Dangerously Beautiful • Carlisle Cullen

Chapter 6: Worrying is a state of mind.

With staying up practically all night with her aunt talking about boys, Bella was worn out, sleeping through most of her alarms. "Why do you do this to me?" Bella asked the ceiling as she stared at it, not wanting to get out of her warm bed, but already five minutes behind schedule.

Bella rushed around her room, getting all her things from upstairs. She was headed down stairs when she realized her aunt's door was still closed, she knocked. "Aunt Cole?" Bella asked as she looked into the room to find her aunt asleep in her bed.

Rushing downstairs, Bella caught her father before he walked out the door. "Cha- dad? What's wrong with Aunt Cole?" Bella asked. "She has these terrible headaches, she woke up with one this morning. She's also got a cough she won't take care of." Charlie told his daughter. "Should one of us stay home?" Bella asked. "No, she'll be okay. She knows she can call if she needs to." Charlie assured his daughter that she was okay staying by herself.

Both of the Swans left the house, one more worried than the other. To Bella, her aunt was superwoman, she survived, she won. She hated to see her aunt in pain, but then again what could she do?

Once Bella had gotten to school, she was quickly introduced to Alice; as the usually chipper girl was quite somber, worried about her fathers mate. "Carlisle said Colette called in sick today." Alice asked the girl. "Um- yeah she had a killer headache." Bella told the girl, not knowing how much she was supposed to reveal, as the Cullens seemed to know her aunt, but the only ones Cole had talked about were Carlisle and Rosalie.

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Carlisle had busied himself all day, trying not to worry too much about his mate that he still had not heard from except for the call telling of her leave of absence for the day.

Carlisle was nervous though. He couldn't help it. Not able to sit still, he paced as he looked over patient files. "Something on your mind Dr?" The older nurse from the day before asked him as she was passing. "Colette is sick today." He said and she understood. What she didn't understand was the look of worry in his face that seemed to actually be causing lines as the day went on.

"You care for her." Leann stated matter of factly. "Of course I do, she is studying under me." "Not what I meant Carlisle. You like her." She said, a smile lighting up her face. Carlisle stopped. "No I-" "Don't lie to me. You care for that girl!" Leann chided in a teasing tone but also a suggestive one. "Fine, yes, I do." He relented. She smiled warmly at his confession. In all the years Leann had worked at the hospital alongside the handsome doctor, she had never seen him take notice of anyone.

She remembered when Colette was brought in by the Sheriff, her face bloody and bruised, as she was an ER nurse at the time.

She knew what had happened immediately. She also saw the same look on Carlisle, the same one he held now. A look of worry, of compassion that he always held, but another emotion was in his golden eyes that she couldn't quite place. Longing, love, lust? Whatever it was, she could read the doctor like an open book. "I'm sure she is fine, Carlisle. That girls been through worse."

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Returning to the house, Charlie unlocked the door, walking in he noticed quickly that the house was unusually quiet.

Making his way upstairs, he knocked on his sister door, only for there to be no answer. "Lottie?" Still the chief got nothing. Opening the door he let out a breath of air as he realized that she was just sleeping.

He was about to step out when he looked back, studding her more closely. "Cole?" Not even a flinch. Moving quickly to the side of the bed he looked over her. She was pale, and cool to the touch though a slight gleam of sweat seemed to cover her. "Colette!" Charlie shouted, not wanting to scare the girl, but his panic was starting to set in. Her eyes opened slowly, a glassy film covered them. "Charlie?" She croaked out, her voice cracking as she spoke, making Charlie flinch at the sound. "Hey, what's going on?" He asked. "I don-" but before she could finish her sentence, her face went lax and her eyes rolled back in her head. "Cole? Hey, Hey! Come on!" He said gently shaking her, begging for her to regain consciousness.