My Hero

Chapter Eighteen

Bella's POV

I awoke fairly early the next day to see Carlisle staring up at the ceiling beside me. I stretched my sore muscles, feeling my joints clicking during the process, and slowly turned over to face him. His head tilted towards my direction and his face seemed to light up.

Again, probably wishful thinking.

"Good morning, Bella," he smiled, sitting upright. "Did you sleep well?"

I nodded but, deep down, I knew that I had suffered some very disturbing dreams, mostly involving Mark. I shuddered, but then realised that Carlisle had also starred in one of my dreams during the night, and that thought made me feel a little better. After a moment, though, it dawned on me that I had the awful habit of talking in my sleep, which Mark had had the decency of pointing out once before... I felt the blood drain from my face.

"That's good, then," he said, with a strange look in his eyes. He glanced at the clock beside the bed. "Are you feeling hungry?"

I considered this; it was likely that some food would ease the sudden morning sickness I was feeling, but I truly believed that I couldn't make it downstairs without throwing up...

I heaved myself slowly upright and staggered towards the bathroom, giving him a quick glance.

"S-sure, give me ten minutes," I gasped.

He looked at me worriedly and I rushed inside, slamming the door behind me and racing for the toilet.

Carlisle's POV

I knew that Bella had suffered some morning sickness today, and I felt incredibly helpless listening to the horrible sounds which came from the bathroom. However, as we travelled back home in the bus, she seemed perfectly fine and was chatting away to me like her normal self. She suddenly frowned towards me.

"Did you taste those cornflakes this morning?" She visibly shuddered. "They were like cardboard."

I laughed. "They didn't exactly provide the greatest catering." A complete lie, obviously, but I did have some knowledge from Bella's strangely amusing experiences.

As the cars raced by below us, I felt a sudden pang of sadness. I had been looking forward to these two days for as long as I could remember, and now it was all over. I sighed heavily and looked over to Bella, who had fallen asleep and whose head was leaning towards my shoulder. I smiled and moved further across, hoping that my shoulder would provide a comfortable enough pillow.

One month later…

Bella's POV

Ugh.

Being pregnant really was not the best experience at the moment (I swear it's over-rated), and I just needed some rest. Despite this, I still had to drag myself out of bed and downstairs towards the ringing phone, even with this giant bump in front of me, obscuring the view of my feet. Surely that's some sort of hazard?

"Hello?" I croaked, clearing my throat. I winced as somebody's high pitched voice began singing down the phone.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to Belllllla, happy birthday to you!"

It was Mom and I couldn't help smiling at her attempt.

"Hi Mom," I said, supporting myself against the counter. "How are you?"

"Don't worry about me, Bella, how are you? Did I phone too early? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't think! How's the baby? Are you doing anything? I..."

"Mom, Mom," I interrupted. "Slow down, I can only answer one thing at a time," I laughed.

"Sorry, sorry," she said. "You know what I'm like."

I could faintly hear Dad shouting in the background, "You should see our phone bill!"

"Sssh, Charlie," Mom protested and I smiled. I really missed them, and being limited to seeing them once or twice a year really effected me, although I didn't really show it. If only Mark didn't dislike them as much as he did...

"Anyway, how is the baby?" Mom continued, and I snapped out of my trance. I automatically reached for my stomach.

"She's... been good, I guess..." But before I could continue, I was again interrupted, this time by a high pitched shriek.

"Oh my goodness, you're having a girl! We're having a granddaughter, Charlie!"

I couldn't quite make out what she was saying for the next minute or so, because she was too excited to speak coherently. But, when she had finally finished hyperventilating, she began planning ahead.

"Oh Bella, this is going to be fantastic. We'll be able to buy her lots of nice pink clothes and some dolls and dresses and... oh! It's amazing, Bella!" Her voice sounded muffled and I could tell that she was crying with joy.

"Mom," I sighed. "Don't get upset!"

She sniffed. "I'm just so happy!"

I smiled. That was exactly what I wanted to hear.

"Well," I said, but my throat suddenly felt very dry, "I'll.. I'll h-hopefully see you soon."

She sighed too. "Please Bella, we need to see you more often. Both Charlie and I miss our beautiful daughter."

I was suddenly overthrown with emotion, but she continued speaking.

"We've sent you your present by post," she told me. "It'll probably arrive later today."

"Thanks Mom," I breathed. "I love you. Tell Dad that too. I love you both."

"We love you too, Bella, don't you ever forget that."

I could barely utter my reply. "Thanks Mom. See you s-soon."

I hung up the phone and stared for a long time through my watery eyes, then eventually stumbled back upstairs to get ready for work.

Carlisle's POV

Today was a very special day. During this day, twenty four years ago, Bella Swan was born. That was when the world became a different, better place.

Maybe that was a bit dramatic, but that was how I felt.

I headed towards the hospital, grateful for my uncanny ability to hear a hundred times better than humans. While I had ran past Bella's house this morning, a habit nowadays, I had heard her on the phone to her mother, and discovered that it was in fact her birthday.

I was ashamed that I hadn't known already.

Seconds later, I was sprinting towards the local mall, gathering together everything I needed for what I had planned. I couldn't control the smile on my face as I walked into Bella's office, closing the doors behind me. She had seemed pretty upset earlier, and I hoped that this would just make her day.

Bella's POV

I walked through the hospital doors once again and was more-or-less immediately greeted by Carlisle, who looked oddly flustered with a panicked look on his face. He smiled when he saw me, though, and ran his fingers through his hair, causing me to stare with an intense longing. It was unbelievable how much I wanted to do that for him...

"Bella," he said, in his usual irresistible voice. "I believe it's a special day today."

I frowned; he couldn't know... I couldn't recall ever telling him.

"Yes, I do love Tuesdays," I shrugged, hoping that he wasn't going to make a fuss. He continued to look at me mischievously, and I couldn't stop myself being helplessly drawn in. His lips pulled into a smile.

"It's your birthday," he said, holding out a rectangular package in front of me. I stared at it, and felt a small pang of happiness.

"Carlisle... I..." I paused, lost for words. Nobody ever remembered my birthday... Nobody besides my parents.

"Please, just open it," he urged, placing it in my hands. I shook my head in disbelief.

"I'm... I'm not really used to receiving presents," I blushed, tugging at the neat bow sealing together the paper. I glanced up at him as I un-wrapped the rest, feeling completely self conscious. His eyes were still on my face as I held a book in my hands, entitled '1000 Female Baby Names.' I felt oddly choked up.

"Carlisle... I... that's... that's just so thoughtful," I breathed, smiling gratefully up at him. "Thank you so much!"

I didn't think, I just reached up and hugged him. He seemed startled at first, but his arms eventually wrapped around me, and it felt so right that I never wanted him to let go. My heart seemed to accelerate by his slightest touch, and I could feel his cold cheek resting against my hair.

"That's not even the best bit," he grinned, pulling away. "If you'd care to follow me..."

I speechlessly followed his orders, my heart beating with excitement. He led me through into my office and paused outside the door. He gave me one last smile, before turning to reveal the inside.

Every square inch of the room was covered in balloons, banners and decorations of every colour I could think of. On my table, there was a huge chocolate cake and I could see a few more cards waiting to be opened. I was completely overwhelmed.

"D-did you do this all by yourself?" I asked, looking at him in awe. He nodded, closing the door behind us. I staggered forwards, taking everything in.

Nobody had gone to this much effort since I was thirteen.

He held out a chair for me to sit on and he joined me beside the table. I couldn't stop shaking my shocked head. I reached for the cards on my desk and quickly opened one; it was from Carlisle.

Bella,

Have a fantastic day; you deserve it. I'm truly glad that I've gotten to know you better, you really are a magnificent person.

Love Carlisle.

I stared at the word 'love' for a long time, but guessed he was just being friendly.

I reached for the rest of the cards; they were from Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, Edward, Jasper and Esme: Carlisle's family. It amazed me how they were all so kind and caring, considering I hadn't even met them.

I placed each of the cards on my desk, proudly displaying them. Carlisle handed me a piece of cake and I smiled. What had I ever done to deserve this?

"Thank you," I whispered and he shook his head.

"It's really no problem."

We had spent more-or-less the rest of the day in the room; I was excused from work because of my 'special day' and eventually most of the hospital found out about it and joined in with the celebrations. I only thought they were doing it so that they could stop from doing any real grafting. Still, I wasn't going to complain; I had a fantastic time, and it was all down to Carlisle.

I made my way back home, clutching proudly at my gifts. I somehow managed to open the front door and switched on a light, nearly stumbling over the package which was in the doorway; it was the present from Mom and Dad, a brand new coffee maker.

I heard a grunt from within the next room and saw Mark making his way towards me and I gulped instinctively. He skulked over and looked at all the gifts on the counter. My heart pounded, though, as he picked up the book from Carlisle.

"What, 1000 Female Baby Names?" He shouted, throwing it on the floor with a loud clatter. "You knew the gender and you didn't think to tell me?"

I winced as the noise echoed in the quiet house. "You didn't come with me to any of the scans," I breathed. "I figured that you weren't interested."

My words struck a chord and he narrowed his eyes at me, then turning his attention towards the cards on the counter. I tried not to panic when I noticed him retrieving the familiar card from Carlisle. Mark looked as though he was about to explode and I prepared myself for the pain.

"Love Carlisle?" he sneered, ripping the card into tiny pieces which fluttered to the floor. "So that's what's been going on..."

I couldn't believe how much of a hypocrite he was. I suspected, deep down, that he was still with Meg, yet he had the nerve to say this to me?

"Mark, you don't understand... I..." I started, but his hand clamped down over my mouth once more.

"Oh, I think I do understand," he whispered, and I struggled under his grip. I knew what was coming, and I suddenly acted on complete instinct, raising my knee to hit Mark in the crotch as hard as I possibly could. It was a struggle but it seemed to work, because he kneeled over in pain, cursing unattractively under his breath. While I could, I leapt up the stairs, immediately regretting my actions. Why didn't I go straight for the door?

I could hear him grumbling as he made his way up the stairs, so I cowered in the bedroom, feeling completely stupid and helpless. I was never going to be able to prevent anything from happening now... I was trapped.

The door smashed open and he stood there, glaring at me and breathing heavily.

"Get here," he ordered, but I couldn't feel my legs. It was only when he repeated what he had said, shouting loudly, that I jumped up and moved numbly towards him. As soon as I was in reaching distance, he pulled me by my hair and I screamed in panic, feeling the burning across my scalp.

"No! Don't!" I screamed helplessly. "Get off me!"

He yanked me out into the landing and I began struggling against him, trying my hardest to push him away from me. He fought back twice as hard, tough, and before I could even register what was happening, another scream escaped from my lips as I tumbled helplessly down the stairs.

Pain seemed to cripple every part of my body as I hit my head at the bottom, lying in a crumpled heap, unable to move. Everything around me turned hazy and, with one last surge of agony, I was surrounded by darkness.