Chapter 2

A/N: Okay, so already I am getting reviews, and support for these new stories I've been working on, and I just want to thank you guys. Like seriously I was dinking around with these things and worried that everyone would just say meh, but this kind of support is just so awesome. Thank you. I love to hear what you're thinking.

Most of our conversation died after that, the wolves thinking about the gravity of what had happened to me, trying to figure out how to tip-toe around me I'm sure. I was just trying to get them out of the house so I could finally sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, Charlie was already gone for work, just like old times. I spent the morning working on the shelving unit I was putting into my closet. Most of my clothes were to be folded in the drawers so there was no reason to waste all that space with unused hanging space. When noon hit, I had put together the light plywood into a simple grid, and after I put together some lunch for myself, I started unpacking my shit.

Books, shoes, clothes, all of it went in its designated locations first, folded neatly and sorted by color for my clothes, or hung up in the small foot wide space I left for my dress uniform, and my khakis. I had all of two skirts and one dress that I had worn when I was needed at formal events. That was the only part of retiring early that appealed to me, never having to go to another stupid function ever again.

It was bad enough getting my medals, god I think I would have died if some asshole tried to get me the medal of honor. Meeting the president and shmoozing the higher ups over a stupid hunk of metal? I would have killed my squad and they all know it, I may not be the most physically intimidating, but they all knew that when it came to a test of wills, I win. I haven't let myself lose a battle of wills since Edward left me crying like a pathetic little girl in the woods. He humiliated me, and hurt me, and put me in a functional coma for months because I was so torn up about it, thinking he would come back if I just wished hard enough.

Thank god for Charlie. He signed me up for boot camp that summer, and an ROTC program in school, it was small but it taught me discipline and gave me people to care about. I met new friends, and while Angela was super sweet and stuck around, the rest of them left me alone. He gave me what I needed to get it all back together. Jake and the pack took care of my safety when the redhead poked her head into my business, and as soon as she saw what she was facing she left. It probably helped that Edward wasn't around.

"Hey Bells you home? I brought some of Sue Clearwater's fish fry!" Charlie called up the stairs, breaking me out of my rut. I still had about two boxes of stuff left, but that would happen eventually.

"Coming!" I yelled back, hobbling back down the stairs. If there's one thing the Air Force taught me, it's how to appreciate a hot home cooked meal.

That became the pattern of our days for the next two weeks. Charlie would go to work, waking me up on his way out, I would eat my two square meals, and read, or job hunt. For an hour or so, I would do what little exercise my body could handle, and then I'd sit in front of the TV until Charlie came home. Sometimes I would cook dinner, sometimes he would have something in the crockpot, others we just agreed to go out. It was pretty easy.

Then my phone woke me up, before Charlie was even out of the shower, with an alarm. -Doctor's Appointment Seattle at 0830-. "Fuck my life." I groaned, rolling out of bed to land on all fours. I grabbed my phone, sitting back on my haunches with a pained huff, and called Jake.

"Whaaaatttt?" He groaned, sounding just as happy as I am.

"Time to get up." I grouched, "You're the one that said you'd take me to Seattle today." I heard some quiet bumps and cusses as Jake made his way through his tiny bedroom. "I'll have breakfast for you when you get here." I told him before hanging up. I grabbed the first pair of pants and shirt I could find, tugging them on before struggling with the stairs. I was getting better with them, but going down always makes me feel like I'm going to tumble tail over tea kettle and break my face on the landing.

"Bells?" Charlie poked his head out of the bathroom looking confused, "Is everything okay?"

"Doctor's appointment. Jake is taking me up." I replied over my shoulder, focused on not hurting myself even worse. Just the idea of bouncing off the stairs as I fell was making my back twinge. Thankfully Charlie didn't distract me further, he just went back to his morning routine while I made enough eggs to feed an army, or a single werewolf anyway. Charlie stole some, and a piece of toast for the road before he headed out to the car.

Jake arrived only a short while later, and moaned happily, "Bella Swan I love you." He threw himself into the nearest chair and started chowing down.

I chuckled at his antics, watching him inhale the food in front of him. "Don't you get stomach aches or something?" I teased. The idea of breakfast made me queasy just like every other morning so I did the dishes while he devoured almost a dozen eggs worth of scramble along with five pieces of toast, and all the sausages I had found in the freezer.

Finally Jake sat back with a happy sigh, "Stomach aches are for sissies." He replied, glancing at the clock. "So when do we have to be there?"

I checked my watch, "O'eight hundred thirty." I replied, "So we have an hour to get there and get checked in. You think you can make it with a passenger teen wolf?" I teased. Jake hadn't aged since he had his growth spurt, but considering he looked twenty-five at the age of seventeen, it almost didn't matter that much.

Jake jumped up with a grin, "Hell yeah we can." He cracked his neck with a cacophony of snaps and pops before he scooped me up and started running. I froze up when he grabbed me. I can't decide if I'm greatful or pissed that he didn't notice, probably both. He should be more careful, I have a tac knife strapped to my thigh at all times and I would not have hesitated to kill him if I hadn't remembered who he was. Call me jumpy all you like, but I am a firm believer in shooting first and asking questions later.

The run was uneventful, but interesting to watch. Up in a jet it's pretty damn awesome watching everything go by so slowly, because while you're the fastest thing up there, everything else moves so slow that it's like you've gotten stuck in time. Down here on the forest floor, everything blurs and it feels so much faster, but I know we really aren't all that fast in comparison. The pull in my gut when he ducks and dodges the trees doesn't even compare to the kind of yanking I'm accustomed to during maneuvers.

Jake and I split at the hospital with a quarter of an hour to spare, just enough time to check in and sit down before it was time to go. Jake went to explore the city since we both had no clue how long I was gonna be here waiting, so I headed into the exam room alone, and sat down on the padded bench to wait.

When the door opened I tensed, knowing that I shouldn't. It's okay Swan, you're safe. Just calm your shit, and sit back and let the doctor- My eyes widened. A pale skinned, adonis like beauty met my eyes as Carlisle Cullen himself entered the exam room.

Now is about the time that adrenaline kicks in, and it's not like everyone tells you. Time speeds the fuck up, but then so do you. As soon as Dr. Cullen walked in I could feel my brain start moving faster and my two favorite shoulder devils showing up. I could rip him a new one and start shouting and throw a fit worthy of everything he put me through, or I could watch his confusion grow as I treat him like nothing ever happened. Devil #2 is a cruel bastard. I like how he thinks most days, so I'm sticking with his plan.

I took half a second to take stock of the good doctor, and saw that he was equally shocked by my appearance. Good. "What's up doc?" I asked, my voice and body relaxed while my mind raced. Why the hell is he here? Where the fuck is his family? Does this mean I have to beat the shit out of Edward because I think I could get behind that. I wonder if grenades would bother him. "How's the family?"

Then I saw a miracle, a vampire paled. He looked down at my chart in his hand, then back up to me, and this repeated for a good four laps before he swallowed, "Isabella."

I raised my eyebrows, and gave him a slow nod, like I was working with a small child. "Yesss, Isabella Swan." I gave him an encouraging smile, still nodding, "I'm here for a check-up?" I urged when he made no move.

His nodded sharply, composing himself, "Yes of course. What is bothering you?" He glanced at the crutches leaning against my exam table, and the tiniest of smiles quirked the edge of his lips, "More broken bones Bella?"

My body chilled over as he used the nickname, and dared to joke about the clumsiness that had nearly ended my life on multiple occasions. Calm, peace, serenity. You are a leaf on the wind, you can withstand the hardest drill sergeant thrown at you, you can handle Carlisle Cullen. "Well the broken ribs are uncomfortable but they hardly bother me enough for a doctor. As for the fractures in my arms, and pelvis, they aren't a serious issue." I brushed it off so casually, I was waiting for him to explode like Edward. The two were more alike than anyone would want to admit. A true father and son duo.

His eyes widened, and he tsked at me, "Bella, you shouldn't be so cavalier about your safety." I bit back a scoff. His son left clumsy old me sobbing in the woods after dark, I could have died without the wolves, but he has the gall to chide me? Oh if he weren't impervious I would strangle him. Carlisle immediately started checking my arm and ribs, but between the adrenaline, and the anger, I couldn't feel any pain. He frowned at me, obviously aware that I had not lied about the breaks, but I was still on crutches, "What else is hurt? None of these require crutches, in fact it might exacerbate your condition."

I clenched my jaw and took deep breaths. If anyone can help it's Carlisle, I can always rip his son to shreds later, maybe Rose will help. She always did hate how much of a pansy I was, maybe- NO. You fucking idiot, why the hell would you want to talk to them? They're vampires, and they've already proved they don't give a shit. Rose can go screw herself. "Isn't that in my file Doctor? I had all my medical records shipped over."

Carlisle's frown deepened, and what I used to think was a godlike face, well I can only describe it as childish. He has the round cheeks of a young man, and he looks no older than one of my trainees. Intellectually I know he's almost as old as the declaration of independance, but physically? Mike Newton looks more grown up than this guy, how in the world does anyone believe he's a medical doctor? Honestly, I have a hard time accepting that he knows his ass from a windmill. He looked down to my file again, and gasped, "The Air Force?" He stared at me in shock, "How could you be so irresponsible?" He sounds exactly like Edward.

That's it. I slid off the exam table with a wince and grabbed my crutches, shocking the vampire so much that it was only once I had swung myself to the door that he moved to stop me, his icy hand on my arm. I ripped away from the chill nor out of self-preservation, but anger. "Where in the world are you going?"

I raised an eyebrow, "To find a professional doctor." It felt good seeing the hurt in his eyes, a tiny reflection of what his eldest son had inflicted on me in such an unnecessarily cruel way. "You took an oath to do no harm Carlisle." I reminded him, my heart just as cold as his own, "Now here you are doing it again, and for no better reason than last time. Do you always chide veterans for serving their country in the best way they know how?"

He deflated in a way I had never seen before, and the calm mask slipped away to reveal, vulnerability. "I am sorry, please, sit down. I did not mean to offend you, it's just… For us, it has only been a short time since I thought of you as my daughter," I flinched, unable to control my reaction to that one. "It feels as if it has only been days, and the young lady I remember, she would not have been well suited for war."

I scoffed, pissed that he had gotten to me, and angry that I had already let the facade slip, but most of all? The thing that burned the most is that he talks like it was a mutual decision to go our separate ways. "I dunno, the hell your son put me through was better training than most got." I shook my head, chewing on my cheek, "You know that in the six years I served, it took all this shit to put the fear of god into me?" I gestured at myself, "James was practice." Carlisle flinched, "And that redheaded bitch, and what was his name, the french black guy? You vampires made me forget that normal people could hurt me too. Five years of war, and not a scratch because I didn't care if anyone got me, and I took the risks and played people's weaknesses. You made me think I was unbreakable."

My voice cracked with emotion, and I swiped at my eyes to make sure there were no tears. Those days are done, I won't cry over my anger, or long for days gone by. Looking for those god damn voices in my head that told me he fucking loved me. God, I am so pathetic. "Oh Bella…" Carlisle loosened my grip on my crutches and pulled them from my hands, he sighed, "Let's get you into an MRI to see what we're dealing with."

"Sure." He lifted me onto a gurney or something to wheel me around, and began pushing me through whitewashed halls. I shut down, letting him do his doctor thing while I strangled my emotions back into a box. God damn fucking vampires. What the hell are they even doing in Seattle? I thought they were supposed to leave for my safety or some shit.

The next hour passed in relative silence as Carlisle ooh'ed and ahh'ed at my various injuries with the radiologist, putting me in all kinds of machines for scans and shit. It made me think about how much I used to hate hospitals because they meant I'd screwed up again. Landing myself in the hospital was embarrassing because it was all my fault, now it's just a boring side effect of doing what I love. Loved. Finally I was wheeled back to the main hallways of the hospital, but not the exam room, probably Carlisle's office. He settled me in the cozy room, expecting me to comment or find it interesting or pester him for details on where he got his shit. Suffice it to say that I didn't. "Diagnosis?"

Carlisle winced and opened his mouth with an expression of pity. "Let me stop you right there Mr. Cullen." I said sharply, "You are about to pour some hopeful bullshit out of that mouth of yours, and we both know it isn't true. So, you are going to think very hard about how stupid you think I am, and then you are going to tell me the truth like a real doctor who is trying to help me recover." He'd given me that look every time I was injured and almost died, it was the same with James, and when Edward chucked me into that table of glass, and I won't have it. I haven't been patronized in years, and I won't allow it to happen again.

The doctor paused just a moment longer than it took me to stop, and for a vampire I'm sure it was practically forever. At least he's taking me a little seriously, the pompous asshole. "There is a very real chance that you will always feel pain from these injuries, even after extensive physical therapy. The damage, along with the other stresses your body has suffered, well it's difficult to predict if you will heal faster, or slower than the average human. No matter what, you need to spend your time resting and recuperating."

I nodded, it sounded about like what the other doctor had said though with more english. It's a good thing I didn't get my hopes up right? I sat down with a low thud that echoed up through my spine. "Isabella?" Dr. Cullen asked quietly, hovering over me like I'm some fragile little flower that's going to break.

"I'm fine." Standing up didn't bother me half so much as it usually did, anger always helps, but it's a hell of a lot harder to shove someone in passing when they all step aside for you like you're a fucking invalid. All I wanted to do was shove my crutch in his stupid face for trying to care about me after everything he did. I hobbled out of the hospital and Jake was waiting for me right where he left me before. "Take me home."

Jake tried to talk to me about the visit but I ignored him, forcing all of my efforts into holding myself together until he left. I knew the news was bad, and shit got real when the docs told me crutches or a wheelchair, but… I might never walk without pain again. I didn't speak until we'd made it back to Charlie's house, "I have PT three times a week at 9am, you mind taking me? I'm gonna smell like shit then too." I informed Jake, waiting for the inevitable three-thousand questions about the vampire stink. He surprised me.

"I'll be here bright and early, don't worry about making me breakfast though, I can grab some in Seattle." He left without another comment, though his expression was about as happy as mine. Fucking vampires.