Chapter 3, hot and served! I expect this chapter to explain about the saga between Lauren's family and the Cullens. Other questions not answered here will be answered in next chapter, unless, of course, you ask how things will turn out between Edward and Bella, because that only Alice can answer, because I sure ain't answering that. Cheers and enjoy. :D

Where Things Stand

Friday

I was really very thankful that Friday was finally here; two days of no school and most importantly, nobody to talk to, was looming and I was looking forward to it. I needed some peace and quiet. Last night had been spent tossing and turning in my bed puzzling over the conversation Edward and Lauren had had, and when I had finally drifted to sleep my dreams were tainted with the images of Edward, Lauren, and Lauren's father. It was beyond irritating.

Lauren's father, David-he insisted on being called by his first name-was a tall, wiry man in his thirties. He didn't seem the kind to get infected with any kind of disease, especially not one that would require an operation. He was incredibly fit; he went jogging every few days and worked at the hospital as a doctor. He worked the graveyard shift though, so I hardly ever saw him except for the rare times when I bumped into him at the grocery store or Mike's shop, where he usually bought hiking boots on account of his old ones always ending up in tatters after his dog found them.

I could see how Edward felt like he owed the man though. When we were five, a woman hiker had accused Carlisle of outraging her modesty. At that time I hadn't known what that meant, but eventually I found out that the woman, who was passing by Forks on her way to Tacoma, had appearently stopped at the hospital for a nasty sprain and Carlisle had supposedly sexually harassed her.

It was an stupid accusation. Of course the woman wouldn't have known that Carlisle was one of the most respected citizens of Forks, but in those hazy days where a serial killer had just been caught in Seattle, nobody was sure of anything, so nobody spoke up for him. Esme had tried defending him, but since she was his wife nobody believed her either until David spoke up.

He had gone to the police station and found Charlie there and reported that he had been in the same ward visiting his wife, who had landed herself in hospital for some infection. According to him, Carlisle had not harrassed the woman but rather it was her that had harrassed him. When she discovered he had a wife she flipped out and wanting revenge decided to file a fake report.

The woman tried to back down after that, but obviously after charges had been pressed the police weren't going to let go that easily. Luckily Carlisle had told the police to drop all charges against the woman, which incidentally included defamation, and she had left Forks mortified at her choice of victims.

Edward had been the most affected. Although we were too young to fully realize the severity of the situation, Edward stayed home more often that the others. Rosalie, Emmett and Rosalie were busy with school so they at least were more preoccupied. Alice had been down with a fever and was recovering, so she wasn't as aware as Edward.

Edward on the other hand knew everything and was disturbed by how moody Esme was. Esme and Carlisle had cooped up together in the library for hours then, which was so uncharacteristic of them that Edward had been really affected. He was forever grateful to David for helping Carlisle out then.

Which was why it was so like him to feel that he had to help out David on behalf of Carlisle. From the sounds of their brief conversation, it sounded like Lauren wasn't allowing Edward to help her dad unless he got together with her. Edward was desperate enough that he was willing to succumb to anything to help out David. The Cullens were rich enough that they had lots to spare, and Edward obviously felt this was the right thing to do.

Which brought me back to the main question. What was wrong with David?

"Bella! Hurry up, you'll be late for school!" Charlie yelled from downstairs. I hopped out the bathroom where I had been musing in, trying to put on my sneakers while climbing down the stairs. A very stupid mistake on my part, I might add. Of course I tripped at the last minute and flew past the last three steps and tumbled into a heap on the floor. I hopped up before Charlie could ask if I was okay. He stared at me for a moment and burst out laughing.

"Fine, laugh at me, why don't you?" I muttered.

"Sorry…Bells…too…funny," Charlie gasped. I rolled my eyes, pulling on my sneaker properly and managing not to trip at the same time before remembering what I had been thinking about.

"Oh! Dad, do you happen to know what's wrong with Lauren's father? There are…um, rumors in school that he needs an operation," I fibbed quickly, pretending to adjust my sneaker to hide the blush for the lie.

"You mean David?" I nodded. "Oh, that's right, he needs an operation. I think he has pancreatic cancer. That strain of cancer is one of the most fatal ones though. I doubt David has a chance of making it through. Less than five percent live five years after being diagnosed, and I think David only just discovered he had cancer last month. It turned out that he had had cancer for a few years but never seeked medical advice. He just returned from an overseas trip to Europe to consult a professional while he was visiting his sister. Luckily his sister said he should visit a doctor or it would go unnoticed for even longer."

I gasped softly. Pancreatic cancer? No wonder Edward was so worried. David didn't deserve something like this. "But why would he need a professional? He's a doctor, isn't he?"

Charlie smiled. "But only a general doctor. This isn't his field. He didn't know his symptoms were of cancer. He thought it was his old age. David's terrified of aging, you know." Charlie paused. "The professional he saw managed to give him a rough estimate of how long he had to live."

"How long?" I asked, driven by morbid curiosity. Ridiculous. I had a sinking feeling he didn't have much time.

Charlie hesitated. "Three months."

xXx

"Oh no…" Angela breathed. "That would be horrible. Poor David…"

It was lunch again. I had told only Angela and Mike about what I had found out. Mike because he deserved to know on account of him not ratting me out to Edward, and Angela because I needed somebody to talk to that wouldn't be clouded by the impression that cancer was cool and deserved attention.

"Isn't it? I mean, we all remember what happened when we were five…"

Angela nodded. "He doesn't deserve this. No wonder Edward wanted to help. The Cullens are the only family with the money to help him out. But isn't pancreatic cancer very fatal?"

I nodded, reciting what Charlie had told me. "Less than five percent make it up to five years. The doctor he consulted gave him three months."

"Three months?!" Angela gasped. "But that's so unfair!"

"Tell me about it." I sighed. "That's why Edward's splashing out on all the fancy procedures. It probably won't work out, but Edward's not letting one iota of chance slip by."

Angela was impressed. "Wow. That's so kind of Edward."

"Yeah," I agreed. "He feels like he owes David for the last time."

Angela nodded thoughtfully, chewing on a slice of over-cooked pizza. She cringed at the taste but kept eating regardless. "And Lauren doesn't care…she must be even colder than I thought."

"She always has been," I said bitterly. Lauren. Hah. Her own father had three months to live and it was Edward that was helping out. Some daughter.