unconsciousness would be an undesirable outcome

[self_composed]

On Sunday, Bella drives to the movie theater with Angela in tow, and her car breaks on the way home from Angela's house. She calls a tow truck, and calls her dad, and she goes home in the cop car and her station wagon goes on vacation to the mechanic.

On Monday, Charlie drives Bella to school.

As she's been discharged from the car and Charlie pulls away, a van driven by a panicking teenager screams out of nowhere towards Bella.

Making wishes is easy.

It is not automatic. It is not instantaneous.

The van creams Bella, good and proper.

Comments

[edgeofyourseat]

His fingernails dig into his palms. "Delaney. Hammond."

[self_composed]

"Mmmm... nope. Are you an immediate family member or someone who's been granted power of attorney or anything like that? Because if so you'd be on here. And you aren't."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Guess not," he says flatly.

[self_composed]

"Well, then I'm very sorry, you'll have to wait till she can receive other visitors," says the lady.

[edgeofyourseat]

"Yeah," he says, and turns around, and stalks out of the building.

Next bad idea: call her cellphone. See if anybody picks up.

[self_composed]

"Hi, this is Bella Swan's phone. Apparently I haven't got it on me or it's out of juice. Tell me who you are and why you're calling and what you want me to do about it at the tone."

Beep!

[edgeofyourseat]

He hangs up.

Okay.

The rules are obviously not working for him here; that means it is time to ignore them.

It is a pretty tiny hospital. Plus side: fewer places Bella could be. Minus side: fewer legitimate reasons people might assume he is wandering around in there. On the other hand, it's not like it's a fucking prison. People come and go.

So he walks back inside.

[self_composed]

"Hello," says the lady at the desk. "I'm afraid no one has been added to Miss Swan's list recently."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Yeah, uh, my storming off in a huff plan was working great until I realized I really need to pee," he says sheepishly. "Is there a bathroom around here I can use?"

[self_composed]

"Yes, just there," says the lady.

The door to the men's room is clearly visible from her desk.

[edgeofyourseat]

"Thanks!"

Off he goes.

And once he is in there, he locks himself in a bathroom stall and sits down on the floor and tries to think of his next bad idea.

It's not looking good.



About half an hour later, Alice emerges from the bathroom. His eyes are a little red. He walks right past the front desk and down the hall.

[self_composed]

"Uh," says the receptionist, but she doesn't complete a thought or get up.

[edgeofyourseat]

Then she is not worth reacting to in any way.

So, what'll it be? Last time he was in this hospital, he didn't spend any time in waiting rooms.

[self_composed]

Charlie's sitting in another waiting room, a bit down the hall from the reception room.

He's on the phone.

"No. No, I don't know, they haven't told me much yet. I just thought you needed to know," he tells the phone.

[edgeofyourseat]

Must be the mom. Alice sits down, some distance away but close enough to hear.

[self_composed]

"I have no idea how much worse it would have been if I hadn't been there," Charlie murmurs, lowering his voice in response to Alice's presence but not actually by enough to be inaudible. "If someone had tried to move her, if it had taken longer to get an ambulance on the way..."

[edgeofyourseat]

(If he hadn't been there, Alice could have got to her and used her store of pentagons to fix her, even if there wasn't a hex on the loop, and right now they would be laughing about it. Fuck you, Mr. Swan.)

[self_composed]

"No, don't buy a plane ticket yet, let's... let's wait until we know more about the prognosis," Charlie tells his ex-wife.

[edgeofyourseat]

Alice bites his lip.

[self_composed]

"Okay. Yes, of course, you'll be the first person I call," Charlie says.

And he hangs up.

[edgeofyourseat]

Yeah. So.

Will talking to this guy make him able to see Bella sooner or later? He has no fucking idea. Bella, of course, could tell him. Bella is not here.

Fuck.

[self_composed]

Charlie sits. And puts his head in his hands.

He sobs exactly once, and then falls silent.

[edgeofyourseat]

Funny, that's exactly how Alice is feeling.

He closes his eyes. No one is going to let him see Bella sooner than this guy anyway. He has time to think about it.

[self_composed]

A doctor or a nurse or somebody pokes her head into the room and taps Charlie on the shoulder, and murmurs - genuinely too quietly to hear.

[edgeofyourseat]

So Alice watches Charlie.