Carlisle

Morning came around slowly, time passed slowly, the next day went slowly. It was the next evening now. Violetta still hadn't woken up. The girls had come to see her, as had the guys. Jasper and Alice stayed behind, as did Carmen and Eleazar. It was a large room, so they all fit against the wall easily, still leaving a fair amount of space for me to work. Esme was lying across me again, but sprung up when she heard movement. I appeared at Violetta's side as her eyes fluttered. She opened them weakly, slowly. When they focused, her heart rate picked up as she realised where she was. I moved her oxygen mask and hushed her.

"Hey, baby girl. It's okay. I'm right here."

She coughed and winced in pain as she moved.

"Can you speak?" I asked quietly.

She didn't reply.

"How do you feel?"

"All of me…hurts." She struggled to choke out. "Can't…breathe."

I put the mask back over her mouth and brushed her hair behind her ear. I kissed her forehead and she closed her eyes again. I looked over at Esme, who had a pained expression on her face.

A knock on the door startled me. "Doctor Cullen, I have all of the blood test results you filed over the past few days." Lorry said, walking in. She handed me the clipboard and smiled before walking back out.

"Well, she's not pregnant." I said.

"That's the least of our worries at the moment I think…" Alice said quietly.

I skimmed over the pages several times.

"You've got 2 pages there. How many tests did you run?" Esme asked.

"A few. They're spaced out."

There was another few minutes of silence as I looked at the pages.

"Well?" Jasper asked.

I shook my head and sat down. "Everything is negative. Not one test proved anything except that it's rare apparently."

"Well, she is a sick hybrid vampire human. I would expect nothing but rare…" Esme said, sighing and standing up. She walked over to Violetta and took her hand. She kissed her hand and ran circles with her thumb over it.

"Can you squeeze my hand?" Esme whispered to her. I watched as Violetta's hand tightened slightly over Esme's before it relaxed again.

"Squeeze for yes, okay?" She asked. Violetta squeezed her hand again.

I stood up and walked to Esme's side. "Are you in pain?" Esme asked. She nodded to me to show that she squeezed.

"A lot of pain?" I asked. Esme nodded again.

"Is your chest tight?"

Esme nodded.

"Do you still feel all the symptoms you did the other day?"

Esme nodded.

"Do you know what happened?"

I looked at Esme. She shook he head.

"Okay. Rest, sweetheart." I kissed her forehead and walked back to the seat I was previously sitting on.

Esme followed me and rested her head on my shoulder again. I took her hand and kissed her head.

Alice was lying across Jasper. He was reading. Eleazar and Carmen were sitting in silence, occasionally texting or whispering very quietly.

A knock on the door brought us all out of our thoughts.

"There's a Mason here to see you, Doctor Cullen."

I stood up and felt anger rush through me. "Carlisle." Jasper grabbed my arm, "Don't start anything."

I shrugged him off and walked out of the room quickly. Mason was standing outside. The nurse walked back down the hall.

"Carlisle, I am so sorry. I had to pass on a message to the Makah reservation. I wasn't intending on being gone so long, and I didn't have my phone and then I finally found out and I came as quickly as I could."

It was hard for me to be angry with him. He looked as scared and worried as Esme or I.

"She's not pregnant, but she's ill, and we don't know what's wrong. She only woke up this evening."

He nodded.

"You are more than welcome to come in and see her, but I do suggest you go home tonight and get some sleep. You look exhausted."

"Thank you."

I smiled and nodded. I opened the door and motioned for him to go in. He greeted the others and walked straight to Violetta's side.

I took my place beside Esme again. She smiled, "Thank you for being kind."

I kissed her forehead and she laid her head back on my shoulder.

Mason had gone home late to get some sleep after Esme and I told him to several times. The others had come to visit again, and Tanya stayed this time. Rosalie didn't want to leave, but Emmett found it difficult to stay, and they weren't going to separate.

I looked at Esme while Alice and Carmen got ready to go and refresh themselves before they returned. "You should go with them. Shower and change. You need to relax a little." I whispered.

"I'll leave when you do." She said back softly.

"People are going to start noticing that we don't sleep soon…" Jasper said.

I shook my head, "Esme and Carmen pretended to be asleep the first night. It was the only time they came in at a very late time. I think we're safe."

He nodded and closed his book. He walked over to Violetta and held her hand as she began to stir. She seemed to relax as soon as he touched her.

"Jazz, come home and hunt. Please? You're eyes are very dark."

He looked to me and I nodded, "You should go."

He nodded to Alice, "Okay, for a little while."

They left and Eleazar decided to stick with Carmen.

"Dad." I heard a quiet whisper. I got up quickly and went to her side. Esme followed me.

She opened her eyes weakly and was breathing heavily, "Please." She breathed.

I looked at Esme, who was looking at me. "Please what, honey?" Esme asked softly.

"Kill me." She choked out.

I didn't answer her. I wanted to say no, to lecture her, make her realise she was too important to us, but I couldn't. Not with her in this condition, not in this much pain.

Esme stared at me, "You're not saying no…"

I looked over to her with guilty eyes. Her mouth dropped open, "Carlisle, no!"

"Look at how much pain she's in, Esme."

"She's not thinking clearly!"

"It's not up to us." I shook my head.

"No! She's 15! She's not thinking straight. We are her parents and we are in charge of that decision and no matter your choice, I am not letting you do it."

"Esme—"

"How could you even think about killing her?"

"It's what she wants!"

"She wanted to leave, and you didn't let her. A week ago, you were worried sick that she would take her own life away. It scared you to death Carlisle! And now you're thinking of doing it for her!"

"This is different!"

"Mental pain and physical pain are no different."

"She's just one girl."

"She's strong, and she will recover. Are you strong enough to say no to her?"

I stared at Esme. Her eyes craving tears again. "God, I wish I could cry!" She exclaimed before she sat down and dropped her head in her hands.

"Esme, she's—"

"Do you realise what you're considering, Carlisle? If you do this for her, over an illness that might not even be life threatening, you are never going to see your baby girl again. The only person in the world left who shares your blood. What you had last week, you'll never have again. Rosalie would forever hate you, Jasper would never recover. I would never recover. You would never recover. What about Mason? He'd probably consider suicide. This would affect everyone, not just her. And for what? Just to end the pain that we know is temporary, but she sees as permanent. No Carlisle."

Alice and Jasper burst through the door. Jasper stood protectively in front of Violetta.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Alice snapped at me. "Don't you dare even consider that. We will not let you do that."

My eyes moved back to Esme. She took a step back, "You already decided."

"She is in pain. Trust me, this is killing me more than it is you, but she is in more pain than you could imagine." I said.

"It'll go away soon enough." Alice said.

"Have you seen her getting better, Alice? Or are you just guessing?"

She stayed silent.

"So you haven't seen it then?"

"I can't. All I'm seeing is you pulling the plug."

A low growl escaped Jasper's throat.

"I don't think you're thinking clearly either…" Esme said quietly. "I cannot believe that you, Carlisle Cullen, would even consider killing your own daughter. What if that was Alice? Or Rosalie or Bella? Would you make the same decision?"

"No, I wouldn't. They're stronger, they would recover."

"And what is to stop Violetta from recovering? Why is she viewed as weaker in your eyes?"

"Esme, it isn't our decision. It's hers."

"You're just as weak as you view her as." Esme said harshly before storming out. I could hear her sob as she walked down the hall.

"Esme!" I called from outside Violetta's door. I followed her down the hall and grabbed her arm.

"Don't touch me!" She snapped. She knocked my hand away and exited the building. Edward and Bella were standing just inside the door with Rosalie and Emmett. Kate and Garrett were behind them, watching.

"Esme!" I called again, running at a human pace after her. I heard Edward start explaining to the others.

"Esme, please stop. What if she needs us right now?" I asked as were crossed the tree tine.

"You mean what if she needs you to pull the plug?"

"I didn't say I was going to do it."

"Alice saw it. Your decision was made, and to be honest with you, I find that sort of betraying. Unforgivable, actually."

"I haven't done anything, love."

"Don't "love" me."

"Please, Esme. Stop. You can talk to Violetta about it for as long as you want, and then you can ask her again. Whatever she decides is what I need to go by."

"No, it's not. You're a doctor. You're supposed to save lives, not take them. And you're her father; you shouldn't even have hesitated to say no this early into the illness."

"Just, come back to the hospital with me. Please? I'm sorry that she wanted this."

"I'll talk to her, but if she doesn't change her mind, I'm leaving when you act on it."

"Leaving me?"

She nodded, and I saw the pain in her eyes, "I will not be able to handle losing her, Carlisle."

He swallowed hard and nodded, "Okay."

She closed her eyes and took a breath before walking back towards the hospital. I walked beside her. "Wait." I grabbed her hand and pulled her back. I planted a long kiss on her lips.

"What was that for?" She asked when I eventually loosened my arms and let her move away from me.

"In case she doesn't change her mind and I don't get the chance later. I love you, Esme. For eternity."

"I love you too."