I bit my lip as we followed Dr Cullen through the woods. Half an hour since we had stopped for lunch, Gracie was starting to lag. The doctor had seemed so attentive to her needs; surely he didn't imagine she could walk all day.

I hurried ahead a few steps to catch up with him. "Dr Cullen," I said in a low voice, "shouldn't we be heading back soon?"

He smiled. "We've actually been heading back since lunch; we're not going quite the same way we came." He stepped on a bramble to get it out of the way, and lifted a low-hanging branch as I ducked through.

"I must admit, I'm completely lost!" I said with a laugh.

"Finding your way in the woods takes practice," he admitted.

"Gracie?" Nessie said behind us. Then came Jacob's voice, "Hey, Doc!"

His tone made me whirl around, but somehow the doctor was already there, his hands on Gracie's arms as he knelt in front of her. "What's wrong?" he asked, his tone decidedly that of a doctor.

"My…head…" Gracie whispered. "Can't… breathe…"

Oh, no. Oh, no; oh, no; oh, no.

Nessie slipped her hand into mine and I squeezed hard, needing the small comfort she offered too much to worry about whether my grip was hurting her fingers.

Why had I ever allowed this? Doctor or no doctor, we were miles in the woods, miles from any hospital equipment…

My legs wouldn't hold me and I sank to my knees, wrapping my arm around Nessie and pulling her close, taking comfort from the feel of her warm body against mine.

I felt a large hand on my shoulder as Jacob knelt beside me. "Hey, it's all right, Mrs Morrison; Doc's got everything under control."

Dr Cullen had taken off his backpack and spread his jacket on the ground for Gracie to lie on. Now he unzipped the backpack and took out first a black medical bag and then…a portable oxygen tank?

I blinked; I had guessed he had medical supplies in the backpack — what else would he bother carrying through the woods? But he had actually been toting oxygen around on the off chance my daughter would need it?

He gently placed the mask over Gracie's face. "Breathe, honey…nice and easy…that's it." His voice was gentle and soothing; he sounded completely sure of himself.

Jacob's hand remained on my shoulder as I watched the doctor fill a syringe from a bottle and inject the medication into Gracie's arm.

Then he slipped the backpack back onto his shoulders and hooked the oxygen tank on his belt. He wrapped his jacket around Gracie as he stood up, gently cradling her in his arms. "Let's go," he said quietly.

Jacob stood and offered me a hand to get to my feet. They would hold me now, I discovered, but I still clung to Nessie's hand as I followed the doctor.

He glanced often at Gracie's face; after several minutes he stopped and turned to Jacob. "Jake, I need to get her back to the office. Can you —?"

"Sure thing, Doc."

And with that, the doctor took off at a smooth run through the woods, leaving me standing frozen.

"Hey, it's all right," Jacob said with surprising gentleness. "Doc just wants to get her back to the house."

"He's running — all that way?"

"Sure; he's in real good shape." He bent slightly to look straight into my eyes. "Can you walk, Mrs Morrison, or do you need me to carry you?"

I smiled shakily. "N-no; I-I can walk."

"Carry me, Jake!" Nessie demanded.

Half absently, Jacob held out his hands; with a running start Nessie placed her palms in his and vaulted to his shoulders.

"Look, Mrs Morrison, Doc's the best around," Jacob tried to reassure me. "If he can't cure something, it's pretty near incurable. Right, Ness?"

Nessie nodded decidedly. "Of course!"

I appreciated their efforts, but I wasn't going to feel comfortable until I saw my daughter.

oO Continue reading for Ending 2a, or go to Ending 2b Oo

Jacob kept slightly in front of me to guide the way, but I could tell he was letting me set the pace.

When we finally emerged from the woods, I broke into a run across the green lawn.

Esme met me at the door, and I clutched desperately at her arm. "Where's Gracie? Is she —?"

Esme gave me a gentle smile. "Carlisle took her up to his office; he said for me to bring you when you got here. Come on."

I followed her up the stairs and down a hall. She paused to knock on a door before pushing it open. "Carlisle, here's Mrs Morrison."

"Ah, Mrs Morrison; come in."

Gracie lay in a leather recliner, still breathing from the oxygen tank and with an IV line running to her arm. A crocheted afghan was pulled up over her.

Dr Cullen had been standing beside the bookshelves reading something from a thick volume, but he set it aside as I entered. "Thank you, love," he dismissed his wife.

"How is she?" I whispered.

Dr Cullen stepped to the recliner and brushed a hand over Gracie's forehead. "Resting now; her vital signs are a lot better than they were."

I sighed with some relief. "We should get her to the hospital," I mused worriedly.

"I can take her if you want me to," he offered instantly. "But to be honest, I doubt they'd do anything more than I'm doing here."

I bit my lip, considering; Gracie did hate hospitals so… "You really think she's improved?"

"There's no question. Look; I'm sure even you can see that her color's better."

I nodded slowly; the faint flush of Gracie's cheeks was far better than that awful whiteness. "All right… she can stay here."

He nodded, accepting my decision, and then turned and wrote something on a pad on his desk. He tore the sheet off and handed it to me. "This is the name and number of a specialist I think she should see," he said quietly.

I found myself laughing hysterically. "Do you realize how many specialists she's been referred to?"

"Seven." He smiled slightly. "Don't look so surprised; as a doctor I do have access to her medical records. From her test results and what I've seen today, I'm pretty sure she has a rare condition; this doctor specializes in treating children with similar disorders.

"Now, I'd like to keep her here at least overnight; depending on how she feels in the morning, we can talk about letting her go to school Monday."

I felt a brief surge of hope. If his treatment might have her well enough for school on Monday, when normally she was in the hospital three or four days, then maybe his diagnosis was correct. Just maybe this referral would be the answer.

Go to Epilogue

Third ending coming next week!

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