BPOV
A knock on my door wakes me up Monday morning. I think that is the worst night's sleep I've ever gotten. This bed is like sleeping on a rock except under my butt, which feels like a marshmallow. Plus, the nurses come in every few hours to check on me and take my vitals. If they weren't supplying me with pain medicine, I might threaten their lives for waking me up. I can't wait until I can go home. Edward isn't here. He must have ran out to get something or to keep up his human act.
"Come in" my dad says from beside me. He has deep, dark circles under his eyes and looks like he hasn't slept in weeks. I wish he would go home and get some rest.
"Hello" I hear as Mr. Rivers, the bookstore owner, sticks his head in the door. "I'm sorry to wake you. I can come back later."
"No its fine." I croak out. Reaching forward, I grab my water from the table to take a drink. These meds make my throat so dry.
"Come in." I tell him with a smile.
When he comes into my room I can see that he has a package in his hand.
"I thought you might want this." He tells me, handing it over to me, "I found it on the ground after the ambulance took you away."
"Is this…?" I ask stunned.
"Yes it's the book you purchased. I just thought that I would bring it to you. After what you went through, you deserve it. I checked it out and it wasn't damaged much during the…altercation. I repaired a little rip and rewrapped it for you."
"Thank you so much." I tell him with tears in my eyes. "I can't tell you what this means to me. It's a gift for someone very special to me. "
"It's a treasure and I'm glad that it's ending up with someone who knows what it's worth, not just in dollars and cents but in sentiment and history."
"I do, thank you." I tell him, then hesitantly add "And thank you for what you did for me that night. If it wasn't for you, I don't know what would have happened."
"It was no problem. I was very worried when I looked out of the window and saw what was happening, then when you passed out on me I was terrified. I'm just glad you're alright. I gave my statement to the police, and I hope they catch those men soon."
"Hello, I'm Charles Swan, chief of police in Forks. Thank you for saving my daughter. I can never repay you for what you did. If you ever need anything just give me a call."
"Thank you chief, that means a lot to me. Now I've got to be going. I had to close the store for an hour so I could come visit you. I'm glad you're doing better."
"Me too. Thank you for everything."
"No problem. If you ever want any more books come and see me." He tells me opening the door.
"I will. Bye."
Looking down at the package in my hands, I'm in awe. I thought that I would never see it again.
"What is that, Bells?" my dad asks me.
"It's a book that I bought for Edward. That's why I was in the bookstore in Port Angeles. We saw it on our first date and he loved it but he didn't buy it." I didn't add the personal aspects of the story behind the book, or the fact that I can't forget the look in Edward's eyes when he saw it.
"Oh well that's nice of you, I guess." He says and then mutters something about risking my life for a silly book. I just roll my eyes at him.
"Dad where is Edward? Did he go to the bathroom or the cafeteria or something? He hasn't been here since I woke up." I tell him.
"It's Monday Bella. I sent him to school. He put up a heck of a fight about it, but I finally convinced him. I didn't want to have to arrest him for truancy, and I would've if he had stayed." He says
I feel a stab of pain in my heart when I realize Edward isn't here. I understand why he isn't, but it doesn't help the pain of being apart.
"Did he leave anything for me?" I ask him
"No but he did forget his jacket on the chair." He tells me handing me the jacket.
I just hold it to my face and smile. He knew that it would be hard for me to be without him so he left it for me.
"Knock, knock" a man says coming in my room.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Stevenson. We haven't met, but the on-call doctor from last night has filled me in on your condition and I've looked over your charts. I need to see how the bones are setting in your cheek and have a look at a few other things." He says coming over.
"Okay." I say quietly and hold onto Edwards jacket for dear life.
First he gently prods my face with his fingers.
"They set the bones in your cheek last night when you came in, I just have to make sure they are sitting correctly or they won't heal right." He says. "They feel fine."
Taking out a pen light he uses it to look in my eyes, before gently prodding all over my head with his fingers.
"Your stitches look fine and it looks like you're healing well. We have to be extra cautious when a patient has a concussion, but you're healing fine. Can you lay down please so I can look at your ribs?"
Pushing the button for the bed to lay down some, I lay on my back and pull up my nightgown to just under my breasts. The skin on my abdomen is black and blue. He pushes and feels all along my ribs, before pulling my nightgown down for me and helping me sit back up.
"Everything feels fine there too. I think we will get an X-ray of your cheek to be on the safe side and make sure the bones are still aligned correctly; if they are we can discharge you sometime this evening."
I breath a sigh of relief.
"That would be great, thank you." I tell him.
"Not a problem. Because your responses are normal, there seems to be no lasting damage from your concussion. As long as your cheek bone is set correctly, there is nothing we can do for it now except give it time to heal. The same goes for your ribs and coccyx. You just need a lot of rest. I see no need for you to do that in a hospital bed."
"Thank you doctor."
"You're welcome. I'll get that scan scheduled and someone will be down shortly to take you down to X-ray. Once we get those results, I will be back to discuss the next step." He says before leaving.
"That's great, Bells" dad says
"I know! I can't wait to go home!" I tell him, smiling widely…well wide on one side.
"Can you hand me my phone dad?"
"Sure Bells, as long as you aren't going to text Edward while he's in school." He tells me raising one eyebrow.
"Of course dad. Would I do that?"
"Uh huh" he grunts at me and hands me my phone before sitting down with the TV remote.
Edward I get to go home today! I text him.
I get a reply a few minutes later.
You saw the doctor? He said you could go home? Are you sure you're ready to go home? I think you should stay at the hospital for a little while longer, love. What if something happens?
Yes the doctor was just here. He said it's fine for me to go home as long as my X-ray comes out okay. They are going to take me to get the scan in a little bit.
Maybe I should come and talk to the doctor. I hope he's sure about sending you home. I'll send a text to Carlisle to check on your scans. I can't believe that I'm stuck in this torture chamber instead of there talking to your doctor.
It's okay Edward. I'll see you after school. And please don't bother Carlisle with my case.
Too late, love. I have to go, Mr. Banner is getting suspicious. I will see you the minute I can get there after school. I love you.
Okay Edward. I love you too.
Putting my phone away, I grab the remote off of the nightstand to change the channel.
"Hey I was watching that." Dad protests.
"Too bad. My room, my remote." I tell him.
"Yeah sure, Bells. I'll just watch what I want when you're gone." He grumbles.
I just smile in triumph.
We've been watching Gilmore Girls for about an hour when a woman in scrubs walks in with a wheelchair.
"Isabella?" I just nod at her in response, "I'm Cassie. I'm here to transport you to radiology."
"Okay. Dad can you help me up?"
"Yep" he says.
With Cassie on one side of me and my dad on the other, they help me into the wheelchair after putting an extra cushion on the seat. There's nothing wrong with my legs, I just get a little dizzy. Plus it's a little uncomfortable to walk because of my tailbone.
"Alright Isabella, here we go. We'll be back in about an hour Mr. Swan." She tells him before pushing me down the hallway.
On the way back to my room from radiology, I can feel that Edward is here. He's anxious. I don't know if it's because I'm not back to my room yet or if its because he thinks I'm being discharged too soon.
When Cassie pushes me into my room, Edward is there pacing. He looks up the moment we cross the doorway and rushes to me.
After giving me a sweet kiss he says "Hi love. Do you need help getting into bed?"
"Yes please."
As soon as the words are out of my mouth he scoops me up with one arm under my knees and the other behind me back. I bury my face into his neck and sigh. This is a whole lot better than Charlie or a nurse helping me.
Edward gently places me in bed like I'm made of glass before pulling the blankets over me. I'm exhausted, which I guess is normal after the trauma I've been through, but I can't bring myself to sleep when Edward just got here.
With a wave Cassie takes the wheelchair and leaves my room, the door shutting behind her. As soon as she's gone Edward crawls into bed with me, gathering me in his arms. When he buries his nose in my hair and breaths a sigh, I can feel his entire body relax.
"How was your day?" I ask him.
"Horrible. I forgot how boring high school is without you."
"Well I missed you too." I tell him and lean up to give him a small kiss but end up yawning into his mouth.
"Am I boring you sweetheart?" he asks me with a laugh.
"No I'm just a little tired." I tell him.
"Then sleep Bella. I'll be here when you wake up, I promise."
"Okay, I love you." I tell him before leaning my head on his chest and going to sleep.
I'm woken by cool fingers on my face.
"Bella, wake up. The doctor's here to talk to you."
Looking up I find Edward sitting on one side of my bed, my dad on the other, and Dr. Stevenson standing at the foot.
"Hello, Isabella. I'm sorry to wake you, but I have your X-ray." Dr. Stevenson says "All of your bones are set correctly and it looks like they are going to heal nicely. You haven't been having any nausea and have held food down, so I think we will be able to control your pain with oral medications meaning you can go home. With help you should be able to use the bathroom and bathe at home. Now there are some guidelines for you at home. We are going to give you a special cushion that you must sit on at all times. You don't want to put undo stress onto that tailbone. Also be careful with how you sit and lay, you want to try to not put weight directly on it. As far as your facial injuries go, there are quite a few rules you'll have to follow. You need to put an ice pack on the injured cheek for about 15-20 minutes every hour. Be sure to not put any pressure on that side including sleeping with your head turned that way. You want to keep your head elevated comfortably to help decrease the swelling and pain. You'll need to be careful when you sneeze to not put pressure on your cheekbones. To do that you can keep your mouth open when you sneeze. It might feel and look funny, but it will help. You'll have to be careful with how you brush your teeth or clean your mouth. I will make sure they send home a special toothbrush for you. Opening your mouth to clean your back teeth will be uncomfortable for awhile. You'll need to stay on a liquid and soft food diet for up to 2 weeks. Then you can try branching out some. Start small. Don't push yourself. I want to see you back in 2 weeks to check how everything is healing anyway so we can talk more then. Now as far as your pain goes, I am going to write you a prescription for some strong pain killers. Be careful until you know how they're going to effect you. Don't drive, bathe, or walk up or down stairs alone until you're used to them. If you don't like how strong they are, you can take tylenol or ibuprofen. I'm also going to send home some antibacterial wipes and bandages for your stitches. That will need cleaned and a new bandage placed at least once a day. I'm giving you a prescription for antibiotics also so that you don't get an infection. Now do any of you have any questions?"
"When can she go back to school?" my dad asks.
"She should wait until she can handle the pain without the strong pain killers. I'm not comfortable with her taking them and going to school. She will definitely need to be out for at least a week to let her injuries heal some and to let her body rest. After a trauma like this, she will need extra rest so expect her to get tired easily."
"Okay." My dad says.
"How much should she be on her feet during the day?" Edward asks. "Should she be on complete bed rest except to go to the bathroom?"
"I don't think complete bed rest is necessary. Like I said she will need to rest, but she didn't injure her legs or feet so there's nothing wrong with her walking around the house some, but not a lot. Isabella," he says looking me in the eyes, "listen to your body. It will tell you when it's too much."
"Okay" I tell him.
"Any other questions?" Dr. Stevenson asks.
We all shake our heads.
"Okay then I will get your prescriptions, supplies, and discharge papers." He says before leaving.
"I brought you some clothes, Bells. I didn't think you would want to leave in that gown." My dad tells me handing me a duffel bag. He brought several pairs of pants and a few different shirts. I guess he wanted me to have choices. At the bottom of the bag I find the book I bought for Edward, my dad is seriously the best. I didn't even think to hide it before I went to radiology.
"Thanks dad." I answer, blushing. "I'll just have the nurse help me dress before we leave."
"Okay." He says awkwardly.
Soon the nurse comes in. I haven't met this one yet.
"Hello there, I'm Maggie. Dr. Stevenson has given me all of your things for you to take home, and here's your discharge papers. Mr. Swan I'll need you to sign these since Isabella's a minor. Also here is her prescription. If you want to get it filled at the hospital pharmacy, it is on the first floor." She tells my dad.
"Thank you." I tell her. "Would you mind helping me get changed before I leave?"
"Not at all." She tells me.
Edward helps me to the bathroom door, but lets Maggie take it from there. I don't need a lot of help, just some so that I don't bump any of my injuries and to make sure that I don't snag my stitches.
Once we're finished, we head back out to my room where I sit on the bed so Maggie can take my IV out. I look up at Edward because I know there's going to be blood, but he doesn't seem concerned he just sits and holds my hand.
Finally with a bag full of supplies and a bandaid on my hand, I am ready to go home. Finally.