try to slip past his defense without granting innocence

[autophoenix]

A couple weeks had passed quietly for Claire since her less-than-venomous conversation with Edward. Between studying, juggling Jessica and Mike and the drama between them, and dealing with the secret that continued to grow increasingly complicated to keep, it was mostly a blur. A really unpleasant, cold and rainy blur

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[autophoenix]

She climbed compliantly into the back of the ambulance and sat in silence while they rode to the hospital, her stomach flopping between something light and relieved that she'd finally found someone who was like her -- who she could talk to and who could understand what it was like to hide all the time like this -- and frustration with the fact that he'd thrown her under the metaphorical van after saving her from the literal one -- trying to, anyway -- and expected her to just trust him off the bat like that.

Shouldn't he know better than anyone how much it was asking to just expect trust? With what they had to go through every day? Even now, in the company of someone who she was trying her hardest to have faith in, her eyes were trained with begrudging suspicion on the third party EMTs who were just trying to be helpful. Her mind continued to race as she offered up her wrists and bicep for basic vital tests. She even managed to keep a straight face when they slipped the stethoscope under her shirt, because she was too distracted by her own thoughts to care that Edward was present for the awkward, hurried examination.

Maybe he hadn't had the bad luck of running into the Company yet. It was probably better that way, anyway. It'd save her the trouble of admitting that her dad had been a part of it. Or maybe she was just being optimistic in that, and he was the one of them for some Company operation. She flicked her gaze back towards him, chewing on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully.

The ride was short, though, and before long her thoughts were interrupted. Small towns. Gotta love 'em. She reached out to brace herself on the wall of the ambulance as it jerked to a stop, rattling a few of the instruments they were co-habitating with for the time being. The EMTs thrust the doors open and Claire clambered after them, refusing to accept help and just jumping out of the back of the glorified van.

She stubbornly resisted as they tried to guide her into the hospital entrance right away, and she instead turned to fix Edward with a raised-eyebrow, expectant look with her arms crossed over her chest. A look that said: Look what you did. This had better be good.

[likealocalgod]

Edward certainly didn't notice any of the awkwardness, so set was he on thoughts of damage control. His jaw stayed locked subtly the entire way, his eyes monitoring everything that occurred with quick, innocuous glances, his mind focused on that of the EMT to ensure there were no suspicious flags being mentally hoisted. What he read there was largely relief that the girl seemed unharmed, and he wished he had Jasper's ability to strengthen that sense of relief and perhaps take them off alert.

The Company, The Company, he caught those thoughts from Claire, and his eyes went right to hers just as she looked at him, as if she'd signaled him. A sloppy movement, but one she could write off to him being hyperaware of their surroundings, he hoped. He felt himself swallow around his parched throat as they held each other's gaze for a moment, but the bump in the road gave him an impetus to break the temporary stare.

He was right out behind her at the hospital, maneuvering himself to her side, and gently placing one hand on her shoulder and the other on her elbow, glancing behind at the EMTs. His posture indicated he was going to help the girl inside, keep her steady, and he nodded to them both. "It's alright. I'll bring her to my father."

They weren't having any of that, however, and shook their heads.

"We'll have to check her in," one of them said, and Edward tensed a bit, but nodded, and cast Claire a look of what he hoped was reassurance.

"I'll go find him, then," Edward said, and without another word, broke away from them and pushed through the doors, making a beeline for where he could hear his Father's thoughts.

[autophoenix]

Abandonment. Story of Claire Bennet's life. Abandoned by her dad who just dumped her on her birth mom, abandoned by her birth mom who lost her in whatever fire hadn't actually managed to burn her alive, abandoned by Peter who had better things to do than babysit her all the time and act like he wanted her around and abandoned by the adoptive dad who'd spent half of his time on business trips.

And now Edward, who she'd figured to be her saving grace in this, was just wandering off to find his dad. And leaving her in the hands of pushy EMTs who were shoving her into the entrance of the emergency room to get looked over. One of them suggested that she give them her parents' number and immediately, panic set in.

"No! No, it's okay. My dad works, he's -- This isn't a big deal, I mean, I'm totally fine. I don't want to worry him if there's nothing wrong. If it turns out I've got some hemotoma-concussion-epileptic brain hemorrhage, I'll call him. I just want to talk to the doctor first."

The argument seemed to settle all right with the EMTs, who just took her into the urgent care section of the hospital and got her set up in a hospital bed. Not the kind of thing that would have flown if she were back in Odessa, but Forks was just small enough that the standard 'alert the parents immediately' thing could be at least delayed by enough complaining.

A phlebotomist hooked her up to an IV, took her blood pressure, checked her out for wounds and had her put on a hospital gown. Her eyes were trained with a certain degree of paranoia on the needle in her arm, wondering what kind of tests exactly they could justify her needing -- and where the hell Edward and his dad were with her get out of jail free card. Luckily, it took a good forty minutes to get help for anyone even in the most desolate hospitals, so for the most part, she just got to sit in the cold with saline pumping in her arm and her clothes set on the chair beside the bed, looking grumpy.

[likealocalgod]

"Just wandering" was really a poor choice of words to describe Edward's movement as he sought out Carlisle - rather, he moved with a grim sense of purpose, wishing fervently that his mental powers could work two ways. It would so much easier to just transmit a message to Carlisle, explaining the situation to him. So much quicker, but unfortunately his ability was a one-way ticket.

He didn't even make it all the way to the office - Carlisle must have heard his steps and recognized him by his gait. His surprised and friendly expression melted into one of immediate concern upon seeing Edward's features contorted as they were.

Edward, you didn't-- he thought, letting it hang, and Edward couldn't help but take some small relief in the tone of utter disbelief and torment which accompanied the fearful utterance. He hated to believe that Carlisle could have easily believed him capable of slipping so severely. Edward cut him off with a stern shake of the head.

"It isn't that."

The relief that cut through Carlisle's features, however, as he registered that Edward's eyes were still hued with gold, and void of any dots of crimson that would betray a diet of human blood, was less encouraging.

Of course not. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have even entertained the thought...

"There was an accident," Edward explained quickly, his voice as low as he could make it, aware that Carlisle would still hear every last word of it. "A van skidded across the ice. She was in the way. Alice saw it coming, but there wasn't time to do anything but really run across the lot and shove her out of the way." Carlisle's eyes widened instantly, processing what Edward meant by 'really' run immediately. Edward hastened to assure him. "No one noticed but her but..." His features twisted again. "I was too late."

My God, Edward-- If it was at all possible, the blood seemed to drain even further from Carlisle's features, so that he looked as white as the hospital walls that framed him.

"No, she's... alright," Edward said, shaking his head. "Something... happened. There's something--" How to even explain this? "Something about her. Something extraordinary. She was hit, and I saw the damage inflicted by the van, and then, before my eyes she--" His eyes flashed around, a useless instinct, given he could hear the thoughts of those anywhere around them and knew no one was listening. "She healed. Instantly."

Carlisle's eyes searched his, as if trying to better understand what he could mean, but Edward shook his head, frustrated. "I don't have time to explain it entirely - they insisted on bringing her here, but they'll find... well, I'm not certain what they might find if they're allowed to examine her. Which is why you need to do it."

Understanding the time constraints, Carlisle simply nodded sharply.

You did the right thing, Edward. I'm proud of you.

He went to move past him, but Edward hesitated a moment, before adding: "She knows there's something-- wrong with me."

There was no hesitation in Carlisle's response, no anger or disappointment in his thoughts. Edward couldn't help but feel an intense swell of gratitude, comparing it to the attitudes he knew the others might take.

"That doesn't matter," Carlisle said simply. "If we have to leave, we leave. What has she said?"

"Nothing. Yet," Edward admitted, averting his eyes.

Does she know you know her secret?

"She does. And for now that might be enough to keep her quiet, but she's expecting an-- explanation," Edward admitted. Carlisle frowned deeply, considering what the best course of action would be. Finally he just nodded to his office door.

"Wait here. I'll go check on the girl and we'll discuss it further."

There was no arguing that that was the wisest way to proceed for now, at least. If Carlisle didn't move quickly, someone else could discover just how 'healthy' Claire Butler was, and if her secret spilled out, she'd have no reason not to divulge his. Edward slipped into Carlisle's office to brood on that for the moment, wishing he could hear Claire's thoughts from there.

For now, he'd have to guess at them.

[hotterthanzeus]

No luck with Edward coming back to save her this time. Dr. Cullen made his way into the room noticeably alone, smiling at the phlebotomist with that million watt movie star grin of his that seemed to put them right at ease.

"I'll take it from here, thank you." He picked up her test results, thumbing through them, and then extending a friendly hand towards her. "So Miss Butler," he said, which may or may not have been particularly loaded, given what Edward had told him about her identity, "how are we feeling?"

[autophoenix]

There was something hugely inappropriate for her to think it given her situation, but Claire couldn't help that the minute Carlisle walked into the room, she was realizing exactly where Edward got it from. Not the personableness, because he was still hugely lacking in that even on his better days, but there was something stunningly handsome about the doctor, in that old guy way. Which was relative, considering he didn't even look that old.

She tried to search behind him to see if he brought his son with him, but … no such luck. Her brow furrowed a little, lips pursing, but she shifted her gaze back to meet the doctor's and managed to pull something more neutral off. She compliantly reached up to shake his hand, sitting up a little more in the bed. It took her a minute to process that Miss Butler was her -- it never stopped being a second-guessing kind of thing, even after the few weeks she'd been working with the name.

"I'm fine," she explained, grateful as the techs moved from the room. "Actually, I think I have your son to thank for that. You're Dr. Cullen, right?" It was probably a good idea to clear that up ahead of time. "If it hadn't been for Edward, I'd be … " Not here. Possibly hiding under a car to pretend I'd never been hit, but no, he had to see. "Pretty much flapjacked, actually." After a beat, she decided to just throw all in and admit something.

"I was a little shellshocked when the EMTs got there, do you think I could see him to say thanks? There was too much going on before, I never really got the chance ..."

[hotterthanzeus]

Luckily for Claire, one other thing Edward didn't inherit from Carlisle was his telepathy, and so the good Doctor was entirely immune to noticing if she stared a bit longer than was necessary. Plus, he was used to it. It came with being hotter than Zeus.

He couldn't help but notice, before anything else, that Edward hadn't been exaggerating about the potency of her blood. He had much more experience with self control than Edward ever had, but it still caused his own nostrils to flare for a moment, and he turned his head to examine a chart.

If he'd been right, and she did have some manner of... healing factor, it might account for that. If her cells could constantly regenerate, it would mean her blood was literally as fresh as blood could be. Any vampire with a red-blooded diet's dream come true.

He turned back to her with a reassuring smile again, once he knew the techs to be safely out of earshot.

"I'm afraid Edward's doing something for me, at the moment, but I'm certain you'll see him around shortly. And you don't have to thank him - he wouldn't have been able to forgive himself if he hadn't been there to help." He considered, watching her careful facade, how best to approach this. Be direct with her, or would that frighten her off?

He decided to compromise.

"He told me what happened." He said it evenly, watching her expression carefully.

[autophoenix]

The vague way he dismissed Edward as doing something for him had Claire's mind, which had been hardwired into conspiracy theories thanks to involvement with the Company, racing with paranoia. The corners of her mouth tugged downwards a little, despite her attempt to keep the casual smile up. And the deflation worsened when he made it clear that he knew what had happened.

Unless he didn't. She was wary as could be, hesitating for a long, tense moment as she tried to decide how exactly she wanted to approach this. Denial seemed like the safest bet, because it'd mean not getting her father called and her secret revealed. It meant avoiding the Company at all costs.

"He told you that he pulled me out of the way in time." She said it like clarification, but there was something stern to her tone, like she was fixed on this explanation and it was the only one she was going to acknowledge. "I had some scrapes from the asphalt, but they're not serious." She cleared her throat, moving on quickly now that she had made that clear, she felt.

"So, uh, if he told you what happened, I can just go, right? I mean, I don't really need to be here, and I really don't want to bug my dad at work, so …"

[hotterthanzeus]

That only set her further on edge, and his brilliant smile faded a bit into an anxious half-frown.

"The school's already called your father, and he should be on his way." He hesitated. Edward had said she was expecting an explanation, which meant she'd seen enough of whatever he had done to have suspicions about him. Potentially, then, about Carlisle himself. Maybe she was just afraid of him, and he couldn't blame her for that. Especially if she had her own secret on the line.

But the question, the real question, was whether she could be trusted not to say anything about them. If only Alice were here, she would have been able to counsel him on that.

"Is this the first time you've gotten into an accident like this?" he asked, meeting her gaze and raising his eyebrows. Maybe, if she had some kind of special gift, she hadn't known about it until now. If so, she had good reason to be afraid. "I can understand being shook up by it, but I'd like you to know that..." He stepped beyond her to set the file down, so she could look at him without him judging her expressions. "You can trust me, Claire."

It was a promise, an extended olive branch. He hoped she would see it for what it was, at least.

[autophoenix]

There was a long minute where she just stared at him, vulnerable and conflicted, trying to decide if she could trust that look in his eyes. He seemed so genuine, and so honest, and if he was really Edward's father then they should be able to trust him too, right? Edward had an ability. But the chances of him being with the Company were still there, and --

And she just needed somebody to talk to. She broke, shaking her head.

"No." She took a deep breath. There was something cathartic about admitting it out loud. "No, it wasn't the first time. It wasn't the tenth time. I've --" She shut her eyes for a moment, then opened them back up, wide and searching for answers in his gaze, to look at him. "There have been a lot of times that I should have died." A long pause followed again, quiet except for the squeaking of nurse sneakers in the hallway. She reached up and rubbed her hands over her face shaking her head and pushing them through her hair.

"Not that any of this matters anyway. If my dad knows, we won't be here long enough for any of it to matter. When he gets here, we'll be gone. Gone from the hospital, gone from town." She felt her chest constrict a little as her emotions jumped up a level in anxiety. She hated this. She hated running. Her voice grew a little higher. "Gone to some place even crappier than Forks is."

[hotterthanzeus]

If Carlisle had to breathe, he would be doing it easier now that she'd apparently decided to be honest. His gaze remained open and understanding as she spoke, even as his natural curiosity swelled up within over what she was describing. It was undoubtedly more than just a medical miracle, that much was clear.

When she was done speaking, her anxiety obvious even if he were unable to hear her accelerating heartbeat, he stepped forward and laid one hand gently on her shoulder.

"You, Edward and I are the only ones who know right now, Claire. And if you'd like, we can keep it that way." He couldn't help but feel for the poor girl. He understood all too well about the difficulties of uprooting ones existence over and over again, and he tried to spare his family there whenever possible.

[withhornrims]

There was a wealth of reassurance in the hand on her shoulder and she nodded mutely, eyes still fixed, steady and trusting, on his. She didn't have a choice, when it came down to it, but it was more than that. Carlisle seemed genuine. The same kind of warmth and earnestness to help that she'd seen in her uncle once, she could see in him now, and considering how secretive and hard to get close to Edward was to begin with … she wasn't exactly worried about him spreading her secret around the school.

But, that didn't say anything for how her father would feel about it. She reached a hand across her chest to rest it over his hand on her shoulder and opened her mouth to answer with gratitude, but was cut off by a noise in the hall.

"Claire!" She immediately snapped her eyes shut and cringed. Dad. Her reassured, trusting smile dropped into something of a grim frown and she turned to keep her eyes on the door of the exam room. There was some talking right outside of it that was too muffled, not shouted like her name had been, to be made out. Then, the door swung open and in it stood Noah Bennet.

He strode in and made his way to her bedside opposite Carlisle, his attention entirely fixed on her for the time being. He reached out to cup her face with his hands, looking her over to make sure she was okay -- as if she wouldn't be. It was hard to tell if this was just some act he'd picked up from the Company or if it was genuine, but the concern at least was real.

And why shouldn't it be? Claire had jeopardized all of them by allowing this to happen, and Noah already had a million different necessary strategies to get out of there worked up in his mind as it raced with worry over his daughter. They'd done this before, they could do it again. Move on, change their names, hide. Hide better, go deeper.

"Dad. Dad, I'm okay," Claire's reassurances came out quickly and she reached up with both hands to pull his away from her face. "The car missed me, Edward --" Oh god. She hadn't mentioned him before. She cleared her throat in a way that warranted some suspicion, despite her belief that it would dissuade it. "Dr. Cullen's son got me out of the way in time. I just hit my head on the ice, that's all. It's no big deal."

Picking up on her marginalizing of the incident, Noah fixed her with a steady look for a long moment and then nodded, moving his hands to just rest beside her on the bed. One hand folded around hers and squeezed.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again," he said stiffly, the words laced with a plethora of hidden meanings. She was in trouble. Major trouble, for getting so much attention drawn to herself. So much for under the radar. She pursed her lips like she was going to argue, then looked back at Carlisle and wound up just lowering her head in silent understanding.

"Yeah. Okay, I'm -- Dad, I'm sorry."

"I know you are, sweetheart." There was something more fatherly and comforting in his voice as he said that, realizing that Claire had probably been just as frightened by all of this as he was. She knew the risks, he'd briefed her on them enough times. She knew how dangerous it was that the Company might catch wind of them. So, he softened accordingly, thumb brushing over her hand on the hospital bed.

He looked up at Carlisle, gaze rushed and demanding behind horned rims.

"You must be the doctor. How soon can I take my daughter home?"

[hotterthanzeus]

Carlisle was infinitely grateful that they'd gotten to at least reach the point in their exchange where they could reach a sort of mutual assurance of how they would deal with her father before his sudden arrival. She might not have gotten to voice how she felt, but he had seen in her eyes a moment of decision, and knew she was going to at least choose to trust him... for the moment. It was better than nothing and might buy them some slim time to figure out how to deal with this situation.

The doctor studied the father out of the corner of his eye as he moved in to examine Claire, and picked up several things immediately from the man's protective body language. It was obvious that he was chastening her for being in this situation in the first place, and Carlisle felt a pang of sympathy for the girl as she spilled out her apologies and assurances.

Affixing the most pleasant smile he could on his face, he thrust out a hand to Mr. Butler for a shake.

"Carlisle Cullen. I'm glad you could come right out, Mr. Butler. It shouldn't be very long at all." He nodded with his head behind him towards the girl, his eyes flashing to hers with friendly reassurance. "She's a lucky girl. No injuries whatsoever, just a little spill." He folded both hands in front of him over his clipboard. "We just wanted to double check that she'd be alright before releasing her. You understand."

[withhornrims]

He'd known this situation was inevitable but he'd hoped to put it off for at least several more months. The idea that they could ever really stop running if he truly wanted to hide Claire was absurd. Still, he'd had that glimmer of hope. Now, though, his expression steeled a little. Reaching out, he clapped a firm grip onto Carlisle's hand and shook it, fixing him with an intent look.

"Thank you, Doctor." He shifted his gaze to Claire as he spoke, words taking on a different meaning when in the context of being given to her. "I'd do anything to keep my little girl safe. I'm glad you're looking after her." Releasing the doctor's hand, he moved to smooth one over Claire's hair, consoling.

Claire, in the mean time, looked stubbornly uncomfortable with all of this. She knew what was coming, unavoidably. She'd be yelled at. They'd have to move. Lyle would hate her more.

"Let's get you dressed and I'll work on the release paperwork," he said to his daughter, then looked back to Carlisle. "If that's all right with you. Her mother's in knots worrying. I'd like to get her discharged as soon as possible." He moved his hands away from Claire and indicated the door with a nod of his head so that they could go do the paperwork while Claire got changed.

[hotterthanzeus]

"Of course," Carlisle said, still pleasant, despite noticing Claire's discomfort in the background. He felt a twinge of sympathy for the girl, afraid her father would be reading her the riot act the moment he got her home. He wished there was something he could do to make it even clearer that her secret hadn't been compromised, and he frowned to himself as he turned around out of view of Mr. Butler.

"Like I said, she only required a cursory examination, which she passed with flying colors. My son, Edward, happened to be there to pull her out of the way, which was quite a stroke of luck." Perhaps if he were convinced Claire hadn't been so much as touched, like her story was, he wouldn't consider this such an emergency.

[withhornrims]

Claire was left behind to hurriedly swap back into her street clothes while Noah followed Carlisle out, intending to take care of the discharge process. The reassurance wasn't entirely odd to him -- after all, what worried parent didn't want to have repeatedly drilled into their head that their child was fine after an afternoon in the hospital? It didn't merit a second thought.

"Very lucky," he murmured his agreement with a certain amount of thoughtfulness. Because when it came down to it, there was something that merited a second thought there. Not Claire's condition, but Edward's. This boy. One that Claire hadn't seen fit to mention, apparently. "Here's to hoping that she doesn't need any more luck to keep out of these situations."

There was a stern implication in his voice that indicated luck or the help of Carlisle's son, but it went unspoken as they strode down the pristine white hallways.