Chapter 13

***Here we go…another chapter :-) It's short, I know…but I have a lot of studying to do and can only spent a little time writing. I hope to be able to write another chapter tonight, but I can't make any promises. The lyrics included are by Brahms (lullaby) and the perfect song to listen to while reading this is "Collide" by Howie day…

Review please, to let me know if you still like the story. ***

Carlisle had to check on a few patients so he told Bella he'd be back as soon as he could and then left her alone for a while. Bella was restless while he wasn't around her so she decided to leave the hospital room for a while and explore the hospital. She sat in the cafeteria for a while watching others waiting for a beloved one to get out of surgery or for a child to be born.

It made her wonder who'd be there waiting for her if anything happened to her. Sure Carlisle would make sure she was ok, because he was a doctor and obliged to save lives…but were they close enough?

Bella felt the desperation rise up inside her again and quickly left the cafeteria. She didn't want to cry in front of all these people. Wandering through the corridors of the hospital in order to find a quiet place to calm down, she came across the baby ward.

The nurse seemed to be gone on a break so Bella felt safe enough to creep in.

This place was so peaceful- most of the babies were fast asleep. All that filled the room was their heavy breathing. It was in this moment that Bella realized that no matter what, life would always go on. It calmed her down, made her hope again.

Bella's attention was drawn to a baby in the back of the room that had woken with a start and was now whimpering silently. Without thinking Bella went up to the baby's cradle and took the infant into her arms, rocking it from side to side. She started singing a lullaby for the baby, her melodic voice filling the room:

Lullaby, and good night, with pink roses bedight,
With lilies o'er spread, is my baby's sweet head.
Lay thee down now, and rest, may thy slumber be blessed!
Lay thee down now, and rest, may thy slumber be blessed!

Lullaby, and good night, your mother's delight,
Shining angels beside my darling abide.
Soft and warm is your bed, close your eyes and rest your head.
Soft and warm is your bed, close your eyes and rest your head.

Sleepyhead, close your eyes. Mother's right here beside you.
I'll protect you from harm; you will wake in my arms.
Guardian angels are near, so sleep on, with no fear.
Guardian angels are near, so sleep on, with no fear.

Carlisle had been standing in the door frame watching her all the time. He knew this lullaby, it had been sung throughout the centuries. Once he had been sung to sleep with it by his own mother, too. He had always imagined scenes like this when he thought about his future –before he was changed into a vampire.

The baby had calmed down and drifted off now so Carlisle approached Bella and whispered from behind her back: "That was a nice lullaby, Bella. You'll be an excellent mother one day. You know, I always come here, too when I feel down. When one of them smiles at you, it just makes your day…"

Bella nodded, still amazed how beautiful the infant before her looked while sleeping.

Carlisle took another step forward so that he was less than an inch away from Bella.

Bella could no longer concentrate. She could smell Carlisle's aftershave, probably the best thing she'd smelled in her entire life, and she could feel Carlisle's breath in her neck.

It sent a shiver throughout her whole body. Carlisle noticed that Bella's heart rate had quickened, he could hear the blood rushing to her head. "This is probably the best compliment I've ever gotten" he thought, smirking, and placed his hand slightly above her hip, eager to find out if Bella had feelings for him, too.

Bella turned around and stood there facing him now. They stood there looking at each other intensely for a moment, then Bella turned down her gaze. Carefully he took her face into his palms and lowered his lips down onto hers. The soft touch of her lips, her sweet taste and the smell of her hair…Carlisle had never experienced something remotely as intensive as this and enjoyed every second of it. It was Bella's first kiss, she'd always thought all the guys in Forks were geeks, but apparently she had been wrong…Kissing Carlisle felt so good she couldn't imagine anything in this world that would make her feel as blessed and whole as this.