The Peace Keeper

Emma was only able to stay up for about fifteen minutes, before she needed to rest again. During her short time awake, Carlisle had asked her a few simple questions (note that Emma was still too week to talk, but she was able to nod her head a bit), such as: "Do you remember your name?" She nodded yes. "Do you know where you are?" Again, she nodded yes. "Do you remember the accident at all?" At this, she shook her head no.

Jake's face had scrunched up in a wary sadness at that. He was hoping no one would have to explain it to her...Grant it, the explanation would be saved for later, as suggested by Carlisle. They didn't want Emma to stress out too much.

So, shortly after Emma went back to sleep, Victor began to wonder...about the moment when she first opened her eyes. She saw Victor first... and then Carlisle... But when she finally saw Jacob, Emma did something Victor wasn't expecting her to do. She smiled at him. She didn't smile at Victor, but at the very person who put her in this godforsaken hospital.

Again, she didn't remember the accident... But still.

His thoughts were cut off when Carlisle approached him again.

Carlisle had left the room to inform his family and the werewolves about Emma's awakening, along with the legal medical mumbojombo that went along with tracking a patients progress.

Carlisle pulled up a chair next to Victor, who remained by Emma's bedside, Jake did the same on Emma's left.

"I know you had some questions earlier," Carlisle started, "I think it's best if we answer them now."

Victor nodded solemnly. "My main concern is her mental health. Did she have any brain damage?"

Carlisle smiled, not at Victor, but at Emma herself. "None. She had a pretty bad concussion, which probably resulted in her slight memory loss, but that's just about it. Her brain was fine."

Jacob released the breath he'd been holding. Victor heard this, and sent a quick glare towards the werewolf.

"Then how's the physical damage affecting her? I know her spine is fine, but her leg got beat up pretty bad... Will she be crippled at all?"

Carlisle paused, looking down. After a minute strait of silence, Jake finally probed, "Well, Doc?"

"As you both should know," He addressed the two boys, "Her leg was almost completely shattered. We inserted a metal rod to serve as a femur, while her tibia and fibula were badly broken. Then the joint in her knee and knee cap... I don't know where to start... We were considering amputation..."

Jake and Victor gaped at the doctor.

"Luckily, the bones have healed up quickly, so it wouldn't have been necessary." Victor nodded, Carlisle continued, "I've found that Emma-Kate's bones and major injuries healed much faster than they should've... Does that have anything to do with her being a Peacekeeper?"

Victor nodded again, "Yeah... Due to our high spiritual energy, our bodies have the ability to heal quickly."

"Cool..." Jake muttered to himself.

Another glare from Victor, this time Jacob felt good enough to return it.

"As we were saying," Victor said through clenched teeth, "What exactly is going to happen to Emma's leg?"

Carlisle stood up, and grabbed the medical chart hanging at the end of Emma's bed. "She'll need intense physical therapy and probably a wheelchair. Then she'll have to use crutches for a while... I doubt she'll be able to walk independently... The best we can probably do is have her on a cane."

Victor stopped to think for a moment, then asked, "Would she need it for the rest of her life?"

"It's looking that way..."

Victor nodded. But it was much better than he thought it would be, and for that he was grateful.

"Now, I'm going to trust you two gentlemen in here alone," Carlisle gave both the boys a stern look, like a parent would give their child. "I'm going to return home, and welcome you two to stay the night here if you wish. Emma will most likely wake up for short periods of time, be sure not to stress her out. Nurses will be in to check her process too, so she won't be alone if you two decide to leave. I'll be back again tomorrow." Carlisle turned to walk out the door, but said this final bit to Jake and Victor, "Please, boys, behave yourselves."

Both of the boys nodded in a childish manner.

Carlisle left, closing the door behind him.

After a moment of silence, "I'm staying all night." Victor stated, leaning back in his chair, hands folded on his stomach.

Jake pursed his lips. He promised Billy that he'd be back for dinner, which would be in an hour or so... Then he had night watch with the pack...

Victor smirked at Jacob's silence, "I'm assuming you can't?"

Jake looked at Emma, and said, "I have some business to attend to, but I'll be sure to spend as much time with her as possible."

Victor's smirk faltered. Now his face turned calculating but indifferent, nearly impossible to read, "Do you have a thing for my sister?" He stated bluntly and monotonously.

Jake smiled softly, "I suppose you can say that..."

The Dawson boy paused for a moment, sensing a hidden meaning behind Jacob's words...Then his eyes grew wide with shock. "You dirty wolf..." He muttered loud enough for Jake to hear. Jake couldn't help but smirk a bit.

"You imprinted on her, didn't you?!"

"So what if I did?" Jake replied nonchalantly.

Jacob's attitude wasn't sitting well with Victor. First, he carelessly pushed Emma off a giant cliff, imprinted on her, told her brother off, and is smug about it.

"I swear to god, wolf, if we weren't in a hospital right now..."

Jake leaned back in his chair, throwing one large arm over the back, looking relaxed and casual, "You wanna take it outside, I'm ready to go when you are."

"I think you forget," Victor hissed. "My people were made to take down your kind."

Jake stood to his full height of 6'6", towering over Victor who only just reached six feet. "I somehow doubt that."

"Really now--!" But Victor's threat was cut off.

"You two are such idiots," Croaked the battered girl on the gurney.