AN... First of all. I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I know that I just
promised last chapter that I would try to post every week, and I failed to
post this last week. I have had a heck of a past few weeks. I will not make
any more empty promises. I will simply state that I will try very hard to keep
my updates regular, and as close to "weekly" as possible.
My HUGE thanks, and warm bear hugs go to my pre-reader, prettyflour.
I FLUV you! I was extremely excited to see this all done and in my
inbox when I got home from work today. You are amazing!
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Twilight. Ownership begins and ends with SM...
I just like to play with her characters sometimes. (I hope she isn't offended!)
~UUaAP~
Chapter 25
Medical Mysteries
Leah POV
Edward was still kissing me passionately when we heard someone outside the door. Their approach from the hallway was too stealthy to have been a human. Sighing deeply, Edward broke the kiss as Esme stepped into the room. She deposited a stack of papers onto Carlisle's desk before pulling me out of Edward's embrace, into her arms.
"Oh, sweet girl, I am so glad to see you awake! We were all so incredibly worried." She gushed. "How are you feeling?"
"Incredibly well, actually. It worries me, though that Edward can't hear my thoughts anymore." I mumbled the last part.
"Can you hear his?" Esme asked with her head tilted to the side, and a pensive look on her face.
"Sort of… I think… Yeah, I can. It's like I can hear an echo of his words right before he says them." I fumbled for words as I fought to explain what I had been noticing.
"Have you tried to project your thoughts, Edward?" Esme asked, her eyes narrowing farther.
"No, I have just been so happy that she is awake, I didn't take the time to experiment with anything."
"Maybe you should, Edward. There is no time like the present to start getting answers, and Carlisle will be back shortly. You know he will be asking far more questions than I am!" Esme said pointedly.
She's right, beautiful. Carlisle will be hitting you with tons of questions. Can you hear me? He projected. I nodded my head vigorously, relief washing through me like a tidal wave.
"Oh, Edward! Why can't you hear me anymore?" I groaned. The pleasure of knowing that I could still hear my mate was short lived. I needed us to have our silent communication. It was unique to us, and I had grown accustomed to thinking it was only there because of our bond. It was like a tether that united us. He seemed to truly open his life to me once that connection was established.
Alice was the next to arrive. She placed a manila thin manila envelope onto the desk, then danced her way over to me, and gave me a quick hug. Her eyes were shining, and her smile beamed brightly.
"I saw you awake while I was in Doctor Lonogan's office. I am so glad that you're back with us." She grinned mischievously at Edward. His expression grew curious, and then confused as he stared at his sister.
"I don't understand." He whispered, cocking his head to the side and squinting as he seemed to be pondering something.
"What is it?", "What are you two hiding?" Esme and I asked at the same time.
"I had a vision of Leah, and it was as clear as seeing one us." Alice said with a cocky tone, and a smug expression.
"So, what does that mean?" Esme asked warily.
"I want to wait to theorize until Carlisle gets back" Alice stated with a finality that invited us to drop the subject. Edward was still lost in thought as his eyes widened, and shifted to look at me. His posture seemed a bit stiff, and his hands balled themselves into fists at his side. I couldn't read his expression clearly. His eyes widening suggested that whatever he had seen (or was maybe still seeing?) was surprising, but he wasn't giving anything away with his pensive expression.
Rosalie and Carlisle returned at the same time, placing more paperwork onto his desk. They each embraced me, welcoming me back. The heaviness in the room was palpable as Carlisle's expression became appraising. He asked me to follow him to an exam room, then handed me a hospital gown, and instructed me to undress completely before putting it on.
"I am going to look over the doctor's notes that we collected, and then I am going to run some tests. I already ordered blood work, and the Cat-scan machine is warming up as we speak. I'm not sure what other tests I am going to have to run, but I promise you that I will have some idea as to what happened to you shortly."
I thanked him, and changed into the ugly, thin gown as he asked, then seated myself on the gurney to wait. A short while later there was a knock at the door, and a large woman with dark red hair walked in. She appeared to be in her mid-forties, and had a very jovial air about her.
"Hi, there! Leah, is it? I'm Dorrie. I work in the lab, and on occasion I run some… private testing for Dr. Cullen." She winked at me in a conspiratorial fashion. I wondered how much she knew. I nodded in response.
"Yes, I am Leah." I decided not to ask any questions, because I knew that the existence of both species needed to remain a secret, and I had no idea how much trust could be placed in this woman's hands.
I watched warily as she placed a tourniquet on my arm, and prepared the syringe, and a very long row of vials on the bed-side table. I glanced over, and quickly counted twenty vials.
"Holy shit! That's not blood work! That's a freaking donation" I shrieked, and Dorrie laughed.
"Yeah, I don't think that there is a test that the man hasn't ordered!" she agreed.
As I watched her movements, I saw her hair fall away from her neck, and stared at what I saw there. She had a large, ragged, semi-circle shaped scar that appeared to be paler than the surrounding skin. Noticing my blatant staring, she laughed.
"Touch it." She ordered. I hesitated, and threw her a suspicious expression. She shook her head, and grabbed my hand, placing it against the scar, which I noticed right away was cooler than the rest of her skin.
"How?" I asked quietly, as I withdrew my hand, and unconsciously touched my collar bone over the mark that Edward had given me.
"I was seventeen when Carlisle found me as some son-of-a-bitch was trying to drain me. He killed the bastard, while Edward sucked the venom out in time to save me." She gave me a knowing look. Neither of us said the word "vampire", but it hung in the air just the same. "Since that time, there has been complete trust between myself and the Cullens. I have followed them wherever they moved since that time. I went into this line of work so that I can work alongside him, and help them in some way. Whenever Carlisle needs help with… unconventional and/or questionable testing, he calls me up. So, what are you sweetie? You are very much like them, although you much more colorful skintone!" She laughed again.
"She's one of the shape-shifters from La Push." Rosalie answered as she waltzed into the room. Dorrie nodded with an "Ah, I see.", and finished filling the vials.
Dorrie left the room, promising to get us the results ASAP. Rose slipped an arm around my shoulders.
"How are you feeling?" She asked.
"Shocked? I thought that humans couldn't know about your kind? Aren't there rules? I mean, there's Dorrie, and Bella, and Charlie! How many humans do you guys have in on your little charade?
"There are a few here and there." She shrugged.
"Why did Carlisle and Edward save her? I mean, they don't run around saving people from being meals all of the time, do they?"
"No, that's not something we do. As much as we'd all like to save every human from such a fate, it is not realistic."
"So why her?" I pressed.
"Alice had had a vision of the vampire stalking this girl. He had been following her for some time apparently, and Edward listened to his thoughts about her for a while before we decided that we should intervene. She was the daughter of a woman he had already drained. The woman had been his "singer" and he had been attracted to her physically, so he… defiled her as he devoured her. Dorrie looked just like her mother at that time. It was his plan to turn her so that he could keep her as his sex-slave forever."
"Edward and Carlisle would never allow that!" I whispered fiercely.
"Exactly. They decided to protect her, and were almost too late. Dorrie sort of fell in love with Carlisle, and has followed him around like a puppy ever since. She is a sweet woman, and has never made any 'moves' on him, so he has never tried to get rid of her. They work well together, and she has respect for his relationship with Esme. She has come in handy on many occasions."
"How so?" I was really curious about Dorrie at this point.
"Well, due to her expertise in the lab, we know that vampires have twenty-four chromosomes. Humans have twenty-three. Werewolves and you shape-shifters also have twenty-four. It took five years of study for them to come up with this, but apparently when a human becomes a vampire, it takes three days for the transformation, because as fast-acting as venom is in a system, it takes that long for all of the cells in the body to be affected. They actually used an electron microscope to record the changing of a group of cells exposed to our venom. It was fascinating to watch."
"Is that something I might get to see sometime?"
"Ask Carlisle, I am sure he'll show it to you."
"How long will it take to get the results of my blood work?"
"About a third of the results will be back in twenty-four hours. Of what is left, seventy-five percent will be back within two days, then the rest will trickle in within the next two weeks. It takes two weeks for a full toxicology report to be made, same with DNA results. Law and Order, and those ridiculous CSI shows make it look like DNA can be swabbed for and tested in a matter of a couple of hours, when in reality, a rush job is closer to two weeks." Rose huffed in disgust.
"Gee, Rose! Passionate much?" I laughed at her heated rant.
"What can I say? I am a passionate person!" she smiled at me.
"Bella once told me that you were the only Cullen that hated her." I made the statement, but left it hanging in the air like a question. Rose winced, and looked at her feet.
"I never hated her." Rose almost whispered. "I was jealous of everything she had in her grasp, and was so willing to throw away."
"What did she have I her grasp?"
"A fulfilling future. A life. The possibility of growing old with a loving husband and children to fill their home."
"Is that what you miss most about your human existence?"
"I would love to have had children."
"Don't feel alone, Rose. I'll never have that either. I am so grateful for Edward in my life, but it pains me that I will never have a baby. Never feel that life growing inside of me, never make that bond while nursing the child that our love created."
"If you walked away today, Leah… you could have that still. Edward left Bella so that she could have that kind of life if she wanted. Crazy girl pined for him instead of moving forward with Jacob while Edward was away. I'm really glad that she's moved on finally. I always felt she deserved that chance. You have that chance, Leah."
"No… not really. I don't." My throat was suddenly dry, and my eyes were moist, again. Damnit.
"What do you mean? Does the imprint actually bind you? I mean, I know that you love Edward, and you two already mated, but I know that he would stand aside if he thought you could move forward in life and have the things he cannot give you."
"Rose, please hear me, because I am only going to say this ONE TIME. I like you, really I do, but if you ever suggest that again, I will rip your head off, and drop kick it at random. Then I will disassemble your body and scatter it around the globe so that it will take Emmett years to place you back together. I can't have children. I am the owner of non-functional ovaries, shriveled fallopian tubes, and a pre-maturely aged uterus. There is NOTHING Edward cannot give me. I love him beyond the imprint. I love him beyond reason. Do not EVER suggest my leaving him again. Are. We. CLEAR?"
"I... I'm sorry. I don't know why I do this. I tried to chase Bella away. When I wasn't consciously sending out unwelcoming vibes to her, I was actively ignoring her, even though I really liked her. I used to try to talk Tanya out of trying to seduce him. Well, until I figured out that he had no interest in her. Then I encouraged it, just to get to see the look of disgust on his face. I guess a part of me is like an annoying little sister… but another part of me just feels rejected. You see, when Carlisle found and changed me, he thought that Edward and I might make a good match. Edward was never attracted to me, and scoffed at the idea. He is the only male I have ever met, human or vampire, who didn't have any interest in me." She sounded sad and ashamed at the end of her admission. I looked into her eyes, and saw pain. I thought back to what Edward told me in the car. Rose had been raped nearly to death. I guessed that a little-bit of resentment and a lot-a-bit of anger could cause her to lash out. We fell into a slightly uncomfortable silence after her admission. I didn't know what to say to her.
I started thinking about being raped. Thinking about the rape brought my thoughts full circle to the previous day. Thankfully, I had not been raped again, but Paul certainly seemed to want to give it a go. I shuddered at the thought. Sam had shut him down fairly quickly. I still hated the fact that he had kept me pinned there against my will, but I was looking at the situation a little more objectively today than yesterday. Did I really believe that Sam would ever rape me? That he would rape anyone? No. I refused to believe that. I recalled the thoughts he had about the other female wolves. At the time, in my fear, I had seen it as a warning that he would treat me like the female wolves of the past, kept separate, and quiet, and used as whores for the pack. It broke my heart to think of them.
Looking back at it now, I could see that Sam was trying to get me to see how much respect he held for me… that he would never allow me to be treated as such. That is why he stopped Paul in his line of thinking. I wondered then if Paul hadn't stopped trying to get Sam to 'share' me, what would Sam have done to Paul? Which made me wonder next… what has Jacob done with Paul? Jacob took his place as Alpha, and sent Sam away. I had spewed hatred to him. I had told him he was dead to me. I needed to make this right. Sam was going to be a father. He had potential to be a great father, and Emily needed to know that he had never actually harmed me. He was just angry because he didn't think I trusted him. She must be beside herself right now.
"Oh, God! OH, God! Oh, GOD!" I choked out loudly.
"What? What's wrong, Leah? Are you okay?" Rose asked hurriedly.
"I'm fine, I just need to talk to Edward… like right away!" The door flung open that moment, and Edward rushed to my side.
"What is it, baby? What happened?" he asked, holding my face in his hands.
"I was thinking about what you told me about Rose, and my situation… and then I was thinking about yesterday. Sam! Edward, we have to make things right there. He didn't harm me. He never even threatened me! It was Paul who did the threatening. Sam did abuse his position by holding me there, but he never would have harmed me. You know this, right?" I blurted out quickly and animatedly, as Rose slipped quietly from the room.
"I never said that he harmed you, or that he would have done so. I merely told Jake that he had abused his privilege, and that Paul had actually wanted to rape you."
"Well, we need to make it clear to both Jacob and to Emily that Sam was not a part of the rape threat. I can't believe I told him he was dead to me! Edward, I lumped him with Paul in my mind at the time. I was so horrified, and felt so vulnerable with him keeping me on the ground that I associated it with Paul's thoughts. I have to go… I have to make sure that Emily knows the truth! She's pregnant, Edward! The stress alone could cause problems for her!" I was in full on panic mode by the time I finished voicing my thoughts.
"Shhh… calm down, baby! I promise, I will call Sam, and make sure everything is okay, and we will let him know that he is forgiven. It will be okay. But, right now… what I need you to focus on is getting through the testing that Carlisle has set up. He'll be here in a few minutes to discuss his initial findings with you, then you are getting a CT scan, a bone density test, and MRI, and he added about a dozen other tests to be run on the blood-work."
Edward picked me up, and turned to sit on the gurney with me in his arms. He rocked me gently, humming the sweet aria I loved so much, and kissed the top of my head, while rubbing soothing circles on my back with his thumb and fingers. I relaxed, and melted into him, breathing in his scent, and feeling the electric pulse of our connection. I flushed as I began to feel aroused at his nearness. He giggled quietly at me, and projected his thoughts into my mind as I felt his arousal growing against my hip.
I smell you, love. And I promise that when I get you alone… I will take care of the need I sense there. I sighed, and pressed my face into his chest to better inhale his sweet masculine scent.
"I noticed something earlier, but didn't pay it much attention. Rose didn't smell sicky-sweet to me anymore. Neither did Alice, Esme and Carlisle earlier." I stopped huffing his fragrance to consider this. "I mean, your scent was potently attractive to me back in the clearing, but I tend to think that it had more to do with the imprinting than anything else. Your family, though? Whew! They smelled awful! But now, I noticed how sweet they all smell, but it wasn't offensive, it was… nice?"
"Well, I hadn't mentioned it yet, but I think that Carlisle should do a complete set of vitals on you again. You don't feel hot like you should. I doubt if your temperature is above eighty degrees. Maybe less than that... I think that the venom did something to change you. You're not a vampire, but you aren't the same anymore either. You smell different too. Although, looking back, I didn't stop finding your scent offensive until after I spent that first night pondering over the whole situation. I think that as I watched you cry yourself to sleep against me, something re-aligned inside of me. By morning, I think I knew that you were truly my mate. Acceptance of that fact is what changed everything for me. You ceased to smell like a dog to me, and started smelling like a woman." He inhaled deeply from my neck. "Now you smell like MY woman! It's like… and I know this will sound ridiculous… a mirror of my own scent, only mixed with flowers and fruit instead of spice. I recognize my scent emanating from you."
I smiled broadly at that. I liked the sound of it. I knew I could feel him inside of me, but the thought that he was so much a part of me now that I was "emanating" his scent made me giddy. I looked up into his eyes, and began to study them. The beautiful color of goldenrod, and bright citrine flecks swirled with minute crimson flecks around the edges of his iris. I felt my eyes widen as confusion set in.
"Leah, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" Edward's voice sounded frightened.
"I thought your eyes weren't supposed to have any red in them when you feed on animals!" I accused.
"Sweetheart, think about it. I tried to suck my venom back out of you yesterday. I am surprised my eyes are not more red than yellow right now." He relaxed and smiled at me.
"I feel silly. I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking." I touched his face, and looked deeply into his eyes once again. Suddenly the red swirls became a thing of beauty. It was like looking at myself on the inside of him. I wondered if he could feel me inside of him in the same way that I felt him inside of me. I decided to ask.
"Edward? Can you feel me?"
"What do you mean? You're here in my arms, of course I can feel you!"
"No, not like that. Close your eyes and concentrate on what you are feeling inside. Do you feel me there? Inside?" He closed his eyes, and slowly rolled his head to one side. I watched as his eyebrows drew together, and his lips parted slightly. He really looked like he was trying to feel what I was feeling. Suddenly his eyebrows lifted, and his lips began to twitch into a sexy lopsided smile. I saw him make the connection. I knew he could feel me. Inside.
I closed my eyes, and felt the warmth that was Edward inside of me. That mild "pins and needles" feeling had subsided in my pelvis, but I could still feel him there. It was like I could feel him taking up residence there. I placed my hand against his chest, and concentrated on the connection we shared, willing him to feel my love taking up residence inside of him too.
"I can feel you. It's like you curled up inside of my chest. And when you placed your hand against me there, I swear, it almost felt like my heart tried to beat. It's amazing." He opened his eyes, and smiled a broad, beaming smile into my eyes.
Carlisle cleared his throat. He was standing in the doorway, and had apparently witnessed our little exercise in "feeling each other". I smiled at him.
"You got answers for me, doc?"
"Maybe a few. Mostly I have questions. Hopefully your answers, combined with the tests you are about to undergo will provide the information to THE pertinent question." He used finger quotes around the for emphasis. I chuckled at him.
"Fire away, Carlisle."
"You broke your arm when you were fourteen… a compound fracture. Did the old injury site ever cause you pain when you phased?"
"Occasionally. Never enough to cause concern, why?"
"Well, I intend to focus on any changes I see on the MRI readings against relevant medical histories. I just wanted to know if it had ever been problematic."
"Oh, okay."
"And you had your appendix removed at seventeen, I see. Your tonsils removed at twelve, and you had an infection in a tattoo site just after your eighteenth birthday?"
"Yeah. It was so bad that I was on an IV antibiotic, and the dermatologist kindly removed it with a laser so that I wouldn't have a hideous monstrosity on my back. Instead a have a slight scar that looks like a burn. I learned the hard way to not get drunk. It was a spur of the moment decision ON the night I turned eighteen. My dad freaked out. Any other questions?"
"You saw a OB/GYN in the winter. He diagnosed you with early onset menopause. Does this run in your family?"
"No." I blushed a little. "I had never even heard of it. I asked Dr. Lonogan what caused it, but he just said that it was probably some hereditary thing. He wouldn't look me in the eye. I knew he was lying to me. What causes it, Carlisle? Aside from heredity?"
"Usually it is caused by a severe case of PID, pelvic inflammatory disease. Did you ever have an untreated infection?"
"I thought it was a raging yeast infection." I sighed. I started to tear up. "After I was raped, and washed in the river, I had begun to notice painful urination, and a strong burning, and pain, but I assumed it was yeast, and treated it with over-the-counter meds. I noticed it would feel better after I phased, so I spent a few days as the wolf, and when I phased back, the pain and burning were gone. I figured I was all better. I never tied the dwindling periods and hot flashes with it. How stupid am I?"
"No, sweetheart, not stupid! You reacted the best way you knew how." Carlisle crooned softly to me. His tone and expression were so fatherly, I just wanted to throw myself into his arms, and let him comfort me. "What do you say we go and get all of these tests done so that we can get you home, and check on your mother?" Carlisle gently squeezed my shoulder, and smiled at me.
"Okay, let's do this."
Four and a half hours later, I was finally done with the MRI. I groaned when Carlisle told me that the CT scan would only take a third of the time that the MRI had, and that the bone density scan would be even shorter. I figured I had at least another two and a half to three hours ahead of me before I could go home. I decided then and there that after all of this testing was over, I was NOT going to step foot inside the hospital again. Ever.
I was getting dressed into clothes that Rose had kindly brought for me to wear home when Alice burst into the room, thrusting her phone towards Edward.
"Edward, you need to talk to Jake. He's freaking out. Edward, I am so sorry! I fucked up. I screwed up so bad." Her face crumpled in pain, and she looked like she would be crying if it were possible.
"No." Edward's face seemed to turn impossibly more pale as he spoke into the cell phone in his hand. He lurched forward, falling to his knees as his face also crumpled in agony.
"No, I am sure she didn't know… she loves Bella, and would never allow harm to come to her." He gasped. "What text?"
"Well, I am sure there is an explanation." I heard Jake's wild, angry voice seething through the phone. I couldn't make out the words, but he was definitely giving Edward the "what for".
"I have no idea. I know she had a vision, and came home to assist Leah and I…" Jake's angry voice cut him off.
"Jake, I don't know, but I promise you that no one in my family would endanger Bella. Not ever!" more angry words, then the tone changed, and sounded broken.
"Of course, Jacob. We will be there as soon as we can. I have to take Leah home first, but…" interrupted again. "No, Jacob, she has had her own ordeal since we left there, and needs to rest." Then I interrupted.
"I feel fine. I am not tired. If Bella needs assistance, then I am coming with you!" I insisted. I was not going to sit on my laurels when my new friend needed help, even if I had no idea what was going on. "WE will be there soon, Jake!" I yelled at the phone, giving Edward an expression that dared him to argue with me.
~UUaAP~
All reviews are Welcome and Wanted.
I read every one, and almost without fail, they make my heart sing, and my smile beam.
This time I will recommend ...
Wild... by PeppahLouie :Recently widowed Bella moves to Seattle to start a new life. Reconnecting with her friend, Bella meets Alice's brother, Chef Edward Cullen. Celibate by choice for 2 years, what happens when Edward finds himself undeniably attracted to a sexy new Bella?