A/N: So here's the next chapter. I'm thinking one where Carlisle and Emmett are testing the morphine and venom and then we'll get into Graduation. Yay Eclipse! I can't wait! Sorry this is a fairly short chapter, but I wanted to get it up and I needed Edward and Carlisle to have at least part of the conversation on Bella's changing. Don't worry, it'll come up again. Edward doesn't let things go so easily, especially something like this.

Also, just so you know, I'll be on holiday from the 24th through the 31st. I'll be taking my laptop, but I don't know what the Internet will be like there. I'm going to try to post something on December 24th, the 1 year anniversary of Rising Sun, but I don't know since that's the day I'm going to be on a plane. If I post, it'll be in the morning.

So for now, please enjoy the chapter!

-Wish

Chapter 55: Return

I was preparing for my first shift back at the hospital when Edward came home again. To say he wasn't happy would be an understatement. Although Edward was usually able to keep his emotions from showing, I had known him for almost 100 years. I knew every micro-emotion of his face. And I could tell that, although his face was carefully blank, he was angry.

"Carlisle, do you have a moment to talk in private?" he asked me simply, catching me in the hallway outside Esme and my room.

I knew this conversation was going to have to happen sooner rather than later. Edward wouldn't have had it with Bella around, but now that she was, I assumed, home, all his reservations were gone. I nodded. We can't be long, unfortunately, I told him silently. I have to be at the hospital in half an hour.

"We won't be," he said. The two of us walked into my office and Edward closed the door behind him. He paused, still facing the door, seemingly gathering his thoughts. "Carlisle," he said finally, turning around. "How could you do this to me?"

I didn't need to ask him what he meant. I knew the context of the question already. "You heard my reasoning, Edward," I replied. "I have thought about this very carefully, for a while now. You must admit it's been on everyone's mind at least once in the last year."

"But how could you agree to this. You don't want to hurt people, yet you would volunteer to rip away a young girl's soul?" I could hear the anguish in Edward's voice and see it in his eyes.

"That's not true, Edward," I insisted.

"After all you've seen of our kind, you cannot honestly believe that we have souls. You've seen what we do. Our most basic nature is to kill."

I sighed. We'd had this discussion multiple times and each time, it had ended at odds. Part of me agreed with Edward. Everything I'd ever learned about vampires before I was changed told me that they were evil, Devil-spawn, a manifestation of man's greed. We were damned, no matter what we did. That was Edward's perspective and for the longest time, it had been mine as well. But something changed that. It was Edward, actually. Seeing him, the goodness in him, I couldn't believe all that awaited him was Hell. I couldn't believe that someone so good, so kind and generous and self-giving, could not have a soul.

"Yes," I conceded. "I have seen a lot. And some of it has been terrible. But in my over 300 years, I have also seen so much that suggests otherwise. Edward, I do not believe we are as condemned as you think."

"How?" Edward insisted. "How could you believe that?"

"I first saw it in you. Edward, you are always telling Bella she doesn't see herself clearly, but neither do you. You are not the monster that you believe yourself to be. Yes, it is in our nature to murder. It is also natural for a human to be greedy, but I know and have known many entirely self-sacrificing people in my lifetime. Just because something is natural, doesn't mean we have to follow it."

Edward still looked distressed. But I was running out of time. As it was, I would have to speed the entire way to the hospital to make it in time for my shift. Edward must've heard this in my thoughts because he stepped out of the way of the door.

"Go, Carlisle," he told me.

I hesitated. I could still see the conflict in my eldest, yet youngest, son. I can stay, if you needed me to.

"I need to think," he replied.

I nodded and grabbed my bag before leaving him in my office. I hoped that, possibly, what I had told him had an impact on his decision. If anything, I hoped it would help alleviate some of his anxiety about Bella's changing. It wouldn't be easy for Edward, I knew that much. The change was excruciatingly painful. One could never accurately understand until they had felt it. Bella had gotten just a small taste of a vampire's venom when James had bit her, last spring. But she had no idea, truly.

I'll have to find some way to help, I thought as I climbed into my Mercedes. It was raining, of course, but I welcomed it. In Ithaca, it had been overcast, but hadn't necessarily rained like it did in Forks. Mostly, it had been snow throughout the winter. The rain felt like I was really home again. I was really back.

Maybe I could try the morphine. If it was already in her system before hand, could it possibly help with the pain? At least alleviate it? Anything I could do for Bella would be an improvement. And it would help Edward, with Bella. If Edward knew that she was in less pain, then perhaps the transformation itself would be less stressful on him.

I'd have to test it though. It was entirely possible that venom would not be affected by human drugs. I didn't know enough about vampire venom to be certain. I would have to run some tests, perhaps on myself. I could give myself a dose, in the arm maybe, and bite myself. Esme had warned me not to hurt myself, but this would be for Bella. And it would be, at most, just a little pain. I could handle it.

I had never had to premeditate a transformation before now. All the others had been spur –of-the-moment decisions. I would have time to prepare myself this time. I doubted I would lose control. I hadn't lost control once in my almost four hundred years. But this time I could make sure I hunted beforehand, just to be 100% sure. It would help too, making the actual process of pulling away less painful. If I was already fed, then any blood I might taste wouldn't really be needed.

As I pulled into the hospital parking lot, I had to force my mind to the momentary tasks at hand. I still had time before Bella graduated. I could think of this later, at home. Now, I was at work and I needed to devote my attention to the here and now.

I stepped inside and it felt like I was returning home all over again. It seemed like nothing had changed. The same secretary sat behind the desk, the same nurses, the same orderlies. I saw maybe one or two new faces, but on the whole, it seemed like Forks Community Hospital had changed even less than I did.

"Dr. Cullen!" I turned and found Brett walking in wearing his ambulance EMT uniform. He didn't seem to be on duty just yet, as he was fairly casual and carried no bag or radio.

"Brett," I greeted, nodding.

"I heard a rumor that you were coming back, but I didn't believe it! I told them, if I got a job in LA, I wouldn't be coming back to grungy old Forks."

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Esme didn't like the city. She prefers it here, in a small town." That was the background story our family had come up with for our sudden move back to Forks. It was the best we could come up with at the moment.

"Well it's a good thing she does," Brett replied. "It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too, Brett," I told him. "If you'll excuse me, I'm due to go on duty soon."

"Of course, I am too," he replied. I nodded once and left Brett to make his way to his post with the ambulance. I, on the other hand, made my way to Dr. Gerandy's office. I was to check in there first.

Dr. Gerandy was working on paper work in his office. The scene was reminiscent of the last time I had been there, to hand in my resignation. "Enter," he called as I knocked. He looked up as I stepped inside and closed the office door behind me.

"It's good to have you back, Carlisle," he said.

"Thank you," I replied. "Thank you for taking me back. I realize that it is probably a huge inconvenience to you and the rest of the staff."

"Are you kidding? You're one of the best doctors we've had here. Forks Community is lucky to have you, not inconvenienced in the least. Though I am curious, did it not work out with the job in Los Angeles?"

I shook my head. "We didn't move back for any problem with the hospital. My family simply prefers the small-town life as compared to the city."

Dr. Gerandy nodded. "Well if you don't have any questions, the secretary has your patients list. And I've taken the liberty of scheduling you for a heart surgery next week."

I nodded. "Thank you."

Dr. Gerandy looked surprised but he nodded with a "You're welcome," and let me go. I headed for the locker room to exchange my outer jacket for my lab coat. I clipped on my ID tag, which was surprisingly the same from the last time I worked in Forks, and checked with the secretary for my rounds list. Checking the first name and room number, I made my way down the familiar hall. As I entered, I smiled at the little boy lying in the bed as he watched cartoons on the TV hanging in the corner. He looked over at me, slightly confused and curious as I checked the chart at the foot of his bed. He was ten and he'd been in for appendicitis. The procedure had been performed two days before.

"Hello Zach," I greeted him. "What are you watching?" I asked, gesturing to the TV.

"Cartoon Network," Zach replied. "Ed, Edd, n' Eddie."

I nodded, not familiar with the show myself. "Well, my name is Dr. Cullen. I'm going to be taking care of you until you can go home," I told him.

Zach looked uncertain, but he nodded. "Hi, Dr. Cullen," he said.

"How are you feeling today, Zach," I asked.

"Okay."

"It says here that you got your appendix removed."

To my surprise, the boy grinned. "Yeah. I've got it in a jar. Wanna see?" He pointed over to the table where I saw the swollen, infected organ floating in fluid. I walked over to the table and picked up the jar, pretending to really examine the appendix as enthusiastically as Zach was.

"Well I must say, that is a very big appendix."

"The other doctor said it was about ready to burst," Zach added.

"I believe him," I replied, setting the jar back on the table. "Do you mind if I check the stitches?"

"Sure," Zach said. He leaned over and let me look at the neat row of stitches from where the incision had been made. They seemed to be healing well. I couldn't smell any sign of infection. They would be ready to come out soon.

"Thank you, Zach," I said. "Those look good."

"Are they going to leave a scar?" Zach asked his eyes bright. "Jim says they leave a scar."

I chuckled. "I think they just might," I told him. "But you have to promise me you're not going to touch them or anything. Let them heal and they'll turn into a scar. Can you do that for me?"

Zach nodded. "Sure, Dr. Cullen."

"Good. I'll check in on you again later, okay?"

"Alright," Zach replied, turning back to the TV.

"Enjoy your show," I offered before leaving. I couldn't help but smile when I closed the door. It felt right, interacting with patients, helping them. At times I enjoyed tending children. They had an innocence that was unmatched in adults. With cases like Zach's, where more than likely they would go home in a few days, it was refreshing. But in other times, like with Joanie the last time I had been working at the hospital, it had been sad. Because I knew that, although Joanie would be alright physically, her life would forever be changed after that day.

As I walked down the hall to my next patient, I found my thoughts drifting to Joanie. What had become of her? I never learned if her mother survived or not. I never learned if she was an orphan, or now the child of a single parent. I had left before it had all been sorted through. I considered checking for the files in the hospital's system. But that might raise questions. So I decided against it as I entered my next patient's room. The sixty-four year old woman with the broken left hip looked up at me from her book. I checked my list.

"Good morning, Mrs. Gregory, I'm Dr. Cullen. I'll be taking care of you from now on."

A/N2: Hello! So what do you think? What were your thoughts on Carlisle and Edward's talk? And how about his return to the hospital and his interaction with Zach? Did I get Carlisle right? It's been a little while since I've written for Rising Sun. Please REVIEW and tell me what you think!

-Wish

P.S. FYI, my poll is still open and I've added two or three (I forget which) of my new stories. Also, the first Chapter of Rising Sun Outtakes is up. It's a re-vamp (no pun intended) of Chapter 1 of this story. So click on over and check it out!

P.S.S. FYI2, as a thanks to all you amazing readers, I've also written a One-Shot called "I'm Already There" for the holidays. It's my first All-Human story! Please tell me what you think of it! Thanks!