I Own Nothing Twilight

Chapter 22 – Stress (EPOV)

I stayed with her as she slept, gently brushing her hair with my hand. I hoped the soothing action would comfort her even in her unconscious state. She had been out of it for a while, thanks to Jasper's influence, and though I was glad that she couldn't panic or become stressed if she was asleep, I wished she would open her beautiful brown eyes.

Jasper had removed his influence from her almost as soon as she was asleep, but he told me that she was likely to remain unconscious for a few hours. That had been around three hours ago, so I was expecting her to wake soon.

She stirred slightly and her chest expanded as she took a deep breath. I watched her closely, knowing that she was close to waking now, but kept my hand running through her hair

A small frown formed on her face and I longed to smooth it away, though I stayed still so she would not be startled. Her eyes fluttered and slowly, she opened them up to blink at me, sleepily.

"Hey there," I smiled, twirling another strand of her hair away from her face and tucking it behind her ear. She blinked at me and her lips formed a hesitant, shaky smile which I gladly returned. It wasn't long before she found the presence of the needle, though.

Her arm moved and she twitched as she felt the resistance of the IV, her eyes flashing down to the piece of equipment. Faster than I was expecting, her free hand shot out to rip out the needle imbedded in her skin.

As gently as I could, my own hand reached out to grasp hers, restraining her from reaching her target and ultimately injuring herself more. She flinched when I touched her damaged wrist and I winced in sympathy and adjusted my grip slightly without releasing her from my hold.

"It's okay, Angel," I said very softly, trying to be apologetic, "You just need to leave that in there for now. I promise it won't be long before you can have it removed."

She didn't fight me as I moved her hand away and placed it carefully on the bed and she didn't make another move towards the IV either. I looked up and saw that she was frowning at me with sad, pitiful eyes.

I used the tip of my forefinger to tenderly touch the crease between her eyes, watching with fascination as it smoothed out. But my touch didn't remove the look in her eyes that caused my chest to ache in response.

Carefully, I slipped one of my hands into her much smaller one, being wary of the wire protruding from her wrist, and with my other, I cradled the side of her face with my thumb stroking her hair. I hummed a few notes of her lullaby as I stared into her eyes. When she relaxed I stopped and whispered to her, "I promise everything's going to be okay."

She gave me a small smile, but a tiny spot of sadness still lingered in her eyes. I was surprised by the surge of protectiveness that rose inside of me, followed by the helplessness that I couldn't ease her pain; that I was, in fact, causing it.

I stayed silent, holding her hand and tracing invisible patterns on the skin as I thought. It was then that I remembered the locket sitting in my pocket and my eyes lit up. I know the girl saw it as she eyed me curiously and I smiled to her as I reached back into my pocket.

"I have something that I have a feeling you'll want to see," I murmured to her, carefully pulling out the necklace for her to see. Her eyes were on me until the locket came into her view. She switched her gaze to the object before her and I watched the emotions play out on her face.

First, there was surprise, but that quickly flickered to sadness, grief, remorse before finally landing on happiness and hope. She glanced at me swiftly, but then focused on the locket again as I lowered it to place it on the pillow by her head. I waited as she stared at it, until at last her hand reached up and she gingerly picked it up in her fingers.

She cupped it in one of her hands while the other fluttered over the design on the front. Her eyes glistened slightly and I realised that it must be a painful reminder of the life she had before whatever happened to her had happened. I saw her fiddling with the catch, but she didn't seem able to open it.

Her brow furrowed in concentration, but I could see in her eyes she was becoming frustrated and desperate. I felt another pang in my chest as I stretched my hand out, gently placing it in hers as I reached over her fingers to release the catch, my cool skin brushing with hers. Her eyes jumped to mine briefly, but just as soon she was focused on the locket again, only this time it was the photos that she stared at.

I immediately paid more attention to her, curious to see her reaction. She fixated on the two pictures for awhile and I was saddened to see the depth of longing in her face as she tenderly touched underneath each picture with her thumb. It was obvious how much she cared for them and how much she missed them.

If there was any chance that she could be reunited with them, I would make sure it happened, even if it meant losing her. I would do anything to take away that look of sadness in her face, so much so that my own happiness was of little consequence. Despite not knowing anything about her or being able to properly communicate with her, she had become the uninvited focal point of my life. I would do whatever I could to see her happy.

But unfortunately, I couldn't do anything until she spoke to us. We had no way of knowing who her parents were, or even if the two people in the pictures were her parents, until that happened. I sighed quietly, but shrugged the thoughts off, concentrating on the angel before me.

I looked into her face and smiled as I saw a much lighter look on her face: one of love. She looked up at me then and smiled the purest smile I had seen from her yet. It was still small, but it wasn't shaky or just a twitch of her lips, it was a proper smile and one that was reflected in her eyes. I couldn't be more pleased to be the one to bring it to her face.

I smiled back at her brilliantly, shocking her and making her blink in surprise. I resisted a chuckle at the adorable look on her face and she went back to staring at the locket. It clicked quietly in the silence between us as she gently pressed the two halves together, closing it.

"It belongs to you, doesn't it?" I asked softly, brushing her hair again. She looked at me hesitantly and chewed her lip slightly before giving me a tiny nod. I smiled at the conformation, relieved that I hadn't been wrong when I assumed that it was hers, as if her reaction hadn't been confirmation enough.

She closed her hand around the locket and shut her eyes tightly, sighing. I reached forward and brushed my hand over her hair, humming softly. I closed my eyes as well and listened to her taking a deep breath as I inhaled her scent. It was peaceful, I noted, smiling.

Our peace was interrupted, though, when my brother decided to take a visit into my room. The girl stiffened as Emmett opened the door to stick his head around it. "Shh," I murmured as I sat up to face my brother. "What do you want, Em?" I glared at him.

He held his hands up in supplication as he stepped cautiously into the room, his eyes turning curiously to the girl curled up behind me. Surprisingly, there was no sound of protest from the angel, but I could feel the tension radiating from her body as Emmett approached.

Thankfully, my brother seemed to have some sense and stopped before he was too close for her comfort. I wouldn't be happy if he upset her in any way. "I just want to see how she was doing," he explained, "Everyone else has had the opportunity to see her." He gave a slight pout, but the effect was lost as he frowned at the girl.

I saw in his mind that she was watching him with wide eyes, as if expecting him to attack her at any moment. "Can we speak outside?" I asked him, aware of the girl's anxious presence. He nodded and quietly left the room, waiting for me outside the door.

I sighed and shifted my body away from the girl. Her eyes snapped over to me as she stared in alarm. "Shh, it's okay," I soothed, stroking her hair once more, "I just need to speak to my brother, that's all."

She glanced down at her arm, or more specifically, the wire leading from it, and her look was contemplative. Gently, I touched a finger under her chin to bring her gaze back to me. "Don't even think about it," I whispered seriously, "Please, Angel, don't do it."

She eyed me carefully before she sighed and gave a small nod. I smiled slightly in relief and delicately touched her cheek. "I won't be long," I whispered to her. She didn't reply, but her eyes followed me as left the room.

Emmett was waiting for me, his fingers twitching anxiously and a frown upon his face. I looked at him expectantly. "I'm sorry," he said remorsefully, "I know I shouldn't have just come in, especially considering how she's reacted to the others doing that, but I just really wanted to know how she was doing."

I sighed and raked a hand through my hair. I could tell by his thoughts that he was honestly just worried about the girl, so I decided not to give him a hard time about it. "She's alright mostly," I told him, "As okay as to be expected, at least."

"What was that wire going into her arm for?" He wondered

I grimaced as I remembered that. "It's an IV," I replied, "Carlisle set her up on a saline drip to counteract dehydration. He's wanted to do that since we got her, but we couldn't get close to her and he didn't want to freak her out anymore."

His expression flickered and then changed as he stared at me morosely. "It's bad isn't it, her condition?" He asked warily.

My lips thinned with my own anxiety and I gave him a short nod. "She isn't healing properly," I whispered regretfully, "We don't know when she last ate, either. If she doesn't get some proper nutrition into her soon..." I didn't want to finish my sentence.

"She hasn't spoken either, has she?" He guessed sadly, "We haven't heard anything..."

"No," I confirmed, shaking my head, "But she does understand what we say to her and she can communicate certain things like if you ask yes or no questions. So at least we have something."

He nodded thoughtfully. "I still wonder what happened to her. I mean, it must have been bad for her to revert to a feral state like she did, not to mention the marks she has."

"I know," I agreed, cutting him off before he could begin speculating. I didn't think I was ready to think about what had happened to my angel and when I did finally learn the truth, I wanted it to be from her mouth.

Emmett looked at me for a minute before smiling and nodding. "Thanks for letting me know how she's doing, Edward," he said, "We've all been worried about her, even Rosalie. I hope she gets better."

"Me too," I nodded in return. I glanced back at the room and heard Emmett chuckle as he interpreted the move. Go on. Go back to her, he thought, smugly. I narrowed my eyes at him, but gladly took the chance to go back to my angel. "Thanks, Em," I said gratefully.

He headed down the stairs as I turned back to my room and the girl inside. As I closed the door behind me, I chanced a look over to the bed and smiled at the sight. The girl was in her usual position on her side with her eyes closed lightly and her mouth slightly parted.

Still smiling, I moved over to the bed and sat carefully on the edge, leaning closer to the girl. Her breathing was even and nothing seemed different, but something suddenly put my nerves on edge as I looked at her more closely.

"Angel," I whispered softly. She didn't respond and I hesitantly reached my hand out to brush her hair back. When my hand made contact with her skin, though, I hissed quietly through my teeth and frowned worriedly. Her skin was burning hot against my palm as I laid my hand across her forehead. Even I knew that something wasn't right.

A flash of fear shot through me and I shouted out, "Carlisle!" My chest felt tight as I waited for my father, whispering soft comforts to my precious girl all the while. "Hold on, okay, Angel? It's going to be okay," I murmured. How could something like this happen? I thought frantically, I was only gone a few minutes!

Carlisle flew up the stairs, alarmed by my fearful cry. He was by my side in an instant, his reassuring hand on my shoulder. "What's wrong, Edward?" He asked, his eyes already scanning her body for any signs of ailments.

"She's burning up, Carlisle," I whispered, my voice sounding choked. My hand was unconsciously stroking her hair, though this time it was more of a comfort to me than her.

He didn't reply as he placed his own hand against her forehead to gauge her temperature. I saw the way the corners of his mouth turned down and the frown that formed on his face and my heart sank.

He gently turned her over onto her back and began inspecting her. I listened closely to his thoughts and trying to fight back the rising panic. Firstly, he checked the cuts on her feet and then moved onto her wrists, lowering his nose to sniff for the distinctive odour of infection.

There's no sign of infection, he thought, though her immune system is probably really weak right now, so it is possible that she caught a virus of some sort. That thought wasn't encouraging, but he didn't know for sure, I told myself.

Carlisle listened to her breathing and heart rate and removed his little penlight from his pocket to check her pupil reactions. Her normally bright brown eyes, stared ahead dully as he lifted her lids and my heart jerked in my chest. It was almost like the life was gone from her and I really didn't want to think of her that way.

I can't see any other symptoms other than the fever, it doesn't make sense, he muttered to himself. He checked her for everything he could think of, but when his eyes landed on the IV he suddenly froze and his thoughts became unfocused. I tried to concentrate on him closer but I couldn't only make out a few words.

Reaction...IV...impossible.

I waited nervously as he hid his thoughts from me. His hands carefully lifted the arm with the needle in it and he pressed his thumb lightly to the skin above the protrusion. With a sudden curse, he stopped the IV and removed the needle with a practised ease.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he murmured to her unconscious form. I should have listened to Alice, he thought to himself, self-disgust evident in his mind.

He sighed as he stepped back and I looked up at him anxiously. "I believe that, somehow, she's having a reaction to the IV," he said to me gently, "I've removed it for now, so we shall have to wait and see if she'll be okay. I don't want to give her any medication to bring down her temperature, though, in case she has another reaction, but I'll bring up a cool cloth for you. We need to try and lower her temperature."

He turned her onto her side again, facing me, and I placed my hand on her overheated neck and allowed my thumb to softly stroke her jaw line. "So, will she be okay?" I asked worriedly.

His hesitation caused my chest to clench as the anxiety rose. "I think so," he said, frowning. I really hope so, he added silently. His thoughts didn't reassure me at all, showing me his uncertainty. He had never seen anything like this and didn't know what to expect.

I sensed Alice's presence at the door before I heard her open it and peer in. Carlisle looked up at her entrance and smiled sadly, moving over to her side. "I'm sorry, Alice. I should have listened to you," he said to her regretfully.

I moved closer to my angel's still form, my fingers threading into her hair again. I was vaguely aware of Carlisle leaving as I stared at the girl's unresponsive face, silently pleading for her expressive brown eyes to open. Desperation rose in me, followed quickly by dread. I knew that the effects of this fever might be too much for her already weak body and that there was a chance she might not last the night.

"Alice, is she going to be okay?" I begged her fearfully for an answer as I cupped my hand to the angel's face.

She didn't respond straight away and my fear kicked up another notch. "I don't know," she finally said, "I'm sorry, Edward, I can't see clearly again." She sighed despondently and I could sense her frustration.

My eyes burned as my tear ducts pricked, though no tears fell. I kept my gaze on the girl as Alice murmured another apology before quietly retreating from the room.

Carefully, I pulled her too hot body closer to my chest, resting my cheek on the top of her head as I did so. "Please be okay, Angel," I whispered in a choked breath, my lips brushing against her temple, "I need you to be okay."

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A/N: Sorry for the cliffy…. So I know I usually only post one chapter but seeming this is my only day off this week I will be posting two chapters today. I know you are all probably super stoked and I am more than happy to keep my readers happy! I also wanted to let you know that this coming JULY will be super hectic for me. My baby bro is getting married and I have a lot of crap to get done and what not. So please bear with me until late July to early August. I will try my hardest to get chapters up as frequently as I possibly can.