The first thing I noticed, before the darkness of sleep even faded, was the pain. My head rang like it was the largest bell in the church and my chest burned with every breath I took. My heart raced suddenly as I tried to gulp in more air. A hand touched my clammy head, and another clutched comfortingly at my hand.
"Easy, Angel," Dad's voice drifted over me and I snapped my eyes open to take in his blue orbs swirling with worry inches from my own. "Settle down, Em."
I winced against at the pain that shot across my chest as I took a deep breath in. Dad smiled at me softly as I slowly settled myself down, softly stroking my hair, "What happened?"
Fear crossed Dad's face for the briefest instance but he brushed it away.
"You fell out the window," he spoke in a question and as soon as he said the words it flooded back to me. "Do you remember?"
I nodded, lost in my own world for a minute. Jasper and Carlisle. They had been real. That wasn't some crazy dream I had created. As though, he has sensed my thoughts, Carlisle strode into the room. I frowned taking in his coat and charts. So, he was a medical doctor, my doctor it seemed. He smiled at Dad as he entered but turned his attention immediately to me. It was hard to see him as a doctor. He was apparently my grandfather, my grandfather who was younger than my Dad. My head hurt as it tried to make sense of that information. Did he not age?
"Are you in pain, Emmelyn?" Carlisle's concerned voice broke through and I looked round to see him. I shook my head, even though it was a lie. He quirked an eyebrow at me, just like Dad did and I blushed. "What hurts?"
"Everything," I answered honestly this time. Whilst my chest and head hurt in a way that I was sure something was wrong, I was also certain that my whole body was bruised: it ached in a way that was far more distracting than my head.
Carlisle smiled sadly with a hint of amusement and Dad squeezed my hand.
"You took quite the fall," Carlisle reminded me and I grimaced. I didn't need the reminder now. "You've got a concussion, and a couple of broken ribs that have bruised your lung. I've done everything I can whilst you were asleep and, now, I need you to rest for me. We'll manage the pain."
Horror passed over me, "you mean I have to stay in this bed? For how long?"
Dad chuckled lightly under his breath, settling me down without doing anything.
"No, you don't have to stay in bed. In fact, it would be better for you ribs if you moved around but take it easy," Carlisle smiled at me, his hint of amusement growing. "I want to keep you in for week, at least, just so I can keep an eye on how everything's healing. You were incredibly lucky, Emmelyn."
I nodded, at least he didn't want me to lie down all day. I realised how true his last sentence was – I had been falling head first: I could have died. I tightened my grip on Dad's hand just as Carlisle pager went off. His face tightened with worry as he read it.
"Dad?" my Dad's voice broke the silence. I froze: it was one thing to believe that Carlisle was Dad's father, it was another thing to know that Dad believed and accepted that. I wonder how much time they had had to talk and what it was about. Carlisle was my grandfather, my real, blood grandfather even if he only looked ten years older than me when Dad was approaching his 40's. I smiled lightly. We'd always been a strange family but Jasper and Carlisle were just making things impossible to be real. My heart ached: Carlisle was here and accepting Dad, and me, but Jasper wasn't. I didn't dare ask if he'd been whilst I was asleep.
"I'm needed down in the emergency room," he told us but didn't make a swift move to leave, like I was sure he should be. I could see other hospital staff rushing around outside the door. "Do you need anything, Emmelyn?"
"I'm fine," a warm wave of affection washed over me for him.
He touched Dad's shoulder and then rushed out the room at a speed I was sure was ever so slightly too fast to be normal.
Silence fell as Dad and I were left alone. It was heavy and settled on me like a dead weight. Things has changed so much since we left our final campsite.
"You scared me, Emmelyn," his words were soft and honest, and they instantly broke my heart. I could hardly imagine what it must have been like for him to watch his only child tumble from the first floor, to be unable to do nothing. My ribs protested as I leant towards him and wrapped my spare arm around his shoulders in an awkward hug. He gathered me up swiftly, shifting me so it didn't hurt quite so much, and held me as tightly as I was sure he dared, pressing his cheek to my head. I breathed in his familiar scent, letting it settle my nerves. He shook ever so slightly in my arms and a dampness settled into my hair where his cheek lay. I clutched him tighter, not bothered that it hurt. I wasn't sure I had ever seen Dad cry in this lifetime – neither of us were big cries, though yesterday made it seem like I was. Jasper flittered back across my thoughts and I wondered if Carlisle had told Dad.
We stayed in an embrace until a nurse appeared at door, looking apologetic for disturbing us. She entered at Dad's smile and spoke to me briefly – providing me with painkillers and an icepack – before disappearing again. I held the ice pack to my ribs and the burning pain that swept through it was numbed quickly. I sighed in relief.