My gaze shot to Jasper. I almost felt relief to see his golden eyes and calm demeanor, such a contrast from the beast in Alice's vision. "That doesn't have to happen," I said quickly. "He can wait out in the woods."
Immediately Alice had an image of Mr. Varner in her mind. He was pacing the hallway outside the first aid station, where she sat with her hands over her face. He was frowning in confusion as his suspicions grew. And then she saw him talking to Coach Clapp.
"Alice was waiting all alone out there while her father performed the surgery," Varner said to the coach. "She was worried—we all were—and I couldn't figure out why Jasper wasn't with her. Those two are always so tight. Something just felt wrong to me, so I went to Jasper's room then searched the entire lodge. He wasn't there—he wasn't anywhere in the building. All I can figure is that he went outside, but why the hell would he go out in a raging snowstorm? When I saw him again several hours later, he acted like nothing happened—said he'd been at the lodge the entire time, but I know he wasn't." He shook his head. "Those Cullen kids are always disappearing at the oddest times. Something's not right with them…"
Her premonition flashed forward to the two teachers huddled over files in the school office, murmuring about inconsistencies in records, then calling the school we had listed in Alaska… Again Alice saw our family hastily packing our things and leaving Forks.
She blinked and gave her head a hard shake. Jasper looked from her to me, catching the disappointment in my eyes.
"You've seen something about me," he said with sudden comprehension, struggling to suppress his feelings before they affected Bella. "I can't be here."
"No," Alice said, taking his hand, "you can't. But if you aren't, that's going to raise questions, too."
"Not necessarily," Carlisle said. "Perhaps we can find a reason for your absence. If you were ill, you'd need to remain in your room."
Alice shook her head. "Too much of a coincidence. First Bella, then Jasper… We're not talking about a contagious disease here."
"It's too bad he's not clumsy like me," Bella mused softly. "That staircase is pretty steep…" She and Alice shared a look, recalling the story my sister had concocted to explain Bella's injuries after James' attack. Somehow everyone had believed it.
Abruptly Alice grinned. "That's it!" she exclaimed, her natural optimism returning. Her fingers fluttered over her eyes. "Yes, I don't see any problems with that. Well, except for one." She turned to her husband, her smile fading. "I'm sorry, my love. I'm afraid it won't be very nice for you."
Jasper nodded in understanding. "If it keeps us all safe, it doesn't matter."
Alice hopped to her feet. "All right, then. We have a lot to do…"
Bella didn't want to worry her father, but Carlisle felt it best that Charlie be told about the situation. Alice saw no problems with this; indeed, it appeared the right thing to do.
The two fathers spoke for a few minutes, Carlisle remaining calm as Charlie grew increasingly anxious.
"Charlie," Carlisle said reasonably yet confidently, "we can't risk the appendix rupturing while we're snowed in here. That would be far more dangerous than performing an appendectomy."
"What if she needs blood?" the chief asked, his tenth or eleventh question of the sort.
"I can arrange a transfusion," Carlisle replied easily. "I've already identified compatible donors, and they've agreed to help if needed."
Mr. Varner had been informed about the situation and during breakfast had spoken with the students to determine who might be able to provide blood for Bella. As it turned out, both Angela and Tyler were compatible, and both readily agreed to serve as donors. Tyler actually hoped his blood would be needed; he thought he could finally atone for the accident in the parking lot. I didn't waste my energy on feeling angry with him for his puerile and selfish thoughts.
This was not the first time I had felt thankful to Mr. Banner for making his students do blood typing in his biology class last year. That day had brought Bella and me closer together, and now it could possibly save her life.
By the same token, while none of us had ever seen anything positive about Bella's injuries in Phoenix, we now realized that without the incident Carlisle would be left guessing about several important things. Because of that terrible day, he now knew her blood type and how her body responded to various medications. Additionally, from a precautionary abdominal ultrasound she'd had, he recalled that her appendix was in the retrocaecal position, rather than the less usual extraperitoneal. In this one instance, my wonderful, unique Bella proved to be a perfectly typical human.
Carlisle assured Charlie that he had performed numerous appendectomies, which was quite an understatement. Indeed, my father had an advantage over many younger surgeons. He had been performing the procedure for over one hundred years, and he had done far more appendectomies employing conventional surgical techniques than using the more modern laproscopic procedures. This experience would serve him well.
After promising Charlie that he would notify him immediately once the surgery was finished, Carlisle passed the phone to Bella. She remained curled on her side. Her pain had not increased substantially, but she was far from comfortable.
"Hi Dad," she said, addressing him with the most affectionate term. "I'm okay. I know Carlisle's going to take good care of me."
I tried not to listen for the next minute or two; Bella deserved a little privacy. I stepped over toward the small writing desk where Carlisle was setting out a few things.
"I'm going to start her on IV antibiotics," he told me, gesturing toward the bag. "Then I'll get everything set up downstairs."
He had decided to use the small first aid station again. It was slightly better equipped to serve as a surgical suite than one of the bedrooms.
"I want to stay up here with her as long as I can," I said, "unless you really need me to help you prepare."
"No, I can handle it." But I will need you during the surgery. An extra pair of hands will go a long way toward avoiding complications. You're the only one with the knowledge to help me. Will you be able to do that?
"For Bella, I can do anything."
He nodded and clasped my shoulder gently, conveying his confidence in me. Bella had just shut off the phone. Her expression was wistful. I moved back to the bed and took the phone from her.
"Are you all right, love?"
"Yes. I'm just worried about Charlie. He's really upset about this. And he's going to call Renee—and she's going to freak out completely." Her respiration rate was increasing.
"Sshh," I soothed. "They'll both be fine."
She blinked as tears filled her eyes. "But they're going to be so scared. I just…" She sniffed, and I stroked along the hot trail staining her cheek. "I just wish I didn't have to put them through this."
"It's not your fault," I told her gently. "It's just bad luck."
"I seem to have an awful lot of that."
I kissed away her tears. I couldn't think of any response to that.
She looked up at me, her fingers tracing lightly over my cheek. "Except for you," she murmured.
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Meeting you. That was the luckiest thing that's ever happened to me."
I kissed her dry lips softly. "Me, too."
Carlisle had given us our moment, but now he sought my attention. I need to start the IV now.
I nodded toward him, and he came to Bella's side as I shifted to sit near her head. She glanced at the bag he held then at the IV port in his other hand. Her eyes widened, and her heart sped up. Unfortunately, she knew from experience what he was going to do. I held her right hand as he deftly inserted the port into her left. When she flinched, I caught the perfume of her blood. My throat tingled warmly. I stopped breathing until Carlisle had wiped away the tiny crimson stain with pungent alcohol.
He glanced up at me with mild concern. Are you all right?
"Yes," I whispered. I had no other choice. Soon Bella's blood would flow freely, enveloping me, drawing me in, testing my restraint, and ultimately the strength of my love for her.
I hated to leave Bella's side for even one moment, but it turned out that Alice could not carry out her part of the plan for Jasper. I suppose at some level I understood that; I could barely tolerate the thought of Carlisle inserting a needle into Bella's hand, knowing that she had felt a spark of pain. Even so, the minutes spent away from her would be agonizing.
Alice took my place on the bed, running gentle, cool fingers over Bella's cheeks and brow. I promised to return soon then hurried to Jasper's and my room.
My brother was standing at the window, but the moment I entered the room he sat down on the bed, stretching out his legs.
"Ready?" I asked.
He nodded. Just make it fast.
"Left or right?"
He shrugged. It doesn't matter, does it?
I took his right foot in my hand and pushed away the fabric of his jeans and sock to expose the ankle. I probed along his marble flesh to identify precisely where the end of the tibia met the talus. I glanced up at Jasper once.
"Thank you," I said, simply yet sincerely.
He nodded. He kept the words from his mind, but I knew he was thinking that this was the least he owed Bella. This was a small form of expiation for him. He was glad that I was the one to complete the task, too; he believed he deserved this from me.
"No," I said softly, "you don't. But I appreciate the thought."
Taking a breath to calm himself, he nodded once. "Now."
I hesitated for only an instant, then I gripped his foot with one hand and his ankle with the other and snapped the tibia quickly. He hissed in pain as the bone broke in two, one end protruding beneath his skin.
"I'm sorry," I murmured. I had taken no pleasure in his pain.
His jaw was clamped tightly. He leaned over to view the damage, grimacing at the ugly protuberance.
"Does it look convincing?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"Very."
After readjusting his jeans and sock, I slid my arm around his shoulder and helped him to stand. The pain was already fading as his body began to repair itself. However, I had displaced the bone sufficiently that it would remain in its current position until reset manually. Jasper tested the foot, finding that he could walk on it with only a slight limp. Still, I kept my arm around him until we reached the door. We listened to be certain there would be a few students to serve as witnesses.
Then I handed him the stack of folded blankets Alice had prepared. He walked out into the hallway and headed for the staircase. I followed closely behind him, but we diverged as he began to descend and I climbed up.
After he had taken three steps, I said, "Oh Jasper, ask Dad if he'll next extra towels."
He turned to look up at me over the pile of blankets as his left foot hovered for a second above the next step. Then he let himself fall with a shout, the blankets flying out of his arms as he tumbled down the stairs.
"Jasper!" I cried, pretending to watch in shock for a few moments. When he had landed in a tumbled heap beneath the last stair, I stumbled down to him.
Jessica and Lauren stood with several other girls in the lobby, gasping in surprise. They had seen the "accident" quite clearly. I fell to my knees at Jasper's side, allowing my hands to hover over him. Then I looked up, permitting my gaze to find the girls.
"Get my father!" I shouted, pointing toward the first aid station.
Lauren ran off while the others remained where they were. "Is he all right?" Jessica asked, taking a few steps to get closer.
Jasper kept his eyes closed but began to move a little, offering a feeble moan.
"Stay still," I said. "Dad's coming."
My brother's eyelids fluttered, and then he looked up at me. "My foot…" he muttered.
Carlisle arrived then, a convincingly panicked expression on his face. "Jasper! My God, what happened?"
"He tripped, I think," I stammered. "He was carrying the blankets…" I let my voice trail off. "He was on the landing…"
Jasper squirmed a bit.
"No, son, don't try to move," Carlisle cautioned. He pulled a penlight from his pocket and flashed it into each of Jasper's eyes. Lack of pupil response, he thought to himself with a silent chuckle, perfectly normal. Then he ran his hands over my brother's skull and neck.
"Can you move your fingers?" he asked.
Jasper wiggled first his right then his left fingers slightly.
"Now your toes," Carlisle said.
Jasper's left foot shifted a bit, but the right remained still. "Oh God, my foot," he groaned, curling in to grasp the limb. Over the years, we had all become quite competent thespians by necessity.
"Take it easy," Carlisle soothed, almost believing Jasper's moans.
I placed a comforting hand on Jasper's shoulder as our father inspected the injured ankle. He glanced up at me once. You almost did too good a job, Edward. This must have been painful…
Jessica was hovering over Carlisle's shoulder, and now Mr. Varner was approaching. Someone had alerted him to the small disaster.
"Carlisle!" he called. "Is he all right?"
"I don't know yet," Carlisle replied somewhat tersely. His fingers moved over the ankle, now exposed with the removal of the shoe and sock. "It's broken," he reported.
"Shit, that looks bad," one of the girls said. God, I can see the bone. Gross.
I scanned the other thoughts in the area. Everyone was fully convinced that Jasper had fallen and was hurt.
Carlisle spent a minute or two checking Jasper's other limbs, back, and ribcage then said it was safe to move him. "Edward, help me get him up to your room."
"What can I do?" Mr. Varner asked.
"Bring some ice," Carlisle replied. He and I carefully lifted Jasper, placing his arms over our shoulders. Our movements felt excruciatingly slow to me, but that was all part of the act.
Finally we reached the room. Students were gathered at the bottom of the stairs now, and a few who had been in their own rooms had come out to stand on the landing, but all gave us space as we passed. We set Jasper on the bed, keeping the door open for the moment.
Carlisle made a pretext of assessing Jasper more carefully for head injury, increasing the volume of his voice as Mr. Varner approached. The teacher entered with a large bowl of ice.
"Is this enough?" he asked.
Carlisle glanced up. "Yes. Thank you."
"What else can I do? Do you want me to call your wife?"
Dear Lord, Esme has no idea what's going on here. What would she think if she were told that Jasper was injured? "No," Carlisle replied. "I don't want to worry her."
"Is there anything else you need? A splint?"
Carlisle nodded. "Yes. There are several braces downstairs. Edward knows where they are."
"I'll get it," I responded, moving to the door. "Do you want your bag, too?"
He gave another nod. "He'll need something for the pain." He had to suppress a smile as he envisioned a needle snapping off the moment it touched Jasper's skin.
I slipped outside and hurried—in human terms, at least—down the stairs and to the small aid station. Carlisle had begun preparing the room for the surgery. I saw two portable oxygen canisters, syringes, vials, suture supplies, and bandages in waiting. Transfusion equipment was set out along the counter, too. This was real. Bella would be in here soon, lying on this bed as my father cut open her body… I closed my eyes against the image of her crimson blood, slick and sweet as its scent burned through me.
I clenched one hand at my side and took a deep breath. I would do this. I would help Carlisle and ensure Bella's safety. I permitted myself to move at inhuman speed as I searched through the drawers for an appropriate brace then grabbed the black bag in my other hand.
My steps as I returned to the room felt inordinately sluggish to me. I passed many students, hearing thoughts of concern, sympathy, and even a few less kind ones as two or three petty children gloated a bit at one of the "perfect Cullens" finally getting hurt like a regular person.
Mr. Varner was still just inside the doorway as I entered the room again. I set the bag and brace beside Carlisle. He glanced up at me. I want to get this bone back into place so that I can finish preparations for Bella. We need to get Varner out of here.
"Edward," Carlisle said, "help me remove Jasper's pants."
I nodded and reached for his belt. Carlisle looked pointedly at the teacher. "Could you give us a little privacy?" he requested.
"Oh, uh, sure," Mr. Varner replied. "Is there anything else I can do? Anything more you need?"
"No, thank you. I'm going to give him something for the pain then set the ankle. He'll be drowsy for some time. Just make sure he's not disturbed. Alice will sit with him in case he needs anything. Ask the students to be quiet if they have to come up here."
"Sure," the teacher said.
Carlisle addressed me, still speaking at sufficient volume for Mr. Varner to hear. "I don't think Alice knows yet. You'd better tell her what happened and send her in. But wait a few minutes until I've set the ankle. It would only upset her to see this."
With a nod, I grasped my brother's shoulder lightly. "Take it easy, Jasper," I said.
He caught my wrist with his hand. For one instant, he dropped the ruse. "I hope Bella will be all right."
"Thanks."
I listened to Carlisle as I walked up the stairs and back to Bella's room. Alice would want to know precisely what was going on. As soon as Mr. Varner had shut the door, Carlisle's strong, skilled hands quickly manipulated Jasper's tibia back into place. Jasper allowed himself to cry out and utter a few choice expletives at the renewed pain these actions caused. But it was over quickly, and his discomfort was already fading as I neared the girls' room.
I opened the door quietly and stepped inside. Alice's anxious face met mine immediately. She was still sitting beside Bella, whose eyes were closed. In a low whisper, my sister asked, "Well?"
"It's done now," I replied softly. "Carlisle reset the bone, and he's just putting on a brace to make it look convincing. He'll be sure a couple of people see when he leaves the room. You should go back to Jasper now."
We had spoken so quickly that our conversation lasted only a few seconds. Now was the time to continue our little drama.
"Alice," I began in a voice slightly louder than normal, "there's been an accident."
Bella's eyes opened at this. She knew what our general plan was, of course, but still she seemed surprised to hear about it actually happening. Alice reacted to the "news" with very vocal shock and distress; she was a rather skilled actress, too.
Before leaving, she kissed Bella's cheek, softly telling her, "You're going to be fine; I know it." Then she looked pointedly at me and added silently, You will be, too. But if you need to step out, to get some air, do it. Don't push yourself, Edward. It felt like a warning to me.
With a quick peck on my cheek as she passed, Alice hurried off to be with her husband.
"Did it hurt him very badly?" Bella asked as soon as Alice disappeared.
I sat down and took her hand. It was clammy, but it still felt wonderful to me. "No, love, and it was over very quickly."
She shook her head a little. "Even so, I'm really sorry he had to go through that for me."
I leaned down to kiss her temple. "He really didn't mind. He just wants you to be all right. We all do."
She swallowed then coughed lightly, flinching visibly at the pain this brought her. I pressed my palm over her cheek. Her temperature didn't seem any higher. While her heart rate and respiration were elevated, I found no significant changes since I had left her.
"How much longer?" she asked me.
"Carlisle should have everything ready in half an hour or so. This will all be over soon."
Suddenly a flush bloomed over her face. Alarmed, I touched her cheek again. "What's the matter? Is the pain worse?"
"Hmm? Oh, no, Edward, it feels about the same. I was just wondering…" Her brow furrowed, and her cheeks grew even pinker.
"What, sweetheart?"
She sighed. "How huge an audience I'm going to have when you take me downstairs."
"I'll use the back staircase," I told her. "I don't think anyone will see."
"Thank you." She closed her eyes again.
Very softly I rubbed my hand over her back. This seemed to calm her and ease her discomfort just a bit, so I continued. There was little else I could do but gather my resolve and wait.
To be continued...