From the Files of Dr. D.

The Case of Edward C., Week 4

An army of newborns? This has to be one of the most bizarre images I have ever encountered. I can practically envision a squadron of homicidal babies as Edward keeps referring to the newborn army! But no, I must not be facetious about something that he himself takes deadly seriously. But I wonder what lies behind this curious idea of newborns... Edward's recent hallucinations are full of references to birth. Why? He describes newborn vampires, but they are far from sweet little babies with fangs – rather, they are terrifying undead beings on a murderous rampage. He tells me that the newborn vampires, the ones that have most recently been turned into undead beings, are the most dangerous of all. What is it about birth that Edward fears so much, I wonder?

His hallucinations are filled with murder, blood, and terror. And Bella is always at the center of it all. Victoria, the lovely female vampire, whose mate James was destroyed as he attempted to murder Bella, is now back for revenge, he tells me. Victoria is out to get Bella. She is the one who is behind this horrifying army of newborns...

In Edward's hallucinations, Bella wants to become a vampire; she wants to become like him... But he refuses, because he would rather she stay human. Hm. What Bella really wants, I gather, is to have a fulfilling sexual relationship with Edward. But the sexual act is somehow transformed into a vampire's poisonous bite in Edward's delusions. Why does Edward believe that sleeping with Bella would transform her into a monster? I can make no sense of this.

Edward tells me that Bella is also growing closer to Jacob, the werewolf who loves her. She is getting to know Jacob and his family and friends on the reservation. Jacob, Seth, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Jared...

Wait - do all Native Americans have names straight out of the Bible now? How odd! What happened to good old fashioned Native American names like Little Bear or Blue Sky? Ah.. wait a minute... These names are not just from the Bible, but from the Book of Mormon! Edward must be familiar with Mormonism... For the Book of Mormon speaks of Native Americans as the descendants of Israelites who came to America. And among their wise prophets and leaders are Jacob, Sam, Jared, Seth, and Levi... And the Lamanites, the Native American Israelites, are described in the Book of Mormon as having "skin of blackness" - the Black family! The Native Americans as prophets in the wilderness... But prophets in the wilderness are not always heard, are they, even when they speak the truth.

What truth is it that they speak, these Native American prophets? The Quileutes in Edward's hallucinations are all saying the same thing: That vampires are deadly and not to be trusted, and that Bella is in danger.

But the werewolves are willing to work, reluctantly, with the vampires to protect Bella from Victoria and the army of newborns... What on earth does this mean? What do the newborns represent? Something new and dreadful arising... Riley is their leader, Victoria's new lover... The one who riles them up? Newborn vampires... Abnormal life arising from death... Whose death?

A fierce battle ensues, and Riley is destroyed by Seth, the werewolf. Seth, the wolf... Ah! In addition to the Biblical Seth and the Mormon prophet Seth, there is of course also another well known Seth: The Egyptian god of chaos, the god with the head of a curious dog-like animal that may be a jackal or a wolf... And the Egyptian Seth is a murderer; he kills and dismembers his own brother, the god Osiris.

Edward's brother died, too, I recalled suddenly. But not by Edward's hand, surely, for Edward was just a baby at the time. A baby... A newborn? Oh, this is absurd! Of course little Edward didn't have anything to do with his brother's death...

Victoria is finally decapitated by Edward, and Bella is safe... for now. Edward promises to turn Bella into a vampire, if only she will marry him first...

I was listening to Edward's dramatic story with interest. So much blood...

And a marriage proposal, too? I decided to check with Bella. I asked Edward to send Bella in to see me when we were done talking. She was in the waiting room, as always. I caught a brief glimpse of them together in the waiting room. Edward's beautiful face was careful, guarded, reserved. He did not respond when Bella stroked his face gently before coming in to see me. Always so careful... Of what, I wonder?

I asked Bella, as tactfully as I could, if Edward had ever proposed marriage to her. Unshed tears glittered in her lovely dark eyes as she shook her head. "No, nothing like that. Nothing specific. In the beginning, before he fell ill, he talked about us being together for always, but now he is always saying that I am in danger around him..."

"And do you believe that he is speaking the truth? Are you in danger, Bella?"

She shook her head impatiently. "The only danger I'm facing is dying of heartbreak over all of this..."

"And you don't think... that Edward himself is a danger to you in any way? After all, his hallucinations are rather violent?"

Her big brown eyes looked straight into mine. "I wouldn't care even if he was a danger to me. I love him, and I want him back."

Hm. Remarkable creatures, teenage girls... They are capable of so much love, and so little self-preservation. Good thing the Cullens are watching out for her. Well, at least I think they are...

I remained in my chair for a while after Bella had left, pondering. My musings were interrupted by the buzzing of the intercom on my desk.

"A Mike Newell is here to see you, doctor. He does not have an appointment, but wishes to speak to you about Bella."

I raised my eyebrows. "About Bella? Please send him in, Miss M."

Mike Newell turned out to be a pleasant, round-faced teenage boy with a frank, open manner.

"I'm sorry about coming to see you without an appointment, Sir," he began, "but I heard that you are treating Edward Cullen, and that Bella has been to see you as well. I'm a friend of Bella's." He flushed a little. An admirer of Bella's, as well as a friend, perhaps?

I smiled at him. "Now, Mike, you understand that I am not at liberty to discuss any of my patients with you, including who may or may not have been here to see me."

He looked a little flustered, but nodded quickly. "Yes, I understand all that…"

"You, of course," I hastened to add, "may choose to share any information with me that you wish, as long as you understand that I cannot tell you anything about any of my patients."

"Oh. Right." He looked relieved. "Well, I do think there are some things you should know. I know I'm butting in, but… But I'm really concerned about Bella, you see…"

I nodded. "You are free to share any concerns you may have with me. I will keep them absolutely confidential."

"That's good." He took a deep breath. "Well, here's the thing. I - I really like Bella. A lot. But I know she is not interested in going out with me, no matter what happens with her and Edward. I can accept that. But I still care about her and want her to be safe, and I don't think she is at all safe with Edward Cullen. Not just because he is crazy... I'm sorry, I know that's not what you doctors call it, I just don't know how else to... What I mean is... I know he thinks he's a vampire and all that, and I feel bad for him. And maybe you can give him some medicines or something that can help him. But even if he gets the right meds and becomes like a regular person again, I'm still worried about him. I didn't like how he treated Bella even before he got sick."

I leaned forward, interested. "What do you mean?"

He swallowed. "Well, he's really obsessed with her. Of course it's easy to be a bit obsessed with Bella, but his obsession was over the top. Kind of unhealthy. He says he wants to protect her, but in his book that meant that when they started dating, she needed to stop seeing other people. Even friends. He wanted her to stay with him at all times, for her own protection. And Bella even mentioned once that he used to sneak into her bedroom every night, just to sit there and watch her sleep. That's really creepy..."

"Hm." I had to agree with him there.

"You know," Mike went on, "I read this article once on abusers, and it said that they start by controlling the other person, watching their every move, cutting them off from other people. And then they turn violent... That kind of sounds like Edward, to tell you the truth. Except I don't think he's ever hurt Bella. Yet, anyway. But I'm really worried about her. I'm glad they are not together anymore, but I know she wants him back. And I thought that if you can make him better, they might get back together again. And I really don't like that idea. I mean, of course I'd rather date her myself, but that's not what I mean. If she was going out with some random guy who was really nice, I would be jealous, but I wouldn't have this sick feeling in my stomach, like I do when she's with him..."

This was all very interesting. And very disturbing. "I see. Thank you for telling me about your concerns, Mike. Much appreciated."

"Sure." Mike got up and shook my hand. "Thanks for seeing me. And please - please look after Bella."

I smiled at him. I liked the boy a lot. He certainly didn't possess the almost preternatural beauty of the Cullens, but he had a good heart. Bella could do a lot worse. And maybe she has...