Jasper's POV
I saw it happen in minute detail. I was in hot pursuit of a young doe, my mind still focused on Bella, when I heard the screech of tires. Distracted, I looked up to see a red truck bearing down on the deer. The driver slammed on the brakes and swerved. I froze, unsure whether I should attempt to intervene, and then I was hit with a familiar scent.
Lavender. Bella was driving the car! I leaped into the road, not thinking, just reacting, but I was too late. The doe had already crumpled against the engine, and the truck was about to spin out of control. Still acting on pure instinct, I braced myself and threw my arms out wide, absorbing the impact of the crash. The front end of the car folded into my iron body, screaming as it went, and finally came to a grinding halt.
The engine was demolished and I could still hear the cries of the doe from the side of the road, but I had eyes only for Bella. She'd been wearing her seatbelt, thank God, but it didn't seem to have done her much good. The scent of her blood hung in the air, and her eyes were already distant. I yelled her name and she smiled, but I didn't get the impression that she was really aware of my presence. Moving to the side of the truck, I opened the door and stumbled back, horrified, at what I saw.
A piece of debris had embedded itself deep in Bella's thigh, slicing straight through her jeans and into her flesh. Crimson blood was already spilling everywhere, and when I looked closer I caught a glimpse of white bone. She was still breathing, but she wouldn't be for long if she lost any more blood. I needed to get her to a hospital, now.
As one part of my mind was running this detached medical survey, another part was very preoccupied with the intoxicating scent of Bella's blood. It took everything I had not to drain her right then, but one look at her face stopped me in my tracks. Her hair was gone, reduced to a slight fine down that covered her entire scalp. Her eyes were closed, and I noticed then that she had the longest, darkest eyelashes that I'd ever seen on a human being. Her lips were parted, still slack from the ghost of that strange smile, and she looked so innocent and perfect that I knew I couldn't hurt her for the world.
The sound of the doe's dying cry pierced my thoughts, startling me out of my trance. Working quickly, I extricated the piece of metal from Bella's leg and quickly fashioned a tourniquet out of my shirt. Holding my breath, I lifted Bella from the cab as gently as I was able and gasped. She was impossibly light in my arms, even more so than when I'd carried her out of that hotel room in Italy, and if I'd had to guess I would have wagered she'd lost twenty pounds since then. My mouth set in a grim line, I forced myself not to focus on this and took off running, cradling her tight to my chest.
It took only moments to reach the hospital with me running full-out, but even as I reached the emergency room door I still feared for Bella's life. Her heartbeat had slowed dangerously and her jeans were soaked in blood despite my makeshift bandage. I must have been a strange sight, charging into the emergency ward shirtless with an unconscious girl in my arms, but I didn't care. I roared for help and had it immediately, in the form of nurses swarming around, prying Bella from my arms and loading her onto a gurney, wheeling her away from me.
I watched anxiously and collapsed in a chair as soon as she was out of sight, running my hand though my hair and wishing Carlisle still worked here. I had no faith in these humans, with their infernally slow reactions and thought processes…as the hours ticked by I sat and waited, refusing all offers of food or comfort. I did accept a spare shirt from one of the nurses, barely bothering to look at the logo before slipping it over my head. In a different situation I might have laughed, but with Bella's life hanging in the balance the legend "Morrissey World Tour" did little to amuse me.
At long last, a nurse emerged from behind the double doors and made a beeline for the corner where I was sitting. I jumped to my feet immediately and met her halfway across the room, being careful to stick to human speed as I did so.
"How is she?" I asked before the nurse could utter a word.
The nurse, a pretty young woman with light brown hair and large green eyes, smiled knowingly and hastened to answer, "She's doing just fine, still unconscious but that's normal after a trauma like she suffered. Her leg is broken in a couple places; Doctor McCall is setting it right now. I'm Lily by the way, and you are…?"
"Jasper," I answered, and then, with the part of my brain that wasn't busy doing cartwheels from relief: "Have you been able to get in touch with her father?"
She smiled again. "Yep, I believe Nurse Allison got ahold of him just a few minutes ago. He was quite frantic when he heard the news, but Allie managed to calm him down and he assured us he was on his way, so that's all taken care of! I'm sure he'll be wanting to thank you for bring his daughter in, how do you know her again?"
Despite my doubts about whether I should still be around when Charlie got here, and wondering when I would be allowed to see Bella, the question caught me off guard. What was Bella to me, really? My dead brother's ex-girlfriend? An inconsequential human girl whose life I felt responsible for? Or was she something…more? I thought of how I'd felt when I realized how my abrupt departure must have hurt her, my determination to keep her safe, my near complete disregard of the scent of her blood, and had come to no definite conclusion when a shout interrupted my musings:
"You! What have you done with my daughter?!"
I looked around to see Charlie striding towards me, out of breath and still wearing his uniform. Lily attempted to dispel the tension by smiling graciously at Charlie.
"You must be Chief Swan," she assumed pleasantly, and then, when she saw just how irate he was, quickly dropped the smile and got down to business. "Your daughter is doing very well; she should be out of the OR in about twenty minutes."
"The OR? What's Bella doing in the operating room?" Charlie bellowed, and then his gaze fell on me. I did my best to keep my face smooth and unaffected, but this only seemed to anger him further.
"You put her there!" he accused, and I was unable to keep a shadow of guilt from flickering across my face. It was my fault that Bella was in the hospital. If only I'd moved just a little bit faster...
I was shaken out of my reverie by the scandalized expression on Lily's face. She opened her mouth, no doubt about to defend what she perceived as heroism, but I interceded before she could begin.
"Thank you so much for all your help, Lily," I told her smoothly, turning on the charm. "We'll let you know if we have any questions, okay?" I flashed her a broad grin, but she still looked like she might protest, so I threw in a wink for good measure. Catching on, she smiled shyly back.
"You're very welcome, Jasper," she told me sweetly, and I could tell she really meant it and wasn't trying to flirt. "My shift ends in ten minutes but I'll leave my number with the receptionist just in case, all right?"
"Sounds great," I replied, trying to keep the strain out of my voice as Charlie shot me a death glare from under the brim of his hat. Lily smiled again and walked away, and Charlie started in on me as soon as she was out of earshot.
"I wanna know what the hell is wrong with Bella and what you had to do with it," he growled at me in a way that might have been intimidating if I'd been the 18 year-old boy that I appeared to be. As it was, his grating voice accomplished nothing other than giving me a headache, which I tried not to show as I attempted to answer his question.
"There was an accident. I happened to be in the right place at the right time and I drove her to the hospital." It had taken me about sixteen tries to get that piece of scrap metal running when I returned to the scene. The only thing that kept me from chucking it into the wilderness was the possibility of awkward questions like this one, and I was glad I'd taken the time to figure out my story while I was waiting for news about Bella.
"An accident?!" Charlie yelled, his voice still grating on my ears. "What kind of accident? How bad is she hurt? When can I see her?"
"As far as I can tell, Bella swerved to avoid a deer, lost control of the car, and crashed. Her leg is broken and she lost a lot of blood, but she's gonna be okay. As for when you can see her, I'm wondering the same thing myself," I answered each of his questions quite patiently for a guy who'd just been accused of deliberately trying to hurt Bella. Charlie looked at me for a long moment before grunting and stalking off to plunk himself down in one of the waiting room chairs, clearly unconvinced. I sighed and took the only other available seat, right in between an obese man who smelled of patchouli and a woman who considered it her duty to show me pictures not only of all her grandchildren but her cats as well. Just when I thought I really couldn't take it anymore, a doctor walked over to where I was sitting.
"Excuse me, are you the kid who brought in Miss Swan?" he asked, peering down at me through dense bifocals.
"That's me," I replied, jumping to my feet in my eagerness to get away from the cat lady. Charlie was by my side in a flash. The doctor squinted at him rather stupidly, and he hurried to introduce himself.
"Hello, I'm Charlie Swan," he introduced himself, and when the doctor continued to stare at him blankly he added, "Bella's father?"
Recognition flashed across the doctor's face. "Oh, good! Nice to meet you, Chief Swan. I'm Eli McCall," he held out his hand and Charlie shook it impatiently.
"My pleasure. Hey listen, is Bella awake?"
The doctor's face grew slightly more serious. "I'm afraid she's still unconscious, Chief. It's not unusual after a trauma of this sort, though, nothing to be concerned about! Would you like to see her?"
"Yes," Charlie and I both responded at the same time. He eyed me suspiciously but declined to comment. Doctor McCall, completely oblivious to the tension between us, smiled brightly and beckoned for us to follow him.
When we reached the room, I hesitated, unsure of my own reaction to Bella's fragile state. Charlie paid me no mind, charging into the room with his usual lack of sensitivity.
"Oh my God," I heard him cry softly, and flinched at the tenor of his emotions. She must look pretty bad. Taking a deep breath, I sent a wave of calm Charlie's way and stepped into the room.
I could not contain the gasp that escaped me when I saw Bella laid out on the hospital bed. She looked so small and fragile lying there that it took my breath away, and I had to remember to keep my chest moving up and down for appearance's sake. Bruises were beginning to blossom in unlikely places like her collarbone and the crook of her elbow, and there was a gash next to her left eyebrow that I hadn't even noticed before. I resisted the urge to touch her, to take her hand or stroke her cheekbone, knowing that Charlie would not react favorably to such a gesture.
Looking at Bella, I could only see her cuts and bruises, her shaved head, the circles under her eyes. The way she looked lost inside the hospital gown and she practically disappeared underneath the sheets. I knew that all of it was my fault, and suddenly, I couldn't take it any more. I thought of my wife, my brother, and this sweet innocent girl who would never lift a finger to hurt anybody. All the people that I'd hurt, and I couldn't do a thing to fix it. My existence only made everyone else's life a misery.
Feeling like if I stayed a second longer I might start tearing myself apart, I turned and fled from the room.
A/N: Sorry for all the angst. If you want less of it you should figure out a way to make it less fun to write. Anyway, I promised I wouldn't leave you in suspense too long after that last chapter, and I didn't! I hope you enjoyed this 3 ½ page extended Jasper rant, because I'm toying with the idea of making all the chapters longer and written from just one POV. I think it would make it a lot less disjointed and hard to follow. Let me know what you think.