Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just playing around with them.

Lots of thanks to MelissaMargaret for making this pretty, and to anhanninen and xxluvCarlisleEsmexx for prereading.


EPOV

"Where'd Alice go?" I asked.

She had disappeared when Bella started panicking, leaving me to hold the kid, and she wasn't back yet.

"She went to search Emmett's car," Mom said. "We need a car seat for Miss Lucy. And she also went to start spreading the news that we're all leaving soon. There's no need for anyone to risk their lives, especially on a slow day. But you might want to go take care of any pressing things now."

I nodded and moved to stand up. The kid held tightly to my arm, making it nearly impossible. "You can sit with your mom now," I told her. "I have some work to do."

"I think she likes you," Bella said, biting her lip as she smiled. "Luce, come sit with me so he can go."

"I'll be back soon," I told her as I passed her over. I wasn't sure why I felt the need to assure this little person, but for some reason, I didn't want her to be sad. She was okay for a little girl, I guessed. Okay enough for one that coughed on my arm every few seconds.

With a wave, I high-tailed it out of Mom's office, hoping for some peace and quiet. Once in my office, I closed the door and sighed in relief as I sat down in my chair. Finally, after all of the crazy I'd had to deal with, now I could rest.

Scrolling through my email, I decided which ones were priority and which could wait. Slow day didn't even accurately describe today because I was done in less than an hour. I made it through most of the handwritten memos on my desk, too. Well, at least the ones I could see.

I was feeling proud of myself and finally over the stressful morning when someone knocked on my door and entered before I could even answer.

"Hey, Edward, we're leaving in thirty," Alice informed me. "But Mom wants to see you in her office first."

"Are you coming to the house, too?"

She put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "Yes, brother dear. Mom wants us all there until they know more about the weather tonight."

"Everyone being there is going to scare Bella," I said seriously. "You saw what happened just when you said that Dad is a doctor. Our whole family is going to send her into a coma or something."

"So we'll make ourselves scarce." She shrugged. "No one is going to purposefully upset either one of them. And they'll have time to get used to us because I don't think Mom is ever letting them go now."

She turned and left before I could respond, but really, I had nothing to say. So Mom wanted to add a possible psychopath to our family. She could do what she wanted, but I knew I was locking my room tonight.

I finished up my work, shutting down my computer before grabbing my coat and heading back to Mom's office. She was still where I'd left her, sitting on the couch with her arm around Bella. Bella looked a whole lot calmer, though her eyes still shot to me as soon as I walked into the room.

"Should I go ahead and leave?" I asked.

Mom turned to me, thought for a second, and nodded. "You can, but I need you to stop at the store for me. I'll email you the list, and we'll see you at home soon, okay? Love you, son."

"Love you too," I muttered, giving the girls a wave.

I headed to my car and managed to make it to the store without any asshole drivers pissing me off. Once I parked, I checked my email.

"What the..." Mom's list was nearly a page long. "I'm not the damn grocery shopper, Mom. This is not a few things."

I muttered to myself as I braved the snow and wind to enter the store. I had to get a cart - a fucking cart - because there was no way I could carry everything with only two arms.

Most of the list was easy enough to find. Bread, peanut butter, fresh food...but then, Mom got into the brand names. I had no idea food could have so many brands. I just wanted some crackers! Why did I need to weed through all these different kinds?

Somehow, I managed to find everything - including some sort of fancy hot chocolate - except one item. Mom wanted me to find something Dora for Lucy. I still didn't know what Dora was, so I found an empty spot in the frozen food and googled.

What the hell? A little Hispanic kid who hangs out with a monkey? That was...unsanitary. I shook my head, wondering who actually liked this.

I was tempted to head home without looking and telling Mom that they didn't have anything. But I just couldn't. That littler girl liked me...or something like that. And I'd might as well try to find this Dora person for her.

Searching through every aisle, I tried to find what I could. After another half an hour, I managed to find cereal, yogurt, a cup, and a creepy little doll version of this Dora chick. For some reason, I hoped Lucy would like this stuff. I'd tried my best.

After paying for everything, I loaded everything into the car, fighting the wind and snow in the process. It was obvious that the weather was getting worse, and I wanted this to mean that we wouldn't have work for a few days. I'd been outside enough today to last me a year.

The drive home was uneventful, except for the increasing snow, and I expected everyone to have beaten me home. I was wrong though. Dad was alone in the kitchen when I walked inside with the bags - all seven of them.

"Couldn't have made another trip, son?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"Nope. Too cold. I've had enough of that today."

"Ahh." He nodded and started helping me unload the bags. "I heard you had an...adventure outside today."

I snorted. "Yeah. Adventure. And I guess you heard that Mom's bringing a possible psychopath home? Where are they anyway?"

"Your mother stopped to get Bella a few necessities to last the rest of the week. I really hope you're not referring to her as a psychopath in front of her face."

"Well...it's not like we know she's not."

"This is true," he agreed. "But, she has a little girl who she obviously cares about, so says your mother. From my limited experience, most 'psychopaths' as you like to call them, aren't capable of much caring. So I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and open our home to her."

"Suit yourself," I muttered.

We finished putting the food away in silence, and Dad gave me a strange look when he saw all the stuff for Lucy. I just shrugged, not feeling like explaining myself. Once everything was put away, I turned toward the hallway, ready to head to my room for the rest of...however long I could get away with it.

But of course, luck was not on my side today, and everyone piled into the kitchen before I could escape. At least I thought it was everyone, but after resolving myself to my fate and turning around, I noticed that Emmett and his family were still missing. Bella, however, was trying her best to back up the way she came in until I caught her eye.

I motioned for her to follow me, and miraculously, we left the kitchen without anyone stopping us. Even if she was a psychopath, I wasn't going to wish my whole family on her at one time. They overwhelmed me sometimes.

I led her down the hallway, only going far enough to have a little bit of quiet. Mom probably had plans for where they'd be sleeping or what they were supposed to be doing now, so I didn't want her to think I kidnapped them or something.

"You have a uh...really nice house," Bella said softly.

"It's okay I guess." I shrugged. It was a house. I didn't have any complaints.

"It's the nicest place I've ever been. Thank you. For letting us stay here. We'll stay out of the way and leave as soon as we can."

"Don't count on that. I think Mom's keeping you," I informed her.

She looked down and held Lucy closer to her shoulder. "Esme's been so nice to us. I don't even know how to thank her."

Mom suddenly appeared, wrapping her arm around Bella. She jumped in surprise but still when she saw who it was.

"Sweetheart, you don't have to thank us." When Bella started to protest, she silenced her with a kiss on her temple. "No, really. Carlisle and I are so happy to have you. So thank us by staying for a while and letting us take care of both of you."

Bella chewed on her lip, finally nodding. "Okay. Can you...um make Lucy's cough go away? I think it's getting worse."

Mom nodded. "We'll have her good as new as soon as we can," she promised. "How about Edward shows you the way to the family room, and Carlisle and I will meet you there."

It sounded like a suggestion but I knew it wasn't. So with a sigh, I motioned for Bella to follow me and led her downstairs.

The silence weirded me out a little so I decided to talk as I went. "So...this is our family room. We have games and movies and TV and stuff. This is where we'll probably be most of the time because it's the only room that holds us all. Comfortably anyway."

"Are there more of you?" she asked, eyes wide again as she looked around the room.

"There'll be four more coming. Besides everyone in the kitchen."

"And everyone's staying here?"

I nodded and gestured to the couch for her to sit down. "Yeah. Mom likes us all together during stuff like this. I don't think she realizes we're all adults."

Bella sat down and looked up at me. "It must be nice. Having someone care about you that much."

Her big, brown eyes were making me uncomfortable. Not as uncomfortable as her kid made me, but uncomfortable enough. "Yeah, I guess. That's just how it's always been."

I didn't know what else to say, so I sat down on the other couch and made myself look busy with the TV remote as Bella whispered to Lucy. The kid was still coughing and making little whining noises. I really hoped Dad could help her, if only to give us some peace and quiet.

A few minutes later, Mom and Dad came down the stairs. Dad had his doctor bag with him, or whatever it was called. I just knew it had all of his supplies he kept at home for emergencies.

Mom went over and sat by Bella, reaching over to hold her hand. "Bella, this is my husband, Carlisle. He takes care of children every day, so he's going to do everything he can to help Lucy, okay?"

"Will he call the police?" Bella said, so softly that I almost didn't hear it.

Dad heard it, though, and he immediately stopped what he was doing and sat beside Bella. "Sweetheart, none of us will be calling the police, least of all me. You and your daughter are guests in our home because we want you here, not because we're going to turn you in for any reason. You're safe now."

Something he said made Bella start crying, so mom guided her head to her shoulder. Lucy started crying too, and the whole thing was making me uncomfortable. I started to stand to finally make my escape, but Dad saw me and shook his head. Great. I had to witness all these...emotions.

Thankfully, Bella calmed quickly and mumbled apologies which Mom brushed off. After all the tears had been dried, Dad pulled out his stethoscope.

"Is it okay if I examine Lucy?" he asked Bella. "Nothing I do right now is going to hurt her at all."

Bella nodded and scooted closer to Mom before turning Lucy around in her lap so Dad could reach her. Dad knelt in the floor in front of them and slowly approached.

I'd never seen my dad in action before, but it sort of fascinated me and I couldn't look away.

The closer he got, the farther Lucy leaned into Bella. She was clearly scared to death. Even I could tell that much. Dad was persistent though, not letting it bother him while somehow still caring. He was good at this.

Bella was scared too, and now all of this emotion was rubbing off on me. The family room was like a big ball of anxiety, and I was ready for it to end.

"All right, Miss Lucy," Dad said softly, smiling. "Can I have a quick listen to your breathing? Then we'll go find you a nice place to rest with Mama. Okay?"

She was not okay with this plan at all, choosing instead to hide her face against Bella's shirt.

That didn't stop him. He took his stethoscope from around his neck and let the end of it rest in his palm before offering it to Lucy.

"See, sweet pea? It won't hurt you at all. But what about if I listen to Mama first?"

Lucy looked back at Dad, focusing on his hand and then looking up at Bella. Bella smiled at her which made Lucy relax. Dad took that as his cue to move in, and he went through the motions of listening to Bella breathe. I didn't think he was really paying attention, but it looked real enough.

"It doesn't hurt, Luce," Bella said softly, kissing the top her head head. "Dr. Carlisle won't hurt you, and I'm right here."

When Lucy finally agreed with a short nod, Dad didn't waste any time. He placed his stethoscope on the front of her chest, moving it around every few seconds.

"That's a good girl," he praised softly. "You're doing so good. Let's listen to the back now."

Listening to her back took the same amount of time, and then I thought he was finished - until he pulled a little flashlight out of his bag.

"Can I look in your mouth?" he asked, but Lucy shook her head. "Please? Just like this."

He opened his mouth wide like he wanted from her, and I failed to hide my snort. Mom gave me a look, but I didn't care. That shit was funny.

Dad's acting didn't make Lucy any more willing, but he was able to get a quick look between her coughs. I guess he saw whatever he needed to see because he put everything back in his bag and sat back on the couch.

"What do you think it is, Carlisle?" Mom asked.

"I can't be positive without a chest x-ray, but I'm pretty sure it's pneumonia."

I didn't know much about medicine, but that sounded serious.

"What's that?" Bella asked nervously. "Can she get better?"

"It's an infection," Dad explained, gently patting Bella's hand. "In her lungs. Sometimes you breathe in bad germs and they gets way down in the lungs and fluid starts to stay there. It's makes it harder to breathe with all that fluid, and that's what causing the cough as well. Has she had a stuffy nose in the last week?"

Bella nodded as she started to cry again. "She did a few days ago but...but I thought it was just from being in the cold! Sorry. I'm sorry I was bad. So sorry. I didn't...I didn't mean to do this to her. Please. Please."

I didn't know what she was begging for, but no one asked any questions as Mom and Dad both shushed her and tried to comfort her. Once again, I wanted to run upstairs but this time, I couldn't move. I couldn't not see what they were going to do.

"Bella," Dad said after her crying had died down a little. "Bella, listen to me. This is not your fault. Do you hear me?" He didn't wait for her to respond before continuing. "Do you know how many children I've had come in this week alone with pneumonia like this? Seven. Seven children."

"Seven?" Bella repeated, reaching up to dry her eyes. "How did they get sick?"

"The same way Lucy did. Not from being cold, from things floating in the air. Most of us have no problem with them, but for little ones, it's sometimes more difficult for their bodies to fight these things off. But listen - we're going to help her get better. I promise. Can you believe me?"

"Okay," Bella whispered after a few seconds. "What do we do?"

"That's what I'm going to take care of now," Dad said, patting her leg and standing up. "I'm hoping to find some medicine that will take care of this really fast, so I'm going to talk to Rosalie to see what she thinks."

"Rosalie, my daughter-in-love, is a nurse," Mom explained, sensing Bella's confusion. "With Carlisle and Rose helping Lucy, she'll be better in no time. But I do need to go call her to see when they think they'll be here. Would you like Edward to stay with you?"

Before I could make an excuse, Bella nodded. It looked like I was stuck down here for a while.


A/N: Thank you all so, so much for the reviews and alerts! You guys are seriously amazing. I wasn't supposed to update until Thursday but I've had an insane week so far (and it's only Tuesday) so I figured I'd reward myself and everyone else, lol.

Also, Finding Serendipity has been nominated for fic of the week at The Lemonade Stand and I am so excited and grateful. Voting is open until tomorrow, and I'd really appreciate a vote. www . tehlemonadestand . net.

Thank you all so much for reading, and I'll try to post a twitter teaser next week! =)