hear that Rosalie and Emmett had decided they would leave for Spain later as planned, provided Carlisle was still doing well when they all went to visit him in hospital after lunch.
So after Rose had collared every doctor in sight and had a long discussion with her holiday replacement to make sure Carlisle would not be discharged from hospital without all the necessary home support being in place, Bella soon found herself back at the Lantern House, waving goodbye to Emmett and Rosalie as they disappeared down the drive.
Outside it was cold but bright, with just a slight swish of the sea in the background and when Bella stepped through the front door she really noticed the stillness, it was like walking into a museum when everyone had gone home. Shafts of afternoon sunlight were shining through the windows, illuminating the tiny motes of dust which were slowly floating through them, but nothing else moved. A thick blanket of calm seemed to have settled over the house in her absence and she felt very conscious of disturbing the silence with her presence.
Since James had arrived she'd hardly had a moment to herself and it just felt strange to be so completely on her own in the house. It had only happened a few times before, because Carlisle rarely went out and either Mrs Cope or Emmett was usually around somewhere.
She went from room to room, wondering what to do to keep her mind off Carlisle and fill up the long hours until she went to visit him again the next afternoon. Her days were usually filled with a thousand and one small tasks, but the cleaners James had paid for – was that only the day before yesterday? - had left everything so clean and tidy, that there was nothing for her to do apart from straightening the odd cushion.
As she passed the drawing room she saw the Christmas tree Emmett had struggled in with the previous morning. She'd been too distracted to take much notice at the time and although Emmett had made sure it was securely anchored in its tub in the corner of the room, the strings of lights and the decorations were still sitting on the floor, waiting to be unpacked from the boxes and bags he'd brought down from the attic.
After Emmett had spent so much energy getting the tree into the house and setting it up, it would be a shame to leave it abandoned and suddenly feeling curious about what small treasures all the bags and boxes might contain, Bella decided she'd decorate the tree anyway. At least it would give her something to do and it would still be there for Carlisle and Mrs Cope to see when they came back after Christmas.
By teatime she'd only just managed to get all the lights on and working and she was just taking a well-earned break and enjoying a mug of coffee and a couple of hot mince pies with a big dollop of clotted cream, when her phone rang. Somehow she'd managed to forget all about James, but she was sure he'd promised to phone her in the morning and it was now late afternoon.
She should have been cross, but in the Christmassy mood she was in it didn't seem to matter and if she'd still been standing precariously on a chair trying to fix the angel to the top of the tree, she didn't think she'd have even answered. She wondered what excuse he'd have for neglecting to contact her. None apparently, and he sounded slightly drunk.
'Bella, darling, I wanted so much to hear your sweet voice. How are you? Not missing me too much, I hope?'
'No James, thank you for enquiring. I'm still worried about Carlisle of course. What have you been up to?'
'Oh, the light has quite gone out of my life without you here and these meetings are so tedious. I am going with my family to our holiday cottage in the mountains tomorrow, so I wanted to let you know it will be difficult to keep in contact for a few days. Please do not forget me so far away; I shall be thinking of you every minute until I can see you again, my darling.'
Bella could hear a party going on in the background and she sighed, 'Please don't worry about me, I'm fine. Do you know exactly when you'll be coming back yet?'
'No, I can't tell exactly, but it will be soon, I promise. I'm sorry you can't be here with me. Maybe next year we will both make the trip to the mountains together? Apologies, I must go now, they are waiting for me to make a speech. I wish you good night my dear and a happy Christmas to you and to Carlisle.'
He rang off, without giving her a chance to wish him a happy Christmas in return. Why did his voice sound so irritatingly insincere on the phone? It was strange that despite her previous anxiety about it, she really wasn't missing James at all.
But perhaps she was being unfair and her happy mood was only due to her relief about Carlisle and the fact that it was Christmas. It had definitely stopped raining too, which was a bonus. When she went to fill the coal bucket up later in the evening, she was surprised at how cold and sharp the air was and when she looked up she could see nothing but stars twinkling down at her.
In fact it was so cold that she had to be careful not to slip on the icy path, or the bare earth in the borders next to it, which was just as slippery. She was freezing by the time she got back inside and she hoped it wouldn't snow. Before he left, Emmett had roped in a fellow taxi driver to take her to and from the hospital at mate's rates, but heavy snow would stop her visiting Carlisle and she'd be marooned.
When she looked at her watch she was surprised at how late it was; she'd been enjoying herself so much that the time had flown by. Every glass decoration she'd unwrapped had been a tiny work of art and some had been so old and fragile that she'd had to be very careful with them. Once she'd unwrapped them all, she'd worked down the tree from the top, choosing all the prettiest baubles to hang at eye level and now only the last few branches at the bottom were left to decorate and she was really pleased with the result.
She'd only broken off because she'd felt hungry and then noticed that the fire was getting low and after coming back in with the coal and having a reassuring chat with Mrs Cope on the phone, she switched on the portable TV on the kitchen dresser for company and hummed along to Christmas carols while she put together a quick meal.
Considering there had only been supposed to be two people in the house over Christmas Mrs Cope seemed to have gone overboard on stocking up with food. The fridge was groaning when Bella opened it, and as the turkey Mrs Cope had bought wasn't too big, to keep herself occupied on Christmas Day she decided that instead of consigning it to the freezer, she'd cook Christmas lunch with all the trimmings just for herself, even if she had to live on leftovers until everyone else came back.
It didn't take Bella long to finish decorating the tree and afterwards she collected up her few Christmas presents and the ones Carlisle had waiting in his study and put them in a small pile underneath it. Then feeling surprisingly happy and optimistic, she went to bed and immediately fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
Despite what Mrs Cope said Alice is definitely dead (also no vampires in this story!) so don't get your hopes up lol.
Next chapter, Edward is definitely back for Xmas.
Thanks for reading x Sue