The Peace Keeper

THREE WEEKS LATER

Victor Dawson had left Forks a week ago. He needed to return to Philadelphia and continue his duties as a peacekeeper. The worry of his sister ran him ragged, so he was sure to call in everyday, checking on Emma's state.

Carlisle had assured him that she was in a semi-drug-induced comma. But the severeness of her condition made the decision of weaning her off the medication difficult.

Victor never argued. Peacekeepers were notoriously fast healers (not quite the speed of a werewolf, but still, a broken bone would only take 1 week and a half or so to heal, just as an example), but he had seen Emma before he left.

Around three days before actually returning to Philly, Victor announced that he would be leaving to Dr. Carlisle and his family. When Victor requested to see his sister, Carlisle didn't hesitate to allow him into her room.

The Dawson boy remembered that room quite well. It had been buried in the Intensive Care wing of Fork's Hospital... A pungent smell of staleness and chemicals clung to the air. The room itself was bland, no windows, just a fluorescent fixture for light. Harmonious beeps and blips coming from the machines, were generic and you wouldn't even notice them after being in the room a few minutes.

And though the hospital room was quite normal and boring, the gourish sight laying in the small cot, covered in fresh bandages, tubes, and wires, was a something to behold. Emma-Kate, asleep and wounded, was unaware of anything going on around her. Her bruised and battered state made her look frail, androgynous, and inhuman. Gashes and bumps had swelled, disfiguring her form. The large bandages tended to keep her features hidden, almost covering her entire face.

However, it was the parts that Victor could recognize that gave him hope.

Emma's undamaged arm was turned, so her palm was facing the ceiling. An IV needle pierced about four inches away from the crease in her elbow. Just above this crease, Emma had a tattoo of a blue feather. Inside the blue feather, in black lettering, the word "MATUNAAGD" was scribed across the length. "Matunaagd" was the Algonquian word for fights, or fighter. Victor himself had a matching tattoo, in the same place only on the opposite arm. His read, "ACHALE," the Algonquian word for spirit. These words were special to them, as they were also names that the tribe's chief had given the twins, after they helped with a spiritual problem he had. Together they were the Eluwilussit, or "Holy Ones" as the chief had said. The inked marking comforted Victor, as if it was a sign that Emma would pull through.

~~~

Even though Victor had left, Emma-Kate still had regular visitors.

Edward, Bella, Jasper, and Alice came most frequently, usually together. Embry and Quil have came to see her a few times. Even Sam and Emily took time away from the pack to visit. Carlisle stayed in the hospital all day and all night, taking care of Emma (and occasionally other patients). He kept his eye out for one visitor in particular, but he never seemed to come.

~~~

Though the concept of hiding from someone in a comma may seem easy, Jacob Black was having a very hard time with it. Everywhere he went, things reminded him of Emma-Kate. He didn't want to go back to his house. Her Ferrari was still parked out front. He couldn't be around the pack. Their thoughts always turned to Emma.

Jake wished he could go on another trip. Like when he learnt of Edward and Bella's wedding. But he couldn't bring himself to leave Forks. The gravitational bind that Emma had on him kept him there.

Each day stretched before him. Three weeks of torture without her. Twenty one days of agonizing guilt. Five hundred and four hours of unbearable pessimistic thoughts. Thirty thousand two hundred and forty minutes of painful realizations.

At this point, Jake was doing math problems out of boredom...he was far past the point of crazy.

Right now, Jacob was in the middle of his daily routine. He'd wake up at his house, eat a quick breakfast, then rush over to the hospital. Jake would never actually walk into, but rather remain in the premises of. Around noon, he'd walk over to a local fast food place for lunch. By six he was back home, to take the night shift of patrol. By midnight, he was fast asleep, eager to see what the next day would bring.

But when he woke up this morning, he felt a bit different. An odd adrenaline served as his alarm clock. Perhaps it was due to the lack of wolf-exercise. Or maybe it was because he'd slept an extra four hours because his alarm clock had broken last night. Either way, Jacob Black awoke with a new found positive energy.

Not bothering to stop for breakfast, he flew out the door in a rush, shouting over his shoulder that he'd be home for dinner.

Immediately, he headed towards the beach. Not getting there quick enough, he transformed into his wolf form as soon as he reached the woods.

Jake ran the entire length of the beach at least ten times over. He took in the feeling of the sad between his paws and the air rushing past his face. Jake did not think at this time. He was just running, running with a cleared head.

After a few hours of galloping up and down the long strip of shoreline, Jacob finally decided to stop.

~~~

After a quick change of clothes, Jacob found himself in front of the hospital. Sucking in a quick breath, Jake pushed open the front doors.

Why the sudden act of courage? He didn't know. Jacob just went with his gut instinct. And his gut told him to go, go, go, don't think, and don't stop.

He marched himself right through the waiting room, past the front desk. Jacob knew where he was going. Strait down this hallway, make a quick turn here...

He soon found himself in front of an off-tourqouis colored door. 302? Yeah, this was the right place.

Jake paused before he reached for the handle. He couldn't very well stop now... What was the point? This was the farthest he's come.

And so, using the last bit of reckless courage, Jacob moved his large hand to the door knob...

But was unfortunately cut off when the door itself unexplicably opened, knocking Jake back a few steps, and Dr. Cullen walked out.

Carlisle looked up in suprise, "Jacob!" He exclaimed, "I'm terribly sorry, I didn't notice you were there..." Leave it to werewolves to be the only creature able to sneak up on a vampire...

Jacob grimaced. Hospital doors are made of a heavy steel, he learned. "It's alright, Doc."

Carlisle grinned, glad to have him here. Closing Emma's door behind him, Carlisle started to speak to Jacob, "You came at the perfect time."

"How so?"

"Well, last night, we decided to take Emma-Kate off of the comma meds." Carlise grinned wider at Jake's lost and relieved look, "So far we've been monitoring her closely for any sign of immediate physical activity..."

The millisecond suspenseful pause was too much for Jake, "And?!"

"She'll be up within the day." Carlise glanced at the clipboard in his hand, his golden eyes skimming over the charts and notes written there. "Just this morning, she opened her eyes. Around two in the afternoon, she moved her hand. Then just now, her entire arm lifted up."

Jake thought for a minute, "Are those good things?"

"Well, of course. Normally, the signs of a comma patient waking up are extreme unconscious physical movement."

For the first time in three weeks, Jacob Black smiled.