Thanks to Stephanie Meyer for her marvelous characters. I enjoy putting them in impossible situations.
Thanks Tawny, you are the best!
Chapter 10:
Carlisle Cullen had finally found the time to complete the stack of pending paper work on his desk. He carried out the motions of completing the paperwork, but his mind was distracted by the presence of his son in the hospital.
Jasper had always been a sensitive child. He had been all of eleven when he'd had to move into his Aunt's family. Elizabeth and Don Whitlock had been extended family, even before Carlisle had married Esme. Tragedy had struck the family, leaving Jasper alone and in the care of the Cullens. Carlisle knew that they had never been able to take Jasper's parents' place. And how could he forget his past when it haunted him always, day in and day out?
"Dr. Cullen, the emergency room," panted his most faithful nurse, opening the door to his cabin without knocking.
The next instant, Carlisle was breaking into a jog towards the emergency trauma room, years of medical practice kicking in. What he found was a scene he would never forget.
His sons were crouched in a pose more animal than human over a prone body on the gurney.
"What the fuck did you do to her?" snarled Jasper.
His anger was not something that surprised Carlisle, though his anger stemming from concern from someone else was certainly unprecedented. Carlisle took a moment to be grateful for the fact that his son still retained empathy for others.
"That is quite enough!"
Both boys turned towards their father, one with a slightly chastised expression, the other with utter defiance.
"Who brought her in? What happened?" Carlisle fired away as he took in the blood soaked rag and the bleeding gash on the girl's fingers.
"These will need stitches, though I am more concerned about her unconscious state," he stated, already starting on cleaning the wound and disinfecting it. "Order a CT scan for her please, Penny."
"There was no head trauma Dad, she opened the door with her bleeding hand and then just . . . passed out," Edward said. "I caught her before she hit the floor."
"What were you doing at her house?" Jasper asked sharply.
"Not that it's any of your business, but Bella is going to be working on a project with me for school. I'd gone there to discuss some details with her."
"Enough! Both of you leave the room now. Go home and we'll talk about this later."
Though he heard a huff and something that sounded suspiciously like a growl, he heard no arguments from either of his sons. His hands worked reflexively on the girl and noticed her facial features for the first time. She had a demure face, a petite frame, the complexion flawlessly pale with a halo of mahogany locks.
His intuition told him that his sons were disputing not about the beautiful girl's health but something far more commonly found in seventeen year old boys. If his hunch was correct, before long, one of his sons would be heartbroken.
Just as he finished the stitches, the girl moaned, signaling her return to the land of the living.
"Easy does it," soothed Carlisle. "You've had a bit of an accident; you are at Forks General right now."
Bella Swan had opened her eyes with her mind groggy and eyes swimming in and out of focus. The face hovering above her was unknown to her, but never for a moment did she feel threatened. On the contrary, she wondered if she was hallucinating about angels, but the stinging in her fingers quickly snapped her out of her delusion.
"Umm . . . how did I get here?"
"My son brought you here, do you remember what happened?"
"Oh! Yes, you must be Edward's father!"
"Indeed I am," replied Carlisle, glancing through her file. Bella saw his eyes widen comically and groaned internally. She felt the blush creep up on her face as the fair doctor no doubt read in black and white about her history of clumsiness.
"It seems you are quite a regular patient here, Miss Swan," he said, not without a trace of humor.
Bella moaned and hid behind her bandaged fingers in mortification.
"I'm clumsy," she muttered.
"Yes, I can see that. This time it has got you a total of five stitches, though I don't see any problems in the healing process. It was a clean cut and Edward brought you here immediately. I am more worried that you passed out, and I would like you get a CT scan."
"That's not really needed; I am sensitive to the smell of blood. It nauseates me and I guess I passed out from it."
Checking her pupil dilatation, he had to agree that her reflexes were good.
"Well, in that case, I will let you go without one, but any hint of dizziness or blacking out and I want you to come in," he informed.
Bella was nodding beautifully when she heard the gruff and panicked voice of her father.
She sighed.
Chief Swan had arrived.
Next up is a JPOV! Let me know what you think so far.
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