BPOV.
It had been three days since we'd been moved from the National Naval Medical Centre under a cloak of darkness. Two days since I'd woken in a strange house, in a strange bed. My body ached, my head ached and all I wanted was for the drama of the last few weeks to move on so I could get on with my life. I huffed as I pushed off from my bed with my one good wrist. The other hung limp at my side encased in a stiff cast. I wobbled slightly before steadying myself against the dresser, taking a few tentative steps forward while holding on to any piece of furniture in my path. While there was nothing remaining in my leg, the tissue damage from the gunshot was enough to remind me of the injury. Pain killers were my new best friend.
"You're awake!" a feminine voice called from the doorway.
"Yep, can't stay cooped up in this bed forever, I will lose my mind if I have to stay there any longer." I said with a grimace as I over stretched my leg.
"You should've called me, you could do yourself more harm if you over do it right now." she continued.
"Sorry Alice, I just needed to do this for myself." I groaned.
"Forget about it, where are you headed?"
"Bathroom, I ache and I stink, so I figured a bath would help. Then I thought I could perhaps go see how he's doing?" I said looking pleadingly into her eyes.
"Okay let's get you cleaned up first, then we'll go have a chat with Jazz." she said cheerfully guiding me to the bathroom and the glorious whirlpool tub.
"Thanks." I said with a smile.
The bath was glorious; the feel of the hot water as it encased me was akin to my idea of heaven. The bubbles were an added bonus, like fluffy clouds, they gave off a fruity scent, a hint of mint, a dash of vanilla and a nip of strawberry. I felt like I was wrapped in a sundae. My aching limbs relaxed under the feel of the heated water, while the minty scent calmed and invigorated me. Now if I could get rid of the wrist cast, and completely submerge I really would be in heaven.
All too soon there was a knock on the bathroom door.
"You done in there?" Alice called from the other side.
"I'll be out in a minute!" I called out in return.
The sound of retreating footsteps followed as I pulled the plug in the bath and carefully stepped out, wrapping myself into an enormous thick towel. I slowly returned to my bedroom and walked to the dresser to grab some clothes. When I was dressed I headed for the stairs and met Alice waiting at the bottom for me. She hooked her arm in mine, for which I was thankful; the activity of moving around and climbing in and out of the bath had taken a lot out of me. We walked slowly to the large family room; it was rustic looking with wood covered walls, large brown couches that you could just sink in to and a huge bearskin rug. Jasper was sat beside a window looking out at a startling view of the mountains.
"Jazz, I think it's time Bella got filled in, she'd also like to go visit Edward." Alice said calmly.
Jasper stood as we approached and motioned for us to take a seat on the large comfortable looking couch to his side.
"How you feeling Bella, I guess you'd like some idea of where you are and what's going on huh?" he said, his voice not betraying any emotion other than calmness.
"Fine thanks Jasper, a little sore, walking is still a bit of a chore and I get tired out easily if I move around too much, but at least I'm alive."
"That's something at least," he replied.
"So what's the story?" I asked.
"We're in Flathead Montana, it's far enough away from DC that I'll not draw too much suspicion and it had a major component of your cover story hitting news stands to make the transitions more believable."
"Huh?" I responded eloquently.
"Okay, so the story is this. You and Edward are now Anthony and Isabelle Masen, a young married couple. You were at your vacation home preparing to lock up for the night when it was invaded by a number of masked men attempting to rob the place. They beat you while they held him; obviously he fought back and was shot in the chest during the scuffle. You were caught in the cross fire when the local police turned up. You were treated at the local clinic, while Anthony was air lifted here." he said.
"Um okay, so I guess I need to visit Ed- er I mean Anthony as I am his wife, but what about identification, they won't just let me walk in."
"Like I said back at the NNMC, I know someone." he replied handing me a manila envelope.
"So do I need to do some fixing on the network so that this holds up?" I said looking up from the packet.
"Nope it's water tight. You just need to memorise and lose this, I would suggest burning it. Oh and you'll need this." He replied handing me a simple gold band.
I looked at the ring and pushed it onto the third finger on my left hand. I looked back at Jasper and Alice, they were looking at me sadly, and we all felt the weight of everything that was going on.
"Um forgive me for asking, although it's wonderful, but how are you guys here?"
"Oh that's easy, the teams been stood down, we're on leave for a few weeks, so me and Ali are on vacation, getting away from the shit storm."
"Oh but you could still be called back, or contacted or located." The panic building.
"No I left all our normal means of contact behind, we have disposable phones that only Emmett has the numbers for, so for now, we're off the grid." he replied calmly.
"So you're here for the time being?"
"For the next few weeks at least. Hopefully Edward will be a bit more with it by the time we have to head back to the shit storm we left behind."
"What about my office, surely there were questions from the D/O?"
"Your father signed a release and we made up a 'living will' that stated you wanted to be cremated immediately, so for all intents, Charlie walked out of the hospital with your ashes."
"Oh, wow um, I guess this is really it huh?" I stuttered.
"This is just a temporary measure, only Emmett, Alice and I know where you both are, there were too many loopholes back in DC and when the attack in the hospital occurred, let's just say, that my spidey senses tingled and not in a good way. We think whoever tried to kill Edward is someone on the inside and until we figure out who, you're both best off playing dead." Jasper drawled.
"That makes sense; it's been bothering me since I was taken from the safe house. Did you bring the laptop? I'd like to help as much as I can, and the best way for me to do that is be your eyes and ears on the network."
"Yeah, I'll bring it to your room later, I think it's time we went and checked on Edward, er I mean Anthony."
I nodded in response, stumbling to my feet. I grabbed the new IDs from the packet and placed them in a purse that Alice handed me and followed her and Jasper out to a large red jeep, that was parked on the bark covered drive. I hadn't really noticed before, but looking round now, it was almost as if we were out in the middle of nowhere, everywhere I looked it was green and smelt fresh. I could see the tips of mountains in the distance and a dense mist spread across what I guessed was the flathead lake. It was beautiful and in any other circumstances I would be in awe of the location, but all I felt was detached. Loneliness crept its way up my spine, taking a stranglehold on me. I hugged myself around my middle, trying to both warm up and hold it together.
Jasper stood beside the jeep holding the door for me as I hobbled towards them, I really was a sorry mess. He looked at me without pity; I couldn't really describe what I saw in his war ravaged eyes, empathy maybe. But there was definitely no pity.
"When we get to the hospital, if anyone asks, I'm Anthony's brother Jason and Ali is my wife Alison. We'll be with you the whole time. Just squeeze my hand if it gets too much okay." Jasper spoke calmly.
I didn't have the words, but he must've seen my acceptance in my eyes, because he didn't question me on it. We left our secluded hideaway in comfortable silence; I leant against the back window watching the scenery change from deep green to small blips of civilisation. Eventually we passed a sign that said 'Welcome to Kalispell' and were soon turning into a small parking lot. The jeep blended perfectly with the other vehicles parked here, I guess being out in the ass end of Montana jeeps and sports vehicles were commonplace.
We stepped out of the jeep in unison, Alice clinging to my arm. I'm not sure if she was holding me up, or me holding her, but it felt right. Jasper walked stoically beside us, his eyes never lingering on one spot. It felt like everyone was looking at us as we entered the hospital. An older looking nurse sat behind a large desk sneaking glances at us while trying to appear as if she was working. I wish she would've just sat and gaped at us like the young woman next to her, it would've felt far less awkward.
I stayed leaning against Alice in support, the walk from the parking lot had winded me while Jasper approached the desk. He coughed to gain the elder woman's attention. She looked up at him, a look of surprise at being drawn out of her obvious staring.
"Mr Masen good to see you again, how can I help you?" She said, faux concern dripping from her bubblegum pink lips.
"Ma'am, I'm here to see my brother Anthony, his wife..." he said nodding at me, "was released from hospital in Polson last night, but is eager to see how her husband is doing, despite really needing to rest." he added trying to sound somewhat exasperated.
The nurse smiled up at him before casting a pitying look at me. I really could've done with another day in bed, but I was worried about Edward and wanted to see with my own eyes that he was... well alive. I smiled at her, although I'm sure it came across as a grimace. Alice helped me shuffle forward towards the reception desk, which gave the nurse a better look at me; I guess she was shocked at what she saw.
"Would you like to sit down dear, you don't look at all well." She stated.
"Thank you." I said with a grimace.
"Perhaps we could have loan of a wheelchair for Izzy, ma'am, she was after all shot in the leg, when her husband prevented the er robbery."Jasper intervened.
"Oh of course, you poor dear, you've been through so much and your young man being so brave..." she droned, I blocked her out, not really wanting to get into a big discussion over an event that neither of us knew anything about.
Minutes passed and eventually a chair materialised beside us, Alice helped me sit down and I immediately felt better, I guess the activity of the morning had taken a lot out of me. I made a mental note to cut down on the standing for the time being, sitting seemed like such a wonderful thing right now. We were directed to ICU and had to show our ID's in order to gain entry. Once we were in and shown where Edwards room was, we were left alone. I gripped the sides of the wheelchair, worried at what I would see. Would it be worse than DC?
Edward was hooked up to all manner of machines and breathing apparatus, just like he had been in DC, his skin however was no longer deathly white, he seemed to have some colour in his cheeks. Jasper stopped the chair beside him and I lightly touched his hand. His fingers lightly griped my own; I gasped in surprise but didn't pull away. It was just like DC, he was reminding me he was still there.
"How is he really Jazz?" I asked sniffing back a few escaped tears.
"He's better than he was; they're talking about removing the breathing tube, possibly today. Hopefully his doctor will be in while we're here."
"That's good." I said, running a finger across his knuckles.
"If he can hold his own without the ventilator, they'll start reducing the drugs to bring him out of his coma. We just have to wait." he said, Alice hugged his side like a limpet, sniffing her own tears back.
"I don't think I can go back... to the house I mean, not until I know he's awake." I said looking back at them.
"Izz, you need to rest too, he would be so pissed if we didn't take care of you." Jasper interrupted.
"He took such good care of me when, well when we were over there, that I owe him, I feel like I need to be here to watch him and make sure he wakes up you know." I stuttered.
"I'll see if we can get a cot or something for you, I guess there's no arguing with you huh?" he replied cocking an eyebrow at me.
"Thanks." I said, squeezing Edwards's hand.
The door opened then and a tall blonde man walked in, he stopped suddenly when he noticed us there, looking down at the chart in his hand before looking back again. He nervously coughed before casting his eyes over me holding Edwards hand.
"Mrs Masen I presume, I'm Doctor Fairchild," he said straightening his posture and walking towards me.
Jasper moved to my side in a protective move. I raised my free hand to stop him before offering it to the Doctor.
"Yes, I wasn't released from Polson until last night, and Jas here insisted I rest and come visit today." I said.
"Of course, you were injured also Mrs Masen, I do hope you are on the mend now." He replied.
"I'm getting there. I'm more concerned with my husband though."
"I'm sure you are, well he's doing remarkably well considering the position of the wound, I was hoping someone would be here, as I intend to remove his breathing tube in the next hour or so, and we of course have paperwork that needs to be seen to. Do you have any questions?" he replied kindly.
"None right now, although I'd like to arrange a cot or something, as I intend to stay with him, we've lost too much time and I don't intend to be parted any longer." I said firmly so that he got the point that I wouldn't be swayed.
"Well, um it's a little unorthodox, but I'm sure we can arrange something, we don't normally allow overnight visitors." he mumbled.
"You'll have to shoot me to make me leave, so you'll just have to make an exception, I'll sleep on the floor if I have to." I said, holding Edwards hand tightly.
Alice smiled at me from under Jaspers arm; I knew she'd appreciate my staying with Edward, even if no one else did. I didn't like the thought of him being alone, regardless of whether he was in a coma or not. He'd kept me alive back in Bourtzi; he'd made me feel safe, when safety was something neither of us had. He looked after me when I couldn't look after myself. He protected me, when others had failed. If staying here and watching over him while he battled a drug induced sleep was what I needed to do for him to repay his selflessness, then I would do it. To hell with everything else.
After the doctor left, Alice suggested they go to the cafeteria to find some food, if they intended to remove his breathing tube, then they would stay until they knew all was well. I settled in, as come hell or high water I would not be moving from my spot holding Edwards hand.
Alice crouched beside me, looking into my eyes, seemingly searching for something; I guess she found what she was looking for as I looked back at her with a heart filled with determination.
"Thank you, for caring about my brother." She said hugging me around the neck. "Anything I can get you to eat?"
I shook my head, my appetite really wasn't there, I don't know if it was down to my own injuries, the smell of the hospital or what it was. Food didn't really seem important right now. Alice left in search of food, leaving Jasper standing beside me. His silence wasn't at all awkward. He was calming, comfortable. Safe.
"You're a lot like him you know." he said out of the blue.
"Really? How?"
"Stubborn, headstrong, brave, selfless." he responded.
My blush was like a firebrand, it flared across my face at such a speed I'm sure he thought my head might explode.
"I'll take that as a compliment." I said, trying to calm my over heated skin.
"You should, it is. I'll bring the laptop with us when we return this evening, I have a phone for you too, I should've given it to you before." he added, handing me an iphone.
"It has my, Emmett's and Alice's numbers all programmed in. Are you sure about staying? You don't have to, he'll be fine here and we're not far away."
"It's not about choice; it's more of a need. I need to do this." I responded as I looked at Edwards's peaceful sleeping face.
Jasper nodded, "Like I said, you're a lot like him; he'd do exactly the same."
I smiled, this felt right. "Yeah, I know he would, I guess that's what put the idea in my head."
The doctor returned before Alice, a couple of nurses and another doctor in tow. They stood on the other side of the bed, checking various machines, taking vitals, writing on charts. Not really paying us any attention. Doctor Fairchild looked up from the chart and moved over to my side.
"Mrs Masen, we're going to be removing your husband's breathing tube, we'll need to ask you and Mr Masen to wait outside, so that we can get everything settled. All being well he should be breathing on his own shortly." He said placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.
I looked at Jasper, before turning back to Edward; I carefully stood from my wheelchair, clutching the side of the bed to balance myself. I slowly bent over the bed and whispered in his ear, out of earshot of anyone else.
"Keep fighting, I know you're in there. You still owe me dinner." I looked over at the medical team who were surreptitiously watching my exchange; I lightly kissed his forehead, before turning back to the wheelchair and Jasper.
"It won't take long Mrs Masen, and then you can come back in." Doctor Fairchild said.
Jasper nodded and pushed me from the room where he stopped beside a bank of hard plastic chairs lined up against the wall outside. Neither of us intended to move very far. After about 10 minutes, Alice reappeared with a bag of food and a carrier of coffee. She stopped short when she saw us waiting outside. Despite working in a hospital I guess nothing prepares you for dealing with family.
"It's okay Ali; they're just removing his tube." Jasper said comfortingly.
She let out a deep breath before joining us to wait for the medical team to emerge. We didn't have to wait long. Dr Fairchild practically bounced from the room, eager to tell us that Edward was breathing unaided. If he keeps this up, they'll start the withdrawal of the drugs tomorrow. I couldn't hold back the smile that graced my face.
****
Days passed and while Edward continued to improve, he didn't wake. I got used to the doctors and nurses routines, rounds in the mornings, and general observations for the rest of the day. Three days after removing Edwards breathing tube and switching off the ventilator, they started reducing the dose on the drugs keeping him asleep. I was a constant at his side, only leaving when Alice and Jasper would come to allow me to have a shower and change or if I needed a bathroom break. I ate at his bedside, I read to him and discussed albeit one sided what I wanted to do once all of this was over. The first night I was there, Jasper had returned with the laptop, which I set up beside the small fold out cot they had found for me. Using a backdoor I hacked into the network and observed on the quiet all the data streams I'd been watching previously.
I'd heard from Jasper about what happened in Port Angeles, no one could've known what would happen, and I don't think I would've concluded any differently based on the data. It just went to prove that these people were more cunning than anticipated. I vowed that I wouldn't let them get caught out like that again.
I'd had this niggling feeling in the back of my mind for weeks, there was something more to this; I'm missing something, something important. Why couldn't I figure it out? I'm certain that if I can just work out what the missing link is, everything will make a whole lot more sense, not to mention I might get my life back and these guys might actually survive their next mission, rather than balance themselves on a knife edge.
I yawned, stretching my aching limbs, my body craved just one night in a bed, but me and my sense of what's right wouldn't allow me to move until Edward was awake. I just wish he would hurry up already. I looked back at the laptop, streams of data scrolling up the page, none of it making the spidey senses tingle. Edward continued to sleep in the bed barely five feet from me. I looked over at him, his cheeks now had a slight pink sheen to them and he had a fuzzy beard covering his jaw from going weeks without shaving. In a strange way it suited him, although I still preferred his smooth look. Why that mattered I have no idea, it's not like we were really married, this was all just a ruse intended to hide us from whoever was out to silence us from sharing whatever information they thought we had.
I sat bolt upright, of course! Information they thought we had, it didn't register when they were torturing me, because frankly not much of anything registered other than pain. That sadistic bastard was demanding information from Edward. They thought he knew something, something important, something that they needed. The question was...what?
I grabbed the laptop and sat back on the cot, I needed to go back over the data I'd read at the beginning and link the dots, right now there was a stream of seemingly unrelated incidents, and while it may not be obvious there had to be a connection in there somewhere. I sat there for hours, but it was getting me nowhere, all it achieved was a blurring of the edges, no magic beacon flashed out 'Hey here it is' just a mass jumble of random events. As night began to descend I had to give in, my head was throbbing from staring at the screen for hours, I'd not eaten and I really needed the bathroom.
Plopping the laptop onto the cot, I slipped into the attached bathroom, after relieving myself I splashed my face with water before heading out into the room. The nurse was due in soon to do Edwards obs before dinner. He still slept, although he was gaining strength and they expected him to wake at any time. I hoped it would be soon, hospitals always squicked me out.
I grabbed the laptop and closed the lid, setting it on the chair beside the cot, before laying down. Fatigue was getting the better of me, so I figured it would be fine to let it win for a while. I drifted between deep and light sleep, occasionally voices would meander through my consciousness. Sometimes they made sense, most of the time they were just rumbles and mutterings with no real content.
"I'm glad she's asleep, poor girls barely moved from this room for days." mumbled a faceless voice.
I drifted deeper.
"Let her sleep Ali, she's been pushing too hard, she needs as much rest as Ed does." A disjointed familiar male voice said.
I drifted again.
"Should we wake her, he seems to be coming round." an unknown female.
I sat bolt upright.
"I guess that answers that question. You've been out for hours honey; you must've needed the rest."
I blinked, finally coming to and realising where I was. I'm at the hospital, with Edward, pretending to be his wife, we're in hiding. I glanced around the dimly lit room, the only real lighting coming from the swivel overhead lamp beside Edwards’ bed. A nurse stood beside him, looking at monitors and occasionally looking over at me. I wiped my eyes, figuring that might bring me some sense of lucidity.
"Mrs Masen, your husband seems to be coming round, his breathing and pulse rate have gone up and he's got some rapid eye movement going on. I don't think it will be long now." The nurse said kindly.
I stood, a little too swiftly at that and stumbled slightly, before catching my balance and walking over to the bed. It still hurt to walk; I guess it would be a while before my leg stopped complaining at any movement. I grasped his fingers, rubbing my thumb over his knuckles.
"Hit the call button of you need me sweetie." The nurse said before heading out and leaving us alone.
I looked back down, studying Edwards face for myself. He looked so peaceful, but I was ready for him to wake up now so that we could get out of there. I'd had enough of hospitals to last a life time. I settled into the chair beside his bed, keeping a firm grasp on his fingers. I eventually drifted off to sleep; I guess I really was more tired than I thought.
I was woken to the feeling of my fingers being squeezed, not tightly, but enough to let me know that they were being squeezed all the same. When I looked up I was met by a pair of dazzling green eyes, the emotion behind them a mixture of happiness, fear, hope and wonder. I blinked not really registering what I was seeing. I guess days of scattered sleep and torture would do that to a person.
"Hi." I said quietly, looking back into Edwards eyes.
"Hey." he replied croakily. He grasped his throat a little.
"Here let me get you some water." I said leaning over to the bedside station and grabbing the pitcher.
He drank slowly, savouring the water like a man who'd been lost in the desert. I guess in a way he had.
"How do you feel?"
"Not too bad, where are we?"
I chuckled quietly.
"Montana." I said with a smirk.
"Montana?" he said his eye brows furrowing.
"It's a long story,"
"I think I can keep up." he responded with a grin.
So we sat and I talked, told him about the rescue in Spetses, the attempted hit in DC and the death and escape here. He lay there, quietly taking it all in, grinning at times, frowning at others. When I revealed the details of our current situation he cocked an eyebrow and smirked shaking his head.
"Trust Jazz to 'know someone', so 'Mrs Masen'" he said using air quotes and a grin. "Are you okay? You didn't say how you were after I sort of slipped out of it on Spetses. I remember for sure you had a raging fever."
"Oh er, well I got shot in the leg, but managed to get you back to the tree and covered us with the netting, I nearly shot your team, well at least I would've if I hadn't passed out as they lifted the net."
He grimaced then, I don't know if it was from pain or if he was upset about something.
"Do you need me to call the nurse; you know to get some painkillers?" I asked tentatively.
"I'm fine, really I am, I just didn't enjoy hearing that you'd been hurt some more, I failed to protect you."
"Hey..." I said cupping his chin. "None of that, if it wasn't for you I'd be dead, hell we'd both be dead now, you saved me, I don't know how I'll ever repay you for that. You gave me another chance to see my dad. Admittedly it was a short visit, but I wouldn't have had that chance if wasn't for you. So don't you dare blame yourself."
We were interrupted from our intense discussion by the night nurse walking in. Edward looked up at me through his dark eyelashes, clasping my hand tightly in his, a slight smile on his face. I guess we looked a little intimate, as she stopped and shuffled from one foot to the other trying not to disturb our little bubble.
"Mr Masen, it's good to see you awake. How are you feeling, do you need any painkillers?" she said with an easy smile.
"I'm fine, no pain, just a little achy, I guess from not moving huh."
"That's good, you're lucky, if that shot had been any lower you wouldn't be sitting here right now. You're quite the hero and that lovely wife of yours hasn't moved from this room for days, I'm sure she'll be pleased when you can both get out of here."
He looked at me; I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing and just shrugged. He shook his head; I guess we'll probably be talking about that at some time. The nurse did the required obs, before bidding us a good night and reminding us to call if we needed anything. After she left the air was thick, an unknown tension surrounded us, sparking between us. I know we both felt it, but neither wanted to acknowledge what it was, we just wanted to bathe in the bliss of obliviousness for a while longer. So we just sat there, holding hands and staring at each other. Time meant nothing, you could've dropped a bomb outside the door and we wouldn't have noticed. I was feeling something I'd not felt for weeks. Sitting here hand in hand with Edward, I finally felt safe.
No comments:
Post a Comment