Time for an update!
Once again, my love goes to Lou and Nancy, thank you, ladies.
SM owns.
We had Doctorward being late with Jasper's sedatives at the end of chapter one. You guessed that right, Jasper is awake!
Chapter 2
He stares at me groggily, and, of course, his eyes are blue. It's the blue of the ocean depths, not the blue of the azure skies. When he turns his head to the side, those eyes look nearly black. They make me weak in the knees.
He shudders and exhales a loud breath.
"Where am I?"
"Um, hospital." How clever of you, Cullen.
He could have begun with a 'Hello', though.
"Oh. I can see that, I'm not blind. Which hospital?"
"Forks Community. In Forks." Another peak of cleverness, Cullen.
"Forks, Washington. Yes, I remember arriving in Forks, Washington."
He frowns, the deep canyon between his eyebrows ruining his angelic features. He probably remembers the accident now. I need him to be calm, so I decide not to ask him any questions.
Or maybe he's in pain, yes, most probably he's in pain. Too bad I was late to add the prescribed medicine to his IV.
I realize I haven't replied. What to reply to a statement like that?
"Do you remember your name is Jasper Hale?" I blurt.
The Dumbass World Cup goes to Edward Anthony Cullen! Now he definitely remembers, even if he hasn't before my smart question.
"Of course, I do." He's still frowning and gulps several times. Tiny droplets of perspiration gather under his hairline.
I'd better put an end to this torture. This is not a conversation. He's incoherent because of the pain and the flood of memories. I'm incoherent because of those ocean blue eyes surrounded by the exuberance of small, curled, and oh-so-delicate hairs.
"Hurts, huh?" I ask, approaching his bed. He nods, and I notice his jaw clench. "You have serious injuries, but nothing vital. I'll give you something for the pain." With that, I add the sedative. Takes a second or two before he passes out.
My knees buckle and I find myself sitting on the floor.
This is wrong. All wrong. The whole waking up thing.
You, bitch, I hiss at the ceiling.
~"~
That day, and the next, I'm on autopilot. People need to repeat whatever they say to me, because I never hear them the first time. I catch myself staring out the window, seeing nothing. My mind stays blank until I get startled by the striking thought that I'm running out of time, and I have no idea how to keep him here, with me. Each passing hour is an enemy.
"... here to see you."
"Huh?" There it goes again. Nurse Stanley has been speaking to me and I can't even form a word.
"I said, Mrs. and Miss Hale are here to see you, Doctor." Her concerned look is actually not comforting.
"Ah… thank you. Send them in, please."
Too soon, the pixie bitch and the blonde bitch are in my office, sitting in chairs across from my desk.
Wait a minute, Cullen. You have NO right to hate these women. They're his family. He probably loves them. Yeah, but I hate them. They're going to steal him away from me tomorrow.
"Nice to meet you again, Doctor." The blond one is polite. What was her name again? Rosalie, right. The sister. They do look alike, my Jasper and her; the hair color is the same. Only his hair is shorter. And looks softer. The eyes are the same color too, only his are deeper...
Shit, she's speaking.
"... tomorrow morning?"
"Uh, I beg you pardon?" She has to repeat. She owes me that, at least.
"I was asking, what time should we be here for when he awakes tomorrow morning?"
I'm seriously debating lying about the time, but no, I'm not that kind of person.
"Oh, right. Nine a.m., I guess. We can't predict the exact time."
"How is he doing, Doctor?" Well I'm doing fine. I actually heard the wife's question without needing her to repeat.
The caring wifey is concerned. Of course she is, dumbass, she's married to him.
"The latest tests show he's healing and recovering as expected. He'll need to rest for at least a month, and take painkillers on a regular basis, but he'll be fine."
"So, we can move him after tomorrow?"
No, you can't! You shouldn't!
"Yes, you can. Just be very careful."
I can't believe I just said that. But again, that's the kind of person I am. Always honest with the patients and the relatives. Fuck me.
"Thank you, Doctor. See you tomorrow then," Alice, the wife, says. And they leave.
I've taken a forty-eight hour shift, so I can be with him during the night.
I stand by his bed, still as a statue and barely blinking, drinking in his unearthly beauty for minutes on end. Then, I remember a thought from the day and move closer to where his head rests on the snow white pillow. I have to check how soft exactly those blond locks are.
I look at my fingers as they approach his hair. They're trembling. I have no idea why my fingers are trembling. My whole body is shaking, I realize. I try to still my hand, and finally touch a stray lock; the gold contrasting against the whiteness is alluring. I twirl it around my forefinger and bend my body. I feel the urge to kiss the gold, and so I do. It feels like silk against my lips.
"This is my goodbye to you, Jasper," I whisper. "Thank you for coming to Forks, Washington."
I try to smile in the semi-darkness of the isolated room, but I can't. I'm actually crying.
~"~
After a restless sleep, I'm awake and ready for the new day. It's nearly nine o'clock, and they will be here any minute.
The corridors, the stairwell, the windowsills, the curtains and greenery, are all blurry patches in my field of vision. Someone's little hand supports me on my way to Jasper's room.
"Thank you, Nurse Stanley," I manage when I recognize her by my side.
"You're pale, Doctor. Are you sure you're feeling alright?"
"I'm perfectly fine, thank you."
No, I'm not.
I see the wife and the sister, and my stomach turns. Burglars. They're going to deprive me of the only beautiful thing in my life. Duh. I guess I'm the loser in this case. Nothing can be done.
We enter the room, and we stand and wait. He wakes a bit earlier than expected. At first his eyelids flutter open and immediately close again. Alice squeals and lunges toward him. I pull her by the arm.
"Don't. Give him a minute," I warn. No, I'm not being selfish; she may really startle him, and we don't need a startled Jasper. She listens and stays rooted to her spot, one step closer to him than I want her.
The next time he opens his eyes, he's fully awake. He doesn't speak, but stares at his wife, and once again, frowns. I don't think it's from the pain this time.
"Alice," a single word escapes his lips, finally.
The lack of enthusiasm warms my heart. Wait, what's going on here? Is he not happy to see her?
"I'm here, Jazzy." The wife steps closer to him, and reaches for his cheek in an attempt to caress it. He snaps his head to the side, avoiding the contact. Whoa.
"How did you find me?" he hisses, facing the nightstand to his right.
"Let's not have this conversation in front of the doctor and the nurse, shall we, brother?"
Rosalie approaches the bed herself and grabs her brother's hand. "We're going to take you back to Seattle, and talk as much as you want."
Charlie Swan, Chief of the local police, is my savior.
He chooses this moment to appear through the door behind me.
The Hales are not going anywhere, he says. There's a police investigation running, and Jasper is the key witness. Chief Swan has a signed order forbidding them from leaving the city limits of Forks, Washington.
For once, you're doing the right thing, huh, I speak to the ceiling. I must have said it out loud, because all heads snap my way.
I can't suppress my smile.
A/N Okay, thoughts?
Thank you!