My eyes stung as I forced them open, the light too white and harsh. My head felt fuzzy and I couldn't think straight or remember where I was. There was a loud humming in the air, which I soon realised was just ringing in my ears. My entire body ached as though I had pulled every single muscle at the same time.
"How's your head?" Alistair asked, raising his eyebrows. He stood leaning against the door frame with his arms folded.
I reached up and pushed my hair off my face, glaring at him.
"Come on, I'm serious." He came over and awkwardly sat on the edge of the bed. "Apparently you took a really hard hit."
"…Hit?" I asked, incredulous. Sudden it came back to me in a rush. "Carlisle!" I jumped up and made for the door, not knowing where he was but determined to find him. The room spun and I lost my balance.
Alistair caught me, making me sit down again. "He's fine, Esme. Well not fine, but…surviving," he explained softly, rubbing the tops of my arms.
"I have to- to- I have to see him," I begged frantically, struggling against him.
"I'll take you to him, but I need you to calm down first, okay?"
"Now," I demanded, vaguely aware I was acting like a child but I didn't care.
"Calm down."
"I CANT CALM DOWN!" I screamed at him.
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, biting his lip. "I can't take you in there while you're not being rational."
"You have to let me," I sobbed, not having the strength to fight him anymore; my limbs felt as though they were full of led.
"Look, if I take you in there like this, you'll scare the crap out of him and he doesn't need that right now."
I took a deep breath, desperately trying to calm down enough for Alistair to cave. "Please, Alistair…you can't- you can't- you can't-" I lost control again. "I-I have to see him," I cried, trying to keep the tears off my face. It proved impossible.
He gave me a tight smile but his eyes were soft. "Okay, but please, please try not to panic, alright?"
I nodded, squirming with anticipation.
"Come on then." He took my hand and led me toward the door. "Can you walk? You're not dizzy?"
"I'm fine," I assured him but my voice shook.
He nodded distractedly and took me down the hallway.
"Alistair what day is it?" I asked, suddenly realising I didn't know.
"It's only Saturday," he chuckled. "They only put you out overnight. Just long enough to get you away from Carlisle so they could help him." He stopped outside a door and squeezed my shoulder.

"Carlisle…" I whimpered, swallowing hard so I didn't cry as I reached toward him. I didn't know what else to say.
He glanced up at me and tried to smile but didn't quite manage it, biting his lip instead. His jeans were still soaked with blood although I couldn't see where he was actually hurt.
"I-I'm so sorry, honey- I should have looked- you should have just let me get hit and then you wouldn't be in this mess…" I burst into tears, over powered with guilt and worry. "I'm so sorry…" I couldn't even hug him; I couldn't touch him without hurting him.
"Shh, it's not your fault, love." He twisted a bit, sitting up so he could put his arms around me and rub my back. "It's okay-"
"It's not okay! It's my fault because if I had of looked then you wouldn't be hurt- I could have killed you-" Even though I was crying hysterically he still managed to interrupt me.
He sat on the edge of the bed, holding my face in his hands so I couldn't look away from him. "Esme listen to me. It is in no way your fault. There was nothing you could have done to stop it. And I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you, okay?" He kissed me lightly. "I love you…"
"I love you too," I sniffed, wiping my face dry. I slid my arms around his waist, squeezing him as hard as I dared. He winced and I realised I'd hurt him so I loosened my grip a bit.
He gave me an apologetic smile.
"You're hand…" I murmured, carefully moving it to where I could see it. It was bandaged tightly although I could see his fingers were blue with bruising. "Is it broken?"
He nodded, pulling his sleeve over to cover it. "My wrist is, but it doesn't hurt that much."
I ran my hand down his side, barely touching him.
He flinched anyway, drawing a sharp intake of breath before quickly pulling my hand away. "I-I broke a few ribs too," he told me guiltily.
"Anything else?" I asked, trying not to cry again. I stroked the side of his face with my thumb, not sure where else I could touch him where it wouldn't hurt.
"Um…" he glanced down before cautiously pulling up the leg of his jeans just enough so I could see the bottom of something metal; a brace of some description. "Just that and a couple of scratches…"
I sighed in relief knowing it wasn't anything life threatening, despite how painful it may be.
"Are you okay?" he asked, reaching up with his good hand to tuck my hair behind my ear.
"Yes, thanks to you." I smiled and kissed him gently.
He smiled too and lent against me, hugging me again.

"Oh thank god you're here," Tanya muttered to me as she came in the door. She gave Carlisle a teasing look and he shyly smiled at her. "This one was very, um, upset that he wasn't allowed to see you." This time when she glanced at him she looked more worried. "Shouldn't you be lying down? I mean the doctor probably isn't going to be very happy…"
He shook his head, almost fearfully.
She sighed before rubbing his shoulder. "You need to tell her that it hurts. Maybe they can give you something for it…"
"What hurts?" I asked protectively.
"He shattered four ribs," she told me, seeming surprised I didn't know.
He looked away, refusing to meet my eye.
"You didn't tell me that, sweetie," I scolded lightly, brushing his hair off his face and moving closer to him. "Is there anything else I should know about? Where did all the blood come from?" I asked, most to Tanya because I knew he wouldn't tell me.
"Sorry, Carlisle, but she has a right to know," she told him quietly.
He nodded but didn't look up.
"Well…he has a few quite deep cuts from the glass of the windshield, which is where the blood was from, but aside from that he has severe concussion, one of the bones in his wrists are broken but the doctor said it's only cracked so it should heal quickly, and he snapped a bone in his leg which they've given him a brace for because they were scared that it would shift if he tried to stand up. They've also made him take a lot of pain medication- morphine I think-" She stopped talking when he burst into tears and squeezed his hand in comfort. "Which is the cause of this," she continued.
"The morphine?" I clarified, trying to calm him down a bit.
She nodded. "It screws up vampire's heads a bit… we're not actually supposed to take it but he's allergic to everything else so there was no alternative."
Within a few minutes he was calm again, although I could tell he was still on edge.
We all looked up when Garrett came in. He immediately went to put his arms around my husband.
"Don't touch him," Tanya snapped, jumping up to get between them.
He stopped instantly, folding his arms and looking at the floor. "Sorry," he mumbled, sounding close to tears himself.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to be harsh with you, just be careful with him, that's all," she told him, rubbing his back.
He nodded but didn't move, either out of fear of disobeying his coven leader or hurting Carlisle, I wasn't sure which.
Beside me Carlisle fidgeted. "He can hug me, it's okay," he assured her, reaching out to Garrett.
He stepped forward, hugging him but looking very worried about hurting him. He moved away again as a nurse came in.

"Lie down, Cullen," the women in uniform growled.
Carlisle looked up at me panicked. "I-I-I d-don't want t-to…" he stammered, leaning against my side and cuddling into me.
I kissed the top of his head and rubbed his back. "It's okay," I told him gently. When I turned to the nurse I was nowhere near as friendly. "He cant. It hurts too much," I snapped at her, putting my arm around him.
She rolled her eyes. "I think we know what's best for him," she replied sarcastically. "Lie down." She pushed him back and he hissed in pain.
"Don't touch him!" I shrieked, struggling to keep my voice at a reasonable volume.
She glared at me. I glared back. "It's not optional. Doctor's orders," she smirked, folding her arms. "Of course we could just stop your medication?"
"You can't do that legally!" I shouted, not caring anymore.
"Who are they going to believe? A trained professional or a couple of clueless vampires?" She looked pleased with herself.
There was no other option. He had to do it.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," I told him tearfully.
"I-it's okay," he mumbled, shifting back like she wanted him to.
I moved back as well so he could lie with his head on my lap. He curled up against me, whimpered and struggling not to cry. He wrapped his uninjured arm around himself, being careful not to touch his side.
"Shh, I'm sorry. I know it hurts, honey," I murmured to him, twisting my fingers through his and squeezing his hand.
"H-how's your head?" he asked quietly.
"It's okay, love. I'm completely fine, don't worry about." I felt helpless, not being able to make him feel any better. "Just try and relax, sweetie. Are you tired?"
His grip around my hand tightened and he became tense. "No." It was obviously a lie.
"He didn't sleep at all last night," Tanya told me before turning to him. "And you've had morphine, so surely you must be."
"I'm not tired," he argued, still holding onto me.
"Esme is not going to disappear, Carlisle," she chuckled, shaking her head at him.
"Aww, is that what you're worried about?" I chided gently, kissing the back of our hands.
He nodded, sort of shrinking into me.
"It's okay. I won't go anywhere, I promise," I assured him, pushing his hair off his face. "I'll stay right here the whole time."
"…Okay," he mumbled, leaning into my touch.
"Will you try and go to sleep?"
"Yes," he agreed unsurely, glancing up at me.
"I promise, Carlisle." I leant forward, kissing him properly. He still seemed anxious but it settled him a bit.

Despite the fact that he was exhausted, it was still me that fell asleep first.