Peeking into the room, Bella sees that Mrs. Petrelli has pulled a chair up beside Peter's bed. Nathan, on the other hand, has sat in the chair near the window and stares out of it. There are multiple machines in the room, some beeping with the rhythm of his heart while others are hooked up to tubes that are attached to Peter's arms. His arms are pale and paper-like instead of the health pink and fleshliness that it should be. His face was pale as well, eyes closed and sunken into his head. His face is skeletal, thin and unhealthy as the skin stretches over his bones. Peter looks dead, but only the beeping from the heart can convince Bella that he's alright.
She really wants to right next to him, to hold his hand and watch him until he awakes. It's not her place, though, to be in the chair that Mrs. Petrelli currently occupies. She is a doctor, not a grief counselor or family member. The funny thing is that Bella could not explain why she wants to be beside him. She only knew him from this morning, but it feels like it is the right thing to do. Knowing that her career comes first, she steps into the room.
"Mrs. Petrelli," Bella says as she holds her clipboard tight.
"What is it?" Mrs. Petrelli snaps as she keeps looking at her son, lying in the hospital bed.
"I was wondering if I could talk with you," she continues, unfazed.
"Very well," Mrs. Petrelli responds. She gets up from her chair and she pulls the covers on Peter's bed to cover him. Her stoic face softens as she looks down upon her broken son. There is a shimmer in her eyes as she caresses his face gently with one hand. Bending down to kiss Peter's cheek, something falls from her onto his face. When she straightens, Bella sees that there are tears falling from Mrs. Petrelli's face, but she quickly wipes them away before anyone else sees. Straightening her suit jacket, she follows the doctor from the room.
Bella leads Mrs. Petrelli to her office. She pauses at the door as Bella enters. Mrs. Petrelli notices how messy the doctor's office is; the walls, which are covered in bookshelves, look messy and unorganized. The desk had a lap-top precariously balanced on an array of papers, files coffee cups and more books. The small window has no shades and the sun shines in brightly onto the desk. Bella notices how messy her office actually is, but she can't do anything about it now.
"I apologize for the mess," she says. "I am so busy these days. Come and sit down, please."
Mrs. Petrelli sniffs and comes into the room. There is a padded chair with arms in front of the desk, so she sits in that. Her posture is stiff and formal. Bella sits and shifts awkwardly in her own chair. She arranges Peter's files in front of her and pulls some note paper and a pen towards her. Looking up at Mrs. Petrelli, she begins questioning.
"Mrs. Petrelli, could you please tell me if your son has any diseases that I should know as his doctor?" Bella asks.
"He has none," she replies hurriedly, looking down at her lap and picking off an imaginary piece of lint off her skirt. Bella nods and scribbles down something on the paper. She feels Mrs. Petrelli's eyes boring into her, so she looks up from her notes. Mrs. Petrelli is looking down at her with a stare of cold stone. Both women say nothing for a few minutes as they looked into each other's eyes. Bella opens her mouth to continue questioning, but Mrs. Petrelli interrupts her.
"Why did my son jump off the roof of that building?" she asks. Bella is taken aback; she didn't expect that question at all.
"I don't know," Bella lies, remaining loyal to her promise to Nathan. "I was wondering if you could tell me."
Mrs. Petrelli purses and then says, "Well, if you must know, it was his father."
Bella is confused. "I do not understand," she says. "What do you mean?"
"His father was diagnosed with a severe case of depression," Mrs. Petrelli says. "The doctors said that was genetic. I am very scared for both my sons, doctor, but I fear for Peter more."
"Do you think Peter jumped because he was depressed?" Bella asks.
"I hope not," Mrs. Petrelli responds. "But it seems to be the only explanation for why this happened."
Bella nods. She knows that this is not the explanation for why Peter jumped. She really wants to tell Mrs. Petrelli why he jumped, but Nathan's promise held her back. Hoping that Nathan will tell his mother himself, Bella thanks Mrs. Petrelli and lets her go back to Peter's room while she goes to get his test results.
Waiting in the lab for results has to be the most annoying thing in the world, but to day it is worse for Bella. She is anxious, worried, hopeful, scared and nervous all at the same time. Impatient, she nervously shifts from foot to foot. There are several other doctors and nurses in front of her and out of all of them it is Bella was the least calm at the moment. She had worked in the lab right during graduate school and knows how long it takes to run tests. Still, she wishes that it would go faster. It was like pulling off a band-aid; she prefers if it is done quickly.
Finally, she reaches the door and looks through the files in the clear box next to it. Names flash by and suddenly only one is seen, Peter's. Slowly, Bella pulls out his file. Her eyes are closed as she holds the file shut. Taking a deep breath, she opens her eyes as she quickly opens the file. His results show that Peter is fine and Bella sighs in relief. It is always hard when she knows and cares about her patients a lot. It is always hard to let them go.
Bella hurries down the hall to tell Mrs. Petrelli and Nathan about Peter's results. She is just at his door when she hears voices from inside. She stops before reaching for the doorknob, but is stopped when the door suddenly opens. It is Simone from this morning.
"Hello," she says to Bella, holding out a hand. "It's good to see you again."
"Likewise," Bella says, surprised to see Simone here. Maybe she and Peter are closer than she thought.
"How is he?" Simone asks, closing the door behind her and preventing Bella from entering by standing in front of it with her arms crossed.
"He's doing great," Bella replies. "I just got back his test results. All show up to be negative for anything that might be harmful for him.
"That's wonderful," Simone says, putting a hand to her heart. "This will be great news for my father. Peter's like a son to him and it would be painful for the both of us to loose him."
"That makes you two like brother and sister," Bella comments, smiling. Simone hesitates for a moment.
She considers the comment and nods. "I guess we are like that."