Izzy ended up at a Mcdonald's down the street. She didn't remember what she said to the cashier, but it must have been at least some coherent given the feast that appeared in front of her a few minutes later.

Despite the tornado of thoughts tearing through her mind, Izzy's stomach growled. She couldn't recall the last meal she had that wasn't a stale granola bar or a rushed bowl of cereal. Izzy unwrapped the first of a half-dozen burgers and took a bite. Much to her relief, the burger had the exact mediocre taste she was expecting. It was comforting to know to no matter where she was and whatever drama she was facing, a cheeseburger from the golden arches always tasted exactly the same.

Izzy was eyeing the second burger when a greasy-faced teenage cashier appeared in front of her clutching a styrofoam cup.

"Umm...Izzy...I mean um..Ms. Swan," He stammered. "You forgot your shake." Shaking like a leaf, he set the shake on the table. "Here you go."

Without waiting for a thank you, he scurried back to the kitchen.

Izzy furrowed her brow. How odd. While her disguise wasn't the best, the "Clark Kent effect" usually let her move from place to place undetected. How had a teenaged cashier ferreted out her secret identity in less than fifteen minutes? Izzy felt the top of her head and sighed. Somewhere during her panicked run, she'd lost her wig leaving her signature purple and black hair exposed. Oh well. Maybe it was for the best that the wolf was out of the bag. She had much more important things to worry about than lying to an entire hospital.

Hoping to calm her frayed nerves, Izzy took a sip of the shake. She gagged when the noxious liquid hit her taste buds.

"Strawberry!? Bella exclaimed. That's your favorite?"

She knew Edward had some bizarre food preferences, but strawberry shakes? Seriously?

Edward shrugged. "They're good."

"It's like drinking a cup full of snot!"

Edward scuffed.."Says the one who picked vanilla. 31 flavors and you go for the most boring one. At least strawberry is interesting." He took a sip of his shake and smacked his lips. "Mmmm. So good." He wiggled his eyebrows. "Sure you don't want some?"

Bella made an exaggerated gagging noise. She could see chunks of pink goop in the straw. "Not if it were the last shake on earth!"

Edward looked at her and smirked. "Suit yourself. More for me then."

Much to her horror, Edward decided to channel his inner Emmett. He took the lid off his cup and downed the rest of his shake in one gulp. The sight of pink and white goo running down his chin made Bella's stomach churn.

Bella was about to run off to the bathroom when Edward started to gag. Bella rolled her eyes. Emmett would be proud of his little brother's theatrics. Then Edward's face started to turn blue. Crap! Why hadn't she paid more attention during the first aid unit in health class? It probably had something to do with the bronze haired guy currently choking to death.

Bella was frantically trying to remember the steps of the Heimlich maneuver when Edward coughed up a strawberry with the leaves still attached. He looked at the strawberry then up at Bella with wide eyes.

"Well...I guess you win," he said after a few tense seconds had passed. "Vanilla is boring, but at least it's never tried to kill me."

Feeling queasy, Izzy set the shake aside. She grabbed a napkin and shredded it into a hundred tiny pieces. Why was it that her life had to keep going completely off the rails at the slightest sign of happiness?

Six destroyed napkins later, Izzy's phone started playing a cheery tune. Without thinking about it, she answered.

"Izzy!" Alice exclaimed. "Something's going on with Esme! I woke up to a dozen texts, 30 calls, and an eight-minute-long voice mail!"

Feeling lighthearted, Izzy gripped the edge of the table. How was she supposed to tell Alice the days she spent tending Jasper's grave were all a waste of time?

"Izzy, are you there?" Alice asked. "I think you should go check on Esme."

Izzy took a shaky breath. "Esme is fine."

"You sure? An eight-minute voice mail at two am doesn't exactly scream 'fine' to me."

Knowing there was no easy or kind way to explain, Izzy cut right to the chase.

"It's him, Alice."

"Who? Carlisle? Did something happen at the clinic?"

"No. Not him. Him."

Alice went silent for a few seconds before responding. "You don't mean…"

Izzy swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "Yes."

"Are you sure?"

Izzy had never been more sure of anything in her life. "Yes."

"Did you see him?"

The image of those bruises, bandages, and wires would forever be burned into Izzy's memory. "Yes."

"Are Emmett and...Jasper there too?"

"Yes."

Izzy vaguely recalled a curly-haired man being forced back into bed by nurse Julie while a second man shouted to "leave his brother alone!"

Alice lowered her voice to a whisper. "Can I talk to Jasper? Is he okay?"

Izzy repressed a laugh. Of course Jasper wasn't okay. He'd been taken from his family and subjected to unimaginable horrors. He'd probably never be "okay" again.

"Can I talk to Jasper?" Alice repeated.

"I'm not with them," Izzy said.

"Then where are you?"

"At Mcdonald's."

"Izzy," Alice said, trying to keep her tone low and even. "Why are you at Mcdonalds?"

Because she was weak. Because she was a coward. Because she couldn't face reality.

"There were so many bandages and wires..and blood. His legs..and his face...it was awful." Izzy rambled, wishing Alice were there with her. "I just didn't know what to...how to. I thought he was.."

Alice was right to be angry with her. Why was she stuffing her face at Mcdonalds like nothing was wrong while Edward was lying half-dead in a hospital bed? He'd been there for her for every stitch, surgery, and cast. It was time for her to return to favor.

"I'm looking at flights now," Alice said. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"I should have known," Izzy said thinking out loud. "I should have kept looking. I should have known he was still alive. I should have saved him."

"Izzy," Alice said. "You can't blame yourself for what happened. None of us knew."

Izzy blinked away tears. "What are we going to do?"

"For now, you're going to go back to the hospital and hold Edward's hand. For now, that will be enough."