Author: 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. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice is lying under a tree by the edge of the parking lot, not particularly thinking about much.
He hears the van go out of control; he sits up.
He doesn't have time to make any useful wishes, but his body reacts faster than his mind; he bolts across the parking lot toward her. |
Author: self_composed | Charlie's faster.
Charlie has the dispatcher on the radio and an ambulance on the phone and himself, shielding Bella from onlookers, interposed between Alice and his daughter, before Alice gets there.
"NOBODY TOUCH HER!" Charlie roars. "YOU DO NOT TOUCH A TRAUMA PATIENT. THE AMBULANCE IS ON THE WAY." He points at the nearest able-bodied student, some sophomore girl. "GET THE SCHOOL NURSE NOW."
His voice is all business, all Chief Swan. But he's got tears in his eyes. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | For fuck's sake.
He skids to a halt in time to keep himself from actually colliding with Bella's father. Neither lies nor violence will get him past this man. Nothing he can wish for with six squares, eight triangles, and a pentagon will help.
Alice sits down on the ground, buries his hands in his hair, and shudders. |
Author: self_composed | The sophomore gets the school nurse. Who has no clue what to do with Bella's crushed, unconscious, and very barely breathing body. The nurse leads away the driver of the van, instead, to patch up his injuries; he's walking wounded.
The ambulance appears a couple of minutes later. Paramedics pour out, and Charlie yields his daughter to them and rides in the back of the vehicle with her. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Well, it's not like he doesn't know where she's going.
The hospital in town is not that far away. Alice gets up and starts walking. |
Author: self_composed | An hour later, when he arrives at the hospital, it just looks like a hospital. Bella's presumably in it somewhere.
The lady at the front desk wants to know what he's there for. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "My best friend got hit by a car," he says, sounding appropriately unhappy about the situation. "I wanna see how she's doing." |
Author: self_composed | "What's your friend's name?"
This hospital is tiny and probably contains only one car accident victim, but. Confidentiality. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Bella Swan." |
Author: self_composed | "And your name? I'll see if you're on her list." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | His fingernails dig into his palms. "Delaney. Hammond." |
Author: 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." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Guess not," he says flatly. |
Author: self_composed | "Well, then I'm very sorry, you'll have to wait till she can receive other visitors," says the lady. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Yeah," he says, and turns around, and stalks out of the building.
Next bad idea: call her cellphone. See if anybody picks up. |
Author: 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! |
Author: 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. |
Author: self_composed | "Hello," says the lady at the desk. "I'm afraid no one has been added to Miss Swan's list recently." |
Author: 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?" |
Author: self_composed | "Yes, just there," says the lady.
The door to the men's room is clearly visible from her desk. |
Author: 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. |
Author: self_composed | "Uh," says the receptionist, but she doesn't complete a thought or get up. |
Author: 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. |
Author: 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. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Must be the mom. Alice sits down, some distance away but close enough to hear. |
Author: 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..." |
Author: 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.) |
Author: 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. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice bites his lip. |
Author: self_composed | "Okay. Yes, of course, you'll be the first person I call," Charlie says.
And he hangs up. |
Author: 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. |
Author: self_composed | Charlie sits. And puts his head in his hands.
He sobs exactly once, and then falls silent. |
Author: 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. |
Author: 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. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | So Alice watches Charlie. |
Author: self_composed | Charlie listens, and nods, and gets up and follows her out of the room. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Yep. Okay.
Alice gets up and follows them as far as the hall. |
Author: self_composed | The doctor or nurse or somebody, and Charlie, are heading into a stairwell and up the stairs therein. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | ...well, fuck it.
He follows them there, too. |
Author: self_composed | They go up two floors and down a hall, and then the doctor notices Alice, lagging behind.
She asks Charlie, "Is he a relative?"
Charlie looks at Alice, puzzled, and shakes his head. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "...Are you goin' to see her, sir?" he asks. He didn't expect his voice to come out so rough, although he should have, because the last thing he did with it was cry. |
Author: self_composed | "Are you a friend of Bella's?" asks Charlie quietly.
"No friends," says the doctor, not unkindly. "Only immediate relatives." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Yeah," he says. |
Author: self_composed | "No friends," repeats the doctor. "Please go sit in the waiting room."
Charlie doesn't look liable to contradict her. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Quietly, to Charlie: "Can—can you tell me how she is?" |
Author: self_composed | "On my way out, if you're there," Charlie says, looking away. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Okay," he says, and flees back down the stairs. |
Author: self_composed | Four hours later, Charlie plods back down the stairs.
He pauses in the waiting room.
"She's unconscious. They don't know how long it'll take her to wake up. Stable, though."
And he leaves. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Okay.
In that case... in that case, what the hell, he goes back out to the place with the unhelpful receptionist. |
Author: self_composed | The receptionist eyes him but doesn't say anything. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "They letting her friends see her now?" |
Author: self_composed | "Yes, visitors' hours began a few minutes ago, but please be quiet and don't disturb anyone," says the receptionist. "Miss Swan is in room 306." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Thanks."
Up he goes. |
Author: self_composed | Bella is indeed in 306, a private room in which she's being administered an IV by a nurse. He glances at Alice and says, "Her left hand's basically okay. You can hold it if you want, but don't jostle her or put any pressure on her." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "What-all's wrong with her?" he asks, unable to keep his eyes off the still figure on the bed. |
Author: self_composed | "Coma, various injuries," says the nurse. "I got other patients to get to." He hangs up the IV and departs. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Okay. So.
What's that thing Bella said once? What does he want, and what does he have?
He wants a lot of things. Bella better, for one. That's easiest, but it's not going to happen without some things he doesn't have.
When she put that whole treasure chest's worth of coins on her necklace, she only used up one square to do it, right? He takes one of the sparkly squares out of his pocket, sits beside her bed, and wishes for: all the stars, hexes and pentagons on her necklace, off her necklace and visible and touchable and in his hands. |
Author: self_composed | Poof.
He has the fifteen pentagons and the one star in Elias's opal-hematite pattern.
And one glowy, red hex. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | He piles the rest in his lap, picks up the hex, closes his hand around it, and wishes himself wish powers.
Just to see, he bites the inside of his cheek. Moving the pain from left to right makes perfect sense, and then there is a square in his hand, made of something like black glass that seems to suck in all the light it touches and give it back only grudgingly, in tiny glimmers.
"Fuck," he mutters, and uses it to wish the star back onto Bella's necklace.
He still doesn't know what's wrong with her, besides 'wrecked to hell'. Well, what does he have? Sixteen pentagons. And what can pentagons do? They can make you good at things.
He picks one up, and makes a wish. |
Author: self_composed | Bella's chart says that she is 17 years old and female and named Isabella Marie Swan.
Also, in fancy medical language, it says she was hit by a fucking van.
Head trauma. Skull fracture possible; they're waiting for the radiologist to have a second look at the X-rays, and apparently Forks hospital only has a radiologist part-time. Certainly a break in the upper left and lower right arms and a few fingers. Left leg and foot shattered all to hell, one clean break in the right femur. At least three vertebral fractures, several broken ribs, dislocated shoulder. Oh, and she's in a coma. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | ...heh. Left foot smashed up, huh? Now that's funny.
With the medical knowledge he wished himself, he now has a very complete picture of what it's like in there. Better to try too much first than too little, because the worst it can do is just quietly not work: he picks up a pentagon and wishes her fixed. |
Author: self_composed | The pentagon continues to exist. Apparently it's not quite up to that. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Okay.
Then it's piece by piece, and he knows what Bella would probably care about most. He wishes her head better first. |
Author: self_composed | A few visible scratches above her neck disappear, as the only observable sign.
Also her eyelashes flutter and she makes a small noise. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Okay. Just to check, he tries to fix everything else. No dice.
Maybe it'll help if he wishes the pins out of her broken bones first. He can use a square for that. |
Author: self_composed | "Nnnnnng."
Bella is apparently waking up. She was unconscious; they didn't bother dosing her with painkillers. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Hi," he says. "I know it hurts, sorry, don't worry, I'm gonna fix it."
How about just her ribs and spine? |
Author: self_composed | A pentagon obligingly disappears. Bella takes a deep breath.
She opens her eyes and squints against the light.
"Heh," she says. "I don't remember. Did I get one?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "You did," he beams, "look—" and he bites his lip and shows her the triangle, with a sullen hint of red lurking for a moment in its black depths.
Then he tries fixing all the rest again, just to see. |
Author: self_composed | "Nice," she says, and she yawns. "Heh, you fixed me. I was getting a pentagon like every five seconds. Now I'm just tired."
She closes her eyes and opens them again. "Where's my dad?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "He went home," says Alice. "It's been a while. You want all these back?" He gestures to the pile of pentagons in his lap. |
Author: self_composed | She peers over at them. "Uh, maybe, I dunno, I have six new ones now... How are we going to explain this medical miracle?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Well, it's not like I'm ever gonna need to borrow from you again," Alice says cheerfully. "Might as well keep 'em on your necklace for now, right? And I don't have a fucking clue, you're the smart one here. My brilliant plan for getting in here to see you was to wait for visiting hours and cry a lot." |
Author: self_composed | "Mkay." She squares the pentagons out of his lap. "Uh, hm. Medical miracle. Including pin-vanishing. Is my backpack in here? I dunno how big a coin I need to Jedi mind trick my dad and a bunch of doctors." She closes her eyes. "Plus my mom. He'd have called her." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Yeah," he says, and fetches said backpack. |
Author: self_composed | Her various extremities are still in casts and the like. She squares them away. "Make sure nobody comes in before I have a good plan. Is there some obvious option besides brainwashing everybody, re-injuring myself, and allowing the media to descend upon me to find out how I got God to heal me?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "...We could just change all the actual, like, records," he suggests. "...Nah, probably wouldn't—well, wait, hang on, what if we just wish you up to look like you've still got a shitload of broken bones?" |
Author: self_composed | "Then I lie in this hospital bed for months, I guess, but that still might be best. Maybe I can refuse medical care and 'recuperate' at home? No, I'm a minor..." She digs through her backpack and seeks Helpful Charts. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "We could," he stops, swallows, tries again, "just let your dad in on the whole magic thing. He seemed... okay, I guess." |
Author: self_composed | "Charlie would be good about it," Bella says. "But he wouldn't like it. He'd freak out." She chews her lip. "Which might actually help. I could call him and tell him I want him to bring me home, and that I can explain if he really wants but he could also just trust me. And then I get someone to bring me schoolwork and work on my plan to take over the world until I could realistically make public appearances again."
The Helpful Charts do not list "Jedi mind trick" as a possible thing. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "...that sounds pretty workable," says Alice. He sounds fairly uncomfortable with it, though. |
Author: self_composed | "My dad is not like your dad," Bella says. "Would I live here if he was?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Oh, I know your dad is not like my dad," he says. "But I don't... know it. You know? Like, I get it on the head level, but the gut level still wants to be about a state away from anything to do with him." |
Author: self_composed | Bella nods.
The Helpful Charts do list illusions of various sorts. She expends a square; convincing appearances of casts appear where there had previously been real ones. "This will probably hold up to casual scrutiny as long as no one tries to write their name on one and I don't absentmindedly scratch my arm," she says. "I don't suppose my phone survived impact. And I don't really want to see how long I can fool a doctor with fake casts. Can I borrow your phone?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Yeah," he says, passing it over. |
Author: self_composed | Bella dials her home phone number. This is kind of weird-looking, since the phone is passing through a few splints on her fingers.
Her dad picks up instantly.
"Hi, Dad," Bella says. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice lets out a breath.
Hearing her talk to him helps, actually. |
Author: self_composed | "Yeah, I'm awake - don't get in the car now, I wanna talk," Bella says. "Okay, so. I'm awake. I am much, much less hurt than what you think you saw. I want to go home, and I can't leave against medical advice since I'm seventeen. Can you check me out of here?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Yeah. Hearing her talk to him helps a lot.
Alice smiles. |
Author: self_composed | "Well, Dad, I could explain that, and you could not believe me, and you could ask me to prove it, and I could do that, and you could spend all afternoon hyperventilating," Bella says. "Or, you could take me out of here and not have to take weeks off work to be able to visit me and I won't have to eat hospital food and you won't have to eat your own cooking." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | He giggles softly. |
Author: self_composed | "I'd really rather not prove to all the doctors that I'm ready to leave first," Bella says. "I think I can prove it to your satisfaction - yes, Dad. I know you are not a doctor." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | (Snort.) |
Author: self_composed | "I couldn't stand on my head even if I hadn't been hit by a car," Bella says. "But I can walk around the room. Will you take me home if I can walk around the room? Please?" Pause. "I'll make the nice chicken recipe for dinner..." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | ...Alice takes out his notebook and writes something in it. |
Author: self_composed | "Yes, that one, with the capers and the lemon juice. C'mon, Dad." Pause. Pause. "Yes, contingent on my being able to walk around the room, without doctor or nurse supervision. Then you roll me out in a wheelchair - well, Dad, no I don't think lying to my doctors would be a great idea normally, but telling them the truth, which you declined to have explained, would get a lot of attention. From, like, reporters." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Write write write. |
Author: self_composed | "Okay, Dad, I'll see you in a few minutes. Love you too."
Bella closes the phone and hums to herself happily.
"What'cha writing?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | He turns the notebook around and shows her.
It says:
I love you.
I'm really, really glad you're okay.
It's kind of amazing how you talk to your dad.
I love you. |
Author: self_composed | Bella squirms and smiles.
"Did I hear you say you were crying?" she says archly. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "You did," he admits. "And I did. Twice." |
Author: self_composed | Aww.
Footsteps approach. Bella lies down and plays injured.
"Visiting hours are over in twenty minutes, fair warning," says the nurse who sticks her head in. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Okay," says Alice, just to make her go away. |
Author: self_composed | The nurse closes the door. Bella opens her eyes.
"Charlie'll be here before then," she says. And "Do you want me to try explaining to him why I call you 'Alice'?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "...I dunno," he says. "What'll happen if you do?" |
Author: self_composed | "Probably? He'll shrug, say he's going to call you by your legal name but we can do what we want, and then mutter to himself about my weird friends." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Fuck me," says Alice, rolling his eyes. "Think we can bargain him down to Laney?" |
Author: self_composed | "Yeah, I can tell him that's what Hilary calls you." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Great, okay. Bring it." |
Author: self_composed | Charlie arrives before any more doctors or nurses do. Bella waves energetically and he winces, then gradually relaxes into an expression of openmouthed astonishment as she gets up and wanders in a circle around the room. "Can I go home?" she asks.
"Well," says Charlie. "You can walk. Seem lucid. Suppose so."
He eyes Alice suspiciously but doesn't say anything. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice... sits. Quietly. With his notebook closed. |
Author: self_composed | "Dad, you've probably heard about Laney from Hilary," Bella says, helpfully pointing. "He's my friend."
"Mm-hm," says Charlie. "She's mentioned him." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Hi," says Alice. |
Author: self_composed | "I call him Alice, though," she adds, sticking out her tongue at Alice like this is a teasing nickname she invented for him.
Charlie hmphs. "Well," he says. "I'll go see about checking you out of here, Bells." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice grins at her. |
Author: self_composed | Charlie leaves them be to go annoy some doctors and borrow a wheelchair.
"There," says Bella. "I have a swell dad." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "...I really want to hug you," says Alice. "Can I hug you?" |
Author: self_composed | "Yes," Bella says, holding out her arms. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | He wraps his arms around her and leans his head on her shoulder.
"I love you," he murmurs, and lets go. |
Author: self_composed | Bella hugs back until he releases, and then she ruffles his hair.
Charlie apparently didn't take long to convince the doctors that the chief of police is within his legal rights to take his daughter home. He comes in with a wheelchair. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice is still beaming at Bella. |
Author: self_composed | Bella transfers herself to the wheelchair, and makes a careful expression of resigned discomfort. "Shall we?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Guess so," says Alice. |
Author: self_composed | Charlie wheels Bella to the elevator. "Is your friend coming with us, Bells?" he asks.
"If that's okay with you, and if he wants to," Bella says serenely.
Charlie glances over his shoulder at Alice. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Yes please!" says Alice. |
Author: self_composed | Charlie blinks at Alice again, then shrugs. "There's room."
"Officer Swan," says the receptionist lady, after the elevator ride ends and they're rolling out, "Dr. McAllister wants to ask you to reconsider -"
"Nope," says Charlie, and he opens the door and pushes Bella out through it. At his cruiser, he picks her up - without much visible trouble, though he does grunt softly - and puts her in the back seat and buckles her in, since someone as banged up as she was would need help with that. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Nice.
Alice gets into the backseat, too. Which causes him some trepidation, but fuck it, he's with Bella. |
Author: self_composed | "It looks like we're being arrested," Bella laughs.
"You done anything I ought to arrest you for?" Charlie asks.
"Nope," Bella says. "Well, I suppose it's technically a school day."
Charlie snorts. "Laney's eighteen, isn't he? Even if he weren't, I wouldn't be likely to take him in for caring about my little girl." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Yes I am," says Alice. "And yes I do." |
Author: self_composed | "You just make sure you do that in a nice respectful manner," says Charlie, "and we won't have any problems."
He is still a dad.
"Everything is fine, Dad," says Bella. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Strangely, being obliquely threatened seems to cheer him right up.
"Oh, I'm respectful as hell," he says brightly. And not very convincingly, with that grin. |
Author: self_composed | "I'm going to trust Bells on this one," Charlie says, after a moment.
"Thank you," says Bella, looking pointedly at Alice. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice just laughs. In a friendly sort of way. |
Author: self_composed | "So, Dad," Bella says, wishing away the cast illusion because the neighbors aren't really that nosy, "everybody saw me get hit by a car. I probably need to stay home for at least two weeks, and then go back on crutches. Alice, can you bring me all my assignments, or would that be so patently ridiculous that I should ask Angela?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "You should probably ask Angela," he says. "I mean, I could, but so could she, and it'll make more sense if she does it, and I think we want as much sense as we can get." |
Author: self_composed | "The risk is she'll want to see me," Bella says. "But - Dad, stop listening, if you like - I can probably be pretty casual with everything, now, and the illusion's only a square each way, right?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Yep," Alice says cheerfully. "You're probably full up on those, right? You want any more? Man, I cannot wait to try for a hex." |
Author: self_composed | "I have..." Bella is still wearing a hospital gown, which appears to have mostly escaped her notice until just now but does not seem pleasing. She picks up her invisible necklace. "Twenty-seven. I'm good." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Cool," he says. "Lemme know if you wanna stock up." |
Author: self_composed | Bella nods, humming to herself.
As an afterthought, she wishes herself a pair of jeans and a T-shirt in place of the hospital gown.
"Wow," she says. "These fit really well. I'm never going clothes shopping again."
"Keep the wacky hijinks to a minimum in the cruiser, Bells," says Charlie.
"Sorry, Dad." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice bites his lip, and glances at Bella, and draws a little heart in the air with his fingertip where her father can't see. |
Author: self_composed | Bella giggles.
They pull onto her street.
"You haven't seen my house before," Bella remarks to Alice. "It's not as big as yours." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Yeah, I'll bet it's not," he agrees. "And I'll bet you don't have an underground lair, either." |
Author: self_composed | "There's a cellar!" Bella says. "It contains boxes and the old microwave and mousetraps and plumbing." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "How's it on pillars?" |
Author: self_composed | "There is one metal pole in the middle of the whole thing," chuckles Bella. "That's it."
Charlie pulls into the driveway to let the teenagers out. "Since you're okay," he says, "I'm going to go handle some things at work. I'll be home at the usual time. Call me if you need anything, Bells."
"Will do, Dad," she says, and he waves and pulls away. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "You're gonna take over the wooooorld," Alice sings, bouncing a little. |
Author: self_composed | "Yep," laughs Bella.
She has a key. It's in her backpack; she hasn't started separately carrying a purse yet. She lets herself and Alice in. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "I like your house," he chatters as he follows her in. "It's little and cute and it's yours and I like it." |
Author: self_composed | Bella chuckles. "It's my dad's. I've had very little influence on the decor. I think the kitchen has been yellow since before I was born." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Man, why am I so happy," he wonders. |
Author: self_composed | "Could it be," Bella says innocently, "because you have magic powers?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Ooh, you are smart."
He twirls. Just because he has to let the glee out somehow or other. |
Author: self_composed | Bella laughs and lets herself collapse into a kitchen chair.
"Huh," she says. "What time is it? I'm hungry. The microwave and oven are always set to different, wrong times..." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice checks the time.
"Ten past two," he says. "Want I should make you lunch?" |
Author: self_composed | "Ooh, lunch," says Bella. "Sure, if you feel like cooking. I'm really tired - apparently vehicular collisions are exhausting - and I don't think I want to start using wishes as caffeine." She taps her chin. "I'm going to use the chicken for dinner tonight - probably with the help of actual coffee - but there's some asparagus I haven't done anything with, and pasta in the cupboard?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "I will make you pasta and asparagus!" he says. "Do you mind if I hurt myself on your stove?" |
Author: self_composed | "As long as you triangle away the suspicious smell of bacon. We are out of bacon, and Charlie always knows whether or not we are out of bacon," says Bella. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "You got it," he says brightly, and sets about preparing for pasta. |
Author: self_composed | Bella leans her head down on the table. "I'm sorta wondering what you'd have done if the car had killed me."
She's pretty sure the answer is that he would have taken her star, and tried that. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "...Cried more," is the first thing that comes to mind. |
Author: self_composed | "Huh," she says. "I was going to guess an attempt to raise the dead with the star." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Yeah, I probably woulda got around to that," he says. "But first the crying." |
Author: self_composed | "You're sweet," Bella says. She yawns again.
She's just gonna put her head on her arms on the table, that's all. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "You're tired," Alice observes. |
Author: self_composed | "Yeaaaaaah." She closes her eyes. "Wake me when pasta." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "I will do that!" he promises. |
Author: self_composed | There is no reply from Bella except for breathing. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | God but she's cute.
Some time later, there is pasta and asparagus resting in their pots on trivets on the counter, and Alice is facing two bright red stove elements.
He takes a deep breath, puts his left hand on one, and leans into it.
It hurts. It hurts a whole fuck of a lot. His jaw works, but no sound emerges; his other hand clutches at the handle on the oven door. His elbow rains pentagons onto the linoleum. When he looks down and recognizes the shape of the obsidian coins, he hisses through his teeth and lifts up his hand. What remains of his hand.
And wraps his right hand tightly around the edge of the counter, and leans his left forearm on the stove.
This time he moans, but quietly, so as not to wake Bella. And the coin that appears on the counter next to his thumb has six sides. So does the one after it, and the one he gets when he rips his smoking arm up off the red-hot coils.
A few more pentagons drop while he leans over and carefully turns off the elements, right-handed, hugging his left arm against his stomach and hissing whenever it touches anything.
Then he picks up a hexagon, clears his mind as best he can, and wishes.
Charred flesh regrows before his eyes. That hurts, too, which he should have expected but didn't; he gets another pentagon out of it in the few seconds before his arm is pristine again.
He brushes a few flakes of ash away and looks at the clean new skin.
Then he lays his arm across the elements again. Hexagon, hexagon—
His knees buckle; he grabs at the counter with his right hand and misses; he falls to the floor, whacking his left arm against one leg of the kitchen table and dropping another hexagon when he does it.
"Ow," he mutters, more out of surprise than anything, and relaxes whatever part of him controls his brand new healing factor. His arm fixes itself again, faster than last time. He rolls onto his back and looks up to see if all this nonsense has awakened Bella. |
Author: self_composed | Bella is groggily lifting her head. "Alice?" she mumbles. "Does pasta?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Pasta does!" he says, sitting up and collecting his fallen pentagons. "And I made hexes." |
Author: self_composed | "Oooah," yawns Bella, looking appreciatively at the hexes. She peers at the stove to see if it's a mess or not. "Have fun with that? |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "You bet I did," he sighs.
The stove definitely looks like things were burned on it. Mostly not recognizable things, however.
"I hexed myself healing powers but the rest are for you if you want 'em," he adds, scooting toward her chair and offering up his double handful of black, glimmering pentagons. |
Author: self_composed | "Took me this long to think of the fact that hex sounds like a kinda spell," says Bella. She triangles away the mess on the stove and accepts the pentagons. "Thanks! The other heap of hexes too? Don't want to gratuitously waste squares moving them on and off." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Count 'em first, maybe," he says. "I think there might be a hex in there, but it's mostly pentagons. And sure, you can have 'em all."
He dusts himself off and gets to his feet, grinning, to grab the four hexagons off the counter and hand them over. There is indeed one more among the dozen pentagons he gave her. |
Author: self_composed | "You know, I can still see them once they're on here," Bella says. "I can count 'em on as well as off." She wishes all the new coins onto her necklace, and then sniffs the air, and then triangles away the burning smell. "Paaaaasta."
She is obviously still very tired. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Pasta!" he agrees. "Isn't it easier to count 'em when they're off, though?" |
Author: self_composed | "I guess in large quantities I could sort 'em into piles, but in large quantities seems pretty safe to just know that there's lots," Bella mumbles into her elbow. She lifts up her head again. "Plates're in the cupboard above the sink." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Wonder what happens if you run out of room," he muses, grabbing a pair of plates and trying drawers until he finds cutlery. |
Author: self_composed | "Necklace'll expand, 'cause I am smart," she says. "'f it gets too heavy I can unshrink Elias's treasure chest. Or just make heaps an' heaps of wishes." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "You are smart," says Alice. "I love you and your smarts." He deposits a plate in front of her. "Pasta!" |
Author: self_composed | "Oh, or, and I could make the necklace lighter by magic," Bella says, gesturing and looking around for a fork. "Forks're in the drawer by the - oh, you found 'em. Cups're in the cupboard left of the plates." She's clearly in no condition to get up and fetch a beverage; she looks reasonably likely to fall asleep in her pasta. She takes a bite of the pasta instead. "Mm." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "You are so cute," says Alice. "I kind of wanna pet you."
He grabs two cups, since she mentioned them.
"Somethin' to drink?" |
Author: self_composed | "Water," Bella yawns. "You can pet my hair if y'want, 's only fair." Pasta, pasta, pasta. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Bella can have water, then! From the tap, since she didn't specify. Alice gets himself the same thing, brings his cup and plate to the table, leans over her, and gently ruffles her hair. |
Author: self_composed | Bella sighs in tired contentment as she eats and sips at her water. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice scarfs down his pasta roughly twice as fast as she does.
"You gonna go nap when you're done with that?" he inquires. "Should I clear out?" |
Author: self_composed | "Probably will nap. Whatever you wanna do, but it's probably boring here," yawns Bella. "This is pretty tasty." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "If I get bored I'll just hurt myself some more," he says cheerfully. |
Author: self_composed | "Don't let Charlie walk in on you doing that. He'll get home at, like... seven."
She finishes her pasta and finishes her water. "I wonder if it'd be dumb to magically teleport upstairs instead of getting off my butt and walking." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "I could carry you," Alice offers. |
Author: self_composed | "Really?" Bella asks, skeptical. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "...yeah," he says. |
Author: self_composed | "Do you like, lift weights while skipping school? 'Cause one time I asked you what you do and I don't remember that one." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "No, but I bet I can still pick you up," he says, shrugging. |
Author: self_composed | "Without dropping me," she says. "On the stairs." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Sure." He shrugs again. "Up to you, though." |
Author: self_composed | "I think I'll get up," Bella says.
She does! Wobblyish, but upright. She proceeds stairsward. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice follows. |
Author: self_composed | Bella flops onto her bed and kicks off her wished-sneakers, which are bright white. "This," she says with a vague one-armed gesture around the room, "is my room." She pulls her blanket over her. "G'night." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "G'night," says a very amused Alice, and sits down on the floor at the foot of her bed. |
Author: self_composed | Bella speaks in her sleep, when she doesn't have her face buried in her arms.
"Marker snake," she says first.
Bella speaks nonsense in her sleep, it should be clarified. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | ...
Alice gets out his notebook. |
Author: self_composed | Bella utters mostly nouns, some articles, the occasional number, and once, "Run!" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice dutifully records all of these things, on a page at the top of which he has written Stuff you said in your sleep today. |
Author: self_composed | Bella sleeps for four hours. At six-thirty in the evening, she sits up and rubs her eyes. She observes Alice sitting at the foot of the bed. "How long was I out?" she asks, looking considerably more awake. "And how long have you been sitting there?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Four hours," he says cheerfully, and passes her the notebook. |
Author: self_composed | "To both questions?" She looks at the page. "...What the hell? Marker snake? The six owl? I talk in my sleep?" She frowns. "I would have hoped it would at least be sensible. My dream was about miniature pies that could talk." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "That is adorable and kind of horrifying," says Alice. "Have I mentioned lately that I love you?" |
Author: self_composed | "Talking mini-pies are horrifying? They were super cute," says Bella. "And yeah, you do that like five times a day." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Yeah, they're super cute," he says. "Until somebody eats them." |
Author: self_composed | "Well, no one ate them in my dream," Bella says firmly. "They just happened to be pies, that's all. I mean, someone could eat you. No one's likely to." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | ...Alice ponders this eventuality.
"Okay, that's hot," he says. |
Author: self_composed | "Everything is hot," Bella says, rolling her eyes, "according to you." She looks at her clock-radio. "I should start dinner. You sticking around or are you hieing home to the siren call of Hilary's food?" She pauses. "Also, was Theo terribly confused when he arrived at school and does your mom know where you are and is she likely to worry?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "I thought of that one myself, actually. I called Mom and said I'm at a friend's place and she told me to have fun and call her if I need a ride. Pretty sure she thinks I skipped school to get laid." |
Author: self_composed | Bella laughs. "I wonder what she'd think of the truth if she knew it."
Pause.
"Speaking of which," Bella says. "What are you going to do... in a few days?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | He opens his mouth.
He closes his mouth.
"...how about I come over tomorrow or something," he says, "and we figure out a plan that's not wishing him off a cliff. Since you don't want me to do that." |
Author: self_composed | Bella nods. "I do have a couple weeks off from school, conveniently enough." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Yeah. Is it weird that I'm glad you got hit by a car? 'Cause I'm glad you got hit by a car," he says. |
Author: self_composed | "I wish I had been slightly less hit by a car," Bella says consideringly. "It would have been much better if I could have stayed conscious, made the hex, and then healed myself before anyone got to me." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "...yeah," says Alice, "probably. On the other hand, this way you get plenty of time to help me figure out how not to kill my dad. Oh, uh, before I forget, can you wish me up a necklace like yours? If I do it I just know I'll forget something." |
Author: self_composed | "Sure. D'you care if I make it so we can both see yours?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Nah, go for it. It's a good idea." |
Author: self_composed | "Lemme have your coins for a sec, and they can start out already on it." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Okay," he says, and digs them out of various locations - socks, pockets, more pockets. |
Author: self_composed | Bella collects them all in a little heap and wishes on one of her pentagons. They appear all strung on a necklace like hers - chain with no clasp, expansible, invisible and insubstantial to anyone not herself or Alice. She then drapes it around his neck, pats him on the head, and gets up to go start dinner. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Headpats! Alice beams up at her for a moment before he gets up and follows. |
Author: self_composed | Bella has made "the nice chicken recipe" often enough that she doesn't work from a recipe; she has the amounts memorized. "Wanna help?" she asks Alice. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Yes I do." |
Author: self_composed | "Spiffy." Bella assigns him to fetch her ingredients and measuring cups and the like from the relevant cupboards, and she turns on the oven and starts taking the chicken out of the packaging. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice cheerfully fetches all the things he is tasked to fetch.
"So apparently," he says after a little while, "if we're a 1950s married couple, I'm the wife."
This seems to please him inordinately. |
Author: self_composed | "Meh, I didn't barge in wearing a suit from work and shout that I was home," Bella points out. "Besides, I cook too, I was just tired." She mixes capers into the sauce for the chicken and lets it sit, and then dredges the pieces in flour. "Lucky you I bought extra chicken - I decided to start leaving leftovers more to make up for how often I'm having dinner at yours of late. Charlie manages - I mean, he didn't starve to death during some non-summer season before I moved here for good - but it's really not pretty." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "I can bring lunch when I come over tomorrow," he offers. "I can bring cake." |
Author: self_composed | "Oooh, cake," says Bella, grinning. "Yes please." She pops the chicken in the oven and continues work on the sauce, adding teaspoonsful of various spices. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Will do," he says brightly. "Need any more stuff grabbed?" |
Author: self_composed | "Uh..." She consults her mental recipe. "Pepper, and may as well get the turner out of the cooking utensil drawer now. Then we're all set until..." - she sets the timer on the oven - "the chicken comes out." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "'Kay!"
He grabs the requisite stuff. |
Author: self_composed | Bella peppers the sauce and strategically locates the turner, just as Charlie walks in.
"Hullo, Bells." He glances at Alice. "Laney."
"Hi, Dad," Bella says happily. "We made chicken." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Hi," says Alice.
He is less nervous and awkward around Charlie now, but he is still nervous and awkward. |
Author: self_composed | "Mm," says Charlie. He looks at the oven timer while he shuts the door behind him. He pointedly hangs up his gun, eyes on Alice, and says, "Chicken's always good." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | ...Alice grins and bites his lip, accumulating triangles for a few seconds, because it is so hard not to flirt a little. |
Author: self_composed | Charlie decides to pass the time between now and chicken readiness in watching some manner of sporting event on TV.
Bella mouths, Really? at Alice. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice shrugs and makes a helplessly apologetic face. |
Author: self_composed | My dad! Bella mouths in exasperation, and then she says aloud, "Well, this'll be a while, let's go hang out upstairs."
"Keep the door open," Charlie calls over the TV.
The point of this when they have been in the house alone together for several hours already is lost on Bella, but she says, "Okay, Dad." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice rolls his eyes and gets up to go upstairs. |
Author: self_composed | "I'm sort of hoping to set him up with Hilary," Bella confesses in a low voice, once they're up in her room and can barely hear the TV. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "That's adorable," Alice murmurs back. |
Author: self_composed | Bella nods happily. "Not sure how to go about it though. I mean, they've already met." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Also, Hilary likes girls," Alice volunteers. "She might be bi, though." |
Author: self_composed | "Oh. Well, that's potentially inconvenient," sighs Bella. "And potentially not. How do you know?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "I told her about Freddie; she said she had much the same reaction to Pat Benatar." |
Author: self_composed | Bella snickers. "Okay. I'm not gonna count Charlie out yet, if that's all." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Yeah, that's fair." |
Author: self_composed | "I should call Angela about getting my assignments," Bella says. "She's probably home."
And she pulls out her phone and dials. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | In which case, Alice sits himself down at the foot of her bed again. |
Author: self_composed | Bella absently cards her fingers through his hair with her spare hand while she holds the phone. "Hi, Mr. Weber. This is Bella Swan -" Pause. "Yes. I was hit by a car. But I'm awake, and - thank you, Mr. Weber, but leading your congregation in a prayer for me isn't necessary, I'm going to be fine in a few weeks. Well, if it makes you feel better. Mm-hm. Can I talk to Angela, please?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | He giggles softly, leaning into her hand. |
Author: self_composed | "Thank you, Mr. Weber." Pause. "Hi, Ange-" Pause. "Aw, thank you. If you still want to give me the card you can bring it by my house if you want. I'm recuperating at home. I also need my assignments until I'm ready to go back to school. Can I ask you to get them for me?" Pause. "Thanks, Angela, you're the best. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Awwww.
In fact: "Awwww." |
Author: self_composed | Bella hangs up. "Awwww?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "She got you a card! That's cute. Ain't that cute?" |
Author: self_composed | "She got me a card and got like forty people to sign it," Bella laughs. "I think that's relatively customary when one is hospitalized." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Well, I still think it's cute." |
Author: self_composed | Bella shrugs. "Why's it cute?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "...I guess 'cause I think she actually cares." |
Author: self_composed | "Actually caring about people is cute in general?" Bella asks, cocking her head. "Or displaying actual care by means of a card is?" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "...yes," he says. "Those." |
Author: self_composed | Bella laughs again. She seems kind of giggly overall.
"Tonight, chicken. Tomorrow, plans. The day after, more plans - to take over the world!" |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "I like the sound of that," he says, beaming up at her. |
Author: self_composed | She pats him on the head.
"I think my brain has decided that you are my pet," she says, pausing with her hand still on his head. "I'm genuinely uncertain if that would bother you or not." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Purr purr," he says, butting his head up against her hand. "I'm a kitty." |
Author: self_composed | "Well," she says. "I'm still not sure if you're just playing along because you think it's funny, or wholeheartedly agreeing to be my pet human." Pause. "If I wanted a cat, I would have one. Renée reacts to Humane Society advertisements so intensely that I have to change the channel for her when they come on. Had to, I mean. I hope Phil figures that out before she adopts a one-legged dog or something." |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "If being your pet means you keep petting me, then hell yes, I will be your pet." |
Author: self_composed | Bella snickers.
She keeps petting him. He's soft! |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Purr purr," he murmurs, closing his eyes.
"I mean, what's it mean to be your pet, anyway?" |
Author: self_composed | "Good question. Pet humans aren't common so there's not a template. What I was summarizing was something like - I can just reach out and pat you on the head whenever I want, and you follow me around, and periodically you bring me presents. Which are overwhelmingly more useful than dead mice." She hefts her necklace. He can't hear it, but she can; it jingles. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | "Then yeah, I am absolutely your pet human," he says happily. |
Author: self_composed | Bella grins. "Cool." And she grins wider, snaps her fingers, and says, "Heel!" and proceeds down the stairs to check on the chicken in the oven. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | ...Laughing, he follows. |
Author: self_composed | The chicken, when she peers into the oven, is sizzling nicely, but she decides to wait out the remaining minute and a half on the timer. "Almost food," she calls to Charlie over the TV. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice parks himself on a kitchen chair and gives Bella a look of unrepentant sappiness. |
Author: self_composed | Charlie come into the room, looks at Alice, and coughs.
Bella gives the sauce - into which the capers have sunk to the bottom - a good stir, and then dons oven mitts to remove the chicken from the oven. She drizzles half of the sauce over it, plunks the bowl with the rest on the table, and then starts setting the table for three. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Alice just smiles. Not even Charlie can get him out of his good mood right now. |
Author: self_composed | Bella ignores this entire interplay; if Charlie wants to talk to her about it, he can. She plops a chicken breast on her plate and passes the tongs to Charlie, who serves himself a drumstick to start. Bella spoons extra sauce onto hers. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | Assuming that someone eventually makes the tongs available to Alice, he grabs the most easily grabbed piece of chicken and digs in. |
Author: self_composed | Alice gets a thigh.
The chicken is pretty good! It's not Hilaryish, but it is competently done and it's a nice recipe. |
Author: edgeofyourseat | It is good enough to get Alice making happy noises, although—perhaps thankfully—not quite good enough to turn him on. |
Author: self_composed | "Thanks, Bells," says Charlie.
"You're welcome," Bella says sunnily. |