Disclaimer: The characters of the Vampire Diaries and Twilight are the property of L. and Stephanie Meyer. I just play around with them.
This day had been so long in coming Esme couldn't tell who was happier; she or the boys. The last couple of days had been so trying it had taken everything she had not to throw the both of them off a cliff. If the practically bouncing teens wasn't a clue as to how beyond ready they were to go, the fact that Stefan willingly allowed Alice to quite literally clothe him and Edward not batting an eyelash when his father told him he still couldn't drive was enough proof. She felt the need to reprimand Stefan when he practically drowned himself in coffee in his attempt to drink it, though it was quite endearing to watch. Finally, finally they were ready to leave and Carlisle leaned in to place the customary kiss to Stefan's and Edward's heads. And that was when they should have realized something was not right.
"You feel slightly warmer Stefan. Are you okay?" Carlisle asked the boy, pulling back and staring at him with a worried frown
Esme mirrored his look and drew closer to the pair as Stefan answered. "Yes, Carlisle, I'm fine"
"Yea, I'll be the judge of that" the Cullen patriarch replied as he sent Jasper upstairs for a thermometer.
"You're worse than Damon" Stefan complained. He could swear those words were his brother's favorite ones. As if Stefan didn't know what was good for himself. Mentioning his annoying older brother's name out loud suddenly brought on a pang of nostalgia he had been trying to avoid for the past couple of days.
Carlisle noticed the somber look on the young face before him. "Still haven't heard from your brother, huh?"
Stefan shook his head. "Only Alaric answers the phone now. He probably went and got himself in trouble. Would be quite hilarious if he got himself grounded. Maybe then he'll know how much not fun it is"
"You think Alaric grounded him?" Emmett asked
Stefan shrugged. "It certainly would explain not answering the phone. And Alaric has always vocally expressed what he would do to Damon if he ever had the power to do so given some of his harebrained stunts. Now that he is practically the most powerful vampire on the planet, I wouldn't put it past him to put Damon's snarky ass in its place" he paused. "I just miss him is all. I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation why he is not answering my calls" he added just as Jasper came back with the thermometer
"Open up" Carlisle said to Stefan when the boy tried to wiggle out of his hold, never mind the fact that after years of dealing with Edward he anticipated this move and therefore had Stefan's jaw in a firm grasp, forcing him to open up. The Cullens looked on and waited together for the beep. When it came, another frown graced Carlisle's face.
"What is it, honey?" Esme asked
"I'm not sure" Carlisle muttered. "Are you sure you are okay, Stefan? Your temperature is a little off. Its two degrees higher"
"Maybe it's because I just drank some coffee?" Stefan said askingly. "It was pretty hot"
"That may be it" Carlisle concurred, albeit not very convincingly. "But if anything changes, or you feel weird in any way, you let me know immediately, okay?"
"Of course uncle Carlisle. Can we go now? We're gonna be late" he practically whined
"I don't think that is going to be a problem. You're surprisingly almost too early" Esme chuckled, before waving them off
School had never looked so appealing to Stefan in his almost two hundred years of life as much as it did in the moment. He was so ecstatic to be out of the house it didn't matter where he found himself. One sideways glance at his partner in crime told him he wasn't the only one feeling so warm over something as mundane as school. He shoved away the tiny voice in the back of his mind that kept warning him that something terrible was going to happen as he tried to tune in to what Edward was saying. Tried being the key word.
Edward turned around when his joke elicited no reaction from Stefan, only to find him with his eyes closed. Before he could jerk the sleeping beauty awake however, their teacher turned around.
"Mr. Salvatore, that had better be the longest blink recorded in human history or you are going to suffer the longest detention a teenager can endure" she threatened
Edward hissed through his teeth and made to shake Stefan awake. Except the boy wouldn't open his eyes.
"Mr. Salvatore" the teacher called out, louder this time
Still Stefan remained unmoved.
The entire class was focused on them now. Edward felt a flash of panic as he realized Stefan was too still. Almost as if…
Before he could complete the thought however, one of the students pushed Stefan out of his chair. It was supposed to be funny when he landed and gave a squawk or something, except Stefan went down like a ton of bricks and never got back up. An eerie silence suddenly fell over the class as the textbook fell out the teacher's shocked hands.
"Somebody go get the nurse" she said, composed as she squatted beside Stefan. "Was your cousin feeling unwell, Mr. Cullen?" she directed at Edward
"No, he was…" he trailed off as he pulled out his phone and-after a quick text to his older siblings-called his father. Alice and Emmett came in almost as soon as the text had been delivered, with Jasper and Rosalie following just a few seconds later. He handed the phone to Rosalie as soon as the man answered, bending to shake Stefan's shoulder instead. Where was that blasted nurse anyway?
It was when the nurse was simultaneously taking Stefan's temperature and checking his pulse, and Rosalie's conversation indicated to anyone listening that Carlisle was at least halfway to the school, that Stefan opened his eyes. He blinked in confusion at the considerable number of concerned faces looking down at him.
"What happened?" he asked, attempting to get up off the floor
Alice stopped him with affirm hand on his chest, keeping him lying on the floor. "You don't know?" Stefan shook his head. "You fainted"
"I… what? I don't… faint" he said, trying to get up again
"Apparently, you do. And stay down, will you? We don't know what's wrong with you" Alice admonished
"I'm fine, okay? Really" he said, finally managing to wrangle out of Alice's restrictive hold. "Aren't I?" he directed to the nurse
"Your pulse and temperature are normal, but your fainting is not. I'd like to run some tests to be sure"
"That won't be necessary" Emmett said quickly. "My father is on his way to pick him up". When the nurse still looked skeptical, he added "He's a doctor. He'll know what to do"
Despite Stefan's protest that he was fine and should be allowed to get up, the best he was allowed to do was sit up and lean against Jasper who was kneeling behind him. It probably seemed much to the humans but the Cullen kids hadn't really dealt with sickness before-not as vampires anyway- and were not taking anything for granted. When Carlisle breezed into the classroom a few minutes later and demanded Stefan be taken to the infirmary where he could check him out, the boy had never been happier.
"All the tests say you are fine" Carlisle stated, almost resorting to rolling his eyes at the smug look on Stefan's face. "But people don't just faint out of nowhere. Are you absolutely certain you don't feel any different?"
"I'm fine Carlisle. Really" Stefan said, jumping off the examination chair. "I'll see you at home okay?" he added over his shoulder as he made his way back to class.
Carlisle stood, slightly confused, for a few more seconds before taking his leave also. He was going to keep a closer eye on Stefan from now on.
Stefan knew by then that something was seriously wrong. He felt warm and cold at random intervals and nauseous and breathless at others. He didn't know what was going on with him, but he didn't want to go home and so refrained from telling Carlisle anything. His fainting spell was the topic of the day at lunch but by fifth period, the entire school was talking about something else, though he was at the center of it again.
Edward had kept a close eye on Stefan after the fainting spell, and that was the only reason why he saw the minute signs of distress on Stefan's face. He had noticed a few minutes prior but hadn't had the chance to ask him about it. He peered at him from the corner of his eyes as whatever he was trying to hide was showing itself more and more. "Are you okay?" he whispered, only to be rudely-in his opinion- interrupted
"Mr. Cullen, this is not a group discussion. Look on your side of the board please" the teacher admonished
Edward turned back to his algebra question, still keeping his 'cousin' in his peripheral vision, and cursed for the umpteenth time why he and Stefan were called upon to solve the mindless equation. So engrossed was he in his hatred of x and y's that he almost missed it. The sharp intake of air. The chalk cluttering to the floor though, he heard as loud as a gunshot. He turned around in time to catch Stefan as he keeled over, his head grabbed tightly and his face twisted in abject agony. The blood curdling scream that tore out of his throat was filled with such pain as Edward was sure he had never felt before. It was also loud enough to have teachers and students about four rooms down the hall running to their algebra class, his older siblings included. Rosalie had the good mind to call their father as soon as she entered the room while the others tried to question Stefan's sobbing form.
"Hey. Hey, hey look at me. Where does it hurt? Tell me?" Alice tried to comfort
"Make….itt…..ssstoooopppp. Pppleeeaaasse. It ….. Hurtsssssss"
"Yes. Yes I'm going to make it stop" Alice nodded feverishly. "But you gotta let go first okay?" she said, trying to pry his hands away from his head
"Pleeeeeeeaaaaasssseee" Stefan pleaded, his hands clutching his head tighter as his booted feet jerked around
Emmett dragged Edward out from under Stefan and passed him over to Jasper, before taking his position behind the boy. "Stefan, hey bud. I know it hurts but you have to try and stay still okay?" he tried to get through but Stefan let out another bone chilling scream, effectively cutting Emmett off though Emmett was already distracted by something else. Trails of blood were now making their way down Stefan's face, out of his nose and ears and gurgling in his throat as he attempted to continue screaming while choking on his own blood.
"Shit" Edward muttered, stopping his struggling in Jasper's arms for a moment to stare wide eyed at the scene. "Ro-Rosalie, where's daddy?" he stuttered, forgetting for a moment that he was surrounded by classmates who would rib him for saying daddy
"He said to call an ambulance but he's also on his way"
"An ambulance? What are they gonna do, he's not hu…" Jasper quickly clasped his hand over Edward's mouth before he said something they couldn't take back
"Careful what you say little brother" Jasper admonished quietly. "A teenage boy is spewing and crying blood in a school. It's standard procedure to call an ambulance, even before his parents. Dad will check him out later but these humans need to see him getting into an ambulance. Understood?" Edward nodded slowly. "Good. I'm taking my hand off now. You going to be good?" he nodded again
It took almost an eternity- which is apparently equivalent to seven minutes in Edward's book- for the ambulance to arrive and take Stefan away. They got to the school seconds before Esme, whom Rosalie called after their dad. She grabbed her kids in a desperate hug, and -in a shaky voice she didn't have to fake at all- asked if she could take them home for the day, making it clear that they would not be returning to school until later in the week, if at all.
"We need to call Alaric" Carlisle announced suddenly
Esme looked at her husband with uncertainty. "You're sure?" she asked solemnly. They were the only ones in the house after sending the kids off to hunt. It said a lot about their state of mind that they allowed the kids to go hunting despite the numerous bottles of blood they had; kept fresh by Carlisle's medical knowledge. Now they watched Stefan as he slept peacefully. No traces of the agony he endured a couple of hours ago were present on his face. Carlisle had managed to get him discharged with some amount of subtlety and decorum lest he become a medical miracle.
The patriarch nodded. "I don't know what is wrong with him. Maybe it's a witch thing, and lord knows we know next to nothing about that. What if whatever Bonnie did is backfiring? Stefan hasn't been able to reach Damon for some time now- he thinks it's because he's grounded- but I can try Alaric"
"Yes, I guess you're right" Esme agreed. "You should probably do that before the kids return. They won't be gone long. They were really worried for Stefan"
"I don't know what else to do Bonnie"
The teenage witch looked at him with pity. "Let me try one more spell" she tried to comfort. "Maybe this time…"
"No, you need to rest" Alaric cut her off. "You're going to collapse if you go on like this. We need you at full steam…" the phone ringing interrupted his lecture. "Hello… Oh hey Carlisle. How are Esme and the kids?... Stefan behaving himself?... oh, is everything okay? Did something happen to him?... W-What?... This morning?... Yes, Damon is uhh… Wait did you say he grabbed his head?... No I don't think it has anything to do with what Bonnie did. She just linked them to… Holy shit! You know what; we're on the next plane to Washington. I'll call you when we land. Bye"
"What was that about?" Bonnie asked confusedly
"That, my dear, is how we find Damon"
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