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Thanks a billion to the lovely cocoalvin!

It's overdue, but here it is...

Jasper

Edward really was a bastard when he was sick. He didn't want to accept help of any form, but when he realized he was just too weak to do some things for himself, he became infantile, looking up at me from beneath those thick, long lashes and asking in the tiniest voice imaginable. I spent the next two days with him going from pissed off and irritated to heartbroken and smitten.

The mood swings were stressful enough, but Edward's condition was worrying the hell out of me as well. He tried to assure me that he would be okay. He'd told me that he rarely got sick, but whenever he did, it attacked him with all the wrath of the Black Death. That may have been so, but his cough was getting worse and kept him from sleeping well. He was wheezing all the time and was often too exhausted to stand for longer than a couple of minutes. His fever was higher every time I checked it, and if it didn't break soon, I feared I was going to have to take him to the hospital. On the bright side, he wasn't throwing up anymore...that could have been because he wouldn't eat anything though.

"That's gross, Jasper," he grumbled before pushing the bowl of broth I'd heated for him away.

"So was your breath this morning, but I still kissed you didn't I?" I retorted. It was a low blow, but I didn't care. He had the usual sick person's breath, and that wasn't his fault. I just really wanted him to eat, so I went around to where he sat on a stool at the kitchen island and wrapped my arms around him. As I ran my fingers through his hair, he purred appreciatively before leaning into my body. Edward liked to be held when he was sick. It was usually the only thing that could calm him down when he was particularly irritable.

"Will you just drink half of this for me? You'll never get better without some nutrients," I told him, using a gentle voice.

"Isn't the old saying feed a cold and starve a fever?"

"Yes, it is the old saying, and that old saying has been proven wrong by modern medicine," I said.

"I'm not going to see a doctor," he replied instantly with the same stern and final tone whenever someone hinted at anything that may have, in any way, led to the discussion of a hospital visit.

"I'm not asking you to...right now. I just want you to drink a little bit of this, baby. Just a little," I implored, scooping out some of the warm liquid and holding it up to his mouth. Because of the way I was holding him, I couldn't see much of his face, but I knew that he was eyeing the broth with distaste. Eventually, he leaned forward and accepted the spoonful. I kissed him on the top of his head and continued to feed him. True to my word, I backed off after he'd finished half the bowl, and we began moving back to the living room.

Edward was exhausted and flopped down on the couch as soon as he reached it. I arranged my body around his and pulled him into to my arms with his back to my chest.

"Are you cold?" I asked.

He nodded his head, but when I reached around to feel how warm his forehead was, he was burning up. Quickly, I moved my hand around to feel the skin of his back underneath his shirt. The skin and fabric of his shirt were damp with sweat, but he was really shivering with cold. Worry slivered up my spine, as I feared he might soon get dehydrated. I'd bathed him twice already today due to his profuse sweating, and it seemed about time for a third.

"I'm going to go get you some juice, Edward. Will you drink it for me?" I asked, whispering in his ear. He whimpered helplessly and shook his head.

"I can't, Jas. I only need sleep, okay?"

"I'm scared you're going to get dehydrated. You don't want that do you?"

A long silence followed my question. I thought he'd gone to sleep, but when I tried to move from behind him, his hand reached out and grabbed my shirt.

"I don't want you to be scared," he told me groggily, making me smile. I caressed his burning cheek and kissed him before heading toward the kitchen. After pouring Edward a cold glass of orange juice, I grabbed the thermometer on my way back to him. It would be time to take his temperature again soon, and I wanted to have it on hand. When I got back to the living room, Edward was shirtless and squirming irritably on the couch.

"I need to get out of here, " he complained. "It's too hot, and my whole fucking body aches. I'm just going to go to work!"

He tried to get up, but I rushed forward and gently pushed him back onto the couch. "Be serious, Edward. You can't go to work right now," I reasoned.

His eyes lifted to meet mine, and they were filled with anguish. "I need to do something, Jasper."

I lowered myself onto my knees between his legs and handed him the glass of juice. "Drink that," I replied. He immediately obeyed, desperate for any activity no matter how menial. In his eagerness, he swallowed too fast and choked himself. He gasped for breath, but ended up coughing harshly. I grabbed him a tissue, knowing that mucus was sure to follow a cough that hard, and handed it to him. After he'd settled down, he balled up the tissue, but I could have sworn I saw something red mixed up in the mucus. My heart plummeted to the pit of my stomach. That couldn't have been blood...right?

My troubling thoughts were cut short when Edward sagged against me. For a fleeting second, I thought he'd passed out, but his arms curling around me told me differently. With his face resting on my shoulder, his shallow and wheezing breaths were loud in my ear.

"I want to check your temperature, E," I said, rubbing his damp back and reaching for the thermometer. I didn't give him time to protest before tightening my arm around him to keep him from moving. I stuck the thermometer in his ear—Esme and I had long since abandoned the idea that Edward would voluntarily open his mouth for an oral one—and was surprised when his rebellion was only comprised of a few whimpers and whines. I was saddened to realize my poor baby was too weak for much else. The wait for the beep of the thermometer seemed to take eons, but when it finally sounded, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I stared at the numbers for several long moments waiting for them to change. They didn't.

"Edward, baby, it's time to go to the hospital," I said, pulling him up to his feet. His head lolled as he sagged against me. He mumbled something incoherent, which only solidified my resolve and set my heart on a hundred meter dash. I gently laid him back on the couch and rushed to the bedroom to get clothes for him to put on. As I helped Edward into his sweat pants, I held my cell between my ear and shoulder to call Esme. Of course, she didn't answer though. I was forced—for the second time in a week—to leave a fucking voicemail.

"Um...Hey, Esme. It's me...Jasper. Edward's been popping Tylenol like Skittles, but his fever is 105.2 now. I'm going to take him to the hospital. Call me when you get this...okay? Bye."

I stuffed my phone in my pocket and hauled Edward to his feet. "How do feel, Edward?" I asked, anxiously looking into his face. He nodded weakly and shrugged his shoulders.

"'M okay...really okay," he mumbled.

I sighed and started toward the door, half carrying him along. Once in the car, I forced myself to remain calm and focus on driving him to the nearest hospital. My mind kept wandering though. Why hadn't I taken him to the hospital before? I knew from the very beginning that Edward was suffering from a simple cold. Now, his fever was extremely high, and there was blood in his mucus. If something happened to him, I'd never forgive myself for letting things progress this far.

Fortune was on our side though. The emergency room wasn't crowded at all, and he was helped right away.

A nurse escorted him to the back while I was made to stay in the waiting room and fill out paper work. I tried to fill out those papers, but I just couldn't. Whatever I did write was illegible due to my shaking hands, and every time a nurse or doctor came into the waiting room from the back, I would tense up, thinking they were coming to deliver me bad news. The whole situation was nerve wracking and as soon as I tossed the clipboard aside, giving up entirely, a dreaded nurse walked over toward me.

"Are you Jasper Hale?" she asked. Taking a breath, I nodded my head. "Mr. Cullen is asking for you. I've come to escort you to him if you want to see him," she told me.

I literally jumped up from my seat and hugged her. She gasped in surprise but laughed and hugged me back. "Thank you so much! How is he? Has he seen the doctor yet?" I rambled, words flying from my mouth before the thoughts had even fully formed in my head.

"He has and he should be just fine. We hooked him up to an IV and while the fever is still really high, it's already started to come down. He's got quite a bit of fluid on his lungs and a relatively bad bout of pneumonia. Dr. Gerandy is going to put some prescriptions in for to take home. I'm thinking they're going to want to keep him overnight though, to keep an eye on him and drain some of that fluid off his lungs," the nurse told me.

With all the crazy possibilities swirling in my head, pneumonia was the best possible outcome. He was going to be fine, and really, that was all that mattered. I grabbed the clipboard from the chair and motioned for the nurse to lead the way to Edward. I was anxious to see him, especially if he was asking for me. When we reached him, he was in a unit with about seven other patients and thin blue curtains provided a semblance of privacy between beds.

The nurse had already told me his fever was starting to break and that he would be fine. Looking at him against the stark white walls of the emergency room, under the harsh lighting, and amidst all the machines and groans of other pained patients, he looked a whole lot worse. His sallow skin was more shocking under the flush of fevered cheeks, neck and forehead. The dark circles around his eyes made him look like the living dead.

"Oh, sweetie," I breathed, moving toward his bed and cupping his face in my hand.

"I'm sorry," he rasped, smiling weakly. "I'm an idiot. I honestly didn't think I needed a doctor."

"Don't be sorry. I knew a long time ago that you did, but I didn't do anything because I didn't want to upset you," I responded.

There was an uncomfortable looking chair beside his bed and I quickly occupied it. Edward reached over and laced our fingers together while I finally finished up the paper work that the hospital needed. I gave the clipboard over to a nurse who came over to check Edward's vitals for the fifth time in what had to be ten minutes. It wasn't hard at all to understand why Edward had been unwilling to come here.

"I already want to go home," Edward sighed.

I opened my mouth to comfort him, but the snapping back of the curtain around us stopped me. Standing before us was the most beautiful doctor I'd ever seen. He was tall, with cornsilk blond hair, a strong jaw, and full pink lips. His eyes were amazing, a stunning emerald green. It was like looking into the eyes of...of Edward? My gaze swiveled over when Edward's sharp gasp caught my attention.

"Edward?" Dr. Gorgeous breathed, looking at Edward as if he was the ghost of Christmas of past.

Things seemed to happen quickly after that. The look on Edward's face told me more than words could. Fear, anguish, and panic were just a few of the emotions that marred his handsome features. My eyes snapped back to the doctor, but instead of looking into his eyes, I looked at his nametag.

Dr. Cullen.

The name completed the story and Edward and I jumped into motion simultaneously. Forgetting about the IV in his hand, he leaped off the bed and shouted in pain as the needle was yanked out. I caught him as he stumbled, and reached for some gauze I'd spotted on a nearby tray. I pressed it to Edward's hand and wrapped my arm around his waist to support him as we moved toward the exit. This was not the only hospital in Illinois, and Edward would receive his care from one of the many others.

Dr. Cullen rushed forward, but I heard his approach and whirled around to push him back with the arm I wasn't using to hold Edward.

"You stay the fuck away from him, asshole!" I snarled, making the man flinched away and bow his head. I couldn't be sure exactly who this man was, but I'd gathered enough to know that he was a member of the family that had disowned Edward and turned their backs when he needed them most. They'd hurt him once, and if I had anything to do with it, they wouldn't get a second chance.

As Edward and I rushed out of the hospital, we crashed into a frenzied Esme who was rushing in. She stumbled, but I grabbed the collar of her shirt with my free hand and pulled her up. She emitted an odd choking sound and gasped as I kept my grip on her shirt and towed her along with us. I didn't let her go until we reached the parking lot.

"What the fuck is happening!" Esme exclaimed.

"We're going to a different hospital," I said, ushering a tense and dejected Edward into the car. She looked from his face to mine and nodded her head, understanding without knowing a thing. I got into the car and waited for Esme to drive around to where we were parked before driving to another hospital. Edward sat slumped in the passenger seat, keeping pressure on his bleeding hand. His eyes were focused unseeingly on the windshield. The emotions that just moments ago raged over his face were now all gone, leaving his face blank and his eyes hollow.

"Edward? Are you alright?" I asked, needing to know. He nodded slowly and absently, and I wasn't sure that he was actually answering me or just trying to make me think he was listening to what I saying.

"Who was that man?"

Edward stilled beside me before pinching the bridge of his nose. "My brother."

I have some very exciting news! Tell Me What You Want as been nominated for two Tomato Soup Awards in the the categories of:

Caramel Creme Award for the best Esme

The Butterfinger Award for Cliffhanger (chap 21)

If you feel so inclined, head on over to thetomatosoupaward(dot)blogspot(dot)com and vote! Um... let it be known that I would REALLY appreciate it if you did!

So there you have it, dolls! Click that review button and let me know what you think!