Yeah okay, that was little bit cliffie. But I cannot WAIT for you guys to read this one. Almost as much as I can't wait for you to read the chapter after this or the one after that! I am so psyched about this story!

The song for this chapter is Savior by OneRepublic.

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Disclaimer: I'm only doing this for a friend. I don't get anything from it but her undying appreciation. I certainly don't get to have fun with Emmett and the boys in my head.

Chapter Seven: Savior

CPOV

"Bella," I called urgently, an unfamiliar panic settling into my chest. She was white as a sheet and sweating. I could smell the blood permeating the air in the kitchen with it's fragrant scent. I watched as her eyes grew glassy and then rolled back in her head. She started falling and I rushed to catch her before she could hit the floor, cradling her gently in my arms as I checked her over. She seemed unharmed save for the gash in her foot.

"I'll go get your bag," Alice said hurriedly as she flew down the stairs, tossing a towel at me as she passed. I wrapped Bella's foot in it to move her.

"Don't breathe when you come back in," I warned her as she ran to my car and grabbed my medical bag from the trunk. I carried Bella gently to the couch, laying her down and covering her with a blanket. I propped her damaged foot on a couple of throw pillows and sat, inspecting the wound. The blood was starting to get sluggish and there were shards of plate embedded in the flesh and muscle. Alice appeared with my bag in hand. "A bowl please, Alice. Would you also be kind enough to clean up the mess in the kitchen?" She darted into the kitchen and appeared a moment later, a large metal bowl in her hands. She pecked my cheek before disappearing again and a few moments later the astringent scent of bleach began to overwhelm the smell of Bella's blood.

I slipped gloves on and quickly injected a low dose of anaesthetic around the wound to soften her discomfort. I then used my forceps to pull the shards of glass from her foot, placing them in the bowl next to me. I worked quickly, double checking for any missed shards after I'd finished before pulling out saline, antiseptic, a needle driver, pickups, a needle and suture thread. I flushed her wound until it was clean and then dried it gently with some gauze. I prepared the needle and thread, keeping tabs on her heart rate in the back of my mind as I began to suture her foot. I weaved a running mattress stitch up her wound, pulling the flesh closed. Once finished, I smoothed ointment over the wound and wrapped her foot. I gathered my instruments and took them out to the kitchen sink. Alice was sitting on the counter with her eyes closed but I could see her twitching as visions assaulted her.

"What are you searching for," I asked her quietly in case Bella started to wake. She grimaced.

"I'm testing out different decisions. I'll let you know when I've figured out the best course," she promised. We sat in silence while I cleaned my instruments.

"I'm proud of you," I murmured. "You didn't lose control once, even when she was still bleeding." She opened one eye to grin at me.

"I understand why you wanted us to integrate with humans now. If I didn't love Bella the way I do, I don't know that I would have been able to control myself. But now that I know her, know who she'll be to this family, I couldn't imagine hurting her." I smiled sadly.

"That is all I've wanted for you children. But I hope you aren't expecting more for her than I can give her."

"You have your reservations, Carlisle, but I've looked into hundreds of futures and Bella joining our family as your mate is inevitable." I allowed myself a moment of indulgence and imagined what she spoke of: Bella, changed, the beauty of immortality only enhancing her gorgeous features. Bella, beside me and supporting me, spending our nights together. I could almost feel her in my arms as we laid together on the couch reading books from my library. I shook myself out of the fantasy and sighed.

"You know better than anyone that the future can change," I reminded her.

"You betting against me, Carlilse," she asked with a glint of resolve in her eyes.

"I'm merely refusing to assume that that is the only outcome," I replied diplomatically. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Bella will be waking up in less than a minute," she said. I nodded and grabbed the pizza box that lay forgotten on the table, dropping it in the kitchen.

"Will you please heat this up and grab a glass of water? She might be in shock when she wakes." Alice hopped down and got to work. I moved back into the den, settling on the edge of the coffee table at Bella's side. Her heart rate was picking up, her eyelids twitching. Then I was graced with her warm, espresso eyes fluttering open.

"Car-Carlisle? What happened," she asked groggily.

"You had an unfortunate run-in with some plates. Do you remember?" Her brow furrowed and God help me but it made me want to kiss her. I berated myself internally. There was no point in even engaging in such ideas.

"I cut my foot," she finally said. She flew up and looked down at her foot in a panic. I pushed against her gently and she conceded, laying back on the pillow.

"I already stitched you up. I'm afraid that I didn't have any dissolvable thread with me so I'll have to remove them in about a week or so. I also took care of the mess in the kitchen."

"You…" She trailed off and she stared at me and I selfishly reveled in the attention. "You didn't have to do that." I chuckled.

"Well, I daresay one of the benefits of having a doctor as a family friend is that it saves you many trips to the hospital. It was no trouble."

"Thank you. I'm so sorry. I would have taken care of it, except I saw the blood."

"Have you always had such a violent reaction to blood?"

"Yes. I… I had to leave whenever they had to do blood draws or IV's on my mom. I… I've felt… guilty that I couldn't be there while it was happening."

"I'm sure she appreciated that you were there nonetheless," I said gently. She wiped a stray tear that had slipped from the corner of her eye.

"I miss her," she muttered, probably lower than she thought I could hear.

"That's understandable. It is hard to outlive a parent, especially when they were taken from us long before they should have been." She turned her sad eyes to me and my heart broke.

"Did you… lose a parent," she asked timidly and I nodded sadly.

"Both of them. My mother died giving birth to me. My father never spoke of her so I don't know much about her. He died when I was just barely into adulthood. We didn't… part on the best terms. He was trying to teach me the family business but I didn't want to do things the same way."

"I'm so sorry. What did your father do?"

"He was a pastor." I noted the shock on her face. "He was a fervently religious man. He often saw sin and evil where none existed and I didn't agree with that. I wanted to believe in the good in people, to be more careful and methodical about approaching things. We often argued about it. In fact, our last moments together were spent arguing."

"That must have been terrible." I mulled over her words briefly. It was terrible. We'd argued about my taking our congregation on a vampire hunt that night. He didn't like the methods I had employed to find the coven. I disliked his ability to assign guilt so quickly, especially to innocent people. Years after I had been changed, I went back to our old parish, hanging back at the edge of the city, hiding in the trees. He'd contracted an illness and was hovering between life and death. And even in his delirium, he had shouted accusations and judgments.

"It certainly wasn't how I would have liked our parting to be. But it was his death that piqued my desire to become a doctor instead of a pastor. It is the most fulfilling work I've ever experienced. I wish I could thank him for that." She placed a hand on mine and I lifted my head in surprise.

"He knows," she said with a smile. "I know my mom is up there somewhere, happy and healthy." I placed my other hand over hers and squeezed it.

Alice's thundering steps as she hurried down the stairs penetrated the bubble of intimacy that seemed to surround us. Bella snatched her hand back from mine and turned to face Alice, face growing rosy with embarrassment. I suppressed a smile and turned my attention to Alice.

"Sorry! Jasper called while I was in the shower and- is that blood," she asked as she rounded the corner and came to a stop, staring at the towel under Bella's foot that I hadn't taken yet. I almost rolled my eyes fondly at Alice's theatrics. Bella pointedly ignored the towel under her foot.

"No?"

"I'm pretty sure that you aren't supposed to answer that question with another question," she pointed out. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Just being my usual clumsy self." Bella waved off her concern before smiling at me. "Your dad got it all taken care of."

"He's so handy to have around, right," Alice teased and Bella laughed.

"Unfortunately, I really do have to be going," I said, standing. "I have an early shift at the hospital tomorrow. Bella, it was a pleasure to meet you. Remember to stay off that foot for the next week. Please let me know if you need anything." I moved away from her, forcing my feet to move even though I had the inexplicable desire to do nothing more than hold her to me and breathe in her beautiful scent. I pulled Alice into a hug. "Get some sleep, sweetheart. You still have school tomorrow." In a volume too low for Bella to hear, I murmured, "Take care of her." Alice hugged me back enthusiastically.

"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow." She released me and danced over to sit by Bella, who was staring up at me, looking just a little crestfallen.

"Goodnight, ladies."

"Night," she said. "Thank you again." I smiled at her fondly before waving and leaving the house. Once in the cool night air, I took a deep breath, trying to clear my muddled thoughts. I walked to my car and climbed in. I hesitated for a moment before pulling away from her house and making my way home.

I felt panic gripping me as I drove.

I wanted nothing more than to lose myself in Isabella Swan.

And I knew that would only end poorly for the both of us.