SM owns Twilight.
Story title inspired by the song Thorn in my Pride by The Black Crowes.
Thank you to my lovely pre-reader and friend coastaltigergirl. Love ya darling.
This chapter is a bit angsty but I believe it to be so in a realistic way given the story line. Hope you don't mind.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombings and my heart is filled with pride at the way the people there came together to help one another.
Chapter Two
"There were four gunmen sir..." Agent Greenberg began to explain to Carlisle and Emmett shortly after they arrived on scene at the deli "...they came in the back door through the kitchen entrance. There were three workers back there, all of which were bound and gagged and placed into a storage room. None of them have any physical injuries to report."
"The four men then made their way into the main dining area after the kitchen staff was out of the way. Witness statements say the men immediately made their way over to Edward and Isabella Cullen, separating them with force. This man..." the agent says pointing to the dead gunman on the floor, "...began to drag Mrs. Cullen back towards the kitchen when Sam Uley, who was dining with the Cullens and his wife Rebecca, tried to stop the man, he was then knocked unconscious by one of the gunmen. Mrs. Cullen began to fight her assailant and managed to gut check him freeing herself from him momentarily before the assailant struck Mrs. Cullen, knocking her down to the ground."
"Fucker deserved the bullet to his head." Emmett seethes, interrupting the Agent's briefing.
Carlisle pats Emmett on the shoulder trying to calm him down a bit despite his own desire to go and kick the bastard in the head. He nods briefly to the agent who continues with his report.
"One of the men holding Mr. Cullen went after the man who struck Mrs. Cullen, allowing Mr. Cullen to get free and strike the other gunman who was holding him. Before Mr. Cullen was able to get to his wife, the man he had just struck appears to have injected something into Mr. Cullen's shoulder immediately rendering him immobile. As he fell to his knees that same man came over to the gunman who had struck Mrs. Cullen, yelled at him and then shot him point blank in the head."
"Were the witnesses able to hear what the man said before he pulled the trigger?" Carlisle asked in a shaky voice.
The thinly veiled mask of professionalism that he was holding onto was slipping further and further away the more he heard about what had happened to his son and daughter-in-law.
"They reported him as saying 'She's not to be touched.' before pulling the trigger."
Carlisle and Emmett both looked at each other briefly before giving their attention back to the agent.
"Once the gunman was down the trigger man pointed to Mr. Cullen and said 'just him'. The two other men picked up Mr. Cullen and carried him towards the back entrance of the building."
"That's it? They didn't say or do anything else?" Carlisle asks.
"The only other thing said was the gunman who shot this one. After bending down to check Mrs. Cullen's pulse he said 'estupido' before he kicked the dead man and then left with the other men."
"So they were of Hispanic descendent?" Emmett asks.
"From what the witnesses have said about the man's accent and his words that is what we have gathered. There is also the fact the dead gunman called Mrs. Cullen a "puta" before he struck her."
"You sorry motherfucking piece of shit." Emmett snarls before he kicks the dead's man body, angry tears rolling down his cheeks.
"Emmett Cullen control yourself, now." Carlisle says as he pulls Emmett into his arms.
"Dad...I...Edward..." Emmett tries to get out through his tears.
"I know son. Believe me I know. You have every right to break down, to be pissed off. It is a very thin thread that is holding me together right now but I have to, we have to. Both for Edward and Bella." He says as he holds his youngest son closer to him.
Emmett relishes the comforting feel of his father's embrace for a moment before he pulls himself together, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Thank you sir." He says before he turns his attention back to Agent Greenberg who has been silently watching the exchange between father and son, plans of spending the evening holding his own son in his arms all night long running through his mind.
"I'm sorry Agent Greenberg." Emmett says.
"Nothing to be sorry for Agent Cullen." The man returns before continuing on. "From what we have gathered sir, this was always about your son. The men were professional in their execution with the exception of the man who attacked your daughter-in-law and he seems to have paid the ultimate price for doing so."
"But why? Why would someone go after Edward?" Emmett asks.
"I have no idea son. Edward has no enemies."
"You don't think this has something to do with Paul McGovern or Riley Biers do you?" Emmett asks.
"It couldn't. I have both Biers and Alex Stephenson under strict watch, neither of them can so much as take a piss without me knowing about it. No this is something else, something entirely different from McGovern and all of his bullshit. I just..." Carlisle pauses for a moment before he regains his composure "...I can't for the life of me figure out what it could be."
"Has there been any other word on Bella or Sam?" Emmett asks.
"Sam had regained consciousness before they took him to the hospital for a more extensive checkup. As for Bella there has not been any word since the initial report that I was given. She was still unconscious in route to the hospital. They were able to hear Melly's heartbeat and said that it is strong. They were going to do a sonogram once Bella was awake to make sure she is truly ok and that there was no damage caused from her being knocked to the ground."
"Charlie?" Emmett asks.
"I sent a chopper to pick him up. He should be arriving at the hospital any moment now. Your mother was going to meet him there."
As Carlisle was finishing his sentence Rose walked into the room from the back office of the diner. She had been reviewing the surveillance tapes from the alley way and the main dining room. From the color of her eyes it was evident that she had been crying.
"Anything Rosie?" Emmett asks as he takes his wife into his arms trying to comfort her much the way his father had done to him moments before.
"There is nothing from the alley way camera. It appears to have been jammed as there is approximately five minutes of white noise before an empty alley way comes back onto the screen. Since the cameras inside the deli were not affected I am guessing the device they used could not penetrate a concrete wall which is what the outer building consists of. These types of devices tend to have a range of about 45 meters and therefore would block out the cameras in the back long before the vehicle arrived in the alley way. It also means it was probably attached to whatever they were driving. They must have known exactly where the cameras back there were and parked beneath it. The good thing about it possibly being attached to the vehicle is that it means whatever cameras they may have passed will have been jammed as well. I have already put a call into the DOT to have them search for any of their stoplight cameras to see if they have any interruptions and also to the police department to see if there have been any reports of disruptions to public safety cameras. I also have word into the NTSB to have them check rail, bus and the airports cameras as well." Rose says as she pulls away from her husband's arms.
"And the camera from the main dining room?" Carlisle asks.
"It shows everything." Rose whispers.
Emmett pulls her back into his embrace and lets out a troubled sigh.
Carlisle watches the two of them for a moment before he composes himself once again, whistling to get the attention of every agent or police officer in the building before he speaks.
"Ladies and gentleman it has been exactly eighty-four minutes since my son was abducted from this spot. I want every one of you to cover this place with a fine tooth comb, no detail is too small and every little thing matters. We have one goal and one goal only and that is to bring my Edward home safely."
TP
As soon as the chopper lands on top of the hospital, Charlie is out the side door and rushing towards the elevator that waits to take him down to the ER. As soon as the doors open he is met by a haggard looking Esme who rushes into his arms.
"How is she?" Charlie asks.
"I just got here myself. I was on my way back there when I saw you." Esme says.
"Any word on Edward?"
"No." Esme whispers trying to hold back her tears.
As they approach the triage area they hear Bella's screams coming from one of the rooms at the end of the area. The two of them rush into the room as quickly as possible and are shocked by what they see.
"Don't touch me!" Bella screams as two attendees try to strap her down to the gurney that she is laying on. "Leave me alone! Where is my husband? Edward!" She screams as she thrashes her arms and legs about trying to break free from the men holding her down.
"What the fuck do you think you are doing to my daughter?" Charlie says as he rushes over to the men and begins shoving them out of the way to get to Bella.
"Sir you need to leave this room." A young man in scrubs says to Charlie as he walks into the room. Charlie notices immediately that he is holding a syringe in his hand.
"The fuck I do, you stick my daughter with that thing and I will shove it straight into your balls. Get the hell out of here with that."
"Sir we have to sedate her so that we can make sure she and the baby are alright." The young man says.
"Not happening asshole." Charlie says as he stands in front of his daughter who is still thrashing around on the bed trying to get out of the one restraint that they managed to get around her arm.
Esme rushes over to her and grabs her face into her hands.
"Bella sweetie, please stop."
"No, don't touch me. Where's Edward? Edward!" Bella screams.
"Bella stop." Esme says with a little more force as she dodges Bella's free hand trying to smack her way out of Esme's grasp.
"Edward!" Bella calls out again.
"She needs to be sedated before she hurts herself or the baby." The young man says as he tries to push past Charlie.
"She is in shock and has no idea where she is or what is happening to her. Sedating her will not change that as she will more than likely wake in the same condition when the sedatives wear off."
"Bullshit I..."
"Listen here asshole..." Esme says as she turns her attention to the man "...I am a doctor with privileges at this hospital. Her husband is my son, Dr. Edward Cullen who was abducted in front of her. He is also a doctor here and I am sure someone that you know very well. I am going to try and get her back into the reality of where she is now and not where she was. If I am unsuccessful then and only then will I allow you sedate her, until then back the fuck off." She finishes before she turns her attention back to Bella.
"Isabella Marie Cullen, you will stop this thrashing about this very moment and you will listen to me. You are going to hurt Melanie if you do not stop. Is that what you want Bella, do you want to hurt your baby girl? " Esme asks in a very stern voice as she pulls Bella's face closer to her own and holds onto to her tightly.
Bella stills her movements, her hands going up to grasp the ones that are holding onto her face. Blinking her eyes she stares at Esme for a few seconds before she answers her.
"No." She whispers.
"That's it baby, come back to me." Esme says as she holds on to Bella for dear life.
"Esme?...What?" Bella says as her breathing begins to calm down.
"You are at the hospital sweetie. You were knocked unconscious and fell to the ground. The doctors here need to check you over and make sure both you and Melly are ok."
"Edward?" Bella asks as the tears begin to fill her eyes.
Esme looks away from Bella for a moment before she looks back into her daughter-in-laws eyes.
"We'll find him Bella. Carlisle and Emmett will not stop until Edward is home with all of us."
Movement from the other side of the bed catches Bella's eyes and she looks away to find Charlie standing there with tears in his eyes.
"Daddy." Bella says as she holds out her arms.
"I'm right here baby girl." He says as he rushes over and pulls Bella into his arms. "I got you Bella; it's going to be ok baby. I promise you we will get him back." He says as he rocks her back and forth.
Esme steps back from where she was standing and motions for one of the attendees to unhook her one restraint and to the young man with the syringe to go and bring in the ER doctor to check over Bella.
TP
Esme follows the young men out of the room giving Bella and Charlie a moment together before the doctors come back in to check her over. She leans her head back on the wall outside of the room as she lets everything wash over her.
"My baby boy." She whispers out before she feels herself falling. Before she reaches the ground two strong arms are around her pulling her into the only safety she has ever known.
"I got you darling. I've got you." Carlisle says as he holds on to his wife.
"Carlisle...I..." She says as she lets the emotion of it all take over and the tears fall freely.
"I know Es, I know." He says as he lets his own tears fall.
The two of them stand there in the middle of the busy ER, holding onto to each other, trying to stay afloat.
TP
"There she is." Dr. Wright says as she moves the wand over Bella's belly thirty minutes later. The screen fills with the moving image of Melanie, her strong heart beat filling the room as Bella, Charlie, Esme and Carlisle look on.
"Hey my little daddy's girl." Bella says as she looks at the 3-D image on the screen.
The four of them look on as Dr. Wright moves the wand around some more, pausing for a moment here and there, typing things into the computer she is working on.
"Everything looks really good Bella." She finally says after a few moments. "Her heart beat is very strong, both the amniotic sac and the placenta are in good shape and she appears to be alert and awake." She finishes with a smile.
"Thank you Dr. Wright." Bella says as she wipes tears from her eyes.
"You are the one I am more concerned about." Dr. Wright says as she wipes the gel off of Bella's belly. "Between the concussion that you suffered from the blow to your head, the shock you were in early and the stress on your heart from everything, I am putting you on bed rest for at least the next two weeks."
"But I..." Bella starts.
"There are no buts here Bella. You're blood pressure is entirely too high for my liking right now and I worry about what the stress of everything will do to your heart. While you recovered perfectly from the gunshot wound and the damage it did to your heart, there is still potential for it to become overwhelmed. I know it is unrealistic of me to ask you not to worry or over stress yourself given the circumstances you are now faced with, but Bella sweetie in order for you to deliver a healthy little Melanie you have to be healthy also."
"She will come and stay with us until Edward comes home." Esme says as she takes Bella's hand. "I'll make sure they are both ok."
"Given the fact you will be in a doctor's care I am going to go ahead and release you. It'll take a little bit to complete the paper work and then you can go home. Dr. Cullen, I am going to give you two prescriptions that you can have filled before she leaves, one is for her blood pressure and the other is for any anxiety or panic attacks if she needs help controlling them. Both are safe for her to take during pregnancy. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. I want to see both of you in my office again in two weeks." Dr. Wright says before she and Esme leave the room to get Bella ready to leave.
"Promise me." Bella says breaking the silence in the room as she looks over at Carlisle.
"I promise you Bella, even if it takes my last dying breath, I will bring Edward home to his girls."
TP
Edward's eyes slowly flutter open.
The air around him is stale and cold, like it is being pumped in from an outside source. His head and his ears are ringing and his mouth is as dry as cotton. He is laying on something soft but cannot tell if it is a bed as everything around him is still fuzzy and dark.
As his vision comes more into focus the ringing in his ears slowly morphs into the low roar of an engine and Edward realizes he is on a plane.
"What the fuck." He mumbles to himself as he tries to clear his head and sit up. Moving his arm to lift himself he feels the cool metal of a cuff biting into his wrist.
The pain of the bite clears his mind instantly and he starts to remember what happened.
"Bella!" He begins to yell as he tries to free his hand from its restraint.
Moments later a door opens and the room is flooded with bright lights, which causes Edward to grimace his eyes closed in pain. A man carrying a tray walks in, quickly closing the door behind him.
"Trying to break free of that cuff is pointless Dr. Cullen." The man says in a thick accent. Edward immediately recognizes it from the diner.
"Where the fuck is my wife?" Edward demands as he tries to sit up again.
"Your wife is still in DC." The man says as he places the tray down on a small table, before turning on a small table lamp.
"Is she ok?" He asks remembering her lying on the ground.
"I can tell you she had a pulse when I checked. But that is all I can tell you. You need to drink that water. It will help with the pain in your head and help you regain movement to your limbs."
"Where are you taking me?" Edward asks as he takes the bottle of water. He eyes the seal on the lid to make sure it has not been broken before he opens it and drinks the water down quickly.
"You will know more once we land." The man says as he begins to walk back out of the room.
"What the fuck is going on?" Edward yells as the man opens the door to leave. "Answer me damn it." He yells again as he flings the almost empty water bottle at the man's retreating form. Water splatters over the wall as it hits the closed door.
Edward yells out in frustration one more time before falling back on the bed trying to grasp what is happening to him.
"Please God, please let my Bella and Melanie be alright. Please let me see them again." He whimpers into the dimly lit room.
A/N
Thank you all so much for the initial response to this new story. I greatly appreciate it and feel nothing but love because of it and cannot wait to hear what you think next.
As the story line unfolds there will more than likely be cliffy endings to the chapters. I hate to do it but it is really the only way to progress the story forward at a proper pace. My apologies ahead of time.
Much love to you all!