Bella sat slumped in the chair, a blanket draped over her shoulders, the cold air of the clinic contrasting with the warmth of the layers wrapped around her. Her mouth was held open by a cushioned device, positioned carefully to alleviate the pressure from her fractured jaw, and the dull throb of her injury was mercifully muted by whatever cocktail of painkillers Carlisle had administered.
The room felt sterile but intimate, the muted hum of machines and the faint scent of antiseptic blending into the background. Everything was too bright, too clean, a sharp contrast to the rawness Bella felt in her body.
She could see Edward out of the corner of her eye, pacing restlessly, his jaw clenched as he muttered something under his breath that she couldn't quite make out. He was preparing an array of equipment. Tools unnaturally sharp; crude; painful-looking. She looked away, focusing instead on his face. His beautiful, chiselled face.
She could see the lingering guilt that he tried to hide, feel it in the air between them, thick and heavy, as though he blamed himself for every bruise, every scrape, every cracked tooth. It wasn't his fault.
Edward was consumed with worry. She needed so much work, and he'd failed to mention the upcoming root canal. He should never have let her wander off. All over a stupid fight. He pushed back the guilt, reminding himself that a cool head was necessary to help Bella. He turned to her, face trying for reassured, confident. He hoped it landed. "It's okay, Bella. We'll patch you up. Just sit tight, okay?"
Bella tried to nod, but felt the jostle of pain course through her. Despite the concoction of medicines, the jaw had yet to be set, and would need to be wired in place. Edward donned a mask and head lamp, hands gloved and professional. He was trying to detach himself from the emotional frustration he felt brewing inside him. The self loathing and concern for Bella he felt colliding in his heart.
"We're going to just numb those areas okay, Bella, then Carlisle's going to come and help me with a few things." She looked at him quizzically. It had only ever been those two in the office, Edward the dentist, Bella the patient.
"Carlisle's going to help stabilise your jaw, and do suction. I think it would be best to try and avoid too much pressure on the fracture," Edward clarified, voice burning with emotion. He took a gloved hand and stroked her cheek carefully, fingers well away from the dislocation. Bella nodded back ever so slightly, gaze softening with his touch. She trusted Carlisle, even in this state of complete and utter helplessness.
Edward took one of the needles prepared on the tray next to him, and pushed it gently into her lower jaw. Lots of teeth needed fixing, but he felt confident that he could sort the chips out in no time. Bella hardly blinked as the sharp instrument entered her gum, she found herself instead staring up at the white bright lights above her, wobbling under the medication. Another voice floated towards her.
"Are we all set, Edward? Where do you want me?" Carlisle had entered the room, black doctor's bag held tight at his side, the familiar white coat wrapped over his shoulders.
"Just here, Carlisle. I need you on suction. Stabilise her jaw, please." Edward pointed to the seat at the other side of the chair. Carlisle washed his hands and donned a familiar set of garments to Edward before taking a seat on the other side of Bella, his presence reassuring but practical, the doctor façade Bella had become accustomed to clicking in place. She could feel a red, hot embarrassment pool in her cheeks. She felt vulnerable; broken. The intimacy of her future father in law spying her mouth felt more than she could bear. Her anxiety was mounting.
"Okay, Bella. Are you ready? We're going to start with filling in some of the chips and fractures on the left, okay?" Edward manoeuvred the overhead lamp to shine over Bella's mouth and placed a set of sunglasses over her eyes. Bella let out a muffed "mmmhm", mouth too immobilised for any real conversation. With a quick nod to Carlisle, prepped on suction, a high-pitched whir echoed in the small room, and Edward began to drill.
He started first with the teeth on the lower left quadrant, teeth left fissured with sharp edges and small cracks, before moving onto her her right. He worked carefully, his brow furrowed in concentration as he manoeuvred the drill over the left side of her mouth, carefully grinding away the jagged edges of her fractured teeth. He lamented the tooth structure he had to drill away, the tooth structure that was healthy but would render a filling unstable.
Bella's face was creased with lines. Anxiety, embarrassment and the pressure of the drill in her mouth was emanating through her skull like a motor. She busied herself once more with the ceiling tiles above her head, mind trying to wander desperately.
Carlisle was doing his best at suctioning, although with very little practise, he found it took much of his attention to follow Edward's tool around Bella's mouth. Despite the sympathy for Bella's situation, he felt some small sense of curiosity. Being a doctor for centuries meant he was certainly no stranger to operations, bones, blood and gore, but the human mouth was something he'd had very little experience with.
He marvelled at the resilience of human teeth, how they seemed so sturdy yet could be shattered by the smallest misfortune. His mind wandered to earlier years, where dentistry was a much more crude affair. Imprecise tools, professionalism and pain.
He felt some small sense of relief that Bella was fortunate enough to belong to the 21st Century, where novocaine and precise dental tools existed, unlike the ones he'd seen in previous ages.
Edward moved with practiced ease, transitioning from one tooth to the next, the drill focusing on the cracks and chips in the left quadrant of Bella's mouth. The whirring of the drill stopped momentarily between each tooth, replaced by the soft scraping of another tool against each tooth; a flat-planed metal tooth used to ply small white filaments into the holes he'd left. Carlisle watched with curiosity and respect. He'd hardly seen this physician-like side of Edward.
Once Edward felt satisfied he'd removed and filled each affected tooth, he focused his attention on Bella's final dental problem. His hands stilled for a moment, a slight hesitation betraying the internal conflict he had been trying to suppress. He felt the sinking feeling hit him, he could keep the secret no longer. His eyes caught sight of the dislodged filling in the back of Bella's mouth. The tooth that had already undergone so much trauma after mexico.
"Bella, I think we will have to do a root canal on that back tooth."
Bella's eyes shot open beneath the sunglasses, widening in alarm. The motion seemed to jostle through her fractured jaw, which throbbed in protest. Carlisle moved to steady her. Root canal. Even the words sent a wave of cold dread that washed over her.
Edward felt a pang of guilt as he saw the fear flicker in her eyes, his chest tightening with the weight of it. He hated that he had to do this, hated that she had to suffer through any of this at all.
"I'm so sorry, Bella," he whispered, his voice thick with regret. "But I think a filling won't hold. It would be safer and less painful to take out the nerve."
The word nerve seemed to hang in the air, heavy and ominous. Bella's mind latched onto it, a visceral reaction stirring in her gut. She could feel Carlisle's eyes on her, watching her reaction with quiet sympathy. He had seen this fear before, countless times in countless patients, but seeing it in Bella—someone so dear to them both—made it harder to bear.
She took one sniffling breath through her nose, taking in the air as best she could despite the array of medical smells, and let it out through her mouth. With a resigned "oh-hay" [Okay], she let her eyes shut tight, and seemed to let her body sink further into the chair. She was as ready as she could be. Edward planted a soft kiss on her forehead, wiping away a stray tear with his free hand.
"We'll get you through this quickly, Bella," He said softly, moving onto the next set of tools he'd prepared on his stand.
"You're doing great, Bella" Carlisle murmured softly from his side of the chair, his voice calm, the kind of tone he used to soothe the most anxious patients. "It will be over soon."
"Bella," Edward said gently, positioning the syringe near the back of her mouth, "I'm going to give you a little more anaesthetic now. You shouldn't feel anything after this, but if you do, squeeze my hand, okay?"
Bella's eyes fluttered open briefly, meeting his reassuring gaze before closing again. Edward pushed another syringe of novocaine into her jaw, his amber eyes catching hers with fleeting looks. The cold pinch of the needle against her gum sent a jolt of sensation through her, but it quickly dissipated as the numbing agent took effect. She focused on the steady sound of her breathing, the rhythm of it the only thing grounding her in that moment. He wished he could take the pain away, remove her from the situation. He'd take her place any day.
Edward waited a beat, giving the medication time to settle in, before reaching for the drill once more. He glanced at Carlisle, who was ready with the suction, and gave a small nod. Carlisle responded smoothly, the soft hum of the suction tube filling the quiet room as he followed Edward's movements.
Edward worked with meticulous precision, carefully guiding the drill to remove the damaged tissue and the remnants of dislodged filling within the root of Bella's tooth. The high-pitched whirring of the tool vibrated through her skull, an unpleasant but bearable sensation. She gripped the sides of the chair, her knuckles white, trying to keep her body from tensing too much.
She could feel Carlisle's presence beside her, the steady rhythm of the suction moving in sync with Edward's careful work. He was gentle, his hands steady as he positioned the tube to keep the area clear, occasionally offering a reassuring glance her way.
"You with me, Bella?" Edward paused momentarily, the whirring stopping in his fingers. "Raise your hand if you feel any pain." Bella opened her eyes, so tightly screwed shut it took an effort to pry them back open again. She gave a small I'm okay kind of nod and let her mouth fall open even wider. Edward planted another kiss on her forehead, before the whirring motion started back up again.
As Edward worked, he couldn't help but notice the tiny tension in her muscles, the subtle flinch every time the drill touched the nerve. The thunder of her heart beat. He hated this. Hated seeing her like this. But he kept his face calm, his fingers moving deftly as he began to remove the infected pulp from her tooth. Once the canal was clear, he flushed it out with an antiseptic rinse, carefully cleaning every bit of debris away.
Finally, Edward set the drill down and reached for the tiny files he would use to shape the root canal. He worked quickly but with care, making sure the canal was perfectly clean and ready to be sealed. Bella, her mind still whirling but less anxious now that the worst was nearly over, squeezed Edward's hand again. This time, it was more out of reassurance than fear.
"I'm almost done, Bella," Edward whispered, leaning closer to her. "Just a little longer. You're doing so well." His voice was a balm to her nerves, the sound of it familiar, comforting.
Once the canal was shaped and dried, Edward reached for the gutta-percha, the material he would use to fill the canal. His focus sharpened as he carefully inserted the filling, making sure it fit snugly in place, sealing off the nerve and preventing any further damage.
As the final steps of the procedure came together, Edward looked to Carlisle, who gently repositioned the suction tube for the last time.
"That's it, Bella," Edward said softly, placing the final temporary filling over the tooth. "You did amazing. We're all done here."
Bella's body sank further into the chair, her tension slowly ebbing away as relief washed over her. The procedure was over. She was exhausted, her body feeling heavy from the medication and the stress, but the worst had passed. She felt sleep washing over her. A quick release from the exertion of the day.
Carlisle turned to Edward. "I'll wire her jaw while she's out. It'll save her the pain."
Edward nodded, his jaw tightening, overcome with the sight of his sleeping Bella. "Thank you, Carlisle."
Carlisle gave a small nod of understanding, setting to work immediately. He reached into his black bag. The room was silent except for the soft clink of instruments and the steady rhythm of Bella's breathing. Edward held her hand, even though she was too unconscious to notice it.
The overhead lamp cast a soft glow over Carlisle's hands as he gently opened her mouth, working swiftly but carefully to position the wires. He wrapped the delicate metal around her teeth, securing her jaw in place. His touch was deft, mindful of her fractured bone, ensuring the wiring was tight enough to stabilize the break, but not so tight as to cause more discomfort once she woke.
"She'll need to be on a liquid diet for 2 weeks, then we can see how it's healing," Carlisle's voice was soft, gentle. He let his cool hands drift to Bella's arm, which he stroked affectionately. "She did really well today." His eyes wandered over Bella's swollen jaw. "What happens to that tooth now?" He looked at Edward with a curious sympathy.
"She'll need a crown when the wires come off," Edward lamented. He had seen enough tension coursing through Bella for one day. The idea of informing her of further treatment seemed almost cruel. "I'll tell her in a few days. There's no rush for now since I've removed the infection." Edward's amber eyes traced the creases still lined in Bella's forehead. She'd been through enough.
Carlisle simply nodded. He'd suspected that there would be more. He hoped Bella would feel recovered enough to undergo the next ordeal in a few weeks, but having a fractured jaw and a root canal coexist seemed like an impossible task. "She'll be okay, Edward."
Edward said nothing, but with steady hands, picked up the sleeping Bella from the chair, carrying her through the doors and towards the car. The drive home was short, and before long, Bella was asleep under the covers of a feathered mattress in a gorgeous room in the Cullen manor. The pillows were mounted high around her, the sheets silky and soothing; Edward's cool hands stroking her hair. Forever, my Bella. He thought mildly. Soul be damned.