A/N: All recognizable elements of Twilight are the property of S. Meyer.

Thank you to Mommybrook who held my hand while I wrote this chapter and took the time to check it over for me before posting.

Chapter 7

I had always thought it was the worst part of my job as a doctor to inform a family that their loved one – my patient – had died. Today, though, seemed like the worst one ever.

When I walked out of the trauma room, forty minutes after I entered it, having forced the nurses and residents to assist me in trying every possible method to revive the little girl who had already been dead for several minutes before my arrival, I was utterly defeated. Unable to face the parents who I had sent home only hours before with their child, who had finally been declared healthy, I collapsed against the wall, my head in my hands, wishing I could cry.

There was nothing to say that could comfort me in those moments, nor was there anything that I could say to Cassy's mother, as she sat at her husband's bedside, waiting for him to wake from the surgery that had saved his life.

She sobbed as she told me of the fun afternoon that they had spent at Chuck E. Cheese, celebrating Cassy's victory over cancer, and then of how a drunken driver had run a red light and crashed his truck into the side of the family's car. Looking at the distraught woman, I noticed that she was still bleeding from several of the lacerations on her face, most likely caused by the window glass as it flew through the air. I knew from the nurses in the emergency department that she had refused to be treated until Cassy's father's surgery was completed.

I sat beside her, stitching her wounds myself at her husband's bedside, and the two of us mourned together for the loss of the little girl who had brightened the lives of everyone she had touched.

Cassy's funeral was delayed for a week, so that her father would have enough time to recover from his surgery to be able to attend. It was a somber affair, very few were able to find a way to smile as they passed by the tiny coffin and offered condolences to the bereaved parents. I took a seat in the middle of the room and sighed heavily, still finding it difficult to come to terms with the fact that she had beaten cancer only to be killed by someone else's bad choice.

The morning after Cassy's death, I had given notice to Seattle Children's. I knew that every day that I went to work from that day forward, I would be grieving, for both Cassy and Bella. I couldn't take the heartache anymore. The time had come to move on.

I sat silently in my chair during the calling hours, waiting for the service to begin. Moments before the minister took his place at the podium, my thoughts were disrupted by a sudden rush of venom to my throat that had me grabbing at my chair in haste to try to force myself to remain in it.

Bella.

She was here. I silently thanked God that I had hunted the night before. I don't know why I hadn't expected her, as I knew that she had grown close to the little girl just as I had. Her presence here was just one more evidence of the innate goodness of her heart. I sat there, holding tightly to the chair, willing myself to stay put, though all I wanted in the world was to run to Bella.

A few moments later, the service began. I listened carefully as the minister spoke of God's promise to mankind of an eternal life in Paradise, and read to us the verses of the bible, reminding everyone that man had come from, and would return to, dust. I listened as Cassy's mother, her bravery an inspiration to us all, stood in front of the room full of mourners to tell of her love for the child she would never again hold in her arms.

All of it was heart-wrenching. But what touched me the most was when Bella rose and walked slowly to the front of the room, stopping to hug Cassy's mother before she turned to face everyone.

"I met Cassy through a volunteer program," she began. "I sat with her twice a week while she was in the hospital, and read to her from Anne of Green Gables. Those mornings we spent together, I got to know her, got to peek into her mind and learn about myself through her eyes. She was an amazing..."

Bella paused, her shaky voice breaking on the last words as the tears fell from her eyes. She took a moment to collect herself, and then continued, her voice quivering through the rest of her words.

"She was an amazing little girl, and I know that my life is better for having known her. We never got to finish the book, but there's a quote that I want to read from it, that seemed right to me."

Bella opened the book to a page that she had marked, and read aloud. "It's all very well to read about sorrows and imagine yourself living through them heroically, but it's not so nice when you really come to have them, is it?"

Bella looked up, swallowing hard, and I was sure that she could no longer see through her tears. "Cassy faced every hardship heroically, and I wish I had the strength to do that today. But her loss is, like Anne said, really not so nice." Bella closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned toward the tiny coffin. "Goodbye, Cassy. Thank you for everything."

Bella stepped down from the stairs and directly into the waiting arms of Cassy's mother, and I watched as they hugged each other tightly. A part of me was jealous in that moment, of both of them. I was jealous that Bella could so easily cry for her loss, and I was jealous that Cassy's mother could so easily hold her in her arms, as I longed to do.

In that moment, it didn't even cross my mind to feel guilty for my envy.

I barely remember making the decision to do so, only the realization that I didn't want to hesitate. I rose from my seat, and walked to the front of the chapel. I stopped in front of Cassy's mother, who was still holding Bella's hand, and asked if I might say a few words. The kind woman was surprised, but agreed with a soft smile. Bella's grieving eyes met mine, and I nodded at her before walking to the microphone.

For a moment, I looked out at the crowd of mourners, but then I focused my attention on the deep chocolatey brown eyes of the woman that I now understood held my heart in her hand.

"I was Cassy's doctor. It's difficult, as a doctor, to treat a child who is facing such a difficult battle. But Cassy made it easy. No matter how sick she felt, no matter how hard the fight seemed, Cassy met me each morning with a smile upon her face. She brought a little bit of happiness to my day in the moments that I spent with her."

I paused for a moment, looking down and sighing deeply. "The last morning that I saw this little girl alive, she taught me a lesson. It's amazing, that, as someone who has lived so many years more than her eight, I could still learn from her. But I did. I learned that no one should stay sad when they don't have to be. She reminded me that, if she could find a reason to smile every day, then I should be doing so too. And she told me that it wasn't really a smile if it didn't reach the eyes. This little girl," I continued, choking up once again. "Saw through the masks that we adults wear every day. She saw the truths that we tried to hide. And still, she smiled. So today, though she is no longer here with us, I am making a promise to her that I will once again find my smile, and I will wear it for her."

I stepped down from the podium, and, as the service ended, was surrounded by several family members who wanted to thank me for all that I had done for the family. In the process of speaking to all of them, I lost sight of Bella.

Upon that realization, I excused myself from the gathering and inhaled deeply, searching for the scent that tortured me so completely. I could smell her, but it was weak. I followed the delicious freesia scent, and it led me outside, where I saw Bella preparing to climb into an ancient-looking truck, and ran toward her.

"Bella! Please, wait!" I cried.

She paused, turning toward me, tears falling freely down her face. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice sounding angry.

"You," I breathed. "More than I've ever wanted anything in my life."

She stared at me, the anguish in her eyes, I knew, was as much caused by my own actions as Cassy's passing.

"What makes this time different?"

"I don't know," I said, taking her hands in mine. "I can't promise you that I won't fail. I can't promise you that you will survive if you come with me, though I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. I..."

She held her hand up, silently asking me to stop. I did.

"We shouldn't talk about this here," she said calmly. "Take me to your clearing."

Fifteen long minutes in the car with her later, we arrived at the edge of the forest, and I parked on the side of the road. "Come," I said, "I'll carry you."

Bella climbed onto my back, and together we ran through the trees until we reached my clearing. The place where I had kissed her. The place where I had said goodbye to her. Would today be different? Would today be our beginning, or would it be her end?

I set her lightly on the ground, and took a step away, trying to clear my mind of the haze that her scent caused. The venom was searing my throat, her blood singing to me, begging me to drink, to claim what had been made just for me. And I couldn't deny that I wanted to.

I was breathing hard, as if the run had winded me. But it was not lack of oxygen that caused my chest to heave, but the struggle. My body was fighting itself, desperately wanting to run in two directions at once – toward her, either to feed or to love; and away from her, to save us both.

She turned to me with her body, not stepping closer. "Why are you here, Carlisle?" she demanded. "Nothing has changed. You're still uncomfortable with me, that's plain to see. Did you bring me here just to hurt me again?"

"Part of me is asking the same question. I am terrified, Bella. Everything about being near you is torture. My throat burns with desire for your blood, Bella, you must know that. You more than any human I have ever been near. My mind fights so hard against the call of your blood every single second that I am near you. It would be so easy to just sink my teeth into your neck, to savor every last drop of your blood and finally quell the desire. Do you understand that? Do you, Bella? Do you see the risk you are taking by simply standing near me?" I was yelling by the end, almost wishing that she would just run away, save me from myself. Because I knew that I no longer could.

"I see it, Carlisle," she replied softly, looking away. I could see that her eyes were filling with tears. "And I understand. What will it take to make you see that I am willing to take that risk? I see your soul, Carlisle, and I think that it is beautiful." She turned back toward me, her eyes showing the same desperation that I felt. "I would risk my life just to have you kiss me again like you did the last time we stood here. Because I know that, even if I were to live forever, I'd never have another kiss like that, not unless it came from you. I'm afraid that my life will never be enough if I don't take this chance."

I laughed softly at the irony. "You are afraid of all of the wrong things, Bella!" I said, running my hand through my hair as my willingness to fight ended. "But I'm afraid of things I shouldn't be too. I am afraid that you will stay with me, and I will not be strong enough to keep from hurting you. And even more than that, I am afraid of not being with you; I am afraid of living every day of the eternity with regret that keeps me from being happy."

Bella's chest heaved with a ragged breath as she looked into my eyes, and I knew, in that moment, that the battle was over. Bella and I would be together, even if it broke us both.

"Tell me it's okay, Bella," I begged.

"It's more than okay, Carlisle," she breathed. "It's always been."

It only took one step before closer before I reached out, taking her face between my hands, holding her still while I crashed my lips to hers. I didn't waste time with softness, instead kissing her with every bit of passion that was held inside of my body, every bit of desire that I had fought so hard to hold back before now. And she met my kiss with equal intensity, her tongue finding its way into my mouth only seconds after the kiss began. I gripped her tightly in response, feeling her knees shaking under her as the intensity of the moment swept over her. It felt desperate, as if we were kissing while the world crashed down around us.

Only moments later, the sky opened above us, the rain falling down heavily. It was so many things at once: a blessing, a curse, an aphrodisiac...

Bella's scent was made even stronger by the rain as it wet her skin. I pulled my lips away from hers, knowing that she needed air, and moved my mouth down, over her jaw to her neck, not kissing or licking, just breathing her in. Her scent was heady, intoxicating... Part of me wanted to bite and devour, there was no denying that, but it was so perfectly sweet that, at least for the moment, I was happy just to enjoy it.

My fingers found the zipper on the back of her dress, and quickly slid it down, pushing the fabric down her arms as my mouth continued its path over her shoulders. My cock was straining against my pants, the taste of her, both her skin and her scent, on my tongue making me harder by the second.

Bella, trusting me completely, tilted her head back, exposing even more of her tender flesh to me, and rested her cheek against my head. Her soft moans spurred me on, and as the scent of her arousal hit me, I knew that I needed to have more from her.

I sank down to my knees, my hands moving slower to trail down over her breasts and waist, pulling the soft cotton of her dress down along the way, letting it fall to the ground after it passed the flare of her hips. When her stomach was exposed to me, I pressed my lips to it, slipping my tongue out to lap her soft skin, droplets of rainwater entering my open mouth as they slid down over her torso and dripped off of my hair. The taste of Bella, however, was so overwhelming, even without direct contact with her blood, that the water did not bother me.

I looked up at her, meeting her heavily-lidded eyes as my mouth moved across her stomach toward her left hip. She was gripping her hair tightly with one hand, her lips parted, her perfect breasts moving with her labored breaths. Her breasts, moving that way, were like beacons to me, and I immediately wondered if her nipples tasted differently than the rest of her skin.

Rising quickly to my feet, I covered her mouth with my own once again, kissing her slowly this time, absorbing everything that was Bella. Her scent, so strong now thanks to the rain and the flush of her skin, was the only thing that I could smell, despite being surrounded by nature. The sweetness of her flavor on my tongue was second only to the taste of her fresh blood, and I savored it. My open palm traced over her shoulder and arm, then down the curves of her side, while the other hand working to unhook and remove her bra. All the while, I listened to each ragged breath she took, each gasp that narrated the path of my hands over her body and the pleasure it gave her.

Pulling my mouth off of hers, I let my lips lead the way down her neck, over her collarbone, finally finding her bare breasts. I wrapped my lips around the first, letting my tongue play with it, flicking it gently back and forth a few times before I finally sucked it gently. That action drew the first moan from Bella's lips, though the sound was nearly covered by the rolling of thunder.

I kept my eyes on her, watching as her head rolled back on her shoulders, her fingertips leaving her hair and tracing the path of the rain down her neck, pausing at her collarbone. I could see those full pink lips, glistening with moisture, as they formed the shape of my name, and it was all I could take.

Knowing it wouldn't hurt me in the least, I threw myself backwards, pulling her on top of me as we fell into the grass. I let her nipple slide from my mouth and found her lips again, kissing her as she worked my tie and shirt open. My hands traveled further down her body, finding her hips, covered in black lace, and holding them firmly while I positioned her just over my cock, letting her know just how much I desired her.

She moaned again, and her back arched just as a flash of lightning lit the sky. Even though my vision was powerful enough to see her clearly even in the darkness of the stormy sky, seeing her body lit up that way... It was the sexiest thing I'd seen in my three hundred years.

I sat up, pressing my mouth against her shoulder and sucking lightly on her skin as I quickly removed my jacket and shirt. I moved my lips toward her ear and whispered against it. "I want you, Bella. I want all of you."

"I know," she moaned. "And I'm yours, Carlisle."

I slipped my hands behind her and flipped her over so that she was laying on her back in the grass with me hovering over her. I groaned as her fingertips traveled over my bare chest, her touch so delicate that it tickled and made me tremble. Her wet hands struggled with the slick button of my pants, more so when I began to distract her with my nose and lips, nuzzling her neck.

She finally got my pants open, and her hands slid into the back of them, pushing them down as they gently roamed over my ass. I circled my hips, helping her to move the fabric past them easier, and was finally free of them seconds later, kicking them hard off of my feet while my tongue traced circles over her jugular.
She took me by surprise, though, when her warm, wet hand gripped my cock, and I jerked forward, my teeth accidentally scraping the tender flesh of her neck with my teeth, easily breaking it. Fresh, hot, freesia-scented heaven oozed from the wound, and there wasn't even one second between the moment that the scent reached me and when my lips covered it.

Thunder rang out loudly and a deep moan left my chest as sucked gently, her blood coating the inside of my mouth. It was merely a flesh wound, but there was enough blood to enjoy and savor. My mind was completely clouded with lust, and I reached down, gripping the lace that covered the last of her between my fingers and ripped it, the last barrier between us now gone.

"Carlisle," she moaned loudly. I couldn't tell if it was a plea for me to stop or for me to continue. I was millimeters away from the warm wetness inside her, and desperate to get there, but there was enough of my mind left to pause.

"Bella," I panted, pulling my lips off of her neck. "What do you need?"

"You..." she breathed. "I want you, but I want to live. You have to be...careful."

I realized instantly what I had just done – I had never been closer to losing control completely. "I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, Bella," I said, staring into her eyes. "But if you don't want to take the risk, stop me now, I'm begging you. I don't think I can stop myself."

"Don't stop," she whispered.

Those words spoken, I slid into her, lightning striking in the same moment, the passion of the heavens matching that found between us in the grass. She cried out my name, her voice trembling, as I filled her, and it was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard.

I wrapped my hands around her shoulders and moved over her, rocking my hips in a gentle rhythm, my body pressed against hers so that every bit of us was touching. She gripped my hips with her ankles, and each thrust into her was met with a press of her fingernails into my back. Each gasp and moan that punctuated our movements was music, and, for the first time ever, our hearts sang louder than her blood.

She began raising her hips to meet mine, and we kissed as we moved together. I pulled back from the kiss, but left my lips against hers as I whispered the words "I love you" over and over, knowing with everything in me that I meant them, and that, even if this was the only time I was ever in her arms, it was worth the three hundred year wait to get here.

I prayed that she felt the same.

I heard her pulse begin to race, and as the sound of her heart pumping her delicious blood pounded in my ears, a low growl rumbled in my chest, echoed by the roll of thunder above us.

"Close," she breathed. "God, Carlisle, so close."

"As am I," I groaned, increasing the force and speed of my thrusts slightly.

The muscles of my back tightened, and I began to pull up a bit, trying to get myself as far from her blood as possible. Bella didn't cooperate this time, though, and her grip on my shoulders remained tight, raising her with me.

Three thrusts later, lightning flashed across the sky, and, had one been watching, they would have been able to see my teeth sink into Bella's neck as we cried out in the ecstasy of our joining.

A/N: I need to give a huge thank you to Kikikinz, who accidentally gave me the idea for this lemon while sharing with me her profound thoughts on storms.

And finally, a quick PSA for you. Drinking and driving is a serious issue, one that has had a great impact on my own life. My own father was killed this way before I was born, and my childhood best friend when she was eighteen. All of my friends know that I will never get behind the wheel intoxicated, nor would I let any of them. Please, make the same choice for yourselves. There are too many easy solutions, and it's not worth the consequences.