A New Cullen Sister

Chapter 17

"Amelia, it's time to wake up," came Esme's voice. Amelia groaned in response, trying to swat the noise away. She rolled over and pulled the covers over her head. She vaguely heard Carlisle's chuckle somewhere in her room, then felt the covers being removed and an icy hand being placed on her stomach, tickling her. Squealing loudly, she sat up in bed, suddenly very awake. Her parents burst into laughter.

"Good morning," chortled Carlisle, "time for physio."

Amelia was still trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. "May I have a human minute, please?" she yawned.

"Sure thing."

Two minutes later she was back in her room, having the living daylight beaten out of her lungs. Oh the joys of chest physiotherapy. When that torture was over, Esme brought her a cup of tea and a rusk. They had already decided on an outfit for the next day, so getting dressed did not take that long, aside from the slight incident involving a tangled oxygen line and a fair amount of laughter. Carlisle eventually poked his head around the door.

"Did a pack of hyenas take up residence upstairs, or is this what the flight home is going to be like?"

Esme and Amelia looked at him, looked back at each other and erupted into a fresh fit of giggles, ending with one of Amelia's 'post physio coughing fits', as they had begun to refer to them as.

"I'm fine, guys," she said when it was over. Esme didn't look entirely convinced.

"Put your shoes on, sweetheart," she said, handing Amelia her shoes.

---

"Ready to go?" queried Esme.

The anxiety that had lurked the previous day came back and Amelia took a deep breath, well, as deep as she could. She nodded and smiled unconvincingly. Carlisle picked her up and carried her out to the car. Fresh snow had fallen overnight and he was worried that she may slip. He also needed her to conserve as much of her energy as possible, it was going to be a very long day for her. When she was comfortably seated, he got into the front seat. Esme locked up the house and soon they were on their way.

"You guys move really quickly," she commented as she stared outside the window. It was still pitch black outside, "will I move that fast too?"

"Yes, you will. For about a year after you have been changed, you'll actually be the fastest in the family," replied Carlisle.

"Family," she whispered dreamily, a small smile forming on her face. Carlisle and Esme glanced in the rearview mirror, then at each other and smiled. Carlisle reached across the console and took Esme's hand in his own, squeezing it gently as he did so. They drove like that for the rest of the trip to the airport. When they finally arrived, the staff of the car rental agency were waiting for them. Alice had taken the liberty of phoning ahead and explaining the situation to them. A wheelchair was waiting for Amelia, much to her disgust, but she was bundled into it despite her protesting.

---

The trio made their way to the check in counter. Alice had phoned the airline as well, so they were aware of Amelia's situation and explained that one of the flight crew members would come and switch oxygen concentrators for the flight at 7.15am and they would board immediately thereafter, instead of 7.30am like the rest of the passengers. It was then requested that they be seated as close to the boarding gate as possible so as to avoid confusion and delays. The Cullens thanked him, and left to go through the security check-point. It took a little while longer than usual because of Amelia, but soon enough they were on their way.