Summary: Waking up in a hospital is scary. Finding out you're there because someone tried to kill you is scarier. Not remembering is scariest. All Bella knows is that someone with green eyes saved her, and she needs to find that someone. AU/AH
Recap: Bella wakes in a hospital and finds out that she has been unconscious for three days after a brutal assault.
A/N: A few more familiar faces show up in this chapter as Bella tries to deal with her current situation. Also, for reference, Temazepam is a tranquilizer/sedative.
Disclaimer: If I owned Twilight, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.
Panic Switch
Chapter 2
As the sun rose, I awoke. I just lay there for a few minutes, watching the pink of the sky fade into gold and then the soft blue of morning. It will be sunny today… I thought. The thought sun was nice... I tried to swing my legs over the side of the bed. A sharp pain tore through my chest and abdomen. I gasped falling back against the pillow. As the pain slowly faded, everything came rushing back.
I'm in the hospital… Someone attacked me… Tears stung in my eyes, why would someone do this?
Stop it, I thought angrily, stop pitying yourself! I sighed and rubbed away the tears with the back of my hand. My stomach rumbled; sighing I pressed the 'call nurse' button.
"Hello dear!" Mrs. Weber called as she bustled in. I smiled and mumbled a weak 'Good Morning'. "I thought you might be a little hungry so I brought you some breakfast!" She brought the tray over; the smell of eggs and sausage hit me hard. My stomach complained again. As Mrs. Weber grinned. I hung my head and started in on my eggs with a blush.
"How did you sleep last night, Bella?" she asked as she moved about, checking machines and marking my chart.
"I slept alright." I mumbled. It was embarrassing to be so weak.
"That's good to hear. I was a little worried that you would have trouble sleeping after the doctor's news." I shook my head and sipped some orange juice. "Oh look! It's sunny out. Let me open that shade more and get some light in here." Mrs. Weber pulled a cord in the corner and suddenly the room was filled with light. I turned my head away and blinked a few times.
"Ahh, much better." I couldn't help smiling with her, the sun felt amazing. When I looked back to my nearly empty tray I almost gasped. In the morning light I could clearly see the cuts and bruises on my arms. The worst looking one was on my right arm and appeared to be several bands of purplish black. I tried to ignore the fear that curled in the pit of my stomach. I placed my hand over the bruises. That's when I realized what the bands were caused by: fingers. Large fingers and a large hand. A man's hand.
"—what do you think?" I looked up to see Mrs. Weber looking at me, a question hanging. I shoved my arm under the blanket.
"I'm sorry… I wasn't paying attention." She just laughed.
"I was letting you know that you will be having some visitors today."
"Visitors?"
"Mmhmm. A detective is coming down from the police department to talk to you and Dr. Cullen will be here later to discuss some things." It took a moment to comprehend what she was saying.
"The police?!" I was starting to hyperventilate. Mrs. Weber rushed over and brushed my hair from my face.
"Yes dear. It's hospital policy that whenever someone comes in with assault wounds, the police are called." I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath. "It's a female detective, of course, Dr. Hale will also be present, and myself if that helps."
I didn't say anything; I just bowed my head and blinked away the moisture in my eyes. It was frustrating to feel so helpless. Even more so to feel terrified all the time without knowing why. I was safe here, that much I knew, but I couldn't keep my heart from jumping into my throat every time someone new showed up.
This is stupid. Stop acting like a little girl. When I lifted my head to look back at Mrs. Weber, I tried to be strong. She looked so worried about me already. She patted my hand and gave me a soft smile.
"I'm so proud of you for being so brave." She moved to the other side of my bed and picked up the tray, "Now, is there anythingelse you need right now?" I opened my mouth to say no, but then realized how atrocious my breath must be. I slapped a hand over my mouth.
"Could I brush my teeth?" I asked through my fingers. Mrs. Weber laughed. I felt myself blush so hard, I was sure I had turned into a giant tomato. She nodded, taking the tray from my room, and returning a few minutes later with everything I would need to brush my teeth in my bed—including a little bucket to spit in. After I brushed my teeth, Mrs. Weber informed me that Dr. Hale and the detective would come around lunchtime.
"You should get some rest in the meantime," she said before leaving, shutting off the lights in the process. I wanted to think about what would happen when they got here but I suddenly felt very tired. I yawned and closed my eyes.
There will plenty of time to think later…
***
When I woke up again, there were voices outside my door. They weren't particularly loud, but I could tell they were arguing. Uncomfortable, I pressed the 'call nurse' button to alert them I was awake. The voices stopped and Mrs. Weber stuck her head in.
"Glad to see you're awake dear. Your visitors are here. Would you like me to bring you some lunch while you speak to them?"
"Yes please."
"I'll go get you lunch. They'll be here in a moment." I nodded and raised my bed. I didn't think I would have much of an appetite, but food was a welcome distraction. The door opened, presenting a stressed-looking Dr. Hale and a tall, beautiful woman. The woman closed the door and brought the chair over to sit by my side.
"Hello Bella, my name is Rosalie." She extended her hand. I took it awkwardly. She had a French manicure. I blushed realizing I had been staring at her hand. The woman, Rosalie, was extremely beautiful. Her long blond hair was pulled away from her face, revealing her exquisite features.
Her clothes appeared to be expensive as well. She wore jeans, designer probably I thought to myself, with a red v-neck sweater and a well cut leather jacket over top. She looked every inch a model, but the badge hanging around her neck said otherwise. By the time I looked back at her face, I realized her ice blue eyes had been watching me carefully. I blushed harder, but she smiled warmly.
"How are you felling today, Bella?" Dr. Hale asked from his position in the corner.
"I'm feeling alright. A little overwhelmed and very tired of being stuck in a bed." I griped, frowning at my blankets. They laughed. Rosalie had just opened her mouth to speak when there was a small knock at the door; a moment later Mrs. Weber appeared, tray in hand.
"Don't mind me, I've just got the food." I smiled, relieved to have her with me. After placing the tray down before me, Mrs. Weber sat down in a chair I hadn't noticed her bring in. On the tray there was a sandwich, egg salad, I smiled, my favorite. There was also a cup of red jello and a bottle of water.
"Bella, why don't you start eating while we get you up to speed," Rosalie said. I nodded and picked up my sandwich, taking a small bite. "Let's see…" She pulled a notebook out of her leather briefcase and glanced at a page. "You were brought in to the emergency room around 11:30 PM on the 14th. The department was called and I came over to take pictures for evidence before you went into surgery. Jasper went over your injuries, correct?" I nodded, blushing from the thought of the pictures.
"After that you were unconscious for three days. You woke up yesterday evening around 10 o'clock. Today is the 18th.Does this sound right?" Dr. Hale and Mrs. Weber nodded. They must have noticed my discomfort because Mrs. Weber squeezed my left hand gently. Rosalie smiled at me reassuringly. "Other than that, we know nothing. We were hoping you could answer some questions. Is that alright?"
"Okay." My voice cracked a little. I grabbed my water bottle and took a gulp.
"Alright, let's start off with your full name."
"Isabella Marie Swan." I sounded a little less anemic this time.
"Where were you born?"
"Forks, Washington." Some surprise flashed in Mrs. Weber's voice. I'll ask her later.
"Birthday?"
"September 13th, 1985."
"Friday the 13th?" Rosalie asked with a smile. I felt my face flame up and nodded. The three of them shared a small chuckle.
"Current address?" I frowned, trying to remember.
"177 Long Street, apartment 201." Dr. Hale took a sharp breath, everyone looked at him.
"She was picked up on the corner of 3rd and Long." He said tensely, looking at Rosalie. She nodded and whipped out her phone. After hitting a button she strode over to the door, muttering fiercely.
"What's going on?" I asked, nervous. Dr. Hale looked at me sadly.
"You were found after the assault very close to your apartment," he said quietly. Suddenly it all made sense.
"So it happened there?" My voice broke at the end and Mrs. Weber squeezed my hand. He nodded. Rosalie snapped her phone, sitting back down again.
"I sent a couple of guys over to your apartment to check it out."
"Won't they need a warrant?" Dr. Hale asked.
"Not if my hunch is correct."
"Your hunch?" Mrs. Weber was the one to ask this time. Rosalie grimaced and looked me in the eyes.
"Based on your injuries when you came in, I'm pretty sure you lost a fair amount of blood. If there's any blood around or leading to your apartment they'll have probable cause, no warrant needed." I shivered at the thought.
"Do you need a blanket Bella?" Mrs.Weber asked. I shook my head no, still looking at Rosalie.
"Now Bella, I need to know what you remember." I swallowed hard and nodded.
"The last thing I remember was going to bed that night." Rosalie jotted something on her notes.
"Do you know approximately what time that was?" I closed my eyes and thought back.
"Around 9 o'clock. I had pulled an all-nighter studying for my last final the night before."
"Were you expecting anyone that night?" I shook my head.
"I went out for drinks earlier that afternoon with friends to celebrate the end of finals, they wanted me to come dancing with them but I called it a night."
"Does anyone else have a key to your apartment?"
"No one other than my landlord." Rosalie frowned.
"Bella, do you remember anyone being upset with you? Or if anyone had expressed wanting to cause you harm?" My mind swum, and everything became a blur. Did someone want to hurt me? Why would they do something like this?
Why?
Arms were around me, rocking me back and forth. I could feel my body shaking with sobs but my mind felt numb.
Why?
I wanted to scream, I wanted to shake them and demand why someone would do this to me. My body convulsed and I vaguely registered that I was screaming.
Why?
"Sedate her before she hurts herself!"
Why?
I felt myself thrash harder against the tranquilizer that was moving through my system. 'No, I need to know why' I wanted to say but it only came out as a moan.
The darkness was coming.
Why?
And then I was gone.
***
It was like some sort of awful déjà vu. I could hear the beeping. My body felt like lead. But this time there was no choking. And I wasn't alone.
There was a small person in the corner, leaning over some papers on which they were writing, humming and slightly bobbing their black head. My body tensed and the beeping sped up. The black head whipped up and the small person came over quickly. It was a girl—no, a woman, she was very short, probably even shorter than me. She dragged the chair over and smiled at me.
"Hi, I'm Alice!" Her voice was light and feminine. Strangely, I felt myself relax. "You must be Bella." She had such a large smile on her face; I couldn't help but give a small smile back.
"Yes." I didn't think it was possible, but her smile seemed to have grown.
"It's nice to meet the girl Jazz and Rose were fighting about," she chirped. "I came by earlier and they were having world war three over what to do with you. Jazz was yelling at Rose for pushing you too hard. And she was screaming that they needed to work fast to catch the creep that did this to you. I quote: 'We're never going to learn anything if you keep acting like the god damned angel of temazepam!'" Alice giggled at my shocked face.
"Jazz? Do you mean… Dr. Hale?"
"Yep!" She paused " I guess I should introduce myself properly," she straightened up and put on a serious face. "I'm Dr. Cullen, you may call me Alice." She looked so serious, I couldn't help but laugh. Alice tried to give me a stern look, but a moment later she burst into laughter too. It wasn't really that funny, but we kept laughing for a good while. By the time we had calmed down to sporadic giggles, tears were running down my face. Alice handed me a tissue and I wiped away the moisture.
"Thank you, Alice," I said, serious again, "that felt good. This is the first time I've felt like me since waking up." I couldn't help the blush that crept up my cheeks. She smiled.
"You know what?"
"What?"
"I was sent here to talk to you, psychiatrist to trauma victim," I wasn't entirely surprised by that, "but what I think you really need is a friend." This, however, did surprise me and I sat there with a dumb look on my face, head cocked a little to the side.
"I'm thinking you're a fairly shy and private person. You usually only rely on yourself when things happen. So I think you probably don't need professional help. You just need someone you can trust and talk to: a friend." I was shocked, after only a few minutes with me, Alice had me pegged.
"Oh, don't give me that look," she said, "I'm a psychiatrist, I'm supposed to be able to do that." She looked so proud of herself. I started to giggle again. She flashed me a triumphant smile. "So Bella, friends?" She stuck out a hand. I took it with a smile.
"Friends." I agreed.
"Alright then, I believe you need to get out of this room. It's sunny out, let's get a tan."
"But there's someone guarding my door."
"Don't worry about that. Now," she reached down and pulled a pile of fabric out of a bag, "here are some scrubs. I'm going to grab a wheelchair and I'll be right back to help you change." She frowned. "And I'll have Caroline take that IV out, you shouldn't need it anymore."
Alice swept out of the room and I gingerly picked up the scrubs. Out of the folds tumbled a cotton sports bra and underwear. I blushed, but was relieved. The door suddenly opened and Mrs. Weber came in, followed by Alice pushing a wheelchair. My cheeks flamed when I realized I was sitting there with a pair of underwear in my hands.
Neither of them seemed to care though. Mrs. Weber came over and removed the IV and catheter. I turned my head away as it came out; I hated needles. Meanwhile, Alice was shutting off the heart monitor and removing the 'grippy' from my finger. I was surprised by how serious they were, until I saw the gleam in Alice's eye as she winked to Mrs. Weber, who smiled back conspiratorially.
"Alright, now for the difficult part. We're going to help you change Bella, try not to feel embarrassed." I nodded, a little apprehensive at them seeing me naked. But once again, they didn't seem to mind at all. Mrs. Weber untied my hospital gown and helped me put on the sports bra. It hurt to lift my harms and my torso was bruised and sore, but the bra was comfortable and soft. Over top went the dark blue scrub shirt. I tried not to blush when Alice helped with the underwear and pants; it hurt to bend over so I didn't really have a choice. Finally I was dressed. It felt wonderfully human to be in real clothes again.
"Time to get you out of that bed!" Alice chirped. She lowered the left rail and moved the wheelchair next to the side of my bed. "Alright Bella, I need you to scoot your butt over this way and let your legs hang over the edge." I used my right arm to help as I began to scoot. Each movement hurt, but I refused to show my pain. I was at the edge moments later, I smiled, proud of myself.
"Great!" Alice said, " Now, I'm going to help you into the chair. You're going to put your left arm over my shoulders and I'm going to lift from your waist and knees. Use your arm to help lift, okay?" I nodded. "On three. One, two… three!" I was suddenly in the air then just as quick I was sitting in the wheelchair. I grinned and Alice and I shared a little high-five.
"Oh, we're missing something!" Mrs. Weber said suddenly. I gaze her a confused look. From Alice's bag, she procured a pair of socks and a pair of slip on Keds. "We don't want your toes to get cold." She said cheerfully. Mrs. Weber and Alice each took a foot. After she was done, Alice handed me a pair of sunglasses.
"It's a disguise," she giggled, "plus it's sunny out." I felt a little ridiculous wearing sunglasses indoors, but at the same time, I was exhilarated. "Now we're ready to go!" Mrs. Weber opened the door and Alice pushed me out into the hallway.
"Dr. Alice, what's going on here?" A voice asked, making me jump. An older man sat to the left of the doorway, holding a book and giving Alice 'the look'. She tittered.
"I'm taking Bella out for a stroll in the sunshine, John." She said cheerfully. "Bella, this is John. John, Bella." I stuck out my hand with a slight smile.
"Nice to meet you John," I said. John took my hand and kissed my knuckles.
"It is my greatest honor to meet the fair princess who was saved from the dragon." I blushed at his words and Alice and Mrs. Weber laughed.
"John likes his share of fairytales and romances. He's always reading some silly story or another." Mrs. Weber said with a laugh. John looked offended.
"It's okay John, I'm a sucker for the classic romances. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite," I said, feeling sorry for the man. He gave me a broad smile.
"Now John, we need to get going. We're burning daylight." Alice said.
"Dr. Alice you can't take her out there. I'm supposed to be protecting her."
"But," I spoke up, "if someone was looking for me, they would know I wouldn't be allowed out of my room and would look for me here. So actually, taking a walk with Alice would be the safer route." Alice clapped her hands in glee.
"You can't argue with her logic, John." She leaned down and said to me, in a softer voice, "I knew we'd be the best of friends!"
"Well…" John conceded, "If you're going to take her out there then she's going to need a jacket." With a grin he grabbed his heavy leather coat and wrapped it around me. "Don't have her out there too long, if she gets a cold Dr. Jasper will have my head!" We shared a laugh. I couldn't imagine Dr. Hale hurting a sweet old man like John.
Mrs. Weber and John said their farewells and Alice began pushing me through the building. I snuggled myself into John's coat, the smell of the leather reminded me of happier times, before Charlie died.
"How are you doing pain-wise?" Alice suddenly asked. I hadn't been paying attention.
"I'm alright, I think all the excitement is helping block it out." I didn't like to admit I was in pain, but my instincts told me that if I lied, Alice wouldn't be very happy.
"Let me know if it gets worse. I have your medicine with me." I nodded. We didn't chat a whole lot on our way. Alice pointed out the different areas and departments we passed. I think she enjoyed being my tour guide. Every so often someone would stop and say hello to Alice, then inquire after me. Alice introduced me as 'Izzy', John's niece who had taken a tumble while making rounds with Alice. Her ease with telling the lie was amazing. I had to wonder how often she spirited patients out of their guarded rooms for a stroll.
I hadn't realized how huge the hospital complex was. It took at least 15 minutes and three different elevators before we arrived at the gardens. It was gorgeous outside. There were so many patients and nurses milling about that no one gave me a second glance. Alice pushed me over to a secluded area. We were surrounded by tall butterfly bushes. The air was sweet and fragrant and the sun felt glorious on my skin. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, letting the sun warm my face.
My nose started to itch and I opened my eyes to swat away whatever was tickling me. Orange. I gasped and the orange disappeared. The monarch butterfly flew off, landing on a nearby bush. Alice giggled next to me. I turned to her, practically bouncing in my seat.
"Did you see that?!" I exclaimed. She laughed.
"Yep. But I thought for sure you would sneeze or smack the poor thing!" I gave her a disparaging look. "Your face was all scrunched up, you looked so annoyed!" She broke into laughter and I joined in a moment later. After we had calmed down, we sat there for a while, just enjoying the weather. It was peaceful and relaxing. I began to forget where I was all together until a cool breeze made a shiver.
"Bella?" I looked at Alice; she was looking at her hands. "We need to talk about what happened." Suddenly I was very cold and I pulled John's coat tighter around me.
"I know." My voice was soft.
"I'm going to ask you some questions and I want you to answer them like you're talking to a friend. Remember, there aren't any right or wrong answers, okay?" I nodded. "Do you know where you are?"
"Yes" I was a little confused at her question.
"Alright. Now, do you know how you got here?"
"I was brought in," I frowned, "because someone attacked me."
"Mmhmm. Bella, why would you let someone into your apartment late at night?"
"It happened at my apartment?" My eyes widened a little.
"Yeah, Rose said that her team had found your apartment torn apart. It looked like no one had been there since." We were quiet for a moment.
"So it really happened…" My voice was almost a whisper.
"Yes."
"A part of me thought this was all a big mistake, that I had tripped down some stairs or something. I've always been clumsy, always in and out of the emergency room…" Alice didn't say anything for a minute.
"That night… were you asleep?"
"Yes." I was no longer in the garden—I was back in my apartment, in bed.
"What happened?"
"Someone knocked on my door, no… they were pounding. It scared me… I thought it was the police… that something bad had happened…"
"Did you get up?"
"Yeah, it was so loud. I went to the door…"
"Did you look out the peephole?"
"Mhmm… but I couldn't see anything. I thought it was some kids playing around, so I opened the door…"
"Who was there?" The memory, which had been so clear, blurred, my mind began to spin. I felt a cry well up in my throat. Alice's arms were around me then, holding me, and rocking us back and forth. Tears poured down my cheeks.
Who was there? My mind kept repeating the question over and over…
"Bella!" Alice's hands were on either side of my face, forcing me to look her in the eyes. "Bella, close the door, you need to close the door." I wanted to vomit. My head kept spinning.
"Close the door, Bella. You're safe!"
Safe.
Close the door, my mind echoed. Everything came to a sudden stop. The door had closed. I was fine. I was back in the gardens. Alice was looking at me intently. I took a shaky breath and focused my gaze. She smiled.
"Better?" She asked softly. I nodded slowly; something about her eyes was familiar. It wasn't the hazel… She had a strange ring of gold around the pupil. I had seen that same ring somewhere else…
Alice's phone began to buzz on the bench, surprising us. She grabbed it and walked a few feet off. Several moments later she came back, looking tense.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Our little outing has been discovered, we need to get back so I can do some damage control."
***
I was quiet on our way back to my room. Part of me dreaded going back there, but another part of me was grateful to hide there, away from the memories. Even though I didn't like to admit it, I knew I was afraid of what would come in the next few days. Even the thought of the next few hours seemed daunting. My world had turned upside down in the space of a few days…
"Uh oh." Alice's small exclamation brought me back. We were already in my hall, not that I would have known that except for Dr. Hale, Mrs. Weber, John, and Rosalie standing outside my door.
"I'm sorry but you simply cannot see her until your alibi checks out." Dr. Hale was practically shouting at a fifth person. A huge man stood with them, face bright red, looking like he was going to strangle each and every one of them.
"If you don't let me in there I'm going to smash that pretty blonde head of yours," the man growled at Dr. Hale taking a step forward. He towered over the doctor; he had to be at least 6'6".
"You're really not helping your case." Rosalie didn't seem all that concerned, mostly annoyed. I glanced at Alice's tense face, realizing she was pulling me backwards away from the hall.
"Young man, I'm not going to ask you again to step away." John was in front of the man now, puffing his chest up, but he looked old and weak in comparison.
"Don't make me hurt you old man!" The man started towards John, his hand clenched in a fist.
"No!" The word had escaped my mouth before I knew what was happening. Everyone became rigid, then the man turned to me. I could hear Alice swearing under her breath, ready to run us away.
"Bells!" There was relief in the man's eyes, he no longer looked angry. But as soon as he took a step forward, John had whipped out his tazer.
My eyes widened in alarm as the behemoth of a man came crashing down to the tiled floor. Unconscious.
*******************************
A/N: Now there are two men, or are they one and the same? Don't worry, it won't be long until we meet Bella's savior, but I'm sure you already know who it is.
Please review! Thanks!