Chapter 2 - Panic
"I don't know, I didn't see any baby Edward. What baby?" She was gasping as what I'd asked sank in. "Oh my god she's got a baby and I left it there. I didn't know, I didn't know..." She begins to chant but I'm already running, again.
"Call Rosie, Alice. Get her to meet us here. Get a car seat from the paediatric ward." I shouted to my sister as I ran back down the hall towards the emergency exit and the carpark.
I have my cell phone in its holder and its dialling on hands free before I'm even fully reversed out of my double parked spot. No ticket either.
My brother Emmett answers on the first ring. "Dude, what do you know?" He asks.
I can hear the revving of his engine and know he's driving towards where I am. "Turn around, go back towards town." I bellow into the handset. I give him Bella's address and tell him to meet me there as fast as he can. I make sure he's got his kids car seat in his car and tell him to hurry up. Then I dial my brother in law Jasper. He too is driving. I give him the same address and he tells me he's only two minutes from there.
I speed towards her apartment and find them both standing on the nature strip waiting for me. "What are we here for?" Emmett asks.
"You're here for muscle in case her husband comes home while we're here." I point to Emmett. "You're here to help me get the baby and its things out." I point to Jaz.
"What baby?" They ask in unison.
"Bella's baby. Come on." I lead even though I've never been here before either. Bella's apartment is number twelve and it's on the upper of the two floors. This sucks because it would've been so much easier to break in if it was on the bottom floor.
We go up a narrow staircase at the end of the building and then make our way along a meshed off corridor. The place isn't old but it's not new either, but it smells better than I thought it was going to. As we get closer to number twelves door we begin to hear the screaming of the baby. She's really wailing. It's fucking hot today and she's locked in there on her own.
"If she's screaming like that the husband aint here at least." Emmett offers.
"He could be." I tell him and he winces as he catches up to my drift. If her asshole of a husband can beat her enough to put her in hospital what's he done to the kid?
Jasper gets to her door first but it's locked, of course. Emmett shoves him out the way and puts his shoulder to the door. He bounces off the first time but that only seems to drive him on. The second time he takes a bit of a run up and forces his shoulder against the part of the door closest to the lock. It fly's inwards as the door breaks the lock mechanism. Em steps out of the way as soon as the door is gone and I run past him.
I don't bother looking at anything I just run for where I think the bedrooms are and search for the baby. I find her in a closet. At least it looks like it's a closet, the room is so small. It only has a crib and a change table in it because that's all that fits in it.
She is really screaming hard. I scoop her up but she keeps going. She's bright red and her arms and legs are flailing all over the place. The two boys are standing at the door way now.
"Is it alright?" Emmett asks.
"She's fine. She's Elizabeth and she's nine weeks old." I tell them both so they'll use her name and not call her 'it'. I cradle her close to my chest and pat her to soothe her. She keeps crying but it's getting less and less as I follow the two guys into the living room.
She could've been asleep when Esme came to see Bella and it's probably been at most two hours since Bella was taken away in the ambulance so I doubt there's been any harm done to her while she's been on her own, but I shudder to think that a tiny baby has been all alone even that long. They are so fragile and Bella loves this baby more than life itself. I know that. I've seen that in her.
Jasper stops short in the hallway and we both look down at the filthy mattress on the floor. I know it's where Bella sleeps because beside it is a stack of folded women's clothes. I don't need her to tell me that's where she's been sleeping.
"Fuck." Jasper whispers. He takes off down the other end of the hallway and comes back a second later with fire in his eyes. "His room is pristine dude. Nice bed, clean sheets, a stack of perfect suits and shirts in his closet, alarm clock and shit."
"It doesn't matter now." I tell him and go through the living room into the little kitchen. "Can you get a bag and start throwing the baby's shit into it Jaz? Just take some diapers and a couple sets of clean clothes, if she has any. We'll buy everything else later." I ask as I rummage through the little refrigerator for formula for Elizabeth. There are three made up bottles in it but there's no microwave in the kitchen. The baby is wailing and is obviously hungry by the way she's trying to force her fist into her mouth between cries.
If she's hungry enough I know she'll take the formula cold and it won't hurt her any. It's fucking hot in the apartment and she looks flushed so I take the outer cap off the bottle and press it to the baby's lips. She opens her mouth and sucks like there's no tomorrow.
Emmett comes into the kitchen and looks down at her in my arms. "Is she okay?" He asks quietly.
Em's a big softie. He's got a little boy with Rosie, Angus, he's two, and I know they're trying for another. There isn't anything Emmett wouldn't do for his kid so I know he's gonna be real protective of Elizabeth. "Yeah I think she's fine." I tell him.
"She's all red. Is she sick too?" He asks as he puts the back of one of his enormous hands to her forehead.
"I don't think so, no. It's just fucking hot in here and she was real thirsty. The formula's cold, she'll cool down on her own now." I tell him and he's nodding along. He knows more about this shit than I do. He took a year off work when Angus was born, so he can probably teach me how to care for her. I might be a doctor and I'd be able to work out what she needs, but he'd be able to tell me what she wants. I realize that where babies are concerned there is a big difference between want and need.
Jaz comes out of the closet with an old duffel bag. "You want me to collect anything of Bella's?" He asks.
I shrug. "I don't know. Is there anything worth taking?" I ask.
Emmett clicks his fingers and I pass him Elizabeth. He takes her and goes and sits on the sofa. He starts cooing and shit to her, whispering like they've got some cosmic secret that only they know. She's sucking so hard on the bottle I can hear the squelching noises over his voice. I go with Jaz into the hallway to Bella's 'spot'.
It's fucking heartbreaking. Jaz kicks the mattress in protest and I give it one myself. It feels good to know she's never gonna lie on it ever again. "What kind of a cu..." Jaz starts but I tell him to stop.
"There's time enough for that later, we gotta get outta here before he comes back." I tell him and he nods in agreement. I get down onto my knees and sift through her clothes. They're all pretty clean but they aren't in great shape. A bit tattered. I decide to take nothing from the seven neat piles. There is a small toiletries bag at the foot of the mattress so I grab that figuring it's got her toothbrush and hairbrush in it at the very least. "Look for anything personal Jaz. Photos or jewellery a novel or something." I tell him and he gets up and starts hunting around the apartment.
Jaz is right. His room is pristine. Rows of clean clothes all perfectly pressed and lined up by colour in his closet. His ensuite bathroom is immaculate. Expensive aftershaves lined up on the counter top. Electric razor still plugged in. There is nothing of Bella's in there to even make me believe she's ever lived in this room with him at all. No pictures beside the bed, no makeup or women's 'things' in any of the cupboards. The closet has four drawers, three of which are filled with his clothes. Casual stuff like t-shirts and sweaters. In the fourth drawer I hit pay dirt.
There are two small boxes in the bottom drawer both marked Bella. One is the size of a shoebox, the other a bit bigger. Neither of them is taped shut or anything so I pull the flaps open on the bigger one. It's filled with books. Novels mostly. I don't know why they are in a box or why he's got them in a drawer, but I take the box out and call for Jaz to come collect it. The second box has photos in it. And a jewellery box and a couple figurines. There's a bound recipe folder and what looks like a wallet.
I take the wallet out and sigh. It's got her driver's license in it, her social security card, key card and a photo of the baby in it. A few coins in the zipper part but no cash. Under one of those little clear plastic photo squares is a hand written note. 'I own you, everything you have is mine and I can stop that too.'
"Jesus Christ." I mutter and slide the wallet into my back pocket.
I don't notice Jaz beside me, holding his hands out for the box. "Come on Ed, we gotta get out of here, it's getting late, he'll be home from work soon." He tells me and I close the flaps of the box and hand it to him.
I go back out to the living room and find Elizabeth asleep on the sofa and Emmett walking around taking photos with the camera on his cell phone. Jaz has stacked the boxes at the front door. "I'll be back." He says, nodding at the boxes while he takes the bag to his car.
"This is like something out of Sleeping with the Enemy dude." Emmett whispers to me. "Check out the kitchen." He nods in that direction and I step into the tiny alcove to take a look around. It doesn't look too bad to me. There's food in the cupboards and in the refrigerator. There's a homemade frozen lasagne defrosting on the sink.
Emmett steps in there with me and asks what I think.
"About what, it looks okay to me." I tell him.
"Dude." He sighs and points to the telephone on the wall behind my head.
The phone is normal but beside it is a handwritten poster with instructions on it.
Approved numbers: Police (But only if there is a break in)
Fire
Ambulance for Jake or Elizabeth ONLY
Forks General Store Delivery Service (Maximum credit $42 for you and Elizabeth)
There is a list of rules taped beside that. They are fucking ridiculous in the extreme.
No going outside for Bella, only to put the baby on the balcony to get some sunshine. He's written that the neighbours are logging her time outside so she better not dawdle.
Only approved calls are allowed to be made, as per the list opposite. Any messages left are to be there when he gets home, he'll check.
My heart sinks. "Oh fuck." I mumble. That's what she was trying to tell me. I left a message for her, a few times, each time she had to leave it for him to hear, she couldn't erase them! "Oh fuck, oh fuck." I can feel the bile rising in my throat. Emmett steps closer and reads the list again.
"What is it?" He asks.
"I called her. I left her messages. Oh god Em, he beat her because I called her!" I yell.
"You don't know that. Assholes don't need a reason. Come on." He tries to pull me from the kitchen but I want to read the rest of the list so I know what she's been living with.
She's not to open the door to anyone other than the delivery boy from the supermarket.
No personal mail is allowed. Any mail delivered is to be put on the shelf in the hall.
Only the newspaper and her allotted six books are allowed to be read.
She has to keep the garbage out for his inspection before she is allowed to close the bag up.
Six personal items on display only. She can change them, but only swap them over, no more than six at any time.
She may only shower twice a week and for four minutes at a time.
On the days she is permitted to shower she must be clean and 'ready' when he gets home. I shudder to think what that means, but I can guess.
She may not drive his vehicle for any reason.
No visitors, ever. Although she is allowed to see her father once a week, if he requests it. I wonder if he ever has.
She is not allowed to interact with any of the neighbours or the building manager.
The baby's crying is to be kept to a minimum. He will check periodically with the other tenants to make sure she is keeping her quiet.
Only her allowance may be used from his account and only at the supermarket. An example of how she is to divide the grocery bill is taped to the wall next to the list of rules.
The total is split into two. Almost exactly forty-two dollars on one part, one hundred and eight on the other. I can guess without being told whose part is whose.
"Fuck." I mumble. "How the fuck do you feed yourself and a baby for forty bucks a week?"
"You can't." He opens a cupboard over my head and pulls down a can of formula. "This shit would take care of half that and then there are diapers and shit too. One of them aint eating and the baby looks healthy weight to me." He mutters darkly.
I open the cupboard next to where he got the can and see two boxes of generic brand crackers and four packets of jell-o. I open the refrigerator and it's neatly stacked and perfectly clean. It's not until I take a good long look that I see the difference between the shelves.
"You see it now, right?" He asks and I nod.
"Yeah." I tell him.
I hear Jaz come back for the boxes but I'm transfixed by the inside of the fridge. The top two shelves are nearly bare. Two plastic containers one with a used teabag in it and one with half an inch of milk slopping around in it. Another, bigger container holds red jell-o. There's a half eaten apple wrapped in the used wrapper from a trail mix bar and an unopened tub of generic plain yoghurt.
"She's got nearly all the food groups there, though, you gotta give her that." He sighs.
He's right too. She's got milk and fruit and grains and she must be fucking starving.
The lower two shelves are a totally different scene. Neat packages marked 'lunch' and a big tub of some sort of apple dessert covered neatly with cling film. There are vegetables and fruit and milk and bottles of wine in the door. Fruit juice with pulp floating in the bottom of the bottle and a big pitcher of iced tea. There's cheese in the compartment and eggs below it. Salad greens are freshly washed and in a colander as though she was going to make him salad to go with his lasagne. I open the freezer and curse. All his meals are portioned perfectly, lined up in the clear containers like the lasagne. There are even loaves of bread in there and two frozen cheesecakes.
"He's eating like a fucking prince and she's starving." I tell nobody in particular.
Emmett's back with me, Elizabeth in his arms again. He puts a hand on my shoulder. "Yeah, she is but she's out of here now. Come on, we gotta go."
I nod and follow him out what's left of the front door. "Should we leave a note?" I ask idly.
He snorts. "Nah, fuck him." And keeps walking.
I watch Emmett deftly buckle Elizabeth into Angus' car seat which is too big for her but will just have to do for now. I get a pulling feeling in my gut as I watch him drive away from the curb. I need to follow him but I want to stay here and wait for her fucking husband too. Jaz pulls away and I slide in behind him in the minimal early evening traffic. We didn't discuss it but Emmett heads to the hospital.
It's a short drive, maybe six minutes, and when I've parked and am standing beside Emmett's car with Elizabeth in my arms I wonder how the hell I got there. The car must have guided itself. I had been in my own little world the whole way.
Jasper's already gone in, probably eager to be with Alice now. They've only been married five months, it's all so new still and he'd know that Alice was upset from before. Emmett and I walk a bit slower than Jasper who's practically running through emergency.
Elizabeth is still asleep, despite being bundled up and hauled about like a sack of displaced potatoes. Em's got his hand on my shoulder again now. I never realized I'd need quite so much support from him as I do. He has no idea what the fuck I'm doing and he probably has no idea who Bella is, or this baby in my arms, but he's there for me anyway. "I'll tell you later." I mumble.
"You bet your ass you will." He chuckles as we go through the doors and into the hospital.
We've been gone a short hour but there is still no news from surgery. My mother sobs as I put Elizabeth into her arms for the first time. "She's so tiny." She whispers and bends to kiss the fine hair at her forehead. "I didn't know, Edward." She whispers to me.
I smile. "I know mom. She's perfectly fine, no harm done." I tell her and watch as she takes the baby back to where Alice and Rosie are sitting. "Her name is Elizabeth." I tell them and they all start cooing again. Angus is in his mother's lap but jumps up into Emmett's arms when he sees his dad standing there.
I watch for a little bit. Emmett hugs Angus hard. He's probably just making sure the kid is okay, it's been a tough hour for the big guy. Rosie slips her hand into his and I see them share a smile before she turns her attention back to the baby.
Another ten minutes go by and Alice comes to pace with me outside the nurses' station. I haven't forgotten Elizabeth but she's asleep and doesn't need me, so I'm concentrating on wearing a hole in the carpet while I worry for her mother.
Alice slips a hand into mine and walks with me. "I have to go and organise a few things but I don't want you to think I'm abandoning you, or the baby." She whispers.
I know Alice. She would have the whole thing planned out in her head by now. She is just waiting for my go ahead. As much as I know Alice, Alice knows me. She knows I've loved Bella my whole life, she knows I need to do this for her and for her daughter. I pace a little longer, thinking about how to go about this.
I don't know how to do this. I don't know if it's my place to try. I want to help Bella but she's not mine. Neither is the baby.
"I have to call her dad first Ally." I tell her and she nods as if she's already factored that into her plan. She lets my hand go and I go back out through emergency and into the smokers garden for a little privacy.
I do a few laps of the courtyard and then go out into the grass and do a few more. I did my residency here so I know why people come out here. This is where all the bad news is delivered. The families come out here to tell other family members the bad stuff. Smokers come out here to get away from the death and sickness for a few precious minutes. New fathers come here to vomit. The bereaved come here to mourn.
I dial Forks Police and get the front desk. "Chief Swan please. It's Dr Cullen calling." I tell her.
"One moment please." I get put on hold and then a click as he answers. "Chief Swan."
"Chief it's Edward Cullen calling. I'm at Forks general with Bella and Elizabeth. Can you come?" I ask.
The line is quiet for a few seconds and I can't believe he has to think about it. "I get off at seven, I'll come then." He tells me.
"Are you fucking kidding me? She's in surgery Charlie. She's half starved, he's beaten the living shit out of her and you want to finish your shift?" I shout.
I hear him huff, "You're wrong, Jake loves her, he wouldn't do that. She must've gotten herself mixed up in something else. I'll come at seven." And then he fucking hangs up on me.
No mention of his granddaughter no thought for what sort of surgery Bella is having, no emotion at all.
It's true I don't know him well but I thought they had a pretty good relationship, him and Bella. He was always at the parent things at school and he always brought and collected Bella from our house when she was over with Alice. I'd never met her mother, I had no clue where she was or if she was even alive. I'd have to ask Alice. Charlie Swan had been Chief of Police since I was a kid so I always thought he was a good guy. Maybe I was wrong. God knows I've been wrong about a lot of shit lately.
I put my phone back in my pocket and go back inside. Elizabeth is awake and being fussed over by my mother and Rosie, Alice is waiting for me in the corridor.
"He's not coming, is he?" She asks, like she expected it and can't believe I didn't.
"No, not until his shift finishes at seven." I look at my watch, its six now.
"He's an alcoholic Edward. Had her convinced she was there only to serve him. Half the time he didn't even know where she was and when he did he didn't care. She thought she was finally getting away when she married Jake. I never saw her after that so I assumed she had escaped it all." She whispers.
I scrub at the back of my neck with my hand. I'd had no idea. "I didn't know." I tell her.
"How could you have? She didn't tell anyone, not even me. It's not your fault Edward. You're here now, we'll all help them now." She tells me firmly, lifting my chin so she can see my eyes. I probably look like dogshit, I feel like it.
"What's your plan?" I ask her, because she always has one.
She smiles a little. "You're staying here for a bit, yeah?" She asks and I nod. "I'll take Rosie and we'll sort out everything Elizabeth needs. In your room, with you?" She asks me and I nod again. I don't need to think about it, I want her with me. "Good man." She chuckles and pats my arm. "Do you need anything here?" She asks.
"Some clean clothes I guess. A razor. I don't know, anything you can think of is fine." I take my wallet out of my back pocket and hand it to her. "Can you bring me some cash? For food and stuff. Um, spend whatever you need; my credit card is in there." I put it into her hand and she closes her fist around it.
She gets up on her toes and kisses my cheek. "You're a good guy Edward." She whispers then disappears down the corridor with Rosie and Angus.
If I'm such a good guy how come I didn't do something more when I saw the first signs of abuse I think to myself as I go back into the waiting room.
Elizabeth is awake again but she's not crying this time. She's lying in my mom's lap, along the length of her thighs while she talks to Jasper. I slide into the seat beside them and watch the baby. I take no notice of what the others are talking about.
Elizabeth is perfect. Her eyes are clear and bright. Her lips are pink and her cheeks are rosy. She's cooler now, her little dress is bunched up around her belly and her legs kick back and forth as Esme idly rubs her little fat tummy. She's got a fat belly and her mother is starving. Bella gave up everything for this baby. Even food.
Elizabeth's hands are clenching and unclenching as she lays there, her eyes turned to me. I wonder if she can even see me from this distance. Without thinking I put my index finger into her fist and she closes her hand around it. I know it means nothing, she doesn't know me from a bar of soap, but it feels nice to have some sort of connection with her. I love her mother, I wonder if she can tell.
She pulls my finger to her mouth and starts sucking on it. I can feel the hard bumps on her gums where her teeth will be. Her mouth is warm and wet and a bit gross. I hope there is nothing on my hands that can hurt her.
My mom is still rubbing her tummy while she talks to the boys but turns to me. "Do you remember the name of the formula she was using?" She asks. I shake my head. I didn't think to look. Emmett chimes in that he knows. He writes it on the back of a receipt from his wallet and hands it to our mom. "Is it okay if I take her home now?" She asks me.
I wonder why she's asking me. I have no idea what I'm doing and no idea what to do next, I can't be responsible for Elizabeth too, can I? I've never been responsible for anyone before, not even really myself. I still live at home, at twenty six years old I live with my parents. Sure, I have a whole floor to myself and it's only because I'm a doctor and there is no point having a place of my own when I would only sleep in it three nights a week anyway, but still.
Emmett is sitting beside me then, his huge hand on my shoulder again. "Ed, let mom take the baby home. You stay with Bella, she'll get the baby sorted, alright?" he asks me like I'm some sort of retard and can't understand English.
That's when I realise I do feel like I'm retarded. I'm lost. My brain is fried. I was good up until just then. The plan was simple. Make sure Bella was getting help; get the baby away from there. Done and done. I had no clue what would happen now.
Emmett gets up then and takes Elizabeth from mom. He's cradling her against his chest, she's looking over his shoulder. I find myself making sure he's supporting her head. Shit. She's not mine I have to tell myself before looking at my mom. "What?" I ask her.
She runs a hand through my hair and smiles. "It'll be okay darling." She whispers. "Elizabeth is going to get hungry at some point; we should make sure she has what she needs. I'll go and buy some diapers and some bottles and formula, that's all, alright? I won't take her far, just to the house, alright?" she asks.
I look at her and wonder why she's talking to me this way. I trust her, hell she raised us three and apart from some minor mental scarring from catching them screwing once a small scar on my hip I survived fine. "She's not mine." I tell her, for some reason I feel like I should say it.
Mom smiles again. "Maybe not, but you're who she's got for now, that makes you hers." She tells me reasonably.
I nod slowly as it dawns on me that she's right. I'm what she's got right now so I have to make decisions to help her. "Alright. Do what you need to do, Alice has my money." I tell her.
She laughs a little then. "I have money Edward." She pats my arm and we both stand.
For some reason I feel the need to hold the baby before they take her away from me. I don't know how long it's going to be before I see her again, especially if I'm signing up to stay here to be with Bella when she comes out of surgery. It could be days.
I feel the pinch in my gut as I think about that. I don't want it to be days. I take her from Emmett and hold her close. I smell her baby smell and close my eyes. She's a part of Bella, my Bella. I look up and see them all staring at me. Jaz has this stupid dreamy look on his face and Emmett looks about ready to say something to make me feel about an inch tall, so I kiss Elizabeth quickly on the temple and hand her to my mom.
"Call me the instant you know something, please." Mom makes me promise and of course I do. She kisses me and turns to leave with the baby.
I grab her arm and stop her. "Don't get too attached mom, Charlie Swan might want to take her home with him." I warn her.
A fierce look comes across her face and I step back involuntarily while she hisses, "Over my dead fucking body he will." She snarls and walks off down the corridor.
She's only gone ten paces when the two boys start in on me. I haven't recovered from what my mother said when I'm snapped back to reality by the moron twins.
"You love her." Jaz states simply.
"You boinking her?" Emmett asks at the same time.
I roll my eyes at them both. They are a fucking pair! "No I'm not fucking her but yeah, I love her. Always have I guess." I tell Jaz as we sit back down. I put my head in my hands and sigh. "She was Alice's best friend all through school. Do you remember her Em?" I ask through my laced fingers.
"Dunno, maybe." He says.
"She was always at our house, with Alice. For years she was there and I was too much of a pussy to even talk to her." I admit.
"You were kids man, it happens." Jaz offers reasonably. "So she married some loser huh?"
"Yeah. Jake Black, from the Rez." I tell him. "They got married last year, she seemed happy. I mean, I've only seen her a handful of times since school, but she seemed ok." I tell them.
"When did you suspect?" Emmett asks me.
"Not until after the baby was born. She came into the clinic. She was sick but the baby was fine. She had bruises and an infected lip and she thinks I bought her bullshit story. But she wouldn't tell me what was up so there was nothing I could do. I told dad, he knows Charlie Swan, but even dad didn't really believe me and Charlie doesn't give a shit." I told them.
"Well he fuckin believes you now dude." Emmett swore.
"Yeah." I mumbled.
Jaz stood then, dragging Emmett up with him. "We've gotta run out for a bit. The Chief will be here soon anyway. Call us if you hear." He tells me and I nod.
I don't know for sure where they are going but I can guess. I can't be stuffed asking them not to do it, they won't listen anyway. I'll patch their knuckles up for free when they get back.
I call the clinic and fill Kate in on what's happening. She's the clinic manager and she's a damn good surgeon too. She tells me to take my time, that she'll call Steve Glover in to cover my shifts for a while and to let them know if I need anything. I ask her to send over Bella and Elizabeth's files and she tells me she will.
I'm closing my phone when Charlie Swan wanders into the waiting room.
I stand and offer him my hand. He takes it hesitantly. "Where is she?" He asks gruffly.
I can smell the bourbon on his breath. He's tanked and he'd just gotten off duty. Fantastic. A pissed Chief of Police. Oh so handy in an emergency.
"She's still in surgery." I tell him.
"What's she done to herself this time? Broken a leg falling over her own feet or some shit?" He asks.
I try hard to keep my temper and stop myself from shouting at him by focusing on the print of a waterfall that's over his left shoulder. "She's been beaten. Some broken bones, cuts, bruising." I tell him.
His expression doesn't change. It's as if he's just not interested. Like she asked for it. "She probably just tripped, she does that a lot." He mumbled.
I could feel myself leaning into the punch but pulled back at the last second. It wouldn't do anyone any good if I was sitting in jail for punching the Chief of Police. Instead I just nodded. It felt insanely wrong to seem to agree, but what else could I do. Alice was right, he didn't give a shit.
"I guess you aren't interested in where the baby is, seeing as you haven't asked." I put it to him rather pointedly but he didn't even blink.
"You guessed right." He said blandly. "Well, I've been, there's nothing to see, I'll be at home if she dies." And with that he turned on his heel and left, leaving me standing there with my mouth open like a goldfish.
I don't know how long I stood there but at some point a nurse came and got me. "There is a message from Dr Cullen Senior." She tells me and I snap out of my brain fade and go to the nurses' station.
She hands me a slip of paper with dad's scrawl across it. It's a simple message and it makes me feel a little better. 'She's tough, she's doing well. Hang in there.'
I'm still sitting in the waiting room when Alice comes back with a bag for me. Clean clothes, some money and my iPod. All the usual shit is in there too, a toothbrush and a razor and some little bottles of shampoo and a bar of soap wrapped in a washcloth. I tell her thanks, she tells me that Elizabeth is all set up in my room at the house.
She slips away when I tell her there is no news other than what dad sent out hours ago.
It gets late and I try to sleep in one of the horrid chairs. They are too slim for me and the edges dig into my sides if I slump. They aren't tall enough for me either so if I sit straight up the top lip digs into my shoulder blades. Somehow I manage to be asleep when Emmett and Jaz get back.
They shake me awake and greet me with wide smiles and a bump of fists. Both their fists are bandaged. Expertly too. They've been to my clinic.
"Who?" I ask, nodding at the bandages.
"Kate did it for us. Dumb ass over here needed a stitch in his. I keep telling him he's gotta use less force more precision." Emmett booms with laughter and does a few air jabs to show Jasper where he went wrong.
"Where is he?" I ask. I know they've beaten Jake to a bloody pulp but I don't want him dead and I don't need to visit my brothers in prison. Jasper would never cope with a cock up his ass in the showers, he's a sensitive soul.
"Still there. His jaw looked pretty bad and he's prolly got a couple busted ribs of his own and I don't reckon he'll be beating anyone again for a while, but he'll live." Jasper told me as they took a seat either side of me.
"Will he press charges do you think?" I asked. "Will be come for Elizabeth?"
"Dude, have we got some news for you!" Emmett boomed again, raising the hackles of the duty nurse behind her desk.
She hissed at him to keep the noise down and he said a weak sorry.
"So we had a little punch-fest with his face for a bit and then we told him we don't want him near Bella and the kid no more. Told him I took photos of the place, and his stupid fucking list of rules, and told him that we'd squeal like pigs if he tried to contact her again." Emmett seemed pretty happy with his genius.
I had to admit the taking of the photos was a nice twist and I told him so.
"Yeah, I'm a genius, what can I say?" Emmett laughed.
Jasper took over the story then. "So we've got him on the floor, the man mountain over here has his boot to the back of his neck and we insist that he never try for custody of the kid. Ass wipe starts laughing so we let him up." Jasper stands up himself then, starts pacing like something was really pissing him off. "Turns out the kid isn't his. She was already pregnant when he agreed - get this, when Charlie Swan begged him to take her off his hands - to marry her. They don't know who the father is and she won't say. He's not coming for the kid Ed, you're in the clear." He tells me.
I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding and slumped in the chair in relief. "Thank Christ." I blurt out. I didn't know how much tension I was holding until I could let it all go. I started blubbing like a fucking girl holding a bunny. I couldn't help it. The idea of him being able to just walk in, anytime he likes, and taking Elizabeth from me was killing me. "He can't come for her, he can't come for her." I start mumbling and Emmett's hand is on my shoulder once again.
"Yeah." He tells me. "He aint coming for squat dude." He squeezes a little. "Not that he could anyway, don't reckon he can do much other than ring an ambulance, lucky its approved for his use." He laughs darkly.
I thank them both and they ask if they should stay. I tell them both to go home to their wives. Rosie will want to hang some shit on Emmett for his knuckles and Alice will want Jasper's help to set up my room. They reluctantly leave but not before promising to call later.
And then I am alone again. Just me and the waterfall print on the back wall of the waiting room. I head down to the emergency room and ask for Bella's file. They give me both hers and Elizabeth's from my clinic and I take them and a cup of vending machine coffee back to the waiting room. I check my watch. Its nine now. That's four hours in surgery, she'd be getting close to coming out now. I call home and my mom answers.
She tells me that Elizabeth has had a bath and is dressed in clean new clothes and soon she'll be going to bed in her new crib in my room. I tell her thank you, she tells me to hang in there. I ask her to kiss Elizabeth for me, she says she will. I tell her I love her, she says she knows.
A/N: Thank you for reading. It would be much appreciated if you would review.