Impasse
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Nurse Ratched
"You shouldn't be here. Bella needs her rest." Edward snapped, spoiling the happy moment.
Bella's smile faded as she glanced up at him uneasily. She was barely conscious of the sound of her heart accelerating, though, as her breathing became hyperventilation. She was aware of the sharp ache in her protesting ribs.
After shooting Edward an irritated look, Jacob moved to Bella's other side. He reached for her hand, surprising her with the heat coming off his fingers as he lifted it off the bed.
"Breathe, Bells." He encouraged her.
Bella saw Edward's lips press together into a grim line. He refrained from saying anything further, however, as Jacob continued to speak to Bella in short, simple sentences, helping her to focus on her breathing to slow it down.
Edward's stern gaze burnt the back of Bella's skull as she concentrated on Jacob's voice. Pain that had nothing to do with broken bones, pain that was infinitely worse, threatened to crush her. She lost all focus again, her breathing escalating once again.
"I can't – not with him – in the room."
"You heard her, Cullen." Jacob said curtly. "You're making her uncomfortable. You should go."
"She meant you." Edward seethed through gritted teeth. "Not me."
"Bells?" Jacob prompted. "Do you want me to go?"
Bella shook her head.
"You do mean me?" Edward whispered in disbelief, unable to disguise the surprised hurt in his tone.
Bella didn't have the courage to glance his way again. Instead, all she managed was a quick nod, her fingers automatically clutching Jacob's hand like a life raft. She had felt uncomfortable around Edward since awakening. Confusion and bewilderment followed as she tried to work out how he fitted into her life. It was clear to her now that there was a gap in her short-term memory. Renee had revealed she had been living with Charlie for months, not just a few days like she thought. She had wanted to speak up, but was too afraid of saying the wrong thing.
"Bella has made her feelings clear. She wants you to go." Jacob said in the same forthright tone. "So, I think you should just respect her wishes and leave."
"Okay, if that's what you want." Edward replied stiffly. He leaned down and pressed a cold kiss onto Bella's forehead, making her shiver, before rising and shooting Jacob one last hostile glance. "But I won't be far away."
His last words were obviously directed at Jacob, and sounded quite threatening. Bella looked between the two boys in alarm. Jacob just stared back at Edward nonchalantly, seemingly not bothered at all by his attempt at intimidation.
Saying no more, Edward finally vacated the room, much to Bella's relief. Once he was gone, she let her breath out slowly- her body finally beginning to relax.
"Thank you so much, Jacob." She said gratefully.
"No problem." Jacob watched her facial expressions carefully, his dark eyes curious. "Although I was surprised you wanted him to leave. Aren't you guys supposed to be a thing?"
Bella looked at him, confusion written all over face. "What do you mean a thing?"
Now Jacob was the one who was confused. "You know like a couple – boyfriend/girlfriend type of thing."
Bella stared at him aghast. "Are you joking?" She whispered, hoping, and praying that he was toying with her. There was no way she would be attracted to someone like that in a million years.
Edward may have the face of an angel, but to Bella he seemed more like the devil. The creepy way he had spoken to her – rambling on about her scent and how good she tasted. It was freaky. And that whole bit about some kind of cover story.
"I'm not joking, Bella."
Jacob's expression remained serious, with no hint of teasing, that Bella was forced to believe him. He looked troubled now.
"Bells, are you saying you don't remember him at all?" He asked cautiously.
Bella felt the edge of panic returning. "No." She admitted.
Jacob hesitated for a minute before asking his next question as he regarded her thoughtfully. "Do you know who I am?"
Bella opened her mouth to say of course she remembered him. However, that would be lie. She may not recognize him per se. But something about him felt familiar. She felt comfortable around him in a way she didn't with Edward.
"You're Jacob." She whispered.
"Jacob…?" Jacob looked at her astutely, waiting for her to fill in the blanks.
Bella immediately felt the strain as she tried to force her frazzled mind to recall his last name. She knew him. Of course she did. Her memory was just a little hazy. She had only just woken up. His surname was on the tip of her tongue.
"I know it – I do."
"Hey, calm down, honey." Jacob said soothingly when he saw the rising panic in her chocolate brown eyes. "I'm not surprised you're having difficulty remembering. You've been through quite an ordeal. Don't stress about it. I'm sure it will all come back to you. My name is Jacob – Jacob Black."
Jacob possessed the kind of deep voice that was like auditory caramel to the ears. It had an instant calming effect on Bella and she found herself relaxing again, the panic and stress falling away.
"I'm Billy Black's son. Billy's a – "
"Friend of my dad's." Bella cut in, smiling wide in her relief. "I remember now. You're mudpies Jacob!"
Jacob laughed; his laughter, much like his whole persona, was bright and playful. "I've never been called that before. But, yes, that's me."
A nurse bustled in then to check all Bella's tubes and wires. She seemed surprised to see Jacob perched on the edge of the bed holding Bella's gauze wrapped hand, but she didn't comment. She started checking the paper readout on the heart monitor.
"Are you feeling alright, Bella? Your heart rate seems a little high."
"I'm fine now." Bella assured her.
"Now?" The nurse questioned.
"Now that my best friend is here." Bella replied, smiling when she caught the sparkle of happiness in Jacob's eyes.
"Okay." The nurse conceded, fighting a smile of her own. "I'll tell your RN that you are awake. She'll be in to see you in a minute."
As soon as the nurse closed the door, Jacob laughed again.
"Wow, that was close. I thought she was going to order me out."
"No way." Bella laughed along with him. It felt good, the laughter releasing the last of the pent-up stress. "She can see you're good for me."
"Am I?" Jacob's laughter died, his dark eyes softening.
Another nurse walked purposefully into the room, interrupting the moment. Jacob remained by Bella's side as the new nurse took in their expressions with a practiced eye before turning to the monitors.
"Time for more pain meds, sweetheart?" She asked Bella kindly, tapping the IV feed.
"No, no." Bella shook her head, ignoring the spike of pain in her ribs from laughing. "I don't need anything."
"No need to be brave. Its better if you don't overdo it, you need to rest." She waited, but Bella just shook her head again. The nurse ignored her, instead focusing her stern gaze on Jacob. "I think we should cut this visit short, young man. Let your girlfriend rest for a while. You can come back later."
Bella really didn't want Jacob to go. One look at his face showed that he was just as reluctant to leave. She still had so many questions.
"Can we just have another few minutes…please?"
The nurse pursed her lips, looking critically at Bella's pale face. "Okay, you can have another five minutes then I'm coming back in here to administer the pain relief."
"Thank you." Bella said gratefully.
The nurse finally left after giving Jacob another stern look, glancing one last time at the machinery as she closed the door behind her.
"Woah, I don't think I made a very good impression on Nurse Ratched. I thought she was going to get security to come and drag me out of your room." Jacob gave a mock shudder.
Bella couldn't help but smile. He was so funny and cute. "I wish you didn't have to go."
"Oh, you'll see me again. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."
Bella was sure she saw a faint blush touch his cheeks, but it was gone as soon as it appeared, making her think she imagined it.
"How did you even get here, Jacob?" She asked curiously.
"Oh, I hitchhiked."
He sounded so serious that Bella almost believed him. She stared at him incredulously, until he lost his poker face and burst out into another fit of laughter.
"I caught a ride with my old man, Bella." He chuckled. "Billy didn't want Charlie coming down here alone when he heard about your accident. I got special permission to leave school so I could take care of Billy while he was down here. I didn't want Charlie to have to deal with that while he was supposed to be looking out for you."
So, he was not only cute and funny, but caring too.
"Oh- oh!" Bella laughed along with him, wincing a little at the pain in her ribs.
"Hey, Bells, calm down." Jacob flashed her a guilty look. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be making you laugh. Does it hurt a lot?"
"Just a little." Bella admitted, then she smiled again. "Don't they say laughter is the best medicine, though?"
"I guess." Jacob still looked ambivalent. He reached out with his free hand and rested his palm on her forehead as if checking her temperature. His touch was warm and soothing. It seemed to ease the ache in her ribs. He continued to hold her gaze until her body slowly relaxed. "Better?" He asked.
"Yes." Bella said cautiously.
Jacob took his hand away, taking the warmth with him. Bella felt bereft at the loss of his magic touch.
"I think I should go."
"No, stay a little longer." Bella pleaded, gripping his other hand tighter. "We haven't had a chance to talk properly yet. I have so many questions."
"But the nurse said – "
"Oh, don't worry about the nurse." Bella cut in dismissively. "Or are you afraid of Nurse Ratched after all?"
Jacob shook his head and muttered something unintelligible. Bella thought she picked out the words "as if."
"Unless you're tired of my company already." Bella said in mock resignation. She let go of his hand and averted her gaze.
"No, Bella, that's not it!" Jacob rushed to reassure her, his face stricken.
Bella couldn't keep up the pretense for long. She was as bad an actor as she was a liar. She fought not to smile, but it worked its way out anyway.
Jacob grinned, his face brightening when he realized she was just teasing him. "Very funny, Swan. Who knew you were such a comedian?"
"Just one of my many talents." Bella quipped. "Along with being constantly accident prone." She sighed as she glanced down at her injuries. "I still don't know what happened really."
"Didn't Cullen explain?" Jacob asked warily.
Bella shook her head. "Not really. He was saying some creepy things, then babbled something about some cover story."
"Cover story?" Jacob echoed, his face turning troubled again. "You know my dad has been really worried about you. When he found out that you were dating Cullen, he really freaked out. He made a point of coming over to your house with some of Harry's fish fry so he could talk to you face to face – but Cullen was there – and he sent me off on some fool's errand." He paused when he saw Bella's face pale. "I'm sorry. I've said too much."
"No." Bella whispered. "Its just hearing you talk about Edward like that – like we are together – I mean together, together. It makes my blood run cold. He gives off such bad vibes. I can't believe that I would ever consider being in a relationship with someone like that. It doesn't make sense."
Bella knew she needed to stay calm…but the thought of being so intimately acquainted with someone like Edward Cullen, coupled with her injuries and short-term memory loss, made the panic begin to flutter in her lungs.
Jacob saw her reaction and was looking really worried now. "Bells, I think we should stop talking. I'll get the nurse back in here now."
"No, Jacob, stay."
Jacob remained undecided. "I don't want to do the wrong thing, Bella. You need time to recover. I don't want to stress you out."
"Not knowing is stressing me out." Bella persisted, her voice rising up an octave. "Please, Jacob, just tell me all that you know about me and Edward Cullen, and leave nothing out."
A/N-thanks for reading!