I don't own Twilight or any of its' characters

BPOV

Chapter 16

Dr. Patience Juno

"What do you mean he's sick? He was fine earlier today." I asked with a protective edge to my voice.

"He's vomiting everywhere, he can't keep anything we give him down, and he's lethargic." Alice explained, "Edward," she called.

He peered around the corner with his phone to his ear and mouthed the word, 'what?'

"Call the place I work at, they'll take him right away, I'll come with you, give me the phone." He reluctantly handed her the phone. She dialed the number within seconds and was speaking to a receptionist, "Yes, Denise, it's Alice, yeah I know it's my day off, look, my brother just flew in from Alaska, they brought their cat with them and now he's vomiting all over the place, can Patience see him? Great, we'll be right down." Alice hung up the phone and tossed it back to him. "Let's roll, I'll drive."

Once again, I put my coat on and grabbed my purse; Edward disappeared into the house to find Topaz. He returned with him in the carrier, Topaz's eyes looked dim and sad. "Bella, he doesn't look so good. I don't understand, he was fine when I left him." Edward's forehead crinkled up in concern.

"He's probably okay, maybe the flight upset him or something, we'll get him checked out." He nodded and followed me to the car. We took Carlisle's Mercedes, since Alice's Porsche was having work done on it. It didn't take very long to get to Alice's work, about fifteen minutes, we pulled into the long driveway and parked, there didn't seem to be many cars in the lot and I hoped that we would be seen quickly.

We entered the building and Alice immediately went behind the desk and started gathering papers and a clipboard. A middle aged woman with glasses and blond hair approached the counter; I assumed that this was Denise.

"I can't believe you got here so quickly." She said to Alice as she flitted around the counter with her new client paraphernalia.

"Denise, this is my brother Edward and Bella, his girlfriend. She's going to be my sister some day." Alice said keeping the mood light and winking at us.

"I didn't know you had such a large family," Denise gushed.

"I have another brother and a sister too. But, Edward and Bella are my favorites."

"Pleased to meet you," Denise said warmly to the two of us. "We just love having Alice around."

"I wish I could say the same sometimes." Edward cracked with a smile. Denise started giggling and Alice threw a pen at him. She came around the desk and handed me all of the paperwork I needed to fill out, then, like lightening she grabbed the carrier from Edward and started to head toward one of the exam rooms.

"Be right back." Alice stated quickly and disappeared.

I had just about finished filling out all of the paperwork when Alice returned empty handed. "My boss is looking at him right now, they're going to run some blood work and possibly take an x-ray of his abdomen to make sure he's not obstructed, if he's not, then they're going to give him subcutaneous fluids and some drugs to settle his stomach. Is that okay?" it took me a second to take in the run on sentence she had just blurted out, but before I could answer, Edward had heard what she said and processed it.

"That's fine Alice, whatever needs to be done." He said calmly.

"What do you mean if he's obstructed?" I asked, confused, I had absolutely no medical background whatsoever.

"That means that if he got into something he shouldn't have and ate it, it could cause a blockage as it passes through his system, causing him to vomit every time he eats or drinks because nothing can get through to be digested. It's very dangerous." Edward informed me.

"Oh, well let's hope it's not that then."

He put his arm around me and tried to reassure me, "Bella, he's a cat, not a Labrador, what could he have possibly gotten into?"

"Actually, we had a cat come in last week that ate a piece of thread with a sewing needle attached to it and he had to have emergency surgery. When they opened him up they found the thread wrapped around the intestines causing them to necrose and they had to remove like, six inches of his bowel." Alice explained casually.

Edward glared at her and said bluntly, "Alice, not helping."

"Sorry." She said sheepishly, "Do you sew Bella?"

"Umm, no Alice I don't sew." I said in a very obvious tone.

"Then you don't have to worry about him swallowing a needle." She said trying to cheer me up.

"I need to go outside." I said laying down the clipboard and heading to the door, I saw Edward give Alice an annoyed look and follow me out. I sat down on the curb of the sidewalk and sighed, the time was now rounding one o'clock, I hadn't slept, showered, changed or eaten for almost twelve hours. My stomach started to growl. He sat beside me and said nothing, he didn't need to, just being there next to me as he always was, was enough.

I rested my head against his shoulder, ".starving." I muttered.

Edward looked at his watch and said, "You should be, you haven't eaten since dinner last night."

Thanksgiving seemed like it was weeks ago, even though it was only yesterday. I looked around where I was and spied a convenience store across the street from the practice.

"Never in all my years would I have pictured myself sitting at a veterinary office on black Friday, waiting on blood and x-ray results for a cat, a pet, which I share with someone." He chuckled and looked over at me with a smile, "you sure know how to whip a man." I smiled back at him and laughed.

"Go inside," I said getting up, "I'm going to run across the street and grab a snack."

"Fair enough." He sighed heavily as he stood up.

I decided on combos and an iced tea, that would do for now, I threw the money on the counter, headed back to the clinic and reclaimed my seat on the wooden bench beside Edward.

"Topaz Cullen?" A technician called out to the waiting room.

I stood up again and was stopped when Edward gently grabbed the sleeve of my jacket. "Cullen? You put my last name down for him?"

"Well, you are his father." I smirked, before he could argue, I was headed toward the exam room, Edward dutifully followed, Alice close behind.

The technician shut the door behind us and told us the doctor would be right in, taking just a moment to stare longingly at Edward, he smiled, embarrassed, and looked at the floor. He did that so well, the technician blushed and scurried out of the room.

"Who's the doctor?" Edward asked Alice

"Dr. Juno, Patience is what we call her, she's excellent."

"Does she not make public appearances or something?" I asked taking a swig of my iced tea.

"You'll see." Alice said with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

The door opened quietly and the doctor walked in, I almost gasped out loud, her perfect skin and almond shaped eyes led me to realize, she was a vampire. A look of surprise crossed over Edward's face.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Juno." She said with a very calm smile. She looked up and saw Alice and her beautiful smile got bigger. "Alice, what are you doing here on your day off?"

"Patience, this is my brother Edward and his girlfriend Bella, Topaz is their cat. So I guess I'm your patient's aunt."

"So nice to meet you both, Alice talks about you constantly." She reached out a long elegant hand to shake mine and Edward's. She was breathtaking, and extremely exotic looking. She had long black hair that trickled down her back like a dark waterfall, her eyes were not amber, but onyx colored, I wondered if she was thirsty or if that was just what she looked like. She didn't seem troubled at all by my presence. She had perfect skin that was tight around her high wide cheekbones; she had to be part American Indian or Eskimo or something tribal. Her waist was tiny and her hips were wide and muscular, she looked like she could break a man's neck with her thighs. Confidence exuded from her.

Edward looked completely stunned and pleased at the same time. I had never seen him react to someone like that before, a flame of jealousy rushed through me briefly. He reached for her hand to grasp it and another look of surprise came over him. Whatever she was thinking about, it had piqued his interest considerably. More waves of jealously washed over me. Alice looked anxious off in the corner.

"I have the blood work results back, Topaz's liver values are slightly elevated, but nothing I would be concerned about yet. However, the x-ray provided me with most of the information I required to make a diagnosis." She said in a serene but all business tone.

"Did he swallow a sewing needle?" I asked stupidly.

Her throaty laugh tinkled throughout the room, "no, not exactly, he didn't swallow anything he wasn't supposed to but he does have a very unusual disorder." With one graceful movement she threw the x-ray up on the viewer and snapped the light on. "Now, as you can see here…" she started

Edward gazed up at the viewer and spoke before she could continue, "His liver is in his chest."

"What does that mean?" I asked confused now more than ever, I may not have a medical degree, but I knew that the liver was not commonly found in the chest.

Edward knew what it meant, but instead of interrupting again, he let the doctor continue.

"You're exactly right, his liver is in his chest and so is his gallbladder. Your cat has a diaphragmatic hernia. The diaphragm is a wide band of muscle that is found between the lungs and the abdomen. It is an essential muscle that functions to protect the internal organs and allows the lungs to rise and fall when you breathe. When a diaphragmatic hernia occurs, the muscle develops a hole, which in this case, has created an opening in which the liver and the gallbladder have moved up and into the chest."

"So why isn't he having trouble breathing, with all that crowding occurring in his chest?" I asked trying to wrap my mind around all of the information I had just heard.

"I'm not sure, but I can say that I fear his breathing may become affected soon if left untreated." Dr. Juno stated carefully. A concerned look crossed over Alice and Edward's faces.

"Why is he vomiting?" I asked

"The vomiting is part of an inflammatory response caused by the overcrowding, and I also feel that his digestion may be affected due to the tightness around the gallbladder."

"Is this treatable? Is he going to die?" I asked, starting to feel panicked.

Edward put his hand on my waist and said gently, "Bella, he's going to need surgery." He threw a glance toward the vet, "isn't that correct?" he asked.

"Yes, he is going to need surgery."

"Fine, let's do it." I said tersely. Dr. Juno look perplexed by my quick response, she glanced over at Edward and he nodded in agreement with me.

"Before you make that decision, I need to warn you that it is a very risky surgery for an animal at any age, but being that he's so young, he poses a high risk for hypothermia, hypoglycemia, arrhythmias…And the surgery itself is very difficult, someone would have to breathe for him the entire time, and his recovery could take weeks, and usually in situations like this one, I've only seen fifty percent of patients make it through. I want you to think these things over very carefully."

I spun around and looked at Edward intensely, "Edward, he found us, he could have been eaten by an animal or hit by a car or brought to a shelter, but he found us, he found us for a reason, we're meant to help him, we need to do the surgery."

"Bella, Bella," he muttered almost too quickly for me for me to hear, "that's fine, we'll do it, whatever you want."

"You're sure?" I asked, embarrassed by my intensity suddenly.

"I am."

"He'll be alright Bella, I can see it." Alice whispered to me. I saw Dr. Juno snap her a glance and then her expression immediately softened.

"As long as the surgery goes well, Topaz will be fine. He'll be able to live a normal healthy life for all of his days. We've run blood work and we have certain drug protocols for these types of cases. We take every precaution we can. I have the best techs working here that I've seen anywhere, I don't want you to be fearful, but I want you to be aware." Dr. Juno said gently to me, touching my arm.

"I understand." I said calmly, I think she felt bad about upsetting me, she went on to explain the procedure to me and Edward and Alice listened with interest.

Dr. Juno wrote us in the book for the following Monday to schedule Topaz's surgery, she gave him fluids to make up for his losses and get him through the weekend. Alice was delighted that we scheduled the surgery for Monday because she was working, I felt a little more at ease knowing that she would be able to monitor and breathe for him. I left the clinic feeling more at ease even though I knew we weren't out of the woods yet.

"So, um, she seems nice." I said breaking the silence as we drove home.

"She's the best." Alice said with admiration.

"How come you didn't mention you worked for a vampire?" I asked.

"I didn't think it was important." She replied

"A little warning would have been nice." I said bitterly, "I sounded like an idiot in front of her and I just kept staring."

"She didn't notice." Edward chimed in. the gentle motion of the car started to bring back the drowsiness I had been fighting all day. How much more would my mind be able to take? I still had to shower, nap, eat something and go back to the hospital tonight to see Charlie. Some Thanksgiving break this was turning out to be.

I planned to stay with Edward's family until Charlie was released from the hospital which was approximately in two days, as long as he continued to heal properly. We arrived once again at the big open house by the river and I hurried inside when I suddenly got a burst of short lived energy. I grabbed my bag and headed to the bathroom and took the longest shower of my life. I washed the sticky residue of my tears off my face and shampooed my sweaty, gnarled hair twice, I let the warmth of the steam and water fill my lungs and lift away the congestion I felt. I had been in sweat pants all day, in an effort to feel more human and less zombieish, I put on a pair of comfortably worn jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt.

I padded down the hallway to Edward's room and he was lying on his couch waiting for me, Mazzy Star played lowly on the stereo. His eyes lit up brightly when he saw me enter and in an effort to be cute he threw his arms open to receive me. I immediately dropped my dirty clothes and towel on the floor and hurried toward him to accept his invitation.

I laid down facing him and snuggled against his chest, molding my newly showered self against his hard glacial body. He was my rock, my sanity, I couldn't live without him.

"This has been one of the worst days of my life." I mumbled into the soft fabric of his shirt.

"It only gets better love." He said sarcastically as he rubbed my back.

I pulled my face out of his chest and looked up at him and he smiled down at me, his irises were starting to darken slightly, the purple circles were starting to form under his tired eyes. He really wasn't that different from me I thought to myself. Stress took his energy as quickly as it did mine, a meal doesn't last him as long when our lives were in turmoil. He was human enough to me.

"You need to hunt." I said dreamily.

He shrugged his shoulders, "I can still go for a few more days."

"But you shouldn't, it's not good for you."

"True, I shouldn't wait so long, especially when I'm so close to you, but I don't think anything could separate me from you right now." He touched my face lightly, my eyes were still swollen from crying, and he looked pained by it.

I should have insisted that he go out for a little while and get some of his strength back, but I couldn't I needed him to stay with me right now. "Good." I mumbled pushing my face back into his chest.

The mellow sound of the music brought the wave of exhaustion over me rapidly, he probably chose this CD on purpose, so I could fall asleep faster. If he could sleep, he would have been out like a light by now, I could tell. I felt him letting his fingers comb through my damp hair almost absentmindedly, like he was trying to soothe himself as well as me. I felt him tuck his chin against me and rest his forehead against the top of my head. I kissed his chest and squeezed him tighter, and then I fell asleep, finally.

It was dark when I awoke and we hadn't moved all day, it had begun to rain, I could hear it tapping against the glass of the giant picture window in Edward's bedroom. I heard the CD player still playing, Mazzy Star was over, but something just as mellow played in the background. I heard something else, a deep rumble, I moved my head a little and saw Topaz, curled up in a ball on top of Edward's hip, sleeping soundly and purring loudly. Edward looked like a statue that hadn't moved, still with his arms wrapped around me.

"Aren't you uncomfortable?" I whispered, feeling my back tweak a little from being on my side for so long.

"Not at all." He purred.

I had to get up, my body hurt, I slowly got up and stretched, as usual, my undersized shirt, rode up a little in the front, exposing my navel. Edward stretched out his hand and brushed the back of his hand against it briefly. I shot him a startled look.

"Sorry." He said quietly.

"Don't be." I said, smiling, flattered. He smiled back and respectfully retracted his hand back against his body.

"Bella," he started hesitantly, "I have to tell you something, something that I saw today."

I sat down with my back against his hip, Topaz stirred slightly and opened and closed his paw on Edward's leg and fell back asleep. I couldn't help but smile at him.

"Bella?" Edward repeated, taking me away from my distraction.

"What is it Edward?"

"That veterinarian…she's the healer."

"What?" I gasped, Topaz woke up startled and hopped off of Edward and trotted away. Edward sat up quickly.

"I saw her mind, she's the healer."

"It all makes sense now." I whispered, "Everything that Alice said,"

"What has Alice told you?" he asked, I was surprised that he really had no idea what I was talking about, considering how close he and Alice were.

"Alice said before we left for school, that things were going to start to be set in motion at the end of November. She said that we weren't planning to come back for Thanksgiving, but somehow we were going to come back, something unexpected was going to happen that would make us come back."

"Charlie getting shot," He whispered.

"Right, and then Topaz getting sick while we're here caused us to bring him to the vet Alice works for. If we weren't here, if we were in Alaska when he got sick, we would have just had the surgery done out there." I couldn't believe how much fate was playing a hand in the direction of our lives, Topaz found us, Charlie getting shot but not killed, Topaz getting sick, Alice working at a vet, the vet was the legendary healer, Thanksgiving break, everything was falling into place perfectly. Then I remembered Alice's concern about Edward's safety, that unsettling syringe of silvery liquid she gave me, I shuddered at the thought of it. I was beginning to believe that Edward could be become human again.

I looked over at him, he wasn't with me, I could see that his mind was far away, lines of confusion filled his face. Everything about his expression was intense, almost smoldering.

"What do you think of all of this?" I asked.

"I think," he hesitated, looking for the answer, "I think Dr. Juno and I need to have a conversation." He looked at me nervously.

He had doubts, now that the reality of the situation was hitting him, he was having doubts. Whatever he decided to do, I would support him. My thoughts started scattering, I thought about what it would be like if he decided to err on the side of caution and stay the way he was, then maybe someday I could join him. I could be timeless and powerful and stay with him forever, it would be remarkable. We could travel everywhere and learn, and play baseball with his family, and I could finally be included, completely. He wouldn't have to monitor himself so carefully around me. I could be lost in his magical, warm, amber eyes forever. Then my mind switched gears and showed me the human Edward. He could be just like me, we could get married, he could be the father of my child. We would have jobs and a house and we could eat and sleep together. He would be able to dream and go out in the sunlight in front of everyone, not just me, we could live anywhere we wanted. I could be lost in his green human eyes until we reached the end of our life. As long as we were together I didn't care who he was, or what he looked like, I just wanted our lifespan to match up a little more evenly.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Topaz throwing up in the other room. Oh yes, mortality was a grand thing wasn't it? I started to rise from the couch, when Edward gently placed a cool hand on my shoulder, and pushed me back down into my seat.

"I've got this love." He kissed the top of my head and gracefully strode out of the room.

"Edward! Ugh, animals are so disgusting." A voice shrieked from down the hall.

"Sorry Rose." Edward called back to her, before he disappeared down the hall; he turned and winked at me mischievously.