AN: Hey ya'll! I'm back!
I want to thank OCDJen for being the best prereader ever! And, a big thank you to Katy, for betaing!
I won't make you wait anymore, so…
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight!
JPOV
The next three days were the hardest days of my life. They were filled with nothing but waiting. Once Edward was out of surgery and recovering in intensive care, I was by his side.
I will never forget my first look at him in that bed. There were IVs in both of his arms, bandages on his head, and a tube down his throat, connected to a respirator. The left side of his face was swollen and purple. I could see his beautiful, soft hair sticking out the top of the bandages on his head. It was now free of blood, I noticed. It's funny how, in the most dire of situations, you notice the smallest things.
When I went into that room, my vigil began. I sat next to his bed and took his in mine, being careful not to jostle him. There was no way I was moving until he opened his eyes. It could take hours, days, or even weeks. I didn't care. There was nothing more important to me but seeing Edward's gorgeous green eyes look into mine once more. Not even food or sleep could move me from his side.
Everyone tried to get me to lay down and sleep, but I wouldn't. What if Edward woke up while I was sleeping? I couldn't risk it. Esme and Rose took turns bringing me food, but I couldn't eat. I didn't want to. All I wanted was for Edward to open his eyes and speak my name again. I didn't feel cold, I didn't feel warm; I didn't feel anything at all. Rarely did I speak to anyone; I was almost catatonic. The nurses and doctors that came in to check Edward worked around me, especially after the first time they came in. The first nurses that came in tried to get me to move so they could turn Edward. I was having none of it, and I yelled at them to leave me the fuck alone. They must have told everyone else that I would get hostile if they tried to get me to move, so no one else tried.
At sunset of the third day, I had went to the bathroom, and on my way out, I looked at myself in the mirror. I barely recognized myself. My face was pale, my hair lank, and I had dark purple, almost black, circles under my eyes. I looked nothing like my former self. The light was gone from my eyes; they were a dull, lifeless blue. I knew that the only way the light would come back is if Edward woke up. Tiredness washed over me, over and over again. Not just tired for sleep, but tired of waiting and watching. Tired of worrying about my love laying there, and tired of my heart hurting every time we reached a new day and Edward still wasn't awake.
When my eyes weren't on Edward, they were on the clock. I couldn't help it. Seconds turned to minutes, and they turned to hours. If I put my head on the edge of Edward's bed to rest and closed my eyes,I saw clocks with spinning hands and vivid green eyes.
The nurses told all of us to talk to Edward like we normally would. We all took turns off and on all day for those three days, but to no avail. Edward never moved, not even a flinch or flutter of his eyelashes.
By the end of the fourth day, I was starting to doubt my sanity. By now, I was completely exhausted. Every time I would blink, it felt like there was sand behind my eyelids. I had a raging headache, and my arms and legs felt so heavy. Everyone had already taken their turns talking to Edward, and they were getting ready to go get some food. Earlier in the day, Rose and Emmett brought me some clean clothes and made me get into the shower. I had never washed and shaved faster, but I did feel a little better after. When I was done, I resumed my place next to Edward. They may have made me clean up and eat occasionally, but I wasn't giving up my place beside the only man I would die for.
Of course, I declined going to get food with the rest of the family, and Carlisle went into a speech about it not being healthy to just sit there like I was doing. I guess they all noticed the change in the way I looked.
"Jasper, please come with us," Rose pleaded.
"No," I mumbled. "I'm staying. Just bring me something back."
Rose threw up her hands in frustration and shook her head, irritated at my stubbornness.
Then, it was Esme's turn to try. "Jasper, son, you need some fresh air."
"No, I don't," I told her as kindly as I could manage. I was getting pretty frustrated. "For the past few days, I have had no time alone with him. Please, let me have an hour alone to talk to him." I felt my eyes start to fill with tears, and I silently cursed them. I was so fucking tired of crying.
Carlisle and Esme were silent for a moment, then Esme nodded. "Alright," she said softly. "We'll be back in an hour."
"Thank you," I told all of them sincerely, and they all filed out of the room.
Moving from my chair to sit on the edge of the bed, I looked down at Edward's battered face. His long lashes rested gently against his cheeks. The tube from the respirator made it hard to see his lips and nose.
Slowly and very carefully, I ran the back of my finger along the cheekbone that wasn't purple. "Edward? It's me, love," I said quietly. My voice was raspy, and I cleared my throat. To me, my voice sounded weird in the silence of the room.
"I'm waiting for you," I continued, holding his hand in both of mine. Absently, I played with his fingers. "I'm waiting to see your beautiful eyes look at me again. I'm waiting to hear you say my name again. I know you will, but it's so hard..."
Trailing off my words, I had to wipe my eyes. I just couldn't stop the tears.
"I miss you, Edward," I said brokenly. "I miss us picking on Rose and Em and laughing together. I miss your arms around me, holding me close. Everything is right in my world when I'm in your arms, Edward. I just love you, so...fucking...much."
Moving back into my chair, I laid my forehead on the edge of the bed. "Please wake up, Edward," I whispered. "Please come back to me, babe."
I didn't realize I had fallen asleep until a loud beeping noise woke me. Lifting my head, the first thing I noticed was pressure on my hand. Trying to clear my sleepy head, I realized Edward was gripping my hand and his eye that wasn't swollen was searching the room, frantic with fear. He's awake! My mind screamed at me. Get someone to get that tube out!
Finally, my body caught up to my mind and I raced to the door, opening it and calling frantically for a nurse. Luckily, a nurse was coming out of the room across the hall, and she ran past me and into the room. Going back in, I watched how she removed the tube from Edward's throat. He gave a raspy cough and sucked in air sharply. The nurse then used the call button to get more nurses in the room.
Backing up against the wall, I watched as the nurses took care of Edward, making sure he was okay. One nurse took his vitals, while another gave him sips of water, and still another was switching off the respirator and asking questions, writing frantically on Edward's chart.
Unashamed, I cried openly. These were happy tears. My Edward was awake! Hope filled my heart, making my chest constrict with the intensity of it. I felt high, and I couldn't help it; I laughed, and it felt so fucking good!
When all the nurses deemed Edward okay, they left the room with instructions to call them if anything happened. I was all too glad to agree, and I was back beside Edward before the door was fully closed.
Sitting on the edge of Edward's bed, I took his hand gently in mine and smiled through my tears. "Edward," I breathed. "I missed you, babe."
Edward squeezed my hand, swallowing hard. "Jasper," he croaked, and I couldn't help it; I burst into tears. His voice, even with it being rough from the tube, was the most beautiful sound to ever enter my ears. Laying my head down on the side of the bed, I cried. Relief flooded through me knowing that Edward was now awake. After a moment, I felt fingers softly and slowly tangle themselves in my hair. Edward didn't say anything, he just gently massaged my scalp with his fingertips, waiting for me to calm down.
When I had gained some semblance of control, I looked back up at Edward, wiping my face. "Sorry about that," I said quietly. "I was just so fucking worried that I was gonna lose you. I mean, you were in a coma for three days, and -"
"Wait," Edward whispered, cutting me off. He cleared his throat and I carefully gave him a few sips of water. "What happened?"
"Pal kicked you in the head," I explained. "You landed on a rock and it broke two of your ribs, which punctured your spleen, and the doctors had to remove it. The fall caused you to have swelling on your brain." I paused for a moment, willing myself not to cry again. "I thought I had lost you," I whispered, bringing his hand up to my lips and kissing it gently.
"I was...in a coma?" Edward asked, a confused look in his eyes.
"Yes."
"How long?"
"Today was the fourth day."
"Fuck," Edward breathed, wincing slightly as he took a deep breath.
"Rest, love," I told him softly, stroking the back of his hand with my own. He intertwined our fingers together, and I smiled at him.
"I don't want to go to sleep, but I am tired," he whispered.
"You can sleep, Edward. I'm not going anywhere, and I'll be right here holding your hand when you wake up."
Letting his good eye drift closed, Edward whispered, "Love you, beautiful."
"I love you," I whispered back, and watched as Edward's breathing evened out in sleep.
It wasn't long after and Em, Rose, Esme, and Carlisle came back, bringing me food. I was starving. When they came in, however, the first thing they noticed was that the respirator was off.
"What happened?" Carlisle asked in a voice that was borderline panic.
"Edward woke up," I answered, unable to stop the big smile from forming on my lips.
Emmett gave a loud cheer and was smacked by Rose. "Shut up, you ape! This is a hospital, and your brother is sleeping!"
"I'm not," Edward whispered, and opened his good eye again. Everyone rushed over to his bedside, giving him a pat on the shoulder or a kiss on the cheek, telling him how worried they were and how glad they were that he was okay. Tears of happiness were shed, and the tension was gone from the room.
While I ate, Edward dozed and we all sat and chatted about aimless things. A little later, two nurses came in to check Edward's vitals and to give him pain meds. I really wish they hadn't done the latter, because instead of making Edward sleepy, they made him seem drunk. We all found out, unfortunately, that Edward high on pain meds was a very talkative Edward, that had no filter. At all.
I thought my face was going to permanently be red, because Edward prattled on about how he was upset because, obviously, fucking after being tied up was way more fun than regular fucking, and that it was my turn to be tied up next. Rosalie and Emmett laughed their asses off, with Carlisle, while Esme turned red and I tried to shut Edward up. Did it work? Fuck, no. Every time I would put my hand over Edward's mouth, he would lick it, and that shit was just gross.
Finally, after a half hour of me being mortified beyond belief, Edward started to fall asleep. I was so relieved. Esme urged me to lay on the cot the nurses had brought in for me, but every time I tried to get my hand out of Edward's, he would tighten his grip and murmur for me to stay. I couldn't deny him, so I got comfortable as best I could in my chair.
We told Esme and Carlisle to go get some decent rest at home. Since Edward was awake, they did, but Rose and Em decided to stay with me. I was thankful for them, even though their kissing on that cot behind me was grossing me out.
The next morning, Dr. Clearwater came in early, waking us all up. He greeted us happily and loudly, and it was all I could do not to groan in frustration. I was still fucking sleepy.
"How are you feeling, Edward?" the doctor asked, and Edward tried to smile.
"Like shit, doc," he said. "How about you?"
Emmett tried to hide his chuckle in a cough, but I knew better. Edward's answer was pretty funny.
"I expected you to say that," Dr. Clearwater laughed. "I am good. In a few minutes, a nurse is going to take you to get an MRI of that head of yours. Your brain swelled a little, but since you're awake, it might have gone down."
"Kay," Edward murmured, half asleep.
"Now, I'm going to check your incision, alright?" He looked at me, Rose, and Emmett. "If you would, please let us have a few minutes."
Rose and Em stood, making their way to the door, when Edward opened his good eye fully. "Jasper stays," he said firmly.
Dr. Clearwater looked from me to Edward for a moment, and slowly nodded. "Alright," he agreed.
Edward relaxed visibly, and I gently squeezed his hand. "I'm not going anywhere, love," I murmured to him, and he let go of my hand so he could rest his on my arm. He stroked my arm slowly, and I wondered if he was nervous.
"You okay, Edward?" I asked, concerned.
"Yeah, as long as you're here," Edward mumbled, then drew in a sharp breath. I figured the doctor was poking around on him, and my heart went out to him.
"Fuck," Edward hissed, and the doctor covered Edward back up.
"Sorry about that," Dr. Clearwater told Edward. "You are healing nicely. Now, all we have to do is see how your head is. Someone will be right in to take you down."
Edward nodded, mumbling out a 'thanks', and Dr. Clearwater left the room.
Leaning over Edward, I whispered, "You okay, love?"
"Fine," he answered. "But, you know what would make me feel even better?"
"What's that?" I asked.
"Kiss me," Edward whispered, making me smile.
Reaching up, I ran my fingers down his forehead. Slowly, I brought my face closer to his and kissed first his forehead, then ever so gently, I brushed my lips across Edward's swollen eye and cheek. His soft breath fanned my skin as he sighed. Finally, I pressed my lips lightly to Edward's in a soft kiss. I felt the electricity buzz throughout me like it always did, and I realized it had been too long. A thought struck me as the wonderful electrical buzz moved throughout my body. If Edward had never woken up, I would have lost this.
With that thought going through my mind, I tilted my head and placed another, open mouthed, kiss on his mouth. Edward hummed against my lips and I felt another shock race through me.
"Love you," I murmured against his lips then pecked him once more before pulling away.
"Love you too," Edward whispered back just as the door opened and an orderly came in, followed by Emmett and Rose. I stood up straight and I knew my face must have been pink, but the orderly just smiled at me before turning to Edward.
"Well, Mr. Cullen, are you ready to go have your head looked at?" she asked in a cheerful voice.
"Oh yeah," Edward answered sarcastically. "Highlight of my fucking day."
The orderly just laughed and released the brakes on the bed before starting to push it toward the door. Emmett and Rose moved with me up against the wall so she could have room. Before she could get to the door, however, Edward stopped her.
"Jasper," he called, "come here."
I walked to Edward's bedside, and he took my hand. He looked so scared.
"You'll be here when I get back?" he mumbled low enough so no one could hear but me.
"Of course, love," I soothed, pushing his hair off of his forehead. "I'll be right here."
Edward relaxed visibly and I kissed the back of his hand before letting it go and nodding to the orderly, silently telling her it was okay to go.
When they were out of the room, Emmett clapped me on the back. "We asked the orderly how long it would take for the test and she said about an hour, so come on. You're gonna go outside and get some fresh air."
Nodding and smiling at Emmett and Rose, I replied, "Sounds like a great idea."
We went outside into the hospital's gardens, and I looked up into the bright blue sky, enjoying the sun warming my face. I breathed in deep lungfuls of the fresh air, feeling the stress and tension of the last few days fade away. I was happy that Emmett and Rosalie brought me out here. Though it had only been minutes since we stepped outside, I was feeling so much better already.
Rosalie, Emmett, and I just messed around, talking and laughing, for about twenty minutes before I looked around and saw a familiar face.
"Jacob!" I called, and he walked up to us with a big smile.
"Hey," he said to us and Rose and Em greeted him then walked away a little, to let us talk, I supposed.
"How's Edward?" he asked, and I frowned slightly.
"How'd you know about Edward?" I asked, confused.
"Rosalie got in touch with me and told me what happened. Is he okay?"
"He's healing," I answered. "He woke up from the coma yesterday and now he's getting an MRI to see how the swelling on his brain is."
"Wow," Jacob said thoughtfully, moving closer to me. I ignored it for the moment. "He's really messed up, huh?"
"Yeah, but he's gonna be okay," I answered, a little nervously. Glancing out at the gardens, I made sure Rose and Em were close, which they were. Jacob was making me uncomfortable, with the soft look he was giving me.
"Rosalie told me you were pretty upset," Jacob told me in a soft voice, moving even closer to me. My breathing started to quicken. What the hell was he doing?
"Um...yeah," I stammered out. "Very." Trying to back up, I realized I couldn't because there was a wall behind me. Shit. I was trapped. Looking up at Jacob, I saw that his eyes were dark and burning.
"I could help you feel better," he whispered, cupping my cheek with his hand. I tried to get away, but he gripped my face a little harder.
"What the fuck are you doing?" I breathed out, as I started to panic.
"Just helping you," Jacob said, then held my face tightly in both of his hands as he crashed his lips to mine. His lips were unfamiliar to me, and completely unwelcome. I tried to pull away, but Jacob held me still. He pushed his tongue against my lips, but I kept them closed. There was no way he was getting into my mouth.
Whimpering and grunting, I tried to get out of Jacob's hold, but he had me pushed up against the wall so hard with his body, I couldn't get away. Feeling Jacob's hardness against my thigh, I struggled harder.
Finally, mercifully, Jacob was being pulled off me by a very pissed off Emmett. He tried to pull out of Em's grip, but couldn't.
Suddenly, I was so full of rage, I was shaking. How dare that fucker kiss me when he knew I was with Edward? He should have known better than to do that shit to me, and before I could fully register what was going on, I pulled back and punched Jacob as hard as I could, right in the mouth. "Don't you ever come near me again, Jacob Black!" I spat, then turned and started walking back to the hospital entrance.
After a moment, Em and Rose caught up to me and Rose put her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jasper," she said sadly. "I had no idea he would do that."
Looking over at Rose, I saw how sad and sincere she was, and I granted her a small smile. "It's alright, Rose. It's not your fault."
"Dude!" Emmett boomed happily, "I didn't know you had it in you! That was the fucking shit, man!"
I looked at Emmett's excited face and couldn't help but smile a little. "Thanks, Em," I mumbled.
By the time we made it back up to Edward's room, the adrenaline had worn off and I was kinda nervous. God. Jacob kissed me! What the hell was he thinking? The stupid asshole! I couldn't believe that Jacob would think that I would go to him because Edward had gotten hurt. That was ridiculous! I was in it with Edward, for the long haul. Hurt or not, sick or well, all of it.
But now, I just had one problem. How the fuck was I gonna tell Edward what happened?
I hope all ya'll liked it! Please leave a review and let me know! All of ya'll who read and review, or just read, are AWESOME! Thank you!
Penny