Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer; I only wish I were. Or I wish I had dreamed up Twilight and then written about it. That would have been cool. But, alas, I am not her; I am only playing around with her brilliant characters.
Chapter Thirty-Seven: A Visitor
Jacob looked surprised at my beyond-human speed movement as I sat up from lying across Bella's pillow. In his shock, he unconsciously stepped back toward the door he had just entered.
"Oh, hey," Jacob said awkwardly. He saw that Bella was sleeping and kept his voice low. God, I don't want to wake her after all she's been through today. Charlie sure was worried about her when he called Billy this afternoon.
I nodded coldly. What did Jacob Black think he was doing, coming to Bella's room?
"Um, Charlie told my dad about Bella being sick and in the hospital, so I thought I'd come by," Jacob mumbled, looking down at the bouquet of daisies in his hand as if he didn't know what they were. Why did I come here again? This is so weird, Jacob thought. That Cullen guy is staring at me like I'm an alien or something...
Before I could say anything, the door opened behind Jacob, and Alice nudged her way into the room. Turning to face Jacob, she said cheerily, "Oh, hi! I'm Alice Cullen. Did you come to see Bella?"
Jacob looked down at his shoes now, more awkward than ever in the light of Alice's friendliness. "Yeah. Uh, nice to meet you. I'm Jacob Black. My dad was worried about her." His voice cracked a little in his nervousness. "About Bella, I mean."
"Of course," Alice said kindly. "Would you like me to put those flowers in water for you?"
"Um, sure," he said, blushing under his dark skin as he handed Alice the bouquet. I heard that the Cullen girls were pretty, but man! Even this little one takes my breath away. She's like, perfect.
"I'll be right back," Alice said, still smiling as she slipped out of the room. Be nice to him! she scolded me.
Grinning at the boy's admiration of my sister, I cleared my throat quietly, regaining Jacob Black's attention. "Bella has been sleeping ever since she was brought in late yesterday afternoon. She's only awakened a couple of times and then for just a minute or two. I'm sorry you can't talk to her," I stated politely, but with a stony expression; I remembered all too well his shy admiration of Bella at the Prom.
"How's she doing?" he asked, walking toward Bella's bed, his eyes fixed on her pale face. "She doesn't look so good."
I restrained my temper at his assessment; Bella was always beautiful, even after another brush with a near-death experience. Of course she doesn't look well; she almost died today, you moron! I wanted to growl at him. But I didn't want to wake Bella or be too rude to Jacob, despite my deep-seated distrust of him. "She's better now, but it was touch-and-go for a while when her fever was high," I said quietly, keeping my eyes fixed on Bella as well.
Jacob nodded, then noticed Bella's hand clasped around mine. "You must have been worried sick," he said. His sympathy surprised me, but I could tell from his thoughts that he earnestly meant his kind words.
"Yes," I breathed. "We've all been concerned. Charlie, Alice, and I have been here since she was brought in, and Carlisle treated her at our house when she first became ill and came in the ambulance with her. The influenza went into pneumonia almost immediately, but now the antibiotics are working and she should be fine."
Jacob nodded in acknowledgment of the information. "Yeah, that's what Charlie said, only he was a lot more upset about it." Turning to him, I raised my eyebrow at Jacob's implied criticism. Does he think that we don't care about Bella? Has he no idea what these last twenty-seven hours have put me through? Put my family through? They loved Bella as one of their own, a fact that warmed my silent heart greatly.
"I mean," he backtracked quickly, "that Charlie gets so worked up whenever anything happens to Bella. He was barely coherent on the phone this afternoon."
I sighed, then nodded at Jacob. I must be overwrought still, taking offense at Jacob for no reason. I rubbed my free hand across my hand, weary with worry for Bella and with the stress of having Jacob visit her.
A rustle of clothing at the door alerted me to Alice's return. She had borrowed a tall glass vase from the nurses' station and brought in Jacob's bouquet, setting the vase on the wheeled table next to Bella's bed, admiring her arrangement. "These are beautiful, Jacob. I'm sure Bella will love them," she smiled, turning to him as she spoke.
Jacob returned her smile uncertainly, apparently a little dazed by her otherworldly beauty. Plus, Alice's sharp white teeth could be a little off-putting to most humans, despite her friendly demeanor.
The door opened again, and Carlisle entered. He looked at me, thinking, I heard you and Jacob talking and wanted to meet him. So he's Ephraim Black's great-grandson?" I nodded very slightly, answering his unspoken question.
My father stood at the end of the bed, flipping through Bella's chart, and I took the opportunity to introduce them. In my politest tone, I stated, "Carlisle, this is Jacob Black, a longtime friend of Bella's. Jacob, this is my father, Dr. Cullen." They nodded at each other, Carlisle friendly and Jacob stiffly. Carlisle wisely did not offer his hand as its coldness would undoubtedly disturb Jacob.
I listened to Jacob's thoughts without betraying my own. Dad has warned the whole Res to stay away from the hospital because of Dr. Cullen. But he seems nice enough. I don't know what Dad's problem is. Superstitious old man...
Carlisle walked to Bella's bedside. "Will you excuse me for a moment?" he said to Jacob with a kind smile. "I need to check Bella's temperature."
Jacob backed away from the bed, awkward again. "Um, do you want me to leave?" he asked.
"Oh, no," Carlisle said, still smiling. "I'll be out of your way in just a minute." My father inserted the thermometer gently into Bella's ear canal. She frowned in annoyance, her free hand moving to the side of her head, trying to push away the device.
"Sssshhhhh," Carlisle hushed comfortingly. "It's all right, Bella. I just need to take your temperature."
Her eyes opened slowly, and she laid her hand back on top of her blankets. "Hey," she smiled faintly at Carlisle before turning to me and squeezing my hand that she had refused to let go of, even in sleep. "What time is it?" she asked in a hoarse whisper.
"It's a little after seven in the evening," I answered as Carlisle removed the thermometer from her ear then lifted her free hand to count her pulse. Although the oxymeter on the tip of her index finger related her pulse in a digital readout, Carlisle preferred feeling a pulse to determine strength of the beat and discover irregularities that even the sensitive machinery could not detect.
He smiled at her as he finished. "Both your temperature and heart rate are normal, Bella. That's good news."
She nodded weakly at him, then asked me, "Where's Charlie?"
"He went home for a shower and a nap. He'll be back soon."
"I'm glad he went home to rest for a bit." She frowned, then continued, "How long have I been here? In the hospital?"
"You've been here about twenty-seven hours, love."
Her eyes widened. "But I was supposed to work today!" she exclaimed, attempting to sit up.
Carlisle gently pushed her back onto the pillows. "Charlie called the Newtons last night and told them you were in the hospital. I think that having a 105-degree fever qualifies you for a sick day, Bella," he said, trying to joke.
Without smiling, Bella slumped back into her bed, obviously exhausted already. She closed her eyes, whispering again, "How long will I have to be off work? Yesterday was my first day—I can't miss a lot of days with a new job."
Glancing at me first and acknowledging my nod, Carlisle responded, "You'll need four weeks to recuperate completely, Bella."
Her eyes flew open. "Four weeks? You've got to be kidding! There's no way I can be gone from work for that long! They'll fire me!"
Carlisle leaned over her, laying his hand atop hers in a fatherly gesture. "Bella, please calm down. This illness almost killed you. Literally. You are going to require several weeks to recover fully. It's as simple as that," he finished emphatically.
Bella closed her eyes again, this time in disappointment. Tears began to leak from under her long lashes.
I leaned forward, attempting to calm her. "Ssssshhh, Bella. Just rest now. You'll get well faster the more you stay calm and quiet." I wiped her tears away with my free hand, standing for a moment to kiss her eyelids. I heard Jacob making a quiet gagging noise behind Carlisle, but I ignored him. Childish, I thought.
God, he's all over her. They must be more serious than I thought. Definitely more serious than my dad thought, too. He's gonna need a crowbar to separate those two, Jacob thought, partially amused, partially annoyed.
"I just don't want to lose my job," Bella moaned, but she calmed under my touch and my light kisses; I could hear her heart slow to a normal pace after it had quickened with Carlisle's news of the long recovery ahead of her. "I just got my cast off, and now I'm back in the hospital. I'm hopeless."
"I know, it's a lot to take in," I said comfortingly. "Perhaps Carlisle can speak to the Newtons and let them know how long you need to be away from work."
"Yes, I'd be happy to do so, Bella," Carlisle agreed quickly.
During this conversation, Jacob had remained unseen by Bella as he stood behind Carlisle. Needing something to distract Bella from the worries about her job, I decided to alert her to his presence.
"Bella, someone has come by to see you," I said quietly, nodding at Jacob to come forward.
Carlisle moved from Bella's side to make room for him, standing at the end of her bed to make notations on her chart. Jacob shyly stepped to the rail alongside her bed.
Bella blinked owlishly, then smiled weakly. "Hey, Jake."
"Hey, Bells. How are you feeling?" God, she's really pale. And really weak. Scary-weak. His concern heightened my own, and I closed my eyes for just a moment, pinching the bridge of my nose between my fingers, still damp with her tears. I took a deep breath to calm myself, then returned my eyes to Bella, watching for any sign of discomfort on her part.
"Just peachy," she whispered, frowning. Was she in pain? I looked at Carlisle, worried, but he motioned me to remain in my seat. Carlisle thought, Some time with a friend may do her more good than harm, Edward. But don't worry; I'm on the lookout for pain and exhaustion.
My eyes moved back to Bella's face, watching her interaction with Jacob.
Jacob grinned at her, taking no offense at her sarcasm. "You look about as peachy as you feel," he quipped.
"Thanks," she sighed, still sarcastic, her eyes closing again against her will.
"I'll let you rest," he whispered. "You get some sleep, okay?"
"'Kay," she agreed in a sigh as she slipped back into an exhausted slumber.
"Wow, she really is weak," Jacob whispered to Carlisle, concern clouding his face.
Carlisle nodded solemnly. "Yes, she has a long recovery ahead of her. She is going to tire very easily. And tonight I'll remove the chest tube; her lungs are improving rapidly."
"Chest tube?" Jacob questioned.
"Her lungs were filling with fluid, basically drowning her. If we hadn't inserted the tube, she would have suffocated."
Jacob paled at the fact that he had almost lost his friend. He turned to her, gently brushing a stray strand of hair back from her face, thinking, Oh Bells—you just recovered from your accident in Phoenix, and now this. Well, at least my dad can't blame the Cullens for pneumonia.
I bristled at both his tender caress as well as his thoughts about his father. Apparently Billy knew what we were—as the Quileute Elder, it made sense that he would be aware of our return to the area. He must have figured that more happened to Bella than a "mere accident" when she was in Phoenix. Plus, Charlie apparently confided in Billy, and Billy, armed with information, in turn worried about Bella. His appearance at the Swan home and his bribery of Jacob at the Prom was proof positive that he didn't trust us.
Looking up from Bella, Jacob caught my eye, noticing my less-than-friendly expression. Man, that Cullen guy can be kind of intimidating when he wants to be, he thought. Alice noted his widening eyes and stepped into the situation.
"I'll let Bella know that the flowers are from you when she wakes up," she said, smiling.
Jacob returned her smile, hesitating. "Sure. Thanks."
He leaned over, placing his hand atop Bella's small, white one, dwarfing it. "Get well soon, Bells. We're all rooting for you at the Res," he whispered.
Jacob wiped at the telltale moisture gathering in his eyes, then strode purposefully to the door, stopping for a moment to glare at me from across the room. I can see why Dad doesn't trust the Cullens. There's something really weird about all of them—the way they move, even the way they talk. It's like they communicate to one another telepathically or something. It's giving me the creeps. His face then shifted to an expression of worry. God, I hope it's okay to leave Bella here alone with them. He shook his head for a moment. Mellow out. This is a hospital—it's not like they're going to kidnap her or do something weird. There are too many people around. Jacob was far more observant than I had given him credit for being; I frowned at this unwelcome fact.
He narrowed his eyes at me briefly. You'd better take good care of my girl...if you know what's good for you. Then he slipped out the door, and I heard the echo of his footsteps reverberate down the hall toward the elevator.
I realized that I had been frozen in place, absorbing Jacob Black's troublesome, even threatening, thoughts. I let out the breath I had been unconsciously holding in a whoosh.
Alice turned to me, rolling her eyes. "Gee, that was awkward. And you were no help at all, Edward!"
"Sorry," I spat, not feeling sorry in the least.
"What was he thinking that upset you?"
I frowned. "His father knows what we are and has been telling people at the Res and possibly Charlie that we aren't to be trusted. Billy Black probably heard about us from his grandfather and knows what we are. Even if he isn't allowed by the treaty to tell our secret, he is suspicious about the events in Phoenix and Bella's injuries there, enough to ask Jacob to warn Bella and possibly enough to warn Charlie as well—without details, of course." There was no way I was going to relate Jacob's threat to me...or his calling Bella "my girl."
Jacob had gone too far this time.
Way too far.
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