Blood Moon [a Twilight Saga FanFiction]

Goodbye, Doctor

THE REMAINDER OF ESME'S ILLNESS WENT BY RATHER SLOWLY. Carlisle went back to work to play the grieving family as according to Esme, who went to work in the days after the fire while I was hiding, everybody was waiting for him to return before they held a memorial.
     It was sweet.
     I was definitely going to watch. It wasn't every day that you get to watch your own funeral service.
     My family would be there, even Esme was going to "tough it out" and sit through the memorial and just not stay for work. It would be the first time Igor would be in town since the fire.
     They were using the Church as a makeshift Hospital and it was where my memorial was being held. How ironic, thanks, Dad.
     I hid in the shadows on the other side of the street, stealing an ability that Igor was taught by the Romanians, how to disappear into the shadows completely, hidden from even vampiric view.
     In front of the Church was a surprising amount of people, all in some sort of black or dark grey. The Cullens arrived first and our colleagues converged on Carlisle and Esme, apologising for their loss, saying about how great I was and everything.
     When Igor arrived, everyone went over to him, it was actually thanks to Carlisle, Emmett, Edward, and Jasper that everyone left him alone.
     On the other side of the guests to me, there was a man-made stage. On the stage, there was a table that had a whole bunch of flowers surrounding my staff photo and a few smaller pictures of me with my child patients.
     Hannah Collin was the first to walk on stages. Her cheeks were a bright pink and her eyes wet.
     "Thank you too, ah, everyone who came today. I think Igor, Carson, and their family would all agree with me when I say that it just wouldn't be right to honour this beautiful woman. I only speak for myself when I say just how much I'm going to miss her. Her amazing smile that could turn any girl," she said and I had to cover my mouth so I didn't laugh. "I don't think I've had a good night sleep since the fire that enveloped our Hospital. Not because of how absolutely terrifying it was, but because the one woman, who on my birthday told me the reason she became a Doctor, is because every life, no matter the past, deserves to be saved. She ran into the flames for her patients, for her family. For her friends. I can't even imagine how scared she must have been, but I do know, that I will never meet anyone as brave and as loving and as wonderful, as Doctor Lizzie Fuller.
     "I will always remember the number of times I stood back, waiting just a little bit longer to talk to her, just to watch the smile light up on her patients' faces when she played with them. I will always remember seeing over the security camera, a child crying or her breaking protocol and rocking a certain child to sleep. She's here, that child. Being brave."
     "Lucy," I sighed.
     "Doctor Lizzie Fuller will definitely be missed by many. Her colleagues, her friends, and maybe just as equally has her family, her patients. Who now have no one to make them laugh when their parents are too busy to visit, and who no longer have someone to hold them on their worst nights. Liz was definitely out purest paediatrician, no offence Toes. We will miss her greatly. Miss Arnold? You wanted to say a few words?"
     I held my breath as the one patient I really did love, walked on the stage. And without any help. It brought a smile to my face how she didn't wear a scarf around her head, showing it off proudly.
     "Hi, everyone," Lucy started and looked to the sky before she looked to the paper in her hand. "Um, I'm Lucy Arnold, and I have leukaemia. I have had it since I was five. Before Doctor Fuller came to town, and the rumours began of a new Doctor coming to the hospital, and that she'd be working with children, I asked the only other child doctor in town to give me to her. There was just something inside me, that knew she'd be different. She'd make a difference. The past four and a half years have been the best and worst days of my life. Worst, because I learnt that my real family didn't abandon me, they died. The best, because I had a new family, in the Hospital staff, in my Doctor and her husband who were always there for me." Lucy put down the paper and smiled out to the crowd. "You know, she used to play games with me? She'd bring me a present every day. Make me guess what it was. She told me that my intuition was amazing, like a sixth sense. The worst, because my doctors, my mum, my sister, and my best friend, died. I was one of the first kids she pulled out of the Hospital when the blaze started. I'll remember how she smiled at me before she ran back in and how she didn't tell me to be strong and to never give up. But I have a promise to make and I think everyone needs to make it, too. Lizzie was strong for not only her family but for everyone. It's our turn now," Lucy said as a tear fell from her eye. "It's our turn, to keep fighting, no matter what, to stay strong. Lizzie," she said quietly and her eyes rested directly on me. I knew she couldn't seem me, but something in the depth of my stomach warned me that she knew. "I will never give up, I will survive because you loved me."
     She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and a nurse helped her off the stage.
     "Carson?" Hannah Collin said softly. I followed her eyes and caught sight of Carlisle, his head was down, probably pretending to be grieving. So Esme got up instead.
     She pulled her cardigan tighter around her and walked up to the stage. Right, she was pretending to be sick.
     Though, when she was facing me I saw something that made my jaw drop. Carlisle wasn't hiding his face pretending to be in grief, he was hiding in because of his shock. There were tears falling down Esme's face! Actual, real, tears!
     "Hello," Esme said before clearing her throat a few times. She was making her voice sound raspy. Sick. "I didn't know Lizzie like my husband did. I always found it funny, that even though they lived completely different lives they both ended up in the same place. Risking their lives for complete strangers. What I do know about Lizzie, is that she... she truly was an artist, her job was her art and she did it with such a passion and love that... well, made me really think about why I wanted to become a nurse. But I have so much more than that to thank Lizzie for. She saved my Carson. She let him jump out of the only good window left, with a patient, and told him to return to his family. It's because of the sister I never knew, that I still have a husband to hold on to every night, and I'm never going to take that for granted again. In the brief time that I did know her, she helped me in ways that were more than family. But I don't believe that this is the end for her. I refuse to believe that there is nothing after this life for someone as amazing and as beautiful as Lizzie Fuller. Her family, though we knew her little, will miss her, so much. We will never forget you."
     And as an added touch, she blew a kiss into the sky.

     I have to kiss her when we get home, I thought with a grin.
     Hannah Collin came back on stage, bawling now. She followed Esme's notion of blowing a kiss into the sky, took a deep breath and looked straight to Igor.  His head was down, hiding from everyone. I could see his shoulders shaking, acting. He had practice pretending I was dead.
     "Thank you, Anne, that was beautiful. Um... we all talk about how she'll be missed. How much she was loved, but no man knew this more than his husband. Igor, I can understand if you don't want to say a few words. All of our hearts go out to you. We hope you stay strong and live the life your wife wanted to live. To be happy, even though it seems impossible. You've spent so long helping the people of our town, now it's time for our town to help you. Igor Fuller, we loved your wife but none of us can imagine the pain you must be feeling," Collin said before looking out to the crowd again.
     Igor stood and walked towards where the cars were. No one would blame him, but they would all worry for him.
     "The school choir have prepared a little song for our town hero. During the song, if anyone wants to come up and pay their respects, please, feel free."
     I didn't want to see the rest of this, and I needed to find Igor, so I was about to leave when my eyes rested on Lucy. She was staring right at me again.
     Nurse Kylie called her name and she smiled towards me before turning to Kylie.
     I found Igor, leaning against his car. Carlisle was the first to approach him and they just embraced each other, something people would expect my brother and husband to do at my funeral. Esme kissed his cheek.
     A few of our town friends approached him, gave him a quick handshake, rested a hand on his shoulder, apologised again for his loss.
     He got in the car and left before the choir finished.
     I then raced him back to the Cullen's residence and ran straight into his arms when he got there.
     "I hope you never have to pretend I'm dead again, that was hard to watch," I muttered into his neck.
     "That Lucy," Igor said into my hair. "Her speech was beautiful. I wonder if Mary Alice made the connection?"
     "Do we think Carlisle and the others will stay back to help clean up? It's usually family who helps do that, right?" I asked and sat with Igor.
     "We'll see, Esme is still sick."
     "This chemical is strange. Esme was crying!"
     "I saw that. That was... wonder what it felt like?"
     "I mean, eating was strange enough, crying? Who knows," I said.
     Igor looked around the house before looking back at me. He put his hands on either side of my head and grinned.
     "Well, while we're alone..."
     He kissed me and I felt the passion and desire behind it. I wanted to follow, I really wanted to follow, it had been too long, but...
     I pulled away shaking my head.
     "We're at my brothers' house," I reminded him and he dropped his hands with a laugh. "I think we should try and be civil"
     "I love you."
     "I love you, too."
     He kissed me again, this one I let continue. There wasn't a big urgency behind it. We were together now, and it didn't matter if we had to kill some humans, or whatever came next, as long as that fact remained, we'd be okay.
     We did break apart, however, when one of my brothers' cars turned into the driveway.
     The girls had returned home.
     Mary Alice skipped out of the car before Rosalie had the chance to stop it, Nessie shimmied out after her.
     "The boys stayed behind to help clean up," Mary Alice said, skipping up to us. "It was a lovely memorial, Liz."
     "I thought so, too."
     "My favourite part was when your patient talked about your games with her."
     Igor and I chuckled and then Esme got out of the car and I immediately ran up to her, pulling her into a hug and kissing her cheeks.
     She was laughing when I finished.
     "How weird was it to cry?" I asked, linking my arms in hers and walking back inside with her.
     "Very," she chuckled. "Carlisle couldn't keep the surprise off his face."
     "Wish I saw it."
     "Sorry I didn't get a good view of it," Nes said.
     "I think we all were a bit too surprised at Esme's tears," Rosalie shrugged.
     "Lucy's speech was very moving," Esme shrugged and sat back down on the couch.
     We all laughed at her and waited for the men to come home. Well, they waited, I sat on Igor's lap and kept an eye on my puffy-eyed sister.