A/N – So, finally here's the next chapter. I know the wait was too long, but I am a first year medical student. My schedule is always overflowing with pending study work, hence I cannot post regularly and more frequently.

Thank you to MsIsabell for the review :)

Link to Bella's dress in this chapter is in my profile.

DISCLAIMER - I DON'T OWN TWILIGHT, I JUST PLAY WITH MEYER'S CHARACTERS


Previously…

Esme put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a reassuring nod. I took a deep breath and pushed open the door that separated me from my one and only love...


The ICU looked pristine and sterile. The bed was in the centre of the room, and on it lay my husband. I gasped and fresh tears stung my eyes as I glanced at him. There was a tube in his mouth which connected him to the ventilator and a needle in his right arm connected to a drip. A shadow of a bruise was seen on his cheek. His broken leg was in a cast. White bandage was wrapped around his head and covered part of his chest. He looked so… fragile.

I slowly moved to one side of the bed and Carlisle and Esme to the other. I wanted to hold his hand in mine, but was afraid to touch him. The beeping sound of the heart monitor was the only sound that assured us that Edward was still with us. His eyes closed, long lashes forming shadows on his cheek…. He looked peaceful and asleep.

"Oh my baby…", Esme whispered and she reached out to stroke his forehead. Carlisle held on to her tightly as tears fell from his eyes too.

I placed a shaky hand on his as I tried to hold myself together. Oh Edward… I love you. Please, please be okay…..

We all looked up as the door opened and another doctor entered.

"Hello, I am Dr. Marks, the senior doctor on this case.", he said.

Carlisle stepped forward. "I am Carlisle Cullen, Edward's father. This is my wife, Esme and Edward's wife, Bella."

"I am sure Dr. Adamson has briefed you on Mr. Cullen's condition." We nodded and he continued, "The head injury is what we are majorly concerned about. There is a lot of cerebral swelling. Also, there was a clot in a vessel in the brain but we took care of it before it could cause much damage. However, the brain is the most unpredictable part of the human body. We cannot estimate the extent of damage that might or might not have occurred until the patient is conscious and responsive. In Mr. Cullen's case, further prognosis can be determined only once the swelling starts to reduce. That is why we have put him in a coma, to allow his body to heal and recuperate."

"But Dr. Marks said that he could be in a coma for at least 72 hours! Does that mean we wouldn't know anything until then ?" , I whispered.

"I am afraid so, Mrs. Cullen. We might get an idea by judging the rate at which the swelling goes down, if it does. But until he is awake, there is no way to be one hundred percent sure."

"And if it doesn't reduce ?" ,Esme whispered.

"That is a possibility, ma'am. Then we would have to keep him in this state for a longer time and change our strategy. But Mr. Cullen is a healthy young man. The odds are in his favour. I can understand the despair you are feeling at this moment, but we have to be patient. There is no other alternative. I can assure you that we are constantly monitoring him and we will do everything in our power to bring him back."

We thanked the doctor and he left.

I resumed my place at Edward's bedside and held his hand in mine. I pressed my lips to his palm as I closed my eyes and tried to escape from the harsh reality into the beautiful world of our memories….


First Date….

"Angela Webber !", I hissed as she added five more dresses to my shopping cart.

"What ?! Bella, your wardrobe is hopeless. Do you hear me ? H.O.P.E.L.E.S.S. You are desperately in need of some sexy dresses, cute dresses, hot skirts, perfect fitting denims and don't even get me started on your lack of lingerie ! You're going out with a man who's probably the hottest doctor on the planet and you are going to make an effort to make yourself even beautiful than you already are.", she ranted.

"But Angela, this is too much. I don't think…"

She cut me off. "You are not gonna think. Leave that to me. This is your first date and I am going to make sure he's gonna be begging for more at the end of it."

I bit my lip in doubt. My insecurity must be clear on my face because her face softened and she gave me a gentle smile. "Bella, you are beautiful, inside and out. I saw the way you two interacted and I really believe that this is the start of something pretty special. Tell me, didn't you feel the same way ? Like, a fluttery feeling or a spark when he touched you ?"

"I did, Angie. But it doesn't change the fact that he's him and I am plain old me. I don't know what exactly it was that made him ask me out. You know my lack of experience in the dating department. I rarely go out and it's hardly ever turned into something serious. And with his looks and personality, I am sure he's got girls fawning over him all the time. I just don't want to get my hopes up, this is just the first date. When you say stuff like that, it makes me hope and I don't want to do that only to be disappointed when he doesn't feel as strongly about me."

Angela sighed and put her arm around my shoulders, "Oh Bella ! You don't see yourself clearly, honey. But trust me on this please. Sometimes you've got to take a leap of faith. And in this scenario, I think that ankle injury could be one of the best things that happened to you. He is attracted to you Bella, that's why he asked you out so soon. Anybody could see that in the way he looked at you at the hospital. And now, once he gets to know you better, he's not going to be able to resist you, you'll see."

I sighed, exasperated. "Angie, you do realize that this is just a first date right?"

My tone didn't deter my tenacious friend and she sang in a chirpy voice, "The first of many to come…."

I gave up and followed her into the trial room where she proceeded to scrutinize and rate each of the dresses we, or rather 'she', had picked out. As much as I disliked shopping, I had to admit, I did want to look my best for tonight. Dr. Edward Cullen had captured a place in my mind ever since I met him for the first time and I wanted to see where this could go. In my mind, he was way out of my league. I mean, I know I am pretty average looking- brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin- while he looked like he just walked out of the airbrushed pages of a magazine.

But Angela was right. I couldn't deny that I felt something with him, and maybe, just maybe he felt it too. I couldn't help but explore that possibility. After all, he had asked me out, maybe he saw something that I couldn't see in myself.

So with all that in mind, I let Angie talk me into buying four dresses and a couple of skirts. Oh and some lingerie too. I did try to put my foot down there but I was overruled. Apparently, even if nothing was going to happen yet, wearing it would make me feel sexy. Okay I guess…..

When we reached home, I looked at my purchases to decide on the attire for tonight. I settled on a blue A-line bandage dress. It had a scoop neck and was slightly frilled at the bottom. I paired it with my simple black block heels. Angela helped me put on some mascara and lip gloss and I was ready to go.

My heart started pounding as the doorbell rang right on time. And one look at the Greek God standing on the other side of the door made every bit of effort worth it. He was wearing black jeans, a white shirt with the top two buttons unopened and a black jacket. His hair was messy and his eyes glowed. In other words, he looked irresistible and I shot Angela a grateful smile for her tenacity.

He presented me with a beautiful bouquet of pink daisies which I promptly put in a vase before leaving.

"Have fun !" Angela was practically bouncing on her feet as she bid us goodbye.

Edward led me to his car, a silver Volvo. As we slid inside, he took my hand and kissed the back of it. "You look very beautiful, Bella. That colour really suits you."

I flushed as I thanked him and he squeezed my hand before releasing it.

He took me to a small, cozy restaurant called La Bella Italia. It had a very romantic atmosphere. The waitress was over courteous with him, trying to smile at him whenever possible and swaying her hips as she walked. But Edward payed her no mind. His attention was solely focussed on me all the time. All my worries proved completely unnecessary as we talked and laughed easily over dinner. Never once did we run out of things to say. We talked mainly about our likes and dislikes in books, movies and food and later moved on to our professions. As Edward talked about his job, it became abundantly clear how much he loved it and I respected that. We shared a slice of chocolate pie for dessert.

As the dinner came to an end, I suddenly felt a little sad. I didn't want our time to come to an end so soon. It had been a perfect first date, the best I had.

Edward held my hand as we walked towards his car and I was elated when he echoed my thoughts.

"I had a wonderful time Bella. I am really unwilling to let our time together come to an end."

I squeezed his hand, "I feel the same."

He gave me his crooked smile and kissed me lightly on the cheek as he opened the car door for me. Our conversation continued effortlessly on the ride back.

As we reached my apartment, he held the car door open for me again and offered me his hand, which I gladly took. His hand was soft and warm with long fingers that completely enveloped mine. It felt nice and safe.

Once I got out, he didn't let me go, but pulled me close and leaned his forehead against mine.

"Thank you for going out with me," he whispered.

I smiled. "Thank you for showing me a great time."

He smiled back as he looked into my eyes. He took a deep breath and then asked, "May I kiss you, Bella ?"

I could only nod as my heart stopped beating for a moment. He leaned closer as his hands softly cupped my face and gently brushed his lips against mine. He pulled away for a second and then presses his lips to mine again, this time more firmly and I responded with equal enthusiasm. When his tongue stroked mine, I felt for sure I had gone to heaven. How could a simple kiss be so pleasurable ?

After a moment he pulled away, but not before pressing a couple of small kisses at the corner of my mouth. His hands never left my face as he leaned back to look at me with a wide smile.

I beamed back at him and then we reluctantly said our goodbyes once he escorted me upstairs. He asked me if he could call me again and I couldn't have replied in the affirmative any more eagerly. I blushed at my over-enthusiastic response, but he simply smiled, gave me a chaste kiss on my lips and then on my forehead before wishing me goodnight and leaving.

Was it possible to miss someone so much after having met them only twice ? I didn't know the answer to that, but what I did know was that I was going to have to face a very smug Angela once she had extracted all the details out of me.

And I wouldn't even mind her "I told you so" attitude because Edward Cullen was worth her exhaustive interrogation.


I was brought back to the present by a nurse entering the room to check on Edward. Her badge said Nicole RN. I waited until she looked at all the readings on the machines and noted them down on the chart, but could not hold my tongue as soon as she was done.

"How is he doing, Nurse ?"

"Ma'am, at present we can't say anything about his prognosis. All we know is that his vitals are stable at this moment. His brain is healing and it takes time. It differs from person to person. But we will take best possible care of him."

"Thank you", I whispered. She nodded, gave us a small smile and left.

I held Edward's hand again and silently prayed to whoever was listening up there to give me back my husband.


A/N - So what do you think ? Please do let me know. It'll just take a few seconds... Do type something in that box below.

Thanks for reading :)