"Hello, Jacob," Carlisle sighed as he walked into the room, closing the door behind him.
Jacob noticed a small note of disappointment mixed with concern in the doctor's eyes. Jacob sensed the disappointment was aimed at him and possibly the concern was for Bella's wellbeing.
"Carlisle.." Jacob muttered, shifting to sit up in bed.
There was an uneasy moment of silence where Carlisle seemed to be intently looking at the drip that was attached to Jacob, obviously thinking of how to word his next sentence. Finally, the silence was broken.
"Bella is stable," Carlisle turned to Jacob, looking him directly in the eyes. "I know your intentions were good, Jacob. However, being completely honest, it has set back her rocky recovery another week or so."
Carlisle knelt down next to the bed and began peeling up the dressing on Jacob's head wound, inspecting the healing process. Jacob pulled back a little, wincing.
"Is your head bothering you too much?" Carlisle mentioned as he watched the reaction.
"I'm ok. Much better than Bella." Jacob scoffed.
Carlisle mused for a moment, "Perhaps... but I would like to make sure you make a complete recovery also. I know you mean a lot to her. She is part of my family now and I owe her my best intentions to your recovery also."
"It's all my fault..." Jacob's voice faltered as he said this, tears brimming in his eyes.
"She will forgive you," Carlisle said working his hands into some white rubber gloves. "She really does have a heart of gold."
"But.. do I deserve forgiveness," Jacob said through gritted teeth.
Carlisle seemed to find something funny, a smile played on the ends of his lips and a small chuckle escaped.
"Well... Edward would think otherwise. But, yes. By all accounts, it was an accident, Jacob. A very severe one, but an accident nonetheless." Carlisles tone seemed to finalise this part of the conversation and Jacob did not push further.
He felt a small stinging sensation on his head and noticed that Carlisle was once again cleaning his wound. Finishing off the cleaning process Carlisle disposed of his white gloves and pulled a small torch out of the front of his white doctor coat.
"I would like to check for any head trauma," He clicked the light on and asked Jacob to follow his watch his finger with his eyes.
Carlisle smiled, obviously happy with the results of the test. He flicked through Jacob's chart pausing for a moment to consider something.
"I think I can process your discharge papers, Jacob. I would like you to take it easy for a few days, however, I think you are well enough to go home and manage your recovery on your own." Carlisle smiled warmly.
Jacob opened his mouth to ask about being able to see Bella but he was met with Carlisle's hand, clearly realising what was about to come next.
"I think it would be best to wait until Bella has considerably more strength before you see her. It could prove very concerning to have to set back her recovery again. I would be lying if I said I was not worried already." Carlisle's eyes darted away. Jacob considered this, after spending so much time around Edward, Carlisle would have to be controlling his thoughts so he doesn't upset his son further. Jacob was pretty sure Carlisle had just let slip something he had been trying tirelessly not to divulge.
"Ok, Carlisle. Anything to help her." Jacob whispered.
Carlisle managed a small smile, "A nurse should be around shortly to complete your discharge and then you will be able to go home. Please come and see me if you are having any complications with your recovery. I must go back and be with Bella."
"Of course," Jacob said, watching as Carlisle turned and walked out the door.
On the other side of the hospital, Carlisle was standing in the hallway outside Bella's room. He was considering how he could convince Edward to go home for a day, take some time away from the stress of being here. He didn't keep to the idea for too long, he knew it would be useless trying.
Taking a deep breath he pushed the door open and walked into the quiet room, there was no noise other than the beeping of the heart monitor and Bella's breathing. She was still asleep, this was not a surprise to Carlisle who was expecting her to potentially be out for a day or so following the operation on her rib and lungs.
He saw Edward look up from the corner as he entered.
"He is going home," Carlisle said, placing a hand on his son's shoulder.
"You owe him an apology when this is all over."
Carlisle saw as Edward opened his mouth to argue but closed it quickly and nodded.
Carlisle considered something, he knew it would be useless but decided to try nonetheless.
"You should go hunt," he crouched down looking into his son's black eyes. "She is going to sleep for at least another couple hours. You won't miss anything. I will stay with her the whole time."
Edward considered this for a moment and to Carlisle's complete surprise replied, "Okay."
Carlisle reassuringly tightened the squeeze on Edward's shoulder, "Alright, I will see you in a few hours."
Carlisle turned towards Bella and smiled absently, he thought about how much he loved her, as a daughter, and felt a wave of protection overcome him. He walked over to sit on the side of the bed and took her fragile hand in his, he rubbed his thumb protectively across her soft skin and closed his eyes. He was emotionally drained and hoped that the worst was over for her. Time went by quickly, it felt like only a minute later that Carlisle noticed it was the next working. He watched as the sun struggled to appear behind the dark rain clouds, only to be consumed minutes later, stowing the town of Forks into its usual darkness.
"Carlisle," his ears were met with a croaky whisper coming from the depths of the bed. Bella. He opened his eyes quickly.
Bella looked spent. She had dark circles under her eyes, which were dropping considerably with tiredness. Her face was pale, much more than usual, however, there was a small smile forming on her lips. She winced in pain as she tried to reposition herself. Carlisle placed his strong arms under her armpits to help her get into a more comfortable position with the least pain possible.
"Do you feel comfortable?" Carlisle said calmly as he lowered her gently into a different position.
"Much," Bella said wincing again as she breathed in. Carlisle noticed her struggle and bit his lip, crossing his arms. He knew there was nothing he could do further than wait for her body to heal on its own accord, but it pained him to watch her in pain. He reached over and put his hand to the back of her forehead.
"Your temperature has gone down," he murmured, "I am glad." His tone sounded for a moment extremely relieved with this factor. "How is your pain?"
Bella looked like she was considering this for a moment, Carlisle knew she would always try to downplay her discomfort in situations. He had, after all, dealt with her before when she was in the hospital after the attack with James. She constantly would deny pain medication mentioning that she felt 'okay'. This time he would not be as willing to believe her especially as, and it didn't seem possible, her injuries and complications were much worse than that time.
"And don't lie to me," he added with a slightly mocking tone. Bella smiled rolling her eyes silently, Carlisle knew if she was able to, she would have managed a laugh.
"I feel sick," she said slowly. "And my ribs..." she took a shallow breath her breath hitching painfully, "Feel like they are on fire."
A small crease of worry formed on Carlisle's forehead. "I am sure your pain medication is wearing off. Let me go get you some more."
He walked over to the small workbench to the left side of the room where some medical equipment was kept, calling a nurse in by pressing the button behind her bed as he went.
He asked the nurse to bring in some pain medication and he began putting some gloves on to administer it to Bella's IV. As he was going he eyed the contents of the catheter swiftly asking the nurse to change the container attached.
"Where is Edward?" Bella asked softly, watching Carlisle insert the medication into the IV port.
Carlisle looked up from where he was administering the medication and eyed the nurse who was still in the room, reattaching an empty container to the catheter. "He has gone to get some food," Carlisle met Bella's eyes and winked.
Bella nodded slowly, wincing and closing her eyes as she went.
Carlisle had just finished inserting the medication and placed his finger under Bella's chin, guiding her to look into his eyes. He watched her wince in pain again. "The medication shouldn't take too long to work, I promise. Are you feeling tired? Would you like to go back to sleep? I am sure you feel exhausted." His eyes were so kind and compassionate.
His smile faltered as he noticed a small tear fall from Bella's cheek, her heart rate mildly increasing.
"Is the pain that bad?" He sounded concerned as he quickly walked over to the monitors to check her vitals.
"No," Bella stopped him in his tracks. "I am just so thankful for you, I am not worth all this fuss" Another tear fell from Bella's cheeks.
This statement hurt Carlisle. "Bella..." he paused, "You are completely worth it. There is nothing I wouldn't do to care for you. It just helps that I am a medically trained doctor." He chuckled slightly at his last comment as he reached for Bella's hand again.
"Get some sleep..." he whispered wiping her hair away from her forehead. "I will be right here the whole time."
Bella seemed content with this, and she closed her eyes. Allowing her tired body to take over and fall unconscious. Carlisle smiled to himself. He didn't stop stroking her hair until he was sure she was fast asleep.