Serendipity

My Angel

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Jacob couldn't remember the ride over, or the phone call he had somehow received from Quil asking him how he was doing, but as the engine died in the parking lot of Forks General Hospital, none of that mattered – the only thing that did was getting to Brennan.

His body slid out of the truck and was sprinting towards the side entrance of the building where the emergency room was located. He squeezed through the slowly opening doors of the hospital and rushed down the small corridor, practically bursting through the door to the waiting room and nearly ripping it off its hinges.

His burly form ran up to the counter, taking the receptionist behind it by surprise. “I need to find a room,” he gasped, his body not able to keep up with his mind. “Brennan Riley – she was just brought here by ambulance.”

The young blonde woman turned towards her screen, her fingers clacking away at the keys of the computer before she nodded as she found the patient in question. “Miss Riley was just put into room nine,” the worker explained, picking up a marker and visitation sticker for the boy before her. “Your name and relationship to the patient?”

“Jacob Black, I'm her boyfriend,” his lips few before he realized that he probably should have made up a lie about being her relative, his heart sinking as he watched the girl slowly put the pen down with an unfortunate expression.

“I'm sorry, Mr. Black. Only family members are allowed visitation in the emergency room.”

Please, she doesn't have any family,” he pleaded, his eyes glazing over in defeat.

“As much as I'd like to, I can't bend the rules.”

His head rolled back, the air in Jacob's lung escaping him in an exhausted sigh, his eyes squeezing shut to not allow any possible tears from making their way down his face. He walked away from the desk and back out into the hallway, Sam briskly making his way over to his side.

“They didn't let you in,” he assumed.

“Family members only,” Jacob bitterly answered. “What fucking family does she have, Sam? That asshole did that to her! I can't even see how she's doing!” The thought of being left in the dark crushed him inside, the tears he tried to hold back now spilling over at the thought of her being alone without him. “This is fucked, Sam. I should be there with her. I should be there. I should be there.”

Sam was never one to express feelings or show them, but he knew Jacob was feeling the most unbearable pain – the uncertainty of not knowing if his imprint would make it or not. The pack leader took a step forward and brought him into an awkward embrace that he hoped would be at least somewhat comforting to his pack brother, patting his back that was quaking with raw emotion.

“It's... it's going to be okay, Jake. You love each other, and that love is a strong one,” he explained. “Her love for you will bring her back, just as your love for her will protect her and guide her back to you.”

The two stood there in the deserted hallway, the older one holding onto the younger one with a firm grip that was enough to convey his assuredness in the matter. Jacob took deep breaths, steadying his resolve and regaining some of his lost composure, pulling away from Sam and thanking him with a nod of the head.

“Yo, Jake!”

The two turned to see another pair – Embry and Quil – running at them from the other end of the hall. The twosome was out of breath as they approached their friend and leader.

“Jake, how you holding up, man?” Quil asked.

“Could be better,” he mumbled.

“I'm sure she's going to be fine, Jake.” Embry consoled, giving him a pat on the back.

“Why aren't you in there?” Quil inquired. “Did they say no because you weren't family?”

“Yeah,” Jacob sighed, his brow furrowing at the reminder.

“C'mon, let's get in there,” Quil suggested. “We'll distract the staff and you make a run for it.”

“Don't be stupid,” Sam glowered. “You'll both wind up at the police station if you try that crap here.”

“What are we supposed to do, Sam? Just wait around for a sign?” Embry retaliated. “They wouldn't even let us know if anything happened to her – good or not – because we're not her family. Jake needs to be in there!”

Sam remained quiet, not wanting to admit that they were right. Even though he didn't agree with their ridiculous method, he knew that Jacob needed to be with his imprint when she needed him. He knew the feeling of wanting to be with his when Emily had her accident because of him. Sam couldn't deny Jacob this...

“Just how are you going to distract them?” Sam asked.

“We'll figure that out,” Embry shrugged.

“Even if you got her out I couldn't get in anyways,” Jake sighed. “There's a card reader on the door – it's locked. How am I going to get a card to get in?”

“We'll figure that out, too,” Quil muttered.

Embry rubbed his temple for a moment and snapped his fingers. “Sam do you still have that army knife if your truck's glove box?”

Sam's eyes widened. “What the hell are you thinking?”

“Nothing crazy, I swear,” Embry held up his hands innocently. “Just trust me on this one.”

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Embry and Quil bust through the doors to the waiting room, dripping in sweat and sprinting towards the receptionist who sat alone at the desk.

“Miss! Miss!” Quil shouted panic-stricken. “In that hallway – someone's fainted!”

“The old guy's out cold! Please, you gotta do something!” Embry wailed.

The woman's eyes widened, the boys' pleas for her to help them making her forget her job as a receptionist. She stood from her desk, and immediately Embry's eyes latched onto her waist and the security card that dangled from it on a retractable key card holder.

“He's over here in this hallway!” Quil pointed.

The woman rushed out from around the desk, and Embry kept a pace behind her at her side, his hands deftly grabbing the card and pulling it on its string as the small army knife diced through the cord. His fingers held onto the card securely as they exited the lobby, Quil guiding the nurse down the hall to a pair of legs that jutted out from around the corner of another hallway, Sam wondering how the hell he allowed himself to be pulled into such a stupid idea.

As Quil showed her the way, Embry turned around and tossed the card key towards Jacob who was waiting against the wall. “Good luck, Jake,” he whispered.

“Thanks, Em,” he smiled gratefully.

The boys went their separate ways, Jacob entering the waiting room and making a run towards the scanner. He slid the card, the red light on the device flashing a brilliant green before an audible click was heard, the boy opening the door and rushing down the hall.

Room nine, room nine...

The numbers began to rise and soon he stopped at the door he needed. His body stood in the frame, his eyes scanning her body before him, his heart shattering at the sight. Her lids covered her copper eyes, the tear stains from earlier still visible to him on her pale cheeks which were hidden beneath an oxygen mask. Bruises marred most of her exposed body, and he could only imagine how much of a beating his had received from the stairwell as she fell down it. Hooked up to her arms were the necessary tubes that connected to an IV fluid bag as well as what appeared to be a bag of blood for a transfusion, as well as the heart monitor that almost seemed to taunt him at every pause of the beep. As his eyes fell down to her torso, a quiet sob broke out from him a the sight of her bandaged mid-drift, the image of her own father stabbing her with that bottle in a drunken rage burned into the back of his mind...

He walked over towards her, sitting down upon the chair beside her bed and taking her hand of ice, bringing it to his lips and kissing the back of it tenderly. “Brennan, I'm so sorry...” he cried. “I should have protected you better. I should have never let this happen to you.”

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The darkness vanished as her lids cracked open slightly, the fluorescent lighting that surrounded her somewhat familiar – was she experiencing déjà vu?

Her eyes fell down her body, taking note of all the medical equipment around her, till they landed on the one thing in the room that didn't necessarily seem to fit in. The large figure of her boyfriend resting his head upon her hand cast a smile upon her lips, the girl even finding a chuckle escaping the back of her throat as she heard a snore come from the boy. Her eyes that gleamed happily were glazed over with fresh tears, and she began to cry, so thankful that he was there with her – that she wasn't alone.

After tonight... he was all she had left.

Her sniffles riled the boy up from his sleep, Jacob wiping away at his blurry eyes to find the girl sobbing into her oxygen mask. “Brennan, what's wrong? Are you in pain?”

“Thank you, Jake,” she whispered.

His heart twinged in guilt, his eyes spilling over fresh tears. “Don't thank me, Bren. I couldn't do anything for you. I couldn't stop him from hurting you.”

“You're wrong,” she croaked angrily, her brow furrowing. “You saved me. You've saved me in so many ways, Jacob. You got me the help I needed, you were there for me when I needed you to be, and you gave me love when I needed it most. How can you say that about yourself?”

“Brennan,” he whispered, kissing her forehead. “Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you, Jacob.”

Jacob sat back down onto the chair, holding her hand, the two of them never looking away from the other. Sam had been right. Their love for each other was what had brought them together. It was what would keep them together.

Footsteps from outside the hall came to a stop before the door, a nurse entering the room with a clipboard. She looked up at the patient before her before her eyes scanned over Jacob, noticing his lack of a visitation badge.

“Sir, where is your visitor badge?” She asked sternly.

Jacob froze and gulped, looking at the middle-aged woman before him. “I, er, don't have one,” his voice murmured.

“I'm getting security.”

“No, please don't!” Brennan insisted. “Let him stay, I need him here with me. I don't have anyone else to be with me. I don't want to be alone.”

The woman's eyes glinted for a split second with remorse before she gave into her feelings, giving a sigh. “Alright, he can stay. However, you're going to need a badge the next time. Please don't do this again or else security will be involved and they will not be lenient.”

“Thank you, ma'am,” Jacob nodded. “I'll make sure of it.”

As the nurse came to Brennan's side to check her vitals and ask her a few questions about the pain she might have been experiencing, another woman watched from the hall without their knowing. Once the nurse took her leave, the other took her place.

“Miss Riley,” the voice called out, to which the pair turn their attention to.

“Joanne,” she recalled, remembering the woman from when she had dropped her off at her father's home at the start of this.

“I'm glad you remember me,” she started off. “I'm sorry to be meeting with you again under these circumstances.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I'll explain, but I'd like to be alone with you.”

“Jacob can hear this, I don't mind,” she insisted.

“I'm afraid that I do, Miss Riley.” Joanne turned to Jacob. “Please, if you wouldn't mind, this is important.”

Jacob sighed and nodded his head unwillingly, standing from the bed and giving Brennan's hand a gentle squeeze. “It's alright. I'll go and get that visitor badge and be back.”

As Jacob left, the door closed behind him and Joanne returned to business. “Miss Riley, as you know, Andrew Wiltern was the only family member you had left that was able to take you in. After I received the phone call of this accident, I even did some digging to make sure of it, to try and see if you had anyone else who might be able to care for you till you're of legal age.”

“No one?”

She somberly shook her head. “There was no one. As I did my research, I found your mother's old divorce papers. She had stated 'irreconcilable differences' as the reason for the divorce, but I found an old coworker of hers that said she had confided in her the fact that Andrew would abuse her. My guess is that she didn't want to come forward about his abusive tendencies to keep both of you safe.”

As the news sunk in, Brennan's head began to throb...

“Unfortunately, seeing as you're still a minor, with no one to care for you, you'll have to be put into foster care for the time being. Seeing as there are no licensed foster families in the La Push or Forks area, you'll have to relocate back to Seattle – we figured this would be the best place for you as you're originally from there.”

Tears escaped her eyes before she even realized it, although she was also unaware of the fact that Jacob was standing on the other side of the door crying along with her, his enhanced hearing picking up every word that woman said – sealing their fate.

Jacob took a deep breath, wiped his face, and shook head head, trying to regain control over his wild emotions. He walked towards the nurse's station a way's down, finding the nurse he had talked to in Brennan's room.

“Could I get that visitor's badge? And can you do me a favor?”

The nurse wearily nodded her head, writing down his info on a sticker before handing it to him. “What do you need?”

“I think it's best I return home to let my family know where I'll be and to get a change of clothes. Could you let Brennan know that I'll be back as soon as I can? She's talking with the CPS worker and I don't want to interrupt them.”

“I'll make sure to do so,” she nodded.

“Thank you.”

Jacob's large figure sauntered down the hall and out of the emergency room, walking through the lobby with haste to not draw attention to himself. He found Sam in his truck, taking a nap, and after having woke him up, found out he had made the boys return home to La Push.

The drive to Sam's was a quiet one, Sam not wanting to bring up Brennan as he didn't know what that might bring out in Jacob and knowing that he would share when he was ready. When Sam's home came into view, Emily rushed out onto the front porch in her nightgown at the sound of the engine, worry veiling her eyes as she met the boys at the car.

Guiding them into the home, she didn't hold back her curiosity. “Jacob, are you alright? How is Brennan?”

“I'm fine, Em. Brennan's... alright.”

“Jacob, I'm so sorry,” she whispered, bringing the boy into a hug just as Sam had done earlier, however, hers had a motherly love that he hadn't felt in a while. “Things will be fine. They'll go back to normal when she's out.”

“No...” he whimpered. “They won't.”

She pulled away from Jacob. “What do you mean?”

“She doesn't have anyone else – no more family. The person from Child Protective Services told her that... that...”

“What, Jacob?” Sam inquired.

“She's leaving La Push – going back to Seattle to be put into foster care.”

“Foster care,” Emily gasped.

“Who knows when I'll see her again after she leaves,” Jacob cried.

Emily pat him on his back, showing him towards the staircase. “Jacob, please, go on up to the guest bedroom and rest. You need all the rest you can get before you go back.”

“But, Emily—”

“I'm not hearing it, Jacob Black – any of it. Get up those stairs and sleep. Now.”

“Fine.”

Jacob's form trudged up the stairs, leaving Sam and Emily in a somber silence.

“Let's get to bed ourselves, Em,” Sam groaned tiredly.

As he took a step after Jacob, Emily grabbed his wrist. “Sam.”

He turned to his wife, more alert and awake at the serious tone of her voice. “What is it, Em?”

“We need to talk.”