"C'mon, you know I hate being in here..." she whimpered, fixing him with a helpless puppy gaze. The god just smiled and readjusted her sheet.
"That tone won't work with me right now – I said you're staying for observation."
"But, Carlisle, I want to go home! I'm fine. I've been hurt worse than this falling out of bed." Her voice had lost the wheedling tone and gone straight to frustrated, but he only chuckled, the smooth liquid sound rolling over her spine though she tried her best not to let him see her shiver. By his smirk, she was only partly successful.
"I don't doubt that, bellissima, but the fact is that the amount of time you were out for such a minor concussion is a bit worrisome." He sat gently on the edge of her bed, placing one cool hand over hers. His golden eyes urged her understanding. "None of us could bear it if anything happened to you, Bella. We all love you too much. Please, just let me do everything I can to make sure you're okay. Please." Bella sighed.
"You know, that's not fair."
"What's not?" he asked, the picture of innocence. Bella wasn't buying it.
"Uh-huh. You know what I mean. The begging. It's just...not fair. You're playing dirty, Carlisle." Her breath caught as he leaned down closer, until his lips were right beside her ear, his breath teasing her skin as he spoke.
"Oh, you haven't begun to see me play dirty yet," he purred, and there was a startled beeping from a machine beside the bed as Bella's pulse skyrocketed. He sat back up, looking a bit embarrassed, and Bella giggled.
"See what you do to me, Bella?" he whispered. "Making me forget that you're connected to all sorts of machinery that will monitor everything. You really test my control, minx."
"Now, see, if you'd just let me go home, you wouldn't have to worry about any of that, would you?" She chuckled, low in her throat, and enjoyed seeing the intensity blaze in his eyes. She began to slowly walk her fingertips up his arm, never breaking eye contact. "You could put all that tight control on a shelf..." Her fingers reached the inside of his elbow, and she noticed he'd gone still as stone. "...unwind a bit..." Higher on his arm, and he still hadn't moved. "...you just seem so..." She had to sit up slightly as she got to his neck, and he still hadn't twitched a muscle, just staring at her with those damnably gorgeous eyes. "...tense..." She scratched her nails against his neck, and the next thing she knew he was standing three feet from the bed, glancing down at the clipboard that had appeared in his hands. Startled, she made as though to apologize, but he cut her off.
"So we'll see how you're doing tomorrow evening, and if the results look good – oh, hello Miss Weber, Miss Stanley." Bella's eyes snapped towards the door as her two friends opened it and stood there, looking slightly hesitant. Angela grinned, a knowing look in her eyes, before glancing shyly at Carlisle.
"Hello, Dr. Cullen," she said, quietly. The other girl repeated the greeting, and Angela continued. "We just came to see if Bella was okay, and if she could have visitors." Bella watched her friends melt as he smiled warmly at them.
"Of course you can visit. In fact maybe you'll have a bit more luck convincing her to stay here for a couple nights than I have – she's being positively stubborn." He grinned, and the girls blushed.
~You think THIS is stubborn...wait 'til I get out of here,~ she warned him mentally.
~You'll be too busy moaning around my cock to be stubborn,~ he thought back cheekily and she gasped, shaking her head as though to clear it. In the real world, nothing of their mental dialog showing on his face, he stepped closer to the bed and glanced at the monitors.
"Are you okay, Bella? That gasp sounded a bit painful...are you sure you want to wait on your pain medication?" Ever the professional, he made a couple marks on the chart he was holding, and Bella wanted to bite him.
"I'm fine, Carlisle," she stressed. "Now, if you're not going to let me out of here, can you leave so I can talk to my friends?" She saw their eyes widen as she snapped at him, but he just grinned.
"Fine, fine, I can take a hint," he chuckled, turning to the girls with a rueful smile. "See how she treats me? Her caring doctor, her boyfriend's father...just trying to help and this is the thanks I get." Jessica burst out laughing, and Angela brought a hand up to her mouth to hide her chuckle.
"Carlisle..." Bella warned from the bed. He sighed dramatically.
"I'm going, I'm going. I can tell when I'm not wanted..." He walked slowly towards the door, head bowed and steps slow. Even Bella started laughing.
"Edward never told me what a drama queen his dad could be," she said in a stage whisper to her friends who were busy trying not to convulse with mirth. "Seriously, Carlisle, thank you. And I'm sorry I'm making things so...hard for you." He stood up straight and turned around, but she knew her expression showed only innocence.
~You are so in for it when you get home,~ he murmured in her mind as he turned to offer the girls a smile and a nod. Bella waited with her reply until he was almost at the door.
~Looking forward to it...Daddy.~ And she and her friends watched in shock as the normally unflappable, completely composed Dr. Carlisle Cullen walked right into a wall. Bella burst out laughing, collapsing back on her pillow and gasping for breath as tears rolled down her face, her friends gaping in a mixture of shock, awe, and complete amusement as he smiled sheepishly and closed the door behind him. Bella did hope neither of them would look close enough to see the indent where he'd bumped the doorframe, but she doubted they'd even notice.
"Bella, you are so mean!" Jessica managed to speak out around laughter as the two girls pulled chairs over to the side of her bed.
"He deserves it. He's making me stay in here for two days, for observation." She pouted, and Angela shook her head.
"He is the doctor, Bella...if he thinks you need to be here, he's probably right." Bella sighed.
"I know, and I trust him. I just hate being in hospitals."
"Who doesn't?" the other brunette replied sensibly. The blonde at her side giggled.
"I dunno...if that was the kind of doctor I'd get, I might be able to handle being in here more often..." The three girls just chuckled together, and then the mood got serious.
"Did you hear..." Angela trailed off, not sure how to break the news.
"...about Mike?" Jess finished for her, unease on her features. Bella nodded.
"Charlie told me. He said the funeral is next Saturday." Jess nodded. Silence covered the room for a few moments, disturbed only by the occasional beeping from the monitors. After a moment, Jess spoke again.
"A part of me thinks I should be...relieved. I know that sounds horrid. But I'm not. I just feel...nervous."
Bella met her eyes, seeing the confusion in their depths. She tried to be reasonable and comforting.
"It's okay, Jess. This all happened so quick, and with...well, everything else..." Angela was shaking her head slightly, and it interrupted Bella's sentence.
"I know what she means. Bella, something is still...wrong." Bella's mind flashed back to the murmuring she'd heard from Angela as the school exploded. The brunette sat up straighter in her chair. "I sometimes get...feelings. I know it sounds dumb, but hear me out. Something feels – well, not right, right now. Like there's something coming, like a storm or something, but not a real storm...I must sound really stupid," she trailed off. Jess put her hand on her friend's shoulder. Bella just shook her head.
"It doesn't sound stupid at all. Honestly," she added, seeing Angela's disbelieving gaze on hers. "I have...a friend..." She still wasn't sure how much of anything she could tell them, so she tried to make it as vague as possible. "She – this friend of mine – gets...well, they're more than feelings sometimes, she -"
"It's Alice, isn't it?" Angela asked quietly. Bella just gaped. Jess looked from one to the other in confusion, but stayed quiet. "She sees things, doesn't she?"
"How..?" Bella couldn't manage to get anything else out. Angela just smiled, a small tilt of her lips.
"I don't know how I knew. I don't know how I know any of this. But I knew there was something about her that drew me, just like I know that something big is coming. This explosion at the school...this wasn't the end of anything. Now it all begins. I just...I don't know what." The three sat in silence for a while. Bella turned to the presence in her mind.
~Carlisle, there's been...something else. When I get out of here, can we have Jess and Angie come over? I think they need to know what we know. Ask Alice if she thinks it's okay.~ He was quiet for a moment, though she could feel curiosity and puzzlement through the bond. After a moment, he responded.
~She says she thinks it should be okay, though her visions are still fuzzy. What happened?~
~I'll explain later. But Jess, and Angie...somehow, they're connected, I think. Tell Alice I want to talk to her when she gets a chance.~
~I trust you. And I'll pass it on.~
"So, guys...after I get out of here...well, do you two want to come to the Cullen's for dinner one night? I think..." She trailed off, unsure of her words and not wanting to give anything away. "Well, there's something we should all talk about." Her two guests looked at each other, curiosity blatant on their faces, then back at Bella.
"Sure, we'd love to," Angie said.
"I do have a question, though, Bella..." Jess said shyly.
"What's up?" Bella asked.
"Will Esme be cooking?" Jess asked. Angela looked at her and burst out laughing.
"Seriously? THAT'S your question?"
"What? I get hungry more often now! I am eating for two, you know. And last time I was there, Esme made this delicious salmon..." The blonde sighed in rapture, and all three of them burst out laughing.
"I'm sure she will be. Esme loves cooking," Bella said honestly. Just then, there was a tap at the door, and Carlisle poked his head back in.
"I hate to break this up, ladies, but it's getting a bit late, and Bella's overdue for her medication by almost thirty minutes." Bella just rolled her eyes as her friends jumped to their feet.
"So, yeah, let us know when you're out of here," Jess said with a smile. Angie turned an all-knowing smirk on the girl in the bed.
"And remember, don't be too hard on your doctor." She winked as Bella blushed, then turned around to follow Jess out the door. Their simultaneous "Good night, Dr. Cullen" echoed down the hallway as he came back into her room.
"What's going on?" he asked quietly as he stepped closer to the bed. Bella leaned back and closed her eyes, suddenly tired.
"Angela says she gets...feelings. And she knew that Alice is precognitive." He stared at her, eyes wide but saying nothing. "I don't know how she knew, and she doesn't know either. But she knows something is...well, to quote her, something is wrong. And I can't help but think that all of this is connected. So all I could think of was that we should have her and Jess over, and pool our resources. Alice already told me it was okay to tell them certain things, which is why I want to know if she can see anything they specifically should not be told." She yawned, and he brushed his fingers through her hair.
"Stop thinking and get some rest. You've had a long day."
"They're just going to get longer," she murmured, already dozing off.
"But we'll face it together. All of us." His response was lost on the girl who was already out like a light, but he knew by her happy sleep-mumble that she felt the kiss he left on her forehead.
She found him sitting on the back porch steps, leaning back on his elbows, eyes shut, enjoying the rain. She knew he knew she was there, but she couldn't help but take a moment to observe the man she'd been with since the time of human existence. His inky black hair, soaked through with rain, pooling on the back step like a river of shining liquid obsidian. The way the constant rain had drenched his thin t-shirt, the rich amber color highlighting his bronzed skin, molding itself to a chest most mortal men could only wish to have. His long, toned legs stretched out in front of him, the well-worn jeans clinging to every muscle and ridge, hugging gently at the apex of his thighs and hinting at what lay beneath the denim. The absolute pinnacle of sexuality, more appealing than any incubus she'd ever crossed paths with. It was then that she realized his eyes, those swirling depths that could change color so easily, now dark bronze, were gazing back at her, treating her to the same perusal she'd been bestowing on him. And when his eyes finally traveled back up to meet hers, filled with comprehension, acceptance, sorrow, he sighed.
"We're over now, aren't we?" he asked, the question more a statement than a query. And suddenly, she couldn't be mad at him anymore. He was her friend, her closest confidante, the only one who knew her for what she was, and despite everything she still cared for him. With a sigh of her own, she walked over to sit down beside him.
"I think so, yes. For the first time, looking at you...I saw you as my companion." He nodded, turning slightly to face her, propping his head up on one hand.
"I was just thinking the same thing. In you I saw...my partner. Not my mate." He reached out and ran his hand down her cheek, wiping away a tear she had never felt escape her eyes. "I love you, Lili."
"I will always love you, Luc. And I'm sorry for everything...for not trying to understand."
"It's okay. I deserve your scorn and anger. I should have been honest a thousand years ago, more, when I found myself falling for you. I just never wanted to hurt you, and I couldn't think how to say anything without causing you pain." She leaned into his hand, a small smile on her face.
"I think I needed that pain. I needed to feel it. Because until then, I'd never known true anguish. How am I to fight for this world, these people, without understanding all that it is that I'm fighting for?" She leaned into his embrace and they lay there in the rain, each giving and receiving comfort that – for the first time, really – was not tinged with desire, with lust. Just closeness, and warmth, and solidarity.
"There was an explosion at the school today."
"I heard the commotion, but I didn't...want to intrude," he murmured.
"I understand. But while I was there, I slipped to mist -"
"In front of humans?" he exclaimed quietly, leaning back to look sternly at her.
"No, of course not. They think I ran off to the woods to throw up. Anyway," she said, once he'd relaxed a little, "I went to investigate. There was a body there, but there was something strange about it and it wasn't until I got here that it hit me what was wrong. The energy surrounding the corpse wasn't there. The boy wasn't killed in the blast. He was already dead." Luc sat up, shocked.
"What? Why would anyone do that?" Lili mused for a bit, rolling an idea around in her head before letting it tumble out of her lips.
"I think whoever caused the explosion wants everyone to believe that he died in it. I think he put the body there before the explosion was set off, knowing that it would mangle the features to unrecognizability." She sighed. "What I can't figure out is why. And why I get the feeling it's connected to your playground pal," she said with a smirk, "and with us, and the vampires."
"Vampires?" Lili stopped at his questioning look and laughed.
"I forgot, I never told you. Yes. There are vampires here. I've spoken with them."
"Do they know you?"
"I know the elder knows there is something different. He might be the only one who can grasp what I am. The rest just know I'm not human. But they seem to be posing as humans themselves, so I'm hoping they don't say anything." By this point he'd gone from relaxed to alert, sitting up fully.
"Lili...what have I missed?" So she filled him in on everything, from following Jake and seeing him embracing the human girl in the vampire's kitchen – and by the way his eyes softened and his hand brushed into her hair she knew he felt her anguish at that, but he said nothing and she kept speaking – to the short conversation in the woods with the vampire elder, to the table full of them that she met at the school.
"...and then there was the explosion, and the human – Bella, I mean – was taken to the hospital with a couple other injured people and I told everyone I had to come back here and let you know what happened."
"This is such an unusual town," he murmured when she was done, absently toying with her hair when she laid her head on his shoulders.
"No kidding. Shifters, vampires, murders, disasters...oh, and Luc?"
"Mmm?"
"The other thing about the incident at the school..." She paused, gathering her thoughts. "I felt evil. Pure evil. Luc, I think...you may not be the only Hellbound Forks is hosting right now." He froze, every muscle going taut.
"Lili, tell me – and be very precise – what exactly did you feel? As many details as possible." Startled by his intensity, she thought quietly for a moment.
"It was dark. I could feel it leeching into me even though I was mist." Her voice dropped as she concentrated, murmuring her impressions. "Hatred. Delight at the destruction. Maliciousness. Impatience. Frustration. A desire for vengeance. Over everything, though, was just this...almost rancid, slimy...just abhorrent sensation of true evil. I've never felt anything like it. It felt..."
"It felt what?" he whispered.
"It felt...like it wanted me. Like it wanted to invade me. It was disgusting." He wrapped his arms around her, dragging her tight to him, and she could feel him shaking slightly. "Luc? Is something wrong?"
"I hope I am, but I don't think so."
"Wrong about what?" He sighed and buried his face in her hair for a moment before pulling away and gazing straight at her. The fear and desolation in his eyes made her heart freeze.
"Lili...I think it's Marchosias. I think he's coming to finish the job I couldn't. I think he might be coming to kill you...and he'll take out anything in his path."
"Oh Great God..." she whispered, a desperate plea to a realm she was no longer welcome in. He pulled her close again as she began to cry, and she heard his whisper against her hair.
"We're running out of time."
Author's note: So here, Faithful Readers, ends Questions of Belief. Stay tuned for the next Book - Ages of Anticipation: Book 3 - Convergence, coming soon to a webpage near you. ;)