Another mundane day was passing by at Forks hospital. Carlisle was sat behind his desk sorting the already neatly arranged papers that were stacked on his desk. It was just one of those times when he wished for some work to keep his over active mind occupied. Forks was the most hazardous place on earth for humans though luckily enough his family wasn't exactly a normal one. Yes the Cullen family were not your garden-variety humans and certainly not the garden-variety vampires either. No, true to form Carlisle and his family of two teenage daughters and three teenage sons had taken to an unusual vegetarian diet.

Carlisle was always extremely proud that his family were the vegetarian kind. It was somewhat of an unusual lifestyle choice but one he found easier to live with than dealing with the high human cost that their kind often encountered. He began to ponder over his thoughts on the matter when he heard the beginnings of a commotion at the front of the hospital in the reception area. It was definitely better than nothing he thought to himself as he made his way gracefully from his office and towards the voices. It was then a particular scent hit him. There was no doubt it was a vampire and it was of no comparison to any other scent he had ever come across before. His first thought was cinnamon but that was as close as he could get to any earthly scent.

His senses were temporarily overwhelmed as he stood in the middle of a corridor. A nurse waved him forward with a look that seemed a little frantic and her face almost as pale as his own. For a human that was never a good sign he thought to himself as he briskly walked around the corner following the nurse dressed in light blue scrubs. Carlisle noted a few small blotches of human blood on her, something not too out of place for a hospital. Rounding another corner his eyes fell upon the sight of a young woman with caramel hair, the woman looked like a goddess compared to the human's who surrounded her. The only thing wrong with the picture was a human girl; leaning into the woman's body covered in what he could smell was fresh blood. The scent of copper and iron was filling the air around him quickly and it caused his mouth to water a little as he caught the young woman's gaze.

"Over here... I shall see this patient" Carlisle announced.

His voice warm and soft as several nurses tried to usher the woman to place the girl on the bed that another doctor had brought. The woman reluctantly placed the girl on the bed but still kept a hand on her shoulder. Carlisle absent minded, began to look over the girl as he heard a few whimpers and groans from her telling him she was obviously in a lot of pain. The nurse took a gentle grasp of the woman's arm but the action seemed to scare the woman half to death. The woman's eyes were as golden as his own which was odd he noted considering he could tell she was a vampire just like himself. Odder still was the scent of blood wasn't driving this woman insane with blood lust. Carlisle had many theories on the strange situation however the more important thing to him at that moment was the girl who was hurt in front of him.

"I have to stay with her... I am not leaving her." The woman told the nurse, her strong tone surprised Carlisle as he stole another glance at the caramel haired woman.

"Get her to a theatre. I shall scrub up and follow in a moment." Carlisle told a few others around him as he watched the girl being wheeled away before he turned his attention to the young woman.

"Ma'am... we are only asking that you stay here. She is in the best hands here." Carlisle said softly as he took her blood-covered hand.

It was as soft and smooth just like marble and as cold; he realised there was no doubting his previous assumption that the female was a vampire. Carlisle looked towards another orderly, a stocky fifty plus woman with freckles and short brown hair.

"Francis... can you see that...?" Carlisle realized that he didn't know the woman's name as he smiled warmly at her.

"Miss Platt. Esme Platt" Her voice sang out as Carlisle smiled again and nodded.

Carlisle watched closely as Esme's stare followed the path of the trolley even when it disappeared around the corner. There seemed to be a genuine concern for the girl, that was obvious to see but Carlisle couldn't help wondering how she was keeping herself under control.

"Can you see that Miss Platt gets some clean clothes and take her to my office please?" Carlisle turned back to Esme and smiled once again looking at her beautiful features. "I shall call on you once we know what we are dealing with." He said softly before he turned and walked away to help treat the girl.

Carrying her bleeding child in her arms Esme was not only fighting the urge to feed but also to save her. Only twenty-six human years old herself and her daughter who was almost eighteen was a bundle to carry. Of course her strength equalled that of no other human but carrying a near fully-grown girl was no easy task. Running and darting trees, making sure not to harm came to her child in the process, Esme could hardly breathe the air around her. She didn't think she had a choice to call for help as she walked though the shiny glass doors of Forks hospital. Her daughter was losing blood in her arms and there was no way she was about to act like a human just to watch her die.

She heard several gasps of horror as one nurse called for a Dr Cullen to be found immediately. Two men came towards Esme but she held her daughter protectively in her arms. Several stern words passed between them as she refused to let go. It was then her eyes set upon someone... a man who looked like he could be an angel straight from heaven. She stared at him as she placed her daughter on the bed. Vampire, she could smell it as her mind raced with sudden protective instincts for her daughter's wellbeing. It was when he spoke, his tone was soft and warm that made her feel just for a moment there was some hope left.

Everything seemed to fly past her as she watched her daughter Catherine being wheeled away. Esme could barely keep a hold of what the humans around her were saying but then the doctor spoke again. She nodded hardly hearing a word as she was shown the way to his office. There the nurse brought Esme some scrubs and a bag for her clothes before leaving her in the quiet isolation of the office. Esme quickly changed from her blood soaked garments that had once been pristine and sat quietly in the office too afraid to glance up from a square piece of carpet for a good few minutes. When she did look up she saw that everything was perfect; she couldn't see one thing out of place as she moved from the chair trying to keep her thoughts from the smell of her daughter's blood. She trailed her fingers along a bookcase that covered the space to the right of the door. Doctor for Dummies, Poisons 101, Human body, she casually read as her eyes cast a gaze toward the desk that sat opposite the door in pride of place. Several photo frames caught her attention as she peered at the faces. To her surprise it was the doctor she had just seen and five teenagers.

All vampires she thought to herself, they had to be. "Extremely beautiful" she remarked as she saw how happy they looked together. One of the photos saw showed them all wearing baseball uniforms, in another they appeared to be on a family outing, rock climbing or something similar. Small thoughts that mused around her head were suddenly interrupted by a soft knock at the door. Esme quickly walked away from the desk cursing herself that she had even wondered so far as to look at personal photographs. She took a seat as fast as possible in front of the desk going back to staring at the carpeted floor in front of her. Not a moment later and the door swung open as a young teenage boy strode in. His features were similar to those of the boy in the pictures. Upon a second look it was the boy in the pictures. Esme audibly gasped as the young boy smiled towards her.

"Sorry to intrude Ma'am... I was wondering if my father was in"

The same tone and dialect Esme noted as her mind wondered to the doctor for a moment and then back to the boy. She didn't even know this doctors name she thought to herself annoyed she hadn't found that out as she shook her head slowly.

"I'm afraid not... he is treating my daughter. I was told to wait here... I am not intruding am I...? Umm I should leave." Esme said hurriedly as she walked towards the door.

Again, that unmistakable smell of vampire hit her as the young boy stood directly in front of her. She shouldn't have been looking around Esme thought to herself, what a fool she mused as her mind flitted from her daughter to the doctor and then to the young boy.

"Oh ok then I shall wait." Edward smiled at the woman.

She was definitely a vampire he said to himself as he too shook his head and stood in the woman's way. If Carlisle had asked her to stay in the office he must have had a good reason for it. That and the hospital wasn't exactly the best place for someone of their kind Edward thought as he noted several blood smears on the woman's neck and her hands were practically soaked in the stuff.

"If you were told to wait here then I think you had better wait here. You are not intruding because there's no one here apart from you... and me now but no please, my father wouldn't want you to leave."

Edward was guessing the last part though he could hear his father's distant thoughts in his mind. While mainly Esme's thoughts focused on a girl, Carlisle was stealing a few seconds for Esme here and there. Although things were jumbled which meant Edward would have to concentrate more than he was comfortable with to hear the rest. Esme backed away from the door not enjoying the penned in feeling at all. She moved cautiously toward a seat in the corner settling in and watching the young boy.

"Thank you... Erm... sorry I did not catch your name." Esme said before she smiled weakly at the boy.

Edward quickly hearing her distress moved from the door shutting it behind him. The thoughts he could hear were jumbled but one thing was clear, someone had stood in a doorway before him and judging from the reaction and thoughts combined he guessed that hadn't ended so well for Esme. Edward took up another seat across from the woman, a floppy lopsided grin plastered on his face similar to the one Esme had seen in the pictures.

"I didn't give it but I'm Edward... Edward Cullen. Carlisle is my adopted father though my family and I all call him dad or father. Ease of blending." Edward explained as he felt oddly at peace with the woman almost as if Jasper was working his magic.

Edward guessed that they both knew the other was a vampire, it would be hard to miss and the scent was the big give away. It surprised him though to see someone with golden eyes and not the red eyes he was accustomed to for their kind. The veggie diet was a rare one and took a lot of self will and determination to follow.

"Pleasure Edward, I'm Esme Platt. I guess it is easier to blend in that way. I can see you have a rather large family. Not something I have seen before... not that I see many of our kind. I try to stay away as much as possible, and be around humans." Esme said rambling slightly.

Damn it woman she thought harshly, you just told him that you virtually saw the pictures. Now he thinks you are snooping... Esme sighed exasperated glancing towards the door. Her daughter was human and she was hurt which was only thing that occupied most of her headspace, that and the sight of her daughter broken and in pain.

"I'm sure Kate will be ok..." Edward said glancing toward Esme.

Esme jumped a little. Did he just read my mind? Esme scolded herself for being so suspicious realising it was a nice and reassuring thing to say until she recalled he knew her daughter's name. Not her full name just the name she preferred to be called... Kate. Esme glanced toward Edward quizzically before looking away and figuring she had imagined it, after all how could he know anything like that. It was probably just the stress she felt.

"Thank you for your concern Edward. I do hope so."

Esme couldn't live without her daughter. Kate was the one reason why she had disappeared, the one reason why unfortunately she had gone to the wrong place been bitten. Luckily, Kate lay unharmed though Esme had to force herself not to kill her when she was a baby. Her need and love for family gave her the strength to overcome any desire she had to hurt her child or another human. And for nearly eighteen years she lived in harmony with her daughter, raising her as best she could although today she severely doubted her mothering skills. Esme had not seen the car that slammed them off the road. Even her heightened senses didn't see the danger of one drunken human driving what appeared to her to be a battle class armoured truck. Maybe that was a slight white lie, it was a hummer to be exact but none the less; it had taken her four-door ford from the road and down a steep embankment. To Esme it was just a bumpy ride but to her daughter it became a life or death slide down an embankment.

Edward found it difficult to relax knowing he felt so at ease around Esme. She was like a walking talking chill pill. He had never felt like that around anyone, not even Carlisle. Something about her seemed to make him want to open up, maybe it was because she was worried or perhaps she was a gifted vampire. Either way he wanted to talk more than he should or more than was necessary. Strangely odd he thought as he tried to tune into her frequency. It did not take Edward long to sift though the hundreds of voices in his head to find Esme's. It was easier than normal to tune in to her, the thoughts of her daughter flashed across his mind. Her body seemed to take an unnaturally contorted shape in Esme's arms quickly followed by the sights of the accident. The thought made him want to go and rip the driver's throat out but such thoughts never did do him any good.

"They will be doing all they can for Kate... she is in good hands here." Edward said, not thinking too much.

Edward suddenly looked away from the woman as he amused himself with a slight chip of wood in his father's desk, her fingers picking at it effortlessly while he smoothed it over. Edward could feel Esme's piercing gaze on him, he looked up at her catching her look before he smiled hoping to brush it off. How could he know her name? Esme thought to herself her eyes trained upon the boy like a hawk as her attention became suddenly divided. There was another voice, in fact several voices that rang in her ears. Voices that caused a sudden surge of anger within her and had Esme on her feet. A low growl escaped from her mouth before she looked frantically towards Edward.

"A crash victim, barely a scratch" One voice said.

"Other car is totalled, blood in the passenger seat... too much in my opinion." Said another as a laugh broke through the voices.

"He isn't harmed... nothing... he could have killed my daughter and he is laughing!"

Esme's voice pierced Edwards mind. He could hear every through that passed through her mind in a second and none of them were going to do any good. In a split second Edward threw himself towards Esme as both of them clattered to the ground. Edward felt Esme clawing beneath him to get out of the door; he tried his best to restrain her but his hold on her failed. Edward fell backwards as Esme flew toward the door. Fortunately, it swung open before she could get to it. Edward sighed seeing Carlisle manage to catch Esme and turn her inside shutting the door quickly not that a door would do much to stop a vampire. Edward and Carlisle wrestled Esme gently into a chair. Edward watched as her whole body shook, wracked with tearless sobs while his mind suddenly filled with thoughts of regret, shame, and carelessness.

"Miss Platt... Esme..."

Carlisle voice was back to its kind and warm tone, the exact same as it had been earlier. It never ceased to amaze him how his father could speak to others. Edward had a much more forceful and up-front approach which often was the cause of friction in their family but Carlisle seemed to put Esme at ease.

"Your daughter will be fine. I would like to keep her here for a few days, just for observation as she lost a lot of blood. She has a broken leg, and fractured ribs but she will be okay."

Carlisle began to explain as Edward sat beside Esme putting an arm around her shoulders comforting her as best he could while Carlisle knelt down in front of her. Carlisle looked into her eyes and they were nearly at eye level before her spoke again.

"A rib punctured her spleen which was the cause of her blood loss along with a small cut in an artery. She has a few cuts and bruises but nothing that will not heal with time. Your daughter Esme she is a fighter, and she will be fine."

Esme tried to muffle her sobs as she listened to the doctor nodding where appropriate as she leaned closer to Edward. She had virtually just tried to attack them both for no other reason other than to kill the man who had caused this all. Strangers she was willing to hurt just to kill someone she thought horrified with what she had done.

"S...ssorry. I did not mean to hurt you... either of you... That... that monster isn't hurt... he nearly killed... he could have killed Catherine." She sobbed as Edward hushed her and Carlisle took her hand.

"Do not worry you did not hurt either of us, we are not that breakable." Came Edwards reply as it brought a hint of a smile to Esme's face.

She could feel the doctor's hand on hers, the feeling of security washed over her like an ocean wave and his touch was like a small fire had touched her skin. Nothing too hurt her just a pleasantly warm sensation.

"This is my father... Carlisle Cullen. Is Catherine allowed visitors dad?" Edward asked seeing that his father was a little preoccupied as the pair locked their eyes.

Carlisle nodded and smiled clearing his throat as he stood up trying to brush off the sudden fascination he felt with Esme. Busted Edward thought as the same lopsided grin came to curl the edge of his lips seeing Carlisle obvious unease with what he had just done.

"Esme, if you would follow me please... Catherine needs her rest and she is sedated but she will be coming around in a few hours, so is there anything you need... in the way of dinner?" Carlisle asked rather presumptuously.

The last thing he wanted was a massacre at the hospital. He had seen Esme covered in blood and to any vampire that would be enough to start frenzy. Even now he could see and smell the blood smears that covered her hands and neck.

"Of course Doctor Cullen" Esme liked the way his name just rolled from her mouth she thought as she managed another smile. "No... No, I fed before... before the accident. I had just collected Kate from our previous residence... and we were moving to Forks when..."

Esme cut herself short as Carlisle nodded and motioned them to leave the office. Edward kept his hold on Esme, a light but comforting touch as they walked down several halls together toward Kate's room.