AN: Thank you for all the reviews so far, I really enjoy hearing input from others. Ich, I'm so grateful for your comments regarding the medical piece, I may need to draw from you for future concepts as well in order to make sure I'm on track. Please, keep sending suggestions regarding any and all ideas you might have for scenarios and such. :-)

Chapter 4

Esme's POV

After placing the 911 call for help, I ran to the garage where we stored the camping gear and extra blankets that we really had no use for. We only kept them for appearance sake, but it wasn't like any of us ever got cold and felt the need to wrap up.

"I'm coming with you..." Alice was arguing with Edward as he loaded his car. My son didn't feel it was a good idea to take a group of vampires to an MVA scene. I was in agreement to a point, both Renesmee (Edward and Bella's daughter) and Bree (the young vampire we'd saved from the Volturi, age 15) would stay behind with Jasper, Bella and Rose. While we all had our own homes now, the whole family had gathered over the past 24 hours to celebrate Christmas; I loved having my family all under one roof. Through the years, we'd experienced periods of togetherness followed by times of separation. Right now, the kids each held a job and had their independence for a change. It would only be a matter of time before we'd have to relocate and start them out in HS so we'd be able to stay longer in one community.

"Edward, let her come. She has proven on more than one occasion that she can handle it," I said, putting an end to their fight.

"Fine," Edward growled.

"So moody," Alice rolled her eyes before skipping to the car.

The others loaded up as well for the short drive. When we arrived on scene, we were met by the strong scent of blood. I had to prevent myself from breathing to help block the odor. My husband was performing CPR on a small form. I quickly snatched the blankets from the back and ran towards them.

"There's two kids in Carlisle's car," Edward yelled to me. "Get them out of their wet clothes and try to warm them. They're hypothermic."

Alice was on my heels when I reached the heated vehicle, "You ready for this?" I asked my daughter waiting for her nod of reassurance before opening the door. There was water dripping from the leather seats, and huddled in the far corner away from where we stood in the dim light, a young boy sat curled in a ball, holding a miserable, looking little girl in his lap. She was naked, wrapped in a blanket. He appeared to be trying to keep her awake. Tears streamed down his face.

"Oh, you poor darlings," Alice cooed.

"I'm Esme," I introduced, hestating to move too quickly for fear of frightening them more. "What are your names?"

The boy's lips were purple, speech slurred from the cold, "Dillan," he shivered as beads of water rolled off his forehead, tinted red as the river water mixed with blood. "This is Emmalyn. She's my sister."

I took a moment to visually check for injuries. Emmalyn looked cyanotic, her tiny, heart-shaped lips quivering, eyes rolling back as she started to slip into unconsciousness only to jerk herself awake, her breathing came in wheezing gasps.

"You've got quite a nasty cut on your forehead, Dillan," I took a seat on the leather bench seat beside him. "Do you mind if my daughter Alice takes your sister for a minute so I can look at it?"

"Where's my Mom and Dad?" he asked in a tone far too grown-up for his little frame. His arms wrapped even more tightly around poor Emma. I could only imagine the things these children must have seen tonight.

"I don't know, child," I shook my head, sadly. "But my family is outside trying to help." I waited another moment before reaching out for the girl. "May I?"

Dillan's eyes were wild, but he released her cautiously. "She...she has asthma..." he sniffled. "Her inhaler's in h...h..her backpack...it was in the c..c..car."

"It's OK, honey," I lifted a whimpering Emmalyn into my arms, passing her carefully off to Alice. "Take her to Emmett." Turning back to him, I tilted his chin up in order to get a better view. Tearing off the corner of the blanket, I used the scrap to wipe the blood from his face. "I need to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. It might hurt." As gentle as I tried to be, I could see the effects of my touch on his shriveled up face. I was taken by surprise when his tiny little arms wrapped around my waste and his face pressed against my chest. Though I could see his fight, the tears he tried to hold in came out and his body racked with bubbling sobs. "It's OK to cry, Darlin'," I rubbed his back in circles willing his fear and pain to go away, it was only then I realized he was still in his wet clothing. "We need to get you out of those wet clothes." Despite my expectations of a fight, the child willingly allowed me to help him out of the heavy, wet items and I soon held him wrapped in a blanket against my chest, rocking gently while being sure to keep him awake.

A sudden blast of cold air filled the car, and I looked up to see a young man in EMT gear. It was Michael, one of Emmett's friends.

Dillan's POV

I was cold, much colder than I could ever remember being before in my whole life. Everything was spinning and I felt like I might throw up, but I certainly didn't want to tell the nice lady who was being so motherly toward me. My heart hurt and I couldn't tell if I wanted to scream or cry. Everything felt so far away. I felt ashamed that I couldn't hold back the tears that flowed down my face leaving a trail on the thick, fur-piled blanket enclosing me. The blanket helped some, but honestly, the warmer I got, the more my skin burned. I lost all track of time until a man opened the door.

"Hey, Esme," he greeted before leaning down to my level. "Hey, sport, I'm Michael. I'm going to take you for a ride to the hospital so we can get you better," he introduced. "What's your name?"

"Dillan," I responded, softly. My stomach turned and I swallowed hard. He went through the motions of checking my eyes with a little flashlight, having me follow his finger without moving my head, squeezing his fingers with my fists, and so on. I couldn't tell if I was passing his tests or not, and honestly, I didn't care. I just wanted to curl up into a ball and go to sleep.

"Stay awake for me, bud," he prompted. Without warning, I lunged out of the vehicle, pushed past him and fell to my knees where I emptied my lunch into the snow. When I was done, strong arms enclosed me as a stretcher rolled up on my left.

"Do you feel like you might get sick again?" Mike asked as he carefully adjusted me against the raised pillow.

I shook my head, embarrassed as he began a swift exam. Another attendant had joined us and together they lifted the stretcher to move me. My eyes frantically searched for my sister, parents, anyone familiar before reaching out for Esme's hand. The woman offered a maternal smile before squeezing it gently.

"Stay with me?" I sniffed.

"Of course, I will, darling," she leaned down to press a kiss to my forehead just as my mother liked to do. The tears blinded me as I was loaded into the ambulance. Esme sat in close beside me, wiping away my tears and allowing me to squeeze her hand when they began an IV. Before I knew it, we were leaving behind the horror scene and driving on our way. I blinked away sleepiness while my mind attempted to process what had just happened. Nothing was ever going to be the same.