AN: I hope these next few chapters aren't too angsty? Oh well, enjoy!

* I do not own Twilight or the characters within this story, nor the songs.

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"Tell me I was never good enough
Remind me of the demons that I've been running from
Tell me who the hell you thought I was
Or just blame it on the person, the person I've become"

Hurricane (Reimagined) - I Prevail

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Carlisle ✦ Slumber ✦ Amnesia

Sensing footsteps nearby, I released my hold on Bella's hand. I swiftly left the scene; Bella hooked up to her life monitor, tubing fitted into her veins and a nasal cannula providing her additional oxygen.

She had looked so peaceful, despite her blackened features, her bruises, her grazes, her sewn wounds.

I barely acknowledged the nurse that passed me to check on her as I had made my way back toward my office.

I knew that there was going to be a lot of paperwork to deal with for this case. Alice had not told the theatre much over the phone, but it was obvious that her injuries hadn't been accidental. I had a lot to answer for myself.

Bella would probably want to file a report, too. I would not prevent her from seeking justice, I decided.

We had gotten into all of this strife from taking Bella's choices away from her to begin with, and I was not prepared to make the same mistake ever again.

I had to touch base with Alice. It had over half a day since we had spoken; I hadn't even told her yet if Bella had pulled through. Though I was sure she'd already seen that she was okay.

I had kept my phone on my person, on vibrate. I had not wanted to repeat my earlier mistakes… Had I only been five minutes... Five minutes earlier. That's all it would have taken to save her from most of her pain.

I pulled it from my pocket and called her, bringing it to my ear.

'Carlisle, is she...?'

'She's going to be fine.' I smiled into the receiver.

'Thank goodness! Has she woken up yet? No, I would have seen that... Can I see her?'

It had felt good to talk to hear her voice in a light tone again since our last conversation had been so panic-stricken.

'Alice, she just had spinal surgery. She hasn't woken up yet, no. I don't know if that's a good idea… We need to keep our distance.' My brows furrowed.

'Oh Carlisle, I would say that you're preaching to the choir, but we both know that you have been doing anything but keeping your distance,' she chuckled.

I had felt a prickle upon my cheeks, to which I raised my fingers. Had my body been human, would that have been a blush? I shot down the thought.

'Alice…' I sighed.

'Come on, Carlisle. We both know we can't let Aro get his hands on me anyway. I told you about Victoria, I asked you to help her. I saw everything about you saving her, he would already deem that as interference. I've told the others very little…' she paused for a moment, her last few words laced in sorrow. 'Including Jasper. They only know that I sent you after Victoria and Laurent. I sent them off to search for Victoria and made sure I dealt with the bodies alone so they wouldn't catch Bella's scent. You have to at least let me help keep watch!'

'Alice.' This time I had warned, jaw clenched.

'You can't watch her forever by yourself. You're not watching her now, are you?'

'You'd see if Victoria came near. The hospital is very capable of taking care of-'

'Carlisle,' she cut me off. 'You pretended to sleep for hours and hours so that you did not have to leave her side. Surely you wouldn't have done that if you had deemed her safe. I feel that way too! I have missed her so much. And I agree that we need to keep watch over her from Victoria. The hospital will need you to work. Allow me this?'

Sometimes her gift was more of a pain than a blessing; between her, Jasper and Edward, it was a wonder that anyone in our family received any privacy.

'That was different! I was making sure she had been stable, that she had no issues wearing off from the anaesthetic-'

This time, I cut myself off. She had made a good point, I had to admit. I couldn't watch her and work the wards.

'Okay,' I finally submitted. 'But only you, Alice. You can't tell any of the others. Not even Jasper.'

A squeal erupted on the other end of the receiver, causing me to wrench the phone away from my ear with a wince.

I waited for her to recollect herself.

'Okay, can I come by just before the start of your shift?'

I glanced at my clock; twelve o'clock. Ugh. Only three hours till my next shift started.

'Come by at two,' I replied. 'We'd best talk face to face.'

'I can't believe I get to see her after all this time!' came her melodic voice.

'Alice,' I warned. 'Don't forget, she doesn't remember us. We still need to keep our distance.'

'Yes Carlisle, I know. I won't talk to her.'

'Good.' I answered, readily changing the subject; 'Did you dispose of Laurent okay?'

'Yes,' she sighed. 'Esme is calling Irina sometime today. But he's sorted. I picked up your first aid kit and Bella's bike, too.'

'And the other woman?'

'I tipped off the police anonymously. I assumed that Bella will include it in her report once she's awake.'

'Okay, keep me in the loop. I'm keeping my phone on me. I'll see you in a few hours.'

'I can't wait to see her!' she exclaimed. 'See you soon, Carlisle.'

A click ran through the receiver; she had hung up.

I emitted a drawn-out sigh, releasing myself from my desk.

I sauntered my way back to Ward Three, Bed Four; ignoring the inquisitive gazes of my colleagues as I passed each one.

I had only one thing on my mind; to see that the brown-eyed brunette was safe.

I turned the corner, nearing her ward, and then another, and there she was; sleeping peacefully. I stood by the corner of her bed; arms folded. My mind wandered to the source of the stinging déjà vu that had been haunting me.

After James' capture and attack, I had insisted to take Bella to St. Joseph's; my dear friend Dr Sadarangani had been there to vouch for me.

On our way, Alice and Edward had schemed together, using her visions to decide the best path of action for us all to take.

'She just needs time, Edward,' I had assured Edward. 'Her body needs rest to recover, and so does her mind. She's going to be okay.'

Had I been trying to reassure Edward, or myself?

Alice had requested from me Bella's blood type then - O Positive – so that she could tie up our loose ends, much like she was doing now.

I had paged my friend while they were still bringing out a gurney for Bella. It had taken mere minutes for Dr Sadarangani to get Bella started on her first transfusion. Once she had started receiving blood, I instantly relaxed. I was fairly sure that everything else was in order.

Dr Sadarangani and the doctors on his team had done an absolutely marvellous job; the perfect suturing of Bella's wounds, the impeccable setting of her leg.

He had been entertaining his co-workers with stories of my successes from the inner-city hospital in Baltimore, one where we'd worked together fourteen years before. He had spoken with surprise about my unchanged appearance. I had told him that 'The cool, humid air of the Pacific Northwest was a natural fountain of youth,' but Edward had later told me with a chuckle that he had suspected that I had been experimenting with plastic surgery.

Both he and I had been very confident about Bella's condition, and so he had asked me to help diagnose some of his patients. He had declared to his interns that they would never see a better diagnostician than myself. I had smiled in response and helped him with his cases.

Everything was so different then; I didn't worry about her then like I did now. She had been in a more stable condition, but after she and Edward had been ripped from our family, I now felt ridiculously protective. There is no way I could ever let her suffer. Even now, staring at her slumbering form, I felt nothing but compassion and worry. It had been over 12 hours from when I first found her, after all, and she had still not awoken. We had planned to keep her sedated now, but it was uncommon that she would not have even stirred by now.

I remembered how I had then been the one to call Charlie, fabricating a story of lies.

I cringed at the thought of talking to Charlie or Renée now; Alice and I would have to plan the best route together. Thankfully on her admission, she had not had a next of kin lodged with the hospital already; so I was under no obligation to call him. Guilt flooded through me at the thought of keeping this news from him, just as it had done the last time I had called him and lied about her injuries.

'Hello, Charlie.'

'Carlisle? What's happening?'

'Bella's already had a transfusion and an MRI. Things look very good so far.' I paused for a moment, giving my sedated patient a nod. 'It doesn't appear there are any internal injuries we missed.'

'Can I speak to her?'

'Not yet. We're keeping her sedated for a while. It's normal procedure. She would be in too much pain otherwise - she needs to heal for a few days.'

My face had tightened at those words.

'Are you absolutely one-hundred percent sure that everything is okay?'

'I promise you, Charlie. I will tell you the moment there is something to worry about,' I swore. 'She really is going to be fine. She'll be on crutches for a while, but other than that, she'll be back to normal.'

'Thank you so much, Carlisle. You have no idea how glad I am that you were there'

'I do, as am I.' And I really was.

'I know this must be putting you out—'

'Don't even mention it, Charlie.' I was only to fast to cut him off. 'I'm only too happy to stay here and care for Bella until she's ready to come home.'

'I have to admit, that does make me feel a whole lot better. Will Edward be staying, too? You know, with school and everything…'

'We've already called the school and spoken to his teachers. They're going to let him study remotely. He's collecting Bella's work, too - though I am sure they'll be more than lenient.' My pitch sunk. 'He's absolutely gutted about it all.'

'I'm not sure I understand what actually even happened. Did Edward talk you chasing her all the way to Phoenix?'

'He may have,' I chuckled. 'He was very worried. He thought it was his fault and that he had to fix it.'

'But what actually happened?' Charlie asked in a bewildered tone. 'One minute, everything was normal... But then Bella is shrieking down the house about having feelings for your boy... about that apparently being a problem... Then she's running out in the middle of the night? Did you get anything coherent out of yours?'

'Edward did discuss it all with me, yes. He said he had told Bella how much he cares for her. She appeared at first to be happy, but something about his confession must have deeply bothered her. It upset her and she wanted to go back home, to you. Then she demanded that he leave.' I readily recited my speech of untruths.

'Yeah, that much I was there for.'

'Edward didn't really have a chance to talk to her about it all before -'

Charlie sighed, cutting me off. 'I do actually understand that part. To do with her mother. I think she may have been overreacting a bit.'

'I'm sure she had her own good reasons.'

Charlie gruffed uncomfortably. 'But what do you think about all this, Carlisle? I mean, they're just teenagers. Isn't this a little… intense?'

My answering laugh was breezy. 'Don't you remember being seventeen?'

'No, I don't. Not really, anyway.'

I laughed again. 'Do you remember the first time you fell in love?'

Charlie paused in thought. 'Yeah, I do. Hard to forget, really.'

'It is indeed.' I sighed. 'I'm so sorry, Charlie. If we hadn't come here, she wouldn't have even been in that stairwell in the first place.'

'Now, don't you dare start with that, Carlisle. She wouldn't have been so lucky if you weren't there. She's just a bit accident-prone. She could have fallen through a window here, in Forks! Or anywhere else for that matter.'

'I'm just so happy she's safe.' I sighed, stealing a glance at the Brunette.

'It's absolutely darn near killing me not to be there.'

'I'm more than happy to arrange you a flight—'

'No, thank you so much but that's not the problem.' Charlie sighed. 'We rarely get any serious crime in Forks, as you know. But, remember that really nasty assault case from last summer? Its trial is finally going ahead. I need to be here to testify.'

'Of course, Charlie.' I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. 'You really do not need to worry. Bella is in the best of hands. Put the bad guy away. I'll make sure Bella is returned to you very soon, in the best state she could otherwise be.' And I would.

'I would be going absolutely out of my mind if you weren't there for her. Thank you again. I'll be asking that Renée comes to visit. That would make Bella happier than seeing me, I'm sure.'

'I'm not sure about that. She does really care for you, Charlie,' I chuckled. 'But, that's a wonderful idea. I'm more than delighted to get the chance to meet Bella's mother.'

I had wondered how alike the two would have been.

'I'm warning you Carlisle, she'll fuss.'

'That's certainly her prerogative as a mother.' As it was mine as a potential father-in-law to be.

'Thank you again, my friend. Thank you so much for taking care of my girl.'

'She already feels like a daughter to me, Charlie. How could I not? We'll catch up soon.'

We had kept her in the hospital for six more days before she was well enough to be travelled home.

I wondered how long it would take this time for her to be able to resume her life. I took my seat next to her bed. She'd had serious injuries in Phoenix, but this time, she had lost even more blood, and her spinal cord had been damaged. I was sure that she would be okay - that it would heal - but I couldn't be sure how quickly.

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I stayed by her bedside as the minutes passed; nurses passed me by to check on Bella. Cally had begun her shift and had come to check on me.

'How are you holding up?'

'I'm holding up the world.' I replied, managing a slight smirk.

Cally nodded to Bella's sleeping form, then turned her gaze of admiration to me.

'So, do you know her?'

I readily shook my head, letting out a sigh.

'Where'd you find her? What happened?'

I had been preparing myself for an interrogation. I knew Cally, of all the staff, would be more than curious. She was probably the closest with me of my co-workers. She had been one of the only humans that worked here that weren't either wary or attracted to me, and I liked that. But she was also nosey and assertive, and I knew that she wouldn't have let this slip.

'I had decided to go for a late-night walk in the parklands behind Medway to clear my head when I heard her screaming. I think she was attacked by someone, but she was alone when I reached her. I managed to make a make-shift gurney out of some branches and a spare shirt in the car. It was lucky I had the first-aid kit in there too, she had lost a lot of blood.' I eyed Cally, gauging her response.

She folded her arms, nodding at my fabrication. She accepted it, it seemed. A gentle smile lightened her features.

'I carried – well – more so dragged her to the car, loaded her up and came here. I was on the phone with my daughter at the time so I had her call in.' I finished, stealing a glance to Bella.

'You care about this one more than usual, must have affected you badly.' It had been a statement. A fact.

'We don't usually see crime out this way; it is very concerning that this young woman was likely attacked and could still be in danger. I think they left when they heard me coming.' I met her gaze. 'What if they are still after her? I don't know who they are. It could have been personal.'

I shook my head, rising to stand.

'I'd like to make sure she's safe. My daughter filed a police report already on my behalf. I assume they will want to talk to me soon, too. But she likely has quite a few days of recovery ahead of her. It does not feel right to leave her unguarded. If it had been my daughter…' Only, it might as well have been. I had struggled to see myself as a father figure to Bella since the time Edward left her, and even more now that I took note of her matured features; physically, she and I were now the same age. But, she was still very firmly, family.

Her features softened. She approached me and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.

'You need to make sure you rest too, Dr Cullen.' Cally slipped me a wink. 'You're our top surgeon. We could easily arrange for her to have security or police to watch over her if you are that worried.'

I internally laughed. Security? …Police? Against a vampire? Oh, Cally. You really have no idea.

'Of course, I feel well-rested right now. And no, that shouldn't be necessary. My daughter is coming by soon though. She'd like to sit with her, so that she's not alone if she wakes. I can only imagine what she's been through and it will help if she sees a friendly face.' My jaw clenched. Alice had told me exactly what she had been through. She had detailed what they were planning to do to her. My stomach twisted at the vile thought.

'Okay Doc, but make sure you get something to eat before your shift, okay? You're never eating enough,' she chuckled, darting Bella with an endearing glance. 'She'll be fine. You're a good man, Carlisle. She is very lucky that you decided to go 'clear your head' last night.'

She took her leave with a wink, and I slumped back into the visitors' chair.

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Some time had passed before I was greeted with a more familiar and friendly face; Alice.

She had silently skipped into the ward. I knew that if she had been human, her heart would have been humming like the wings of the fairy that she embodied. Her presence brought me warmth.

She squealed, much like she had on the phone when she caught sight of her long-lost friend. She launched from a distance, landing on my lap and all but entangling me in her embrace. My eyes widened, but I readily returned it; wrapping my arms around her, letting my emotions melt into her. She withdrew, greeting my eyes with her own golden gaze, laced in more feelings than I could keep track of.

'She's safe.' She smiled pleadingly. I swore that I could see her eyes shine, ready to brim with tears.

'She is.' I smiled back, reaching out to hold one of her hands with my own.

'Thank God. Thank you, Carlisle…' she trailed off, whimpering. 'If you hadn't been there…'

'But I was. She's safe.'

'The others are still tracking Victoria.'

I was suddenly very grateful that Bella had been alone in her ward.

'Good. Have you any news?'

'No. They lost her trail at a river,' she paused, worry creeping its way onto her features. 'They've been searching the banks up and down but not with much luck.'

'We'll find her. We'll end her.' I promised, my words being released with a hiss.

Usually, I would not agree with destroying another of our kind, but I held no compassion for the vicious Viper that had caused Bella's pain.

Alice nodded, having stolen a glance to Bella.

'Can I… Can I touch her?'

'Gently. You can pat her arm right there.' I had pointed to her untarnished forearm.

Alice squealed again, pulling her own chair close to Bella. She laid her fingers on her arm comfortingly, before looking at me once more.

'So, Charlie and Renée?'

'Yes, I thought that I'd have to talk to you about that. We need to keep our identities from them, obviously.'

'Will you have to call them?' she enquired.

'No, at least not until she wakes up. She didn't have a next of kin in the system. It feels awful to keep this from them...' I muttered, wincing again at the thought.

'No need to worry. I will focus on their futures. If I see Bella go to mention your name, I'll make sure we alter the timeline.'

I nodded curtly. I hated lying, even if it was for the sake of our family and Bella herself.

'I don't like it either,' she continued. 'The last time I saw Charlie was the day we went to Volterra… But that's exactly why we need to keep them in the dark. We don't need any more humans getting caught up in our mess.' She smiled at me, trying to encourage me to mirror one for her. 'It's been five years; they'd be very suspicious if Bella spoke about you as if she didn't know you.'

'I know…' I sighed. 'But it still doesn't feel right. Charlie is a good man.'

'And so are you.'

Brushing her off, I glanced at her life monitor machine.

'Hopefully she wakes soon. She is on light sedatives to keep her sleepy if she does, but I fear that if she stays unconscious much longer, we may need to transfer her for an MRI to check for brain damage.'

'Oh I do hope I'm on watch when she does wake!' she smiled deviously.

'Good news, then?'

'Six more days.' She winked at me.

'Six?!' I gasped, my mouth agape. 'We'd only been planning on sedation for three. That means she's in a coma!'

'She'll wake up though,' she kicked her legs playfully. 'I saw it only just now. She'll wake then. But do what diagnostics you must.'

She looked up to glance at the clock.

'Carlisle, aren't you meant to be starting your shift say, five minutes ago?' she inquired.

I near jumped out of my skin. Me, late? Not in a hundred years. I left immediately and brisked my way to my office to put on my white coat.

I carried out my shift, checking in on Alice and Bella throughout my breaks. It had been the longest and most gruelling eighteen hours of my life. I took every solace for every soft breath I had heard be released from her lungs and in seeing those regular heartbeat waves dancing on her monitor. She was still alive. She was still here.

Alice had been rather reluctant to leave when my shift had ended, but she had needed to help finish tying up loose ends with the others. She had been determined to try and use her visions to help search for Victoria. I did, however, promise her that she could take over 'Bella watch' on my next shift.

For now, I pretended to sleep once more, settled right by her bed. I had prayed tonight, for her. I prayed that she would be okay. That we could keep her safe.

To hear her voice again; that would be Alice and I's only recompense.

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Extended AN:

My references for this one:

Some direct quotes from Midnight Sun by S. Meyer:

'She just needs time, Edward,'

'Her body needs rest to recover, and so does her mind. She's going to be okay.'

'The cool, humid air of the Pacific Northwest was a natural fountain of youth,'

The phone conversation with Charlie is based on Carlisle's conversation with him in Midnight Sun by S. Meyer :) Here are the direct quotes from the book:

'I promise you, Charlie. I will tell you the moment there is something to worry about. She really is going to be fine. She'll be on crutches for a while, but other than that, she'll be back to normal.'

'I know this must be putting you out—'

'Then she's running out in the middle of the night? Did you get anything coherent out of yours?'

'But what do you think about all this, Carlisle? I mean, they're just teenagers. Isn't this a little… intense?'

'Don't you remember being seventeen?'

'Do you remember the first time you fell in love?'

'It is indeed. I'm so sorry, Charlie. If we hadn't come here, she wouldn't have even been in that stairwell in the first place.'

'I'm delighted to get the chance to meet Bella's mother.'

'That's certainly her prerogative as a mother.'

The reminiscing about Dr Sadarangani is based on passages from Midnight Sun by S. Meyer.

Alice asking Carlisle if she can touch her is also based on a passage from Midnight Sun by S. Meyer - between the RN and Renée.