Alice Brandon

Ten days since I nearly died, and I was back to Ward G7 from Critical Care.

Fucking finally!

Crohn's Disease is a big fat load of shite, I'll have you know. Quite literally, sometimes.

My utter inability to follow rules is also shite. I wish I could realise that I was about to do something stupid before I did it. Lack of impulse control. It's a real problem.

Anyways, like, I finally got moved, and best of all, I could eat again, anything I wanted. It would still be another couple of weeks before they'd let me leave hospital, but my new place wasn't ready until then so I didn't mind.

My social worker, Bella, had found me this properly cute place near the hospital, sharing with a girl called Bree, who had a brain tumour a couple of years ago. She's getting back to college to do beauty therapy, and I want to get to college to work with little kids. Maybes a teacher, although I don't know if I'm patient enough. Maybes I could be, like, a play therapist or something.

"Alice?" I look up from my dog-eared copy of Glamour to see Emmett, the ward manager, by my bedside, all dimply grin as usual.

"Big Em! Am I in trouble?"

"Nah, although knowing you as I do, missy, you probably should be!" he chortled. "The mentor guy from the Crohn's Society is here to see you. He came last week but you were still too poorly. Do you feel up to seeing him now?"

"Sure."

"Come along then."

I followed Emmett to the ward sitting room, expecting some doddery old dude. I mean, who the hell is called 'Jasper' these days?

Wrong. Could not be more wrong.

Tall, lean, blond, hot, young.

When he saw me, he stood up suddenly, and then sat down. Then he stood up again.

"Hi ... Um, err ... Hi."

"Hello, Jasper."

For a moment, we just stared at each other. I wasn't right sure why he was staring at me, but I was staring because he was so gorgeous. He belonged on TV or in magazines like Glamour, advertising perfume or fancy designer denim.

"I'll leave you kids to it," Emmett murmured, chuckling at something or another as he closed the door.

"Let's sit," I suggested.

"Sure." A second later he asked, "How are you? Last week when I came by, you were in Critical Care and too weak for visitors."

"I'm loads better…" I replied, "… Considering I nearly died and I have to have a permanent stoma."

Sobs suddenly bubbled up from my belly and my whole body started to shake. I'd only come close to crying about everything once, with Bella, but even then, I couldn't let all of it out, until now.

I cried helplessly, tears running down my face freely. I expected Jasper to get up and walk out so he didn't have to deal with me. That's what my foster parents used to do. Instead, he moved closer, and wrapped his arms around me, drawing me towards him until my face rested against the sculpted planes of his chest.

"I felt like this too," he mumbled, "when I came out of CCU the last time. It felt like the Crohn's was always going to control my life, and that I'd never be able to enjoy it. Every time I had a flare or something went wrong, I blamed myself."

"That's exactly how I feel," I said, looking up but making no move to leave his arms. "Does it ever go away?"

"Yeah, mostly. Surgery was the best thing that could have happened for me, even though it was hell at the time. You know, I just graduated from uni. I've moved out of my mam and dad's house and I got a right good job."

I moved a little closer, so my knees touched his.

"And a girlfriend? Do you have one of those?"

He blinked a couple of times and then shook his head as his eyes met mine.

"No."

I pressed my hand to his tummy and he gasped as my little finger caught the edge of his colostomy bag.

"You have a bag like I do."

"Yeah."

"Does it make you feel ugly? Mine does. Not that I was pretty to begin with."

"I think you're pretty. I think you're right beautiful, Alice."

"The feeling's mutual."

"Is there a rule about mentors going out with the people they support?"

His grey-blue eyes stayed locked on mine.

"No, although I wouldn't care if there was ..."

He barely finished before I was kissing him like my life depended on it.

-cc-

Two weeks later, I was going to my new home, and Jasper was taking me. We had been tight since the first time we met and he had been to see me every day since. We spent hours texting and chatting. It turned out that his house was just two streets away, where he shared with his housemate Riley.

"Okay, so sign here, here and here, and we're done," said Bella, grinning like a loon.

I did as she asked, signing my name in purple pen with a flourish.

"So my tenancy's official."

"Aye. The rent is taken out of your benefit payments before you get it, so you never have to worry about paying it on time, and your things will be delivered from the storage depot tomorrow."

"Thank you, Bella. I just need to find me a job now."

"About that ... you said you wanted to work with kids, right?"

"Aye ..."

"My son's childminder is looking to take on an apprentice. She happened to mention it to me and Edward the other day, and I immediately thought of you." Bella handed me a piece of paper. "If you're interested, give her a call."

"Deffo!"

I couldn't help but clap and do a little dance.

"What's going on?" asked Mr Cullen, walking in with Jasper. "Hey, pet," he added, beaming at Bella, who promptly beamed back and bit her lip.

What's this? They've finally got it on!

"Hi, Edward. I was just telling Alice about Shelly needing an apprentice."

"Ach, it sounds right up my street."

"You might reconsider if you meet our little monsters," Mr Cullen replied, placing one hand on Bella's shoulder. "Bella's lad Seth goes a hundred miles an hour and my little Annie will question you to death."

"Don't put her off, love," Bella retorted. "I need to see my next client. Alice, I'll come by the house for your follow-up next Monday at 9am. Edward, see you later."

He squeezed her hand before letting her pass.

"Bye, pet."

A heated look passed between them as she left.

"Woo-woo, you hooked up with Bella!" I started dancing again.

"A little louder, Alice, I don't think the Scots heard you," Mr Cullen mumbled, looking around the room. I understood why; the nurses were right big gossips, some of them vicious with it, and he probably didn't want them talking about him and Bella.

"Alice's social worker is your girlfriend, Doc?" my Jasper asked, before holding me by the waist to give me a sweet little kiss.

"Err ... aye."

"Good on you. You seem well suited, like." Jasper turned to me. "Are you all packed, pet?"

"All packed and ready to go."

"Good luck, Alice. I'll see you in the clinic in a month, and April, the Crohn's nurse, will come out to see you at your new house in two weeks."

"Thanks, Mr C." For a moment I hesitated before asking, "So can I have a hug, seeing as you saved my life, like?"

The tips of his ears went red, but he nodded, suddenly a little shy. I giggled before giving him a good old squeeze. He was a handsome bugger, although not a patch on my Jasper.

With one final goodbye to all the nurses and Emmett, Jasper and I left Freeman Hospital, our futures bright like the Sun.

-cc-

Life just got better and better after leaving hospital.

I got me a job as an apprentice childminder with Shelly Cope, who looked after Bella and Edward's kids. She was getting on a bit in age and wanted some extra help, and wanted to train someone to take over one day; they had a son, but he lived in Australia, so they didn't see him much. I was delighted. I got to help with everything, from getting supplies to changing dirty nappies and playing with the tots.

Shelly also got me registered with the local city college so I could get my qualifications in childcare and child development, and helped me with the homework when the course started. It was right tough at first, because I didn't exactly have academic discipline, like, but I was getting there.

My housemate Bree and I got on well. She was dark haired and small like me, but quieter. She seemed to like the fact that I was kinda brash and a little crazy, though. She couldn't do a lot of stuff because she was left with epilepsy after her brain tumour, like listen to loud music or watch programmes with flashing lights, but she didn't let it get her down. She was enjoying her hair and beauty course, and was right good at it; I was happy to be her guinea pig now and then.

Jasper and I were still going strong. We were proper happy together and just had our four month anniversary. With his support, I barely noticed my colostomy most days; it was just a part of me, and looking after it was just part of my daily routine. It didn't get in the way of sexy time either, which I'd worried about once upon a time.

I gained weight so I didn't look like a stick insect anymore, and flare-ups seemed to be a distant memory. Mr Cullen, or Edward, as he insisted I call him when I started working for Shelly, was super-happy all the time, compared to before he met Bella. They were my friends now, and I loved their tots with my whole heart.

"Allie, Allie, Allie!" cried Seth, snapping me out of my thoughts. Shelly had just done the school run while I looked after the younger bairns. As it was Wednesday, we were going to have a busy afternoon, for we had our usual five kids, plus Edward's lass Annie.

"Aye, how's it shaking, kid?"

"Look what I can do!"

Seth dribbled a football around the garden for a moment, before kicking the ball up and doing a header, sending the ball straight between two makeshift goalposts.

"A for Awesome, Seth!" We high-fived. "Wait 'til Annie sees that!"

"She can already do it. She's better than me."

It was probably true. Edward's daughter was a natural athlete, and bright as a button.

"You're both A for Awesome. Have you had your drink and snack yet?"

"Aye, I had juice and a raisin bar."

The doorbell rang just then.

"Allie, can you get that? I'm just changing Keisha's nappy," Shelly yelled from inside the house.

I ran over and opened the door to Annie, and her hoity-toity mam, Mrs Newton. How Edward had once been with her, I have no clue.

"Annie, sweetheart!" I gave the lass a hug. She was a sweet little poppet, so clever. "Seth's in the garden, just waiting for you to have a kick-about with him."

"No football," Mrs Newton snapped, and the poor girl looked utterly downcast. "I mean it, Anastasia. You haven't done your French homework yet and I expect you to get top marks in Mademoiselle Jane's class."

"Yes, Mam."

She leaned up to kiss her petite mother, who was all gussied up with blonde highlights and an expensive fuchsia pink dress, before disappearing into the dining room.

"Well, bye."

"Mrs Newton?" The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Remember what I said about impulse control? Mine really is shit.

"Yes?"

"Err ... if Annie does all her homework, can she play football then?"

"Absolutely not." She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "Until she's under Edward's roof, she follows my rules. Football isn't going to give her a stable future, and the sooner she forgets about it, the better. Is that understood?"

"Message received."

As I watched Mrs Newton mince down to her swanky, silver Lexus in her expensive stilettos and drive away, I could almost picture the future in my mind. There was only one thing a child as sharp as Annie would do when faced with such hard boundaries, sooner or later.

She would rebel.

-cc-

So, I've kept you waiting three months (when I said it would be two weeks), and have only given you a little interlude of a chapter. For this, I'm so sorry.

My father died. Having tried to be so strong for my family while my aunt was dying, I couldn't do it again so soon. The Fox won an award, and it passed me by. Three months just passed me by.

I am now back, but on a go-slow. There's probably another three or four chapters left of this story- it was always going to be short. The next is nearly written, but I can't give you a schedule right now.

Thank you for reading and supporting me.