Chapter Five

Thanks very much to those who reviewed and added this story to their alerts and favorites. This is my first fanfic, and the first time in a long time I've written anything other than a legal opinion, so my apologies for confusion in speech etc. I am trying to take on board constructive criticism and hope that this chapter is easier to read than the past few. I will also be making my chapters a bit longer now. The others seemed so long in word format, but once I got them on the site they were short!

I do not hold copyright over these characters. That belongs to the wonderful Stephanie Meyer.

Rosalie's POV

"She's about to wakeup" Alice said at about 4am, bringing the rest of us out of our reveries. "And she's not going to be very happy when she does. Her diaper doesn't need changing, she doesn't seem…" A keening wail interrupted her sentence causing all six vampires in the room to cringe. Our super-sensitive vampire hearing was apparently not cut out for the high pitched cries emanating from the small being in my arms.

"What's wrong with her?" I demanded. "Alice, what's wrong happening?" I swayed Isabella from side to side, cooing at her and attempting to soothe her. I ran my index finger down her cheek and noticed that she was beginning to burn up with fever. "Is she sick?" I asked the room in general. "Alice is she going to be ok?" Isabella's wails were getting longer and louder.

"I don't know" responded Alice. "I can't see why she's crying, just that it's not going to let up any time soon. It's not formula Esme" Alice stated as Esme turned to retrieve a bottle from the kitchen. "I can see her bringing that back up. I can't see the reasons the future happens Rose, just that it is."

A loud crash resounded from corner of the room and I looked up to see Jasper had fallen to his knees and was grasping at his hair. "I know she's loud Jazz, but it's not that bad!" I snapped at him

"It's not the noise" he responded through clenched teeth. "It's the emotion coming off her, the need, the want; it's so intense, far too intense for someone that small. It's something akin to the bloodlust we feel when we give ourselves over to the hunt. And for God's sake Rose your anxiety isn't helping, try to calm down a bit would you!"

"We need Carlisle" I hissed. The baby in my arms had started to shake violently and I was beginning to panic. Carlisle had left for the hospital to start the early shift half an hour ago. "Jasper can you try to calm her down until we figure out what she needs?" But I could see already that that wasn't about to happen. Jasper was huddled in front of the couch with his hands over his ears with Alice rubbing his back and looking concerned.

"Edward, can you hear her? Can you see anything in her mind? What the hell is going on? This isn't normal for a baby is it?" Edward looked at me and shook his head.

"I can't hear anything Rose. I don't know, she's a baby, she doesn't even have coherent thoughts for me to read yet. And I can't see any images in her mind either. She must be too young. I haven't been around many infants but I'm guessing that's why."

Esme was already on the phone to Carlisle, hopefully he would be on his way home in a matter of minutes. I placed my cold hand on Isabella's forehead, willing her to cool down and stop trembling. She'd given up screaming, most likely because she couldn't keep it up for that long at that volume and had settled into whimpering every few seconds.

"Isabella, my beautiful little Bella. Gorgeous little girl, you're ok, you're safe. You're with Momma, everything will be ok" I cooed, comforting myself more than her.

Carlisle POV

As soon as I hung up from Esme, I claimed a family emergency and set out for home, taking a few supplies from the hospital with me. I had no idea what could possibly be wrong with the child, as other than needing more sustenance, she had seemed it relatively good health.

The moment I entered the front door I was accosted by Rosalie who thrust Isabella into my arms begging me to make her better. I took her up to the office trailed by the rest of my family, except Jasper who had gone for a run to get away from the emotions overwhelming him. Alice, seeing what equipment I would need before I voiced it had gathered the tools I would need for my exam. I took her temperature which was well above what was normal for an infant, double checked her for injuries, listened to her heart (which I did not need a stethoscope for), checked her breathing, shone a small torch in her eyes to check they were in focus and not dilated. They seemed fine. I took a small blood sample and put the vial in my pocket to take to the lab at the hospital.

"Other than the temperature and a slightly increased heart rate she seems to be ok." I looked down at the infant who had now fallen asleep on the sofa, whimpering slightly as she slept. "I need to take this sample to the lab for testing. Until then, make sure you keep a good eye on her. Rose, keep a hand on her forehead to keep her temperature down, if you notice it rising, call me at the hospital immediately. If she cries again there isn't much you can do except try to soothe her. Try to get her to have some formula next time she wakes up. She's still malnourished and she needs food. It's best if I am at the hospital today anyway, we still need to go through with our plans in regard to her Mother's body and see if we can find any family for her. Also, we may be able to find out more about any preexisting conditions she may have if we find the obstetrician her Mother used."

I surveyed the faces of my family before I left the room. All of them were focused on the tiny child in Rosalie's arms, fear and worry etched on their faces. Beyond all reason, I wanted this child to be alright, and to be able to remain with us. She just seemed to belong.

Carlisle's POV

It was about 9am when the body of Isabella's Mother was brought into the hospital morgue. Alice and Jasper, playing the part of the hikers who found the body, came in about twenty minutes later looking appropriately upset for what they had discovered and answered some questions from the police who had also been called. Luckily, I was able to ensure that I examined the body and had the task of consulting with police.

The woman, or girl rather, didn't look to be older than about twenty-one. I established cause of death as a broken neck and severe head trauma most likely induced when she fell. It was obvious from my examination that she had given birth recently, and as such I concluded that this was the body of Isabella's Mother. That fact alone however was cause for concern.

One of the many differences between myself and a human doctor, was that a human doctor would need to draw blood samples to be able to tell what I could already smell. Isabella's Mother had been using narcotics. I examined her carefully looking for tell tale signs of drug abuse. I checked her arms and legs, tracing her veins. Looked between her fingers and toes, but could see no signs of track marks. I breathed a sigh of relief, albeit a small one. I checked her nose next, and sure enough there was a small perforation in her septum. Coke-nose as I had so eloquently heard other doctors refer to it in the past. Isabella's Mother had been an addict. No wonder the child was so inconsolable. She was a week old and going through cocaine withdrawal. The potential was that that was the least of her worries, I would need to have her scanned as soon as possible for brain damage and other problems.