Edward's POV: Alice and I were in the middle of a heated round of chess when she froze in mid-air, a rook still pinched between her fingers. Three minutes she spent, unblinking and lost to this world. When she came to, she blinked rapidly and shook her head vigorously to clear her head. I began to see pictures in her mind as she trotted over to the ledge where my phone lay in wait. I saw smoke… fire… I heard Charlie talking to Bella… gasps… and then it shifted to Carlisle answering a call… I heard Bella's voice on the other line, and anxiety was painfully obvious in her tone… Carlisle ordered the receptionist to make a call… and as I finished going through Alice's vision, my phone droned and vibrated in Alice's hand. Before I knew it I was being dragged to her Porsche and on my way to the hospital, and listening to Alice chirp out the receptionist's speech. We emerged into the waiting room, finding Bella slumped over and looking mildly miserable. Alice had the expression of one who just received a strong electrical shock at the charred sections of Bella's clothing. I am not able to read her mind, but I am able to read Bella's emotions and posture. She was drained.
"Bella? We heard about what happened. Are you alright?" I asked, trying to find her face under the hand and hair obscuring it.
"This is definitely the kind of thing I would have loved to sleep off…" she moaned into my chest as I wrapped my arms around her, "Then again, I probably would've had nightmares for a week."
"And woken up screaming?" added Alice.
"Most likely…" she said to my shirt. I gave her a comforting squeeze.
"How long do you think we'll have to wait?" asked Alice, flagging over an intern.
Dr. Cullen will so have me fired… I suck at this job! Can't stand the sight of blood, let alone burns. Maybe this cutie will go on a pity date…echoed his thoughts in my head. It was difficult to restrain my laughter, and harder to restrain the scoff of 'crucially unlikely'.
"Uh… I think we're getting closer. Dude is gonna be feeling that tomorrow. So…" he said, leaning casually against the wall, "What's your name? You a relative? I know it's pretty tough to have someone in such an… awful predicament. If there's anything I can do at all, please-"
"Stuff it loser, I'm taken. Now, can you give me a timeline?" she retorted, smiling sweetly at the end. Bella was always amazed with her powers of…persuasion. Had this been Rosalie, either he would have been dead for flirting like that by Emmett's hand or her own lack of tolerance or he would have fainted from her gaze. I felt Bella fight the smile from her position on my chest. She was losing. The intern looked both stunned and chastened. Carlisle poked his head between the doors, ushering him back in. He waved at us briefly, then went to finish the work. About an hour or so later, we were standing next to a heavily bandaged Charlie, trying to figure out what to do next. We'd been there about twenty minutes; Carlisle asked us to wait. He wanted to fill us in on the condition, but the round receptionist was temporarily holding him hostage on a phone line. When he was finally released, he dictated the severity of the damage, and met Bella's eyes with the promise that her father was in good hands. He then said that we had been here long enough, and that getting some 'rest' would be well deserved. This meaning: get Bella's mind off the day's events as best we can. Alice went home to get something set up while the two of us went hunting. Had it not been for the contact lenses, her eyes were onyx in tone. She was able to resist the hunger a little better than myself or the rest of the family, but she can't starve herself. I cracked the neck of a mountain lion and dropped it between us. Not exactly the dinner date I would have liked to plan, however under given circumstances such as not being able to consume food, this would have to do. Mid-way through the meal, my phone thrummed dully within my pocket, and Alice said that the family had challenged us to a round of strip poker. Only Emmett could have come up with that one. I informed Bella of our urgent need to return, and she choked on the blood laughing. I wiped a stray drop from the corner of her mouth and took her hand. I always felt the need to keep hold of her because of her tendency to trip over things as she ran. She still felt extraordinarily light to me as well, so supporting her weight or carrying her is never out of the question. We sprinted to the car parked outside the tree line and made for home, only able to imagine what fate would befall us.
Carlisle's POV: I came in late because of a severe car accident whose victims demanded my attention. My thoughts were clouded significantly by what Charlie had told me. Who was the mystery vampire, and what did it want with Charlie? Charlie had been targeted because of his link to Bella – that was evident. But what message was the vampire trying to convey? A war? Discontent? It would be unfortunate to be the bearer of ill news on an already unhappy occasion… my thoughts drifted back to my instructions to the family. What had they come up with? I didn't know what Alice and Edward had in mind to raise Bella's spirits from such a difficult day, but I never expected what I saw when I walked into our living room to find everyone in their undergarments… or less. Jasper happened to be the one stark naked, and Emmett alike. Alice and Esme were both a step ahead, with both pieces of underwear still in place. Rosalie had tied Bella for the 'shirt-and-panty combo', and Edward was leading with only his shirt removed.
"What in the world…?" were the only words my tongue could wrap around, until I noticed the grins circling the table, the cards, the plastic chips, and Emmett suggesting a new game with myself included. That son of mine… what will I ever do with him? I sat down at the table under the hands of my two unclothed kin and was dealt in before the opportunity to share my findings presented itself. I then remembered how terrible I was at the game, and found my shirt, tie, pants, belt, undershirt, socks, and shoes in a heap within several rounds. Edward was clearly at an advantage, being able to see everyone's cards but Bella's. Bella on the other hand, snuck a peek at his cards every now and again to try and rescue me from the terrible draft I was receiving by mouthing his cards to me. The others caught on and were able to even the playing field with the mind-reader in due time, as he mercilessly tickled his wife in punishment for cheating. Jasper cracked a joke to which everyone was laughing when the phone rang, cutting short the game. Rosalie answered, made a few short replies, and held the receiver at arm's length.
"Hospital. Charlie's asking about when he's to be released, and the receptionist has other issues for you to listen to."
I then awoke from the distraction of the card game, irritated by having been so absent-minded. They needed to know of the threat at large. After another tiresome conversation with our beloved receptionist, I took a deep breath.
"There's something you must know."