Disclaimer:
Me: So, I hope they like my new story...
Emmett: Of course they will! I'm in it!
Me: *chuckles* Sure are big boy. But I don't own any of you, Stephenie Meyer does.
Emmett: Soooo?
Me: Never mind. Let's just let them read the story.
UNKNOWN POV
I just arrived home yesterday after a year of doing my duty in the Confederate army. It was nice being home, but I enjoy the fight. I enjoy doing my duty. I was going to be home for around a month, and seeing how restless I was sitting in the house after only a day I don't know how I'm gonna make it a whole month. I got up from the chair I was sitting in and exited my house.
I lived in a house not far from my parent's ranch. It was a two story house. The first floor held a living area, dining room, kitchen and a den, which contained my large collection of books. The second floor held three rooms and a bathroom. I didn't need such a big house but my parents insisted that I move into it so when I get married it would be prepared. Honestly I would have been happy with a one story house with two rooms, a bathroom, a kitchen , dining room, and a living area where I could also put my books, but you've never had to deal with my mother and I'll tell you know fighting with her is like trying to get through to a Yankee.
When we bought the house it was fairly run down but my father and I renovated it. That was something I definitely enjoyed, I love working with my hands. My mother had us paint the house white and the shutters blue. The porch wrapped around the house and rocking chairs I had made sat in the front. My favorite part of the house, besides the den, was the balcony that I had on the second floor. I loved grabbin' a book and sitting out there at night, the sound of nature making music for me. I was so calming.
I walked through the wet grass towards the small stable that my father and I built near my house. As I entered it I heard my horse, Cassiel, whinny in greeting.
"Hey there boy," I said, my Texan accent rolling off my tongue naturally as I spoke. I ran my hand along the top of his muzzle as he let out a snort in response.
I walked away getting my saddle, the headstall and the reigns before entering Cass's stall. Cassiel means "speed of God"; I had named him after the angel Cassiel, who was the angel of temperance as well as peace and harmony. I found it in one of the books I was reading.
After I got Cass ready for the ride I lead him out of the stable and hopped on him. With that we took off towards the forest trail that was by the house. Cass was an amazing and loyal horse. He stayed with me throughout this whole year and not once did he falter when he heard the shots of battle.
I allowed my mind to stray as Cass steadily walked down the small path. After several minutes I was so absorbed in thought I wasn't paying attention to my surrounding, which was a rare thing for me. If I did such a thing during battle I would surely be killed. That is when I saw her. I was so wrapped up in myself I hadn't heard her.
She was beautiful despite her rough appearance. Her long brown hair was disheveled and her clothes were torn. Her beautiful face was covered with smudges of dirt and mud that matched the color of her eyes, but all of that did not faze me. It wasn't till then that I saw the smears and stains of blood that covered her hands and most of her clothes. I now noticed the tears that were falling down her cheeks rapidly. I jumped off Cass with speed I didn't know I had and ran to her.
"Are you okay there darlin'? Where are you hurt?" I asked her almost frantically as I searched for any wounds she had. She didn't answer, just shook her head 'no'.
"My brother-" She broke off with a sob.
"Your bother? What do you mean darlin'? He's the one that got hurt?" I questioned. She nodded her head. "What happened? Did those damn Yankees get 'em?" I seethed. I noticed her flinch at the way I said Yankees but ignored it.
"Help." She replied before turning and walking away quickly. I grabbed Cass's reigns and followed her. When I got to her she was leaning over a large figure.
The large figure was a man. He had the same brown hair as the girl. He was well built and looked like he'd been in a hella've a fight. Blood covered his face, and he appeared to have several shots, on to his shoulder and the other to his hip. He looked very pale, he was dying.
"Please help." The girl asked me meekly. She caressed the man's face and he let out a groan.
"Bells?" The man asked hazily. "Bella?" That must be her name, and what a perfect name it was.
"Yes Emmy. It's me. I found help. Please fight just a little more." She pleaded.
"I'm so ti-tired." His eyes drooped.
"NO! Stay awake." She shrieked at him before turning to me. "Please help him Sir! Please!" She begged me.
"Okay darlin'. I'm gonna need to move you…" I trailed off.
"Emmett. His name is Emmett and I'm Isabella. I'm sorry I didn't-" I cut her off.
"Don't worry, you had other things on your mind, but I am gonna have ta move him now."
"Thank you!" She launched her small frame at me. Her arms wrapped around my neck as she hugged me. It felt so right and I sighed in content before she released me.
"No problem, darlin'." I told her before bending down to her brother. "I'm gonna move ya now Emmett. I'm gonna need ya to try your best to push yourself up, okay?" I asked him. He gave me a quick nod and I maneuvered myself to a good position to heft him up.
"On three. One. Two. Three." I pulled him up as he pushed. I let out a whistle and Cass trotted over to me. "Miss Isabella, can you get on the horse?" I asked her gently.
"Please, just call me Bella, and yes I can." She responded. Even with the dirt on her face I could see a slight blush come to her face.
"I'm gonna help Emmett here get up then you'll go behind him. Okay?" She nodded and I moved Emmett towards Cass. "Ya ready?" I asked and he replied with a grunt. I hefted him up on to the horse before helping Bella up. When she was positioned safely I grabbed the reigns and set off towards my house.
************** Page Break******************
I heard a sharp intake of breath as we made it to my house.
"Ya okay there darlin'?" I asked her worriedly.
"Yes, it's just…your house, it's beautiful." She replied sheepishly.
"Well thank ya darlin'." I chuckled at her shyness. I tied Cassiel to the banister by his trough so he could get a drink of water before helping Bella and Emmett off his back.
Emmett would hiss in pain as I tried my hardest to carry him up the stairs to a room. Bella scuttled behind us letting out words of comfort to her brother. Making it up the stairs we entered into one of the guest bedrooms and I sat Emmett on the bed.
"I'm going to have to remove your clothes to take out the bullets." I told him before turning to Bella. "I'm gonna need you to go downstairs and go into the kitchen. Boil some water on the stove and then bring it up in a bowl. Also grab a towel and another bowl of water so we can wipe away the blood. Can you do that for me darlin'?" I asked her tentatively. She nodded quickly before scurrying out of the room.
"I'm gonna have to take these off. I'll get you some new clothes, although they might be a tad snug." Emmett let out a rough chuckle and allowed me to pull off his clothes.
His shirt came off first. I could see his shoulder wound clearer now. It didn't look to deep but it was enough to cause a good amount of blood to come out. Next I helped him stand. Undoing his pants, they fell to the ground leaving him in nothing but his undergarments. I helped him lay down before covering his lower half with a sheet.
"I'll be right back. I need to grab a few things." Again he let out a grunt, so I got up and took off out the door. First thing I grabbed was a bottle of whiskey. I grabbed another towel and brought it in Emmett's room before leaving again. Next thing I grabbed was my knife. I took it to the fire place and let the flames lick at the metal.
"What are you doing?" Bella's voice startled me.
"This makes it safer darlin'." I replied smoothly.
"What do you mean?" She asked confused, her eyebrows were drawn together in concentration.
"There are germs on it darlin'. The flames take it away so when I take the bullet out Emmett won't get an infection." I told her.
"Oh. I'm gonna bring this up to the room." She said hurriedly before running up the stairs. She tripped slightly before catching herself.
After heating the night I went and got a needle and thread. I did the same thing with the needle as I did knife and went upstairs to tend to Emmett.
As I neared the room the door was cracked and I heard them whispering.
"Do you think?" Emmett whispered roughly.
"I don't know. Just don't say anything, okay?" Bella replied softly. I guess he answered with a nod because he didn't reply. I knocked softly on the door to make them aware of my presence and then entered.
I slowly entered into the room and walked towards the two sitting on the bed, looking slightly uncomfortable. Bella had a wet towel pressed to Emmett's face. Most of the blood that was once evident had been washed away.
"I'm gonna start by cleaning out the wounds a bit, okay?" I told Emmett. He nodded in return and I prepared my things.
Opening the bottle of whiskey I handed it to Bella who looked at me like I was insane.
"Give it to Emmett. The drunker he gets the better. It'll distract him from the pain." I informed herpatiently. She nodded before making Emmett drink it.
I placed extra sheets under the side that Emmett's wounds were on before dunking a clean washcloth in the hot water. I took it and wrung the water out over his wounds, cleaning away any dirt that was in it. I scrubbed it slightly to remove the dried blood.
"It looks like it stopped bleeding so that is good, and the bullet isn't in deep so it shouldn't be too hard to get 'em out." I informed them. I grabbed my knife and turned back to Emmett slowly.
"I won lie to ya, this is gonna hurt somethin fierce. I'm gonna have to use the tip of this here knife to pry out the bullet. I'm gonna give you this belt. You need to bite down on it gently and as the pain increases you go ahead and bite harder, alright?" I told him. Again he nodded and I placed the belt in his mouth.
"Imma do your shoulder first." I said before bringing the knife up to his wound. I placed the tip in the bullet sized hole until the metal hit metal.
Emmett didn't cry out like I expected him to. He simply winced and bit on the smooth leather in his mouth. I've seen many wounded during battle and every time one was tended to, their screams would ring out and I could swear they would be heard for miles away.
"Emmett, look at me." I suddenly heard Bella's angelic voice as I worked on the bullet. Emmett must have looked at her because she continued. "Good, you're doing so good Em Bear. You're so brave." Tears were streaming down her face and I wanted so badly to wipe them away as she held his hand I wasn't working on.
Bella stroked Emmett's face gently as she spoke encouraging words to him. Finally after several minutes I managed to get the first bullet out safely.
"One out one to go." I declared. "You're doin mighty well, sir. Don't worry I'll fix you up right quick and in a hurry."
I wiped the blade on a sheet and brought it to his hip cautiously. While digging into his wound Emmett released a whimper.
"Hey Em, do you remember how we used to sit in Momma's garden at night and look at the stars? We would talk and talk, do you remember Emmett?" Bella spoke softly, a hint of desperation in her voiceas she attempted to comfort him and ease the pain. Emmett released another whimper but I don't think this one was out of pain from his injuries.
"When you're better we'll find a house and we'll make a garden, our garden. You'll find yourself a nice girl, one Momma would approve of and Poppa would congratulate you on. And you'll give me a bunch of nieces and nephews. That sounds good Emmy. Right? I think it does." Bella rambled, plastering a smile on her face even though she was hurting inside at the sight of her brother's discomfort.
"Done." I announced as the bullet came out of the hole and dropped into my hand. I threw it on the tabl;e then turned my attention back on Emmett who was swearing heavily.
"Now the hard part." I told them. "This is gonna hurt more than the removal so how about you give him some more whiskey?" I warned. Bella nodded and lifted the bottle to Emmett's mouth.
I waited till about a quarter of it was gone and then told Bella to stop. I slipped the belt back into Emmett's mouth and told him to bite before I pulled out the needle and thread. I brought it up to the skin around the small hole and punctured a little bit of the skin. I began to sew his skin together as if it were a hole in a sock. Emmett hissed in pain and Bella soothed him. I worked quickly and tied it up before working on the next. When I was done I heard Bella's sobs and Emmett's sigh of relief.
"I'm sorry darlin' but I had to close the wound, please don't cry he's gonna be okay." I told her before turning to Emmett.
"Sorry but I needed to. I'm gonna dress the wounds and then I'll fix up the bed a bit so you can rest." Emmet nodded drunkenly and I got to work on wrapping his wounds as he lay there tiredly. I finished quickly and fixed his bed. No sooner than I was done Emmett was snoring lightly.
I exited the room with Bella right behind me. I heard the door close behind her and I spun around to face her beautiful face. She caught me off guard when she threw herself on me. Her small arms wrapped around my neck and her body shook slightly with silent sobs.
Wrapping my arms around her tiny frame I brought her closer to me.
"It's alright darlin'. Everythin is gonna be fine." I soothed, patting her back gently. I scooped her up and carried her into the other spare room and placed her on the bed. I moved to go get her more clothes but she was still clinging to me as if she was drowning.
"Darlin' I need you to let go so I can get something. I'll be right back, promise." I tried to ease her mind. She nodded slowly before removing her arms. I ran into my room and grabbed one of my sleeping shirts and pant for her then returned to the spare room.
"Sorry, this is all I have. Go on and change I'll go get you a drink. I'm sure you're thirsty." She nodded and I went to get her some water. I stopped at Emmett's door and peeked in to make sure he was okay. He was still breathing steadily and the soft snores continued but otherwise he seemed fine.
Once assured that he was alive I went down the stairs to go to the kitchen. I filled a cup with water before returning up the stairs to Bella. I knocked on the door and entered when I heard a small voice say 'come in.'
"Here darlin'. How you feelin?" I questioned in concern.
"Thank you. I'm fine." She responded meekly. She sipped her drink greedily and her eyelids looked as if they weighed a thousand tons as they began to droop slightly. She released a yawn. "Excuse me." She said sheepishly after her yawn.
"You're tired, it okay. Why don't ya go ta sleep. If you need me I'm in the room across from here." I told her. She nodded and placed the cup on the bedside table before turning back to me.
"Thank you so much for everything. We're strangers and you brought us into your home. You helped my brother and I am truly forever in your debt…Sir." She hesitated. It was then I realize I never told her my name.
"I'm sorry we never got the chance to introduce ourselves properly." I blushed slightly in embarrassment.
"It's alright. I'm Isabella Marie Swan and the big ox in the room that you saved is Emmet Dale Swan. But as I said before please just call me Bella." She introduced herself and giggled at the blush that had crept upon my face.
"Well then Miss Bella, it's a pleasure to meet you." I smiled pretending to tip my hat that wasn't there and was rewarded with Bella's musical laugh. It sounded like a wind chime and I felt content seeing her happy especially since I was the one who had brought the happiness by fixing up her brother.
"I guess it's only fair I tell you my name huh?" I teased slightly with a grin.
"I do believe so." She smiled at me.
"I'm Major Jasper Eli Whitlock of the Confederate army, but you can just call me Jasper."
A.N. Well this is my new Fanfic. For now it's a two shot. I have this chapter and this chapter in Bella's POV. So I need to know if you like it and want me to continue so please, please, please review!
I want to give a special thanks to my Beta, my Lil Sis! I love her and she is an amazing writer! Check out her stories! And the one we are writing together under the pen name Writingsisters! It's a Vampire Academy fanfic. :o)
Hope everyone had a great holiday!
~Krysy