UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE

Here is the next chapter for you. I hope you aren't too disappointed.

Disclaimer: S.M.O.T.A.A.I.C.

Chapter 3 – Hospitals and Needles

Bella POV:

The darkness began to recede, but with the light and conscious thought came the discomfort and pain. Pain in my muscles and a very uncomfortable stabbing/clenching sensation in my stomach. But that worst by far was the excruciating pain in my head.

Impossibly the pain I had felt yesterday was now doubled due to the throbbing lump over my right eye. Only I couldn't remember how or when this had happened.

The darkness was almost completely gone now; all I could see was the red glow of light behind my eyelids. I could hear the softest of footsteps moving around me.

It was then that I realized I was in a bed. A bed so outrageously comfortable it couldn't possibly be mine. I tried to open my eyes to see where I was but my lids were too heavy. I managed to get my eyelids to flutter, but that was all.

Someone called my name, "Bella?" I would have known that voice anywhere. Edward!

"Bella love, can you hear me?"

I needed to see him, to make this horrible nightmare go away. I tried again to open my eyes. This time my fluttering yielded some results. My lids put up a fight, but I eventually managed to open them all the way.

Edward's face swam into view, his glorious features initially contorted in pain and worry, smoothed into my favourite crooked smile, which took my breath away. Only the machine I was attached to made sure I didn't go without oxygen for too long.

"Bella!" Edward's voice was saturated with relief, "Thank God." He leant forward and buried his face in my hair. I wanted to clutch him to me and reassure him that everything was alright, but my arms wouldn't move.

He pulled away and gazed into my eyes and I momentarily forgot all my pain and troubles, becoming lost in the perfection of his face.

I tried to speak but my throat was too dry. I managed to rasp out the word "Water?" but that was it.

He was gone of only a second, then he was back at my side with a glass full of ice chips.

"I think we should try these first." He suggested as he gently lifted me up into a sitting position. I was so thirsty that I didn't care what it was, as long as it was wet.

He produced a spoon and brought the chips to my mouth, I was still too tired to help him. I tried to ignore the stabbing pain in my stomach but he noticed the pained expression on my face and slowly lowered me down so I was lying on my back again.

He looked as though he was going to ask something, but stopped when I opened my mouth for more ice. After the cup was empty, he placed it on the bedside table.

"Better?" He asked.

"Slightly." I replied.

"How do you feel?" I opened my mouth to speak but he cut me off, "Don't tell me your fine." He looked so worried and upset that I didn't bother downplaying how I felt. He would only get more upset when he found out. And he would find out.

"My head is killing me and I feel like I've been stabbed in the gut," as I said this my stomach clenched and I winched. "I feel really tired and cold too," I continued in less than a whisper, shivering as the words escaped my lips. I generally just felt awful.

"Well we're going to get you to Carlisle and you'll be better in no time." He stated confidently.

"How did I get here?" I asked. I suddenly felt worried; I had no memory of the trip to the big white house in the river.

"You hit your head in the bathroom and I brought you here when I found you. You were in a bad way." He looked at me, and I saw several emotions flitter over his face. Was that fear? I had never seen Edward look that way. He was indestructible, nothing could scare him.

"I don't...remember going into the bathroom." I told him. The worried lines etched into his face, became more pronounced. "The last thing I remember was..." I tried to recall the last 12 hours, only coming up blank, "When Charlie helped me after the window incident." Why couldn't I remember?

"The window incident? What are you talking about?"

"Well you weren't there and I got too hot so I went over to the window to let in some fresh air...and I collapsed," Pain flashed across his perfect features.

"Why didn't you tell me you were that sick? I would have stayed..."

"No," I cut him off. "You needed to go hunting, and I really was feeling fine before you left. It got worse when I woke up, so there was nothing you could have done." I hated it when he tried to blame everything on himself. I was going to get sick anyway, there was nothing he could have done, or anyway he could have known. Feeling tired was a part of being human.

He gave in and went back to questioning me on one of my previous answers. "So you don't remember anything after the 'window incident'." He made small quote marks in the air. "Nothing else?"

"No, nothing else." I was really worried, but I was also too tired to continue this conversation. "Edward?" I mumbled.

"Yes Love?"

"I'm tired. Can't I go to sleep?"

"You don't seem to have a concussion so you should be okay. But I'm taking you to Carlisle..."

I wasn't really listening anymore. Once he told me I could sleep I was already focusing on trying to slip back into the comfort of unconsciousness.

"Thank you Edward." Again my voice was no more than a whisper. But I knew he heard. I saw my favourite crooked smile spread across his face, before my eyes closed.

"Sleep Love. I'll wake you when we get to Carlisle."

I was asleep as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

"Bella? Wake up!" Edward's voice sounded as though it was coming from underwater. It was distorted but still distinctly beautiful as it pulled me from my haven of unconsciousness.

With consciousness came the pain. I moaned as the throbbing in my head was brought to my attention. My stomach rolled and the waves of nausea crashed over me.

"Bella? Are you alright?" Edward sounded worried again.

"No, I feel awful." My stomach clenched once more, and if there had been anything in it, it would have been expelled.

"Bella, can you tell me how you feel? Being a little more specific than just awful." Carlisle walked into the room carrying a chart. He sounded concerned, but at the same time professionally detached. I repeated the list of symptoms I'd given Edward before at the house.

"How long have I been asleep for?" There was no natural light coming into the room we were in. No way of telling if it was day or night. The harsh neon lights lit the room instead. I was in a very uncomfortable bed and Edward was sitting on the edge, starting at me with nothing but concern in his eyes.

It was Carlisle who answered my question. "Only about half an hour, wouldn't you say Edward?" Edward nodded once, without taking his eyes of my face. "We thought it would be better to let you sleep and I was with another patient. Although you were unconscious for several hours before that.

Carlisle then proceeded to probe my head stomach and throat with his cool fingers. I winced as he applied only the slightest pressure to my bruised forehead, but I couldn't hold back the cry of pain that escaped me when he gently pressed my stomach in.

Edward was immediately panicked "What's wrong with her?" He pleaded as Carlisle continued his examination.

"I don't know. Bella you're going to have to stay here overnight. And we will have to conduct a series of tests."

"'Kay!" There was no reason to argue. I was just going to lose anyway. Their logic was far superior to mine, not to mention their strength. I would have to do what they told me and I really wasn't feeling good.

"I'll give you something for the pain and discomfort, but morphine could make your breathing worse, and I don't like it now..." He then began to confer with Edward, using a whole bunch of medical words I didn't even know existed in the English language.

They talked and I tuned them out, the clenching in my stomach however wouldn't be ignored. "I'll come back and check on you soon Bella," Carlisle's voice pulled me from my 'trance'. I watched as he signed my chart with a flourish and left.

"What hurts the most?" Edward asked; concern the prominent emotion on his face again.

"Do I really look that bad?"

He slowly wrapped his arms around me. "Sorry love, but, yes you do." He laughed but there was no trace of humor in the sound.

"Well I don't really know. My head hurts, a lot, but it isn't so bad if I don't focus on it. The nausea comes in waves so I'm fine for short periods of time, but I can't ignore the stabbing/clenching in my stomach..." I would have continued but my brain had finally registered Carlisle's words.

Carlisle had been talking about drugs and that meant only one thing. Needles! My breathing accelerated.

"What's wrong Bella?" Edward had his hands cupped around my face, making it impossible to look away.

"Needles!" I rasped. "Please don't Edward. I don't need any." I knew I sounded stupid but I couldn't help it, a phobia wasn't something you could just ignore.

"Calm down Bella." He commanded gazing deep into my eyes causing my thoughts to scatter. "It'll be fine, besides you need nutrients and fluids even if you don't need painkillers. You haven't eaten in over 24hrs and those ice chips don't really count as fluids." He continued to watch me as his logic worked on me, causing my breathing to return to a regular pace.

"I don't need needles. I'll eat if that's what I need to do," my stomach clenched painfully and I knew I wouldn't be able to keep anything down, but I really didn't want any needles.

It was true that I hadn't eaten since breakfast on Thursday, but that was not a valid reason to turn me into a pin-cushion.

"Okay. If you think you can eat something...and you keep it down, then maybe we might not need to put an IV in you." Edward didn't sound confident, but he left to get me some food and water so we could experiment. He returned a few minutes later with a bottle full of water and a small bread roll.

The smell of the food turned my stomach but I held my hands out for the roll anyway.

"See if you can keep all this down and then we'll see what we can do about getting you home."

I raised the roll to my mouth and took a small bite. I couldn't taste it and it felt all wrong in my mouth, but I managed to swallow. I slowly pulled off another piece and stuck it into my mouth. Edward smiled. But his smile was short lived.

Only minutes after I'd finished the roll and bottle of water my stomach heaved and the waves of nausea returned in full force.

"Edward..." Was all I could get out before I had to clamp my hand over my mouth.

He was gone for one moment, but he was back with a bucket before I could make a mess of myself. He held my hair out of the way as I emptied my stomach of the water and bread, and then some.

"Are you alright?" He asked as I lay back on the pillows.

"No, I feel worse." There was no escaping it now; my only alternate plan had failed. Needles were now part of the healing process whether I liked it or not.

"Your temperature is back up again." Edward said. "I'm sorry Bella but we really need to get some medication into you, now." He sounded so worried and I was so tired that I just nodded and gave in.

"I'll go get Carlisle."

As I waited for Edward to return with Carlisle I tried to control the pounding in my head and ignore the nausea. The room began to turn blurry gain and I couldn't focus anymore.

My breathing hitched up as I tried to clear my vision, making little to no progress. I was feeling dizzier as the minutes ticked by. In another vain attempt to ease the pain and discomfort, I close my eyes. This only succeeded in making the sensation worse.

My stomach rolled again and I only just managed to grab the bucket before I vomited, even though I was sure there had been nothing left to throw up.

"Bella?" This was Carlisle's voice this time. He hurried into the room followed by a very worried looking Edward.

Once I stopped retching they removed the bucket and replace it with another clean one. Then Edward held me as Carlisle inserted my IV.

"There you go Bella, you should feel better soon, once we get these fluids and meds into you." And with that he left.

"I'm so tired." I complained, as Edward lay down next to me, being careful not to disrupt my wires.

"You're sick, that's your body's way of telling you to take it easy. Go to sleep Bella."

"But I've been asleep all morning."

"That doesn't matter. You need rest, you're very ill. Now stop fighting me and get some sleep." He began to hum my lullaby once more and I drifted into unconsciousness once more.

I'm sorry that this chapter doesn't really have a point. But I felt it was necessary. Don't worry you find out what's wrong with her in the next chapter, which (depending on my typing abilities) will be up on Tuesday or Thursday. I know I said I'd update in Wednesdays but this Wednesday I have my Graduation ceremony and I don't know if I'll have anytime to post the chapter. I'll try for Tuesday, but don't get your hopes up.

Also, please forgive my bad English, I've just spend 8hrs at work and I have a ton of H/W (I know I just said I was graduating, but I still have H/W, crazy stuff :S) so this took a lot out of me and it might not be very good.

Please tell me what you think. I really like reviews.

:D