Here we are with another chapter! I'm as shocked as you are that I have updated twice in two days. Thank you all for the lovely reviews on the last chapter, they really made me smile :)
Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT or Twilight.
Bella's point of view
Sitting in Carlisle's office, I feel more composed than I expected to. Looking around, I see that some of the furniture is the same as the office he had in Forks. The same paintings that had hung there now hang here. The same books are lined up on the shelves. Medical text books and old classics alike.
After Carlisle had agreed to help us, Leo suggested that we talk in more detail. The only condition being that it be alone, meaning that Carlisle's family had to leave. Of course they protested, but in the end they listened when Carlisle assured them that he would be fine. Emmett is still with us, but seeing as the formula is still in his system, he's of no threat. I glance over to him to see how he is, feeling slightly wary of him as not twenty minutes ago I was holding a blade to his throat. He seems fine, if not slightly reserved. That may be because he's in a room surrounded by three turtles though. It's been a strange evening.
"Thank you for agreeing to speak with us alone." I tell Carlisle, talking to him from the opposite side of his desk. He is sitting in his desk chair, elbows resting on the edge of the table. "The others... I feel they wouldn't allow us to talk about the things that we need to" I sigh. In truth I am speaking about...him. The others would maybe allow us to discuss what we need without bringing up the past, but he would not.
"I understand. I admit that I have questions of my own, but for now they can wait. What is it that you need?" He looks around the room, focusing on each of my brothers in turn, addressing everyone in the room, before focussing back on me.
"Our farther is sick. He has a condition called Bradycardia. We ran some tests and found that it is caused by Myocarditis" I run my hand over my face. I had removed my mask when I entered the house, seeing no reason to keep it on.
"That can be treated by antibiotics. I can prescribe you some."
"Antibiotics don't work. Human medicine doesn't work on my brothers and father the way that it should. Pain killers work, but anything more specific can have side effects"
"Is your father like your brothers?"
"No. Well, in a way, but not the same species. My brothers were mutated when they were young turtles. Our father isn't a turtle. He's a rat." I hear a laugh from behind me, and turn to see it is Emmett.
"Damn, and I thought our family was weird. That just takes the cake." He smiles at me, and I hesitantly return it.
"Their biology is different to humans. It's difficult to treat them. Wounds I can deal with, but diseases? That takes expertise that I simply don't have." bowing my head, I look at my hands.
"Our father is old for his kind. The mutagen has extended his life span. Raising and teaching us has been physically exhausting for him." Donnie carries on, coming to stand behind me and placing a hand on my shoulder. "Bella and I have done a lot of research so that we can treat ourselves and our family, but this is beyond us. Without help anyway."
"How is he now? What's his condition?" Carlisle leans back in his chair, folding his hands in his lap.
"He's stable. We have him under constant observation, hooked up to a heart monitor. He's getting weaker by the day, and there's only so much that pain medication can do for him. He's suffering." I choke on the last word, clenching my fist. Visions of farther pass through my mind, of him struggling to breath and hiding his pain. "He cannot do a lot of physical activity and his pulse is under 60 beats per minute. He's constantly tired. We've run as many tests as we can. There's nothing left to test."
"All the symptoms match, though you already knew this. He needs a cardioverter-defibrillator. They aren't difficult to get hold of, as the surgery isn't considered major. In fact the surgery is fairly minor." Carlisle muses.
"It's minor for humans. The ICD would have to be modified so that father's body wouldn't reject it. I can do that myself, that isn't the problem though." Donnie says.
"As we've said, his biology is different to humans. I am used to treating my family, but not like this. I cannot just research how to do this. I need practised hands that know what they are doing combined with my knowledge of my father's anatomy."
"There is no guarantee that this will work, even with my help" I look up at him, whilst my brothers shift behind me. "I know that you know this already, but I need you to understand that even with a human this surgery would be risky when your father's age is taken into account." He looks apologetic.
"We have to try. He's our father, what other choice do we have?" Donnie answers for all of us. No one says anything for a few moments.
"There are conditions though. To you working with us." Leo takes over, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. " We will teach you how to create the formula whether we are able to save our father or not. You do not need to worry about that, we will keep our word. However, no one other than you will be allowed near our home. Especially not your son."
My head snaps around, looking directly at Leo. His face is hard and his stance is tense. His hands are clenched into fists that he flexes a few times.
"I assume you are referring to Edward" At the mention of his name I hear Raph growl, but I don't turn to look at him.
"Yes. For obvious reasons, we do not want him anywhere near our home. You are also not to tell any member of your family its location either. We shall teach you how to make the formula in your home, so there is no need for anyone other than you to come to us."
"I assure you that my family will cause you no harm. We are not like others of our kind." Carlisle defends, placing his hands flat on the table.
"We are aware of your diet. Bella has informed us that you only hunt animals and not humans. However my brothers and I are not human, and neither is our father. The formula removes the urge to hunt though, so your blood-lust is not what we're worried about."
"We know that you have been searching for me, Carlisle. You may think that I am at risk, or not safe, but I assure you that I am safest with my brothers." I say quietly.
"If you are your family attempt to take Bella away, then we will use the formula against you. It is as much for our protection as it is for your benefit. We have been trained in the art of ninjutsu from an early age. Whilst it would be difficult for us to hurt you, all we need is one cut and that would be enough to weaken you. Our weapons are coated in it. Please, do not give us a reason to use them against you. We haven't come to you to threaten you, but if you do anything to hurt our family, then we will not hesitate to use them." Leo finishes, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that he is completely serious. I watch Carlisle face as he processes his words, letting them sink in.
"We have to take precautions. Believe me, we will keep our word. We will not do anything unless we are provoked." I assure him, keeping my tone as earnest as possible.
I do not want to hurt the Cullen's. I never have. I would not have gone to Italy to help them if I wished them harm. However I will fight against them if I have to. I will not let anyone try to take me from my family again. I knew right from the start that one day I would leave Forks and never see the Cullen's again, as there was no way that I could leave my family behind. I would never become one of them, though at the time part of me wished that I could. There was a time when a very small part of me wished that I could join them somehow, though never at the cost of losing my family. This was before they left me, and before my love for Edward had started to fade. Now I am resolute that I will never make the same mistake again, and that I will never regret what I have. I need my family, and they need me.
"Carlisle. They aren't trying to trick us. The formula really does work. It hasn't hurt me at all. This is the closest to being human that we will ever get. I don't know how they've managed it, but they have. Surely that's more than enough. We can't take Bella away from her family, and from what I've seen there's no need to take her anywhere. She can more than take care of herself." Emmett says, and I am surprised by how sincere he sounds.
"Thank you Emmett" I murmur "I'm sorry about earlier, I realise that maybe it was uncalled for"
"That's okay Bella, we're cool" He winks at me, flashing me a goofy smile.
"I understand your concerns and why you have made the conditions you have. I'll help you, and find some way of keeping the others away." He sighs, standing up and moving towards the window behind his chair. "I can't say that they will be happy about this, but I'm sure that even they will be able to see that we need to respect your wishes. At least all but one will."
"If there is any breach in these conditions then everything is off. We take the formula and you cease treatment on our father. We can leave the city at any time, and go where you nor your family will be able to follow." Leo tells him. "We need your help, but we will not risk any harm coming to our family."
"I understand. I will find a way of keeping them from your home. It won't be easy, but I'll find a way."
"Of course once this is all over, there will be no further contact. Once this is done, we will not contact you again. And you will stop searching for Bella."
"Bella? Is that what you want?" I blink in surprise, seeing Carlisle looking directly at me. I can feel every gaze in the room is directed towards me. I take a deep breath before answering.
"Yes. It is for the best. I need to be with my family. They will be at risk if I continue to talk to you, and I need to keep them safe. They are in enough danger just existing in the city without adding vampires to the mix. Not to mention I... I just can't. There was always going to be a time when I would have to leave, and never come back. Always. When this is done, it will be the last time that you will see me, and that is what I want."
I can almost hear my brothers exhaling in relief behind me. I know that they were once worried that one day I would chose not to return to them. I suppose it was about time that I told them that there was never any doubt about whether I would come back or not. Carlisle continues to look at me, a sad smile on his face. After a few moments he nods.
"The others will be on their way back soon. Its a miracle that they stayed away for this long. They will want to know what is happening. And to talk to you, Bella."
"I don't think that it would be a good idea for me to talk to them. Some of them aren't willing to listen to what I have to say, and we need to be getting back home anyway." I look away from Carlisle, rising from my seat and moving to stand with my brothers. Raph pushes away from the book case he had been leaning on and walks to stand beside Donnie. It is only now that I realise that he hasn't said a word this entire time. I try to catch his eye, but her refuses to look anywhere than directly at Carlisle.
"The effects of the formula will wear off in a few hours. We do not know how suddenly this will come on. I advise that you brace yourself though. Over the last few hours you have come accustomed to not feeling the thirst that you usually do. This will come back, and you may find it difficult to control yourself when it does. I advise hunting as soon as possible." Donnie addresses Emmett, who nods and performs a mock salute in his direction. "Tell me if there are any problems. I don't think there will be, but I need to make sure. Let me know." Again, another salute.
"We will meet you tomorrow, where we met Emmett. You will be able to track our scent, so there is no need for us to give you directions. Emmett will be able to tell you. We will meet just after sunset. Remember, come alone." Leo warns, moving towards the door.
"Thank you." I tell Carlisle, and I move forward to shake his hands. It feels odd, I used to be so accustomed to how cold their skin is that I almost recoil when I feel it now. Mind you, I used to be able to hug Carlisle, and now hear I am shaking his hand instead. Carlisle must be thinking the same thing as me, as his smile is sad as he shakes my hand.
"It's my pleasure." He tells me before releasing my hand. I nod before turning to leave. As I walk past Emmett, he extends his fist towards me, which I lightly touch with my own before whispering "See you late big guy"
The others are waiting for me just outside the door, and they continue when I close the door behind me. I pull my bandana from around my wrist, where I had tied it after taking it off. I fasten it back into its proper position.
"The others will be coming back from the same direction that they left. If Carlisle is right, then they will already be on their way back, meaning that we don't have much time. If we want to avoid them, then we need to leave using the same route that we used to get here." I explain to the others. "We need to avoid leaving too many trails for people to follow our scents."
"Bella is right. It is easy enough for us to disguise our scents once we get closer to the centre of the city" Leo moves ahead of the group, falling into a light jog before speeding up into a brisk run. We run across the lawn, heading towards the trees that we had emerged from.
I know this is a bit of a repeat, but it is important that the terms and conditions be made clear. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you so much for reading! Please leave a review!
Pingu xx
