Chapter 5 too many machines

Disclaimer: the characters and all recognisable situations belong to Stephenie Meyer - this is a work of fan fiction, except for the legends and histories of the Quileute and the Makah that, of course, belong to them. I pay my respects to their gods.

Thanks to BanSidhe for betaing.

Raven arrived

Raven arrived the next day and settled herself in to stay with Embry and Rachel. They had built a guest room in their little apartment at the back of the ABC garage. The apartment was simply furnished and pretty sparse. Rachel would never let Embry spend money on stuff unless they really needed it.

Raven brought a quilt with her that she had started to make when Marlena was pregnant with Embry. She had never finished it because they had lost touch, but like most quilters, she had it stashed away unfinished in a box somewhere. She had found it and finished it for him. Rachel assured her it was too beautiful to go on a bed and would have to be hung on the wall in pride of place. She didn't try to tell her the last thing Embry needed on his bed was extra bedding. He could see it and think of his grandmother if it was hung on the wall.

Raven tracked Leah down and asked her why they were so interested in this family.

Leah told her about the accident and being the first person at the scene.

"They were coming back to Neah Bay for a reason; I just wondered if it was something the council should know about. You know, if they have made a booking to talk to them or something…"

Raven studied her. She frowned. "What is going on, Leah?"

She shrugged.

"Don't give me that…" Raven glared at her. "I tell; you tell."

"I'd have to check with Jake," Leah conceded.

"Hmm," said Raven. "Jake? Surely you meant Charlie Swan? The sheriff?"

Leah didn't answer her, but she had a trapped look on her face.

Raven stated, "I will let you off for now... but I willfind out."

Leah didn't blink.

"It's the girl," Raven said suddenly. "I found out that the Hoburns had petitioned the tribal elders for a private meeting."

"A private meeting? That's not usual, right?" Leah paused, "I mean our tribal council doesn't do that often… so… I assume yours is pretty similar."

"No, it is unusual," confirmed Raven.

"So it's Rose?" prompted Leah.

"They wanted to ask the council about something weird she has experienced. Something that has only happened recently."

"She's seventeen," guessed Leah. She was thinking that most of the wolves had phased at around that age or younger, so if something freaky had happened with Rose it might have shown up at a certain age.

"So?"

"Oh, nothing. Puberty and all that." Leah tried to look innocent.

Raven looked even more suspicious.

Seth's first visit

The first time Seth visited the hospital, Leah brought him. She was in uniform so she carried that mantle of authority with her. Seth realised that Leah now almost permanently gave off a 'fuck with me and you die' aura; but it was more subtle than it used to be. He smiled at the thought that Jake's subtlety might literally be rubbing off on her; they rubbed each other together often enough.

She introduced them both at the nurses' station and asked if they could visit Rose Hoburn.

Seth had brought some flowers. A nurse walked them to her private room.

As she entered the door, she started talking.

Seth thought that was weird, she was unconscious right?

"Good afternoon Rose," she said. "It's Valerie Spinelli again. Guess who has visitors today? I will give you a hint. It isn't me." She leant over the bed conspiratorially, "And one of them is a cute boy. Do you know him?" She checked and fiddled with some of the monitors by the bedside. "And you remember Deputy Clearwater."

"Why do you do that?" asked Seth.

"Do what? Talk to her?"

"Yeah."

"She's not dead." She said it as if it was completely obvious that she was not dead. "She's not even 'asleep' technically. She can hear everything we say. So don't talk over her as if she isn't here. Some people think coma patients can see everything too. I don't think she is at that stage yet. She hasn't even opened her eyes." The woman looked at Rose and smiled. "I just treat her exactly like all the other patients. She's just a bit quieter, that's all." She brushed Rose's hair off her forehead.

"Did she bang her eyes?" asked Seth. Rose was sporting two black eyes.

"We call that 'raccoon eyes'," Valerie explained, "It's a frequent occurrence with a brain bleed. The blood ends up in the face and it shows most obviously around the eyes."

She reached for the bunch of flowers. "Let me find a vase for those."

"Sure, sure," Seth replied.

He approached the bed tentatively. "Jesus, look at her Leah. She's a mess."

"Typical, little brother. You are making a mistake already. Didn't you hear what she just said?"

He looked flummoxed. "Oh," as he realised. "Sorry Rose," he apologised.

Leah studied the girl on the bed. She was a mass of bruises. Tubes were everywhere; down her throat; in her arms, running out from under the sheets. Her shoulder was bandaged.

There were machines all around the bed. One breathed for her and had a tube running out of it and into her mouth. Another machine had a wire to the top of her head to measure intracranial pressure. More wires came out of her chest and to a monitor screen. An IV stand fed through another machine and into a cannula going into the vein inside her elbow. Her legs were wrapped in plastic leg wraps that inflated and deflated through tubes from yet another machine. Leah assumed they were to help prevent blood from pooling in the legs and forming blood clots that could kill her. More tubes fed into what looked like a bag of urine hanging on the side of the bed.

She looked worse than she had yesterday. Maybe the bruising had intensified.

"I hate hospitals," Leah said.

"Yeah, me too. It's the smell. Bleach, disinfectant and death."

The nurse Valerie returned with the vase full of flowers. "Why don't I put it here where you can smell them?" she asked the patient. "You were first on the scene weren't you Leah?" asked Valerie.

"Yes, I was. I guess I have taken a personal interest in this girl." Leah looked embarrassed. "She touched me, you know, she's so young… to be like this."

Seth could not believe it. He knew Leah was just here because he had asked her to be. This performance was Oscar worthy. He hoped he was not ruining it by having his jaw hang open in shock.

Leah continued, "I know her mother is pretty stressed right now, so I wondered if it would be okay if my brother Seth visited with Rose." She waved airily at Seth to introduce him. "I understand that personal contact can help a coma patient and I just don't have the time to do it myself. He's my proxy." Leah smiled nervously.

Seth was speechless.

"That's true," agreed Valerie. "And he is pretty decorative." She gave Seth a look. "I have no objections if it is okay with her mother. She will want to meet him though. She should be back in a few minutes."

"Ask her, the next time you see her, if you are concerned," suggested Leah reasonably.

"I will do that," Valerie stated. She left with a final comment to Rose.

Leah and Seth waited for Winona to return. Leah kept glancing at her watch as if she really had other places to be. Seth knew she hated hospitals too.

Winona arrived and Leah introduced her to Seth. She held his hand and studied him hard. Leah went with the prepared story about her needing extra help and that she had asked Seth to help her as she was working and he was closer to Rose's age.

Seth felt like Winona had x-ray eyes; maybe it was a parent thing. However, at some point, she made a small nod and it was agreed; he could visit. She had to see the car insurers, and she had no idea how long it would take. Seth agreed to stay until she got back.

Winona left with a final balancing glance at Seth.

"Right," said Leah, "I'm off back to the station. Don't fuck this up."

"Jeez Leah, what do you think I am going to do?"

"No idea. Just don't…"

She left.

She got back to the police station just in time to hear Charlie on the phone.

"Yes, I know Seth Clearwater. He's almost my stepson; well at least he is the son of my girlfriend…"

Leah cringed. Just hearing it made her shudder. Ughh parental sex… double ughh.

"Absolutely I will vouch for him… sure… not a problem… you ladies do your jobs well… yes… you too… good day."

He hung up and gave Leah a look.

"Aah," she blustered. "I asked Seth to help sit with that girl… Rose? Visitors and personal contact are supposed to help coma patients and her mother is all alone. I phoned Raven Call and she will come down to hold her hand as well."

"Hmmm," said Charlie.

He let her get away with it, but she had no doubt that Charlie would be watching. She prayed Seth did not fuck this up… any further…

Meanwhile… back at the hospital …

"So," Seth started, "you don't know me. My name is Seth Clearwater."

He reached for her hand and shook it as if he was being introduced. It was hard with all the tubing and the cannula in her arm.

"Pleased to meet you Rose."

Silence. Her eyes were closed.

"I brought you some flowers. Can you smell them?"

He pulled one out of the vase and held it under her nose.

"See?" he asked her. "I suppose that should be 'smell'."

"Maybe next time I could get stinkier ones. No that wasn't what I meant… I meant… more perfumed… not stinky."

He put the flower back in the vase and perched on the edge of her bed. He held her hand again.

"I'm really sorry you got hurt. You were in a car accident. You might not remember."

He settled in to have a quick chat to her. The nurses watched him. Charlie's word was good, but not good enough for them. He didn't do anything weird. They decide to keep an eye on him anyway. Rose was young and female; they worried.

He could hear them discussing him. He decided he should cut it short for a first visit. Plus he could hear her mother talking to the doctor in the hallway.

"I could come again tomorrow? If you wanted?" he pretended as if she had answered in the affirmative. "Excellent. Let's do that. So, it's a date. Well not a date… you know… shit Seth… get it together…"

He breathed out and calmed himself.

He picked up her hand again, and gave it a gentle squeeze. "So I'll see you tomorrow Rose."

And he left with a wave at Winona. He stood in the stairwell and tried to pull himself together with some deep breaths, when he heard Valerie talking to Rose again. "My, my girl. You do get the cutest visitors. Well, let me see... he's very tall, and very Native American, very built, but he looks like he still has some growing to do... now that is a scary thought, if he is going to get bigger... how big? He must be a big bit over 6 ft, I'd say 6 ft 3 at the least … and he has the nicest eyes... soulful? Is that the word... okay... you sleep now and I will check on you later."

At least he knew he had made a positive impression upon the nursing staff.

FF_2154210_ - 13/03/2011 01:03:00 PM

FF_2154210_ - 30/08/2011 08:55:00 PM