"We've only just got him calmed down and stabilized. A new oxygen mask yes but don't bother with vitals or anything with tubes or wires. I've promised him a few moments of calm without all our helpful attentiveness," Dr. Cullen instructed the nurse with a weary relieved smile for Edward. "He really wants to go home."
The oximeter the nurse had been trying to clip to a reluctant Edward's finger surprisingly gave a low but unstable reading though Edward kept ripping it and any sensor someone tried to attach to him off. "Alright dear, we'll leave all that off for a little bit. You're too cold for a good reading anyway. Can I get you another blanket when we get you to your room?" She bumped up the oxygen supply rate a little just to be careful.
Edward nodded to permit the blanket. The nurse just wanted to help and he had no real choice but to be rather unreasonable as most of the offered help was sort of dangerous.
Edward was wheeled out of the ER at long last and into a private room. Technically the last procedure would normally have happened in an OR but containing a vampire in distress in one room was bad enough. Dragging one through the hospital would have been complete recklessness. He was calm enough now.
Jasper, who was acting under specific instructions, was being very vocal about complaining that Edward wanted to go home and couldn't everyone see how very distressing this had been for him, and he needs to go home. Nurses and doctors kept explaining to Jasper that his brother was very sick and the hospital was the best place for him.
Edward's vocal cords weren't in any shape to speak for himself. He just looked tired and very nervous, twitchy, anxious. His eyes, and chest were swathed in bandages, his raw blistered mouth covered in an oxygen mask and everything about hospitals in general emphasized his natural, far too pale complexion. He sat upright in the bed on high alert with his knees pulled tight in one hand and the other hand clenching the bed rail for stability. Any nurse that approached him gave him plenty of warning before getting near. They had orders not to touch him without explaining what they were going to do and making sure they had his permission. Edward wasn't giving anyone permission for anything. He had two blankets so everyone could stay away now.
Jasper was still arguing with nurses that Edward needed to go home. Every different nurse that left Edward's room came to the nursing station suggesting that he be given sleeping drugs or sedated. Most were seriously concerned about his obvious stress levels particularly given the cardiac issues.
"Hungry," Edward signed to Esme.
"I'm sure you are. This has been a rough day love," she rubbed his arm soothingly.
"Got you covered!" announced Alice cheerfully as she slipped into the room. She slipped Edward a blood bag. "Last of the unfiltered whole blood in the hospital unfortunately. There's plenty of the filtered stuff left for human use but only one donor's been in since we cleared things out this morning."
"Human blood?" signed Edward confused. He obviously had no recall of already having pints of the stuff poured down his throat.
"It was donated to the hospital for patients that need it," Alice gently encouraged.
Edward shook his head in denial.
"Edward, this isn't a normal situation. We all know it is a little more potent than our normal diet and it was ethically collected. Drink," insisted Esme.
Edward just held the packet of blood in his hands looking uneasy.
"You need to heal," insisted Jasper who stepped into the room to take a break from the role he'd been roped into playing.
Alice passed Edward a straw.
"What?" he signed.
'It's a straw from a Capri sun juice pack. Your mouth is in such rough shape I thought it would make it easier," she explained.
Edward body language screaming annoyance, stabbed the straw into the blood bag.
Esme gently removed the oxygen mask and Edward took a sip.
Alice snickered at his growl of utter fury, frustration, humiliation and exasperation but he was careful not to spill the blood bag.
"What?" questioned Esme having no idea why Edward was behaving so ridiculously or why Alice thought it was funny.
"Well you see," explained Alice. "The only blood donor today was Bella. Rose had the car so Bella drove us to the hospital and Bella's kind."
Jasper snickered but slapped both hands over his mouth trying to smother his laughter.
"Did. you. ask. this. of. her?" Edward signed out furious.
"Nope," answered Alice grinning madly. "Just drink it. You can't let it go to waste now."
Edward suspected it was for the best that he had barely any sense of taste or smell right now. He knew Alice. Carlisle would give her heck for teasing him and she'd claim that she thought Edward wouldn't be able to tell and besides he really needed the blood. Damn pre-cog sister knew. Edward knew she knew. Freaking annoying sisters!
His senses were destroyed. The Bella-ness of the blood was no stronger than a room she'd walked through hours ago. He drank the blood begrudgingly but he drank it.
Doctor's sometimes worked odd hours. Dr Cullin had already been on the sixteenth hour of a shift that kept getting extended when his son had been brought in, the administrator observed. Now, eight hours later he was still here.
"You have to be dead on your feet Carlisle."
Why yes, yes I am thought Carlisle allowing himself a moment of levity after a horror of a day. "He's really not comfortable with hospitals. I can't stress enough that nothing good will happen if I take my eyes off of him. When you adopt a mess of teenaged orphans they tend to come with baggage. I know Edward's been horrible. I'll pay for the damages."
"Don't worry about the damages. The hospital is insured and he was beside himself but he seems much calmer now. I really think it's time for you to take a break. Have you even managed to get anything to eat in the last eight hours?"
"No," answered Carlisle, faking tiredness and rubbing a hand across his face. As loudly as he could Carlise broadcast the thought "Edward, tell the others to get ready. I'm being officially pulled off duty for dinner. That makes the hospital responsible for my needy kids for a few moments."
"You need a break at least. Here's a meal ticket. Make sure you and your wife get dinner before the cafeteria closes."
"If you insist," protested Carlisle.
"I do insist! You're so pale you look like a ghost."
It amused Carlisle a bit how little people noticed that until they wanted to notice that.
Alice, Rosalie and Emmett had cleared out already when Carlisle got back to the room. It was just Esme, Edward and Jasper. Jasper gave Carlisle a sly wink to let him know they were ready.
"Esme dear, my supervisor is rather insistent that we take a break and get a bite to eat."
As soon as the parents were out of the hall. Jasper helped Edward to his feet, threw a set of AMA* discharge papers on the bed and snuck him out of the hospital. A nurse looked up, started protesting, yelling and chasing them. Jasper had Edward climb on piggy back style and ran him out of the hospital. Alice was waiting with the BMW. They peeled out of there right quick. Away! Away from exposure risks and safely on to home!
Carlisle and Esme, who'd not yet managed to actually get a bite of food into them, looked up. The hospital administrator, looking very distressed, had come himself to tell Dr. Cullin and his wife what had happened.
"Oh dear," exclaimed Esme, spinning a story about how Jasper and Rose had been abused as children and Jasper rescued his sister from abuse and that's how they ended up in the foster system. It was a story at least close to the truth. Rose had been abused and Jasper had once rescued a relative from an abusive situation. "You saw how nervous he's been this whole time. Anxious and hovering. He knows Edward's history with hospitals and it must have been so upsetting for him watching Edward in distress. I'm sure he thinks he's helping."
Carlisle sighed wearily and agreed, "He thinks he's rescuing Edward from everything that happened."
"These discharge forms don't apply. Edward would have to be eighteen. He's still a minor even if Jasper is eighteen he couldn't act as Edward's agent unless you weren't here. We will force him to come back. I've already called the police," explained Carlisle's boss. "I'm so sorry we allowed this to happen."
Carlisle was quiet for a little while pretending to think. "Considering the cardiac incidents his stress levels have been alarmingly high. I have most of the relevant equipment that's here available at home. There are a few things I would have to grab but maybe home based care would be better. We'll have to drive into Seattle for specialist care for his eyes of course." (Yes, Carlisle was trying to dazzle his boss into thinking this was a good idea. No hospital administrator in his right mind would let Edward be discharged. Child Protective Services prevented parental action so clearly against the best interests of a minor. Edward was already on record as not being of sound mind with respect to hospitals so no one would listen to him. He ought to have been in the ICU.) Carlisle turned the charm up to ten.
Esme too gave the administrator her most charming smile. "He really would be more comfortable at home."
"He really would be more comfortable at home," agreed the administrator.
*AMA Discharge - Against medical advise. A hospital can't keep an adult patient against their will.