Disclaimer: Don't own…don't care…this is a fanfiction…get over yourselves.
A/M: IRREGULARLY QUICK UPDATE…yet rather short…but I didn't want to stretch this chapter too far.
Chapter Four
Jacob leaned forward in his chair, waiting for Anna to explain why they were in a hospital.
"Look, Jake, I don't want to loose you." She said hesitantly.
Jacob straightened up and looked her right in the eyes, worry was etched over his normally laid back features. It made him look even older than his werewolf frame did. "Anna, nothing you could say or do would make you loose me."
"Jake," she started, then she changed her mind. "May I be blunt?"
Jacob's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "By all means."
"I'm dying." She breathed looking down and away at her painted fingernails. Jacob let out a loud exhale. "Cancer." She explained. "Doctor Cullen is doing so much for me, but it's not likely I'll live." Now she was rambling.
"Don't ever say that." Jacob growled. "I'll be right back, don't do anything." He jumped up and exited the room slowly. He walked to the desk at a pace irregular for him. He had to keep his emotions in check.
"Hi there, what can I help you with?" a helpful nurse asked from the desk.
"I need to talk to Doctor Cullen." He insisted.
"Which one dear, you'll have to be more specific." The nurse replied. "There are three Doctor Cullens."
"Jacob Ephraim Black." A slow, feminine voice said behind me. I felt my face fall and I spun on my heel to face her.
Bella.
"I'd hug you, but the hospital smells bad enough." Jacob said greeting her cheekily.
"So what's your connection to Anna Call?" Bella said, skipping pleasantries, or maybe she had said something that he had missed.
"She's Embry's cousin, Emily's friend, and uh…" he muttered the last part. "My imprint."
"Jacob, I love how you think I can't hear you when you mumble." She sauntered past him to the desk where she handed the helpful nurse a clipboard. "Miss. Call needs to be moved when someone gets a chance, she's more than stabilized and we're re-admitting her." She turned back to Jacob. "I'm happy for you," she smiled. "Just know that having Anna as your imprint will not be easy. You may want to avoid the hospital for a week or so." She was handed another clipboard and headed back towards Anna's room. Jacob followed her silently.
Outside the door, Bella turned to him and smiled a gorgeous – possibly dazzling – smile. "I really am happy for you." She clarified and opened the door.
Her whole body changed when she saw Anna again, it was business-like and maternal at the same time. A combination only a vampire could manage. "Anna, they're gonna move you later, okay?" She asked, Anna eyed me warily and Bella's head turned so fast I almost didn't see it move until her eyes were staring at me like they could rip me apart. "And we're re-admitting you," Anna groaned. "We'll see how you handle this week and then, if you do well, you'll only have to come to us once every week."
Anna grumbled, possibly something about gas prices, but Jacob didn't hear it exactly, he only watched her face, trying understand the pain and regret etched there. Trying to translate it.
"Wait a sec!" Jacob said suddenly as he remembered a certain phrasing. Both Bella and Anna jumped. He hadn't known their switch in position or the fact that she was drawing blood through a needle. "Be – Doctor Cullen," He said, stopping himself from calling her a familiar name. "You said you were re-admitting her, don't her parents have to do that or Embry?"
"My parents –" Anna started bitterly, no doubt a rant was on its way.
"Anna's parents wish to be involved as little as possible with Anna's cancer." Bella finished, cutting her off.
"I was going to say that they are heartless people who think I'm better off dead." Anna grumbled, Bella smiled sympathetically and went around to the other side, to draw blood again. "What are you doing anyway? You think my blood might be different on different sides of my body? Why not check my feet?"
"Standard procedure, Anna," She reminded her. "If you'd like me to draw more blood I'm sure I could manage, but for the time being this is all that I need." She smiled cheekily at me and I frowned. "Anna, did you know that Jacob and I used to know each other?"
"Yah," Anna nodded. "I did actually." That had nod been the response Bella had been going for, her face dropped into realization and she pivoted to Jacob.
"Oh."
"Should they really be letting you draw so much blood?" Bella shot a dark look in his direction, Jacob just smiled innocently, and Anna chuckled lightly under her breath.
Bella didn't reply to him, but he swore he heard under her breath: "I'll do damage this time." To which he let out a booming laugh, Anna stared at him skeptically but he shook his head in a 'you don't want to know' fashion.
"Well, Anna, I'm off, I'll see if a nurse can get your test results back to you sooner rather than later and I'll see to it that Edward moves you to the other room." She winked at Anna like they were sharing some personal, inside joke. Anna's eyes widened and a small, blush induced smile spread across her face, and then Bella was gone.
Jacob resumed his spot next to Anna, ignoring the smell that her doctor left behind. "What's up with your parents?" he asked, searching her face yet again.
She seemed hesitant to answer after the way he took the last bit of bad news. "I'm originally from South Salem, New York." He gasped. She was a long way from home. "When I was diagnosed with cancer they sent me away, claiming that Seattle had the best cancer facility available. Embry's been in and out visiting me every so often but it's hard for him. You understand of course." Jacob nodded along, trying not to get angry.
How could anyone just let this girl go, this perfectly innocent and pure young woman slip through their fingers because of a disease that may or may not kill her.
"They haven't visited in a while, last I heard they were trying to get pregnant again." She smiled. "That's why I don't mind Claire and Meg and Katy so much, I have two little sisters who were just devastated when I had to leave." She was almost talking to herself now, but probably still aware enough to edit out deep emotions. "I bet that Kelly doesn't even know who I am, or if I'm still alive." She gave Jacob a weak smile. "Kelly was 3 when I left 5 years ago." She did the math in her head. "I was ten and now she's 8. And my other little sister, Logan, is 12 or 13 now." she gave Jacob another a weak smile and she was crying slightly. "I guess seeing Claire, Megan and Katy all together reminds me of what could have – what should have been" Jacob took her hand, she seemed confused by this action, but she didn't pull it away. In fact, her hand clutched his with a surprising amount of force, but Jacob hardly felt it.
"I can't believe anyone could ever want you out of their lives for so long." Their fingers slowly intertwined.
Anna frowned. "You're just saying that because it's your genetic destiny to love me unconditionally."
Jacob flashed a smile then was serious again. "No, I'm not!" he insisted.
"So you just go up and intertwine your fingers with random young women in hospitals dying of cancer, rightfully calling their parents idiots?"
"You," Jacob said, cradling her face with his free hand, staring into her eyes. His eyes twinkled slightly as he gathered what he was going to say next. "You are far from random."
A/M: I'm sorry! Horrible! Short! Chapter! Well, I can't say I actually agree with that…I find it to be a very well written short chapter. And the story is not over, just clearing that up right now! There's so much more that I've got going in my brain…at least 3 or 5 more chapters worth.
Reviewers:
Maximum Potter: Thanks and I tried to make it hard to suspect, I can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter, short though it may be.
Phlowergirl: Don't you hate it when those damned chapters just run out? And thanks so much! It means a great deal to me!
TheCrzyinglyInsane1: Haha I'm so glad you like this story! I thought Breaking Dawn was a good book but as part of the series it had a huge Fail.
OECD: I hope this clears up anything that was giving you a freakin' seizure last time!
Brand new to fanfiction: Thank you so much for your review, I don't know if you're reading this or not but it means so much to me that someone actually read my work instead of saying "great chappie…update soon!". I really appreciate it and, you sound like an English teacher!