Chapter 24:
Jacob POV:
I slept another night in the chair next to Bella's bed. Man I can't wait to get home and sleep in our new big bed. I stretched out my aching muscles and rolled my head to work out the kinks in my neck. I looked over at Bella to see she was still asleep.
I needed to use the bathroom, so I stood up and walked out of the room as quietly as I could. I told the nurse where I was going then headed down the hall. I used the bathroom, washed up a little, then decided to walk to stretch my legs out a little. I ended up in the cafeteria to get a cup of coffee and a couple of donuts. The coffee wasn't a whole lot better than what was in the waiting area, but it was hotter. I took the stairs back up to the fourth floor, where Bella's room was, eating a donut as I went along. Before I got to the room, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I opened the phone and looked at the caller ID. It was Embry. "Hey Embry, what's up?" I answered.
"Hey Jake! You surprised me, I didn't expect you to answer. I was just going to leave a voice mail. Just wanted to call and see how you're doing. How's Bella?"
"Better. The ultrasound looked good and her vitals keep improving so we might be able to come home today," I told him.
"Awesome! I wanted to let you know that your dad gave me a key to your house, so Quil and Seth and me took all of your wedding presents over there. We weren't sure where to put them, so we put them in the living room. Is that OK?" Embry asked.
"Sure, sure. Thanks, Embry," I said.
"Sue wrapped up the leftovers from the party, and we put some in your fridge so you guys have food to eat when you get there. And Emily bought a few groceries that she thought you would want and put them away. Is there anything else you need for us to do?"
"No, God . . . thanks. You've all done a lot . . . I really appreciate it. Will you tell them all thank you for us?"
"No problem, bro. Hey! Seth really wants to come by and see Bella, but he's afraid to bother you guys. Is it OK if we stop by, just for a minute, so he'll quit bugging me?" I laughed. I could hear Seth in the background yelling at Embry. I suspected it was really Embry who wanted to come and was using Seth as an excuse.
"Yes, bring him," I said with a laugh. "I know that Bella would love for you guys to visit. And quit picking on him, will ya?"
Embry laughed at that. "Can't do that, bro. If I quit picking on him, he'll get cocky like me. We'll see you later, OK?"
"Yeah, OK. Bye." I hung up and smiled at the phone. I really missed those guys.
I walked into the room to find Bella awake. "Hey, where have you been?" she asked me with a smile.
"I woke up and had to go to the bathroom. I didn't want to wake you, so I went down to the cafeteria to pick up a cup of this very tasty coffee," I said as I held up the cup.
She smiled. "It's got to be better than Charlie's." I chuckled as I remembered that Charlie's coffee was like mud. You had to be really desperate to drink it. "Were you on the phone? I thought I heard you talking to someone," she asked.
I nodded as I set my cup on the table beside the bed. "Embry. He said that Seth has been bugging him to bring him here to see you, so they are going to stop by in a little bit. Is that OK?"
"I don't mind. Of course, I look awful. I just made the mistake of looking in the mirror that is tucked inside this table. Ugh!" Bella made a face.
I laughed. "No you don't. But your mom did bring you some stuff. Let's see what's in the bag." I reached over and picked it up and set it on the chair. I unzipped the bag and took out her toothbrush and toothpaste, a hairbrush, pony tail rubber band, and some deodorant. There were also clean clothes and shoes for her to wear home. "I'll ask the nurse if you can clean up a little, OK?"
I went out and talked to the nurse, and she agreed to come in and help Bella clean up. She still couldn't get out of bed, but the nurse helped her clean up with a sponge bath. While the nurse was helping her, I stepped into the tiny bathroom in Bella's room and brushed my teeth and put on some deodorant and a clean shirt.
The nurse had put some dry shampoo stuff in Bella's hair that you brush out. Bella was trying to do just that when I came back in the room.
"Here, Bells, let me do that for you," I said as I took the brush from her. She scooted up, and I sat on the edge of the bed behind her. I took a section of hair and brushed it.
"That feels really good, Jake," Bella said softly. She closed her eyes and leaned back against me.
I kept brushing until her hair was all tangle free. "How's that? Better?" I asked.
"Mmm, hmm. Thanks. I think I'll put it back in a pony tail."
I got up off the bed and handed her the brush and the pony tail holder. She brushed it up and fastened it with the holder.
I sat back down in the chair. "Don't you look pretty? Do you feel better?" I asked her.
"Yes, I really do. Do I look good enough to kiss?" she asked with a smile.
I leaned over and said, "You always look good enough to kiss, baby." And so I did - more than once.
"Man, don't you guys ever take a break?" we heard as we were kissing.
I smiled as I reluctantly pulled away from Bella's lips. "Not if I can help it," I said to Embry.
"Hi, guys!" Bella called out. Seth came over and handed Bella a very small teddy bear. "Oh, Seth . . . thank you," Bella said sweetly. "This is the baby's first gift. I love it. Give me a hug," she ordered. Seth, whose cheeks were now bright red, leaned down and gave her a hug.
"Awwww, isn't that cute?" Embry teased.
"Shut up, Embry. Get over here. You're next," Bella barked at him.
He laughed as he moved to the bed. "A hug from a hot girl? Well, I won't turn that down!" He bent down and hugged her then stood up to say, "You look good for what you've just been through. You had our boy, Jake, here pretty worried."
Seth looked at Bella and asked, "How are you, Bella? Is . . . everything OK?" he asked hesitantly.
"I'm feeling much better and the baby is good," Bella said with a smile. "Here, look at this." She handed Seth the picture of the ultrasound.
"Wow, Bella. This is the baby? Awesome," Seth said. "Look at this, Embry."
He handed it to Embry, who turned it around and around until Jake put it the right way. "Whoa, cool. Looks just like you, dude," he said to Jake.
"See, Bella, I told you," I said smugly then we all laughed.
Seth got Embry and I to tell some of the funny stories we told at the bachelor party. Bella made us stop because it hurt to laugh anymore. It was so good to see her laugh, though.
The nurse came in and said that all of the boys in the room had to leave. She had to take Bella's vitals, and Carlisle had told her that she could take the catheter out. "YES!" Bella shouted.
Embry, Seth and I left the room and walked down to the waiting area. "Thanks for coming, guys. I think it did Bella some good," I told them.
"No problem," Seth said. "I hope it was OK I gave her the teddy bear. I just thought maybe she would like something to look at that would make her smile."
"Yeah, it's OK. I just wish I had thought of it. Way to make me look bad, bro," I told him with a punch in the arm.
"Well, I guess you'll just have to buy a bigger one," he returned with a punch.
Then we all grew quiet. I went over and stood in front of the window to see it was again gray and raining, typical Washington weather. One sunny day to a week of rain. Embry came over and put his hand on my shoulder. "You OK, bro?"
I looked over at him. "Yeah, I am now. Last night was hell, Embry." We sat down and I told Embry and Seth about what had happened. They freaked when I told them about Edward being there.
"Damn, Jake! You never for a minute really thought about letting him do that, did you?" Embry asked.
"Embry, if she would have died, she would have been gone forever! Of course I did! At least for a minute. You think I want to think about living a single day without her here, in some way? But when it came right down to it, I couldn't do it. I couldn't stand the thought of her being a . . ." I looked around and lowered my voice to say, "A bloodsucker. I know now that I made the right decision to hold out and trust Carlisle, but I didn't know that then." I stopped and sighed. "She told me after I told her all of this that she would not have wanted to live that way. Without the baby, or without me. So, I guess I make the right decision in the end, either way. It was just so fucking hard to know that he could do something and I . . . couldn't do anything."
Seth just sat there very quietly. Then he looked at me and said, "I think Edward was only trying to help, Jacob. In a weird way, he had a point."
Embry jumped up out his chair shot him a look. "Are you fucking kidding me, Seth? I know you have this sick friendship with the dude, but you are dead wrong. She's one of us now. She stays that way. No matter what!"
Seth stood up and shot back, "Hell yeah, I know she's one of us! I care about her, too, Embry . . . a lot! But if he had changed her, I would have found a way to still care about her. I wouldn't have written her off because she was one of them. It's not always black and white, Embry! Sometimes there's a gray area."
I stood up and got between them. "Look guys, cut it out. It's over now, and Bella is going to be OK." I looked at Embry and said, "Seth is a good kid. He has a good heart." I smiled and shoved Seth. "Sometimes, too good." Then I looked at him seriously and said, "Seth, I really wanted to think that too. That I could somehow still love her if she was . . . well, you know. And . . . I just didn't know. It scared the hell out of me. I'm ashamed of myself. I just couldn't take that chance. I thank God it didn't come to that." I looked down.
Seth came over and put his arm on my shoulders. We just stood there for a second. Then Embry came over to stand on the other side of me and put his arm on my shoulders over Seth's. "Enough of this chick shit, man. I gotta take a leak. Where's the bathroom?"
I looked at Seth and shook my head and we laughed. Leave it to Embry to know how to break the tension. I pointed down the hall and he slapped me on the back and walked toward the bathroom.
The guys left after that and I went back into the room with Bella to find her watching some cooking show on TV. The nurse had Bella sitting on the edge of the bed, and then said, "Dr. Cullen would like you to sit in a chair for awhile."
I smiled and said, "I can help with that." I picked her up out of bed and gently set her down on the chair. The nurse covered her lap with a blanket and handed her a can of Sprite with a straw in it.
"Well, it helps to have a nice, strong man around, doesn't it?" she asked Bella with a wink.
Bella snorted as she looked at me. "Yeah, he comes in handy once in awhile."
Renee stuck her head in the door, "OK if I come in?"
"Yes, look at me. I'm finally out of bed," Bella said happily.
The nurse warned Bella to not overdue it then she left the room.
"You look like you feel so much better, too, honey," Renee told her as she set her purse down on the floor by the bed. "What did the doctor say? Can you go home yet?"
"He's supposed to be here soon then we'll know. Where's Dad? "Bella asked.
"I talked him into going to work. He was worried about something going on down there, cause you know he thinks the place will fall apart if he's not there, so I made him to go. I told him I would call him with an update," Renee answered.
The nurse brought Bella a tray for lunch, so Renee went to the cafeteria to pick up something for her and me, and we spent the time eating together and watching TV until Carlisle came in around 12:30.
"Hello! Bella, you look much better today," Carlisle stated. "I like the color in your cheeks."
"I feel much better," she answered.
"Well, I went over your chart and your vitals look very good, and so does the baby. I think we'll get you up a little bit this afternoon, then you can go home. How does that sound?" Carlisle asked while putting Bella's chart back on the table.
"That sounds great. Thanks, Carlisle."
"You're welcome. I will unhook the monitors then I will send the nurse in to take out the IV. Jacob, I want you to let her stand in front of the chair for a few minutes. As long as she is not light-headed, hold on to her and let her take a few steps around the room. Sit and rest, then in a half hour, do it again. I want you to move very slowly, Bella. As long as there is no spotting, and you don't feel faint, you can go home. When I send you home, you will be on partial bed rest for awhile. I will send a list of instructions home with you. I will probably have you come in for a check-up then in a couple of weeks. Any questions?" he finished.
"What about work? I'm off this week, but can I go back next week? I'm on my feet a lot at work," Bella asked.
"I think you should be off of work for at least 2 weeks, then when you come in for your check-up, we will re-evaluate," he answered.
She nodded. "I'll call Mrs. Newton and let her know."
Carlisle unhooked the monitor from Bella then left to get the nurse and soon she came in and removed the IV. I stood Bella up in front of the chair, but kept my arms around her. She felt a little woozy, so she leaned against me. It felt so good to hold her against me again. She looked up at me and smiled and my heart skipped a beat. Soon, we'll be home.