Dark Waltz- Chapter 34
A/N: I apologize about the late update (it was promised Saturday, not Monday night/Tuesday morning). I tried to post it earlier, but I guess was having issues... I was prevented from logging in to my account!
It's a little short, but things are going to pick back up soon enough... angsty stuff always gives me a bit of writer's block after a while, even if I have the chapters planned out.
EsPOV
The rest of our group followed Alice and Emmett as they made their way to their sister's bedside. Her room, to my satisfaction, was directly across from the nurse's station, allowing for constant direct supervision.
From what I could see, little Bella looked even littler than normal. Alice, ever impatient, half-dragged Emmett towards the nurse, who instructed them on how to gown up before going inside.
Watching Emmett stuff himself into a gown and pants that ended up just below his knees was humorous in itself, making everyone's day a little brighter. Alice was the first dressed, as Emmett fumbled around with ties and gloves before he nodded resolutely, determined to get inside.
The five of us watched the anticlimactic reunion from the outside, as Emmett simply stared and Alice cried again. As always, she gave her sister a sweet kiss on the cheek through her mask before she stepped back, surveying the damage.
Bella still had a breathing tube down her throat, her eyes were still shut, her IV was still flowing and the heart monitor was still beeping. The only change I could find was the thick wad of gauze and tape on the center of her chest, where they'd cut her open. I saw Emmett watching her with particularly troubled eyes, no doubt going over what the doctors had done to his sister.
We left them together with Bella for a few moments before they both came back out, morose and unhappy. Any giddiness that had been brought on by the good news of her survival had been quashed once they'd laid eyes on her again.
"How long is she in there?" asked Emmett, tearing the mask off of his face.
"Forty eight hours, give or take a few," said the nurse. "We want to give her body some time to adjust to the new heart before she's moved."
"How long for masks and shit?" he asked crudely.
"When she's moved to a regular room down the hall she'll be able to have overnight visitors without being gowned," she said. "Forty eight hours."
Emmett nodded unhappily, not liking the idea of wearing a biohazard suit to visit his sister.
Alice and Jasper, hand in hand, went to sit on a nearby bench as Alice made an effort to compose herself. Little Seth watched her closely, his face frowned in concentration as he put the pieces together.
"Is she still sick?" he asked incredulously, making Alice look up.
"Yeah, she's still sick," she said softly, letting the boy come closer. "She'll be sick for a while."
"Why?" he asked.
"Because she had an operation," explained Alice. "She had an operation, and she's sick."
"How sick?"
"Sick enough," she replied softly, scooting over to let the boy up. "She has a new heart but it'll take a while to make sure it works."
"It'll work," said Seth confidently.
"I hope so," said Alice gently, drying her tears and surveying the boy. He smiled at her, showing one missing tooth, earning him a gentle grin back.
"Esme?" asked Carlisle, glancing at the gowns in front of her door.
It was our turn now, and I reluctantly turned away from Alice. Carlisle helped me into my own gown before he donned his own, looking just the part of a doctor.
I followed meekly behind him, opening the glass door and walking inside. The smell was sickening- very antiseptic and clean- and I suddenly felt very nauseous.
I approached her anyways, gritting my teeth. Now was not the time to succumb to fear and break down into tears. The time for crying would come later.
Carlisle, ever vigilant, examined her closely, looking over every visible inch before he turned to her monitors. I ignored him and his examination in favour of focusing my attention on Bella. Gently, I pulled up a chair and sat myself in it, taking her hand in my own.
To my relief, she felt warm and very much alive, not cold or clammy. She was still very pale, but the warmth of her skin helped to soothe my fears and keep me calm.
"How long until she wakes up, do you think?" I asked gently, glancing at Carlisle.
"A few days," he said. "Tomorrow at the very earliest, but I'd guess Saturday."
"It's her birthday on Saturday," I noted sadly. The poor girl had never had a real birthday since she was very young, and this year she'd be spending it in the hospital.
"I know," said Carlisle simply, sighing heavily as he turned towards me. "Her monitors look good."
"Good," I said easily. "She's doing well?"
"As well as can be expected," he said easily. "She's unconscious and not breathing on her own, but given the situation, she's doing wonderfully."
I tried my hardest not to cringe at his declaration, wanting nothing more than for her to take breaths on her own and open her eyes.
"We need to go," he said, checking the clock. "They have a twenty minute limit up here."
"For what?" I asked angrily. "She's our daughter."
"She's susceptible," he said easily. "I agree that it's undesirable, but it's the rules."
Carlisle was nothing, if not a stickler for the rules.
"Fine," I sighed, raising myself off my chair. I placed Bella's hand down on her blanket gently, making sure her blanket was tucked securely around her before I backed out of the room, making sure the door was closed before I took off my mask, gloves and gown.
"Rose?" I asked, glancing towards my oldest daughter. She shook her head minutely, letting me know that she had no desire to go into the isolation room. Rosalie had a certain disdain for hospitals and I knew that sitting in Bella's old hospital room had been bad enough for her.
"I'll go later," said Jasper, answering my question before it could even be asked. He had his arm around Alice, who looked very distraught as little Seth held onto her hand eagerly.
"Can I go?" he asked, looking up at me with wide eyes.
"I don't see why not," I said. "If your parents say it's alright."
"Come on," said Peter Findley, taking his son's hand gently in his own. "You need to get dressed first."
The nurse- a kind older woman- stepped forward to help Seth and Peter into their outfits before they could step inside Bella's hospital room.
"Where's Edward?" I asked suddenly, glancing around.
He was nowhere to be seen.
"He went that way," said Emmett grumpily, pointing towards the waiting room we'd occupied before. Without much forethought, I walked along the same path, finding the doors to the waiting room easily enough. When I opened them and peeked inside, I was confused to find the room empty.
"Edward?" I called gently, hearing nothing but the ticking of the clock on the wall. I glanced back to the TICU doors and sighed, a pang of worry hitting me as I looked around.
Where had he gone?
The doors to the hallway and elevators looked very appealing as I moved towards them, curious and a bit worried. I trusted Edward enough for him to be alone when he wanted to be, but it worried me that he'd left without telling anyone.
Last time he'd done that, he and Bella had been hopelessly lost in the middle of the Olympic Rainforest.
"Esme?"
I wheeled around, finding Eleazar staring at me curiously.
"What are you doing?" he asked. "Is everything alright?"
"Edward left," I said, confused. "I'm trying to find him."
His face softened.
"He went downstairs," he said. "I think he's in Carlisle's car."
"For what?" I asked. "Did he drive?"
"No," he said. "I saw him when I was coming in from my break. He looked pretty upset."
"Thanks," I said softly, the pieces suddenly fitting together. Edward was always the master of deception, being able to hide whatever he wanted about himself.
He would never cry in front of anyone else, even his family. He dealt with his emotions on his own, by himself, and without the help of those who loved him.
Quickly, I made my way to the elevator and let it take me down to the main floor. The large lobby seemed to take forever to cross and by the time I found the front doors, I wondered if I'd remember where Carlisle had parked the car.
In the D lot, I believed.
The D lot was further away than I'd have liked and as I walked, I wondered how upset Edward really was if he couldn't hide himself in the washroom or waiting room. When the D lot came into view and the car was within my sight, I knew right away that something was very, very wrong.
Although he'd had the cleverness to seek refuge in the car, he had still seated himself in the driver's seat, where there was no tint on the windows to block him out. I saw him hunched over the steering wheel, his face hidden and his hair a mess.
… though his hair was always a mess.
He didn't see me coming and when I opened the passenger side door, he jumped in shock and looked up quickly. I was appalled and saddened to see tear tracks down his slowly reddening cheeks. He wiped at them hastily, trying his very best to hide them from me.
"What's the matter?" I asked gently, reaching over and running my fingers through the unruly copper strands.
"Nothing," he answered thickly, turning away.
"Something," I countered gently. "Even Eleazar thought it was something."
"I'm fine, mom," he said impatiently, obviously embarrassed.
"No you're not," I said easily. "Why are you crying?"
"I'm not."
"Edward," I said disappointedly, making him sigh as he refused to look up.
"I'm fine," he said again. "I promise."
"You're upset."
"I just don't like this," he said finally, turning towards me with moistened eyes.
"Don't like what?" I asked.
"This!" he shouted, looking torn between anger and sorrow. "I hate this. I hate him."
"Who?" I asked, confused.
"That damn Doctor!" he shouted. "Look what he's done!"
I wisely kept silent, letting him vent.
"He kidnapped her, tortured her, fucked with her head and he fucked with her body. He killed her!"
"She's not dead," I said easily. "She's alive and warm."
"That's not the point," he said scathingly. "He deserves to be shot."
"Edward," I said, aghast that my gentle son would even think of that.
"I'd shoot him," he said wildly, his knuckles white with the force of his grip on the wheel. "I'd buy a gun and take it down to Arizona just to shoot that son of a bitch in the face."
I felt a tear slide down my cheek as I reached over and pulled my boy over to me, nearly crushing him in a desperate hug.
"Don't say things like that," I pleaded.
"Why not?" he demanded angrily, his voice muffled by my shoulder. "It's true."
"He'll be punished," I said easily. "He won't get away with what he's done, but that's not the answer."
"He'd better be fucking punished," he snarled. "He's done far too much to get away with."
"I know," I said, running my hand down his back as he tried to calm himself.
"She's special, mom," he said finally, resting his head on my shoulder.
The corners of my mouth curled upwards briefly as Edward's hug tightened.
"She's different."
"She is," I agreed, wondering just how special she was to Edward. "Do you like her?"
He kept silent, answering my question for me.
"I'm sorry you're so upset," I said gently. "I know you're sad."
"I'm mad," he corrected, sitting up again in the driver's seat. "I'm angry."
"She'll be just fine," I cooed gently. "You'll see. She'll wake up and thrive with her new heart."
"Hopefully," he said pessimistically. "We don't know anything yet."
"We can hope," I said.
"Sure."
"She'll be just fine," I said again, determined for that truth to play out. "When she's back at home, we can work on getting her a GED and on her feet." He nodded quickly, sighing heavily.
"D'you think she'll want to go to college?" he asked gently, his eyes shining once more.
"Maybe," I admitted, not knowing whether or not Bella would be able to learn enough to warrant her entrance into a college.
"She will," he said. "She'll want to learn as much as she can." True, Bella was a quick and eager learner. Edward sighed heavily, letting his head rest on his arms once more.
"I miss her, mom."
A/N: So many of you were pining for some Edward-action and every time I read the reviews I had to giggle... I knew it was coming, even if no one else did.
Don't forget to leave a review!