Rescue Me

Chapter Ten.

"Coffee for you Dr Cullen," Nurse Smith said brightly as she slipped into his tidy office, placing the steaming cup down on the coaster Alice had give him for his birthday the year before. It was white and said in thick, colourful letters - 'The older you get, the better you get…unless you're a banana.' (A/N This is a real coaster that I gave my mother lol.)

"Thank you Jackie," Carlisle smiled tensely up at the thoughtful nurse.

"Is something wrong?" she asked with a worried frown.

"No. I'm just waiting until a suitable time to ring someone about a follow up appointment," Carlisle answered, "And time seems to be going slower than usual." It really did seem to be going slower as he worried about Jasper. He hoped this time when he called he would be able to arrange the necessary appointment, he was worried about the poor boys hand not to mention any other injuries he hadn't told him about. He also hoped Alice would have been able to reassure the boy that there had been no conspiracy, that they were genuinely worried about him.

"It always does when you're waiting for something," the nurse smiled at him before leaving his office, shutting the door gently behind her. He took a sip of his coffee, smiling at the familiar taste. It was just how he liked it, not too strong, just enough milk and just enough sugar.

Watching the clock tick by he flicked through the file he'd printed off for Charlie Swan, finding the same excuses over and over like he had every other time head the horrifyingly long file. It seemed that Jasper recycled excuses each time he moved but for some reason no one before him had noticed, or if they had noticed they hadn't cared enough to do anything about it. If the first was the truth there were too many unobservant people in his profession. And if the second was the truth…well just the thought that someone, especially a doctor, could ignore a child in pain made Carlisle feel sick to his stomach.

It seemed like an age until Carlisle was satisfied he had given Jasper enough time to get home from school, picked up the phone and pressed the buttons in the sequence that was Jasper Whitlock's home phone number. It rang three times before it was picked up on the other end.

"Hello?" Jasper's voice asked him down the line.

"Hello Jasper, it's Dr Cullen from Forks Hospital," Carlisle said, making his voice as cheerful and warm as possible. "I'm calling to schedule your follow up appointment, we didn't set a date or time last time I called.

"Oh. Um, about that…" Jasper mumbled.

"Don't worry about it. I trust you understand now though that I would never do something like that, getting my children involved," Carlisle said, still warmly.

"Um yeah…but there's nothing for them to get involved in you know. I'm just accident prone," Jasper mumbled and Carlisle sighed. He couldn't help the boy until he admitted that something was happening to him at home, "So, this appointment…"

"When would you be able to come in and let me have a look at your wrist?" Carlisle asked, leaving the subject of his suspicions as Jasper had obviously wanted him too, "The appointment shouldn't take too long."

"I'm free any time I'm not at school," Jasper answered quietly.

"Well then when would you like to come in?" Carlisle asked.

"Um…" Jasper mumbled with uncertainty, "Well I could-"

"Who are you talking to?" the voice came from the other end of the line and Carlisle froze as he realised that it was the man responsible for Jasper's years of injuries. His father.

"It's just the Doctor," Jasper explained nervously, "About my wrist…"

"Give me the phone!" his dad demanded.

"Dad he just wants to see my wrist again and-" SMACK! "Ow!"

"I said give me the phone!" Sounds of movement filled Carlisle's ear for a few moments before Mr Whitlock's voice came back, louder than before and slurred with drink, "Stay the fuck away from my son you sack of shit or I'll tell the police about you and your-your disgusting infatuation with him, you pervert!"

"I am not a pervert Mr Whitlock," Carlisle said, his voice strong as his usually soft feature hardened with anger and revulsion. This man should not be allowed to care for any child, especially not one as nice as Jasper was, "I am a Doctor and I am concerned about your son's well being-"

"Look just fuck off and leave us alone!" Jasper's dad screamed before slamming the phone down with enough force to make Carlisle wince, the loud bang making his ear hurt. A feeling of dread filled his stomach as he worried about what was happening to Jasper now. If he was hurt tonight…well it would be Carlisle's fault wouldn't it?

~ * ~ * ~

For the rest of his shift which ran on well after midnight Carlisle worried about what trouble he had caused Jasper with his phone call. He was heading through the A+E towards his office, ready to pack up and go home when the doors opened and a familiar figure walked in nervously.

"Jasper?" Carlisle asked with a worried frown.

"Dr Cullen," the teenager spoke softly, "I couldn't call you back so I thought I'd come in and see you, um, about the appointment about my hand." Jasper was studying his shoes.

"Are you alright Jasper?" Carlisle asked, "I didn't cause trouble for you at home did I? Your father was quite…upset." Slowly the boy looked up and Carlisle was saddened to see the beginnings of a terrible bruise around his eye. "Did he…?"

"No," Jasper said quickly, "No he didn't."

"I heard a slap," Carlisle said softly.

"He slapped my hand out of the way, that's all," Jasper explained.

"Then how did you get that bruise?" Carlisle asked, reaching out to touch the very edge of the bruise with his pale fingers. He'd always been pale, never catching the sun even before he and his wife had moved to the wettest place in the world, also known as Forks.

"Someone accidentally elbowed me at school." The alarm bells went off loudly in Carlisle's head as he heard the lie. The bruise was too fresh to have been from an incident at the school. The bruise was his fault.

"Oh," he mumbled, "Does your father often get drunk like that?"

"No." Yet another obvious lie. "Look I came to see when you wanted me to come in and see my hand again…"

"I could take a look now if you want," Carlisle said, "Save you coming in another time. It won't take long. I just need an x-ray taking and I wouldn't mind checking that bruise of yours."

"It's nothing," Jasper said quickly, "And alright, you can look at my hand now. As long as it won't take too long. I need to get home."

"It won't take too long," Carlisle promised, "Come on. Jackie? I'll need your help for a little bit. Could you take Mr Whitlock down to the X-Ray room and have a picture or two taken of his wrist while I set up my examination room."

"Of course Dr Cullen, come on then dear."

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A/N Sorry this took a while but some of you might have noticed I've been unable to stop writing my Twilight/Harry Potter story. Next chapter of this coming soon.