Charlie came bursting through the doors to the ward where Bella and Chaney were laid out on beds. His arrival announced with a bang that made Chaney wince as it reverberated through his aching head. "Bella?" 

"Here dad", she sighed as he came running over to pull her into a hug. Shoes squeaking on the polished floor and nurses ignoring the scene with well practised skills. "It was just a bump on the head. I don't need to be here". Her tone was bordering on a whining complaint but she leaned into the touch.

"We'll see what the doctor says", Charlie stated. He took a deep breath and seemed to calm down as he pulled away. "How did you hit your head?"

Bella took a deep breath. Chaney watching her from the gap in the curtains between their beds. The flimsy fabric doing nothing to hide their voices. He was propped up in his own. Left arm resting on a pillow and very welcome painkillers entering his system through the needle in the crook of his elbow. He usually didn't like needles but he'd take this one if it eased up the pain radiating from his wrist. The skin of which currently swelling and brushing in a rainbow of colours. He wondered if the rest of his forming bruises were doing the same.

Bella gripped her dad's hands. "I didn't even know what happened. It was all so fast. Chaney just suddenly threw me into the back of the truck. I hit my head on the edge as the van it us. It would have crushed me dad". Her voice was detached, more shocked than freaked out. "Dawn said that she'd drive my truck back to the house. Though I kicked her pretty hard when I landed".

Charlie exhaled in relief. "Anyone else hurt?"

"Andy and Dawn have some bruises. But they didn't have to come in the ambulance. I was just waiting with Chaney for a doctor to come back with his X-ray results". She gestured to his bed and Charlie turned.

"Hey Charles", the man sighed as he took in the visibly injured arm. "How are you holding up?"

"How many times to I have to correct you Chief Swann? It's Chaney", came the grumbled reply.

The man chuckled. "As many times as it takes kid. You can called me Charlie, you know. I should have made that clear earlier. You are living with me and you did just save my daughter's life". He reached out to seemingly pat Chaney on the shoulder but retracted his hand awkwardly when the boy flinched.

"Don't mention it", Chaney muttered. The painkillers were making him sleepy. He always found it a rather strange sensation. Drug induced haze dulling the instincts he relied so much upon. It was both a relief, to have some mental rest, and terrifying to be so vulnerable. 

The three of them were saved any further awkwardness by the doors opening again and the arrival of the most eye-catching doctor Chaney had ever seen. He was young, for starters. Around early thirties but could be younger. He had tidy blonde hair gelled away from his face and clear pale skin. His eyes, when he looked up from his clipboard at them, were bright amber. Chaney knew before the man had even opened his mouth that this was the doctor Carlisle Cullen that he had heard about. With eyes like that, it was impossible for him to be anyone else. Those eyes were the same as Edward's. 

He seemed to glide across the room rather than stride and in an instant he was beside Chaney's bed. "Chief Swann. Your daughter is free to go. Just avoid bright screens and bright lights and rest up for the rest of the day".

Charlie nodded with relief on his face. "Thank you Dr Cullen".

"What about Chaney?" Bella asked as she hopped off her bed.

Carlisle smiled and Chaney felt the familiar danger signals, muted but still there, that told him that he was in the presence of a predator. It wasn't hard to figure out that he was the same kind go monster. "Mr Shakerly is not a fortunate I am afraid. He has a compound fracture in his wrist, which will need to be set. He also has a slight concussion, which will need to be watched carefully. From what I've heard happened, both of you are lucky you weren't injured worse".

"That's cause Eddie let his human mask slip", Chaney muttered under his breath with a giggled that he would later blame on the painkillers. It went unnoticed by the two Swanns but he spotted the slight tightness in Carlisle's smile. That same thrill surged through his veins, even more potent than the drugs, and he gave the doctor a cheeky smile. A monster as a doctor, funny. 

"Only cause Chaney threw me into the truck. That saved me", Bella pointed out.

"Don't you dare develop a crush on me", Chaney warned. "I don't do that hero worship shit". 

"As if", she scowled at him. He just grinned sleepily at her.

"Very heroic of him", Carlisle chuckled. "Chaney, in a moment one of the nurses will take you to go and get your arm in a cast. You can choose the colour".

"You should get purple", Bella suggested.

"No".

"Chief Swann, since you're here", Carlisle interrupted before the two teens could begin squabbling. "I've had emails and calls from a Mr Aberdeen about fostering Mr Shakerly. I have been talking to my family about the prospect and I believe that we would be open to one more ward". It might have just been to Chaney but the offer seemed almost threatening.

Living with a bunch of monsters, one of which seemed to have some sort of fascination with him, was not the most ideal prospect. He had a feeling that he was so close to figuring out what they were. A step away. All he needed was one thing. One thing and everything would make sense. Although he might be dead by then. It would not be hard for the Cullens to 'disappear' him if they took custody. However, Chaney wasn't to terrified at the thought. He had long ago accepted that he would die young, so being killed by monsters might just be an interesting way to go.

 He wondered how Edward would kill him. He had super strength, maybe he'd rip him apart? Break his neck? Drive those hands through his ribcage and rip out his heart? The thought made him snigger to himself. Chaney did not think that he would mind that, if it was Edward. He was a beautiful monster and it would give him a sick satisfaction to be the blood that stained his hands. 

Something caught his attention and he blinked at Carlisle as he mentally returned to the conversation. Charlie was speaking. "His probation officer is on his way. I notified him of the accident and he should be here within the hour. I am sure the two of you can discuss it further".

"How do you feel about it? He seems to be settled in your home", Carlisle asked. Chaney frowned at the fact that they were discussing him as if he wasn't there. Bella turned to him and they both rolled their eyes. Adults had a tendency to do this. Chaney guessed that he should be used to it by now.

Charlie sighed again. "Bella. Could you go to the canteen and grab Charles a drink?"

"A sweet one would be recommended", Carlisle nodded.

Bella turned her eyed onto Chaney. He sighed. "Orange juice? With no pulp? Or a milkshake? Strawberry?"

"You have the taste buds of a twelve year old".

"Trust me, if you had to live with juvie food for two years, you'd want sugar too".

Bella huffed at that but grabbed her coat and headed for the doors. The two men watched her go before Charlie resumed talking. Chaney relaxing back on his pillows and staring up at the ceiling.

"To be honest. I don't have the time to look after two teens. Charles is turning eighteen in July anyway. So he just needs a foster home until then".

Carlisle hummed. "We have a spare room. And I am sure that my children can take him to school. My son, Edward, has talked about him and I am sure that he will fit well with us".

"Wait until you read my record", Chaney grumbled. The painkillers were wearing off and he winced.

Carlisle noticed it, because of course he did. Inhuman senses and all that. Chaney inwardly grumbled about it. "Seems like we should get that break in a cast". He flashed a handsome smile that did nothing to stop Chaney's heartbeat picking up. It was like being smiled at by a tiger. "Nurse Braddock. Are you able to take Mr Shakerly here to get his arm in a cast?"

A smiling woman old enough to be Chaney's mother with tanned skin and a friendly face came bustling over. She was tiny but surprisingly strong as she helped him off the bed and into a wheelchair. He tried to protest the chair but she didn't listen and instead rebuffed with his weak complaints with a smile as she helped him down from the bed and into the chair. Her hands keeping his arm steady as he winced and hissed. Still, it was not as painful as the time he had gotten stabbed.

 As she was wheeling the chair out of the ward, Chaney glanced up and down the hospital corridor. His chair turned off to the left corridor but he stayed watching the corridor directly ahead of the doors until the wall cut off his sight. Edward was standing at the end. The windows on the right wall of the hall combined with the hospital lights seemed to make him as pale as the walls. It brought up the tones in his hair and the pink colour in his lips as they stretched into a slow smile at Bella. The girl had a milkshake bottle in one hand and was talking happily to him. Her back to Chaney. 

As he watched, Edward lifted his head and met his gaze over her shoulder. The smile, polite and charming, grew into something more real. It was sinister, smug like a cat with a mouse. Chaney swallowed as something in his head urged him to do something. Call for Bella to get her away from the monster, or call for Edward to get all his attention back onto him. In the end, he did neither. The wall cut off his vision and he was left stewing. 

---------------------------

Because of the concussion they were keeping him overnight for observation. Chaney thought that it was all bullshit but Charlie seemed grateful that he did not have to look after two injured teens, despite the fact that Bella was fine. The chief seemed rattled by the freak accident and his job was already stressful enough as it was. Chaney understood why the man agreed so easily for Doctor Cullen to keep him there. It was not as if he knew what they were. 

Carlisle even had him moved to a private room. He used some sort of doctor privilege on the account that he was apparently intending to foster him. Chaney suspect that he just brainwashed the rest of the staff. Maybe that was one of his abilities? He had not clue but it was fun to imagine. 

It was quieter in the single room. Charlie had promised to bring his things over once he had officially finished his shift since Bella had been advised not to drive for a few days. Yet when the knock on the door came, it opened to reveal Aberdeen. He took one look at Chaney in the hospital bed in nothing but his t-shirt and boxers, luckily he was also wrapped in a blanket, and sighed. "Either you have terrible luck or amazing luck", he commented as he shut the door and tossed a familiar backpack onto the end of the bed. 

Chaney just waved his casted arm at him in greeting. The dark green plastic covered bandages binding his wrist still yet it still throbbed under all the layers. "Don't worry. The demon stalking me saved the day", he grinned. The painkillers had worn off and he was too tired and sore to put too much sarcasm into the joke but that did not matter. Only he got the joke. Aberdeen just spared him an unimpressed look as he took the visitor's chair. 

"Terrible luck because you almost died. Amazing luck because I have just had a conversation with Doctor Cullen and he is willing to foster you". 

Chaney laughed. It had no humour. Just the fear and giddiness as it dawned that he really was going to be sent to live with a family of monsters. Where anything could happen. "A question", he voiced as the hysterical giggles died. "Is it okay to date a foster sibling?" 

Aberdeen frowned at him. "What? Got a crush on one of Dr Cullen's children?"

"Edward is pretty cute", Chaney shrugged, then winced as it aggravated the bruises on his back. "Considering he is probably going to kill me".

"You're only being fostered for a short time anyway. Go wild. It would be by far the least worse thing on your record", the man sighed. He seemed far too tired for this conversation. "Though let Edward know that if he does kill you, it would mean less paperwork for me. Do you know how many kids I manage? Far too many".

Chaney didn't care. "I'll let him know. Although he doesn't need the encouragement". It came out smaller than he expected and he sighed. It was one thing to accept that you were probably going to die, but another to know that your death would have no impact. That you would be forgotten. He was a delinquent, a troublemaker with no family and barely any friends. It would not be hard to orchestrate his death. That was probably why Edward had singled him out after all. He was easy to control and make disappear. 

"What do you think about it? Being fostered by the Cullens". 

The question broke Chaney from his self-pitying spiral. He shrugged. "Chief Swann was only supposed to take me temporarily. He can't keep me for much longer, said so himself. And the other places won't take me, right? So I guess that it doesn't matter". 

"I can try and find places in Seattle. There will be people who are willing to take you there", Aberdeen stated. "It would mean leaving Forks and changing schools, which I know you rejected when we discussed options before your release. There are other options". 

"Why are you offering the choice?" Chaney frowned at the man. 

Samuel Aberdeen sighed and leaned back in his chair. "You're a troubled kid, but not a bad one. I thought I would offer you a choice at least". 

Chaney thought it over. Leave it all and run away never to return. It might have been tempting to someone who was more afraid, who had more self preservation and less of a death wish. And it was tempting, he could not deny that. Yet he knew that running would not solve it. There was no telling what Edward would do if he left. If he would hunt him down. Yet even as tempting as the offer to flee was, he would not take it. Forks was his home for better or worse. "I'll go to the Cullens", he chose even though saying it out loud felt like staring at an axe hanging over his head. He tried to play it off. "They sound rich". 

Aberdeen eyed him for a long moment before nodding his head. "Alright. It's been agreed that you can go tomorrow. Chief Swann will be by in the morning with your school supplies and the rest of your clothing and Dr Cullen will take you home at the end of his shift. I will be by on Sunday to check on things then". 

Seemingly done he pushed himself out of his seat and turned towards the door. "Get some rest Shakerly", he called over his shoulder as he opened the door. 

"You too old man!" Chaney shouted in reply as the door swung shut. 

The room fell into silence. Nothing but the weak loudly light drifting slowly in through the window and the muffled noises of the rest of the hospital crawling under the door. He laid his head back against the pillow, body aching yet too tired to press the nurse button and ask for more painkillers. His head was pounding dimly and he closed his eyes, ignoring the rising pressure in his chest and the gathering dampness in his eyes. 

------------------------------

Chaney blinked open his eyes to the gloom of night. His small room lit by the yellow glow of a streetlight outside creeping through the window. His mouth felt fuzzy but the aches in his body and the pounding in his head had died down a bit. A welcome sensation compared to hours earlier. Yet before he even had to turn his head towards the chair that his night time stalker was back. His instincts were working full blast and he took a moment to sigh slowly and rub his eyes before he finally turned his head. 

Edward was sprawled across the chair watching him with the same unnerving quality of an owl. He didn't blink, Chaney noticed. Probably didn't need to. He wasn't breathing either, chest still and no sound of moving air left his lips. Here, in this room with just the two of them, the human mask was cracked enough to show the monster inside. Regardless if he looked like a damned model doing an advert for winter knitwear. He was beautiful and terrifying. 

Chaney stared at the creature before him for a minute, watching Edward not blink and absorbing the way the orange light reflected across his face. Eventually he swallowed and opened his mouth. "You should have let me die". His voice was dry. 

Edward shifted, swinging his legs down from where they had been slung over one of the arms of the chair, and reached for a jug of water on the bedside table. He poured out a cup and handed it wordlessly over. Chaney took it in his good arm, fingers brushing against icy cold skin, and sat up slightly to drink it. The moment made him make a small soft noise of pain as it jogged his broken arm, the painkillers long since worn off. As the water cleared his mouth and soothed his vocal chords he could have sworn that Edward's gaze darkened. It was hard to tell in the gloom but the weight of that stare felt like a chain. 

When he was done, Edward took the cup again and set it back on the table. "It's just a broken arm and a concussion", Chaney muttered, part of him grumpy at the invalid treatment. 

"I forget how fragile humans are", Edward muttered. It was almost startling to hear his voice outside the light of day. He had never spoken during his nightly stalking before. 

"Humans. Finally admitting that I am right Eddie?" Chaney tried to smile but it collapsed in on itself as reality dawned. He knew he had been right but it was another thing to hear it confirmed aloud. 

"I considered playing it off", Edward thought aloud. "Gaslighting you into believing that it was all  a psychotic break. Carlisle would have easily gotten you committed to a mental hospital. Alice objected to that". 

Chaney had never spoken to Alice but he felt a surge of gratefulness towards her for that save. "You should have let me die", he repeated. "Then your secret would be safe. Why did you save me? Especially if you are only planning on killing me later". 

Edward paused for a moment. He leaned closer, resting one arm on the bed and interlocking his fingers with Chaney's good hand. The touch was as cold as he was expecting but the lack of heat was as welcome as a cool breeze. It could almost be classified as romantic and a part of Chaney enjoyed it. If it wasn't for everything else. 

"Rosalie asked me that", the monster mused. "But I don't want you to die. Not yet. You fascinate me. It would be a waste". 

"So you're keeping me like a sort of pet? Eat me when you grow bored of me?" Maybe his voice should have held more emotion but Chaney already knew that he do nothing. He could only dance along to whatever tune the two of them had made. 

Edward shook his head. Amber eyes, far brighter than they had been earlier that day fixed on their joined hands. "No. You are more than a pet. I want to know you. I want inside that frustrating head of yours. I want you, heart, body and soul. Then I'll kill you". It was a promise spoken was a far too sweet smile. His teeth straight and perfect white. It was easy to imagine them stained red with blood. 

Chaney inhaled as the last shoe dropped. The thing that had been staring him right in the face clicked into place and he realised why type of monster was holding his hand. He'd had a book when he was younger. His mother had used to read it to him as bedtime stories. It held the legends of the local Native American tribes, including the Quileute tribe. Cold ones, he was almost ashamed with himself for how long it took for him to figure it out. It made sense now. Monsters in human form. 

He smiled, matching Edwards. "You want to kill me? But romantically? Rather gay of you Eddie". 

Edward laughed and it was as eye-catching as blossom among winter trees. "Chaney. You keep on surprising me", he grinned. This one far more boyish than the predator's smile before. 

Chaney wanted to say something else but a yawn over took him. Edward stopped laughing. "You should sleep". 

"So you can watch me like the pervert you are?" He grumbled. Despite his words, he shifted a bit to make himself more comfortable in the hospital sheets. 

"You haven't told me to stop yet". 

"As if you would have listened". It came out mumbled as drowsiness set in. Chaney peered at the vampire through half lidded eyes. Even though Edward had told him that he would be killed, he didn't actually want the monster to go. "I don't like hospitals. Bad experiences". 

Edward seemed to pick up what he wasn't saying. His free hand reached up to gently brush the curly brown locks away from other's cheeks. He didn't say anything but the gesture was reassurance enough. Chaney let himself drift off like that next to the boy who would eventually kill him. It was pathetic how much the vampire's presence soothed him. 

unedited

AN: Chaney is fucked up but we all knew that. Happy new year.