Lagniappe
Chapter 29. Give Me A Kick
Isabella Swan
WARNING: Angst. Just sayin' it now.
Here we go guys. I couldn't just leave ya hangin' now could I? haha!
Well, school tomorrow...so this is it for tonight! ENJOY!
G'night all!(:
The loud clanking of the rolling gurney mixed with my heavy breathing was only making my heart race faster as I tried to keep up my pace to match the speeding nurses who rolled Jasper's bloodied body down the hall. He was still breathing, with a little help and still had a pulse. That was good…but it was faint.
"Mrs. Hale!" the doctor called beside me.
I looked up through tear logged eyes to see him staring at my swollen stomach.
"Stay behind, m'am. We'll do our best." he demanded gently.
What? Leave Jasper? My husband?
Every time I had ever been in the same place he was in right now, Jasper had fought tooth and nail to stay at my side. Pregnant or not I was going to stay with him. I knew my stress probably wasn't good for Caleb, but…Jasper needed me. The thing that frightened me most…was that Caleb hadn't been kicking for the past half hour.
The longest half hour of my life.
Caleb was constantly kicking. It felt as though it never stopped and sometimes I even worried he would crack a rib of mine or something. He never did, but I still got a fright here and there.
"Mrs. Hale-"
"I WILL NOT LEAVE HIM!" I barked back, gripping onto Jasper's limp hand.
His face was covered in his own blood as a transparent, blue oxygen mask covered his mouth and nose. IV's and tubes were already sticking out of him as blood seeped through his chest.
The doctor was about to tell me something once more when I felt a pair of immensely strong arms pull me back, forcing Jasper's hand out of mine and causing the gurney to disappear off into the distance as someone held me back.
"Let me go!" I sobbed shrill. "He needs me! Please! Let me go!"
The arms tightened around me, above my stomach so they wouldn't hurt me.
"Stop Bella!" Alice's familiar voice whispered murderously in my ear. "You're going to hurt your kid."
I thrashed harder against her, now that I knew who it was. I could get out of her grasp if I fought hard enough but I knew she was right…I was hurting Caleb the more I fought. He still hadn't kicked.
I fell to my knees, dragging Alice with me. She wrapped her tiny arms around me in comfort this time, not to hold me back. She knew I wasn't fighting anymore. I couldn't.
Her arms squeezed me in a warm, reassuring hug. I wanted to be shocked. Hell, I was shocked.
Alice Brandon hugging me?
I didn't think about it, though. I simply accepted her hug, wrapping my own arms around her tiny body as I shook with my heavy sobs. Alice just held me to her, knowing I was falling to pieces right in front of her.
"He c-can't die, Alice," I sobbed into her shoulder. "I can't do this without h-him. I don't know h-how."
Alice rubbed soothing circles into my shoulder as she began to help me up with the assistance of a few nurses. They took me into the waiting room near the hallway we had just been sitting and sat me down in one of the itchy seats.
The nurses left after Alice thanked them lightly. I heard Alice's breathing but she didn't move for a long while…until she knelt down in front of me. I felt her warm, tiny hands gently rest on my knees as she looked up at me.
I could barely make out her face from the tears that were blocking my vision.
"I can't tell you he's going to be alright, Bella," Alice whispered, making my sobs become even stronger. "But I can tell you that he's going to fight."
I looked up at her, utterly confused as the hiccups started to come.
"Jasper wants to stay with you and your baby more than anything. He's going to fight harder than I have ever seen that man fight before because he loves you both so much that it literally pains him to be away from you." Alice chuckled numbly.
"H-how would you know?" I snapped, not wanting her pity.
I wanted my husband. That's what I wanted.
Alice laughed gently and shook her head, grasping my hand in hers.
"Every time I talk to that man, all he can ever talk about is how incredible you are or how excited he is to meet this kid in here," she tapped my stomach gently, smiling up at me half heartedly. "He's going to fight, Bella, because he loves you very much. I promise."
My sobs began to settle down a bit as I nodded.
I looked down at Alice's hand in mine and squeezed. I needed to pull it together. Not only did I need to pull it together for the sake of my child, but I needed to pull it together for Jasper. He needed me to be strong. Just like he had been for me all those times before. I needed to stand up and prove to everyone who thought we couldn't do it, that we could.
If Jasper had to fight, then so would I.
I wiped my face of any tears that were left on my face and sat up a straight. I took a deep breath, finally feeling exactly what I had been waiting for.
A little foot kicked right beside my belly button.
I let out a loud sigh of relief and placed the hand that wasn't in Alice's on my stomach.
We just had to wait.
…
I stood, staring ou the window of the private waiting room me and the entire family had been moved to. Momma Clara had showed up half an hour after Jasper had been wheeled in, along with Rosalie, Emmet and the boys, who looked absolutely furious.
Alec showed up with Uncle Carlisle an hour later. They had been out, trying to find out exactly who had shot Jasper. I hope they fucking skinned him and then set him on fire.
They didn't, of course, because the police had gotten to him first. The cops had said that Jasper had fired the man a few days prior. He was one of the many attorneys that worked for Jasper's company and after he dropped him, so did the man's law firm. He blamed Jasper for his loss and came after my husband in a mad fit of rage.
Alec was the worst off out of all of us. Momma Clara had been sobbing in Carlisle's arms for the past hour, praying to god to keep her son alive, but Alec…he couldn't seem to hold it together.
The kid's brother, the person who had filled the roll of father after his own had been massacred, had been shot and could possibly dying. It was as if everything was being ripped away from him.
Rosalie literally had to hold him to her, rocking the kid in her arms as he sobbed into her chest.
I couldn't cry any longer. I refused. Every time I started crying, Caleb would stop kicking, making me more worried than ever. I couldn't handle that. I needed to know that even if Jasper didn't make it-I shook the thought away instantly-I would still have a small piece of him left with me always.
Caleb would be all I had left and I couldn't risk losing him like I had lost our first baby. It would be a million times worse than before.
The room was pretty quiet, besides the sniffles and quiet sobs coming from Alec and Momma Clara.
Marcus and Caius sat silently, staring at the wall in front of them as if trying to make it melt with their glares. The guys had known Jasper their entire lives. They had worked for him, gone through life with him, been there for our wedding and the announcement of our first child. They knew Jasper just as well as he knew himself. They loved him like a brother.
"Here." Alice's small voice came up beside me.
I stared down to see her holding out a small, porcelain mug out to me. It was steaming and looked wonderful since this hospital was so freezing. I shook my head, even though I wanted to take it desperately.
"Pregnant women can't drink coffee," I whispered as I looked up at Alice.
She rolled her eyes and shook her head, sticking the mug further out to me.
"It's chamomile tea," I eagerly took it. "I put half and half in it and some sugar since that's how you used to take coffee at my place. When you drank it."
"I didn't trust you, then," I took a sip of the warm tea. It warmed every fiber in my body wonderfully. "I thought you were going to poison me or something."
Alice shrugged.
"I tried a couple times."
My eyes widened.
"What?" I hissed.
Alice chuckled darkly and took a sip of her coffee. I knew it was coffee because I could smell it. I must've gotten the smells confused.
"It was a joke, Bella." she sighed heavily. "If I wanted to kill you, it wouldn't have been by poisoning. Trust me."
I nodded my head and looked back at the setting sun. The pink, blue and orange hued sky seemed too beautiful for a day like today. Why would the sky dare to look so beautiful when something so horrible had happened? I didn't understand it.
I watched the ant sized people bellow, scurrying across the side walk to try and get to where they were going while cars stayed backed up in traffic. I wished so desperately that I could be one of those people. The type of person that could be walking down the street with my husband as we watched the sunset and went to go grab some ice cream because that's what I was craving.
Instead, I was inside a hospital with my husband's blood covering my entire body from neck to knee. I looked like I had just stepped out of a horror film.
I heard the light padding of footsteps entering the room as I took another sip of my tea.
"Mrs. Isabella Hale?" someone called from behind me.
I spun around quickly, handing Alice my tea.
"T-that's me!" I stepped forward, holding up a hand only to drop it back on my stomach.
The man who stood before me wasn't Doctor Flores. This was a doctor I wasn't familiar with. An ER doctor.
The first time I had met this man was two hours ago when he had come to tell me about Jasper's condition.
He told us all that the bullet was lodged a few inches into Jasper's chest. Only a couple of inches away form his heart and that they were going to have to do extensive surgery on him.
They made me sign a waver that said if they did something wrong, like accidentally push the bullet in unintentionally, and Jasper…died, then I couldn't sue. I had reluctantly done so just because I knew they wouldn't operate on him unless I did as they asked and I knew in Jasper's case, time was very sensitive.
He was losing too much blood.
That was a couple of hours ago. Now the man stood before me, my husband's blood covering his blue scrubs.
I didn't look up at his face. I couldn't. So I kept my eyes on the freckle that rested above his eyebrow. I figured if I didn't see the look on his face, then the news could be prolonged just a bit longer.
"We got it." he said in a breathy, but cheery voice.
The whole room let out a loud breath of air. Momma Clara let out a wail of joy as the boys jumped up in happiness, hugging each other and finally letting the tears run freely. Uncle Carlisle leapt up to take Alec into his arms as the kid finally smiled. Rosalie hugged Emmet tightly while I just stood there, shocked.
He was okay.
"Can we see him?" I whispered so quietly I knew only the doctor could hear me.
He nodded, smiling down at me half heartedly. He could see how worried I was.
"One at a time, but of course. He isn't awake and wont be for a few more hours, but just sitting and talking with him could do him some good." he said, grabbing the paper cap off his head to hold it in his hands.
"One at a time?" Alec asked through a sniffle. "If he's passed out, can't we all just see him for a sec?"
The rest of the people in the room turned to stare at the doctor. The poor man's eyes widened in confusion, his mouth opening and closing off and on to say something but then stopping.
He finally shrugged, giving a bobble head nod to all of us.
"I'm sure that's fine," he whispered. "But only if Mrs. Hale is alright with it." he looked to me with pleading eyes.
"It's fine," I reassured him. "They won't do anything to disturb him."
He gave me a worried glance but let his shoulders fall in defeat before taking us all towards Jasper's room.
As we finally made it to the door that had Jasper's chart hanging on it, the doctor opened the door to a rather large suit. The room was dimly lit, with nothing but a yellowish glow coming from the lamp that rested beside Jasper's bed.
The room looked about as big as mine and Jasper's room back at the loft, with it split into two parts. One area was a tiny living area with a comfortable looking sofa, a coffee table, a mini fridge, sink, bathroom and flat screen while the other half held Jasper's bed, a couple of chairs around it, a large window beside Jasper's bed and a small TV on the opposite wall Jasper was facing.
I had only noticed these things for an instant before my eyes landed on my husband.
To anyone who didn't know what happened, he just looked like he was sleeping. His face, neck and shoulders were unscathed, but as your eyes got lower, you saw he wasn't wearing one of those hospital gowns, due to the large bandages that covered his chest.
I choked back a sob as I rushed to him, my waddle slightly becoming a hindrance. As soon as I made it to my husband's side, I wrapped my hand around his. The one that didn't have all the needles and IV's stuck in it.
A single tear ran down my cheek, my family coming up behind me and around Jasper's bed. Alec stood beside me, crying through harsh sobs.
"H-hey bro…" my brother-in-law whimpered quietly.
I placed my free hand that wasn't clinging onto Jasper's to rub gentle circles into the kid's back. He needed someone to be there for him. I knew Carlisle had tried and Momma Clara was just too out of it, but I knew I could try, even if it hurt.
Alec leaned his head on my shoulder and sniffled.
"He's always been there, Bella. He's always taken care of me…and now…" Alice whispered, letting his voice drop.
Momma Clara fawned over her son before her while Carlisle just stared at his godson in shock. As if it hadn't sunk in until now. Rosalie sobbed quietly into Emmet's chest as the boys just stood frozen in the back.
"He'll be okay, Alec." I whispered into my little brother's ear, kissing his temple.
Even if he wasn't my brother by blood, he was still family. He was still my little brother.
"You're right," Alec sniffled, straightening up. "He'll pull though. He'd never leave you or this little guy."
Alec placed his hands on my stomach gently. The kid had been thrilled when he found out he was going to be an uncle. He had been thinking up of all the things he could do with my son and how much trouble they were going to get into together. He was quite disappointed when I told him that he'd have to wait a few years until my child could actually do stuff like that with him.
I smiled up at Alec and nodded.
Jasper wasn't going anywhere.
…
"Bella." I heard someone whisper through my slumber.
It wasn't a comfortable sleep, but it was still sleep and I didn't particularly enjoy being woken up.
"Bellaaa?" the voice sang agitatedly.
I felt my shoulders being shaken lightly before I shot up quickly, blinking my eyes furiously to get rid of the sleepy haze that clouded my vision.
"W-what?" I asked, a little surprised.
When I was finally able to see through the thick haze, I saw Rosalie's face smiling gently a few inches away from mine.
"Oh," I yawned. "Hey, Rose."
"Hey," she sighed. "Me and Emmet are going to head home." she pointed her thumb towards the door.
"Alright," I nodded, snuggling back into the rocking chair beside Jasper's bed. "We'll see you guys tomorrow?"
Rose laughed gently and nodded, rubbing my arm.
"Yeah, we'll be here right after I get out of class," she leaned forward to kiss my forehead gently. "You sure you don't want me and Em to take you home? I'm sure you'd get a lot better sleep than you would in that rocking chair."
I shook my head, closing my eyes after giving Jasper a once over. He was still fast asleep, the heart monitor beeping quietly beside him to reassure me that he was still alive and doing alright.
"I want to be here when he wakes up." I mumbled groggily.
Rosalie gave me an exasperated sigh before squeezing my hand.
"I'll see you tomorrow then." she said before taking off with Emmet behind.
I opened my eyes for a second to check out the room.
I knew the guys had left a while ago, saying their goodbyes to me just as Rosalie had. Momma Clara had been taken home by Carlisle on account of her nerves being so shot it was like she was a fucking Chihuahua. It was driving me nuts!
Alec and Alice were the only ones left in the room.
Alec was passed out on the sofa in the living room area, a quilt Carlisle had brought by from me and Jasper's place a few hours ago along with some take out form a near by Thai place. I hadn't eaten yet because I had been so tired and I knew Caleb would be kicking me like no body's business in a few minutes if I didn't feed myself.
My eyes shifted to see Alice nibbling on an egg roll, staring up at the TV here on Jasper's side of the suite. It was turned onto Dexter's Laboratory. How…Alice.
"Hey," I grumbled, rubbing my eyes.
"Hey," she replied, never taking her eyes off the TV in front of her. "You want some noodles or somethin'?"
I sat up, feeling my back pop quickly as everything began to realign itself.
"Yeah, that sounds good."
She grabbed a little, white take out box and slid it across the table Jasper's food would be placed when he woke up. I grabbed it and sat back down in my rocking chair.
As soon as I opened it, I ripped open the plastic silverware that had come along with it and dug into the fried, sticky noodles. They were delicious. I had eaten three boxes by the time I was full.
"You're going to get so fat." Alice chuckled.
Her eyes were still locked on the TV as she sipped a Coke from the can.
"I haven't gained enough weight, actually." I stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Really?" she chuckled, quirking an eyebrow at me.
"Yeah," I said truthfully. "I've only gained fifteen pounds and five of those pounds are Caleb-"
"Caleb?" Alice asked confused, finally taking her eyes off of the TV to stare at me.
"The baby's name," I nodded, throwing away my third box.
"You already picked names?"
"We did together." I sighed, staring down at my husband.
He looked so peaceful as he slept…I needed him awake, though. I needed to know that he was alright and that he really was still with me.
"I already told you his name." I recalled a little late.
"When?" Alice asked, looking back up at the TV.
I rolled my eyes and placed my hands on my stomach.
"Yesterday," I glanced at the clock. It read 4:52 am. "At the doctor's office? When I was getting my sonogram?"
"Oh yeah," Alice nodded. "I remember."
"You said it was a wimpy name." I chuckled.
Alice shook her head, looking at me with kind eyes.
"I didn't mean it," she said genuinely. "I like it, actually. It kind of fits…you."
"What do you mean?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.
"Well," she sighed, placing her legs under her where she sat. "You said you're like from a really southern place or whatever?"
"Louisiana." I nodded.
"Yeah, well, Caleb is a name you'd only think to hear in like western movies and stuff." Alice said seriously.
"Nuh uh." I scrunched up my nose.
"I'm not kidding. I've heard you speak in your real accent…it's pretty cool. I don't know why you hide it." Alice let her eyes wander my face.
I shrugged, rubbing my stomach gently.
"I can't let people see the real me sometimes," I sighed gently, staring down at Jasper. "If I let people in and so who I really am, they could hurt me, Jasper or Caleb, now. I can't let that happen."
Alice nodded, understanding exactly what I meant. She did the exact same thing. Alice was hard to the world because she knew exactly like I did what it felt like to be used, abused and taken advantage of. If we let people in for a minute, they could hurt us and we'd already been through too much.
I was slowly beginning to see the real Alice, though.
She was quite the lady, actually. A sweetheart.
We sat quiet for a long time, just watching TV or checking over Jasper. I enjoyed the frequent kicks from my son and even stole Alice's large head phones and iPod from her purse to put on my belly every once and a while. I never put it on the stuff she usually listened to, but rather stuff like the Beatles and even some Mozart.
I didn't believe in all that psycho smart baby crap, I just though Caleb might like the music. He did, kicking more than he ever had before. I giggled and took the head phones off my stomach. Alice went to disinfect them, like the crazy ass OCD patient she is.
I tried to relax, listening to Alec's light snoring from the other side of the room. The kid was out cold, but I couldn't blame him. I stood up to stretch and get my circulation going a bit and went to go stand by the window.
It was dark out but I knew it wouldn't be for much longer. It was already almost six thirty. In half an hour the sun would be starting to rise, revealing a new day.
"So," Alice came up beside me. "Do you think you and Jasper are going to move?"
I looked won at Alice quizzically.
"I don't know. Why do you ask?"
Alice shrugged.
"I just thought that since everyone in New York knows where you live now and that you're having a kid and all…" she shifted her weight on her feet. "I just thought that maybe you'd want a little bit of privacy for a while. And some security for your kid."
As much as I hated to admit it, the woman was right.
Everyone in New York knew exactly where we lived and basically our daily schedule. They knew when Jasper was in and out of the house, thanks to the press's constant hounding and photos being in the paper's and magazines.
Caleb wouldn't be the least bit safe when he finally arrived, no matter the amount of security guards we had.
"I guess we'll have to talk about it when Jasper wakes up." I sighed heavily.
This was a lot to take in for twenty four hours. I had so many things running through my mind hat it wasn't even funny. I just needed some sleep and maybe-
"B-Bella?" a raspy voice mumbled form behind me.
I spun around quickly, knowing that voice anywhere.
Jasper was awake, blinking his blue eyes and attempting to sit up. I quickly rushed to his side, Alice staying by the window.
"Jasper!" I whispered happily, flinging myself at him.
I tried my best not to hug him harder than just placing my arms around his neck, but I just couldn't help it. I peppered his face with gentle kisses, feeling tears falling down my face.
"Hey, beautiful," Jasper rasped out.
"Looks like someone finally decided to join the living." Alice grumbled agitatedly.
I didn't pay attention to her. Neither did Jasper as we stared at each other, memorizing each other's features.
"I thought I had lost you…" I whimpered through my silent sobs.
Jasper lifted his free hand to run it across my cheek.
"Never."
G'night all!
Next chapter up tomorrow!:D
