The Peace Keeper

The week dragged on. It was pretty much the same as when I first woke up. People would come and visit for an hour or two, we'd have a light conversation, and they'd leave.

Victor had to be my most frequent visitor, closely followed by Jacob. They really only left when I was sleeping, but because Jacob had a family and a pack to go back to, he couldn't be by my side 24/7 like he wanted.

Thankfully, Victor and him chilled out a bit. Grant it, my brother would be an instigator and attempt to start fights (a horrible habit of his), but Jacob would usually ignore it.

I've made some progress during the week, also. My voice didn't crack, and it was a lot easier to talk now. Also, I began eating solid foods again (even if it was just cruddy hospital food).

The pack would stop by when they could, but with Jacob gone for a bit, they had to work a bit harder than usual. Everyone of the wolves had stopped by, even Leah, who came reluctantly with her little brother, Seth.

Carlisle, Esme, Edward, Bella, Alice, and Jasper would visit quite often, too. I still had yet to see Rosalie and Emmett, but they assured me when I got out we would be introduced. Evidently, the two of them looked forward to meeting me, but wanted me to be up on my feet when I did so.

Speaking of being up on my feet, Carlisle had decided I should try standing soon. My fractured wrist was deemed "fully healed" a few days ago, and the brace came off. Now, they presumed I could try crutches, even though I would probably need a wheel chair at first.

My bruises were now only a faint greenish color, and only the cuts that needed stitches still had a bandage over them. What made me the happiest was that my face was almost completely back to normal. The large cut I had on my forehead had disappeared into a dotted line of small red marks, and would be totally gone by next week. The only major injuries left were my broken leg, a few large (but healing) gashes on along my waist, and then three more even larger gashes on my upper thigh/hip on the broken leg.

Carlisle walked into my hospital room, where I had be talking to Victor. "Well, Emma?" He asked, holding up two metal crutches. "You think you're ready to stand up?"

I was nervous, but put on a brave face anyway, and nodded.

The doctor came over, and lowered on of the small railings on the side of the hospital bed. He then continued to explain that standing up would probably be more difficult than I expected. Being in bed so long had weakened my muscles considerably. Victor and himself would be helping me stand, but he was hoping I would be able to stand just with the crutches by the end of the session.

"Now, slowly, swing your legs over this side of the bed.

I did as I was told. And then scooted down so my butt was right on the edge, so all I had to do was plant my feet and I would be standing.

"Alright now, Victor and I will hoist you up, and you should put your right foot flat on the floor." Carlisle commanded.

The lifted me up by holding me by the arms, and slowly, they lowered me a bit so I was able to stand on my one foot. Of course, the two still held me, so I wasn't necessarily "standing" but still.

The cast on my bad foot grazed the ground ever so slightly, but enough to send a quick jolt through the rest of my leg. I heaved in pain. Morphine had been supplied to me to block the pain of the leg, and since I hardly moved it, I never really felt the pain until now.

It was probably the worst I've ever had.

"Are you OK?" Victor's brow was folded with worry.

"Yeah, yeah..." I hissed, screwing my eyes shut in pain. "Just hit the bad leg a bit."

"Hmm..." Carlisle pondered for a minute. "Maybe it's best we put her down."

"No, no, no, Doc." I told him, "I'll be fine, just hand me the crutches..."

Carlisle gave me a half smile. "If you insist." He handed me one, and Victor helped position it under my right arm. After a minute, I found my balance between the crutch and Carlisle holding me up.

"Are you ready for the next one?" He asked slowly.

I nodded. The vampire then did the same as Victor did, positioning the crutch under my arm, but keeping a hand on my shoulder, while my brother kept a hand on my back.

It took a few seconds for me to find my balance, but I got it. With a huge grin, I asked them to let go. The two men did as I asked and I stood for a minute or two.

"That's great, Emma," Carlisle smiled warmly. "I don't want you walking, though. So we'll get a wheel chair in here later, if you would like."

"I would like that very much."

~~~

Sure enough, a couple hours later, Victor and Carlisle were once again lifting me from the bed, only this time into one of the hospital's wheel chairs. My arms had lost a lot of their former strength, and I found pushing the wheels difficult. But Victor, being the kind brother he is, decided it would be fine to kick me all over the room. It got annoying rather quickly. He would always do it when I wasn't paying attention, then I'd feel him tap the back of the chair with his foot. I'd be swooshing off across the room, just able to stop myself before I would hit a wall.

"Vic!" I shouted after another kick, "Quit it already!"

He just chuckled, "But this counts as your daily work out!"

I pouted, "Can't you just be nice and take me somewhere else? I've been cooped up in this room for nearly a month."

Still laughing a bit, "Yeah sure," And Victor took the handles on the back of the chair, and began to push me towards the door.

Victor ended up taking me towards the waiting room near the lobby. There were people milling about, but we paid no mind to them.

"Hey, Vic?"

"Yeah MK?" He answered.

I tilted my head up so I could look at him properly. "Where have you been staying all the time you've been here? A hotel or something?"

Victor shook his head, "Nah, I just crashed at your place."

...

"What?"

"Don't worry," he consoled, "I didn't touch any of your stuff."

"You better not of!!"

"Emma?" A familiar voice called my name. I looked over, and sitting in the waiting room chairs were Mike, Jessica, and Angela.

"Oh my god, hey guys!" I grinned at them.

The got up and came over to where I was sitting.

"Holy crap, you look terrible!"

"Thanks Jessica..." I said.

"Jess, she just woke up from a coma, give her some slack," Mike chided.

Angela stood beside the two, closest to me, "You seem to be on the mend, though," She smiled.

I smiled back. "You bet!"