A/N: Hello all my wonderful readers! I fear I must apologize for the wait again on an update. Two toddlers having the stomach flu transferred to a pregnant me getting it, too. Fortunately, my boys got over it quickly. I, however, bought myself a weekend in the hospital and six liters of IV fluids to rehydrate my sorry ass. Hence the wait. So sorry again. I hope it's worth it!
Major smooches to all my loyal readers and to all my newbies! I love seeing those alerts, favorites, and reviews! Keep up the good work! ;)
Thanks to my betas: Twifan82, Sovereignvision, and Jenny Cullen. You all truly make this possible.
Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight. I own the burden of figuring out how I'm going to pay for my doctoral degree. ©2010-2011 twicrack83
*~*?POV*~*
Think fast. Car lights equal bad, and bad equals not good for me. To run or not to run. That is the fucking question. Well, they haven't seen me yet, so maybe I should make a break for it.
Crap. They're stopping. Now or never.
Crash! Bang! Splat!
"Fuck! My face!"
"Stop motherfucker!"
SHIT! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. Get up and run, you pansy. You don't even know if they have guns. You could have a good chance of getting out of here.
Click, click, BOOM!
Nope, they have guns. Keep running!
"I said stop, dick weasel, or I'll shoot again!"
"He'll do it, too!"
Wait a minute. No one ever calls me dick weasel except…
"You sick, stupid, son-of-a-bitch! Don't scare me like that!" I spat, stopping and turning around.
"Aww, come on, Riley. You have to admit. That was pretty fucking cool."
"Not quite, Felix. Did Dad put you up to this?"
"Nope. Demitri and I take full credit for scaring the shit out of you," laughed Felix.
"Fuckers. I hope nobody heard your gun shot, or he'll have a shit-fit."
"No one heard us," interrupted Demitri. "You were taking forever, and we were getting bored, so we decided to play a joke on you. Besides, no one's here, nimrod. We checked first."
"Yeah, what was taking you so long?" asked Felix, stepping closer and pulling me to him by my neck.
"Let go of me, dipshit," I returned as he gave me nuggie and I punched his ribs. "I was making sure no one was here. The lights were on in the house and I wasn't sure if they were really here or not."
"Whatever," Demitri snickered as he pulled me out of Felix's arms only to throw me over his shoulders. "We have to get back and call your dad. You better hope you found something in there. He's getting pissed that he can't break the FBI wall these damn kids seem to have around them."
"Yeah, Dad's gonna go after us next if we don't have the goods for him," Felix said as he ran up behind Demitri. He was jogging to the car with me trying to get out of his grasp.
"I got what we need," I confirmed, losing the circulation to my legs as I pounded on Demitri's back.
"Good job, little shit," replied Demitri, and he promptly smacked me on the ass before he threw me in the backseat of the car.
I swear that guy has a thing for me… ewww!
/~/+/~/+/~/+/~/+/~/+/~/+/~/+/~/
~*~BPOV~*~
He said it! He actually said it! I could hardly believe he beat me to it, but Edward was full of surprises. Finally hearing him say "I love you" was the best moment of my life. I think I may have kind of scared him when I jumped at him, but at least he caught me and we didn't land on the floor next to his bed. That would have been very hard to explain since I would have landed on top of him… cowgirl style. Unfortunately, that moment was far too short for my liking. I would have rather shown him how much I loved him, but hospitals are gross and visiting time was over.
The next few days only added to my anxiety about this entire charade. I didn't want to be away from Edward, especially not at school. Alice briefed me and Emmett on the finer points of lying about what was really happening with Edward, and I thought we did a pretty good job at first. Of course all the teachers knew what was really going on, but it seemed like every corner I took, someone else was asking me where Edward was. Then the rumors started flying and I was beyond pissed about it all. Someone actually started a rumor that he was getting a sex change operation because I was really a lesbian, and we couldn't live without each other.
At least the last part was true. I didn't know what I'd do if Edward wasn't in my life. But the other part was just ridiculous, and I ended up getting a lot of unwanted attention from the girls softball team. When I talked to Edward about it on the phone, he laughed hysterically for about five minutes before I could get in another word. He swore the laughing was directed at his impromptu sex change and not how miserable I was because Myrtle Swanson wouldn't stop leaving love notes in my locker. But I wasn't so sure.
Then we got news about his surgery. It was scheduled. Something about finally having a date and time for the inevitable made it that much scarier. Luckily, it also meant I got to see Edward again, so I guess the whole thing wasn't entirely shot to hell.
Wednesday afternoon couldn't come fast enough. The entire school day dragged on mercilessly and by three o'clock, Alice was ready to rip my tongue out for asking her so many times if she'd heard anything from him. After the hundredth "no" and a bone chilling death stare, I toned it down, but only because Emmett begged me. He was too nice to say it to my face, but I know he really wanted to tell me to knock it the fuck off.
Jake picked us up after school, car already packed, and an assortment of delicious, fattening Taco Bell available for consumption. Nothing like greasy, grade F Mexican food to calm the nerves. We drove to Seattle and made it in record time. When we pulled into the parking garage at the hospital, I barely waited for Jake to park before hopping out of the car and racing for Edward's room. I didn't want to waste any time. Who knew how long I had left to spend with him?
The rest of the afternoon was spent snuggling in Edward's arms, safe and secure. Nothing seemed to bother me, not even Alice's incessant pouting about how much she missed Jasper, or Emmett's constant texting with Rose. We were all there, and we were all alive and breathing. I just wish I'd prepared myself more for the surgery.
Thursday morning was tense. I tried my best to keep myself together despite the constant urge to burst into tears. Edward needed strength and I was determined to give it to him. But I failed miserably and ended up weepy-eyed all morning.
After he was wheeled to the preoperative area with Carlisle at his side, the rest of us trudged to the waiting area where we spent the next eight and a half hours. I swore the clock was mocking me. It almost seemed like every time I looked at it, time would go backward instead of forward. Emmett and Alice finally got tired of me huffing every time I looked up at the clock, and they convinced the hospital staff to move it to the wall behind me. When I tried to turn around and look at it again, Alice promptly smacked the back of my head and Emmett forced my face to look the other way.
At least we were keeping Esme occupied until Carlisle returned. She'd crack a tiny smile when she'd peer up at us from her magazine and shake her head at our antics. When Carlisle eventually met up with us, he seemed to be walking a fine line between calm and completely losing it. Nobody wanted to say anything for fear of setting the others off, but Carlisle wanted to reassure us that Tanya and Irina spoke with him and Edward about the surgery in depth before having them sign consent. He said after everything was set in stone, the nurses gave Edward some meds to help him relax. Apparently, Edward was very comfortable because Carlisle reported he proclaimed his love for me and made sure all the nurses knew he was taken.
I didn't think it was possible to turn purple from embarrassment, but Alice actually thought I was going to pass out from how mortified I looked. Carlisle and Esme just smiled, and Emmett swore he wouldn't let Edward live that one down.
Time dragged on forever. I found myself pacing back and forth in the waiting room while chewing my nails. Esme finally forced me to sit down and gave me a book because she was worried I'd bite my fingers down to nubs.
I hated being a nuisance, but I didn't know how to deal with my anxiety. Walking seemed like an appropriate outlet, but so did chewing on my nails, and eventually, counting strands of hair on Alice's head.
Emmett got tired of watching me fidget, so he made me to go for a walk with him and Jake around the hospital. He threatened to literally carry me out kicking and screaming if I didn't, so I relented and followed them for a not-so-leisurely stroll. We took our time and even went outside for some fresh air, but nothing really helped me take my mind off of Edward's surgery. Emmett finally caved and we went back up to the waiting room.
Alice had scooted some chairs together and was sleeping under her coat. Carlisle and Esme were playing a board game, but neither one really seemed interested as they kept staring off into space and the other would have to remind them of their turns. I decided a nap sounded like a good plan, so I borrowed Emmett's coat to lie on the floor next to Alice's chairs and curled up on the floor covering my head with my coat.
After a restless two hour nap, I was woken abruptly when Alice fell off the chairs right on top of me. We both yelped, and scrambled to recover. I pushed myself to sitting and rubbed my head while she rubbed her ass and everyone around us got a good laugh. Carlisle helped us both up and apologized for startling Alice and making her smash my face into the floor, but he didn't want us to miss Tanya and Irina when they told us about Edward's surgery.
It was over. It was finally over and we were going to find out how everything went in mere minutes when Tanya and Irina met us in the waiting room. We all quickly took seats and watched as the surgeons walked briskly toward us. I should have known something was wrong when I looked in their eyes, but I wanted so badly for everything to be over that hope won over practicality in that instance.
"Hello everyone," started Irina and she ran her fingers through her hair, taking off her surgery cap. "The surgery is complete, and we're happy to report we were able to remove the entire tumor."
Esme released her breath and burst into tears. Carlisle nodded repeatedly and pulled Esme into a huge hug. Alice, Emmett, and I all smiled like loonies, but the surgeons stopped us, and Tanya continued talking.
"Edward did great before and during the surgery. We didn't have any complications until the end," Tanya paused and waited for her information to sink in. We all tensed again, waiting for the fall out. "When we tried to wake him up after the surgery, he started moving erratically on the table and we tried to calm him down, but realized he wasn't waking up… he was having a seizure instead."
Esme screamed, Alice dropped her face into her hands, and I got so lightheaded I started seeing stars.
"The meds we used to sedate and paralyze along with all the stimulation from the surgery caused Edward to seize," Irina resumed. "We tried Diastat right away followed by Ativan, but they weren't working. We had to re-sedate him, place him back on the ventilator, and started a Diazepam drip to keep the seizure from returning. He's currently being transferred to a room in the PICU."
No one, not even Carlisle, said anything. We were all so stunned that we were incapable of forming sentences, let alone coherent thoughts. Tanya and Irina sensed our distress and kept explaining amidst the deafening silence.
"There is a light at the end of this tunnel," began Tanya. "We don't believe this seizure will last for very long. We also don't think it will cause him problems in the future. The only reason we believe it happened in the first place is from the extensive neuronal stimulation he received during the surgery."
"Our brains and nervous system aren't used to constant manipulation like surgery," said Irina. "Once his system calms down and realizes it's not 'under attack' so to speak, the seizure activity should dissipate and we'll be able to bring him out of the med-induced coma."
Still tense, but relaxing slightly from their explanation, Carlisle jumped into the conversation.
"Can we see him? All I want is to see him."
I'd never seen Carlisle cry, but as I looked over at him a stream of tears were steadily moving down his face. Esme seemed on the verge of hysterics, shaking so badly that Carlisle was having trouble keeping her in his arms, and Alice was chanting so fast under her breath that I couldn't make out a single word she was saying. I hadn't noticed it, but Emmett had placed his arm around my shoulders and he was white as a sheet. Looking down at my hands, I realized I was clenching my fists so tightly that my fingers were turning blue from lack of circulation.
"Of course you can see Edward," Tanya and Irina announced in unison.
They walked us up to the PICU and directed us to his room. Reassuring us again, they made a promise to check on his progress every couple of hours, and informed the nursing staff to call at the slightest inkling of concern.
Allowing us to visit him in pairs, the nurses took their time and explained everything to us about Edward's care. He was hooked up to the ventilator and an IV pump giving him fluids and his constant drip of seizure and sedation medications. He was propped up slightly in the bed, and his head was wrapped in gauze. Other than the tubes and bandages, he looked like he was resting peacefully. I just hoped he truly was.
Because of the craziness surrounding the situation, Carlisle and Esme decided to spend the night in Edward's room and forced the rest of us to go to the hotel and get some rest. We reluctantly left around ten o'clock, but I don't think anyone really slept at all that night.
The next morning, everyone looked like zombies because of the lack of sleep and increased apprehension. The future still seemed so uncertain, and I'd thoroughly planned to be beyond all the worry by this point.
Seeing Edward lying motionless and unresponsive in the bed made my heart sink. I couldn't be sure he wasn't in pain, and I didn't even know if he knew I was there. But that didn't deter me from holding his hand every second I was in the room, or kissing his forehead before I left. I wasn't sure he knew, but I was damn certain to keep up my end of the deal by being as supportive of Edward as I could. I was determined to hold his hand and kiss his forehead as long as he needed me to.
Tanya and Irina made rounds early in the morning and spoke with Carlisle about Edward's progress. The plan was to let his body rest for one more day and start weaning him off the medications slowly overnight. The hope was that by Saturday morning, Edward would be free of seizure activity and they could take him off the ventilator. We all had our fingers crossed.
Friday was spent much like Thursday… waiting, not knowing if Edward would be okay, and waiting some more. The day dragged on, and by the time visiting hours came to a close, I was ready to try and get some sleep with the hope that Edward would be off the meds and ventilator when I saw him again in the morning.
Emmett, Alice, Jake, and I made our way back to the hotel. When we drove into the parking garage, Alice tensed up abruptly and started looking around frantically. I asked her what was wrong, because honestly she was freaking me the fuck out, but she kept telling me to shut up. Jake caught on to her craziness and was doing random scans himself before we even made it into the foyer. By the time we made it into the room, all four of us were thoroughly paranoid and Jake had his hand on his gun.
Unfortunately, Jake wasn't quick enough to save us that night.
A/N: Well, we found out who the mystery POV was… Riley. Sneaky little shit. And Edward had his surgery, though it ended not so well for him. Now it appears Bella and the others at the hotel have something or someone waiting for them. More BPOV up next.
Thoughts, concerns, questions, theories, or just random comments are always greatly appreciated. Send me some love, although I'm fearing for my life with the cliffie I've left you. Love to all! ;) M