Everything Is Different Now
Chapter 9
February 27, 2013
3:00 A.M.
LPOV
There was an insistent knocking on my bedroom door. I thought it was part of a dream at first, but I
finally managed to focus my eyes, throw off the covers and grab my robe as I reached for the door.
Something was wrong. Nobody ever pulled me out of bed at 3 in the morning. Everyone on the
estate was always asleep at this hour too.
"What is it Willikins?"
"It's Master Jacob, Madam. I think he may be ill."
"Okay, tell me on the way."
"Well, I couldn't sleep Madam. Don't know why, but I thought I'd walk around a bit and try to clear
my head. I had no reason to be restless, but I was. Anyway, I thought I heard a noise and followed
the sound to the entrance of the hall to the west wing. I wanted to respect Master Jacob's privacy, but
something about the sound bothered me so I moved down the hall toward his bedroom door. I don't
know what's going on Doctor, but I think he may be in pain. It sounds almost like he's crying."
"Okay Willikins, good job. Thank you for coming to get me. Stay close until I find out what the
problem is okay?"
"Yes Madam. Of course."
"Jacob? It's Laura, are you alright? Jacob? Are you up?"
"There it is again. That's the sound I heard."
"I'm going in Willikins. Stay right behind me."
"On your six Madam."
"Jacob? Are you okay? Wake up. Jacob? My God, Phillip, look at his face! Get my bag, wake Marie,
I'm gonna need some help!"
"On the way Laura."
I ran to the ensuite bathroom of Jacob's quarters and wet a hand towel with cold water. Returning to
his bedside, I pulled the sheet down, hesitating only briefly when I realized he was sleeping in the
buff. It wasn't like it was something I'd never seen, and this was an emergency. I'd get over it.
His body was one of the most beautiful things I think I'd ever seen. If only it wasn't marred by the
sheen of sweat and the brilliant purple veining all over his skin. His muscles and tendons were all
tensed and flexed in a rictus of pain and stress. His face was streaked with tears and he was indeed
crying and whimpering, but not awake. He was not responsive at all to my voice or my touch when I
gently shook his shoulder. He was attempting to talk, but most of it was just mumbles. The
occasional word would spill out, 'Bella' and 'baby', then 'vampire' and 'bloodsucker'. Once he cried
out as if in sharp pain and his hands shot to his throat and his fingers covered his carotid artery as if
he was trying to staunch blood flow from a wound there. When he screamed loudly, shouted 'NO!'
and then cried my name, I'd had enough. I had just placed the cold compress across his forehead and
I chose some drastic measures.
I reached as far around his shoulders as I could and lay my chest across his body. I hugged him
tightly and began to whisper into his ear. I murmured soothing words and tried to pull his hands
away from his throat and hold them in my own.
"Jacob. It's okay. I'm right here. You're gonna be alright. It's Laura. Wake up, Jacob. Nobody's
gonna hurt you. Ever again. Come on, Jacob, you're okay. It's just me, open your eyes."
He stilled and his body relaxed slightly. I lifted my head to look at his face. He was still asleep, or
unconscious. He was still crying quietly but holding tightly to my hands with both of his. I started to
raise back up to a sitting position and reached for the towel on his head. It had warmed considerably
and I pulled my hands from his grip and stood to take it back to the bathroom and rinse it in more
cold water. I hurriedly wrung out the excess water and moved quickly back toward Jacob's bedside.
He suddenly cried out again, this time it sounded more like fear than pain, and as he shot upright in
the bed he reached both arms toward me, hands grasping at the air. I rushed to his side and wrapped
my hands around his forearms, seating myself on the edge of the mattress. I had no sooner released
one of his arms to reach for the wet towel, when Jacob gasped in a deep breath and reached his arms
for me again. He pulled me into his arms and embraced me so tightly I could barely draw air into my
lungs.
He buried his face in my hair at the crook of my neck and held me close to his chest. After a few
moments, I felt his tears soaking into the shoulder of my robe. He mumbled my name again and
continued taking ragged breaths as his hold on me remained firm yet somehow soothing. I wanted
him to lie back down but I didn't think he was actually awake yet and I didn't want to startle him. I
stroked the back of his head, feeling the extreme heat radiating off his neck and even his hair. I
turned my head slightly toward him, getting my lips as close to his ear as I could.
"Jacob, wake up hon. I'm right here. I need for you to lie back down."
"Please, Laura..."
"Please what, Jacob? What do you need?"
"You. I need you. Please don't leave me."
"I'm not going anywhere, Jacob. I won't leave you."
"Promise me."
"I promise."
"Swear."
"I swear, Jacob. I'm here, you're here. We're both staying right here. I need for you to wake up
okay?"
He was quiet for a long time, just breathing deeply with his face still snuggled into my neck and hair.
After a few minutes, he pulled in a sudden, sharp breath. He lifted his head and looked at me, his
cheeks still wet, his eyes red. He lifted a hand to my cheek and caressed it so gently. He looked into
my eyes as if he wasn't sure who I was. Finally, though, realization and recognition dawned and the
worry lines that had creased across his forehead eased although he didn't smile. I placed my hands
on his shoulders and pushed lightly. Eventually, he got the message and began to lie back into his
pillows.
"You're here. You're really here."
"Yes, Jacob, I'm really here. How are you feeling?"
He thought about that for some time.
"That's a real good question. I'm not sure. Kinda tired, kinda shaky, kinda dizzy. What happened?
What did I do? Oh God, what did I say?"
"Nothing too incriminating. Do you want to talk about it?"
"I don't know. It's all still a little fuzzy. I don't remember much."
"I think you had another of your vampire nightmares. You said Bella's name and the words
'bloodsucker' and 'baby'."
"Oh great, I thought maybe I'd seen the last of those night terrors. I'm sorry I disturbed you."
"Don't be silly, Jacob. You didn't disturb me. We all live here. We're all family now. If one of us is
sick, we all share a concern and we'll all do whatever is necessary to make that one feel better. Oh,
thank you Willikins. Just put it down right here. Would you ask Marie for some hot chocolate, hot
tea and some biscuits, hot soup and ice water, please?"
"Yes Madam. The tea and chocolate are already underway along with some coffee. I'll help her get
started with the biscuits, soup and water. Good morning, Master Jacob. Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, I think so, thanks Willikins. Sorry for the early start and the chaos."
"Not to worry young Sir. I'm just glad I was having trouble sleeping tonight. I was walking around
when I heard you and got worried. That's when I fetched our resident physician."
"Thank you Willikins. I guess I'm glad you couldn't sleep too."
"Yes, quite. I will return shortly, Madam."
"Thank you Willikins. Now Jacob, open sesame."
"You know my body temp is too high to register on one of those don't you Doc?"
"Maybe a regular one made for humans. This is an equine thermometer. Sorry, but it's got the range
I need for you. It's brand new and sterile in case you're wondering."
"Oh geez, I didn't need that visual. But thank you anyway. I think I'm glad I'm not a horse."
"You're welcome, and I'm quite glad you're not a horse as well. Now, open please and keep it under
your tongue and hush up."
"Mmmrffhph."
"Yes, exactly. That's what I always thought too."
"Vrrkffrrddfkggg."
"Yeah, that too, it's hysterical. Now, hush."
He pouted his lips around the glass tube and narrowed his eyes at me, trying to appear tough and
intimidating I suppose. He'd learn that shit didn't fly with me. I reached up and retrieved the device
from his mouth after a few minutes and checked the reading.
"Hmm, I was afraid of that. 110.3 and that's way too much. No outdoor activities for you today
young man. You're staying right here. And before you even think of it, yes I can so make you stay in
bed and the answers to your other objections are 'because' and 'I don't care' and 'it makes no
difference'. Oh good, here's some sustenance and liquid for your dehydrated tissues. Thanks Marie,
right here is fine. Would you please call Barney to stop in when he can?"
"Yes Ma'am, I'll be glad to. Jacob, are you gonna be okay sweetie?"
"Yes Marie, I'll be fine now. I've got your soup and hot chocolate and stuff. How could I not be
great?"
"Oh you dear boy. Now you do exactly what the doctor tells you and you'll be up and around in no
time."
"Oh I see. It's a conspiracy. Yes Ma'am, I'll do what the Doctor Lady says. Well, Miss Laura, I hope
you're happy. I have been Alpha ordered and I must obey. When Marie speaks, I listen."
"I'll be sure to get her to teach me her secret. I don't get it, you instantly kowtow to the sweet little
chef grandmother, but you buck the authority of the woman with all the degrees who owns the place.
Where's the justice in that?"
"You've got it all wrong Doc. I'll do whatever Marie tells me without question. But I'm just playing
with you about stuff. If you told me to leap off a cliff, I'd say which one. I trust you completely and I
also know that you'll understand my teasing and forgive me. But if you ask me to do something, be
anything, anything you need, I'm ready to go. Whatever you need, if it's in my power to give it to you,
it's yours. And my feelings of loyalty for and faith in you have absolutely nothing to do with your
education or whose name is on the deed of this place. I may have started out here because I had to be
here, but now I'm here because I want to be here. I hope that's okay with you."
"That's perfectly okay with me, Jacob. I'm glad you feel like you want to be here, rather than having
to be. Now, relax and have some tea or chocolate. But first hold your arm over this way."
"What're you doin'?"
"I'm drawing some blood to see what sort of infection you've got. That temperature is coming from
somewhere. Make a fist for me. Hold still."
"Ouch!"
"Oh, you big baby. Relax your fist. Hey, are you okay?"
"Just a little...light headed. From...loss of blood...I guess."
"This little tube shouldn't have that effect. Jacob, can you hear me? Jacob!"
His eyes glazed over and rolled back into his head. His body relaxed and a fresh layer of sweat
popped out. Barney arrived and I gave him the blood to take to Dr. Nederland. I began to wipe him
down again with the wet towel after I had doused it with fresh ice water. The blood veins which had
mapped his skin slowly began to diminish allowing the beautiful caramel color to show through
again. His face and lips began to move toward a more natural color as well.
Once when I was pausing a moment in wiping, I let my hand rest on his wrist. I lightly applied just
enough pressure to check his pulse, which was a little speedier than I would have expected in an
unconscious person. I was about to remove my hand when, with a swiftness that shocked me, he
grabbed my hand and held onto it like it was a lifeline. My eyes snapped up to his face. His eyes were
open and looking right at me, but they were glassy with a faraway look to them, and though I tried to
tell myself I was hallucinating, there was a rim of gold around the edge of the irises. His lips moved
as he tried to speak. I leaned forward to try to make out the whisper of words he was uttering. My
mouth dropped open and my eyes widened in surprise as I was able to hear what he was saying.
"Please, don't leave me Laura. I need you. I love you."