The Twilight Series belongs to S. Meyer, no copyright infringement is intended. I'm just playing with the characters.
AN: Now the answer to Jasper's cryptic words. Enjoy. I was telling one of my reviewers that I have 12 pages of notes, outlining the next couple of chapters so I'm procrastinating (I have a paper due on Sunday at 11:59 pm) and writing those chapters. Though Saturday, I will need to focus and get my paper done. :)
Chapter 35
Battle Wounds and Twisted Scars
The pack arrived at the Black house and carried Jake inside, his swearing at their jostling movements had finally calmed to low groans. Though the groans still had the ability to make them weak in the knees and their stomachs twist. They carried him past the shocked faces of Billy and Charlie. Laying him down on the bed, the pack backed away and Leah went to sit down by his side.
She looked around the room and softly whispered, "Get Sam out of here. I don't want to see him, not now. Seth, you need to go home. Keep mom at home for now. I don't want her to be here. It's going to be bad enough for Billy to be here right now. Jared, Paul, can you stay, just for now? I don't know if they'll need help," at Jared and Paul's nod she continued. "Embry, Quil, go home. You can come by later, okay."
"But Leah…," they protested at the same time. She interrupted them, hissing, "Do you really want to be here when Carlisle re-breaks your best friend's bones?" They both paled. "I didn't think so. Now go. I'm not going to say it again."
They scattered, leaving Leah sitting by Jake's side. She could still feel his pain and she found herself matching her breathing to his own slow, shallow breaths. She could hear Paul and Jared in the other room talking to Billy and Charlie. There was a reason why Charlie was an officer of the law, you couldn't get much past him and the guys were getting the third degree. Billy, of course, knew Jake's injuries were due to supernatural beings but Charlie remained in the dark.
"What happened? Why didn't you bring Jake to the hospital? He shouldn't be here; he needs to be in the hospital. I'm calling the ambulance service."
"No," she heard Paul say.
"Dr. Cullen's coming," Jared added. "It was just a tumble off his motorcycle, you know us boys."
"Yeah," Paul added, "Always trying to show off for a pretty girl or two." Leah could imagine the twinkle in his eyes and his smirk as he said this to Charlie.
"I thought the Cullens were out of town," Charlie said and Leah wondered if his eyes were narrowed in suspicion.
"Wasn't aware of that," Jared said. "Must have come back already. Leah called them with her cell phone on the way here."
"Billy, I thought you said they weren't allowed here. You've always had some grudge against them. I remember those bonfires last fall, I got a dozen calls from concerned citizens, those were lit in celebration of the Cullens leaving," Charlie remarked in his Chief of Police voice.
Thankfully, Billy had been friends long enough to know what he needed to do, so Charlie would believe him. "Maybe I was wrong about them. Either way, Jake's here and if Dr. Cullen's on his way, it doesn't hurt to have him take a look at Jake and if he thinks Jake needs to go to the hospital, then we'll take him."
The matter was dropped. Leah continued to softly stroke Jake's face and whisper into his ear. She didn't know what to tell him, so she told him how proud she was of everyone and how far the pack had come. She told him about her fears for today and whether it was the right decision for her to be their leader.
It seemed like hours later, when she heard the car pull up. She whispered to Jake, telling him she'd be right back. Meeting Jared and Paul's eyes, she ran out the door. Bella rushed out of the vehicle crying, "I need to see him." Edward's eyes flared at the intensity of Leah's thoughts. And Carlisle looked warily over at Leah, unsure of what was happening.
She softly uttered, "No," before walking over to Bella. She roughly grabbed Bella's arms, secretly enjoying Bella's wincing. Leaning close, she whispered as soft as she could into Bella's ears, "No, you won't see him. I won't let you. You've done enough. If it wasn't for you he wouldn't be injured. I won't let you destroy him and I know you will. This game is done." She pushed Bella away from her as Bella burst into tears, stumbling over her feet.
Leah walked away, not even taking a glance over at Carlisle and Edward. Her thoughts spoke for themselves, Get her out of my face, Edward. I can't guarantee I can maintain control. Make sure she understands she's a Cullen now and therefore La Push is off limits to her after today.
Leah walked back into the house and nodded to Jared and Paul before heading back to Jake's room. They walked outside to help Carlisle and Edward. She heard Edward talk to Charlie when he entered, "We had just arrived home when we got Leah's call. Bella's waiting for you in your car; she's quite upset about Jake. Maybe it would be best if you took her home."
"Oh, of course. Will you be okay, Billy," Charlie asked.
"Sure, sure, we'll be fine. Just get Bella home. You can call later and see how Jake's doing."
Carlisle and Edward entered the small room. Leah stayed stationed at the head of the bed. Carlisle approached and spoke gently, "I'm going to take a look at him, Leah. We know his arm is broken, so I'll need to splint that. There's not much we can do for the broken ribs besides wrap them. But I need to find out if his leg is broken. If it is, it might need to be re-set. I've brought along some Morphine to give him. Edward will help me, if that's alright; he's been to medical school, okay?"
Leah nodded and Carlisle began his work. He felt along Jake's right leg, skimming his hands down it and pressing deeper to feel the bones. Jake moaned and tried to pull away. "It's okay, Jake. He's just checking out your leg. We have to make sure it's healing right or you'll be the gimp wolf," she said dryly.
"Leah, it's broken and the bones have already started to mend but not correctly. I think we should give him the Morphine now and I'll check his arm and ribs before re-setting his leg."
Edward pulled a vial and syringe from Carlisle medical bag. She watched as he filled up nearly the entire syringe before passing it to Carlisle. "Edward, keep on an eye on his thoughts. I'm not sure how much to use. I think with their genes, it will take more and he'll burn it off faster but I don't want to risk giving too much." Edward nodded and Carlisle swabbed Jake's left thigh with alcohol before inserting the needle and giving half the medication in the syringe. He waited for several minutes for the medication to start to take effect.
"Carlisle, I think it's safe to give him the rest. His breathing and heart rate sound strong and steady. It's taken the edge off but he's still in too much pain I think for you to do anything with his leg."
Carlisle injected the rest of the medication and removed the needle, covering the puncture site with a cotton ball. Satisfied the medication was taking effect, he trailed his fingers over Jake's ribs, feeling to make sure none of his ribs were puncturing any vital organs. He palpated Jake's belly and didn't detect any abnormal swelling or any signs of internal bleeding.
"Paul, Jared, we'll need your help for a few moments." Carlisle gestured for Paul and Jared to help Jake to sit up, while he and Edward wrapped some bandaging around Jake's chest. The binding would help ease Jake's discomfort as the rib fractures healed. Once this was complete they laid him back down on the bed. Carlisle looked at Jake's arm and determined it was healing fine. He fashioned a sling for it, resting Jake's forearm against his chest.
Once again, Jared and Paul were gestured into position. They each held Jake's upper body down on the bed. Jared was on Jake's left side while Leah moved so Paul could secure Jake's right side. She positioned herself on Jake's right side and placed her hand over his. Edward remained at the foot of the bed holding his lower body into place. Carlisle positioned his hands and they grimaced as they heard the sickening crack of breaking bones. Jake struggled trying to fight against the pain but he was held firm. Carlisle did one additional maneuver and then satisfied the leg was set in place; he placed an immobilizer on it.
Edward had already drawn up another dose of Morphine and Carlisle gave half the original dose. The two of them whispered back and forth for several minutes, while Jared, Paul, and Leah heard snippets of their conversation. Finally, they turned to them, "Alright, I'm going to leave this here," handing the Morphine to Paul. "Sue I'm sure will be by later. He can have up to 10 mg every two hours if he needs it for the pain. Tomorrow, I'll stop by to see him and we'll reduce the dose. I'm sure by the following day, he won't need it. He needs to stay still and quiet. I don't think he should try phasing for at least five to seven days. Just to ensure everything has set correctly and is healed."
Jared, Paul, and Leah nodded. Edward had packed Carlisle's things back into the black doctor's bag and they turned and headed out of the room. Leah turned to Paul and Jared, "Thanks, guys. You two go home. Jared, I'm sure Kim's worried and waiting for you. Paul, do you think you could bring Billy over to my mom's for a while. She's probably still making lunch. Tell her to take care of Billy and I'll sit with Jake for now. He needs to rest and I don't want to worry about Billy when Jake needs us, okay."
"Sure, Leah," Paul walked out of the room leaving Jared and Leah sitting with Jake. They heard Billy thanking Carlisle and Edward. Jared met her eyes asking a silent question. "Jared, I'm fine. Just go, I know it's easier for you now with Kim but you have to want to be with her now that it's over. I'll sit with him for now. Stop by Embry or Quil's on your way and tell them they can come and relieve me in a few hours, okay?"
"Alright."
Leah listened to the sound of Jake's heart beating and his slow and steady breaths in and out. He was lying so still and quiet, it was such a difference from how he was normally. He was usually smiling, joking, and talking; the kid never knew when to shut up. The pack mind was noisy already and if Jake was phased in, it became the Jake show. What he did, what he ate, who he talked to and of course, many of those thoughts were Bella-centric.
She heard as they all filed out of the small house, leaving just her and Jake. Leah remained at the side of his bed, her left hand resting on the top of his and she reached her right hand to rest on his heart. She felt its steady beat. Her head slumped and tears leaked from her eyes. Jasper had been right, she couldn't fight fate. It hurt too much to do it. She'd have to tell him about the imprint, not yet but soon. She had felt every second of his pain knowing it was only an echo of what he was feeling. And Sam, she'd have to deal with him. If he'd only done what she'd asked him to do more than once, this could have been prevented. Jake could have died and it would have been all Sam's fault.
Leah felt the brush of his fingers on the top of her head. Heard his husky voice slur, "Now I know I'm dead. If I was still alive there's no way Leah Clearwater would be crying at my bed."
She jerked her head up and looked at him. His pupils were so small she could barely detect them. Carlisle had drugged him up well. He reached his good hand and brushed the tears from her cheeks, "You were right though, Carlisle brought the good stuff. I could do without the clowns and balloons though," he told her shuddering which caused him to groan in pain.
Leah frowned at him, "What kind of dreams are you having, Jake? Clowns? Balloons?"
"You don't want to know. I hate them both," he told her this time repressing his shudder.
"You turn into a giant wolf and you're scared of clowns and balloons," she stated incredulously her shoulders shaking in mirth.
"Not everyone can be fearless like you, Leah. So, what's the final tally?"
"Wolves, eleven; vamps nine."
"Nice. Everyone's okay," he asked and continued at her nod. "So, what did Dr. Fang have to say?"
"Broken ribs, arm, and leg. No phasing for at least five days but probably closer to seven. He'll be back tomorrow to check on you."
"Dad's okay?"
"Yeah, I sent him over to my house; my mom was making lunch already. I figured it would be important he was being taken care of."
"Thanks," he told her, his eyes searching her face. "You look exhausted. Here I'll scoot a bit. I'm tired and you should sleep some, too." He clenched his jaw and moved just a few inches over and patted the left side of his bed.
Leah stared back and forth at him and the side of the bed he was patting. Jake's bed was tiny and he took up more than his fair share of it. He was right she was tired. Between preparing for the battle, dealing with Sam, and all the other drama; she'd barely slept even though she'd hounded the pack to rest. She sighed and got up, making her way to the end of the bed so she could crawl in bedside him.
Jake wrapped his arm around her and she snuggled into his side careful of his bruises. They closed their eyes and Jake wasn't sure whether he said the words aloud or not, "See, this isn't so bad, is it?"
It was how Billy and Sue found them several hours later. Leah was fast asleep, dead to the world like she normally was when she was overly tired. Jake woke up though and saw Sue. "Hi," he whispered. "Do you think I can have some more pain meds? Everything hurts."
Sue nodded and drew up another dose, this time she had no choice but she inject it into his right shoulder as Leah was firmly pressed into his left side. "Do you want me to try and wake her," she asked.
"No, it's fine. She was exhausted. I'm going to be sleeping and she hasn't kicked or hit me in sleep, so I think I'll be fine. Thanks, Sue. Dad's doing okay," he asked barely seeing her nod before his eyelids grew heavy and he was asleep once again.