Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, New Moon, or Eclipse, and I am not making any profit off of this fan fiction!
Chapter Eight: Alive
My lullaby… I smiled to myself before taking a deep breath and opening my eyes. I was in a well lit room with lavender walls. I felt like I was in the maternity ward, and I found myself muttering, "Where's my baby?"
"Baby?" I turned my head slowly, and standing over me, observing my bag of antibiotics was Carlisle, and he had a soft smile on his face. I heard very, very soft chuckling, and I knew the stone cold body behind me was Edward. I looked around and I saw that Charlie wasn't there. "I can see the anesthetic hasn't worn off quite yet."
"I feel like I'm in the maternity ward," I said, very surprised by how gruff my voice sounded. I licked my lips, and felt how dry my tongue was. I heard soft laughter again, and then Carlisle was standing by my side with a cup of ice. He handed me one small cube on a spoon, and I opened my mouth willingly. I sucked on the ice as I settled into the bed.
"I'm a little relieved that the anesthetic hasn't worn off, you'll be feeling a little post-operation pain from the incisions. I'll give you a small dosage of morphine when the time comes." Carlisle offered me another piece of ice, and I took it willingly. He then took the cup far from my reach, saying, "If you drink too fast, you'll get yourself sick."
I felt a little better, now that my mouth didn't feel like sand. I rested on my pillow, shuffling a little closer to the coolness that I knew was my Edward. I closed my eyes and sighed. It felt really good that I didn't have pain. My lullaby once again filled my ears, and I found myself drifting off to sleep again, a small smile playing on my lips.
As long as the pain stopped and Edward was here, everything was going to be okay.
When I woke again, I felt entirely disorientated. I felt a little sick to my stomach, almost as if I had been running for too long. I couldn't open my eyes, they seemed too heavy. I pressed my hand against my forehead and murmured, "Am I dead?" Things were coming back to me slowly, and I heard a soft noise beside me, like a snort. I managed to open one eye, and Edward was staring at me incredulously. "The death of Isabella Marie Swan was caused by severe cramps." I was quiet for a few seconds, and then I added, "When you write a book, name it that." I closed my eye and tried to swallow, but my mouth was dry like sand, again.
"Bella, you're starting to worry me." I felt cold lips caress my hairline, and I sighed quietly.
"The pain…" I whispered. "I couldn't have survived that pain." I looked up at Edward and he smiled at me. I felt so confused, as if all the information in me was scattered to the winds, and I couldn't comprehend anything.
"No, silly Bella, you are not dead." Edward breathed lightly in my face, and I swayed, staring at him with wide eyes. I was able to comprehend that Edward was looking a little sad. "You have appendicitis, and I didn't even know how close I was to losing you until this morning." I heard the fear in his voice as he buried his head into my neck. I felt his breath, cold and comforting as he breathed me in; but I was still confused.
"You painted your room?" I offered, trying to let him know that I was still confused. He pulled away from me, an incredulous look on his face.
"Do you have any idea where you are?" Just one shake of my head sent me reeling, and I had to close my eyes and take several deep breaths before opening my eyes again. Edward kissed my nose and then took another deep breath. I watched him with my eyes squinted, he seemed extremely wary right now. I wanted to comfort him, let him know that I really was all right. "You're in the hospital, Bella, and you might be here for a week. You have appendicitis, and Carlisle removed your appendix. You had a severe infection because your appendix ruptured, and if you weren't in the pain that you were in for Charlie to call an ambulance, you would have died."
Edward stopped and buried his nose against my neck. I felt his body tremble, and I wrapped my arms as tightly around him as I could, without stressing my IV and other monitors. After a moment, Edward whispered, and I had to strain my ears to listen, "Alice had a vision that you died, but she couldn't figure out why." His body was still shaking, and it brought tears to my eyes, I hated to see him like this. I jumped when his lips pressed against my pulse point. "She asked Carlisle to do all he could to diagnose you as fast as he could. We're lucky that he did, because I would have lost you Bella." He hugged me tightly back, and we held each other, my tears falling heavily down my cheeks.
We weren't this close for long, Edward must've heard someone coming, because he disentangled himself from me, kissing my forehead, before sitting down in a chair. I was flabbergasted at how fast that went. A second later, the door opened and a nurse came in. That's when I noticed flowers and balloons on the other side of the room.
A lot of them.
"News travels fast, Miss Swan," the nurse said, putting down more balloons.
"Angela and Ben were here right before you woke up," Edward murmured, his eyes downcast. I think he was trying to pull himself together. "Mike, Jessica, and Eric came in a lot earlier, along with a lot of people I'm not even sure you know." The nurse came over and checked all the machines that I was hooked up to. Thank goodness that I didn't have a heart monitoring system hooked up, or else it would blatantly be obvious that my heart stops every time Edward comes close to me. A few minutes later, the nurse left, and Edward was back to laying in bed with me.
Almost as soon as his head was beside mine, he whispered, "Do you remember when I left?"
I closed my eyes and thought hard. Obviously, he wasn't talking about when he left last year, that caused my heart to pang painfully, and Edward hugged me tightly. Then it came back to mind; when I accidentally misheard Carlisle's question. I looked at Edward and sighed quietly. "What were you thinking?" I asked, before he could ask me. He looked surprised that I said that, and then he lowered his head so I couldn't see his eyes. He was once again breathing against my neck.
"At first I was shocked. You always said that you never… But then, it made more sense when I thought about it. You were alone with Jacob a lot." A sharp intake of breath was the only sound I made when I registered what Edward meant. He thought I—with Jacob, even though… "Then when Carlisle realized that I didn't know about it, he assumed that it was something you didn't share with anyone, and Alice can't see visions of the dogs, so I thought…Jacob…got fresh with you."
"He would never…" I mumbled quietly.
"I know, I know." Edward kissed my forehead, knowing the pain it caused when I spoke of him. "So when you said you misheard…I wanted to believe you Bella, I swear I did! But something inside me…you're such a rotten liar though…"
"I didn't," I said firmly, hoping the shaking of my voice didn't make him doubt me. "I've only ever wanted to with you." Then I started to cry softly. Edward shifted just slightly, holding me against him.
"I'm sorry I brought him up Bella, I'm sorry."
I felt a low growl form in my throat, and I lifted Edward's face up so I could see his eyes. He was shocked that I was growling at him. "You think I'm crying because you brought Jacob up?" I asked, my voice shaking. I was surprised I managed to get the words out. Edward nodded his head slowly. I sighed and shook my head. "I'm crying because for one moment, you doubted my love for you so greatly that you thought I wouldn't save myself for you!" I then crushed my lips against his, and Edward gave in immediately, kissing me back like he really meant it. My hands tangled in his hair, but before I could lose the little self control I had, he pulled away.
"I'm sorry." He easily put me beside him on the bed. I guess that position was too tempting for him. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly. When my tears dried up and I was under control, Edward whispered, "What were you thinking?"
"When?" I asked, looking at him. He had a small smile playing on his lips.
"When Carlisle asked you that question."
"Nothing."
My blush gave me away. I turned away from him, trying to ignore his laughter as he easily turned me over. "You don't get away that easy, Isabella Marie Swan! What did you think he said?" He was leaning over me, and I looked at him with wide eyes.
"Please don't make me say it."
"Bella…"
"I thought he said, 'Are you finding me attractive?'! It was an easy mistake!" I squeaked, hiding my eyes with my hand. I could hear Edward's laughter as he nearly fell off the bed. I couldn't look at him, not until he forced me to pull my hand away from my face.
"Bella!" he said chidingly. "You were under extreme pain with no medication, and you were panting!" He lifted my chin up so he could see into my eyes. "You're only human."
"I'm only a human who can hear sexual innuendos when they don't exist!" I hissed.
Several minutes passed in absolute silence, and I felt myself beginning to nod off. I didn't really want to fall asleep, I wanted to stay awake, just a little bit longer. I almost suggested that Edward distract me, but he did so without my asking. "So you find my father figure attractive," Edward stated, laying back down beside me.
I hit his chest, glaring at him. "He's better looking than you, you jerk! Stop making fun of me!" I internally suffered my pain, I hit his chest too hard. He rolled his eyes at me, and I couldn't help myself when I laughed and pecked him on the cheek. I began to sit up slowly, easing myself up, and that's when I noticed that my ring was gone. My heart began to go haywire before I realized I was panicking. I leaned over the edge of the bed wincing slightly, and then I lost my balance almost immediately.
Before I could utter a scream, Edward easily caught me and pulled me back onto the bed. "What are you doing?" he reprimanded, looking at me sternly. I blanched and shook my head.
"I lost my ring! I'm so sorry Edward, I know it's irreplaceable, it was your mother's, but I'll look for it, please don't—" I stopped when I saw the look of fear cross Edward's face. My face turned red and tears began overflowing from my eyes. I tried apologizing again, but then I noticed Edward pinch the bridge of his nose.
I made him that angry.
"You're bleeding," he stated, getting on the other side of the room in a flash. At first I thought I reopened my incisions, and then Edward continued on. "I don't know if you're allowed to get out of bed to get cleaned up—"
"Oh!" I squeaked, grabbing the thin sheet that was on the bed. I wrapped it around me. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Suddenly Edward was standing in front of me, wiping away my tears that were cascading down my face. "You can't apologize for a human bodily function Bella, it's natural! The smell of your blood just shocked me. Carlisle is coming, I can ask him what we can do."
I quickly covered my face, trying to hide my blush and tears. I shook away Edward's hands. "I hate being a woman! And now my business is being spread out all around."
It took awhile, but after Carlisle was certain that I wasn't going to die, for lack of a better term, I was allowed to walk across the room into the small bathroom, as long as I pulled along the little rack that held my medicine. I tried not to pay attention to the IV in my arm, and for the most part, it worked.
Alice, luckily, thought about bringing my bag that I left at the her house yesterday afternoon when I went home in a rush. I had new underwear to put on, but I was told to stay in the hospital gown, Carlisle said it would be easier if I was in a gown incase I would need any more CT scans, ultrasounds, or any other medical procedure.
When I was safely back in my bed, freshly freshened up and feeling a little cleaner, Edward was sitting in a chair beside my bed, head cocked to the side, watching me. I was red from my hairline down my chest; today, my blush was going to be extreme.
"Do you know how frustrating it is when I can't hear your thoughts?" Edward asked quietly.
"I actually have no idea," I said sarcastically. He bared his teeth at me for a second before smiling.
"Why are you embarrassed?"
"Are you serious?" I was shocked that he didn't know. My period has been plastered all around Forks now, for twenty four hours, and he couldn't figure out why I was embarrassed? I crossed my arms over my chest. I have never brought up my time of the month with Edward, I've always been much too shy and embarrassed, but now, I've thrust it into his face like it was his business!
He probably still thinks something is wrong with my ovaries…
"Why are you getting mad? Did I do something wrong?"
I narrowed my eyes at him, feeling my anger slip away as he eyed me innocently. He knew exactly what he was doing! He was dazzling me, or at least trying.
And he was succeeding. "Nothing Edward," I said slowly, laying down and pulling my sheet up to my chin. In a matter of seconds he was laying beside me, his chin tucked between my neck and shoulder. He was extremely careful as he rested his hand around my waist. I winced, gritting my teeth as a small wave of pain passed through me from my incisions. I shifted, pulling at my gown.
"Would you like some morphine?"
"Yes please," I said between gritted teeth. Edward easily moved off the bed and in what seemed like seconds, a nurse walked into the room.
"What can I do for you Miss Swan?" She was already tinkering with my monitors and antibiotics. I guess it was getting close to the time that I needed more medicine.
"Is she able to get some morphine please, her incisions are bothering her," Edward said, making me entirely grateful that he spoke for me. The nurse double checked with me, and the only response she got out of me was a quick head nod.
"Well, let's take a look at your incisions, make sure they're okay, and you know, later this afternoon you'll be getting an ultrasound to check your abscess." I head Edward excuse himself as the nurse gently instructed me to roll to my back.
After she checked and changed the bandages of my incisions, she took a set of keys from her pocket and went to a locked cabinet. I watched as she got out a small vial and a needle, and then I looked away. Internally, I prayed she didn't stick it in me.
There was a knock at the door and then Carlisle came in with another bag of antibiotics for my IV. "Good, I was just about to give her some morphine."
"She was feeling pain and your son called for me." The nurse smiled at Carlisle, and I giggled quietly, covering my mouth, my pain briefly forgotten. Was the nurse flirting with Carlisle? I saw Carlisle look at me, and he looked a little sheepish.
After I was given a small dose of morphine, which I got through the IV, thankfully, Carlisle gave me more antibiotics and murmured that I had an elevated fever. I was beginning to feel the effects of my painkiller, so I couldn't quite comment on it. I closed my eyes and listened as Carlisle wrote on my chart about my new medication and the time I took it.
"Are you feeling a little ill, Bella? The anesthetic should have made you feel a little sick."
"Earlier," I murmured, taking a breath and opening my eyes. Morphine was a magnificent drug.
"I'm going to have to keep an eye on you, your temperature is a little higher than normal. Are you hungry or thirsty?" I began to shake my head, but remembering my last ordeal with that, I opted to just say,
"No."
"You're going to need to rest, you'll be here for a week, at the least, but I'm sure Edward has already mentioned that." Carlisle eyes flickered toward the door, and I could see him trying to suppress a grin. He walked at a human pace to the door and opened it. "Edward, you need to be more patient!"
I laughed a little, and tucked my arm beneath my head, turning to my side. I waited for Edward to come back, and Carlisle called goodbye to me. I think I was too content to say something coherent, so I mumbled beneath my breath. A few seconds later, Edward was back in the room, and I could feel his weight being added to my bed. He was extremely careful as he laid beside me, resting his hand more around my middle than my waist.
My eyes closed and I took a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before exhaling and murmuring, "Play my lullaby."
"No problem, Bella. I love you."
I grabbed his hand and I kissed his fingers. I felt him breathe deeply from my neck, inhaling my scent. I felt his lips form a smile against my skin, and then very softly he began to hum my lullaby, causing my heartbeat to automatically slow.
I felt very drowsy, and I murmured Edward's name softly before I succumbed to my sleep, extremely satisfied that there was no pain.
The End
xoXoXoXox
BB/N: Woot! This is finished! The wheels are turning in my mind for another Twilight fanfic, but hopefully people enjoy this one first!
Thank you very much for all these reviews. I know my updating schedule is a bit odd
(it didn't help that was being dumb as well!), but you guys stuck with me all the way! Woot! Woot:) I really appreciate the reviews, I don't think I can say it anymore without sounding a little obsessed!
Hopefully, I'll see you again!
Love,
Bob Bennit
