Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight Saga. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Note: Okay A big thanks to my beta AgoodWITCH for her excellent beta skills.

Also, voting for the club Kahlua (read adult themed) stories for The Sport of Love Challenge starts today. If you have the time and inclination, please pop over to twcslibrary dot com and vote for my story International Relations. It's a oneshot based in the Vampire Academy world. There are a ton of great entries, so all the help I can get would be greatly appreciated! Voting starts today and goes through Friday the 14th. The voting box is on the right hand side of the main page.

Okay, enough of the self promotion…and on with the chapter. Hope you guys like it :D

The Edward Shaped Hole

Edward walked into the waiting room of the ER to find all of Izzy's anxious friends and family huddled in a corner. When he walked in Jasper looked up and smirked slightly as Izzy's father crossed the room to shake his hand. Once they let go, Edward ran his hand through his hair, tugging painfully in his frustration.

"Any word yet, sir?"

Charlie rolled his eyes, "Don't you 'sir' me, Cullen. My name is Charlie Swan. You may call me Charlie. We haven't heard much of anything yet, except that she's still unconscious, but at first glance, her injuries don't appear to be critical. She's being irradiated by every machine in this place and having her blood tested out the wazoo at the moment. I'm sure we will hear something soon."

Edward nodded, swallowing past the lump in his throat. "But isn't her being unconscious bad? I mean, couldn't that mean a concussion or brain trauma?"

Charlie sighed with a nod. "It could, or it could just be that she's been through a trauma and needs rest. The tests will tell us more soon. In the meantime, why don't you come over here and sit with us."

Edward was shocked at how calm and collected Charlie was, but then again, considering his daughter's stoic, no nonsense nature; it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise. She had to have gotten it somewhere, it would only make sense that it would be from the man who raised her on his own.

Edward accepted a cup of the brown sludge that the hospital was passing off as coffee and settled in next to Alice and Jasper. Alice was curled up on Jasper's lap, her face stained from the tears that had long since dried up. When Edward sat down, she looked at him with curious eyes before leaning over and resting her head on his arm lightly, patting his knee. Edward glanced at her in surprise just as she lifted her sad eyes to look at him.

"I'm glad you came. You should be here. You are important to her, even if she won't admit it. You started off rough, but I think you two have developed a special relationship over the past few weeks. It will help her relax when she wakes up if she can see that you made it through safely."

Edward cleared his throat as he nodded. Alice smiled a tired, sad smile before sighing. She patted his knee twice more before curling back up against her husband.

The clock on the wall ticked loudly as it taunted them endlessly. Edward drank two more cups of sludge as the long hand traveled a full revolution around the white institutional face. Finally, an hour and a half after his arrival, a doctor came out to address Charlie. Charlie nodded to the rest of them to come join him when the man took him to a private conference room to explain Izzy's condition.

"She's a very lucky woman, Mr. Swan. Extensive testing showed no major trauma to her body. She does have a slight concussion which is expected in an impact such as this, even with the safety equipment used in this sport. The restraints did leave quite a bit of bruising, so she will be sore for a few days, and most likely disoriented for the rest of the night, but she should make a speedy recovery. My guess is that she will be able to race next weekend if she is so inclined."

The room seemed to melt as a collective sigh escaped all the bodies in the room. The relief was almost physically palpable.

"Can we see her?" Charlie asked, rubbing roughly at the back of his neck.

The doctor smiled. "She's just beginning to wake and keeps asking for someone named Edward and if he is okay. I think it would be okay if a few of you looked in on her, but only for a brief time."

Charlie nodded before turning to stare at Edward with an expression of 'I told you so' mixed with 'time to make my little girl feel better.' Edward nodded silently in agreement before following Charlie from the room and down the hall to where Izzy was resting in a hospital bed. He could hear her rasping voice asking about him before he saw her.

When he crossed the barrier into the room behind Charlie, she topped mid sentence and let you a relived sigh. "Oh thank God! I didn't know if you made it out safely and nobody would tell me anything. Are you okay? Did you end up crashing too? How bad is the damage?"

Charlie chuckled, crossing to his daughter's side and pressing a single finger to her lips. "You don't worry about all of that right now. All you need to know is that Edward over there is absolutely fine. We've got plenty of time for the rest of the story tomorrow and we only get a few minutes with you tonight, Bella, so why don't we just forego the shop talk until the morning."

Edward tried to hide his smirk as he watched Izzy sulk, crossing her arms and furrowing her brow. It was the third time in just over a week he had seen her seem like a teenager, and this time he couldn't help but appreciate the view. No longer able to hold back the chuckle, he crossed to her side and ruffled her hair as an excuse to touch her.

"She's not going to rest until we lay it all out, Charlie. May I?"

Charlie nodded as Edward settled on the side of her bed, resting his hand on her arm. "Long story short, your car is totaled, but Rosalie is a genius and will have it rebuilt from bumper to bumper by next weekend if you want to race. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't slip out as soon as we heard you were okay to start. I crashed too, but it wasn't nearly as badly as you…mine was thanks to Daniels though, who screwed himself up while he was at it and caused a fifteen car pileup that actually forced them to bring out the red. Dale Jr. pulled off the win once the race was restarted."

Izzy nodded absently, focused more on the feeling of Edward's hand on her arm than the last of what he had said. It made her feel uneasy the strange comfort she felt from his presence, and the painfully familiar sensation of trust and peace. After what had happened with Jake, she no longer trusted her emotions or instincts when it came to the opposite sex…well at least in any kind of romantic capacity that is.

It took all of five seconds for Izzy to break free from her slowly rising panic over the feelings she was experiencing at the moment and something he said to sink in. She shook her head lightly before looking up in question.

"They're going to let me race?"

Edward smiled. Izzy was a racer through and through. Only a true soul-deep racer would walk away from an accident like that and be ready and aching to return to the track right away. He chuckled, rubbing his thumb across her wrist and loving the feeling of her soft skin under the thick pad of flesh.

"Yes, Izzy. They said that as long as you felt like it, they were sure that you would be able to race if you chose to do so."

Izzy sighed, a peaceful smile spreading across her face. Edward was glad to see such a positive response, but couldn't help but wonder if that calm peace would remain once she was behind the wheel again. He had seen it many times, even in his own past, that a driver can get through a wreck and be mentally prepared to race, at least until they slide behind the wheel. Somehow that familiar situation, no matter how prepared you are for it, forces your body to slide into the panic mode you had been in the last time you were behind the wheel. In your mind, you know it's okay, but it's almost as if every cell in your body remembers what happened the last time and revolts against your logic.

He and Charlie sat with Izzy for about fifteen minutes answering her questions, and making sure she was comfortable before they were made to leave by the hospital staff. He watched Charlie kiss her, and say goodbye. Before he left, Edward walked to the head of Izzy's bed. He leaned down slowly and pressed a kiss into the top of her head.

"You scared me today, kid. Don't do it again." He smirked, his tone joking, but the sentiment in his eyes were dead serious and Izzy knew it. She reached up to take his hand that rested on the raised bar on the side of her bed, squeezing it gently.

"I'll do my best, Edward. Now please go get some rest. I'll see you later."

Edward smiled, unable to resist leaning down to kiss her head again. "You too, sweetheart. I'll be back to see you in the morning once they allow visitors again."

Izzy nodded, feeling amazingly conflicted as she watched the man she was quickly developing feelings for walk away at her father's side.

When they reached the waiting room, Edward chuckled quietly as he saw Emmett and Rose were already gone, no doubt to begin the rebuild. Jasper and Alice looked half dead as they rested together in the hard plastic seats. Edward and Charlie walked up to them, updating them on her condition and informing them when visiting hours would begin the next morning. They wished them a good night's rest before settling in.

Charlie looked over at Edward with a raised eyebrow as he leaned his head against the wall behind him and crossed his arms. "Don't you have an RV somewhere with your name on it?"

Edward shrugged. "Couldn't sleep if I wanted to…might as well be here as anywhere. At least here I have an excuse to turn off my phone and avoid the calls I know are coming from the owners and my father."

Charlie nodded, reaching forward to grab a fishing magazine off the rectangle table before them. "Dad's not a fan of you racing, huh?"

Edward scoffed. "You could say that. If it was up to him, I'd be Doctor Cullen by now, but that's just not me… you know?"

Charlie nodded in understanding, staring down the hall toward his daughter's room. "Parents always have a hard time letting go of what they want for their children. It's never easy to sit back and watch them make decisions that could lead them to harm, but the way I see it, I could never rob her of her dream. What kind of father would I be if I spent her whole life telling her she could be anything she wanted to be, only to ridicule her decision when she finally finds what she needs? It's not always easy to be supportive, especially at times like these, but it makes her happy, and what makes her happy has to be enough for me."

Edward sighed with a knowing nod. "Wish my pops could learn a thing or two from you, Charlie. You seem like a stand up guy and a great Dad."

Charlie looked down at his magazine intently, a pink flush staining his cheeks and ears. Edward suppressed the chuckle as he spotted yet another trait Izzy inherited from her Dad. The two men fell into an easy silence as the large clock ticked loudly on through the next several hours. Neither one slept as they waited as patiently as possible for their next chance to see Izzy to arrive.

Alice and Rosalie walked into the hospital the next morning, armed with 'get well soon' balloons and teddy bears with various cute little outfits on from nurse hats to patient gowns and slippers. They had spent a small fortune on their booty, but they thought it would be worth it to force a smile out of Izzy. When they walked in they both froze, staring at the sight in the waiting room.

Sitting in the hard plastic chairs, their bodies posed almost identically with heads resting against the wall, mouths hanging open, arms and ankles crossed as they stretched out as best they could, Edward and Charlie were sleeping so hard, they had to wonder if their loud snores were keeping any patients awake. Carefully setting down her armload, Alice pulled out her iphone to snap several pictures of the two to show Izzy when they went back to her room. She glanced at her captures before carefully picking her items up again and tiptoeing alongside Rosalie down the corridor to Izzy's room.

They knocked quietly on the door before entering to find a frustrated looking Izzy trying to reach the pitcher of water on the bedside table. When she looked up to see them, she smiled brightly.

"Hey guys! Where's Dad? He sleep in?"

Alice hurriedly sat down the things she had brought for Izzy before running to her side with a giggle, holding her iPhone out for Izzy to see. Izzy took the phone and stared down at the screen, a goofy smile on her face.

"They're out there right now?"

Alice nodded, "And BOTH are wearing the same clothes they had on last night. They must have slept in those hard ass chairs all night."

Izzy felt a flutter in her stomach at the thought of Edward caring enough to sleep in a waiting room all night. She felt a little confused and highly disconcerted by the emotions boiling in her gut. It was like a Pavlovian reaction now after what Jake had pulled, every time she felt that soft feeling for Edward, her anxiety always skyrocketed right along with it. Falling in love with a known man-whore was a heartbreak waiting to happen.

"Izzy, don't start. I see that look on your face. It's okay to like Edward. He's a nice guy. I mean, he ran out on that track to get to you, risking being hit by cars going 180 to make sure you were okay. That's serious knight in shining armor stuff there!"

Izzy's eyes grew wide. "He WHAT? Does the man have a death wish?"

Rosalie and Alice laughed, when they first met Edward they had a similar opinion of him as Izzy had, but over the past few weeks, they had noticed he wasn't as bad as he appeared on first glance. It didn't take long to see he was a sheep in wolf's clothing instead of the other way around.

"He was worried, Iz. He stayed with you until the EMT's took you away, and even tired to ride in the ambulance, but they wouldn't let him. Then he chickened out, thinking he wouldn't be welcomed until your Dad called him and told him to get his ass up here. He's been here ever since."

Izzy blinked at them slowly, tears welling in her eyes. "What the hell am I supposed to do with this? I just got hit by the atomic bomb that was Jake and now I start falling for a known lothario? Do I have some kind of pathological need to have my heart broken?"

Alice sat on the edge of Izzy's bedside with a knowing smile. "Izzy, are you a sweet little innocent southern belle? Have you and Edward been carrying on a torrid love affair for the past month? You know that the answer to both is no. You can't believe the bologna that the press puts out there."

Izzy frowned at Alice, feeling a glimmer of a strange emotion in her chest that she couldn't pinpoint.

Alice smiled brightly, patting Izzy's hand as she spoke. "Izzy, you've been around him for weeks now, and we've even gone out together several times to clubs and stuff. In all of these weeks have you once seen him leave a bar with a girl? Have you ever caught a girl leaving his RV in the morning or caught him doing a walk of shame back to his rig?"

She smirked knowingly as she watched the cogs turn in Izzy's head, seeing the puzzle pieces come together. "Isabella Swan…you know as well as anybody that the only thing you can really believe is what you see with your own eyes. Have you ever seen anything to make you believe Edward Cullen is a philanderer?"

Izzy blinked slowly at Alice, her breath growing slightly deeper as the picture finally fit into place. The things that she had been most worried about with Edward were no more real than all the fabrications that had been floating around about them for the past few weeks. Alice was right…not once had she seen Edward with a girl outside of sharing an occasional drink together at a bar. She needed to start relying on the things she knew and stop letting the inflammatory press scare her.

She still had a level of apprehension and fear at the idea of having any kind of relationship Edward, especially so soon after Jake's painful admission. They had not been together for a couple of years now, but it didn't make it hurt any less to know that his feelings were not true. She considered giving up her dream for him, and all along, he didn't even really love her. Could she enter another relationship and risk being in that situation again? Wouldn't it be better to just be on your own than risk everything for someone who might not really love you, even if they swear it to the stars?

The girls tried to change the subject, but Izzy kept feeling her mind drift back to that question and the uncomfortable lead ball in her stomach. She hated uncertainty in her life outside of the track. Rosalie was in the middle of telling Izzy all about the new throttle assembly she demanded the owners invest in after the events of the day before and how superior it would be to her old setup when a disheveled Charlie and Edward walked in with dazed eyes and wild hair. Izzy couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

After having woken up stiff and uncomfortable in the waiting room, Edward had stood and stretched quietly, looking at the clock with a smile to find visiting hours had begun. He heard a shifting noise behind him, glancing back to see Charlie stretching and rising from his seat. Both men looked worse for wear, but couldn't care less.

As they approached the room, they heard the deceptively feminine voice of Rosalie. With the timber of her voice and the excitement in her words, you would think she would be talking about something more of the feminine persuasion. It didn't shock Edward or Charlie in the least though when her voice became clearer as they entered to find she was talking about the rebuild of Izzy's ride. They exchanged a knowing smile before walking in.

The second he walked in, Edward's tired eyes landed on Izzy just as one of the best sounds he ever heard in his life left her smiling face. Her giggle made his heart beat irregularly and a warming sensation build around it. He looked over at her with a bright smile as she beamed back, her eyes sparkling with humor which he assumed was at his appearance. He looked down with a chuckle to find his shirt crinkled and half untucked from the waistband of his pants. He ran his hand through his hair as he blushed in embarrassment.

"How you feeling, ace?" He asked as he crossed the room to the other side of the bed which Rosalie vacated for him; while Charlie went to the side Alice had been on to give his daughter a gentle hug.

She gasped a little at the pressure, the bruising on her body crying out at the contact. Charlie froze and whispered an apology as he gently moved away. After taking a second, to settle back and let the pain fade, Izzy turned to Edward.

"Well, I'm not running any marathons or anything, but I could be a lot worse, so I'm not complaining. I do feel a little dizzy though."

Edward nodded. "That would be the concussion rearing its ugly head." When everyone looked up at him in surprise, he shrugged. "My Dad's a doctor and wanted me to be one too. I guess I picked up some stuff along the way before I rebelled and started racing."

Charlie looked over with a smile and a nod, which Izzy didn't miss. Talk about strange…having Edward and her Dad acting all chummy was really weird.

Everyone visited for a while before the nurse came in telling them that everyone needed to clear out. Izzy could have one visitor for a while, but they had to let her rest. Alice and Rose gave Izzy gentle hugs good-bye before disappearing. Charlie glanced from the bed, to Edward, to the door twice before looking down at himself.

"You know, I could really use a shower. Would you mind terribly, baby, if Edward stayed with you for a while? Since I know you're okay, I think I'll go clean up and maybe take a nap at the hotel for a while before coming back up."

Izzy smiled sweetly with a nod. "Sure, Daddy. Rest well."

He nodded once before kissing her forehead. "I will. You take it easy and I'll see you later."

With the last statement, he looked up at Edward, his unspoken request sent through his eyes. Edward nodded slightly, not that he intended to leave her side for a second anyway. With a few more whispered comments between father and daughter, Charlie left Edward and Bella alone in her room.

Izzy shifted in her bed at the strange silence that followed her father's departure, his whispered words echoing in her head. "He's a good kid, baby. Don't be afraid. Just because Jake is an ass and your Mom left, doesn't mean everyone will…okay? Not all relationships end like your Mom and me, so don't push him away."

Izzy had tears in her eyes as she nodded to her Dad. "I promise, Daddy. I love you."

He smiled, "Love you too, Bella. Sleep tight."

"You too, Daddy."

He turned and walked out, leaving her alone with Edward, at a loss as to what to say. After a few quiet minutes, Edward turned to her.

"Um, do you need anything? Is there anything I can get you?"

Izzy blinked a few times before nodding toward the water she had forgotten about completely when Alice and Rose arrived. "Um, I could use a glass of water."

Edward smiled raising quietly to cross to the table. He filled a small glass with ice water and placed a straw in it, bending the top to make it easier for her to hold. He carried it to her and tried to hand it to her when he realized how shaky her hands were.

"Would you mind if I helped you? Your hands seem pretty unstable."

Izzy frowned before nodding slowly. "If you don't mind…I'm really thirsty and would rather drink it than wear it."

Edward chuckled with a warm smile as he held the cup for Izzy, directing the straw to her mouth. She sucked down the liquid quickly, asking for more. After three cups, she finally settled back against her pillow with a sigh.

"Thank you, Edward. I feel much better. I'm feeling my medicine making my eyelids heavy. Sorry if I fall asleep on you."

Edward smiled, rubbing her wrist gently. "That's what you're supposed to be doing, silly. That's why the nurse sent everyone away. Don't worry about it. If you need anything, I'll be curled up in this recliner over here, getting some shut eye of my own."

Izzy felt her chest warm as she watched him go sit in the recliner. "Do you want me to turn on the TV to distract yourself until you fall asleep?"

He smiled with a nod. "Thanks. That'd be nice."

She pushed the button on her bed attachment that both called the nurse and controlled the television. Moments later, the TV was tuned to Sci Fi where a Firefly marathon was on. Izzy let out a little cheer, making Edward smile. He loved that series too. The two settled back, laughing quietly at the sarcastic comments of Mal until, eventually, they both drifted off to sleep.

Izzy woke up a few hours later to hear Edward's voice across the room. "No, Aro. I'm not leaving until she's released. I will be there, but I'm not leaving now. Go ahead and send the cars and crews to the next track. I'll fly over in time for Qualifiers, and if Izzy is ready to race, I can bring her with me, but I'm not leaving today."

After a few seconds, Edward released a low growl into the phone. "Let's put it this way, Aro. Either I fly to the next race, or you find another driver. I. Am. Not. Leaving. Her. Period."

Izzy couldn't help but smile as her breath caught in her throat and tears pooled in her eyes. She'd never met any man but her father willing to risk so much to be near her. The man risked his life on the track, and now he was playing poker with is job to make sure she was okay. In that moment, another large chunk of the wall that had built up around her heart to protect it crumbled into rubble, leaving a large Edward shaped space, just waiting for him to choose to walk through.