These chapters just seem to be flowing at the moment and that is all thanks to you guys! Your reviews mean the world to me so thank you very much for taking the time to review and let me know what you think.-Dayin
The examination room was impeccably clean with bright posters lining the walls trying to make it look inviting but it's sterile ambiance was both nerve wracking and intimidating to Bella. She had not been to the doctors often and the few times she had her moms nerves and fear had had a great impact on how it made her feel.
As she entered she saw Dr Cullen sitting behind his desk. His golden eyes locked onto Bella's as she entered. He rose from his seat, towering above her, and offered a warm smile that aimed to put the terrified and sick girl at ease.
Bella took a tentative step forward, her eyes never leaving Dr Cullen. She couldn't help but notice his ethereal beauty, his pale, flawless skin, the refined features, and the mesmerizing golden eyes that seemed to hold a wealth of untold stories. His smile suddenly looking a little more sinister to her the longer she looked.
And at the moment she realised just why the receptionist had checked her mate status so carefully.
He was a vampire.
Bella let out a startled whimper as she backed away quickly, her movements made sluggish by her cold but her senses jumping to high alert in the face of perceived danger.
Dr Cullen's eyebrows raised in surprise before he slowly backed away from her to give her more space.
"Isabella, Isabella please try to breathe and calm down. I am so sorry you were not properly warned of my condition. I promise I mean you no harm at all." He tried to reassure while holding his hands up in a surrendering pose.
She breathed in and out as instructed all the while never tearing her eyes away from the vampire in front of her. She began to calm from her initial reaction, she had never seen a vampire in real life before and wasn't expecting to run into one anytime soon. However the thought of what Alice had said ,about how kind her mate seemed to be, comforted her slightly, some of the panic turned more towards the side of curiosity.
"There, that's better now, it's alright." Dr Cullen said soothingly as he moved to sit down in the seat at the desk.
"Now that you have calmed down a bit Isabella, I would be more than happy to help you reschedule with a different Doctor if you would like. However there are unfortunately no other available Doctors taking non urgent appointments today" He said regretfully, not wanting someone to go without necessary medical treatment due to him being a vampire.
"O-Oh" She stuttered out blushing bright red in embarrassment at the scene she had just caused.
"I fully understand if you do not want to be treated by me but I do feel the need to let you know that from your scent you are battling a large infection so choosing to forgo treatment count have negative consequences."
She stood for a second and considered what he had said, she was feeling really sick and she would rather not have to come in here with her mom if the appointment was stretched out until after they returned.
"Okay, if it's still okay can we just do this appointment now? I am so sorry for how I acted" She said, apologising sheepishly. It wasn't his fault he was a vampire and she hadn't heard any bad stories about the hospital or its doctors so she must be safe enough.
"Of course Isabella, and there is no need at all to apologise I just want to help you feel better" he reassured while gesturing over towards the seat in front of him.
She hesitantly moved forward before slowly pulling out the seat and sitting down, she sat bone straight and alert like a startled rabbit ready to run.
"Now what seems to be the problem Isabella, also do you have a parent here today they are welcome to join us?" he asked getting them back to the topic at hand.
"Um, you can call me Bella if you want Sir, and no it's just me here but I am almost 18 so it's fine. I have been feeling really sick; my head, chest, stomach and throat hurt and I keep becoming so dizzy and nauseous." she explained miserably remembering why she was here.
"Alright Bella and you may call me Carlisle. That does sound terrible let's see what we can do about that, If you don't mind please can you take a seat on the exam bed over there and we will get a more thorough understanding of the problem." She looked at the daunting exam table fearfully for reasons that had nothing to do with the doctor this time, medical exams were something her mother avoided like a plague. Even when she had been in before her mom had insisted they be kept to the absolute minimum.
Swallowing her unease she stood up and slowly made her way to the examination table, the little voice inside of her screaming to run as fast as her legs would possibly carry her. She pushed that voice away knowing she needed help and not wanting to waste the doctor or Alice's time.
The bed was covered in a thin plastic that crinkled as she sat down, her heart pounding painfully in her chest.
Once she had settled Carlisle moved over slowly doing his best not to startle her anymore. Soon he had arrived at the bedside and he began taking out a few of the examination tools, some that she recognised like the stethoscope and some she didn't.
"I am going to take your blood pressure now all I need to do is put this cuff on your arm, it will inflate and it may pinch but it should not hurt, let me know if it does." He explained doing exactly as he had said his movements precise and deliberate as he strapped the blood pressure cuff on her arm and inflated it. He had been right, it did pinch and was uncomfortable but she could manage and it wasn't nearly as scary as she had first thought.
Soon the inflation was done and he allowed the cuff to sit for a moment before he looked down at the results in concern , jotting them down in her file and then deflating and unstrapping it.
"Now I am going to listen to your heartbeat, I assume you have had this done before?" He questioned as she gave a small nod. He then took the stethoscope and listened to her heartbeat over her shirt moving it gently across her chest before transferring it to her back. A small frown formed on his face which made her feel a bit more nervous again.
"Why do you need a stethoscope, isn't your hearing strong enough to hear my heart already?" She asked in a small curious voice that made him smile.
"Not many people actually think to ask me that, yes my hearing is good enough to hear your heartbeat but the stethoscope allows me to hear one step further than that I am able to focus on individual sounds that I heat with more precision and sometimes if there's something like a blockage or clot it can even help me to track that down"
"Wow!" She said in amazement, understanding why someone might want a vampire doctor now. "Things like that must save so much time when diagnosing"
"They certainly have their benefits" He agreed with a small chuckle.
"Okay and now for your temperature, I don't even need to touch you for this one" He said, giving her a small grin at her relieved expression. The contactless thermometer amazed her as he pointed it at her forehead and got her temperature within a few seconds as it beeped through notifying him of her fever, his concern only seeming to grow. Bella marvelled at his expertise, reassured by his professionalism even in the face of her fears.
"All right Bella so far your results have been slightly worrisome your blood pressure is a bit high which on its own is alright as I know you are nervous, however with your fever and heartrate also being quite high I am concerned about what is causing this and how deep this infection may go." he said seriously not mincing his words.
"You said your stomach hurt as well correct?" he questioned contemplating the symptoms she had mentioned so far and running through possible causes.
"Yes Sir" she confirmed feeling that very pain throb once more.
"No need to call me Sir Bella, as I said Carlisle will do just fine, Is it alright if I press on your stomach quickly to get a better understanding of the pain?"
"That would be fine I guess" she said unsurely, while lifting the bottom of her shirt to expose her stomach and laying back onto the bed.
For the next few moments he gently prodded at her stomach, easily finding the most tender areas which seemed to be to the lower right of her belly and just above her belly button based on her expressions and whimpers, which did little to diminish his worries.
"Okay, upon seeing those areas be the ones that are hurting I am afraid that I am going to recommend some blood be drawn and a sonar scan ordered, I am concerned we may be dealing with more than a cold here" He explained grimly.
"What?! What else could it be?" She said nearly shouting in alarm the thought of needles making her feel even more sick.
"I do not want to worry you further, in truth it could be a few things but most commonly pain in these areas is associated with appendicitis. The blood panel will give us a good idea on how the infection is progressing in your body as well as check if there are any enzymes being released from the surrounding organs. The sonar will give us an actual look at your appendix and the areas arround it to see if there are any problems."
"What happens if it is my appendix?" it sounded rather serious so far and his expressions were not doing much to calm her.
"Well in that case you would need to go in for a quick operation and have it removed." At those words all blood left Bella's face, this was truly a worst case scenario for her. She would never be able to hide this from her mom.
"I know this sounds scary sweetheart but if it comes to that it is a very simple operation that very rarely has any complications." he reassured trying not to panic her more.
Seeing that his words were doing little to make her feel better he decided that it would be better to just get it over with rather than giving her more time to overthink it.
She watched nervously as he reached for his blood drawing kit that contained a few multi-coloured vials and some needles, her eyes widening with a mix of anticipation and trepidation at seeing it.
He pulled a small table with a pillow and strap over to there the table hanging just above her knees.
With practiced ease, he secured her arm in his hand bringing it to rest on the pillow as he popped the strap around her arm and tightened it almost to the same point as the blood pressure cuff, his touch cool against her skin.
His skilled fingers found the perfect vein, and before she could even see the needle a single puncture pinched her. She let out a small yelp and his hand held firmly to keep her arm steady from her involuntary jerk. He clipped a vial onto the tube and it quickly began to fill with her blood. As it filled he switched it out for a new one repeating the process five more times before removing the needle quickly bandaging it with a cotton ball and medical tape.
Dr Cullen carefully labelled the vials, setting them aside for processing.
He glanced at Bella looking her up and down. "This blood sample will help us understand your condition better, Bella," he explained, his voice now tinged with an underlying tension, a steel look in his eyes.
"It will take about 30 minutes for the results to come through and in the meantime I will book your sonar. Did you come here with anyone today that I can notify?"
"My friend Alice, but she is a future mate" she explained knowing he would not be allowed to tell Alice anything himself.
His face filled with surprise again at these words. She didn't quite understand the stern and confused look he had on his face but if she had to guess she assumed it must have something to do with her strong reaction to him when she had come in. Maybe he was surprised she would be friends with a future mate.
"Alright I will have the nurse inform her that you are going to be here for a while and that she can go back to school or her home" He said gathering the vials and his forms before leaving the room to speak to the nurses outside. Leaving Bella alone to her thoughts.
She felt so very tired, and her racing nerves were depleting what bit of energy she had left. Another wave of pain wracked through her stomach nearly taking her breath away and causing her to lay down on the bed resting her head on the pillow.
As she listened waiting for the Doctor's return her eyes began to droop, she began to doze lightly as she waited.
It wasn't long before she was fully asleep, not even hearing the door opening quietly as somebody entered the room.
I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you thought and any ideas you have that you would like to see in future chapters.-Dayout