Shaky Ground Teaser

Bella ended up spending the night at Edward’s. She crashed in the car and he carried her up to his apartment. Laying her on the bed, he sent a text to Carlisle, explaining that Bella was staying with him. She barely stirred when he changed her into one of his t-shirts. He removed her cast and saw how swollen her foot was. He wrapped it with an ice pack and lay down next to her, holding her in his arms.

The next morning, Bella did go through with her promise of devouring an Edward popsicle. He groaned loudly as he came down her throat. They spent the rest of the day cuddling in his bed and he drove back to Carlisle and Esme’s so they could have dinner with Jake.

The weeks went by quickly. Edward’s license was transferred to Oregon and he was put on the emergency 

department schedule starting on January 2^nd. He also spent time reading medical journals while he waited for Bella to be done with her physical therapy. Bella also read medical journals, following the latest information about pediatric medicine, but she also read as many books as she could since her schedule would be changing once she got medically cleared by Dr. Denali. But, unfortunately, her recovery was slow-going. Her muscles had atrophied and her leg was very weak from the surgery needed to repair it. Bella was afraid she’d need more surgery. Surely, the amount of pain of she was in was not normal.

Bella hid it well. She plastered on a smile, muscled through it but would cry when she was in bed at night, as her leg wouldn’t stop aching. She hated to take her pain medications. They made her tired, loopy.

A couple of days before Christmas, her father arrived with his girlfriend, Sue. Edward picked them up from the airport, but Bella was waiting with baited breath. She made an appointment with Dr. Denali and she wanted her father to go with her. When Charlie arrived, Bella begged Edward to borrow his car. He frowned, but handed over his keys to Charlie while Esme fawned over Sue and Edward, taking them out to lunch while Bella gave Charlie directions to Dr. Denali’s off-campus office.

“How’s the recovery going, Bells?” Charlie asked.

“Bad, Daddy,” she whispered. “My leg – it hurts – all the time. It’s why you’re taking me to see Dr. Denali. Megan expressed concern that due to my pain level, my recovery is taking too long and I might need more surgery. I don’t want to have another surgery. I want my leg back to normal!”

“And does Edward know this? Esme? Carlisle?” Charlie whispered.

“You’re the first one I’ve told besides Megan,” Bella answered. “Is this pain normal with the surgery I’ve had? I’ve read various articles. The pain level varies from mild discomfort to … well, not to the level that I’m experiencing.”

“On a scale from one to ten, what is your pain level?” Charlie asked.

“Without pain medication? About a nine,” Bella sighed. “With pain meds? Seven-ish.”