9 - Is there a doctor?
The next two days passed too slowly for my taste, I did not go back to the cabin again, despite the amount of progress I had made on the necklace - my conscience finally caught up with me and pointed out how wrong it was for me to invade someone someone's privacy. It was impolite to go there uninvited when he was not around - I chose to ignore the little voice in the back of my head that pointed out that the cabin was just an empty house without Phil there. So I became especially industrious and helped Jon reapply some much needed paint to one of the boats. Day five of Phil's absence came and passed but Phil did not call to tell me he was back.
By the end of the sixth day I was getting seriously paranoid. I went down the list of all the human things that could have happened to him. Car wreck, mugging, choke on a chicken bone - hell that did not even take into account Phil and his crazy driving, people died in motorcycle accidents all the time. That was bad enough but when you added all the supernatural possibilities thing got worse. Random vampire attack, was at the top of my list. Seth had joined us that night for patrols, and I was starting to drive both him and Jake nuts with my worries.
Why don't you just go check on him? Jake finally suggested. Maybe then we can get some peace.
Getting through the entire patrol was kind of hard, especially since there was some sort of magnet that kept pulling me towards the cabin. Jake finally relented and told me to head that way but stay in wolf form until after our time was up, he did give me a hard time. Hey Leah, what was that about me being a bridesmaid, at this rate I will not have to wait too long.
Under any other circumstance I could have made some crack about Jake being very anxious to be my bridesmaid but at this point in time I was in a hurry to get to the cabin and check up on Phil. The ever present clouds above me were starting to lighten, indicating that it would soon be morning. The large trees above me blocked out even the meaner morning light, but luckily my wolf sight allowed me to move through the woods without stumbling.
The cabin looked exactly the same as I had left it a few days ago. I circled the house sticking to the woods to see if there was any sign of life inside. Fortunately for my sanity's sake I did not smell any bloodsuckers. Well that is one fear down and six thousand more to go.
I left the woods and circled closer to the house, my relief was profound when I heard Phil's funny heart beat, the one with the skip. I could recognized it easily, I had been listening to it for the past month. My fear was quickly replaced by fury, how dare he be back and not even bother to call me. Did I matter that little? I was starting to work myself into a nice fit of anger when I heard it - a groan coming from the house, it sounded like someone was in pain.
I debated for less than a second before I phased back into human form, me being naked would have been slightly easier to explain than a huge wolf. Streaking naked across the formal garden I thanked my lucky stars that the cabin was isolated enough that there would be no neighbors to enjoy the show I was putting on.
The house was eerily quiet, as I slowly slid the back door shut. Phil was not making any more noise and my wolf hearing was not good enough to pinpoint his exact location just based on his heartbeat; I swear this house had the best insulation I had ever encountered, usually walls were not able to muffle sounds so well. I ran up the stairs, people tended to go to bed when they were sick, so checking out his bedroom first was a good plan. I was trying to be fast and quiet at the same time, very aware of the fact that I was sans clothing. I did not want to get caught but if Phil was in trouble then I did not want something as silly as being naked get in the way. The kitchen and living room area had empty when I rushed past them.
Phil's room was just as empty, the bed was still perfectly made and it did not look used. I rand to the dresser and pulled out another one of his shirts, two shirts in three days - at this rate I was going to have to offer to do some of his laundry. That was not my main concern, Phil was nowhere to be found. I even looked inside the bathroom. Making another pass in his bedroom and foolishly wasting my time by looking under the bed I learned that the t-shirt might cover everything when I was standing up it did not do a good job if I bent over.
I raided his dresser again, this time in search of some short, I only found some of his boxer briefs. Pulling them on while hopping out of his bedroom I gave up all attempts to be quiet. "Phil?" I called out anxiously while searching the spare bedrooms.
I finally located Phil on the ground floor, he was in the small bathroom off the laundry room. The bathroom was odd compared to the rest of the house in that it lacked windows. The door was closed but I could here his heart on the other side, the heartbeat was faster than usual, the funny skip seeming to be much louder.
"Phil, are you all right?" I cracked the door a little. The relief at seeing Phil alive was short lived.
"Go away," he whispered without looking up. He sitting on the floor right next to the toilet, I could smell the bitter stench of bile in the air. I had never seen Phil like this, he was ashen underneath his dark skin, it was not a good look for him. His hair was not tied back as usual but fell in lanky strands around his head. His shirt looked rumpled like he had been wearing it for a while, that went along with the unwashed body smell. That was shocking in itself, Phil was very fastidious about personal hygiene. I could also see the beads of sweat that were forming across the back of his neck in between the strands of hair.
"Are you all right?" I asked concerned.
He raised his head a little, "go away" he repeated in a voice so quiet I probably would not have heard him had I been human. The movement set him off again, because he moved more fully over the toilet.
He had probably been doing this for a while, his stomach must be completely empty because nothing came out. I stood there helpless, wondering if I should do something. But what could I do, I did not have any medical training.
"Maybe you should go to a hospital." I considered calling an ambulance.
"No ... need... just need dark and quiet. I will be fine." His deep voice cane out much weaker than I was accustomed to.
"But..." I started to argue, but he was not listening to me, he was too busy retching again.
I knew Phil was stubborn enough not to go to the hospital, and since he was an adult the paramedics might not be able to take him against his will.
Finally something obvious occurred to me, I did not have to take him to the hospital, I knew a doctor that could make house calls. My worry made it so that not much of my time was spent pondering the consequences of calling up a leech, instead I dialed the Cullen's number yet again. This was the second phone call I made to the Cullen's for Phil's sake. Too bad he could not appreciate the sacrifices I made for him.
"Hello," Esme had picked up the phone, I asked to see if Carlisle was there. Fortunately for me he had not left for work yet and was able to take my frantic call.
I explained how I had found Phil and wanted to know what I could do for him. Carlisle was concerned but he did not feel comfortable giving advice without examining Phil first.
"Phil," I whispered as quietly as I could, not wanting to aggravate his condition, "I can get a doctor to come here," I only cracked the door open a little, the light seemed to make it worse for him.
There was a pause. "Go away, just a ...migraine." As quiet as Phil had been I guess Carlisle still heard him. Vampire hearing was as good as that of a wolf, if not better.
"A migraine would explain most of his symptoms, and sounds like he already has a diagnosis." Carlisle said quietly.
"Can't you do anything for him?" I was getting desperate, I could hear Phil trying to throw up again.
"Usually learning the triggers and therefore prevention is the best choice. There are certain medications but they do not work for everyone. Sometimes the best cure is simply to keep them in a quiet dark room and make sure they are well hydrated." Carlisle was willing to come and help me but he wanted to respect Phil's choice. I hung up on Carlisle, but not before he told me his cell phone number, I was to call him if anything changed, including Phil's mind about wanting help.
I suppressed a snort, "hell will freeze over first before Phil admits he needs help." The good news was that Edward had some medical training and if Carlisle was tied up at work the red headed vampire would be able to come.
I took Phil some water, and practically poured it down his throat, it came up immediately. I spent the rest of the morning alternating between searching the internet for information about migraines and sitting on the other side of the bathroom door cringing every time I heard him throw up. I had called my mother to explain the situation to her and to inform her that I would not be coming into work today. She was prepared for me missing work, just not for this reason - she was very understanding about taking care of Phil.
I took the duty of keeping him hydrated very seriously, and was trying to make him drink anything every ten or so minutes. I tried every kind of liquid I could think of: water, tea, coffee and even milk. He absolutely refused the last two, saying it would only make it worse.
"The faster you drink something the sooner I will leave you alone." I encourage him - or blackmailed him, depending on which one of us you asked. He refused at first but then he would try, if only to get rid of my. The problems was that any little bit of liquid that I managed to coax him to swallow immediately came up.
I finally gave up by mid afternoon and called the Cullens again, he had not kept anything down. I gave Edward quick directions and went to wait by the back door. I was standing there when I noticed that I was only wearing a T-shirt and underwear. I quickly ran upstairs and dug out a pair of Phil's shorts. It was no big deal, I was used to wearing men's clothing.
It took Edward less than ten minutes to arrive. Jake had come with him, I was grateful for that. I was not really in the mood to deal with a vampire all by myself.
Edward cringed as soon as he entered the house, I watched him grip his head with both hands and exhale slowly. Jake and I exchanged looks, what was wrong with the leech? I quickly moved so that I was standing between the Edward and the door that lead to Phil, just in case.
"What is the matter?" I asked suspiciously. I knew it was a bad idea to bring him here, but I had been too desperate. Phil needed to keep something down.
"His thoughts are completely consumed by the pain, it is beyond excruciating, I don't know how a human can still be conscious." Edward was taking deep breaths. Oh I had almost forgot the mind reader bit, I guess he was feeling whatever was going on in Phil's head. I did not think it possible but my worry escalated, how much pain was Phil in?
"Can you do something?" I asked in a whisper, not wanting to make loud noises in case Phil can hear us.
"Let me go see him," Edward said after a moment. He seemed to have recovered from the initial barrage of Phil's thoughts, but I could still detect some lines of strain around his eyes.
I hovered as Edward entered the bathroom, I was prepared to jump in just in case Edward decided he was hungry. I was being really paranoid but I did not care.
Phil was lying on the ground both his arms covering his head, the blanked I had found to put on him had been shoved aside. The smell of bile still permeated the air, the bitter scent a reminder that Phil had been unable to keep anything down.
I was impressed with Edward, he used a low quiet voice to question Phil, not that he was being cooperative.
No he did not want to be examined. No he did not want any medication. Leave me alone. That seemed to be his mantra for today.
I don't know who I was getting more frustrated with, Phil for being so uncooperative or Edwards for not being able to help him.
"I don't supposed you can start an IV?" Phil said in an exhausted voice.
I could see Edward considering this idea, he stepped out of the bathroom and I followed.
"Why did you not think of that? You are the doctor!" I made the rude remark as soon as we were out of Phil's hearing range.
Edward seemed to ignore my snarky comment, he either attributed it to me being my usual self or he understood about how worried I was. Either way he was polite as he left, promising that he would come back in just a few minutes with the IV equipment.
Jake who had been hanging in the background finally spoke when Edward left. "Hey Leah do you have anything to eat? I am getting hungry."
We dug through the fridge, there was some leftover sandwich meat which was still good. I did not want to but Jake made me eat with him. I was guessing his claim of being hungry was just a ruse to get me to eat, but I was too worried to be thankful right now.
Edward came back in record time. What he did not do in record time was find Phil's vein. You would think a vampire would know how to find blood, I thought to myself.
I had forgotten yet again about Edwards ability, he looked over his shoulder to give me a dirty look for a second before trying yet again to find a vein. "His veins are in the wrong places, it is almost like someone wired him wrong. It also does not help that he is already dehydrated," he muttered to himself as he finally located a good one.
Edward quickly left yet again after showing me how to change the bag if necessary, Jake followed soon after mentioning that he would get someone else to cover my patrols for tonight. Honestly my patrol duties had completely slipped my mind, taking care of Phil was much more important than chasing after shadows. Sam really needed to let this paranoia go or he would work himself into several ulcers, regardless of the fact that he has wolf healing.
The IV was a good idea, Phil seemed to regain a bit of his color and I settled down in front of the TV to occupy myself with something other than worry. I have no idea what I had been watching on the television, maybe the cooking channel. I was truly exhausted, having not slept in over a day. It was starting to be dark outside when I finally made myself move from the couch. If I spent one more minute in the comfortable chair I would fall asleep and not wake up for several day.
That was not an option right now, Phil might still need me. Pushing myself off the couch with a tired groan I headed to check on Phil.
He was still in the small windowless bathroom, when I had tried to move him to his room he had been insistent on staying there - something about the light making it worse. I cracked the door open slightly wincing at the creaking sound. Phil was sitting next to the closed toilet, his head on the lid, snoring quietly. I backed out again not wanting to wake him.
I leaned against the closed door and slowly slid down the hard surface, my feet seeming to have lost all energy. Phil's deep steady breaths were a comforting sound, his heartbeat was going at a much slower pace than earlier when he was in pain. That funny little skipping sound was almost too faint to hear. The adrenaline high from worrying about Phil suddenly ran out and I felt the consequences of not having gotten any sleep in the past day.
I must have fallen asleep because the next time I opened my eyes it was bright outside, the type of bright that signaled a day with a thin cloud cover and a possibility of actually seeing sunshine. I was in one of the spare bedrooms of the cabin, the blanket tucked around me. The clock next to the bed it said 3:30, I instantly became fully awake. How had I slept this long? What if something happened to Phil. I pushed the blanket off of me and rushed out the door. In my haste I did not notice the large man standing in the hallway until I ran into him, nearly toppling both of us over.
He was freshly showered, his hair was slicked back and still damp. He was a little pale compared to his normal healthy color but nothing like yesterday.
"Good morning, Princess" he said, "you hungry?" His huge smile and the dimples came out in full force.
Just having woken up meant that my mind was not working at one hundred percent; when that was combine that with the worry I had felt ever since stepping foot into this house - heck, ever since he had left me - well you have to forgive a girl for getting a little pissed off. "You hungry? That is all that you have to say?" My questions came out more like a growl, my hands were starting to shake. I thought he was freaking going to die, especially when he kept nothing down. And now he had the audacity to just stand there and smile while asking me if I was hungry.
"What do you want me to say?" he asked with a confused look. All my worries from last night came crashing down and I punched his arm not really watching my strength.
As he rubbed the spot a look of understanding crossing his face. "I am sorry I scared you Princess, really everything is fine." He reach out and pulled me into his arms. "It was just a migraine, nothing more."
In retrospect I could not figure out why I allowed myself to be pushed around but I let him pull my head onto his broad shoulder. The grey shirt he was wearing was softer than it looked and I nuzzled it slightly as I took a deep breath - hmmm the scent of soap, deodorant and Phil. I allowed him to give me the comfort I so desperately needed. Much to my mortification I started to cry all over his shoulder. It was not the cute girl cry either, but the snorting, sobbing kind. I was not crying because of my fear for his health, he was a really healthy guy and really if I took my emotions out of it I would have known he would be fine. I was crying for fear of losing my sanity.
A few months ago I had fallen into this dark pit, and no matter what I tried my efforts only managed to dig me deeper and deeper into the mire. Now I could see the way out of this place, there were a few small ledges that would allow me to climb out. I cried because I realized I needed this man to give me a little boost every once in a while so I could reach those ledges, and I did not want him to leave just yet. I needed his help for a little while longer, until I could be strong enough to finish climbing out all by myself.
I have to hand it to Phil, he let finish crying without squirming or trying to say anything significant. He just held me and rubbed my back while murmuring nonsense into my hair. When it looked like I was done, he sent me to take a shower while he made breakfast.
It took an extra long shower for me to regain my composure, though I did not like to admit to myself that I needed Phil. How could I become dependent on another man? The only thing saving me from going completely insane was the knowledge that I did not need him to be a lover, in fact it was best that he would just be my friend right now. When I had finished with my shower I came out to find brand new jeans, a shirt and underwear laid out on the bed - all in my size. I found Phil downstairs in the kitchen, his shirt was dark blue instead of the grey he had been wearing earlier. Embarrassment at getting snot all over his shirt caught up with me as I looked at his broad back but that was quickly banished by the meal in front of me. Star shaped blueberry pancakes, eggs, bacon, and my all time favorite, homemade granola. I had not realized such a thing existed before meeting Phil, but now I wondered how it was possible to live without the stuff. He told me the secret was in the honey, but while he would share a jar of it with me he would not tell me where he actually got the stuff. The jar looked like the kind you normally buy to put your preserves in, there was no label to help me decipher how to get more.
After thanking me for holding his head while he while he prayed to the porcelain gods he sat down beside me to consume his own breakfast. My little breakdown was not mentioned by him and I sure as hell was not going to bring it up.
My mother did not say anything when I got home that night, I am guessing Phil had called her to smooth things over. I thought about calling the Cullen family to thank them for their help, but I decided it would be best if I just did it in person.
A few days later we were back to normal, it helped that Phil behaved as if I had not spent some time smearing his shirt with my snot. We were headed up to a small waterfall he had read about, he was one of those people that not only bought the local guide book but actually spent the time to read it. The path was somewhat overgrown and had seen little use in the past summer, but I knew the general direction and could easily nudge Phil to go where I wanted.
It was barely noon, and I was getting hungry but I did not say anything because we were almost to our destination - it would be fun to eat our lunch next to the waterfall. Phil abruptly paused mid stride, had it not been for my wolf reflexes I would have probably bumped into him.
"Phil what's wrong?" I asked when he did not start moving again. Ever since the migraine incident I had become a little more aware of his human fragility. I moved to the side so that I could see his face.
He was focused on something off in the distance, it did not appear as if he had heard me. I grabbed his arm to get his attention but even as he turned to look down at me I noted that his eyes were seeing my face. He was concentrating on something, something extremely unpleasant if his expression was any indication.
I stood there staring up at him for a moment, as his face cleared. My Phil came back, the one with the constant smile.
"Sorry about that, I forgot about something I had to do. Something rather annoying." He said with a small laugh that sounded disingenuous to my ears.
"And what was that?" I asked suspiciously.
"It was my mother's birthday yesterday, I forgot to call her." He made a silly face as he spoke. I laughed at him, from what I heard him say his mother was a little crazy.
We continued to follow our path, Phil twined his arm around mine and smiled down at me. "Tell me Princess are you getting hungry yet?"
Before I could say anything another voice answered my question. "Yeah lunch sounds good right now. What do you ladies think?" I looked up horrified at the thing that had spoken. Vampires! Red eyed vampires - three of them. They looked a little wild, more true to their monster nature. The clothes they were wearing looked ill fitting as well as unkept. They had probably taken them off their victims. The male had been the one who had spoken, but the two females looked like the were ready to join in on the party.
I quickly considered my options. But I had none, there was only one thing to do.
"Would you like some lunch, we can..." Phil started to invite them politely to have lunch with us. If I phased quickly I could kill one before they figured out that I was the predator not the prey; if I did it quickly enough I might be able to take a second one down as well. The smaller female seemed really interested in Phil, she would have to die first. Then I could move onto the male on her left. I had no idea what would happen to the second female but I knew my pack would find them and destroy them, even if I did not survive this.
I paused for a moment to regret the loss of my hiking boots, they were really comfy. The next instant I phased into a wolf, tearing through all my clothes. It had happened quicker than normal, but I guess I had the extra inducement.
As I jumped towards the smaller female I hit a wall. No, it was not a wall, more like a cushion, I fell back softly and felt my limbs get heavier. I fought as hard as I could but my mind would not cooperate, like my body it too felt wrapped in cotton. Must kill the leeches. I felt my mind relaxing, I felt myself slowly phase back to human form.
I woke up slightly groggy, I looked around me. Phil was leaning against a fallen log, his backpack still on, he was snoring softly. My stomach grumbled, I was getting kind of hungry. I wonder if I could get food out of the backpack without waking Phil.
I stood up, "wow head rush," I had to put a hand on the tree to steady myself. It was strange for me to be this out of it, serves me right for taking a nap.
I quickly found my balance again, though my thoughts were still a little slow. I walked over to look down at Phil, he looked so much younger when he was asleep. He also looked sexy as hell, the top button of his shirt was open giving me a glimpse of the muscles underneath. There was just something about the heavily corded neck that drew me me in, I wanted to lean down and nuzzle that spot underneath his adam's apple. Damn I needed a man, and this one really did it for me. Too bad I had not imprinted on him, more and more I thought he would solve all my problems. Shut up Leah, you are a big girl, you can solve your own problems.
The first problem I had to solve is how to get to the backpack open and get the food out without waking Phil. I stepped to the side, hoping I could somehow unzip it without moving it too much. There was a snap as I stepped on a twig, Phil opened his eyes. He slowly focused on my face and gave me a quick smile.
"Is there any particular reason you are hovering over me?" He asked me looking confused.
"You are using my food as a pillow," I pointed to the backpack he had behind him, hopefully he would not notice the blush on my face. The though of him waking up to find me drooling over his body was embarrassing.
"Oh," he said looking back and noticing he still had his backpack on.
He got up, I noticed his movements were a little slower too. But as we settled down to eat the food seemed to wake us both up. We laughed at the fact that we both had managed to fall asleep in the middle of the forest.
That night I was getting ready to go for my patrols, I noticed something odd. All three prongs of my bra were fastened, that was strange - I never fastened all three. I had learned the hard way that you do not want to be trying to phase into a wolf while trying to take your bra off, so now I only fastened one prong - if I wore the bra in the first place. I could not remember why I had hooked all three this morning. As I was fiddling with the bra, I remembered the dream about the three thirsty vampires and phasing to wolf in front of Phil. It had seemed so real. It must have been a dream, because I had ripped through all my clothes; the clothes that were in one piece nicely folded on my bed. I shook my head in confusion, things were still a little hazy, that nap had really messed me up.
"Did you take care of the problem?" The man asked the woman standing beside him.
"There was really nothing left to take care of, all I had to do is start the fire." She gave him a small push, nearly making him lose his balance and fall out of the large tree. "You could have avoided the whole situation."
"No, I did not see anything, that was a complete surprise." He gave a small frown wondering what else he would fail to see.
The woman next to him gave him a funny look, "how could you miss something this important? You were almost caught."
A/N: There you go girls, another chapter, two in one day... well it would have been except it is now close to one am here.
Connect2tjb: Thanks for coming along for the ride :D
Ms animegoddess: Here you go, the next chapter. Just for you ;P. Glad you liked the last one.
ABarbieStory: No Phil did not have a camera in the house. I will explain later how he knew. As for the mystery, I will try to keep the mystery going for a while, only revealing some pieces. Hopefully you are going to get a goodnight sleep and enjoy this next chapter. Sweet dreams, I am headed that way too. Just as soon as I post this chapter and check in on my little sleeping cherubs.