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

Comments

[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.

[hotterthanzeus]

Carlisle chuckled coolly at that observation, a dismissive compliment instantly ready to try and smooth things over further: "I think she's definitely learned a lesson today, if anything. A sharp girl like that will be sure to be on her guard from now on."

He did, however, also catch that other tone, which was a bit more difficult to address. And probably better to leave unspoken entirely. He gestured up ahead towards where Nurse Nancy was seated at the desk. "If you'd like to fill out the last paperwork with Nancy there, we can send you both on your way."

[likealocalgod]

He knew he should be waiting in Carlisle's office, like he'd said, but he wanted to get a clearer read on Claire's father's thoughts, which involved getting a bit closer. Hence why Edward was standing to the side in one of the hallways branching off from the main walk, arms folded, watching the tiles on the floor as he attempted to glean what further information he might about the mystery of Claire Butler.

Her father was outraged. That much was obvious even without mind reading capabilities. He was impressed, as usual, with Carlisle's easy way of dealing with it, dispersing the anger with a gentle word wherever he could to try and keep it from boiling over.

It'd be easier for Claire that way, he hoped.

He didn't realize that he was actually hearing Claire until it was too late, so caught up was he in thinking about her. He attempted to take a step out of his obvious spot in the hallway, into the arch of a doorway, but didn't dare move with vampiric speed. Too much people observing him here - too many cameras and nurses walking by.

[autophoenix]

Unfortunately, Claire had spent enough time avoiding the kinds of people who lurked around corners to try and stay hidden that she'd gotten pretty decent at spotting them. So, when she came out of the room with her shoes slipped back on and wearing some clothes that didn't allow for chilly, uncomfortable breezes due to a seriously absent back, she started at the sight of Edward.

He'd stayed? It had her mind freezing up a little bit from the sheer surprise, sufficiently distracting her from the worry about her dad. Her expression creased in confusion as she watched him duck into the arch of a doorway, like he was trying to keep her from noticing.

So, not only did he stay, but he didn't stay just to get the credit for it. That was enough to embolden Claire to head over to him. She stepped right up to the doorway, then glanced around, then pushed him lightly so that he'd head further inside the empty examination room that it belonged to. She followed him in, because lord knew she didn't want anyone else hearing what she was about to say.

"I'm sorry." It was obviously something that was hard for her to admit, because it was accompanied by this begrudging and awkward look on her face. There was a pause before she explained. "I should have trusted you. And I didn't. And -- I'm sorry. Your dad …" She glanced back out the door into the hallway, thoughtful. The point was made. He was a good man, he made sure that she wasn't in any epic trouble despite her hospital visit. And hopefully, as they spoke, he was cooling her own dad down some.

[likealocalgod]

Suddenly, Claire was not just noticing him, but cornering him, so close that the heat of her seemed a tangible sort of thing. And then she drove him into the little room, that had, of course, no windows.

The scent struck him as powerfully as it ever had. He tensed slightly under her scrutiny, as his imagination ran wildly through him. A crack of bones, a river of blood, a satiation he hadn't experienced in years and...

And her apology acted as an appropriate slap out of that mindset. It was as surprising as anything else he'd experienced with her - even seeing her heal from the sort of injuries she'd sustained. It was even more surprising because of how sincere she was about it - her thoughts made that entirely clear.

He was entirely torn.

He knew what he should do here. Push her apology away. Her secret was safe now, but Edward was the keeper of it. It gave him power in this situation that he would need to exercise, if he meant to drive her away from uncovering his secret.

"--is a good man," Edward said, finishing her sentence, but his tone wasn't appreciate. Just cold and tight. "And he's waiting for you now. So is your father. They'll wonder where you are if you don't hurry."

It was a dismissal, but he needed to avoid an interrogation, no matter what. He attempted to move towards the doorway, as if to end the conversation right then and there.

[autophoenix]

"If I don't -- " Her tone took a turn for the confused and she slowly shook her head. "I don't care. I don't care about any of that, they can wonder all they want." He was being distant again. It was like there were two Edward Cullens. One who was nice, friendly, who she could talk to and get along with, one who saved her life through the kind of feat of strength that no regular person could manage. And then there was the Edward standing in front of her now. Cold. Hard. Distant. Like there was some invisible forcefield that she had to penetrate just to talk to him, let alone get more than one word answers. The Edward that she was so sure hated her from that very first day.

Slowly, growing incredulous and just a little hurt, she let disbelief enter her voice, bordering on pleading as she realized what he was trying to do. Pull back. Get distance between them again, but she wasn't going to let it happen. He couldn't just show her something like that, make her feel like she was just a little less of a freak, and then pull back entirely. It wasn't fair.

"I'm not gonna just walk away right now. Edward, you pushed a car off of me, and probably saved my life." She didn't mean physically. It wasn't like if he hadn't pushed it, she wouldn't have survived right then. But, if he hadn't reacted and gotten her out from under it, if he hadn't been there, chances were she'd be in a lab right now and not with him wondering what she'd done wrong to deserve this brush-off. She'd be out of Forks in no time, if she even managed to before the Company got her. So, yeah. As far as Claire was concerned, it was life or death.

"Don't you think maybe that's something we need to talk about?"

[likealocalgod]

Edward really shouldn't have been surprised in the least that she wasn't going to make this easy for him. When had she made anything 'easy' for him since the very first day she arrived here? There was something about her very presence that made her seem to practically exist for the mere sake of making things difficult for him.

But if she thought she was going to be able to needle him into a conversation with sheer stubbornness, she'd have to learn the hard way what dealing with someone with patience born of a century of hiding and lying was like.

"What's there to say?" he asked, his words cutting through the air as sharply as he could make them, void of emotion. "There's nothing to talk about." He raised his eyebrows at her as if he were talking to a particularly slow child. "You want this incident forgotten," he reminded her, "consider it forgotten." With a nonchalant shrug, he moved towards her again as if to slide past. There was a veiled threat in his sentence - if she continued to push, he might make what had happened to her public, and he had a better idea of what she was capable of than she had about what he was. That much was clear in her thoughts.

He wasn't 'like her', after all. And he was hardly afraid of brushing off those kinds of accusations. He could think of plenty of easy ways to dismiss what he'd done through rational explanations, that she wouldn't accept, necessarily, but would derail her from the truth, if she insisted upon hounding him about it.