chapter┊ ✦. :: twenty nine
♡ ﹙tragedy﹚ ❋  ˚  ݂ ꛒ

She couldn't attend her parents' funeral because she couldn't travel by plane while pregnant. So, she faced the loss from her home. What hurt her the most was that her parents didn't get to meet their grandchild or be there on her wedding day. She knew it was something that excited them, and honestly, Lydia too.

Furthermore, it had been almost three weeks since she had barely seen or spoken to Carlisle. The man had been very busy training with the werewolves and vampires for the impending battle. They had asked Lydia if she wanted to join in these little trainings, so she wouldn't be unprotected, but she refused, mentioning that she would be working and would call if there was a problem.

Truth be told, she wasn't thrilled about the idea of seeing a bunch of supernatural creatures fighting. Maybe before, it might have even seemed fun, but at that moment her mind was in another universe. And as far as she was concerned, the hospital was a completely safe place.

According to her.

Besides, she would return home immediately, where Carlisle would be waiting for her. But at one point, things started happening so suddenly that it was horrible.

All the Cullens were getting ready to go to the "battlefield." Carlisle was the last to leave, as he had stayed with Lydia to say goodbye.

"You don't have to go to work," the blond had told her. "You can stay here at home, and I'll see you later."

Lydia smiled faintly as she shook her head. "I'll be more nervous if I stay here. I prefer to go to the hospital, and you can call me when you're back."

Carlisle nodded. It was true that it was safer for her to be surrounded by more people than to be alone at home. Still, he had a bad feeling about it.

"Okay. Anyway, I'll come for you at the hospital as soon as I get back."

"Agreed."

He looked at her intently, although he had already memorized every one of her features, he didn't want to forget anything.

"I love you, Lydia. I'm sorry I've been so distant these past few weeks, but I promise you that as soon as this is over... you and I will start our own life."

She smiled a little. "I love you too, Carlisle."

He kissed her gently before rushing out with the rest of his family. Lydia sighed tiredly and went to get her things to go up to her car and head straight to the hospital. As she headed to her destination, she didn't think twice before stopping at the bakery to buy a box of cookies.

She was genuinely worried about Carlisle and hoped he would be safe. That farewell had felt very strange, and she didn't completely believe that the man was about to fight against other vampires, where it was very possible that he would die for good.

Lydia had to stop thinking about all that, or she would only hurt herself more. At least eating relieved her anxiety a bit.

As always, she parked her car in the usual spot and entered through the back door, where she greeted the guard and offered him a cookie. The man gave her a pleasant smile and wished her a good day after taking one of those delicious cookies.

As soon as she finished changing, her mind remained on her work. There were still many people she needed to help, and she trusted completely that Carlisle and everyone else would be perfectly fine.

Cristina approached Lydia as soon as she saw her and didn't hesitate to start talking as if there were no tomorrow, which resulted in complete relief for Lydia because lately, she didn't have many conversation topics.

It was a pretty normal day; there weren't many patients to attend to, but the waiting room wasn't empty.

It was almost six thirty in the evening when a nurse approached Lydia and told her that someone was looking for her at reception. With a furrowed brow, she headed to the hospital's entrance, and her surprise was great when she saw who it was.

"Lydia," he greeted with a smile. "I'm glad to see you."

She frowned even more. "What are you doing here?"

"Well..." he sighed, slipping a hand inside his coat. "I just wanted to talk to you for a moment. If it's not too much trouble, of course."

🫀

Jacob had been injured at the last moment by one of the newborns who had survived. But the Volturi were approaching, and the werewolves had to leave before they arrived. Carlisle promised to take care of it later.

Just a few minutes later, Jane arrived with Alec, Felix, and Demetri. It was a short and bitter conversation. One of the girls had survived, and they had offered her asylum in exchange for her surrender, but Jane ordered her to be killed.

It was something sad and cruel, but the Cullens didn't want to get into more trouble, and it was very likely that they wouldn't survive a fight against them.

Jane and the others left almost immediately; the others waited for the bodies to be stopped completely. It had been a victory, but they all were left with a bitter taste.

"I'll go see Jacob, and then I'll go for Lydia," Carlisle announced, looking at his entire family. Esme gave him a smile along with a nod. Finally, everything was over, and it was fair that the man moved on with the life he had been longing for at that moment.

But he could barely take a couple of steps when Alice's voice stopped him completely.

"Carlisle... it's Lydia," Alice spoke, worried, with a lost gaze and an expression reflecting great terror.

It was biologically impossible, but Carlisle felt dizzy, almost stunned. Fear was reflected in his eyes, and Edward was the first to react because he had seen Alice's vision.

The man stood stunned in his place before running at full speed to the hospital with Edward and Emmett following closely behind. Carlisle wasn't capable of thinking clearly... actually, he wasn't thinking at all. He just needed to see Lydia in that moment and make sure she was okay.

Edward and Emmett exchanged worried looks. At that moment, Edward was the only one who knew for sure what was happening, but he couldn't say it out loud, or it would upset the blond even more. Instead, they tried to go even faster, taking some shortcuts and avoiding crossing paths with people.

They were a couple of

kilometers away when they heard the police car sirens around the main entrance of the hospital. If Carlisle could breathe, he probably would have stopped doing it at that moment.

Both Edward and Emmett were talking to him, but he couldn't hear them anymore. He approached as best he could, but a police officer stopped him. Carlisle couldn't understand what the officer was saying to him; he just needed to get in.

Then his eyes met Chief Swan's, who quickly approached Cullen. But Charlie couldn't look him in the eyes, and that worried Carlisle even more.

"She's okay, let him in," Charlie ordered the officer.

Not very convinced, the officer nodded and lifted the tape to let Carlisle through.

"Where's Lydia?" he asked as soon as he was a couple of steps away from the chief.

Charlie looked at him silently, as if he couldn't find the right words.

"Doctor Cullen, I need you to calm down first, or I won't let you in."

Carlisle looked at him desperately.

"Lydia," he repeated, "where is she? Is she okay? What happened?"

Charlie sighed and uncomfortably scratched his neck.

"Does the name Jonah Rigby sound familiar to you?"

Fury began to grow more and more in his chest. He didn't like not knowing what was going on at all. He needed to see Lydia at that moment, or he would go completely crazy.

"In fact, it does. What does he have to do with all this? Where's Lydia?" he repeated, this time more concerned. Edward, who was right behind him, had already read Charlie's thoughts and understood what was happening.

Charlie cleared his throat.

"Well... a couple of hours ago... the man entered the hospital. He had a doctor's ID and mentioned at the entrance that he was here to see the hospital's chief, so he didn't go through a proper screening," he paused for a moment. "The nurse at the reception said the man asked for Lydia, and they went to look for her. However... well... I don't know how to say it," he furrowed his brow, "Jonah had a gun. We're trying to recover the security tapes, but everything happened so fast. Suddenly, they heard a gunshot, and people started running... but the man shot himself after... well... after shooting Lydia."

Carlisle pushed Charlie aside and rushed into the hospital, as fast as an average human would. Charlie didn't stop him; he didn't have the heart to do it. And Carlisle wasn't the only one shattered at that moment; Emmett also felt stunned. He wanted to hit something, so at that moment, Edward was the voice of reason.

Carlisle saw Cristina; the nurse was crying inconsolably while a police officer tried to ask her some questions. He approached her, and Cristina stood up as soon as she saw Dr. Cullen.

"Doctor Cullen," she murmured between tears, "I'm so sorry... I... I was the one who told Lydia she was being looked for. I... " she didn't finish her sentence because the crying returned with more force.

Carlisle gently took her by the shoulders.

"Cristina, it's okay. None of this is your fault," he tried to reassure her, "but I need you to tell me where Lydia is."

She looked at him with sad eyes.

"In operating room four," she spoke through tears, "she's been there for an hour. They're trying to save both of them."

Grateful, Carlisle nodded and walked towards the operating room. At the entrance was another police officer who was about to stop him, but next to him was the hospital's chief, who told him who he was.

"Carlisle, we've been trying to reach you for an hour," the woman said, very worried.

"Let me into that operating room," he demanded.

She looked at him with pity.

"You know I can't do that."

He frowned.

"You know I'm the only one who can save her. Let me do it."

She looked at him for a long moment until she finally nodded.

"Fine. Go in."

He walked even faster, washed his hands, and entered the operating room. Everyone present looked at him.

"I want everyone out of here right now," he spoke firmly. No one had ever heard him speak like that before—right now.

Although they doubted it, they did. The two surgeons and three nurses left the operating room, and at the same time, Edward and Emmett entered.

"Do you need help?" Edward asked.

He nodded.

"Cover the windows and the camera. Let no one enter here under any circumstances. Emmett, monitor the signs. We'll save them both."

They started moving immediately. Carlisle put on gloves and approached Lydia to check her condition.

She was anesthetized; it was evident that she had lost a lot of blood, but fortunately, her heartbeats could still be heard. They hadn't managed to remove the bullet completely; they had only taken out half of it, but it seemed to be very close to the lung. At least it hadn't hit her abdomen, but if she wasn't careful, it could puncture her lung, and that would be deadly for her.

Both Emmett and Edward had studied some medicine over the years. They weren't anywhere near Carlisle's level, but at least they knew what to do and how to move around the operating room.

"Carlisle," Emmett called, "the baby's heartbeats are decreasing."

He knew it was complicated to save them both, but he would do everything possible.

"You can save the baby and then bite Lydia," Edward recommended, "that way, they'll both live."

Carlisle wasn't sure about that decision.

"I'm not sure how safe that is," he murmured, "Lydia just turned seven and a half months. The fetus is still very small and hasn't finished developing. There's a possibility that it won't survive."

"But it will be worse if you don't take it out. They'll both die."

That was true. He couldn't bite Lydia with the baby still inside her. But he didn't want to lose his baby either. And he certainly didn't want to choose between them.

"Emmett, keep monitoring the vital signs and administer more anesthesia every twenty minutes. Edward, I need you to watch the bullet wound; make sure it doesn't move from its place. I'll take out the baby and then remove that bullet so I can bite her."

Both men nodded.

"I think I can remove the bullet."

"Do it. If you're sure, try to do it as quickly as possible and close the wound."

Edward and Emmett didn't realize that the girl's blood wasn't affecting them. It was as if they had forgotten that blood awakened that animal instinct in them. And that was something they would realize later.

None of the three realized the time that was passing. They were so focused on their work that they forgot everything else.

Carlisle was able to successfully remove the baby, realizing it was a boy. He wanted to cry with happiness at that moment, but things still weren't getting better. Lydia's heartbeats were plummeting, and they still had to put the baby in an incubator.

"Emmett, take the baby and give it to a nurse outside."

With some fear, Emmett took the newborn. He was

very big and strong, so he was terrified of accidentally hurting him. But as soon as he had him in his hands, because he fit perfectly in both palms, he smiled. Although he remembered that the baby's life was still at risk, and he quickly left the operating room.

There was a large group of people outside waiting to know if Lydia would be okay. Even Chief Swan was there. A nurse approached Emmett immediately to take the baby. Another doctor also approached, and both took him away.

Emmett returned to the operating room, where in just a few seconds, it had become chaos. Carlisle seemed desperate, and for the first time, he noticed the large amount of blood there was.

"You have to bite her now," Edward reminded him because it didn't seem like there was another way to save the girl.

"Carlisle," Emmett called, "do it."

He looked at both boys and finally nodded. He removed Lydia's anesthesia mask and all the other cables and needles she had throughout her body. He took her cheeks to leave a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I love you, Lydia," he murmured, "I always will."

Then, he began to leave bites on her body. He no longer felt anger; instead, he felt desperation. He wished Lydia would wake up again and come back to him.

He needed her so desperately that he was willing to give his own life for her.

But she would be okay. The bite would work, and she would open her eyes and be a vampire just like him. They would be a happy family. The three of them. They would have their wedding, and then they would look for a house for themselves. Far from problems.

Everything would be okay. Right?

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