sick bella

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I think this story is cute- wanted to share and see what you all thought. Written, not by me, by the wonderfully talent 'Isabella Dangelo'-- ENJOY!

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Chapter 1 I woke up by my lungs wrenching out air like I swallowed a dustball in the middle of the night. My throat felt like it had a thousand paper cuts and my lungs didn't feel much better. It was almost as bad as when I went cliff diving except my stomach wasn't ready to do backflips then and my head didn't have this groggy feeling. Once I was finished coughing, I groaned and lied back down, burying my head in the familiar cold chest I knew was right behind me. "Bella? Love? What's wrong?" Edward asked me worriedly. I just clutched to his grey t-shirt and groaned in response. I was trying very hard to convince myself that I wasn't really sick and this feeling of sluggishness and pain would pass by in a couple of minutes. I just wasn't awake yet. "Bella?" he asked me more frantically now, gently pulling my hands away from his shirt. I pouted in response which brought on a new wave of coughing. I was really glad that vampire fianc's couldn't get sick or else he'd be just a miserable as me right now. Gently, Edward held me and brushed back my hair. I didn't even have to look at him to know he was still worried. "I'm fine, Edward," I croaked, followed by a grimace. "No, you aren't," he stated. Before I could even really register what was happening, I found myself in his arms being carried towards my bedroom door. "I'm taking you to Carlisle," he further informed me, attempting to dazzle me with a smile. . Unfortunately, it worked. I wasn't even sure what I was so worried about until another cough racked through my body. I was glad that Charlie was already at work and it was summer vacation. He'd have no reason to question why Edward was carrying me down the stairs right now or how Edward got in the house in the first place. I groaned again and placed my head against his shoulder. His ice cold skin felt good against my forehead even if a piece of fabric did separate us. Edward started to pull me away from him and I whimpered at the loss of contact until I opened my eyes and realized he was putting me in my new car. I really, truly, didn't like the new car given that it was so showy but I right now I didn't care. I was too out of it to care about much more than Edward being near me and the fact my head hurt like Emmett was bouncing a basketball off of it. Actually, all my joints ached and I just curled up into a ball in the passenger seat. I saw Edward leave, and I thought it was to get into the driver's side so I went to pull my door closed but was stopped once I managed to grab the door by something stronger than me. Not that it would take much in my current state, really. I think most five year olds were stronger than me right now. I could probably ask Angela to bring the Weber twins over for an experiment but decided

against it. I didn't want to spread my germs. Edward was standing there in my passenger door again, this time with a blanket. He carefully wrapped me up in it and kissed me on my forehead. "I'll call Carlisle on the way so he'll meet us down in the ER," he whispered. I nodded and grimaced at the pain it caused just to nod. "It's just a bad cold, Edward," I told him. Okay, so it was probably the flu but even then, that was nothing. I'd be fine in a couple more days. There wasn't any reason to go to the ER with a simple virus when all Carlisle would probably tell me is to eat a lot of chicken soup. "Just the same, love," he said as he closed the door and was in the driver's side so fast it made my head spin a bit too literally. I shut my eyes tight and curled into a tighter ball, clutching my knees. I felt the car stop at the hospital only a few minutes later. I moved, slowly, to pull myself from my fetal position and walk under my own power into the ER. It would be a change from the stretcher that normally brings me here. Before I could even think about opening the door, I felt a cool burst of air and the smell of wet concrete assault my nose. The sudden mixture caused me into yet another coughing fit which only made my throat feel like it was on fire. I felt more than saw Edward pull me into his arms. I started to protest but he cut that off with a single kiss. "Rest, Bella," he gently ordered. Despite my wanting to walk under my own power, I realized I didn't have the strength to pull myself from the car let alone fight off Edward to let me just walk in and see Carlisle. I rested my head back against his shoulder again, thankful for the coolness. I kept my eyes closed and just listened. I could hear the doors automatically open as he brought us into the waiting area of the ER. The change in temperature from outdoors to indoors was readily apparent and I knew from the sounds of people muttering and papers being shuffled that we had entered into the main waiting area of the ER. "How is she?" I heard Carlisle ask. I opened my mouth to say that it was just the flu and that Edward was overreacting but all that came out was another hacking sound and me groaning as I laid back against Edward's shoulder. "There is a bed ready in room 3 just down the hall to your right," Carlisle said. I felt the air move around me as soon as Carlisle said "there is". Edward probably already saw it in his mind. I listened to the sounds of monitors beeping, other people coughing and sneezing, a child crying, and the phones ringing at what I guessed was the nurses' station as Edward took me to the room. I only opened my eyes when I

felt the thin hospital bed mattress beneath me and not the safety of Edward's arms. Carlisle was standing to one side and Edward to the other, both looking very concerned. "It's just a virus," I croaked and tried to choke back another cough without much success. "I'm fine, really," I informed the two vampires. Carlisle didn't bother with the stethoscope around his neck, since he could probably hear perfectly fine without it. The room was closed off by a thin curtain which probably allowed a little bit more freedom for my vampires to move quickly and not be noticed. I put my hand up to my mouth as I started coughing again. I saw Edward flinch and knew they were having another one of their silent conversations. I grumbled and crossed my arms over my chest which at least made Carlisle smile. "Sorry, Bella," he apologized as he put the pressure cuff on my arm. Carlisle also grabbed the ear thermometer and took my temperature quickly. His brow knitted a bit when the contraption beeped at him and he stole a glance at Edward who collapsed in a chair and groaned. "What?" I asked, trying to demand an answer as to what was wrong. It was just the stupid flu, right? "Bella, do you feel dizzy? Disoriented?" Carlisle asked as he took out his pin light to check my eyes. I was half tempted to make a sarcastic reply regarding me and hitting my head but my coughing thought differently. I only managed to shake my head no as Carlisle put his pin light away. "I'm going to put you on an IV and do some tests, alright?" he asked. I looked at my soon to be father in law, curious as to why he didn't answer my question. "Um, sure. But what's wrong? Isn't it?" I started when another coughing fit hit me. I glared at Edward when he elicited another groan. I saw him with his head in his hands looking positively helpless which made my heart break right there. I turned my attention back to Carlisle who had a hand on my back and looked worried. "Your temperature is a bit too high. I want to make sure that we are dealing with something viral and get you on some medication quickly. For now, I'm going to give you a fever reducer," he said as he moved to gather whatever he needed. At the door he stopped and turned to me. Edward's head shot up and looked at me as well. I rolled my eyes at them and crossed my arms. A little bit of a temperature and a coughing fit were normal for the flu! "Would you like me to call Charlie?" Carlisle asked me. If he called Charlie the police chief- then the entire town of forks would know I was in the ER and I still remember the last time when half the school was in the waiting room. I wasn't sure, but I didn't want any chance of that kind of re-enactment to go on. On the

other hand, I didn't want to leave my dad in the dark as to where I was and that I was sick. I bit my lip, thinking about whether or not to call him. "Call him," Edward told Carlisle exasperatedly. "Or I can, if you would like," he continued. Carlisle gave his son a disapproving look but Edward just shrugged and said something so low that I couldn't hear it despite the fact I could see his lips moving. Carlisle nodded before turning back to me. "I'll make sure to call him and keep him up to date while he is at work, Bella," Carlisle told me. I continued to bite my lip in thought. "Can you," I started but coughed again. Luckily, Carlisle waited for me to finish my sentence. "Not tell him about the ER?" I managed to get out. Carlisle smiled at me and I think I even heard a small chuckle escape his lips. "Don't worry, Bella. I will not inform him of your current location, if you prefer," he told me. I nodded at that, not trusting myself to take air through my mouth again to speak without coughing. As soon as Carlisle left, Edward moved to stand right next to me, holding my hand in one of his while his other hand brushed a few stray strands of hair out of my face. I relished the contact of his cold hand against my warm forehead and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, Edward still looked worried. "It's just the flu, Edward. I'll befine," I got out before hacking up my right lung. "It's not the flu, Bella," he said with a sigh. I just looked at him as he moved to sit facing me on the small hospital bed, still holding my hand. "It's pneumonia most likely," he said quietly. Well, that would explain the lack of lungs right now. But still, it wasn't that serious. Okay, more serious that the flu but I'm sure Carlisle would send me home after he got an IV in me. It's not like he couldn't check on me on his way to work or something. "I'll be fine," I muttered. Edward's eyes grew wider for a second and then narrowed at me. "Don't say that, Bella. You are ill. Do not pretend that this is nothing more than the common cold!" he said a bit loudly. One of the nurses came in with an IV rack right then, followed by Carlisle who admonished Edward with a single look. Edward turned away from his father and went back to sit in the chair. "Now, Bella, this might pinch," Carlisle said as he prepared my arm for the IV. I had to look away and hold my breath so I wouldn't faint. I can't wait until I'm a vampire and blood smells good rather than causing me to get even more light headed than I am now. I could feel Carlisle taking a couple of vials before hooking up the IV and taping

the needle down. Once I was sure the needle was taped down, I tried to breathe again only to start coughing again. I groaned and leaned back against the raised up part of the bed. Carlisle chuckled at me and I could see the nurse smiling too as she carted out all the supplies and the two vials. I managed to at least attempt a glare at my second Dad. "Take some rest, Bella," he gently ordered me. I pouted a bit at that. I had been sleeping until an hour ago! "I'll come back in an hour or two to see about admitting you," he said offhandedly. "Admitting?" I gasped. I did NOT want to be in the hospital for any longer than absolutely necessary. I didn't even want to come in the first place! This was Edward's idea and now I was going to have to be stuck here? Carlisle nodded and took a quick glance at Edward. Another silent conversation. I could only cross my arms in a haphazard fashion across my chest this time. I watched as Edward's eyes pleaded with Carlisle and Carlisle only raised an eyebrow at whatever Edward's idea was. I had seen his lips move but I couldn't hear it. "I suppose that would work but I'm not sure what Charlie would think upon it," Carlisle mused. "He'll agree. He has to," Edward stated before giving me a half hearted grin. It was the first attempt at a smile I'd seen since we left the house. "It's as much for his sanity as it is mine," he informed his father. Carlisle smiled at that. "I suppose you are right in that regard," he stated before looking at me. "Rather than admitting you to the hospital, I may be able to simply take you back to our house where I do have the necessary medical equipment for anything that may arise," he informed me. I nearly jumped at the chance. "Really? I wouldn't have to stay here?" I asked excitedly. I could feel the cough building in my lungs but I chose to ignore it. Getting a chance to spend the night over at the Cullens, again, was far better than staying overnight in the hospital. "Yes," Carlisle smiled as he patted my shoulder. "I'll discuss it with your father," he said sympathetically as I started to cough again. "Thanks," I managed to mutter out. Before I knew it, Carlisle had left again, leaving me and Edward in the ER room I hoped I wouldn't have to stay in much longer. Chapter 2

Carlisle had gone off to call Charlie, leaving Edward and me in the ER room. Edward got up again as soon as Carlisle left and took my hand in his. "Do you need anything, love?" he whispered worriedly. I rolled my eyes at him. "It's just a stupid," I started before coughing again. I did manage to get a glare in while Edward smoothed my hair back over my head. The glare didn't last long when I caught a glimpse of pain in his eyes. In a split second, he looked like he was in more pain than I felt. But, too quickly, he hid it. He now just looked concerned. "I really wish there was some way I could alleviate this from you," he whispered as his thumb brushed my cheek. Well there was but I knew better than to bring that up again. Edward would change me after ourwedding. Ugh. At least I'm getting what I want out of the bargain! "I'm just sick," I whispered as I continued to look up at him. I saw a hint of my favorite crooked smile but it was only barely there. The next few minutes went quietly. Edward stayed with me and tried to comfort me as much as he could when I started hacking up a lung. I swear the right one was going to come up and out of my mouth based on all the coughing. I really hated looking this bad in front of him but he kept telling me he didn't want to be anywhere else other than here. Pretty soon, Carlisle came back in, followed by my Dad. "Bella," Charlie shouted at me, still moving Edward out of the way to get to me. Luckily, Edward didn't put up a fight over it. I looked over to Carlisle and glared at him. I told him I didn't want Charlie to know I was in the ER. Now all of Forks would know Bella Swan was in the emergency room, again. Great. Carlisle looked at me apologetically before I turned my head back around to Charlie. "It's just a virus, Dad," I told him truthfully. Charlie looked up to Carlisle for his opinion. "It appears that she may have contracted influenza which, in turn, turned into pneumonia," he explained. I think I saw Edward cringe out of the corner of my eye at the word influenza and I felt sorry for him. There really wasn't any way to get him to understand that the flu now is a lot different that the flu that nearly killed him as he was turned into a vampire all those years ago. I knew he knew this logically but I also knew that he probably couldn't stop associating the two. "I thought you said you just had a cold," Charlie told me, remembering our conversation yesterday. Yesterday, I started coughing early in the morning and my stomach felt queasy but it wasn't anything more than that really. When Charlie asked me if I was coming down with something, I told him it was just a cold. I guess I was wrong.

"I thought it was," I muttered before going into another coughing fit. I tried to cover my mouth and not breathe on Charlie since I didn't want the Police Chief to get sick too! Charlie looked even more helpless than usual. His hands fluttered around me as if he wasn't sure as to whether to brush my hair back or pat me on the back while I coughed. Instead, he brought his hands back to his sides and looked back up at Carlisle with a sigh. "How bad is it?" he asked him. I grimaced and tried to cross my arms again despite the IV. Edward smirked at me. "I would like to admit her to the hospital," Carlisle told Charlie. I quickly turned my attention to Carlisle, praying he'd ask Charlie to let me stay at their house. I did not want to stay in the hospital. Edward got up as Charlie looked a bit more upset at Carlisle's admission. "Bella, love, let me see about getting you some more water," he stated before glancing at Carlisle, giving him a small nod, and then leaving the room. I'm guessing Carlisle asked him to or something in his thoughts based on the exchange. "For how long?" Charlie muttered, clearly worried now. It didn't help much when I started coughing again. "It would be a few days but I do know how Belladislikes hospitals," Carlisle smiled easily at the end. Charlie looked at him, clearly curious as to what was going on. If I wasn't going to stay here when I was sick, then where would I stay? "She does require 24 hour care currently as the pneumonia develops and I do not like her high fever associated with this virus," he continued as he explained. Carlisle placed both hands in his long white doctor's coat. "If you would be willing, I can release Bella and take her to my home," he started. When Charlie looked like he was about to argue, Carlisle quickly added, "Esme will be home during the day in which to watch her and I will be there all night. I do have a small medical office at my home that should serve as Bella's room. I promise you that either my wife or I will be with her at all times." Carlisle took a step closer to Charlie as my Dad mulled this over in his head. I knew he didn't want me alone with my fianc; ignoring the fact we'd be married in a little over a month anyway or that Edward is clearly old fashioned on these sorts of things. Unfortunately, I knew this was the only hurdle in the way of me staying at the Cullens rather than at the hospital and it was a big one for Charlie. "She is ill, Charlie and I simply wish for her to be comfortable. I promise as soon as her fever is managed and her lung capacity begins to return, you may take her home," Carlisle said to him softly. I could tell he was trying to tell Charlie, delicately, that nothing would happen between me and Edward. You think that my Dad might get the clue from me coughing every five seconds during their

conversation but Charlie isn't always logical when it comes to me and Edward. Charlie sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I know Bells here would be happier at you house but you sure you and Esme don't mind keeping an eye on her?" he asked. I tried not to show how excited I was about him letting me stay there. Luckily, the coughing hid any excitement I could have shown pretty well. "Don't want everyone to get sick too," Charlie muttered. Carlisle smiled at that. "Not to worry. I had all the children along with myself and Esme vaccinated against this years strains of the flu," he said sincerely. I tried not to laugh and just ended up choking on my own lungs again. About then, Charlie's walkie talkie beeped about something downtown in regards to a stolen carved bear. My mind couldn't help but think that Emmett might have taken the bear in front of the Newton's store even though I knew he never would steal it. He might offer to buy it for a couple of thousand though "I've got to go, Bells," Charlie grimaced. He stood up and looked over at Carlisle. "You sure about this?" he asked him. "Bella is always welcome in our home and I know that being in a familiar, comfortable setting will help speed her healing from this virus," Carlisle told him. Anything was better than the hospital! Charlie nodded at that and gave me one last look before heading on to his duties as police chief of tiny Forks. I really hope nothing bad happens to that bear. Edward came back in, smiling and holding a small cup of water. "Thanks," I muttered hoarsely as I took the cup and tried to take a sip. "I want to keep you here until your temperature goes down a bit," Carlisle stated. I grimaced at him. "It should be only a few hours and then either I or Esme will take you to the house," he said gently. Edward sat down next to my knees on the bed, facing me worriedly. I took another sip of water hoping to quite the coughing a bit. It wasn't helping immediately. "I'm also going to give you something to help with the coughing," Carlisle continued. He shot something into my already existing IV. He told me what the stuff was but it was something I couldn't pronounce. He then put a hand on my shoulder. "Just rest, Bella," he said softly. I nodded in response. I'm learning that every time I try to speak, it just comes out as coughing. With that, Carlisle left to go about his rounds I guessed. I looked over at Edward who was holding my right hand in his. "Do you want more blankets? Or anything else to drink?" he asked. It was clear he was worried

but I didn't want Edward to play nursemaid for something as simple as a stupid virus. As much as I loved my fianc, I hated it when he got too worried. "I'm fine, Edward," I said exasperatedly. He frowned slightly and brushed my hair back again. "I'm just don't like seeing you so ill, love," he whispered to me after a while. "Well, you don't have to stay," I snapped and immediately regretted it. I needed Edward here, I knew that. I also didn't mean it the way that came out. "I'm sorry, Edward," I said in-between coughs. He offered a small smile to show me I was forgiven. "I just don't want you to have to feel like a nursemaid," I told him in one of my brief non-coughing moments. Sipping the water was helping to quiet the coughing a bit. Rather than every five seconds, I was only coughing every seven. This was an improvement! Sort of. "I don't feel like that all, Bella. I simply wish for you to be as comfortable as you possibly can," he told me truthfully. "Get Carlisle to let me out of here now," I mumbled. I hated being in the ER. Edward smirked at that. "I'm afraid I can't do that, but I'm sure he'll let you come back to our house once your temperature drops to a more manageable level," Edward said lightly. I sighed at that and then became curious. I realized that neither Carlisle nor Edward had stated exactly what my temperature was. "How bad is my temperature anyway?" I asked curiously. Edward grimaced. "It's simply high love. Carlisle gave you medication to help," he stated, avoiding the question. "Edward," I warned him. "It read 104," he acquiesced. "Oh," I muttered. I knew that wasn't good and that probably explained why my head felt funny. So whatever this virus was gave me a high temperature, made my joints ache, and worst of all, gave me pneumonia to top it all off. Great. Why couldn't I get this during the school year and get out of class rather than get this during the summer and miss all summer vacation? Okay, so it wasn't like I was doing much more than reading and spending time with the soon to be in laws and I had no doubt that Alice would be dragging bridal magazines into my room while I'm staying over despite the fact I was sick but still. "Sleep, Bella," Edward whispered.

"I'm not," I started but my coughing interrupted me. "Please, love, try," he stated as he got up. I immediately got scared that he would leave me here alone in the ER room. "Edward!" I said a little too loud. He simply smiled at me. "I'm not leaving. I only wished to get the controller for the bed so you could lower it," he told me, handing me the remote. I looked at it and tried to adjust the bed so I could go to sleep. I wasn't tired but I knew I'd lose any argument against at least attempting to go to sleep. The upper part of the bed lowered and I got it to an angle that I was happy with. I reached for Edward and he let me pull him next to me on the tiny hospital bed. I rested my head on his shoulder, grateful for the coolness, and closed my eyes. The last thing I heard was Edward's voice. "Sleep, love," he whispered and then placed a kiss on my forehead. I think I heard a low murmur of my lullaby coming from his lips as I drifted off to sleep. Chapter 3 My dreams were disjointed and didn't really seem to make any sense. I thought we were at our meadow but rather than grass, there was sand everywhere. It had an odd fluorescence in the night that seemed to go away as the moon came up and over the trees, illuminating the ground. I noticed as the trees turned from the familiar pines to palm trees that were gently dancing in the summer like breeze. I could hear the ocean but I couldn't see it. The rhythmic sounds of the waves hitting upon the shore again and again made me smile. It was the perfect combination of my favorite places; Arizona's heat and lack of green with the sounds of the beach like at La Push. I looked around for Edward, knowing he was nearby, but all I saw was a white house that looked like it was made out of stone. It was done in the style of the ancient Greek temples that I knew from my history books but it was smaller than I thought it would be. I took a couple of steps up to the open doorway to look inside and saw only a pair of glowing gold eyes. "No, Bella," Edward's velvety voice warned me from the doorway. The scenery changed but I didn't really notice. No longer were we at the clearing-changedbeach but now inside a strange white room that looked like a thousand feather boas lined the walls. I could clearly see Edward now, his face anguished. I took another step toward him. "Edward, what's wrong?" I asked him curiously. His eyes had that pained expression that I caught a glimpse of earlier when I was awake and coughing. "I hurt you, Bella. Don't deny it," he told me as he collapsed to his knees, holding

his head in his hands. "No, Edward, please!" I yelled at him and fell in front of him. I moved to put my arms around him but as soon as I opened my arms, it was as if the space around us warped again. The room stretched between us and he was suddenly further away, much to far for me to hold. The room went from being covered in white feather boas to being the familiar Cullen living room. Emmett and Jasper suddenly appeared on the couch. They were sort of in between me and Edward but not really. The brothers looked to be fighting over a keyboard that was attached to the TV-turned-computer in my dream. After a few minutes of shouting between Emmett and Jasper about what I think was medicinal practice in Amazonian folklore, Jasper suddenly got up and disappeared right before my eyes. Even Edward and Emmett looked surprised. "Where'd he go?" Emmett asked, scratching his head. I stood up and Edward was beside Emmett in a flash while Rosalie just appeared beside me like she came out of thin air. "We are all going to die," Edward said sadly to his brother, putting a hand on his shoulder in comfort. Die? Of what? What did Jasper disappearing have to do with dying? Why were we all going to die? "No, Edward. We won't die. We can't," I implored him. I looked down at my hands then and realized I was just as pale as Rosalie. I turned to look at her and saw a mirror instead. In the reflection was a young woman with dark brown wavy hair, waist length, and vampire pale skin but the thing I noticed most was her glowing red eyes. I gaspedand started to cough. I realized quickly that I had woken up and saw that I was still very human in the ER. Edward was next to me and looked concerned, gently moving his hand to my back as I coughed. "Are you alright, Bella?" he asked me. I managed to nod until my coughing stopped. "Yeah," I said as I sat up a bit. "Just a weird dream," I told him truthfully. It wasn't really a nightmare as much as I didn't understand what was going on. In order for it to be scary, I would have had to have been scared about something in the dream but the truth was I was just confused all through it. Even now, I was just confused about it. "What kind of dream?" Edward asked, genuinely curious. I shrugged. "It was just a dream, Edward," I said a bit too shortly. "It didn't really make much sense," I added more softly. It was true, it didn't make any sense unless Jasper really could warp space and just disappear. Of course, then only part of the dream would have made any sense. The rest of it would still be totally weird, like the reason the white room was covered in feather boas. Maybe Esme let Alice

decorate? Edward smiled and kissed me on the forehead before getting up off the bed, but still holding my hand as he stood next to it. I pressed the button to move the bed up so I could lean against it and still be in a sitting position. Once it was up, Carlisle came in. "Ah! Bella, you're awake," he smiled. "Yeah," I croaked followed by some coughing. "Good," he said as he continued to smile at me. He put my chart down and moved to grab the ear thermometer again. Both Edward and Carlisle stopped breathing as they waited for the silly instrument to beep which I found really funny but rather than a laugh, a cough came out. I really hate the whole sick thing, my lungs feel like they are made out of sandpaper now and my throat feels like that sandpaper has been going up and down it a few thousand times. If it's possible to get bruised lungs, then I'm sure mine very much are. Carlisle smiled again when the thermometer beeped. "Although 100 is not ideal by any imagination, it is far better than the reading earlier. I believe it safe for Esme to take you home," he told me lightly. "Esme's coming here?" I asked, looking between Edward and Carlisle. I didn't understand why Edward couldn't just drive me to the house since he brought me here. Why bother Esme from her hobbies to come and pick me up? "I can't very well allow you into the care of someone other than a responsible adult, now can I, Bella?" Carlisle teased causing Edward to smirk. I looked down. Yes, technically Edward was playing the part of an 18 year old but I guess it would look funny if, after Carlisle said he'd watch over me, he just let me walk out with Edward rather than having Esme watch me like he promised. They had to keep up with the faade and I did now too. "She'll be here in a minute to take you to our house. Everything should already be set up," Carlisle said, adding the last part more for Edward's benefit than mine. I did see Edward nod to Carlisle in acknowledgement. "Thanks," I managed to mutter out with only a slight cough. Carlisle squeezed my shoulder in comfort and I offered him a slight smile despite that I did still feel lousy. "Edward? I assume you will be driving Bella's car to back to Charlie's whilst Esme take's Bella home?" Carlisle asked. Edward smirked. It was nice to hear the familiar sound rather than see the worried look on his face. "Whilst?" he teased his dad. I knew now not to laugh

and bit my lip to keep from doing so. Carlisle rolled his eyes and was clearly thinking something directed towards Edward because Edward's crooked grin was threatening to appear on his face. "Really, Carlisle, I don't think anyone has said 'whilst' on this side of the pond since 1812. You probably remember that little war, right?" Edward continued to jab. Carlisle gave the warning look that I think is inherent to all fathers. I know Charlie has gotten good at it since Edward came back. Edward just smirked again before Carlisle turned to me. I couldn't help it and I started to laugh but all that came out was another round of coughing. I really don't like this whole pneumonia thing. During my current round of coughing I heard Esme come in the room saying, "Oh, the poor dear!" and felt her arms around me as soon as I stopped coughing. She didn't even bother saying hello to her son or her husband, she just hugged me and kissed my forehead like Renee use to do when I got sick. It felt good to be in the comfort of a mom's arms. "I'll take you home where you'll be far more comfortable, alright?" she more stated than asked me, kissing me again on the top of my head. Esme kept an arm around me as she turned to her husband. They started to talk quietly, too quietly for me to hear but it was interesting to watch the range of emotions play across Edward's face this time. Whatever his parents were saying, it was making him impatient and aggravated; not that either of those was hard to do. After only a few seconds, Esme squeezed my shoulders and Carlisle looked at me. "Bella, I'm going to discharge you but I'll see you again in a couple of hours," he told me. I nodded followed by a small cough. Esme helped me up so we could go. Carlisle had only disconnected the IV rather than take it out right before Esme came, explaining her might need to give me another IV at home and this was much easier. I agreed. Esme left my side only for a second as Edward and I waited right near the nurses' station for her. She was gone for only a second, presumably to say goodbye to Carlisle, before she took me back to her side. No one said much as we walked out to the silver Volvo out front. I was pretty much glued to Esme's side after I signed the papers but I felt safe there. Although Renee would always and is my mother, Esme has become like that too to me. Somehow, just being near her made me feel better despite the coughs that racked through my body. It really was a good thing that vampires don't get sick because I wouldn't wish this on anyonewell, maybe Lauren. Esme put me in the passenger side and Edward was there in a second, holding on to the door and door frame. "I'll be right behind you, love," he told me before giving me a kiss and gently moving me so I was in the car, with my blanket, all

wrapped up. Edward closed the door and Esme turned on the car to drive out of the hospital parking lot. The only thing impeding our immediate departure from the hospital was a long line of cars. Since when was there a traffic jam in Forks? What was even slightly more disturbing than a traffic jam in Forks was that I recognized almost all the cars and knew who was driving them. I groaned and lowered my head so, hopefully, no one would recognize me considering how bad I probably looked and the fact I was just coming out of the hospital. "Bella, are you alright, sweetheart?" Esme asked, concerned. "Yeah, Esme. It's just the traffic jam," I told her. "Hmm," she mused aloud. "I wonder if we take the side street it might be faster." Soon, Esme pulled back and went to make the left hand turn rather than the right hand turn. The only car behind us was mine, so Edward had easily moved back the second the thought must have crossed Esme's mind. Once we were out on the street, it didn't take long to get to the gravely road that lead up to the house. As soon as I saw the familiar white house, only one thought crossed my mind; home. Chapter 4 I was dazed by the medicine Carlisle had given me. It didn't really make the woozy feeling in my head go away as much as the pain that was all through my body due to the pneumonia was a lot less and I didn't really care about much else. It was almost like being under the influence of Jasper, playing with your emotions, except this was a lot less annoying. Carlisle had also given me something to quiet my cough before I left and I was extremely grateful that that seemed to be working pretty well. Once Esme parked the car, I thought about opening the door but I was comfortable in the cool shadows of the garage and wrapped up in my blanket. It wasn't like I really got a choice in the matter anyway since, before I could even decide to open the door or just sleep there in the passenger seat, the car door opened and I was in someone's arms. I didn't even have to look to know who it was. I knew simply by smell alone. I tried to tell Edward to put me down, that I could walk in under my own power, but a cough came out instead. By the time I finished coughing, it was too late. I found myself inside the familiar open living room being placed on the sofa still all wrapped up in my blanket. Edward kissed me quickly before moving in a flash and sitting back down beside me. Esme walked at a human speed over to me, obviously scolding Edward in her mind, though I didn't know for what. "Would you like some soup or something to drink, sweetheart?" she asked me, wearing her worried mom face as she brushed back my hair. It was a nice,

comforting feeling to have my soon to be Mom in law concerned about me. I know she always was but it was still nice to see it. "No thanks, Esme," I said, yawning. This only cause Esme to look more worried. "You really should at least drink something, Bella," Edward stated while he flipped through the channels on the big screen HDTV. I scowled at him, crossing my arms over my chest underneath the blankets. Edward at least pretended to ignore me and continued to flip through the channels on the TV until he came to a movie. I only turned my head when I realized I recognized the sounds coming out of the TV. Edward had found Speed on the TV and I was immediately enraptured by the movie. I'm glad he found something that I liked but wasn't really funny because, right now, even thinking of laughing was making me cough! "I'll get you some ginger ale, alright, dear?" Esme asked me, gently patting me on the shoulder before leaving the room. By the time she came back, I found my head on Edward's shoulder, snuggling in close to him while I was trying not to cough too loudly during the movie. Another perk to having a vampire boyfriend besides the fact he can't catch my stupid flu/pneumonia- was that he could still hear the movie over my coughing. "Just sip it for now, sweetheart and if you need anything, just ask," Esme told me seriously as she handed me the glass of ginger ale. I blushed as I reached for it, pushing the blanket aside for the moment. Despite that I knew they loved me, I was still amazed that my vampire family cared so much about me. Even Rosaline had been cordial lately. "Thanks, Esme," I said hoarsely. She looked at me concerned, wringing the small towel she had in her hands . "Maybe you should lay down upstairs for a little bit, Bella," Esme suggested, her bottom lip trembling in thought and worry. "I'm," I started but it was quickly followed by a cough. Before I could argue with what looked like both vampires, Alice came hopping down the stairs smiling. She ran over to me and quickly hugged me tight. "Oh! You really are sick!" she said as she stood back a bit when I coughed again. I was really tempted to say something very sarcastic but I was too sick really to think of any great comebacks. "Yeah," I grumbled and curled up further next to Edward. He squeezed me tighter and looked at his sister. "No, Alice," Edward stated simply to which she rolled her eyes.

"Not right now, Edward. Maybe later though," she mused as she looked up to the ceiling in thought. "What would you do later?" Esme asked her children curiously. I was curious as to what torture Alice had in store for me as well. Alice shrugged and tried to give Esme those oh so innocent eyes. She was very good at those and the fact she came to maybe 5 feet tall didn't exactly hurt matters. "I just want to look over some fabric swatches with Bella. That's all," she stated and I was instantly suspicious. Her idea of "some" was very different from my idea of "some". It's a wonder that Alice never got less than an A in math with her idea of large amounts and small amounts of everything being so different from the rest of the world's ideas on those concepts. "Not too many or for too long, dear. Bella needs her rest this week," Esme told her. "Oh, don't worry, Esme. Bella will be fine in four days seven hours and twenty four minutes!" Alice stated excitedly. Esme did smile at that as did Edward, I just groaned. "What is it?" Edward asked as I buried my head in his shoulder. Esme moved closer again too. "Four days of hacking up my lungs?" I asked. I knew that pneumonia wasn't an easy thing to get rid of but I thought maybe with the medicine that I would have a shorter sentence than this. My chest already felt like it was black and blue from the inside and I didn't even want to think of what it would feel like after three and a half more days of this. Alice rolled her eyes at me but it was Esme that spoke. "Carlisle gave me some medication that should help control your coughing more. I'll give you it in another couple of hours, alright sweetheart?" she asked me. I sighed and re-squished myself to Edward's side. "Thanks, Esme," I told her. I really did love that she was helping to take care of me and that I had a mom around right now. Even if she wasn't Renee, Esme was a mother figure in my life and would be my mom soon enough. She kissed the top of my head again, followed by kissing the top of Edward's head and then Alice's. Alice grinned when she knew she was next and almost looked like she was standing on her tip toes waiting. Esme left the room after that and Alice crashed on the other side of me to watch the movie. A part of me just wanted to see if there was a way to fast forward to the scene where they circle around the airport a few times near the end and blow up the airplane and the bus but I knew I'd want to watch the rest of the movie from the beginning just to remember it all.

It was just at the point where they know the bus can't go below 55 mph and they are trying to get around LA traffic when Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper walked in. I guess they went hunting but I wasn't really sure. "Hey, Bella!" Emmett's booming voice sounded through the living room. I winced at the loud sound and tried to answer with a "Hey" back but only managed to cough again followed by a grimace. Edward squeezed me tight to his side. "Man, you really are sick," Emmett stated as he came around and sat down in one of the chairs nearby. Alice had gotten up from her place by my side and pulled her husband down to the loveseat on the other side of the room that was still in prime viewing location for the TV. Seeing as everyone else was watching the movie, Rose sighed and sat in the chair next to her husband. "No, Emmett. I like trying to cough up my lungs," I grumbled as I buried myself deeper in the to the blankets. Emmett looked over to Edward and I could tell Edward just shook his head slightly but smiled at his brother. I ignored them and went back to watching the movie. It wasn't too long after that that I fell asleep. I don't even really remember closing my eyes as much as I suddenly realized I must be dreaming because all I could hear were the voices of my vampires all murmuring amongst themselves. "So take her upstairs then," was the first thing I realized I could hear. It sounded like Rose. "I'm not sure if we should move her," I heard Alice say. I heard some rustling of fabric and more soft sounds but nothing much more than that until I felt the couch disappear from beneath me. The only reason this didn't scare me was because I was pretty sure I was dreaming and that I also felt two very familiar arms around me. I heard Edward curse, which was something he almost never did, as he picked me up in this dream. His cursing only furthered my belief that I was dreaming. "Edward!" I heard Esme admonish him. "What on earth?" she started. "It's her fever. I believe it's back," he whispered to his mother. I instantly felt cool hands on my forehead and it felt so nice in my dream that I moved my head so that I could get better access to the coolness I felt. For a moment, I didn't hear anything but I felt the cool hands slip away and be replaced with a gust of wind. In the dream, I wondered if I was going back to the meadow since Edward running always reminded me of the meadow. I was disappointed when I felt a bed replace the cool arms beneath me but at least it was a soft bed and not a hospital bed. I could hear the opening and closing of drawers and clinking of glass but I wasn't sure what those sounds had to do with the dream at all. Again, I felt a cool hand on my forehead and sighed

happily. My head felt funny again right before I fell asleep and I guessed it was just the medicine Carlisle gave me wearing off. "Bella?" I heard Edward say softly. A part of me began to wonder if this was a dream at all given how real everything seemed but I also couldn't find the will whatsoever to respond so it had to be a dream. "Bella, love, your fever is rising again and I need you to wake up to take some medication," he said a bit more sternly. I didn't want to wake up. I was comfortable in the dark but noisy dream I was having. Why would I want to wake up when waking up meant coughing every few seconds? Unfortunately, his voice had gotten me enough into a waking state that I did start to cough and that brought me the rest of the way out of it. I shot up into a sitting position and wasn't really able to get a good look at the room while I was in a coughing fit. I could tell a few others were in the room but I didn't care right then. I felt more than saw Edward push a glass of water into one hand and couple of pill into the other. "Take these," he whispered. I was still too out of it to do much more than comply. I threw the pills into my mouth and quickly gulped down the water. Once I was done, I finally got a chance to look around the room. The first thing I noticed was that someone had rehooked up my IV. I wasn't sure who it was because both Esme and Edward were close by. I briefly recognized the room as being Carlisle's office but the entire place looked more like a hospital ward than a library. The bed I was in was the one from Edward's room. Alice and Jasper were standing near the door when Emmett came bounding back in. "Oh good! She's awake again," Emmett grinned but the smile quickly left his face when he took in everyone else's expressions. I think I even heard Edward groan. As I looked over to him, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that it was pretty dark outside and I wondered how long I had been out. We couldn't have gotten to the house any later than maybe one in the afternoon so for it to be dark already at this time of year, it must be at least eight or so. I was going to ask but my coughing interrupted me. "Eight sixteen," Alice said with only a hint of her normal cheerfulness. "Thanks," I croaked out. I was going to ask what the heck happened because the last thing I remembered was the impossible jump with the bus over the unfinished section of the freeway and both Jasper and Rose commenting on how it couldn't happen given the shocks and type of engine on that bus, not to mention the mathematical problems with the jump. I think it was the mention of math that made me fall asleep. Right then, Carlisle came in with his doctor's bag, looking very serious. His eyes

looked over his children and I could see his lips move but I didn't hear what he was saying. All I knew was that Jasper escorted Alice out of the room with a nod to me and Emmett hung his head, mumbling a "Bye, Bella" as he left too. Carlisle smiled at me when he came over and placed his bag on a side table I hadn't realized was there. Rather than asking me anything, I just suddenly heard Edward's voice. "Yes, hopefully it will take affect soon," he said. I crossed my arms and huffed, hating these one way conversations. It didn't help at all that I couldn't even hear about half the conversations in the house to begin with. Esme gently took one of my hands and squeezed it. "Bella?" Carlisle asked me, gaining my attention immediately. "I'm going to try and give you a stronger medication but I need you to tell me if you have any side effects from it immediately," he informed me. I already knew every single side effect that any medication could have since I've spent most of my life either going into an ER or coming out of one given my inability to walk in anything close to a graceful manner. Carlisle was already well aware of that fact since I had become one of his favorite patients over the past couple of years. "Umm, okay," I stated not really entirely sure what I was getting myself into. I looked away the second Carlisle pulled out a needle. I knew he was just going to put it directly into the IV but even with that I couldn't look. Instead I looked over to where Edward and Esme were standing which made me feel a lot better, knowing they were close by too. I only looked back when I felt the new, strange medication snake it's way through my system. My arm felt cold as the liquid began to move through it. I looked at Carlisle questioningly but he didn't answer other than to tell me to rest. Within a few more minutes, I was out again like a light. I really hate this whole sick thing. Chapter 5 I fought waking up because waking up meant coughing again and I hated coughing right now. I could feel a cool hand slip from my right and that forced my eyes open. Blinking, I looked around and started to sit up, feeling a cool hand at my back to help me and a glass of water being pushed into my hands. "Thanks," I muttered to Edward as I took a sip. He handed me some pills wordlessly and I read what they were only to find out it was Tylenol and the cough suppressant Carlisle prescribed me. I took them quickly and looked around the room. I was still in Edward's bed that was now in the middle of Carlisle's office which had been transformed from an office into a hospital room which I didn't like. At all. Next to me on the bed was a big brown teddy bear with a blue satin ribbon around its neck. It looked new but there wasn't a tag on it to tell me who it was from. I looked to Edward to ask and he smiled before I could open my mouth to say anything.

"It's from Emmett," he informed me before sliding next to me on the bed. He wrapped his arms around me and I instantly felt safe. "He thought it might make you feel better," Edward mentioned off-handedly. "That was nice," I managed to say but my voice sounded all wrong to my ears; it was far too hoarse. I went to pick up the bear and smiled at the thought that Emmett brought this for me to make me feel better. He must have seen hundreds of times people bring stuffed animals and flowers into the hospital when people were sick. I hugged the teddy bear tight after a moment making Edward chuckle lightly. "He'll be happy to know that you like it," he told me, kissing me gently on the head. I started to lean against Edward when the first of the many coughing attacks happened. My lungs instantly felt like sandpaper again and I groaned the second the stupid cough was over with. Edward looked at me, concerned. "Esme is making you chicken soup. It should be done in a half hour or so," he told me as he gently pulled be back to his side. "A half hour? She isn't making it from scratch, is she?" I asked. I knew if I was staying here they'd have to feed me but I didn't want them to go through too much trouble. Campbell's chicken noodle in the microwave was good enough for me. "If you mean from scratch as in using a recipe, then yes," Edward stated with a smile. I groaned. "She doesn't have to do that," I mumbled and moved my head to Edward's shoulder. "She knows, but she wants to Bella," he whispered before looking towards the door. A half second later, Emmett came bounding in, smiling. "Alright! Do like the bear?" he grinned as I still had one arm around the stuffed animal. I managed a small smile. "Yes, thank you, Emmett," I told him sincerely. Emmett's grin only grew wider. "She hugged it when she woke up and saw it," Edward told him to which I immediately answered with an elbow to his stomach. Of course, that hurt me a lot more than it would ever hurt him but it made me feel better. Rather than tease me about it though, Emmett's reaction was one of wide eyed surprise. "Really?" he asked hopefully. He came closer and spoke before I could answer, "Did you name him yet?" I raised an eyebrow at that one. "How do you know it is a him?" I asked Emmett.

This got followed by a cough which forced the smile momentarily from Emmett's face. I think I saw him turn to Edward for a second but I was too busy trying to keep my lungs in my chest to really notice much of anything. Once I stopped, Emmett's grin returned. "Because he was the only one not wearing a skirt or a hat in the store!" Emmett answered. Edward chuckled next to me before looking up at his brother. "And I suppose the pink and purple bears were also female?" Edward asked him, a teasing glint dancing in his eyes. Emmett hung his head sadly and shook it. "No, they were victims of unfortunate accidents," Emmett answered. Edward burst out laughing at that and I couldn't help but feel I was missing some important piece of information. It didn't help that Edward could just pick up what ever Emmett was thinking and I couldn't so Edward saw the store just as clearly as Emmett had. "Alice," Edward said as if her name was any explanation for their reactions. I was completely confused. "A few decades ago, Alice attempted to see the different adhesive qualities of various dyes to an assortment of materials," Edward tried to explain. I could see Alice playing with dyes but I didn't quite get how that transferred into unfortunate accidents. "She was playing with fabric dye and using our clothing to test it," Emmett grumbled and crossed his arms. It was kind of cute to see the vampire I thought of as my big brother look so disgruntled. "Why she didn't just look to see how it would turn out if she tried it instead of destroying my favorite shirt," Emmett continued to grumble. "I believe all of our wardrobes were impacted," Edward responded to his brother before turning back to me. "She claimed it was an honest mistake but I believe she truly wished to update us from last seasons clothing choices and thought that would be the most acceptable way," Edward continued to explain. "She could have left my shirt out of it. Even in the 80's, that shade of pink wasn't exactly considered masculine!" Emmett huffed. "Oh stop it you two. That was nearly thirty years ago and it's not like either of you would be caught in those styles anymore outside of Halloween," Alice stated as she danced into the room. She smiled at me at first but it was followed by a frown when I coughed. "Doesn't mean I have to like it just because it was a while ago," Emmett continued to grumble. Alice rolled her eyes at him and I tried not to laugh but failed. Unfortunately, it just started the coughing again. All three vampires looked

at me worriedly and I tried to wave off their concerns with my hand that wasn't covering my mouth as I coughed. Once I stopped, it was Emmett who first recovered his smile and stopped looking worried. "So, did you name him?" Emmett asked again. I shook my head. "No," I croaked out and grimaced at the hoarseness of my voice. I sound like I swallowed a toad. Edward handed me the water glass again and I gratefully took a sip. All three vampires looked like statues while I took the glass. I sighed after drinking down the last of the water. "I'm fine, really," I told them. Edward groaned at my response. Alice looked at me quizzingly. "No you aren't, Bella. You are sick and we haven't really had anyone in family get sick ever," Alice told me before flashing that adorable doe eye expression that was so heart wrenching to look at that she knew I'd say anything to appease her. "So let us take care of you, please, Bella?" she said too sweetly. "Aww, Alice," I grumbled. I buried my head in Edward's shoulder to avoid looking at that expression. It was too painfully cute! "Please, Bella?" I heard her followed by light laughter from Emmett. "Fine," I mumbled, knowing I'd regret it. I had a feeling they were going to do everything they thought I could possibly want while I was sick and I really hated it when they went out of their way for me. I was just some insignificant human in a house full of vampires. I knew better than that logically, of course, but that was still nagging at me in the back of my brain. Luckily, that nagging voice was getting smaller each day Edward was with me and barely existed since I agreed to marry him. Ugh. I still can't believe he convinced me to marry him before I turn 30 if though I won't look 30 when I reach it. "Yea!" Alice clapped and I looked over to her. "You can either do this the easy way or the hard way, Bella. Either way, you know," she started but I cut her off. "Yeah, I know," I grumbled and crossed my arms. It was no fun having a Alice see everything and be able to get her way by knowing exactly what to do before anything actually happened. It made it even less fun because I was feeling miserable despite the medication. I knew I'd feel even worse without it but pneumonia was not like the chicken pox where you just sat around and tried not to itch. Coughing until your throat was raw was far more annoying. "Hey! Want to play a game, Bella?" Emmett asked. "What kind of game?" I asked curiously. Edward didn't immediately nix Emmett's idea so it couldn't be that bad. "We've got monopoly and a few dozen packs of cards around," Emmett offered. It

was a long time since I'd played monopoly but it seemed far less likely of a game that anyone could cheat at. I wondered if it was one of the games that Edward and Alice were allowed to play too. "Sure, but can we play downstairs? I don't like it up here," I asked. "Why not? What's wrong?" Edward replied with his own questions immediately. "It looks and smells too much like a hospital," I grumbled to which Edward smiled. Emmett laughed loudly and Alice simply grinned. Edward quickly stood and swung me into his arms before I had a chance to realize what was going on. "We'll move downstairs then," Edward told me as he moved to carry me down with the teddy bear still in my arms. Alice grabbed my IV poll. "I'll go get the games!" Emmett told all of us excitedly as he ran out of the room in a blink of an eye. Edward smirked but continued to carry me down the stairs. Once down the stairs, I saw Emmett and Rose already setting up a game table with an old but still pristine looking version of Monopoly. They had the table pushed up against the sofa where Edward was carrying me. Carefully, he placed me down on the sofa and quickly moved to the other side of me to sit down. Emmett just looked at Edward. "You can't play," he told Edward seriously to which Edward simply smiled. "Of course not. But I am not leaving Bella," Edward stated. "And you really aren't playing," Emmett said to Alice who had just finished making sure my IV pole was alright before grabbing a seat. "I promise I won't cheat," Alice stated to which Emmett gave a dubious expression. Alice held up her hand with her pinkie finger crocked. "Pinkie Swear!" she told him. Emmett looked at her quizzingly for a second and then took her tiny pinkie with his large one. "Fine, but if you cheat, you have to forgo shopping for a month," Emmett said seriously. Alice nodded just as seriously. "That includes online shopping, Alice," Edward added to which Alice grimaced. "I won't cheat," she sighed apathetically. Emmett looked to Edward and I watched as Edward nodded once before everyone's attention was turned back to the game board and playing pieces that were all laid out on the table. Suddenly, Jasper came flying down the stairs and took a chair across from me, inbetween Alice and Rosalie. "I call cannon!" he stated, grinning.

"I want to be the banker," Rose announced as she carefully started counting out the piles of money for everyone. "Okay, but I get the car," Alice told her to which they both nodded in agreement. Emmett looked over the remaining pieces quietly, holding his chin in thought before looking back up at me. "Which piece do you want, Bella?" he asked me. I looked at them and honestly didn't care. "I guess the boot?" I more asked than said. Emmett happily handed it over and took the train for his own piece. Rosalie rolled her eyes and took the thimble. "Now, the question is, should we play by the original rules, the new rules, or our rules," Alice asked happily. "Our rules!" Emmett grinned as he slammed his fists to the table a bit too roughly. Rose reached over and hit him upside the head without even looking up from the money. "Hey! Ohsorry," Emmett replied sheepishly before sitting back down. Alice rolled her eyes. "I say our rules," Alice smiled. "What exactly are those?" I asked cautiously, wondering what I had gotten myself into. I'd seen vampire baseball, vampire football, and vampire wrestling thanks to a fight Emmett and Jasper got into a few days ago so now I was worried about vampire Monopoly. Unfortunately, my vampires were starting to forget that I, the human, couldn't always keep up with them yet. "It's simple. There are no auctions, you land on free parking and you get everything in the middle of the board, and you cannot build houses on any properties until you have all the properties of that color," Rose replied before handing out the cash. I coughed but managed to hold back most of the coughing this time so it didn't sound like my lungs were going to come up through my mouth. Edward gave me a look but I ignored him. "There's also the dice rules," Alice told Rosalie. Rose sighed and Emmett looked from his wife to me with one of those confused expressions he gets when he doesn't want to side against her but he doesn't want to side with her either. Jasper smiled and explained. "The first time around the board, everyone only uses one of the dice so there aren't any doubles. Once you past go the first time, rather than the $200, you get both dice plus $400. If you get doubles, you can either take the full amount of places or you can bank those and use them in the future when you are short a space or two. But you can't keep banking the doubles continually. You simply can use them as a free pass," Jasper told me. I think I got it but I wasn't entirely sure.

"So if you roll a 12 but only take six and then roll a three but need two more, you can take those two steps but can't ever use the other four?" I asked for clarification followed by a cough. "Exactly!" Emmett told me. "They're forfeit," Alice agreed. This didn't sound too bad. I was pretty sure I could play with those rules. Boy was I wrong. Well, not wrong, exactly, as much as vampire Monopoly was completely insane with my vampires. The first round was easy enough but once everyone had at least one property, the real game began. Money for rent was flying like crazy and they were coming up with "business transactions" during the game which further complicated the rules. Like when Rose landed on one of Jasper's properties, Tennessee Avenue, she offered to give him 15% off rent on any of her properties for the entire next round if he gave her the base rent rather than the rent with the house he had on it. He had gotten all the colors through another business transaction with Alice in which they traded title deeds. I don't think I could have kept up with all the math needed for what should have been a simple game of Monopoly if not for Edward. There were simply too many fractions and multiplications to really keep up even if I wasn't sick! "If you believe this is bad, you should see them play Risk," Edward whispered to me. Emmett pretended to shiver at that. "We are never playing Risk again. Not after last time," Emmett stated solemnly. "Never forget the South Pacific!" Jasper shouted with a grin on his face. Both of the girls just groaned in response. I guess it was a pretty interesting game to have seen and it's too bad they didn't play it anymore from the sounds of it. I'd like to see that. It was my turn to roll and I was extremely thankful that vampires don't get sick because I was back to coughing at least twice a minute. I got a five but I only needed two more spaces for Boardwalk. I smiled since, earlier, I had banked the four I rolled and had exactly two spaces to use. I heard Rose say something that sounded vaguely like a curse when I got to Boardwalk since I already had Park Place too. Now, I could have some fun. Well, I could have if that wasn't the last property. As soon as the "Congratulations, Bella" rung out, Esme came in to the living room with what I guessed was a bowl of soup. I hugged the bear close, curious as to what the soup might taste like since I'm the only one in the house that has eaten food in the past 80 or so years. Chapter 6 Emmett wrinkled his nose. "What is that?" he asked as he stood to fold up the card table. In the second I had looked away, the game had disappeared and I could see Rose on the far end of the room placing it back in a closet. Jasper and Alice had already moved to a chair nearby, with Jasper in control of the remote.

"It's chicken soup and leave the table for Bella, please," Esme told her son. Emmett did as requested but kept his place, looking at the steaming soup bowl as Esme set it down in front of me. I felt Edward's arms around my shoulders and had the bear in my arms. I coughed lightly as Esme handed me a spoon so I could attempt to eat the soup. My stomach wasn't as queasy as before but with six curious pairs of golden eyes on you, it didn't really help the situation. "Thanks, Esme," I told my vampire mother as I looked at the soup and took the spoon. "Of course, sweetheart. If it needs anything, please tell me," she told me. I heard Edward chuckle lightly by my side and saw the slight shake of his head even though I don't think I was supposed to. I looked at him for a second, coughed, and went back to looking at the soup. "Are you really going to eat that, Bella?" Emmett asked incredulously. "No, Emmett. I'm going to stare at it until it gets old and grows legs. Then you can eat it," I grumbled at him. Jasper laughed at that one and I think I even saw Rose crack a smile but she hid it quickly. I picked up the spoon tentatively, knowing there were six pairs of eyes on me although only three were actively watching me. I placed the spoon in the chicken soup and pulled a spoonful of vegetables and broth to my lips. It was hot so I blew on it before eating it. The soup ran hot but not too hot down my throat. The vegetables were soft from being boiled, just the way I like them. They tasted fresh and I wondered if they were from Esme's garden. The soup was delicious, with just the right amount of seasonings in it. It tasted more like something you'd expect from a fancy restaurant than from a home kitchen; particularly a vampire's home kitchen. "It's perfect, Esme!" I told her with additional coughing afterwards. She tried very hard not to look worried but failed at it at first. My guess was that Jasper was playing with her emotions based on how she stole a glance at him before smiling at me. "I'm so happy you like it, sweetheart. I'll save the rest for later," she told me before heading back into the kitchen. Edward placed a kiss on my head as I leaned over to continue eating the soup. Everyone except Emmett looked to be watching the TV NCIS was on. Emmett kept wrinkling his nose at the soup, watching me, and then looking at the bear thoughtfully. It was kind of funny to watch his expression change every three seconds. Jasper hit him in the small of the back from where he was sitting causing Emmett to jump a bit. "Hey!" Emmett shouted at Jasper. Jasper just raised an eyebrow at him and Edward laughed at both of them.

"Oh, sorry," Emmett mumbled before turning back around to me. I think I heard Rose sigh from the other side of the room but I really wasn't paying that much attention. Instead, I continued to eat my soup while Emmett watched and I could hear Edward chuckling beside me, trying very hard not to go into full blown laughter. "What is it Emmett?" I asked, exasperated since Jasper could feel whatever Emmett was feeling and Edward could hear whatever Emmett was thinking and all I was was the poor sick little human who Emmett thought was his own personal comedy channel. Alice started giggling since she probably saw whatever Emmett was going to say. "How can you eat that?" he asked, wrinkling his nose again. I tried my best to glare at him, hugging the teddy bear he gave me tight, but it came out as a pout instead. At least Edward growled at him for me while squeezing my shoulder with his arm. Emmett just rolled his eyes at his brother. "I mean it smells like a dead, burnt, animal," he stated. At this, I rolled my eyes and coughed at the same time, which wasn't exactly the most brilliant move. It made my eyeballs hurt. "It is a dead cooked animal," I told him, emphasizing the cooked part. "Besides," I started as I picked the spoon back up, "You really shouldn't say that about Esme's cooking. She's a great cook." The expression on Emmett's face for that alone was priceless. He couldn't decide if he should say something or not because he knew no matter what he said, he'd get in trouble. At this point, even Rose looked at him, waiting to slap him upside the head I guessed by her stance. Edward kept a perfectly neutral smile on his face but I knew he was trying hard not to laugh. Grumbling way too low for me to hear but loud enough for Rose to hit him, Emmett went and sat down on the other end of the sofa. I managed to finish half the soup bowl in peace, sort of, as we all watched NCIS. Alice and Rose were trying to figure out where each of the pieces of designer clothing came from and who was wearing what through out the episode. Jasper was explaining why the shootings were unreal while Edward explained getting from Washington DC to Norfolk VA in two hours during rush hour was perfectly impossible for a human. Emmett was with me in telling the rest of them to be quiet. He was a bit louder than I could be about it though. I slowly realized, when Esme came in, kissed my forehead and took the soup bowl away, that I was curled up into Edward's side, hugging the teddy bear still. I didn't really care if I looked pathetic right now since I was with my vampire family and I was sick. Looking good was going to be impossible anyway given the first account and the second part wasn't helping any. Esme came right back out with

more water and medication for me to take. "Thanks, Esme," I said as I took the pills from her. I sat up and managed to swallow the medication down with the glass of water. I was starting to feel tired again but I really didn't want to sleep. I wanted to listen to stories, watch TV, hear Alice complain about the costuming in the show, watch as Emmett and either Jasper or Edward played against him on the latest video game; I wanted to spend time with my family. The only problem was I was still coughing not as much but it wasn't good either- and I knew that I should sleep if I ever wanted this stupid cough to go away. It was right about then that Edward stiffened and Alice had that blank look on her face. Everyone else in the room froze and looked the two of them. It became so quiet, other than the sounds of the TV, that Esme immediately came in to see if there was a problem. I quickly checked my IV and made sure there wasn't any blood which was easily confirmed. It was something with one of Alice's visions. Alice came out of it only five seconds later and smiled at me. "Charlie will be here in fifteen minutes," she told me. I groaned. Dad was probably just now getting off of work which meant he decided to come straight here rather than going home. This meant he'd still have his gun not that bullets did much against vampiresand be in full police chief mode rather than just Charlie. "Oh! Maybe I should make some tea," Esme stated before heading back to the kitchen. She almost looked happy about this revelation. I wasn't. Charlie didn't doesn't do well around me when I'm sick, pretty much because he doesn't know quite what to do, and there was the added fact that I didn't want to get him sick. Seven vampires were fine around me unless I really was a super danger magnet and managed to attract the only virus in the world that could harm both humans and vampires. I was pretty sure that was low on the list of possibilities but I kept it in the back of my mind given the events over the last couple of years. What I was most worried about was being responsible for getting the Police Chief sick. Jasper raised an eyebrow at me and I shook my head and coughed before explaining since I knew Edward was curious too. "I don't want Charlie to get sick," I explained. "Don't worry, Bella. He won't get sick too," Alice chimed in smiling before cocking her head to the side and tapping her chin. "Hmm," she said aloud in thought while Jasper looked at her curiously. "Good point," Edward nodded to her before looking at everyone else. "Although Carlisle has already explained about any possibility of infection by the way of flu shots, it may bring up less questions if everyone disperses while Charlie is here," he informed the group.

"Aw man," Emmett grumbled but Rose just took his hand and they headed out back. Although everyone's eyes were perfect honey-yellows while I was here, I knew that a bit of over feeding wouldn't hurt them. Of course, that's assuming why they went outside. Alice grabbed Jasper's and skipped over to me. "I'll keep an eye out," she more told Edward than me but kissed me on the cheek. I felt calm as Jasper passed by and whispered my thanks to him as they both headed up the stairs. "You aren't leaving, are you?" I croaked out, new worries coming to the surface now that Jasper was out of the room to calm them. Edward gave me my favorite crooked smile before leaning down to kiss my forehead. "No," he whispered into my hair. "I'm not leaving you," he said softly as he held me tight against him. I relaxed instantly at the feeling of Edward's lips on my skin, even if it was just my forehead. Esme came in and beamed a smile at both Edward and myself. She handed me a glass of iced tea. "Do you mind tasting it, dear? I want to make sure it isn't too sweet," Esme said with worried eyes. "Sure, Esme," I coughed as I sat up again. I missed the contact I had of being tucked up beneath Edward's chin but I also knew none of us wanted Charlie to suspect anything. I briefly wondered what I would do, say, explain to Charlie when I got changed in a few months and I really wasn't sure. I knew I still wanted him in my life but would I ever be able to see him again? I could talk to him via the telephone, sure and email him and mom all I liked but would I ever get to the point where I could see him face to face? I wasn't too sure. Instead of thinking on that, I focused on the task at hand; which was, for now, making sure the iced tea tasted like iced tea before Charlie came over. I took a sip and it was a bit bitter, like there wasn't enough sugar in it. I could tell it was Lipton's tea though by the taste. Renee loved making sun tea using Lipton's when I was little and I remembered watching the water slowly turn into deep brown ribbons as the sun hit the glass jar. "I think it needs a bit more sugar," I choked as I handed the glass back to her. "Oh dear," Esme stated looking extremely worried. I realized she probably thought I was choking on the tea and not because I was coughing and drinking at the same time. "It's just the stupid pneumonia," I grumbled and crossed my arms back around the teddy bear. "I think another couple of table spoons of sugar, and the tea will be fine," I told her truthfully. Esme nodded but still looked at me worried as she held the iced tea glass in her hands. She looked over to Edward after a few seconds and he shook his head but smiled slightly before Esme quickly turned

and went back to the kitchen. It was only a minute later that we heard a knock at the door. Edward got up, kissing me on the cheek, as he whispered, "Stay here." I sat there, holding the teddy bear and watching Law & Order now I think Jasper must have put it on the USA channel- waiting for Charlie to come in. I barely caught Esme running up behind him before Edward opened the door. "Charlie! Please, come in," Esme told him. All I could hear was the shuffling of feet as I prepared to try and not get Charlie sick too. Chapter 7 "Esme," my dad greeted my future mother-in-law as he scuffled into the living room. I stayed hidden in the blankets and cushions of the couch despite wanting to turn my head to watch as Charlie came inside the Cullen's house. "Edward," he said in a slightly less polite tone. "Charlie, please come in. Would you like anything to drink? I just made up some iced tea," Esme told him. Even from my vantage point, I knew that the look she was probably giving him would be impossible to ignore. "Um, yeah. Uh, please?" I heard Charlie stutter. I suppressed a laugh given that Esme was probably inadvertently dazzling him with her "Mom" like looks. Well, that and Charlie never was what you would call a conversationalist. "Of course, Charlie," Esme stated. "Would you show Charlie where Bella is, Edward dear?" she asked him. "Yes, Mom," Edward told her and I could practically see the crooked smile in my mind with Esme answering smile and her eyes all lit up simply because Edward called her mom. I heard the shuffling of feet, Dad, and watched as both Charlie and Edward came into my view from the corner of the couch. The first thing I saw was Charlie's worried face. "Hi, Dad," I croaked followed by a small cough that only lead into a bigger one. I grimaced since I was trying not to cough so I wouldn't accidentally get Charlie sick too. Getting the police chief of Forks sick would be news and it would be my fault. "Bella? Honey? Are you feeling any better?" he asked worriedly as he came to sit down next to me on the couch. I just nodded. "Um, yeah. Esme's been making sure I get the," I let out a small cough then, but made sure it wasn't in the direction of Charlie, "medicine Carlisle prescribed." The last part barely came out above a whisper and I saw Charlie's face grimace in response. I knew he'd think to take me home and actually take off of work. He would get sick then and that was exactly what I didn't want. At least around my

vampire family, I knew they couldn't catch pneumonia no matter how hard they tried. "I'm fine, Dad. Really," I tried to placate him. I saw him glance back at Edward who was standing nearby. Esme had probably gone to the kitchen and was figuring out what would be human speed to get iced tea for Charlie. My Dad just looked at me with a mixture of worry and chagrin on his face. It didn't help that I started to cough again. "Maybe I should take you home," He said, looking at me. I really couldn't believe that. He'd be gone most of the day so he'd think I was alone all day, in that small house, rather than have at least Esme around me in case something happens. Plus, Carlisle was a doctor which meant I had all the benefits of a hospital with all the comforts of homeand being around my vampire family was simply an added bonus. Having my vampire fianc around well, I doubted there was a way Charlie could tear Edward away from me no matter where I was. "Dad, no, I," I started only to go into another coughing fit. I turned my head away from my Dad, hoping he wouldn't get sick too. He gently patted my back, clearly worried. I could see Edward from the corner of my eye looking almost distraught as I coughed again. Once I finally stopped coughing, I saw Esme standing nearby and hand Charlie the glass of iced tea. She gave me another glass of water. I looked up and could feel three pairs of worried eyes on me. "Thanks," I managed to mutter to Esme as I gratefully took the glass of water. "Charlie, we love having Bella here and it comforts me that we can help out," Esme started, pulling out the full "mom" charm. "I hate the idea of her being in that hospital even if Carlisle is there to see her for part of the day," she continued. I grimaced and hugged the teddy bear closer at the mention of the hospital. I did NOT want to go back. I saw Edward smirk and I glared at him which probably came out as more of a pout. "At least here, Carlisle has set up his office with most everything Bella could need while she is sick," Esme continued. I looked up to Charlie's face, seeing that he was deep in thought. I know he wanted to help take care of me but he'd bee gone for nearly twelve hours of the day. Yes, I'd have Edward there but Charlie didn't know that. Plus, there was that whole "Carlisle only let me out of the hospital to come here so he could take care of me here" thing. I'm pretty sure, despite what Charlie thinks, Carlisle would say it was here with the vampires- or the hospital; with the far more terrifying prospect of antibiotic sprays, odd beeping noises, old people snoring, and highly uncomfortable beds. "Please, Dad. I don't want to go back to the hospital," I pleaded with him. Only a small cough escaped this time as I hugged the teddy bear tight. I saw Charlie

give in after looking at me and then looking at Esme. "You sure she's not any trouble? I don't want her to be a burden or getting everyone sick," Charlie asked Esme. My vampire mom's face broke out in a huge smile as she knew what Charlie's decision pretty much was. "Of course not, Charlie! I already think of Bella is one of my own children. It would worry me more not have her here and over in the hospital. I doubt that any of us will get the flu as well given the flu shots," she stated easily. Charlie rubbed his hand through his hair. "Umm, yeah," he muttered. It was then that Edward moved closer and knelt beside me, easily taking one of my hands into his own. "The rest of my siblings are keeping their distance to further prevent anyone else from getting the flu. Although, I doubt in anyone else it would turn into pneumonia," Edward said, a clear smirk in his voice at the last part of his sentence. I glared at him, withdrew my hand, and went back to hugging my teddy bear that Emmett got me. I didn't dare look at Edward after that knowing how hurt he'd be. I saw as my dad sighed and looked from me to Esme giving a warning glance at Edward in between- before speaking again. "I know she's better off here were you are Carlisle are around all the time. I just don't want you to feel obligated.." Charlie started but Esme cut him off. "She'll be my daughter too, soon enough, Charlie. If you'd rather have her at your house though," Esme stated sadly, looking away from Charlie. I know if she was human, she'd be crying. I looked back up at my dad. "Please, Charlie," I managed to squeak out without coughing. He sighed again. "Alright, Bells. But don't you go making a pest of yourself. Don't want the whole getting sick because of you," he told me sternly but I smiled in response. Somehow, my hand had found Edward's again which he was squeezing gently. "She's never a bother, Charlie. Both you and Bella are always welcome to come over," Esme told me happily. "Even when she isn't in need of twenty four hour care," Edward quipped to which I shot him another glare. Esme did as well but neither seemed to phase him. I humphed which only set out another round of coughing. Charlie had already stood up at this point and just watched me helplessly. Edward was still kneeling in front of me and half held me as I coughed. "Uh, you don't want to get sick there, Edward," Charlie told him.

Edward looked at him sharply. So much so, that I was scared they'd start to fight. "I'm not leaving her," Edward said in such a tone that Charlie just looked at him in shock. Esme quickly fluttered to stand in-between Charlie and Edward. "Either Carlisle or I are with her at all times as well, Charlie," Esme said quickly before glancing at her son and then back to Charlie. I swear I saw Edward's lips move to which I would ask more about later. "We did try to pry our son away but he is just as worried as the rest of us are. I'm sure he doesn't mean anything by his tone," Esme said, giving the mother look to Edward. Edward immediately looked the picture of remorse. "My apologies, Charlie. Mom is correct. I simply don't like seeing Bella like this," Edward told him mournfully. I grumbled but otherwise stayed quiet. Charlie seemed to accept Edward's apology. He was about to say something else when his walkie talkie went off again. This time I understood that someone had placed a coffin out in front of the Newton's shop withclaw marks and duct tape? It sounded off, very off and for some reason my brain could only notice that Emmett and Rose had run off outside. Charlie sighed before turning again to Esme. "Sorry, Esme. Thanks for your help," he told her and then turned to look at me. "I'll be back by later, Bella. Mind Esme and Carlisle," he told me. I nodded, still wrapped up in my blankets. "I will," I mumbled and then coughed again. My throat was so raw that all I could do is groan and try not to whimper due to the amount of pain my throat was in. I felt horrible but I didn't want my Dad, my vampire Mom, or my fianc to know exactly how bad it was. After all, it's not like knowing that I now had sandpaper for lungs would exactly help anything. Charlie nodded to me and then to Esme. Edward stayed the perfect picture of remorse, probably reading what he could of Charlie's mind. He already told me that he could only get ideas from Charlie's head, not fully formed thoughts. As Dad turned to leave, Esme walking him to the door, Esme spoke up again. "Charlie, I know Bella would love it if you came over after you investigate the incident downtown. We were about to eat dinner when Carlisle comes home but I hope you don't mind if I save some for you," she said looking hopeful. Edward had slid back up next to me and I saw a small hint of a smile on his face as Esme spoke. I gently elbowed him, knowing it would hurt me and not hit if I did anything like that harder. "Remorseful, remember?" I teased under my breath so Charlie wouldn't hear. Edward looked at me with the perfect mask of remorse but I could see in his eyes that he was desperately trying not to laug Charlie ran his hand through his hair again in thought. "Uh, thanks, Esme. I'd like

to come back and check in on Bells," he stated. I could practically hear the smile in Esme's voice when she spoke next while opening the door for Charlie. I couldn't see them anymore since both had moved around the couch to the door. "Of course! Please, come back by. I know how much better it will make Bella feel to have you here as well," Esme stated. "Well, umm, thanks," Charlie stated. I didn't have to see him to know that he was blushing. Edward tried not to chuckle but let his crooked grin spill across his face. "So that's where you get it from," Edward teased me, gently moving his hand so that he could brush his thumb against my cheekbone. Knowing my dad and Esme were in the same room is what caused me to blush this time. I grumbled at him and he chuckled lightly as Charlie left and Esme closed the door. I tried to bend my head around so I could see Esme. Edward got up and stood to look at her. "Dinner, really? Should we put plates out?" Edward lightly teased his mother. Esme took the tea towel she'd had in her apron pocket the entire time and whipped it at him. This only caused Edward to smile more. "You should be grounded for that tone to Charlie," she quickly reminded him. Edward immediately looked down and looked remorseful again. At this point Alice suddenly appeared, well, around me, hugging me tight. I think I heard Jasper smirking nearby. "Hi, Alice," I choked out. She immediately let go and I started into one of my coughing fits. I felt Edward's hand around mine which I squeezed tightly until the coughing fit passed this time. "Bella, sweetheart, why don't you try these?" Esme stated, suddenly beside me hold a bag of cough drops. I groaned. Cough drops tasted disgusting as far as I was concerned. Who wanted menthol and cherry tastes together in their mouth? "No, thank you, Esme," I told her. She looked at me worried while the other vampires looked at me curious for a second. "They might help," Esme told me encouragingly. It was hard to tell her no when she looked like that. She looked like you would devastate her is you dared to say no. I thought about how to tell her no and quickly realized that none of them have probably had modern cough drops. Even if they had, they didn't remember the taste. Cough drops probably taste the same as rock candy to them right now so no vampire would be able to discern the difference. "It's just that they taste bad," I told her truthfully. Alice started to giggle while the two boys just laughed. Esme's face looked deep in thought and confusion. I

sighed and decided to explain. "It tastes like medication with sort of a sickening cherry flavor mixed in and you have to keep it in your mouth in order for it to work right," I told her, scrunching up my nose. Just remembering the taste of cough drops was bad enough. Instead of saying anything, all four vampires looked towards the driveway. Esme broke out into a smile and put the cough drops down on the end table near me, kissed me on the forehead, and then went outside. Edward pulled me close. "Don't worry, none of those vile cough drops for you, love," he teased me. I humphed but leaned against him. Alice picked up one of the cough drops and inspected it in the light, turning the small object this way and that. She unwrapped it to get a better look at it and wrinkled her nose at the smell. I had to smile slightly triumphantly at that. Edward squeezed my shoulders. "It sounds like Carlisle might have brought you something better than cough drops," he told me and, instantly, I was worried. Chapter 8 My mind was filled with worry the second Edward mentioned that Carlisle brought me something "better than co