Chapter 2: Crying Time

Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight

Even with wolf vision, the road was blurring with all the tears welling up in my eyes. Not expected to live. The sound of it replayed over and over in my mind. I pressed on the accelerator again, and hoped it didn't get picked up on radar. Scratch that, I didn't give a damn if it did. Bella was at the Forks Hospital, and I had to get there as soon as possible, and if I got a freakin' speeding ticket, so what? Charlie would fix it for me.

The girl at the desk gave me the room number in the ICU where Bella was assigned, and I raced off to find it. As soon as the ICU came into my sight, that sickening aroma hit me. He was already here. Charlie was outside in the waiting area, head bowed, and looking ten years older. His eyes were red.

"Hey, Charlie, how is she?"

"Not good, but thanks for coming. I know she'd want to see you before …"

"No, don't say that. She'll come back to us. You know how stubborn she is."

"You better go, kid. There's little time. I think she's finished with her cat scan."

I looked up, ready to run to her room, when Doc Fang walked toward us. "Charlie, I need your permission to do surgery. She's had a severe head injury. The other wounds are minor; a simple fracture of the tibia, bruised ribs. I'm really worried about the injury to her brain though. I won't mince words; the pupil of her right eye is dilated, and fixed. That means there is blood pooled somewhere in her brain, causing compression of the cortex. If she doesn't have surgery quickly, there's no hope of recovery. Even with the surgery, the possibility that she may never wake up is still a likelihood."

"What kind of surgery are you anticipating?"

"I'll be performing a trephination. In layman's terms, I'll have to drill burr holes in her skull to relieve the pressure."

"God, no." Charlie murmured, then gave a loud swallow. I fell on my butt onto a chair, one hand covering my face.

The leech doctor was going to use an electric drill, and bust thru her head! Goddammit, why did this happen? Why?

I jerked upright, and raced to her room, nearly ripping the door from its hinges. The freakin' vamp sitting on the chair next to her, shot me with an ugly glare, which I promptly ignored. I knelt by her bedside, and took her hand. It was limp and pale, long gouges and bruised areas mapped across it and up her arm. Her hair was streaked with blood, and a large purple blotch covered one eye and jaw. "I'm here, honey. I came as fast as I could."

"Who invited you?" Edward taunted.

Looking across the bed, I snarked, "I could ask you the same thing, tick."

"I belong here. You're just her pet mongrel. I'm her fiancée."

"Yeah, I see the rock on her ring finger. Tell me something, bloodsucker, couldn't you find a bigger one?"

Edward sneered, "Why don't you leave? Haven't you done enough?"

I sighed, dropping Bella's hand. "Me? Look who's talkin'."

"If she hadn't gone to visit you in your pathetic hovel at La Push, she wouldn't be in this room right now."

It was just a guess, but I had a feeling deep-down in my gut, that her accident had something to do with his kind. Why else would she run herself off the road—in a Guardian, no less?

My voice involuntarily rose several decibels, as I argued, "And if she hadn't gotten mixed up with your sorry lot, none of this would've happened in the first place. Why the hell did you have to come back? She was better off without you. You should've stayed gone!"

The freakin' vamp knocked the chair over, flying across the small room to get at me. The nurse walked in just when we were about ready to erupt.

"Gentlemen, please. You're disturbing the other patients, not to mention Miss Swan. She can hear everything that's being said here. If you can't behave, then I'll have to ask you to wait outside."

"We're good," I lied. Like hell we were!

She proceeded to remove Bella's earrings, a tiny necklace, my bracelet, and the gaudy engagement ring. Edward broke off the clear heart charm from the bracelet, and handed the rest of it to me. Then he pocketed the ring.

Two orderlies entered the room to transport her to surgery. Edward asked them, "Where are you taking her?"

I interrupted before they could answer. "Your father is going to make a bowling ball out of her head." Maybe that was mean, but I didn't feel very warm and fuzzy toward him at the moment. How ironic. I was warm and would be fuzzy if I shifted right then.

Edward's face fell, and he left the room. I bent over and kissed Bella's forehead. Her dad was led in by another nurse. He kissed her goodbye also. I prayed that it wouldn't be for the last time. Charlie was allowed to walk with them to the doors of the surgical suite. I trudged alone back to the waiting room, crying my eyes out.

Charlie and I sat side by side, our hearts in our throats, awaiting the outcome. "Hey, chief, I'm gonna get some coffee for us. Can I get you anything else?"

"No, I can't eat." He rifled through his pockets, and pulled out some bills.

Brushing his hand back, I said, "Put your money away. I've got this."

I returned with two cups, and we silently sipped at them, staring into space.

"What am I going to do if she dies, Jake? She's my only child."

"You can't think like that. She's gonna make it."

"I hope you're right."

"What about Renee? Does she know?"

"Yeah, I told her. She's flying in tomorrow. The poor woman was totally hysterical when I called."

Charlie turned his head, locking eyes with me. "Jake, I really appreciate you being here. I realize that Edward is her fiancée, but it's just not the same. I've accepted her decision to marry him, but I don't know … I guess I'd always imagined you all dressed up, and I would walk her down the aisle to you and place her hand in yours."

"Me too. You know I'm in love with her right?"

His voice cracked. "I know that, kid. It's written all over your face every time you look at her."

Charlie took a hitching breath, and began to weep again. I couldn't stand it, and put my arm around him. In another minute, I was sobbing too.

For the next three hours, we sat and waited. Finally, Carlisle, dressed in his surgical scrubs, came out to the waiting room with the news. "The procedure was successful. There's no guarantee that she'll ever be the same, though, or even that she'll regain consciousness. Only time will tell. The longer Bella remains oblivious to her surroundings, the less probability that she'll rally.

"As soon as the surgery staff finishes the sponge and instrument count, they'll summon transport to take her to the ICU. You should be able to see her in about half an hour."

The vamps were nowhere to be seen, but that didn't mean that they weren't in hearing distance. I really didn't want to eavesdrop on the conversation being held in the adjacent conference room, but being a wolf, every damn word reverberated in my ears. Doc Fang was talking to his family. "Edward, I know this is hard for you, but you can't risk changing her now. She's in a public hospital, and her transformation would certainly raise eyebrows."

Rosalie added, "I'm in no mood to have the Volturi crashing down on our heads either. Just the thought of Jane and her monstrous power makes my stomach knot up."

Carlisle continued, "We have to do what is right for the survival of this family. If Bella dies, we will all grieve her passing, but we must go on, for all our sakes."

Emmett spoke up next. "I can't see her like this. It'll break my heart. So, if you don't mind, I'm going home."

"I'll go with you," Rosalie said.

"I heartily agree," a Texas drawl muttered. "Darlin', are you comin' with me?"

"Yes. I'll come see her tomorrow. Maybe she'll be awake by then."

"Carlisle, if you don't mind, I'll follow them home. Let me know if anything changes."

"Good night, Esme. I'll keep you in the loop."

"That's all you can do, sweetheart."

Charlie and I both entered the ICU suite. Bella looked about the same, except that part of her head had been shaved, and all the blood in her hair had been washed away. Her right leg was now casted from her toes to her knee, and there were more drain tubes and IV's added here and there. Jeez, how many freakin' tubes could one person have attached to them?

The most upsetting sight was the breathing apparatus that was taped to her lips. Dammit, I was about to lose it again. I stayed awhile, and when Edward approached, I excused myself. Totally ignoring his presence, I told Charlie, "I'll be here tomorrow, after I get a few hours of shut-eye. You're probably bushed too. You should go home and get some rest. Bella wouldn't want you to wear yourself out."

For the leech's benefit, I thought, Charlie and I need to sleep, unlike some people I know.

I watched his mouth twitch as he received my message. I walked out the door, leaving the love of my life behind, with a machine doing the breathing for her.

Embry greeted me as I parked the Rabbit in the Taj. "How is she?"

I slammed the car door shut. "She's in bad shape."

With a hand on my shoulder, Embry explained, "Maybe it's not the time to say this, but we got the redhead. She's nothing but a puff of purple smoke. That should give you some satisfaction after what she did to Bella."

"What are you talking about?"

"I thought you knew, man. We saw Victoria push Bella's car over the mountainside."

"Damn, I figured it might've been something like that, but I didn't know for sure. I don't think Eddie boy is aware of what happened either."

He let go of my arm, and waved. "Well, I'll see ya, Jake. You look beat."

Despite being mentally, and emotionally spent, I had a tough time falling asleep. The image of Bella, covered in blood, bruises and tubes made me sick. Victoria was gone, but it was too late. The damage was done, and Bella was proof of it.

When I arose the following morning, I felt just as tired as when I first lay down. Dad was already awake, so I helped him get dressed and in his wheel chair, then I fixed us up some oatmeal for breakfast.

Sitting at the kitchen table, Dad asked, "How bad is it?"

"Really bad. The doc had to drill into her head. He said there was bleeding around her brain, and it was causing problems, so it had to be drained."

He swallowed a spoonful of oatmeal. "How's Charlie taking it?"

"About as good as I am, and that's not very good at all."

"I'm here if you need to talk, Son."

"Thanks, Dad. I'm all right for now. I'll take one day at a time." And pray that Bella does the same.