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This Chap: Again, the books weren't too much help (except for a little bit of dialogue) so the movie gave me a little bit of a visual cue. Nevertheless, it was kinda confusing trying to figure out who goes where!
Disclaimer: nor the Twilight movie or book are my property.
Chapter Seventeen: The Ballet Studio
Carlisle:
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Alice chanted, her head in her hands as the hot Arizona morning sun beat down on the rather conspicuous black car that weaved through traffic.
"Alice, shh," Jasper soothed, reaching forward from the back seat to touch his mate's shoulder reassuringly.
"Which Ballet studio?" Edward demanded. A moment later, he pointed me in the right direction. The tyres made a horrible screeching sound as I parallel-parked at a hundred miles an hour.
Edward was out before the car had even stopped. Emmett, Jasper and Alice quickly followed, leaving me to close all their doors and lock up. With a sigh, satisfied that its job was done, the car let off a puff of steam and sunk a few inches.
My sentiments exactly, I sighed, exhausted right to the bone. Unfortunately, my job was not yet done.
.o.o.o.
Five marble-skinned predators, we crashed through the skylight and landed in a wall in front of James. The smell of blood was everywhere, and shattered glass covered the floor, but it didn't bother vampire skin as Jasper and Emmett lunged for James. He dodged them and jumped over us. Edward was already facing the other direction, and an angry, desperate snarl erupted from his throat as he saw James holding Bella's bloody wrist, inhaling the scent deliberately, teasing.
Emmett lunged again, knocking James back. Once they were clear of the blood Jasper joined his brother, tailed by Alice. Distraught, Edward collapsed on his knees by Bella's side.
"Oh no, Bella, no!" Edward cried, reaching for her face.
A thudding of footsteps announced James' return, and I whipped around just in time and caught him mid-air, then threw him into the wall on the opposite side of the room.
"Nice save, Carlisle," Emmett praised, grinning at me before charging off after James. Sparing a second glance at Edward and Bella, I followed the others. Thankfully, the fight was over before I reached them: Jasper jumped onto James' shoulders and snapped his neck with frightfully little effort. Rubble crumbled to the ground, and a mixture of relief and guilt settled on my shoulders.
In the temporary silence I could hear Bella's drowsy moans of pain.
"Bella, please! Bella, listen to me, please, please, Bella, please!" Edward begged.
Alice and Emmett rounded up some floorboards and covered them in gasoline. They backed up, and I tossed the match, and the back of the room burst into flames. I tried not to think of the fact that there was a person somewhere amidst the fire and rubble. Emmett put his hand on my shoulder.
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, Dad," he said quietly. "It's not your fault."
"Carlisle!" Edward called, his voice wavering with worry. Immediately, all eyes were in his direction. Without a word, Jasper retreated outside to wait, wisely measuring his control. His brother followed, cheerful and supportive all the way, and Alice decided to assist me.
.o.o.o.
Alice and I shot to Edward's side, my eyes already scanning Bella over for the most serious injuries. I ran my hands over her scalp, and she cried out and pushed against me when I reached the wound.
"Bella!" Edward cried in anguish.
"She's lost some blood, but the head wound isn't deep." I kept my voice calm out of habit and my thoughts methodical for Edward's sake. "Watch out for her leg; it's broken." A strangled cry of rage slipped out of Edward's throat, but I continued my smooth movements. I hoped he would relax.
You can't do any good for Bella all wound up like that, I told him gently, starting to test for broken ribs. I pressed two fingers against her side, found nothing broken, and moved them down another inch. I pressed again, and this time she winced away from my fingers, and I added broken ribs to my diagnosis.
"Edward," Bella groaned, so slurred I could hardly make out the word.
"Bella, you're going to be fine," Edward promised. At least he was acting a little calmer. "Can you hear me Bella? I love you."
"Edward," she said again. This time was a little better. I was glad her head was clearing.
"Yes, I'm here," Edward said. He seemed to have regained himself. Beside us, Alice was shaking. She slowly took a breath in, and slowly let it out, enforcing control.
"It hurts," Bella whimpered as I manoeuvred around Edward to kneel beside Bella's legs.
"I know, Bella, I know," Edward crooned. He turned to me. "Can't you do anything?" he asked, trying not to sound demanding. In Bella's left leg there was a deep cut; thick, dark blood pulsed from her femoral artery, rapidly soaking the thick material of her borrowed pants.
"My bag, please," I requested softly. I remembered leaving it in the Mercedes after work. It would still be there. Alice nodded stiffly. Brave girl.
"Hold your breath, Alice, it will help," I promised. She nodded again, a little more comfortable this time, and disappeared out the door to fetch my bag.
"Alice?" Bella groaned.
"She's here," Edward crooned, daring to stroke a lock of Bella's hair away from her bloody forehead. "She knew where to find you." The tendons in his neck bulged with agony and concentration.
Edward, son, don't start panicking now. Stay calm. You're doing well, I told him.
"My hand hurts," Bella choked hoarsely.
"I know, Bella," Edward nodded stiffly. "Carlisle will give you something, it will stop."
Alice handed me my leather bag, and I immediately clicked it open and pulled out a syringe. I filled it with a dose of morphine and when I gave it to Bella she squirmed.
"My hand is burning!" she screamed. Clearly we were misunderstanding.
"Bella?" Edward wondered.
"The fire!" She screamed hysterically now. "Someone stop the fire!" She cried out again, a tortured, wordless scream: a tone that I recognised with terror.
"Carlisle! Her hand!" Edward's eyes were wide with horror, focused intensely on a pair of glistening silver and red crescents at Bella's wrist.
"He bit her," I confirmed, appalled. I can't believe I didn't notice before. Alice's breath caught. She dropped her hands to Bella's face, wiping away the red liquid before it could get into Bella's eyes.
"You have to do it," Alice insisted.
"No!" Edward bellowed.
"Alice," Bella moaned.
"There may be a chance," I interrupted. She may not have to be changed at all. If there was something we could do to get the venom out…
"What?" Edward begged. I wrapped my hands around Bella's leg, trying to stem the bleeding at the same time as ordering all her injuries in order of seriousness and trying to figure out a long-term solution to the leg problem. This would have to be the first priority.
I dove for my bag again, rummaging through it ferociously, unwilling to leave Bella's leg wound open for even the few seconds it would take to calmly search. I found what I was looking for and set to work bandaging Bella's leg, praying that Edward would be patient with me. Alice watched Bella's leg bandage, monitoring how much blood was getting onto it, while I pulled a needle and thread out of my bag.
"See if you can suck the venom back out," I suggested to Edward, who was beginning to look as if he might shatter. "The wound is fairly clean."
Luckily, James hadn't managed to get much venom into her system, but it was still enough for me not to bother with anaesthetic: Bella wouldn't be able to feel the stitches through the flames. This was little comfort as Alice's face dropped.
"Will that work?" she asked, looking between Edward and I, her voice strained as blood started seeping through the bandage. She pressed her fingers to the cut, putting pressure on the wound, and held her breath again.
"I don't know," I admitted. "But we have to hurry," I added as Bella's eyes drifted closed again.
"Carlisle I…I don't know if I can do that," Edward said. The agony was starting to come through again.
"It's your choice, Edward, either way," I said. I hated forcing him into a corner like this, but there was really no other option. "I can't help you. I have to get this bleeding stopped here if you're going to be taking blood from her hand." Bella writhed under my hands, and her broken bones crunched against each other. Even I was surprised at how steady my hands were as I tore away the material blocking my path and started the first stitches.
"Edward!" Bella screamed, forcing her eyelids open and searching with unfocused eyes for his face.
"Alice, get me something to brace her leg!" I commanded, working faster on Bella's stitches. I glanced at Edward.
"Edward, you must do it now or it will be too late," I told him.
The doubt and fear in his eyes was replaced with a fierce determination. He picked up Bella's arm, locked his grip on either side of the bite, and pressed his lips to it. A low rumble resonated from Edward's throat, from pleasure or horror I couldn't work out, but it was cut off by Bella's scream. She squirmed against the pain, thrashing wildly. I swiftly finished the stitches and clamped Bella's legs tightly, hoping she wouldn't injure herself further as she struggled. With teeth gritted and eyes dark but strong, Alice was bravely holding Bella's head still. We waited.
.o.o.o.
Eventually, her convulsions lost their aggression. Bella struggled to keep her eyes open.
"Edward…" she mumbled.
"He's right here, Bella," Alice assured her. Edward's low rumble turned into a purr, and his eyes were losing their determination.
"Stay, Edward, stay with me…" Bella begged.
"I will," Edward replied, cutting off his purr. With a surge of effort, he pulled away from Bella's wrist, and Bella sighed.
"Is it all out?" I asked. You did very well, Edward.
"Her blood tastes clean," he replied. "I can taste the morphine."
"Bella?" I called gently.
"Mmmmm?" she replied drowsily.
"Is the fire gone?"
"Yes. Thankyou Edward." Bella smiled weakly, her dazed eyes fluttering closed for a moment. I sighed with relief, a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.
It worked.
"I love you," Edward breathed.
"I know," Bella replied. Edward laughed quietly, weakened by his ordeal.
"Bella?" I asked again, a potentially extreme detail coming to mind.
"What?" she mumbled.
"Where is your mother?"
"In Florida. He tricked me, Edward. He watched our videos." Suddenly, she tried to force her eyes wider. "Alice!" she cried, trying to sound urgent, though her voice was slurring. "Alice, the video – he knew you, Alice, he knew where you came from." Then: "I smell gasoline."
I glanced over my shoulder. The fire behind us was dying down, and the torn, gnarled, charred wreck of wood, glass and ashes was painfully visible. I wonder what the owners would say to the mess we had caused. Oh well, never mind that now.
"It's time to move her," I said. We needed to get her to a hospital soon.
"No, I want to sleep," Bella complained. I smiled a little at her simple request.
"You can sleep, sweetheart, I'll carry you," Edward soothed. "Sleep now, Bella."
Without a mumble of resistance, Bella slept.