Thank you all for the birthday wishes. You guys make my day. All grammatical errors are on me.

All rights go to their owners.

"Where are we going?" I hadn't been paying very much attention to our surroundings but I knew that the Cullen's house was on the edge of town. We were still downtown. I could see Esme glance back briefly, she didn't want to take her eyes off the road though. It was Carlisle who answered me.

"We're going to stop by the hospital." He was turned in his seat his eyes kind and concerned.

"Why are we going there, did something happen?" I was so confused, had someone they knew there?

"You may have caused some damage other than bruising to your hand." He nodded to my right side. I followed his gaze and sure enough, my knuckles were a few shades darker than the rest of my hand. I hadn't even noticed let alone felt it.

I just nodded at Carlisle and he gave me one in return, his was much more genuine. Jasper spent the next few minutes in the car pointing out buildings and houses to me. He told me little tidbits that meant absolutely nothing to me. His rambling was just a good distraction from my peeking anxiety as the hospital came into view.

We pulled up in front in a parking spot with a label.

Dr. C. Cullen.

Fancy. We all got out of the car and made our way inside. Esme seemed to now be glued to my side, her hand hovering behind my back. She was afraid to touch me, I was being treated like a skittish cat. I move aside to take her hand in mine. Any other woman my age would have thought twice, would have been embarrassed even, but I never had this. I had never had a mother figure like Esme before. I would never get used to having one either.

Carlisle slipped in the door first and spoke with the first person he came across. She had short hair and she was in a pair of dark scrubs. She was glancing over Carlisle's shoulder at us as Jasper and Esme led me through a doorway.

The sign above it read EMERGENCY ROOM.

I wanted to protest, I could just make an appointment, I couldn't make myself ask them though. Esme sat me on a cot before taking a small chair beside it. Jasper faded into the background, resting against the wall. I wondered where Edward and Alice had gone, home I was sure. I hadn't seen Emmett and Rosalie since this morning. They must be there as well where else would they be?

I looked around at the other people in the emergency room, there were only two other patients. One was a middle aged man in poor condition, or so it looked. He was moaning and groaning, hooked up to an IV. Had I not known what morphine withdrawal looked like, I would have thought he was in serious pain. He must have came in thinking he could get some medication if he acted well enough but the doctors didn't seem to buy it and there was a security guard close by his bed with a cup of coffee. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

The other person was a girl in her 20s, around my age. she had dark hair and dark eyes with pale skin. She looked relatively bored watching the guy across from us on his cot. She had a velcro brace on one of her legs, it looked extremely uncomfortable and bulky.

When she caught me staring at her, which I hadn't been doing on purpose she gave me a wave. I waved back at her, bringing a glittery smile onto her lips.

"Hello, I'm Lacey." She looked over at the nurses across the room, now trying to keep the morphine addict in his bed. She took a chance and hopped off her cot and into the one next to mine. She held out her hand to me and I gave her mine.

She smiled at me wider and pointed to my hand. "Someone get a little frisky with you?" She looked surprised, maybe this really was a quiet town. Maybe stuff like this was uncommon. I played it cool or whatever and just shrugged my shoulders and turned towards her. I didn't want to be impolite as I pointed at her foot but I didn't even have to ask. She blushed and ducked her head down as she spoke.

"I fell down the last two steps of my porch, fucked my ankle right up." She chuckled and I joined in hesitantly. I could feel Esme and Jasper's eyes on me, us. They were alert and ready for anything. Knowing they had my back made me happier.

Why shouldn't I make a friend?

She told me all about her family and about her job. She told me everything. She has two loving parents and a brother she loved. I knew all about that, but I wouldn't let Alec and Jane taint my mind today. She grew up in New York but when she was 5 they moved to Seattle. She told me about how she found a job in Forks at a sportsman's center, why she chose to work in a different city I had no idea. I tried to ask about why she chose to work in Forks, she gave no more than a shrug of her shoulders. Hey, it was her business not mine.

Carlisle stepped in and checked out my hand had it x-rayed and wrapped up nicely. I sat patiently Esme on one side, Lacey on the other. Lacey had so many questions for Carlisle and he was happy to answer. She stuck to us up until her phone rang and she trotted off to the vacant end of the room. She was the coolest person outside my family.

Esme was rubbing my back as we were getting ready to go. I wanted to say goodbye to Lacey but she had disappeared. I felt my mood falter and fall. We walked out of the hospital and we all climbed into the car. Esme was trying to soothe me but it wasn't working. I didn't really know what to think of Lacey leaving without saying goodbye, she seemed so genuine in her actions.

As we pulled out of the parking lot I glanced out my side of the window to see Lacey. She was standing next to a man twice her size. He was towering over her, his face beet red and full of rage. I swallowed hard and pulled on the door handle. It was locked, obviously.

Carlisle and Esme had heard the click as I continued to yank on the handle. Carlisle pulled off, just outside the parking lot. "Bella?" His voice was a stark contrast to my feelings right now. I was unhinging watching the man grab Lacey, pull her closer, and spit in her face. All I had to do was point. Jasper cussed underneath his breath and he was gone just like that. Next thing I knew so was Carlisle and the man was on the ground. Carlisle was standing over him, Jasper coming up behind, next to Lacey. All I could do was blink and stare through the glass. Esme was touching me I think but I couldn't respond. I didn't have the ability.

All that was on my mind was the man on the ground and who put him there.

I would never associate Carlisle with violence.

But how could I forget that we humans are capable of anything.

AN

I'm so sorry for not updating sooner, I know I've missed a number of them. I'm going out of state this week and will be gone for a long while for some time away. Life is what it is. When I return I plan to try harder to make time to sit down and write for all of my lovely readers. It's a joy to hear from you all, I do hope you will hang in there as we move along slowly.