I got to Forks within a day and went straight to the hospital. It was a small hospital. I smiled knowing all the good my grandpa Carlisle must have done while working here.
"How can I help you miss?" The woman behind the counter greeted me as I approached her with a large bouquet of flowers I bought before I got there.
"I'm here to see Charlie Swan. I'm a family friend." I told the woman. She smiled and looked up something on the computer.
"He was transferred to the cardiac wing yesterday. He's in a private room. Room 238. Only the best for the chief." She said with a sad smile. I nodded and walked over to the elevator.
I was very nervous. What if there were wolves in the hospital. It didn't smell like wolves but then again, I never met one. The elevator door opened and I walked over to the nurse's station. I tall woman with glasses and kind eyes greeted me. Her nametag read Angela.
"Hi there. Who are you here to see?" She asked me.
"I'm here to see Charlie Swan. I'm a family friend." I repeated. Her eyes widened and then she gave me a curious look.
"I didn't know the chief had any family." She said. I wondered how she knew that.
"Well. I'm Bella's second cousin from Renee's side." I told her to explain why she never heard about me. Her expression changed to sadness and she nodded.
"I see. Its very nice of you to come visit. After Bella died, Charlie doesn't really have anyone. I was hoping the Cullens would come see him but…" She sighed and trailed off. I nodded and gulped. Suddenly my heart started pounding. She signaled me to follow her and she walked me to my grandfather's room.
"He's doing better. Right side of his face is slightly drooping and he's having a hard time with his speech but he seems to understand very well so you can talk to him normally." Angela told me as we headed to his room. I nodded and walked into the room.
"Hi Chief! Looks like you got a visitor today." She told him. I was surprised by the condition he was in. The man on the bed looked nothing like the strong virile man I saw in pictures. My breath hitched when he turned to look at me and his eyes widened slightly.
"Let me know if you need anything." Angela said before she left. I went over to the window and set the flowers by the sun. I took a deep breath and then I turned to smile at my grandfather.
"Hi Charlie. You're probably wondering who I am." I said shyly. He just looked at me without saying anything so I continued.
"My name is Carlie Mason. I'm from Renee's side of the family. When I heard, I just thought I would come over to see if there is anything I could do for you. I knew Bella from when I was little and I know she would have wanted someone to make sure you're ok." I rambled nervously wondering if he was understanding anything I was saying. I saw the tears well in his eyes when I mentioned my mother. He extended his left hand and I saw him trying to say a word. After a moment of mouthing something, I finally heard something that sounded like 'sit' come out of his mouth.
My heart ached but I sat on the chair and plastered a fake smile on my face. I knew from mom's stories that Charlie wasn't one to show affection but I couldn't help myself. I reached out and held his hand. He looked at me, studying my face. I began getting nervous so I started talking.
"My parents lived in Phoenix for a few years before we settled in California. Bella was older than me but she was always so nice." I explained. He still studied me. I let go of his hand slightly but he held it in its place. Just then, the doctor came in.
"Angela told me there was a visitor. Hi, my name is Dr. Keenen." He introduced himself. I nodded at him but didn't get up to greet him.
"How's cousin Charlie doing?" I asked him. The doctor smiled.
"Much better. We start intensive rehab tomorrow right here at the hospital and I think that we'll be able to move him to a nursing facility a few weeks after that." He told me. Charlie grunted and I looked horrified.
"A nursing home?" I asked him.
"Well its more like a rehabilitation center. They have all the resources Charlie will need. Physical therapy, occupational therapy and more importantly speech therapy. He needs to be under constant supervision until he gets his speech back." The doctor told me. I shook my head.
"Why? Why can't he just go home after he gets better?" I asked him confused.
"Well, its mainly for his safety. If he goes back home and has any king of trouble, he won't be able to pick up phone and call for help." The doctor told me. I nodded. I saw Charlie look away angrily.
"What if someone stayed with him? Could he get his therapy at home?" I asked the doctor. Charlie looked at me with a confused expression.
"Um sure hun but Charlie doesn't… I mean. Who did you have in mind?" The doctor asked me.
"Well I could stay with him for a while. Maybe we can also get a nurse during the day to help with the complex stuff." I told the doctor before I looked at Charlie. He looked completely shocked and confused.
"I'm sorry. I know you don't really know me but I'm not going to school or really doing anything right now and I would like to help. I can at least help you until we find you a nurse." I explained to Charlie. He sighed and shook his head. I wondered why he would say no to this if it meant that he could stay home and a thought quickly occurred to me.
"You don't have to worry about the money. I am good with health insurance stuff so I am positive I can find one for you. I used to work with home health. I promise you that I can make the insurance cover it." I lied to him using the bit of medical knowledge I had. He looked at me again and then I turned to the doctor.
"Could we arrange for home health instead?" I asked him. The doctor looked at Charlie.
"We can if that's what you want." The doctor told him. Charlie turned to me and then he turned to the doctor and nodded. The doctor smiled.
"Ok then. And don't worry about the expenses. She's right, your insurance can cover this with the right advocate." The doctor told him and then he smiled at me before he walked out of the room. I patted Charlie's hand.
"I'll be right back." I promised him and then I reluctantly let go of him to go after the doctor.
"Dr. Keenen?" I asked after him. He stopped and turned.
"I know that the Cullens are likely paying for most of this." I told him. He smiled and nodded.
"Just don't tell Charlie. He already suspected something when we moved him to a private room." He told me. I nodded.
"Do you mind telling them that Charlie would like home health? I know Carlisle won't have any problems paying for it but I am good for the money in any case." I told the doctor. He shook his head.
"Don't worry about that. Carlisle said that he will cover whatever Charlie needs." The doctor informed me.
"Do you mind keeping my involvement private? Carlisle knows my parents. I really want to help Charlie as much as possible so I plan to take some time off school if he needs me. It will be a lot easier to do that if my parents didn't know I was here." I told the doctor sheepishly.
"I think that's a very sweet thing that you are doing and of course I'll keep this to myself. I'll just tell Carlisle that Charlie changed his mind." The doctor said.
"Thank you." I smiled at him. I returned to the room were Charlie still sat confused. I sat back at the chair and held my hands not sure of what to say. The silence was deafening so I just started talking.
"I know how strange this is but I promise that I will be very respectful of your privacy." I assured him. He looked at me and started to say something.
"Why?" He managed to get out.
"Because Bella was my friend and because, if the situation were reversed and it were my father, I would want someone to look out for him. I know it doesn't make much sense but when I heard what happened, I just got this sense that I had to be here for you. I can't explain it." I told him truthfully. The moment I got in my car and drove here, I felt that this was exactly where I needed to be. It was like a force beyond nature.
"Look, I know how strange this all is and that I am a stranger to you but I really just want to help. We have a few weeks to get to know each other and to help you get settled at home. I'll come back tomorrow to help with your therapy. Ok?" I told him. He nodded but he looked unsatisfied by my answer.
The following day I returned after lunch to help with his therapy. I was surprised at how weak he was. He could barely walk. I have never been to his house but I knew that his room and the bathroom were both on the second floor. He didn't need as much help dressing and cleaning but he was only able to go up a few steps during therapy.
"It will get better Charlie." The therapist told him with an encouraging smile. He grunted and I smiled back at her. I wheeled him over to his room where Angela was waiting for us.
"I think we might have to make some adjustments at the house. May I go to your house to start getting things ready for you?" I asked him as Angela got him into the bed.
"That will be a great idea." Angela said happily. Charlie nodded in agreement and Angela walked out.
"Is the spare key still under eave by the door?" I asked him. He looked at me oddly and nodded.
"Bella mentioned it once. Ok. I'll get things ready for you." I told him. He gave me a small sad smile I walked out of the room. I went over to Angela who was at the nurse station filling up some paperwork.
"He still has several weeks of therapy so you better concentrate your time on getting the house ready. I've been to his house and there's no way he'll be ready to go up those stairs in three weeks." Angela told me. I agreed.
"I have some ideas. I'll probably move his bed to the living room, unless you think he'll need a hospital bed." I told her.
"Lets see what the therapist recommends at the end of the three weeks." She told me. I nodded and headed out.