NPOV:
A doctor walked in with Quil following him. The doctor was tall and blonde and looked like he should be in a hospital drama rather than in a real hospital. He couldn't be more than thirty. He had on similar cologne to the one that Edward wore and I would have to remind myself never to let Jacob buy that cologne if he woke up.
"Nina," Quil looked at the doctor with distaste. "This is Dr. Cullen." He quickly said the name as though it burned his tongue. "He was the only doctor that could help because he knows about vampires."
"Pleased to meet you." He stuck out a hand for me to shake and I shook it warily.
"Will Jacob…what are…when he gets…." Trying to ask multiple questions at once is extremely difficult.
"One question at a time, now." I heard a slight British accent in his voice but it was well covered by an American one.
"Will Jacob be all right?" I asked the most important one first.
"That is a tricky question because there are so many answers." He glanced at Jacob's body. "There is an equal probability between him regaining consciousness and never regaining it. If he did wake up however, he might never be the exact same as he was before. It is common for people coming out of comas to be unable to use their bodies in the same way."
"Oh, okay." I nodded. "Um…why is Jacob in a coma?" I asked another question in my head.
"Often times comas happen because of strokes, central nervous system disabilities or metabolic abnormalities. Obviously none of these happened to him." He looked back down to Jacob. "When the oxygen was cut off from the brain by a member of the Volturi, parts of his brain shut down completely. So we induced the coma in order to preserve higher brain functioning after other brain trauma."
"Huh?" I didn't understand what he had just said.
"He means that they put him in a coma to save his life." Quil explained in my simpler language.
"I see, but how long will he be in a coma?"
Dr. Cullen looked unsure for the first time he walked into the room.
"I have no idea." He shook his head. "Comas generally last a few weeks, between 2-5, but I am not sure in this situation. I've never seen a strangled werewolf before."
"So when he wakes up," I said positively, "what will be the outcome?"
"Well, some patients come out gradually and he might be in a vegetative state for a while. It's normal though so it wouldn't be something to worry about."
"Vegetative state…" I repeated softly.
"It means he will be as responsive as a vegetable." Quil said.
"I know what it means." I frowned. "How long would that last?"
"He might be aware and out of it in a few days…but sometimes it can last years or even decades. The outcome for coma and vegetative state depends on the cause, location, severity and extent of neurological damage. A deeper coma alone does not necessarily mean a slimmer chance of recovery, because some people in deep coma recover well while others in a so-called milder coma sometimes fail to improve."
I blinked. I couldn't wait for decades. I would be dead before he could even say my name. This was almost as bad as him being dead now. I would never talk to him again.
"Let's just say that he did return in a few days." I said. "Would he be able to talk to me?"
"Sometimes comatose patients never regain the ability to say more than a few sentances, but I wouldn't worry about that because most people do regain the ability to talk. They sometimes don't regain the ability to move or walk, but they can normally talk."
"Okay…" I sighed and held Jacob's hand in mine. My small fingers barely wrapped around his larger ones.
"Anything else?" He asked polietly.
"N-yes." I changed my decline to a nod. "Why are you doing this?"
"It's my job." He pointed to a name tag on his white shirt. "I help sick people."
"No. I meant why are you helping him when you are a vampire?" I thought about the expression that the attacking vampire wore when he looked at Jacob. "Aren't we mortal enemies, or whatever you want to call it?"
The doctor sat down on a swivel chair and gave me a undecipherable look. "What type of being we are doesn't make us who we are."
I groaned internally at the cryptic message. "What does that mean?"
"It means that our choices make up who we are and not what we are." He said with more wisdom than a guy in his mid-twenties should have. "Just because I am a vampire, doesn't mean I have to fit into the stereotype. My family has tried to rise above other vampires in compassion. We don't want to be killers."
"Are you by any chance related to Bella's boyfriend?" I asked sudenly seeing similarities between them.
"I am his adopitve father, so yes." He smiled. "We both have the same…habits."
I looked back at Jacob. "Do you think he's going to make it?"
"I'm not sure." He gave me a pitying look. "I hope so."
"Would you mind if…could you please leave for a minute?" I wasn't sure if that was rude or not.
"No problem." Both he and Quil got up at the same time.
"No, Quil." I reached out for him. "Please stay."
He sat back down in a small padded seat. His size made the chair seem more miniscule and it looked like it was straining to fit him. The vampire doctor left the room silently and if I hadn't known he was leaving, I wouldn't have noticed.
Quil turned to me expecting me to say something.
"Quil." I breathed his name. He came over to my side and stood over me with his warm hands resting on my shoulders.
"Do you want to go home?" He asked sweetly. He had never been so caring for me in my life. I had known that he loved me in a friendly way, but he normally showed that by excessive teasing rather than affection.
"Not really." I looked at Jacob's serene face. "I think I want to stay here for a bit longer."
"Okay." He massaged small circles on my shoulder blades. "Do you want to stay with Jake or go for a walk?"
"Let's walk somewhere for a bit." I bit my lip. "I have too much energy to burn off."
He pulled me towards him and took my hand in his. As we walked towards the wooden door, I felt that something was wrong. There was something I needed to do.
"Wait." I put my other hand on Quil's chest. He stopped abruptly and looked at me with worry filled eyes. "We have to say goodbye."
His eyes showed understanding and he said a quick farewell to Jacob.
"Bye, Jacob." I whispered. "I love you. We'll be back in a minute."
Neither us were surprised that he didn't show any recoginition at our voices. We had expected it. Slowly, I was getting to become more used to seeing Jacob in this comatose state.
We walked down the hallway and Quil guided me around people. I wasn't paying attnetion to my surroundings and I was unfocused. My thoughts flooded my head painfully, but I couldn't push them away. Quil didn't seem to mind my lack of talking.
He guided me into a garden like area with glass windows all around it. There were trees and shrubbery growing around the gardens and long sofa's with hundres of pillows were spred out under the plants.
I watched some patients and visitors walking around. A man pulled a monitor that dripped water into his arm beside him. There were a group of children that were throwing pillows at eachother and two adults that were trying to stop them.
Quil found a deserted long sofa in the corner that was hiden behind pots of flowers and a group of hedges. I sat down and saw that the pillows had the tags cut off of them. I looked up and saw that I was still inside and that there was a concrete ceiling above the garden area.
Just as I was about to ask Quil how it all grew if there was no sun, I realized that all the plants were fake. I knocked on the 'wood' on a tree and heard a hollow echo sound. Although it looked real, the bark was just plaster.
I exampined the shrubs and planted flowers to find that it was all plastic and fabric made into an artful garden. I leaned back down against the cusiony pillows.
I eyed the place and made a mental note of each fake plant that was made to look alive. Even the bricks that made a path on the floor weren't real. They were made of a mixture of silicone and plaster that was molded and painted.
Eyeing the fake leaves on the tree's that were the most realistic fake leaves I had seen I my life, a shine caught my eye. I looked up into the branches and saw a silver necklace hanging at the top on the tree alone and forgotten.
If things were the way they were before I came to La Push, I might have made up a story about why and how it got up there. I would have imagined people and their lives. I would have made up a story about how they had a locket and who they were seeing in the hospital. But it wasn't before I came here. I was different now, and so I turned away from the mystery and looked for something else.
I saw a copper plaque across the room with letters engraved into it.
"I'm going to read that, over there." I whispered to Quil.
He jumped surprised that I was talking. "Wh-oh…yeah."
I left him and headed over to the gleaming plaque that was mounted on a stand. Peering from far off, I could make out the headline that read a person's name. I walked forward until I was directly in front of it before reading it.
Georgia R. Thompson
(1928-1999)
This Garden is deticated in her memory. She was a lively woman who had compassion for all. Inspiring us all, she worked hard as a hospital nurse from the age of twenty until the day she died of a stroke. Always selfless, she will remain in our hearts forever. This garden is meant to bring life and happiness to all who walk in it.
I nearly laughed as I read that last line. I re-read it again to make sure that I had read it correctly the first time. 'Meant to bring life and happiness' That was a joke. The fact that everything in the garden wasn't living was depressing. I wasn't sure how a terminally ill person could walk here and feel happy if they knew they might never see a real tree in their life again. It just made me think of how different I was. Normal people were able to see real plants. I was stuck with plastic imitations of plants.
I sighed and walked away towards Quil.
"Can we go somewhere else?" I pleaded. "Anywhere else.
"Is the cafeteria okay?" He looked me over and noticed that I was distressed.
"Great. Lovely. Perfect." I pulled him to his feet. "Let's go."
The garden thing is real in a hospital I went to while visiting my mom there. They were all fake plants and I remember that being depressing. I am thinking of a soulution for those of you who don't want Jake to die. I will write two different endings. One will be better and more sad…if I write it right, and the other will have a happy ending for those of you who can't stand for Jake to die.
Although him coming out of a coma is really corny. I hope you know that.
