53
EMPOV
There's no reason to be scared. There's no reason to be scared. I kept repeating this to myself as I laid in my bed next to my Rose, my wife. No, my goddess. I rolled over and watched her while she slept. That sounds kind of creepy, doesn't it? It's just that she looked so beautiful, so peaceful when she sleeps. I rolled back over onto my back. I was a little jealous that she was able to sleep right now. I hadn't gotten any sleep all night. I kept thinking about everything that could go wrong. Not just with me either.
Of course, I was worried about myself. I mean, I am human. My own well being is important to me but I was really worried more about Bella. She looked so weak last night while we were talking on the cams. She looked like she barely had the strength to smile much less joke around the way she was. I don't know how she's done this much. She really is the strongest person I had ever met. That's why I know I can do this, even if I am scared.
"What's wrong, babe?" asked Rose. I sighed and looked over at her.
"I'm a little scared," I said.
"Of the procedure?" she asked, propping herself up on her elbow.
"Yes," I said. "But mostly that I'm going to fail her. What if it doesn't work?"
"Then it doesn't work, Em," said Rose. "Baby, you have to understand that there is a chance that Bella won't make it through this. I know you don't want to lose her. I don't either but we have to face this."
"I know," I whispered. I leaned over and kissed her softly. "I love you, Rose. Thank you for just being here."
"I wouldn't be anywhere else," said Rose. "I love you, too, but we need to get going or we are going to be late and I don't want to have to face Carlisle."
"Ok," I sighed softly.
We climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom. We quickly showered and got dressed. I picked up my over night bag and headed out to the car with Rose tucked under my arm. We were hoping that I would get to come home today but I guess you never know for sure so we packed a bag just in case. We climbed into Rose's BMW and headed to the hospital.
I chuckled inwardly at how many times we had been here at this hospital because Bella had gotten hurt. Between her many broken bones and cuts, we spent a lot of time here when we were little. Ok, so maybe I was the reason she got hurt sometimes but she never blamed me. I shook my head softly as Rose parked her car. We climbed out and headed up to sixth floor. Carlisle was waiting for us outside of the elevator.
"You ready to do this, Emmett?" he asked.
"Yes," I said quickly.
"It's ok to be nervous," said Carlisle.
"Good," I said. "Cause I am."
"I know," said Carlisle. "Let's get you into your room and get your IV started."
Carlisle led Rose and I down the hallway. We stopped outside of Bella's room. They had opened the blinds. I could feel my tears building in my eyes as I watched her. She was tiny and pale. She looked so weak as she laid up in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She turned and looked at me. I raised my hand and set it on the glass. She mirrored my gesture from her bed as her face broke out into a beautiful smile but it didn't quite reach her eyes. 'I love you,' she mouthed to me. I let my tears fall as I mouthed 'I love you, too.'
"Let's go," I whispered through my tears.
I looked back at Bella one more time and noticed her own tears falling down her face. I knew right then and there that I really would do anything for my sister. I wiped the tears off my face and stepped away from the glass and Bella, in some ways. I followed Carlisle and Rose down the hall to a room.
Carlisle stayed outside while I changed into the hospital gowns they forced me to wear. I got up into the bed and Carlisle and Rose came in. I could see the fear starting to set in Rose's eyes. I wanted to tell her that everything would be ok but I wasn't convinced myself that it would be.
"I'm going to get your IV going," said Carlisle. "This is just to keep fluids running through your system while we extract the marrow and you're out. I've got to head down to the OR to prep then they will bring you down. Do either of you have any questions?"
"When are you giving her the marrow?" I asked as he got my IV going.
"As soon as I am done with you, I will take it to her and start her drip," said Carlisle. "She will receive the marrow through her IV. It'll take a few hours. It won't hurt."
"That's good," I said. "How soon until we know if it works?"
"A few days day until we know if it's engrafting at all," he said. "But we will be watching her very closely."
"And, um," I said through my tears. "You think this will work?"
"Yes, I do," said Carlisle. "Emmett, I wish I could have done more…"
"You did a lot, Carlisle," I said. Rose was sitting on the side of my bed, holding my hand as she let her tears fall silently.
"Well, I had better get going," said Carlisle. He grabbed my hand. "I'll see you in a bit."
"Thank you, Carlisle," I whispered. "For being my Dad when I needed one."
"You're welcome, Emmett," he whispered as he let a tear slip down his face.
He got up and left my room. I pulled Rose into my arms and held her while she let her tears fall. The past couple weeks had been so hard on Rose. She was trying to stay strong for me but she was scared and she missed Bella. Rose and Bella had always been like sisters just like me and Jasper were like brothers. The door to my room opened and I looked up to see Jasper, Alice, Garrett, Kate, Ben, and Angela come in.
"What are you guys doing here?" I asked.
"You didn't think we would make you do this alone, did you?" asked Jasper.
"Well, yeah," I said. Rose chuckled slightly.
"Dude, this is what brothers do," said Jasper.
"Besides, we got out of school," chuckled Kate. I laughed loudly.
"That's the Kate I know," I snickered as the door to my room opened again. We all looked over to see Edward coming in. He looked almost as bad as Bella did. He had a piece of paper in his hand that had been folded in half. "Hey, Edward."
"Hey, Em," he said. Rose climbed off the bed and he came over and sat down on the side. "So, how you feeling?"
"I'm ok," I said. "How's Bella?"
"She's a nervous wreck," said Edward. "She's pretty scared for you and for herself."
"Typical," I said.
"She wanted me to give you this," said Edward, handing me the note. "She also told me to tell you that no matter what happens that you're her superman."
"She did?" I whispered through my tears.
"Yeah," whispered Edward as he wiped his own tear away. "Emmett, I know Bella's your sister and you would do anything for her. I get that but I can't thank you enough for doing this for her. I know it's selfish to think of myself right now but I love Bella so much. I don't…"
"I know, man," I whispered. "I know."
"Yeah, so anyway," he said, standing up. "Good luck or whatever I'm supposed to say."
"Tell her I said she's my superwoman, ok?" I asked.
"I will," said Edward. He placed his hand on my shoulder. "I'll check on you later."
"Ok," I said. Edward just nodded to everyone before he turned and left. I opened up the note from Bella.
Dear Emmett,
It is my pleasure to announce that you have won the genetic lottery. You are the lucky bastard that gets to be my other half. Aren't you so fucking lucky? I'm mean, I am totally awesome. Everyone says so. Ok, now that I got that out of my system, I wanted to have a few words, or many words with you before you go into the OR.
Now, I know you are nervous and scared. I can read you like a book and I saw it all when you were at my window this morning. By the way, did you just not sleep last night? You looked like shit. Anyway, as your smarter and much prettier sister, and no wise cracks about me being your only sister, it's my job to go over a few important things.
First, make sure Carlisle doesn't cut out your liver or something on accident. We all know that he likes to drink and I did smell a little booze on his breath earlier but don't let that worry you. Come on, Emmett, and laugh cause that was funny. We both know that Carlisle is not going to mess this up so relax and stop scowling. Seriously, just try to relax. I know it's scary but if I can trust Carlisle with my life, then you can trust him with your ass. That sounds kind of wrong, doesn't it?
Second, don't be a whiny ass baby. Your ass is going to hurt but you are a big tough man. You can take it. I swear if you say that's what she said, I will kick your ass…as soon as I can. You, my brother, need a new line. Seriously, don't be scared to ask for some pain meds if you need them. No point in suffering if you don't need to.
Last, and this is the most important part, never forget that I love you, Emmy. I know I've been a bitch over the last few weeks. I'm sorry. I know that you and I haven't spent a lot of time together since I got sick. I hope you know that even though I love Edward, he could never replace you, Em. You're my big brother, my partner in crime, my best friend. I don't know if the marrow will take or not. I wish I did but no matter what happens next, I want you to know that I am so proud of the man you are and the man you are becoming. Charlie and Renee would be proud of you, too. I love you, Emmy. You are my superman, my hero.
I'll see you soon. I promise.
Bella
I laid the note on my bed and just let my tears fall. Rose and Alice came over and wrapped their arms around me and held me. Here Bella was fighting for her life and she's worried about me. She's making jokes and trying to make me feel better. Was there just no end to her selflessness?
The door to my room opened again and I looked up through my tears to see Esme come in.
"Hey, Emmett," said Esme. "You holding up ok?"
"Trying," I whispered as I wiped the tears off my face. She turned to everyone.
"Can I few minutes alone with Emmett?" she asked.
"Sure," said Rose. She leaned down and kissed me. "I'll be right outside."
"Ok," I said softly. She followed the others as they left my room. Esme came over and sat down on the side of my bed. She reached out and grabbed my hand.
"Emmett, I just wanted to tell you how I proud of you I am," said Esme as a tear slipped down her face. "You've had a lot thrown at you over the last few months with Bella being sick and losing Charlie. I know you are scared right now. I wish I could take it all away because that's moms are supposed to be able to do but I can't. I want you to know that regardless of what happens with Bella, Carlisle and I both think of you as our son."
"You do?" I asked through my tears.
"Yes, we do," said Esme. "Emmett, it's an honor to be your mother."
"The honor is mine, Mom," I choked out through my tears. "Thank you."
"No, thank you," whispered Esme as the door to my room opened again. We looked over to see a nurse and a couple of orderlies.
"It's time," said the nurse. Esme stood up and leaned down and kissed my check.
"I'll be here when you wake up," she whispered. She turned and walked out of my room. Rose came and grabbed my hand.
"I love you, Em," she whispered before she kissed me. "I'll see you in a little while."
"I love you, too, Rose," I whispered.
The nurse grabbed my IV while the orderlies wheeled my bed out into the hall, past everyone. I tried to smile but my nerves were on fire. They pushed my bed down the hall past Bella's room. I looked up and saw Edward holding in front of the window. She placed her hand on the window as a tear slipped down both of our faces. I just nodded at her as they pushed me past her room.
They rolled me into the cold, sterile room and moved me from my bed to the table so that I was on my stomach and my ass was in the air. It was a little humiliating. Carlisle came in with a couple of other doctors. He came over and sat by my head.
"You ok, Emmett?" he asked.
"No," I whispered. "But I'm trying."
"I know," he said. "This is Dr. Shultz. He's your anesthesiologist."
"Hello, Emmett," said Dr. Shultz. "I want you to count backwards from 100 for me."
"Emmett, stop," squealed Bella as I chased her out of the house and out into the yard.
"I'm never going to stop, Bella," I laughed as I caught her and started tickling her.
"Stop, please," She gasped through her laughter. We fell to the ground as I stopped tickling her. She rolled onto her back and looked up at the clouds. "Look a puppy."
"That's not a puppy," I scoffed. "That's a dragon."
"What?" she asked as she looked at me. Her long brown hair was fanned out under her. "How do you get a dragon from that?"
"You aren't looking at it right," I said. "See the horns on the back. The fire coming out of it's mouth."
"If you say so, Em," she chuckled. She rolled onto her side and looked at me. "Em, can I ask you something?"
"Sure," I said, looking over at her.
"How did you know you were in love with Rosie?" she asked. I smiled as I rolled onto my side and faced her.
"I don't really know," I said. "I've always thought she was pretty. Bossy and bitchy sometimes, but really pretty. I guess it was right after sophomore year that I realized I had feelings that went beyond friendship. It was the night of the party at Newton's. You and Rose came in and I nearly choked on my drink when I saw her, Bella. She was so hot."
"Ew," muttered Bella.
"Shut up," I chuckled. "Anyway, I watched her for a while. I didn't understand why I couldn't just go up to her and talk to her. I mean, I had never had that problem before. Rose and I never had trouble talking, you know? So I was fixing to go talk to her when that asshole Royce went up to her. I felt so jealous of him. I just stood in the corner and watched as they danced. Then I noticed that he was getting a little too hands on. Rose caught my eye and I knew she wanted me to help her. I went over and cut in. He wasn't too happy about it but I didn't really give a shit. Rose asked me to take her home so after I made sure you and Jasper had a ride, I walked her home. We sat on her porch for hours just talking. I'm not even sure how I got the courage to kiss her but I did. I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers. She kissed me back. From that moment on, it was me and Rose."
"Did you know you were in love with her that night?" asked Bella.
"No, it took a while to realize that the feelings I had had for Rose my entire life was love," said Emmett. "I think I've always loved her."
"You're lucky," said Bella, rolling back onto her back.
"Why?" I asked.
"You and Rose love each other," said Bella. "I guess I'm a little jealous that of you."
"There's always Jas," I said. She scrunched up her face.
"Dating Jas would be like dating you," she grumbled. "He's too much like my brother. I don't think I will ever find anyone who would love me for me and not let the fact that I'm smart bother them."
"Sure you will," I said. "He's out there somewhere, Bella. Until you find him, you will always have me."
"My own personal superman?" she asked with a smile. I chuckled softly.
"Yep," I smirked. "You can be my superwoman."
"Deal," she laughed. She looked back over at me. "Emmy?"
"What?" I asked.
"Don't forget about me when I'm gone, ok?" she asked.
"Never," I said. "You and me are partners in crime, Belly. I could never forget about you."
"Promise?" she asked.
"I promise," I said.
We turned back and watched the clouds as they floated by us. Bella reached out and grabbed my hand. We laid in the grass watching the cloud shift into different shapes, completely contend on being with other.
"Emmett," whispered Rose. "Wake up, Emmett."
My eyes felt like they weighed a hundred pounds as I struggled to open my eyes. I opened them once, twice, then a third time. I looked to the right of me and saw Rose sitting next to me with tear swimming in her eyes.
"Things…k?" I mumbled through my sleepy state. "Bella…k?"
"Yes, Baby," Rose said softly. "Everything went ok. Bella's doing ok."
"Good," I mumbled as I felt my eyes getting heavy again. "Love you, Rose."
"Love you, too," whispered Rose as I drifted off back to sleep, praying that this was worth it all.