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SKIN & BONES
i. PROGRESS

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THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS HAVE violent ends, and in their triumph die, like fire and powder, which, as they kiss, consume.

In a totally twisted way, Lorelai Swan learned to call the hospital her second home. After all, it was the place she spent most of her time all these years. Though she only visited Dr. Carlisle Cullen biweekly, Lorelai showed up more often than not. She was determined to invoke change in her life, and nothing was going to stop her (other than herself, but that wasn't the point).

Nonetheless, every visit had been simple, nothing special or out of the ordinary. But today's visit, in particular, had Lorelai thinking (well, blindly hoping and desperately believing) that today would go down in Swan history.

A faint blue hospital gown was draped over her scrawny figure. Lorelai could feel the cold tile beneath her through the socks she wore. Goosebumps rode her pale skin that forced the long hairs on her arms to reach for the heavens.

Lorelai chewed on her lower lips, eyes trained on the scale in front of her. "I'm telling you, Carlisle, I've got a really good feeling about this one."

Carlisle had been going through his usual checklist of questions as she continued to say the same general statement over and over again. "Have you made any drastic or notable changes in your eating habits in the past two weeks?" he asked.

They had been going at it like this for the past ten minutes. It was like a father trying to control his overly excited daughter.

"Just the usual stuff you've been telling me to eat. I skipped breakfast yesterday, though," quickly blurted out Lorelai. "Seriously, Carlisle, it's gonna be something good!"

Lorelai was fairly proud of herself. Over the course of six months, she had really been pushing herself to eat more and more. Sure, she had plenty of her moments where she'd refuse to eat a full meal or where she'd smoke half a pack of cigarettes in less than a week. Her smoking addiction had simmered greatly due to the fact that she'd only been smoking because of the depressants in the Nicotine and because it'd help her lose weight. Nonetheless, she'd been recovering slowly, but steadily. Just last month, Lorelai had finally stayed in the 80's for more than three weeks. This was a huge contrast in comparison to her usual weight, which would range from around 75 pounds at the lowest and roughly 85 at the highest.

He lightheartedly laughed, scribbling on her chart. "Okay, Rory, please take a step onto the scale."

Lorelai squeezed her eyes shut, taking a deep breath. She rubbed her hands together eagerly. "Alright, Rory," she whispered to herself. "You got this. And even if you don't, you will next time. You got this."

Eyes still closed, she stepped forward onto the scale. Seconds passed, but it felt like years. Carlisle hummed to himself, though she couldn't quite pick up what that hum meant. Was it a good reaction? A bad one?

"Well?"

"You'll have to open your eyes and see for yourself, Rory," said Carlisle, a hint of enthusiasm dripping off of his voice.

Her tongue swiped across her lips, suspense rising. Then, she opened her big, brown eyes, which resulted in an ear-piercing squeal of felicity.

- - -

Elation coursed throughout the frail girl's veins as she sped out of the hospital. She stood at the steps of the building, her brown eyes searching the area around her. It didn't take her long to spot her target: a honey blond-haired man who appeared to be waiting for her. The grin that had already been plastered across her face only seemed to grow as she scurried down toward him. She skipped steps, nearly falling flat on her face had her friend not been there to catch her.

"I did it!" shouted Lorelai, squealing gleefully. "Jazz, I did it! 92 pounds!"

His topaz eyes widened, a matching smile adorning his hauntingly beautiful features. "Oh, my God," mumbled Jasper. "Oh, my God!" He extended his arms, pulling them around the girl and spinning her around dramatically. "92 pounds!"

"92!" cheered Lorelai. She was sure the two were earning strange looks, but they didn't seem to care. Lorelai finally broke her streak by hitting 92 pounds. To say she was proud of her progress was an extreme understatement. "I told you I could do it!"

Safely placing the teenager onto the ground once more, Jasper made a quiet scoffing sound. "I think it was the other way around, Rory," he teased, his Southern accent somewhat more prominent as he spoke.

The two walked side-by-side. Lorelai was incredibly thankful for Jasper and the bond the two had. She considered him to be her best friend, her person. No one "got" Lorelai more than Jasper did, and vise-versa.

Lorelai glanced over at Jasper. "Are you sure you're okay with missing school?" wondered Lorelai after a moment. "I mean, I don't want Carlisle or Esme thinking that I'm, like, a bad influence on you."

Jasper shook his head. "Nonsense," he countered. "They love you and Bella. Why else would they volunteer to throw Bella a birthday party?"

Lorelai gave Jasper a look. "That probably had something to do with Alice coercing them into letting her throw it," pointed out the brunette. She pulled her jacket closer to her body as the fall winds began to pick up. She smiled mischievously to herself as thought settled in her mind. "I can't wait for Bella to open her present."

The vampire shot a curious look at the human. "Should I be concerned?" he wondered.

Lorelai giggled to herself. "You'll see," she sang.

○ ○ ○

"Red, lacy lingerie... You got your little sister red, lacy lingerie."

Lorelai laughed with glee as Bella's face burned bright pink. She quickly shoved her sister's gift back into its box, muttering something about how she was going to kill her one of these days. Of course, Lorelai had gotten her other gifts, but she couldn't resist fucking with Bella a little bit on her special day.

The Cullen home was a classic beauty without any decorations, but for Bella's birthday, it was truly extravagant. Candles lined the window sills and tables. Fairy lights were strung along the tops of the walls, the faint light twinkling in the reflections of everyone's eyes. Balloons reached toward the gods. And in the corner, a beautifully decorated cake had Bella's name written on it in neat cursive.

"We're sorry about this," Carlisle had apologized to Bella upon entering the room just moments before. "We tried to reign Alice in."

It made Lorelai wonder what else Alice had been planning for Bella's birthday bash had the others not restrained her. She was a bit worried about Bella, knowing that the girl wasn't a fan of big parties; however, so far, Bella seemed to be doing okay.

Lorelai glanced at Jasper, a small grin on her face. "What kind of cool, big sister would I be if I didn't get her something hot for her 18th birthday?" she wondered. "My baby sister's legal!"

Bella shot her sister a murderous glare, to which Lorelai just winked at her. A flash caught Lorelai's attention. The Swan siblings looked over to see Alice holding a handheld camera, a gift from Charlie.

"I found it in your bag," Alice said. "You mind?"

Bella shrugged her shoulders, glancing over at Edward who had been talking to Emmett.

"Dating an older woman. Hot," Emmett whispered, causing Lorelai to snort with laughter whereas Bella conversely frowned and looked away. "What?"

Rolling her eyes, Rosalie stepped forward and handed Bella a small, silver box. "It's a necklace," Rosalie muttered. "Alice picked it out."

Clearing her throat, Esme walked forward. "I think a congratulations are in order," she announced, looking into Lorelai's eyes. "I'm so proud of you, sweetheart."

It had taken Lorelai less than a few seconds to put the pieces together. She glanced at Carlisle, who had been smiling softly at the girl. "So much for patient confidentiality," she joked. She leaned into Esme's embrace as the motherly woman hugged her. "Thanks, guys. Really, it means a lot."

Lorelai tensed slightly, feeling a cold hand take hers. She looked to her side to see Jasper. She smiled gently at him before catching Bella ask Emmett, "Did you forget the present at the store or something, Em?"

The older sister watched at the box in Bella's hands, curious. "Nah, I already installed it in the truck," Emmett pridefully declared. "Finally a decent sound system for that piece of—"

"Hey, don't hate the truck," Bella defended, slowly coming out of her shell. A quiet roar of laughter rumbled from the Cullens and Lorelai, excluding Rosalie. She just cracked the smallest of smiles.

"Open Esme and Carlisle's," Alice urged, passing a small envelope to Bella.

"Just a little something to brighten your day," added Carlisle while Esme teased, "Yes, you've been looking kind of pale lately."

Lorelai opened her mouth to crack a joke in addition to what Carlisle and Esme said when suddenly, she felt Jasper squeeze her hand tightly. It was tight enough for Lorelai to feel the bones in her hand quite literally snap, causing the girl to wince in pain.

"Dammit!"

Lorelai wasn't necessarily sure what had happened. All she knew was that Bella was being shoved, or rather thrown, into a wall and her hand was in serious pain. With the blink of an eye, Rosalie had pried Jasper off of Lorelai before tugging the scrawny brunette off to the side.

"Are you okay?" Rosalie immediately asked, her pale hands sitting on top of Lorelai's shoulders. "Don't turn around."

Lorelai nodded, her eyes falling on Bella's figure as she laid on the ground. Droplets of blood had stained the carpet and the paper that had been masking Bella's gift. She scoffed. How the hell does a paper cut cause someone to bleed that much?

"Bella," Lorelai panicked. Her head whipped around, seeing Jasper with a crazed look in his eyes. Edward and Emmett had been fighting to hold him back before pulling him outside.

It was then when the girl put the pieces together. Bella's blood had triggered Jasper. Her blood had triggered all of them. Lorelai's head was spinning, her hand throbbing and shaking violently. "Oh my God," Lorelai said. "Oh God. Oh God."

"Your hand," Rosalie realized. "Christ, Jasper, what were you—?"

"She's in shock, Rose. Focus," Esme said, rushing to their side. She wrapped an icy hand around Rory's broken one, causing the girl to cry out. "Take a breath, Rory. I've got you."

"Keep your hands on her. It should help with the swelling and relieve some of the pain while I stitch Bella up," Carlisle instructed.

Lorelai couldn't breathe. Tears slipped out as she tried to steady her breathing, but it seemed impossible. It was broken. Her hand had to be broken. What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck?!

"Rory?" Bella called, bloodied fingers trembling. Carlisle was on the floor beside her, observing her injuries that came from the paper cut. Apparently, Edward had shoved her back once the others smelt her blood, but she managed to crash into a glass table. Just her luck. "Rory!"

"She's okay," Esme promised. "Carlisle, take her."

Carlisle guided Bella upstairs while Alice went outside, following the boys to make sure they were okay.

"Esme," Lorelai winced, sniffling. "Esme— Esme, it really hurts. It really hurts."

"I know, sweetheart," Esme said.

"We need to set the bones," Rosalie said. "Let me help. Carlisle's shown me how to do it."

Esme nodded, stepping aside to guide Lorelai to the couch. Lorelai was just trying to focus on breathing. In and out, in and out— Fuck, this really hurt. Her thoughts kept darting between Bella, Jasper, and her hand in sporadic rotation. Mostly her hand. She wasn't sure if she was having a normal reaction to a broken bone or if she was just experiencing a vampire's unrestrained strength for the first time.

Jasper hurt her. She almost couldn't believe it. He'd really hurt her. He'd snapped her bones. It was out of his control, right? He was a vampire. Bella was bleeding. Of course, that triggered him. But this was the first time Jasper had hurt her, and Lorelai was becoming acutely aware that this was one of the many dangers of running with vampires. If it happened once, who knew when it would happen again.

Rosalie brushed her hands over Lorelai's, palpating with light touches for where to begin. With a crinkled nose, Lorelai asked, "This part isn't gonna hurt, right? This is the part where you tell me that?"

"Sure," Rosalie said. "It's gonna hurt like a bitch."

"That's not what I wanted to hear, but I appreciate the— FUCK!" Lorelai screamed as her bones shifted into place. "FUCK, DAMMIT!" She leaned forward into Rosalie's embrace as she went back to icing her hand with her own. "Honesty. I appreciate the... honesty."

"It's alright," Esme promised, rubbing her back. "We've got you, sweetheart. Let's get her up to Carlisle's office—"

"No," Lorelai panted. She pulled away from Rosalie. "No, I need to see Bella—"

"She's fine," Rosalie argued. "Carlisle's stitching her up—"

"I don't care. I want to see Bella," Lorelai shot back.

"Rory, be gentle with yourself. You're both injured. You're both startled. You can't be there for your sister until you're taken care of," Esme sternly told her. "Let us help you. Please."

It wasn't easy to accept, but she was right. Besides, her hand really fucking hurt. So Lorelai sucked it up and followed Esme and Rosalie upstairs, where she'd wait for her sister and Carlisle. She took a seat, trying to focus on Esme and Rosalie over everything else just this once.

"Well, damn," mumbled Lorelai. "Happy birthday, Bella."

Revised: January 5th, 2020
Revised: October 25th, 2024