Note: I do not own or have rights to Twilight or it's characters!!!
Chapter 28
In My Father's Arms
Carlisle and Ben arrived at Alice's villa just as the morning sky turned periwinkle and coral. Neither of them had received any more word of Bart's condition since the doctor ordered him into the tub. This fact left Carlisle feeling torn; either the treatment had worked and Bart's fever finally broke . . . or . . . it hadn't and he was in for a long painful day of consoling Sarah.
They found the front door unlocked and quickly made their way up the stairs to the second floor.
"In here," he heard Esme call from one of the closed bedrooms.
He reached with apprehension for the door knob and paused to gather himself before entering. In the silence, his predator's ears suddenly picked up the steady thrumming of a human heart. A relieved smile spread across his face as he breathed a sigh. The boy was still alive and he wouldn't have to face Sarah's grief. The well of his daughter's courage and strength was deeper than any he had ever seen. She truly possessed the heart of a lion, but the sight of her in pain made the father in him acutely aware of all his inadequacies.
He opened the door slowly; by the sound of the boy's breathing he could tell the lad was sleeping. As he entered the room, he noticed Bart tucked neatly in the middle of the large bed, eyes closed and snoring softly. Esme and Bella sat on either side of him. His mate's finger came to her lips, indicating they should keep quiet.
"How is he?" Carlisle whispered as he approached the bed and set his bag down.
"Fine," Esme answered just as softly. "He's been sleeping for some time now."
"When did he get his last dose of medicine for fever?" he asked as he rummaged through his bag for his thermometer. He needed an accurate account of the boy's temperature.
"Right after we called you."
Carlisle's head snapped up and he glared at his mate in confusion. "Love, I said alternate them every three hours. He should have had one more dose since then and you should be preparing to give him another one shortly."
"He doesn't need it," Esme answered flatly.
"Esme, his fever may be down at the moment, but he obviously has an infection," He chided his wife gently. "He could spike a fever again at any time, we need to prevent that. Now go measure out a dose of Motrin while I examine him."
"He's not sick, Carlisle, can't you see he . . ."
"Esme, my love, it's obvious that you and the girls have put forth a Herculean effort on Bart's behalf, but I must insist . . ."
"Smell him Carlisle," Esme interrupted him, a faint half smile curled on one side of her mouth making, her look like a modern day Mona Lisa.
With out taking his eyes off his wife, he inhaled deeply. There wasn't the slightest hint of illness in the boy's scent. Confusion made deep furrows in his forehead.
"He had another seizure in the tub and then Alice had a vision," Esme explained. "She said that Bart wouldn't live to see the sunrise unless . . . unless . . . Sarah bit him, so she . . ."
"Light of Heaven, woman!" Ben exploded. "Please tell me you didn't let my naive little love bite a ten year old boy!"
"Benjamin," Carlisle's voice took on a note of warning. "Kindly mind your tone when you address my mate."
"Your mate!" Ben growled. Carlisle had never seen his friend so out of control. "Sarah's death warrant is practically sealed and you're concerned about the tone I take with your mate," Ben snorted in disgust. "Well, I'm not going to stand by and let this travesty happen. I'm taking this situation in hand right now!"
To Carlisle's shock and horror, Ben made a sudden lunge for the bed only to find his way blocked by Esme and Bella. The doctor inserted himself between his angry friend and his wife and child.
"There's no need for rash action Ben," Carlisle reasoned as he stared into his friend's burgundy eyes. He didn't want to fight his youngest daughter's mate, but he would if he had too.
"I knew this would happen," he went on, trying to defuse Benjamin's fury. "Alice told me about it, she saw it in a vision. What you're afraid of won't come to pass . . . Sarah's bite won't turn Bart, he'll stay human." He paused a moment and then added, "And there's more. Alice saw the three of you together, as a family . . . you're going to adopt him Ben . . . he's going to be your son."
He watched as Ben took several steps backwards, shock and confusion evident on his face. "And you're swallowing this ridiculous dog and pony story," Ben growled. "You're willing to wager Sarah's life on Alice's demon-cursed witch sight and you expect me to bet her life on it as well. I've waited five centuries to find my mate, Carlisle; I'm not ready to lose her now."
Without warning, the door to the room burst open and Rose stormed in looking angrier than a wet cat in a hurricane. She poked her finger in Ben's face as she laid into him. "I swear to God, Benjamin Wiseman, you're the most pathetic jerk I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. What Sarah sees in you I'll never understand, but you're nowhere near good enough for her.
"If you don't straighten up and get your ass off your shoulders I'm going to beat the ever lovin' crap out of you!"
"Not in the house, please, I've spent a lot of money decorating this place," Alice chimed in from somewhere down the hall. "Some of it is irreplaceable."
Rose seemed to ignore her sister's request. "Sarah saved that poor child's life and all you can do is stand there and bellyache about it! Do you have any idea how hard it was for her . . . how absolutely devastated she is at this very moment because she did the unthinkable . . . she bit a human!
"My little sister has more courage in her pinky finger than you have in your whole worthless body. My nephew is alive because she put aside her fear and did what had to be done . . . something, I might add, that I doubt I could have done at her age.
"And speaking of my new nephew, just what are you going to do about him anyway . . . kill the boy?! Big bad Crimson Paladin is going to murder an innocent child in cold blood . . . are you planning to drain him dry, tough guy? I can't wait to hear the load of BS you shovel out to explain that one to Sarah . . . but as soon as you're finished . . . I'm going to rip your ugly head off!"
"Rosalie, that's quite enough," Carlisle warned quietly. Inside he was proud of the way Rose came to her sister and new nephew's defense, but she'd said her piece and there was no need to take things too far.
"Oh it's not nearly enough, Carlisle. I've got plenty more to say to this . . ."
"Rosalie!" He watched her bite back the rest of her remarks, but amber fire still burned in her eyes. Then he turned his attention back to his future son-in-law. "Benjamin has a lot of information to reflect on right now, let's not overload him. It wouldn't be fair."
Ben's eyes darted nervously from Rose to Bella, to Esme, and then back to Carlisle. "Where's Sarah, I want to see her."
"Of course," Carlisle soothed, "Just as soon as you've settled down some. If I'm to believe Rose and, knowing Sarah as well as I do, she's very distraught right now. She doesn't need you making it worse."
"I'm her mate," Ben insisted.
"All the more reason for you to be collected when you see her . . . she needs your strength," Carlisle corrected his friend. "There's more to being mates than just snuggling and happy warm feelings. You're responsible for each other and that means putting your mate's needs before your own."
Carlisle and Ben continued staring at each other until the older vampire turned and left the room. The doctor continued to listen to his friend's footfalls until he heard the front door open and close.
"Good riddance," he heard Rose grump under her breath.
The doctor shook his head. "That's not nice Rose. Benjamin is a good man. He loves Sarah and he's very worried about her . . . cut him a little slack."
* * * *
After taking time to give Bart a complete examination, Carlisle left the boy in the care of Esme, Bella, and Rose while he headed off to attend to Sarah. According to his wife's account, the experience of biting the boy left her devastated. Her control had been extraordinary; she was focused and collected the entire time, and only lost her emotional balance after it was over.
She didn't swallow a single drop of Bart's blood, allowing it instead to drool out and puddle on Alice's bathroom floor. He was sure Alice wasn't thrilled about this, but it was certainly better for Sarah. More remarkable still was that she willingly released him from her bite as soon as Alice told her to.
There were few things that astounded Carlisle these days, but his examination of Bart left him amazed. The first thing he noticed was the abatement of the lad's fever. When questioned, Esme told him that Bart's temperature was back to normal within an hour of Sarah's having bitten him.
The next thing he noticed was the boy's shattered nose. The swelling and most of the bruising was gone. With a gentle touch he tested the bone, the rate of regeneration was incredible, and he speculated that within the next twelve to eighteen hours Bart's nose would be perfect again.
Finally he took a listen to Bart's heart and lungs. Both sounded strong and clear. Every evidence that the poor boy had ever had asthma had vanished and, had he not known about the condition before hand, he would have scoffed at the very idea of Bart being sickly. Also gone was the slight heart murmur that he had detected at the warehouse.
The only thing now was for the boy to wake up. Esme asked him when he thought this might occur, but in all honesty he had no idea. This wasn't the sleep of transformation, this was something very different. Bart would wake from his slumber whole but still wholly human, something that had never happened before in the history of the Vampire Nation. Bitten but not killed, bitten but not turned . . . bitten and made healthy and whole again. With Sarah came the dawning of a bright new day.
Outside Alice and Jasper's bedroom, Carlisle paused; from within he could hear Sarah's soft dry sobs and Alice's soothing whispers. She was agonizing over her actions, in spite of the good she'd done. His chest tightened as he called to mind each time he had made the same fateful decision, the agony he endured as he knowingly sank his teeth into each tender neck. He, better than anyone, understood what she was feeling. When he collected himself again he knocked lightly.
"Come in, Carlisle," Alice called softly from within.
Slowly he opened the door and entered the room. His heart sank to his feet at the sight of his little Sarah. She was lying on her side in the middle of Alice's huge bed curled in a tight fetal ball and sobbing tears that would never come. Alice sat on the edge of the bed stroking Sarah's soft mahogany hair as she whispered soothing words to her. Reverently he crossed the room to stand beside Alice, putting a fatherly hand on her shoulder.
"How is she?" he asked. The question seemed a little clinical, but he couldn't think of anything else at the moment.
"She's pretty broken up." Alice answered plainly. "What were you expecting?"
What were you expecting; he chided himself, to find her all smiles and sunshine? He shook his head; she was going through the same emotional wringer that he had the first time he bit someone. Even though Elizabeth had begged him on her death bed to save Edward, the guilt and shame of actually having bitten another human had been overwhelming. Worse yet for him, he had condemned Edward to this hellish existence by selfishly granting his mother's dying wish. Though Carlisle was long forgiven for this trespass by his son, the guilt still twisted in his chest like a dagger from time to time.
"I'd better go find Rose and calm her down before she goes looking for Benjamin . . . and hurts him," Alice sighed. "Would you mind keeping an eye on Sarah?"
A faint smile turned up the corners of his mouth, Alice was excusing herself so he could be alone with his youngest. He wanted to thank her for her thoughtfulness but the look in her golden eyes told him it was unnecessary.
"Of course, it would be my pleasure."
Carlisle watched Alice leave before settling on the edge of the bed in the spot she had just vacated. Sarah winced as his weight settled beside her and she whimpered softly. Slowly, gently he reached out and began stroking her hair as Alice had been doing.
"Papa," she squeaked, between sobs.
"Shhh, its ok, honey, I'm here now." She'd gone through this whole horrible experience without his help, but he wouldn't leave his baby girl now. He continued to stroke her hair, brushing a stray strand away from her cheek with the pad of his thumb.
"Papa, I . . . I . . ." her words broke off as she tried to speak between sobs.
He knew what she was trying to build up to and he wanted to tell her it was unnecessary, but he also knew she needed to do this. "Confession is good for the soul," his father's voice echoed in the back of his mind. So he continued his tender ministrations as he waited for Sarah to speak again.
"I bit him, Papa." The words tumbled from her mouth too quickly for her to edit. "I bit Bart . . . Alice told me he would die if I didn't . . . I'm sorry, Papa." Her sobbing continued with renewed vigor when she finished speaking.
Without a word, Carlisle gently scooped his youngest up, taking her in his arms and settling her in his lap. He pulled her in tightly against his chest and stroked her hair as he slowly rocked her like an infant. Without initially realizing it, he found himself humming one of Esme's unnamed melodies. Slowly she began to relax and her sobbing tapered off until it subsided altogether.
"I know all about what happened," he admitted to her calmly as he continued petting her. "The fact of the matter is Alice told me about this several days ago. I'm the one who should be saying sorry. I kept her vision from you . . . I didn't want to further upset you, especially after your encounter with Alberto."
"I couldn't . . . let him die . . . Papa," she stuttered. She was still recovering from her bout of emotions. "I . . . can't explain . . . why."
"You don't have to explain, honey," he soothed. "Remember, I've done this four times myself. If anyone in this family can honestly tell you that they understand . . . it's me."
It was true, each time he'd taken it upon himself to impart his gift and add to his family, he couldn't explain exactly why he'd done it. He made all manner of excuses to himself; loneliness on his own part, fulfilling a dying woman's last wish, a desire to provide lasting companionship for one of his children, his selfish deep-seated need for normalcy and a family, the list was endless.
All of it was true and yet none of it was true. Then his father's voice purred in the back of his mind, "There is a time and a season for all things under heaven my son." His father had never been a particularly tolerant man nor one given to lavishing affection on his son but, in death and in Carlisle's subconscious, he'd finally offered the wise paternal counsel the doctor had been desperately looking for.
