Let's try this again...sigh...the technical difficulty gnomes are working overtime.

HUGE thanks to Katmom and Minnakoda who are the meat on this story's bones.

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, I own the first season of Glee on DVD.

I'd say that this chapter scores low on the Schmitty Scale of Sobs. At least I hope so...otherwise she'll come after me.

Bella

I couldn't help but grin a little when I looked down; Jaden was sleeping quietly in the bed beside me, his beloved moose clutched tightly in his good hand. I pulled the blanket over him a little more and smiled as he tried to snuggle in closer to me.

It was in moments like these that I missed Emma, but at the same time, it gave me a strange sort of comfort that she wasn't here to see this, to possibly experience the cruelty of life. This poor little boy lost everything in one very messed up moment, and he'll likely never understand why. His bones and organs will heal, but his heart will always be scarred.

He began to whimper a little bit, so I ran my fingers through his short hair, being careful not to hit any of the stitches. They had removed his bandages earlier, and I have to say that I was shocked when I saw them all. I wasn't expecting to react the way I that did; I think it hit a little too close to home. While his scars would likely mirror some of my own, at least he wouldn't have to deal with a brain injury on top of everything else; they were able to remove the subdural hematoma before it could do much damage.

"Shh, darling little one, it's okay, you're not alone."

The whimpering ebbed until he let out a horrified scream seconds later. I immediately jumped into mother mode, trying to comfort him, and assured the nurses who ran in that he was just having a nightmare. Maria sent away the other nurse and approached us. "Is he okay, Bella?"

I tried to smile reassuringly at her. "I think so. It was likely just a bad dream; he seems to be calmed down now. I remember that I used to have horrible vivid nightmares when I was taking heavy painkillers."

The kind nurse looked down at the little guy and sighed sadly. "Poor little muffkin. No child deserves to go through what he did."

"You're right, but I think if any little boy can get through it, it's this one. He's an old soul, Maria." I caressed the cheek that was less swollen. "He'll be in good hands now. Emmett and Rose won't let anything happen to him, he'll be well-loved by all of us—if the judge will allow it."

Maria looked up at me, smiling. "There's no doubt in my mind that this little guy will be in much better hands if the judge grants guardianship to your family. Should I call Emmett and let him know that Jaden's had a nightmare? He asked me to tell him if anything went wrong."

"No, let them sleep. He's fine. I think that Alice and Jasper tired him out. It's hard to make Alice understand that not everyone is as hyper as she is."

Jaden whimpered again, before letting out a groan. "Miss Bella?" he whispered.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Can you tell Miss Maria that my belly really hurts and I'm thirsty?"

I looked over at Maria, who moved back over to the bed. "Jaden, it's me, Miss Maria. Do you mind if I check your belly?"

He groaned a little when he moved to face her. "Okay, but can I have a Popsicle after that?"

"We'll see. Will you tell me where it hurts?"

He nodded, moving his good hand down to his lower abdomen.

"What kind of hurt is it, sweetie? Is it sharp stabby hurt, or is it burning, or is it like a thump thump?" Maria gently put pressure on his bruised, swollen abdomen.

Jaden let out a pitiful howl. "I don't know, but that hurts! Please stop."

Maria pulled the blanket back up, shaking her head at me. My heart fell...this can't be good. "I'm going to get the doctor, and I'm going to call Emmett. Jaden, buddy, you did really good. I'm going to get the doctor to come look at your belly. We'll be right back."

"Popsicle?" he cried out weakly.

"We'll have to ask the doctor, okay? Miss Bella can give you some ice, if you want."

"Please?" he whispered, turning his head toward me, "I'm soooo thirsty." His right eye opened up a little more and he gasped. "Miss Bella, I can see you!"

I moved over so he could see me a little better. "Hi Jaden! You've got beautiful blue eyes under there, don't you? I can't wait to see both of them."

He smiled weakly, snuggling back under the blankets. "I'm tired, Miss Bella, and reaaaally thirsty."

Maria quickly returned with a cup of ice chips and a promise that the doctor was on his way. She also mentioned that someone had called Emmett and he was on his way. Jaden sighed contentedly when I placed an ice chip in his mouth.

"Mm...it's cold. Nice."

I moved to get out of the bed when Dr. Singh arrived, but he asked me to stay with the boy. "He might need you. So, Jaden, Nurse Maria tells me that your belly is hurting. Can you show me where?"

"No, but Chocolate will." We all watched as he moved his moose down close to where there were some ugly staples and stitches in his little torso. "Down there, Doctor, where the bumps are."

"This is likely going to hurt a little, but I'll try to be fast. Can you be brave for me again?" Dr. Singh asked politely, quietly, and in a tone of voice that was surprisingly soothing. "Hold onto Chocolate if you need to, and your friend here will help you. So," he said, as he started moving his hands around Jaden's abdomen. "Who's your friend, Jaden? Is this your wife?"

Jaden giggled a little. "No, Doctor, this is Miss Bella. She's Emma's mommy."

Dr. Singh looked up at me, smiling. "Oh, so is Emma your girlfriend?"

Jaden's smile faltered. "No, Doctor, she died. She's in heaven with my brother and my mommy. She's OUR angel. OW! No more, please. That hurt."

The kind doctor looked back at me, a question on his face. I nodded and he mouthed the words I'm sorry.

He poked and prodded Jaden's tender abdomen for another moment, asked me to help turn him onto his side, which made him cry out even harder, then pulled the blanket back up. "Well, Jaden my friend, I think you'll be okay, but I'd like to do an ultrasound on your belly to make sure that it's healing properly. Would you be okay with me squirting goo on you and running my buzzing machine over your tummy?"

"Will it hurt?" the little boy asked softly, squeezing my arm harder.

"Not much. Your friend can stay with you if you want. I heard Nurse Maria say that Mr. Cullen was coming back too. And, we don't even have to leave your bed. I can bring the machine right here."

The poor little guy was shaking against me, likely out of fear. I needed to do something to calm him down, to assure him that he'll be okay. "I've had an ultrasound before, Jaden, and they don't hurt, they just feel funny, and Miss Alice has them quite a bit on her big baby belly. The ultrasound takes pictures of your insides. Maybe Miss Alice will bring in a picture of the baby to show you."

He turned his head and buried his face in the crook of my arm. "If you say so, I guess I can do it."

Dr. Singh smiled at us. "You're such a good boy, Jaden. I'll be back in a little bit with my machine. Try to get some rest, okay?"

"Okay. Miss Bella, can I have another piece of ice? Please?"

"Of course you can." I put another chip in his mouth and couldn't help but smile when he sighed.

Emmett ran in, of course, when Dr. Singh was in the middle of running his test, at the exact moment that he hit a tender spot, making the little boy cry out. Emmett, of course, overreacted and was ready to throw the doctor out of the room. Thankfully, Rose was behind him and pulled into the corridor until the doctor is finished.

"All done, Jaden. I hope it didn't hurt too much."

He was whimpering into my side. "No, not too much, just some. Can I please have a Popsicle now?"

Dr. Singh looked at us, smiling sadly. "You sure can, little guy, you were so good when I was making you hurt that you definitely deserve to have one. I'll get Nurse Maria to bring one in for you right away, okay? Thank you for being so brave."

"Thank YOU for not making me cry REALLY hard this time," Jaden replied sarcastically.

We all laughed. This kid was a real charmer and not one to mince words. I was finding myself falling more and more in love with him.

Emmett came barrelling into the room, skidding to a stop by the bed. Jaden turned his head, opened his eye a little, smiling widely. "Mr. Emmy! You came back!"

"Of course I did! I was just home taking a shower and a snooze so I wouldn't keep you up with my stink and snoring. Did you have fun with Bella?" Emmett's attempt at sounding cheerful would likely fool Jaden, but not me. It wasn't hard to see how worried he was, how guilty he felt about not being here sooner. I can read Emmett like a book, and it's not a particularly good chapter right now.

Jaden's head bobbed up and down. "She's my best friend. She reads to me and gives me ice chips when my mouth is dry, and we have angels together, so she's my best friend. Right, Miss Bella?"

A tear dropped down my cheek and I was glad that he couldn't see clearly because I didn't want him to think I was sad. I was truly touched by this little boy and his big heart. "Right, Jaden."

"Mr. Cullen, could I speak to you for a moment?" Dr. Singh asked.

"I'll be right back, little buddy. Don't you and Miss Bella run away on me, okay?"

He giggled. "Silly Mr. Emmy, I can't run away; the machines beep too loud when I move too far."

Emmett

"What's going on, Doc?" I asked the second we are out into the hall.

"Well, Jaden was complaining of abdominal pain, and Maria had noticed that his urine production had slowed, so we did an ultrasound. There is a build-up of fluid around his damaged kidney. He's not in a lot of pain, but it's enough to make him uncomfortable. We're going to give him something for the discomfort, and I'll check on him again in a couple of hours. If the fluid hasn't gone down by then, or if he starts producing off-coloured urine, or his output of urine drops any further, we'll have to put in a drain. If the fluid continues to build up, and his general health declines, then I would be inclined to believe that the kidney is failing and we'll have to remove it. Maria is going to draw some blood and we'll run a couple of other tests. Likely this is just his body trying to heal, but we don't want to take any chances."

Dr. Singh was talking and all I could really comprehend was the bit about them removing his kidney. I thought we'd already dealt with that bullshit. Fuck! "Wait, he still might lose his kidney?"

Doctor Singh sighed, sounding frustrated. "It is still a possibility. But let's focus on the positive, okay? He's doing a lot better than expected at this point. He's a tough kid, Mr. Cullen."

I looked in at him, giggling with Bella and Rosie. "Yeah, he is."

The doctor patted my back. "I'll keep you posted, Mr. Cullen."

"Please call me Emmett. I'm too young to be mister to anyone but the kids in my class."

He laughed as he walked away. As soon as he turned the corner, I rushed back to Jaden's bedside.

"Mr. Emmy, I can see you a little bit now. I can see Miss Bella and Miss Rosie too. They're pretty."

It was hard not to laugh when I saw the girls both looking down on Jaden like he was some angel sent from heaven, or some precious fucking shoe they'd been adoring from afar. The kid's got game and he's going to be a handful when he gets older.

Hopefully our handful.

"How're you doing, little buddy?"

"I'm kinda tired, but I don't wanna sleep until I have my Popsicle."

"Sorry I'm late, Jaden," Maria said, as she rushed back into the room. "I couldn't find an orange one, I hope grape is okay." She placed the stick in his hand and he smiled as he brought it to his mouth.

"Yup. I like the grape ones too."

"They turn your mouth purple." Bella was laughing as she wiped up a drop of purple water from his chin.

Maria took some blood when Jaden is preoccupied, and gave him a shot of something that made him fall asleep with his Popsicle still in his mouth. Bella quickly removed it, placing it in a nearby bedpan. I watched as she leaned over to place a gentle kiss on his head, and then whispered something to him before getting off the bed.

"I need to go home; I'm exhausted even though I ended up napping with him. Can you call Edward while I go to the washroom? I asked Maria to hook Jaden up with a bedside phone so we could all stay in touch."

Bella wobbled a little when she got up, and it was easy to see that she had completely drained herself. I picked up the phone and called my brother to let him know that he needed to come and pick up Bella before she fell over.

I looked back over at Jaden; his purple lips firmly suckling on his thumb, as he clung to his moose for dear life.

~OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo~

"Oh, look at them, Carlisle. Aren't they sweet?"

I lifted my head from the edge of the bed to see my parents staring down at us. I guess Rosie and I had both fallen asleep in our chairs, heads resting on the bed, while Jaden slept.

"Hi, Mom, Dad. Thanks for coming."

Mom moved closer to me and gave me a hug as she looked down at Jaden. "The poor, sweet angel. How's he doing?"

"He's better. They were worried yesterday that they might have to remove his kidney, but it was just a freak build-up of fluid. They were able to insert some sort of shunt or catheter to drain it without having to put him through surgery. He was really brave when they did it, too. I was so proud of him."

Dad stepped in closer and asked if I minded if he took a look. I gave him the okay, and he lifted the blanket gently to examine the incision. "Mm, whoever his surgeon was did a great job on the sutures, and I can see the drain is still in place."

"Yeah, they wanted to keep it in for a few days in case there was another flare-up. The doctors here have been great."

Mom looked at me, shaking her head. "You're exhausted. What did I tell you? Are your brother and Bella not helping you out? What about Alice and Jasper?"

"Everyone has been doing double duty, Ma, but it's me, I'm stubborn."

"Yup, he sure is," Rosie added groggily as she lifted her head. "Hi Esme, Carlisle."

"He snores too," Jaden mumbled.

Mom and Dad both burst out laughing, startling Jaden a little. He opened his good eye and squinted at them. "I don't know you, do I?"

"Not yet, sweetheart, but I hope you'll know us well soon enough."

He rubbed his eye sleepily and yawned. "S'cuse me. Um, wait. Are you Missus Esme and Doctor Carlisle? You're Mr. Emmy's mommy and daddy?"

They smiled at him. "Yes, son, we are. And you must be the famous Jaden," Dad said as he moved closer to the bed. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"You aren't going to poke me, are you?" he asked suspiciously. "All the other doctors poke me and make me hurt."

"No, son, I won't poke you. You're right, I AM a doctor, but I'm not working now, so while I'm here, I'm just Carlisle, Emmett's dad."

Jaden exhaled loudly. "Thank goodness! I'm tired of poking."

I grinned at him. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today."

He pouted at me. "I'm not grumpy, Mr. Emmy, I'm hungry and I'm tired, but I'm not tired, but I'm bored, and I hurt, and I miss Miss Bella and I want to laugh at Mr. Jasper's cowboy voice again and let Miss Alice's baby kick me. I want..." he inhaled raggedly. "Mr. Emmy, would it be bad if I said that I wanted my mommy? I'm trying to be brave, but..."

Big tears began streaming down his face as he started to cry. Mom moved to his side immediately, climbing up onto the bed, and pulled him gently into her arms. Jaden's sobbing was tearing me apart and the fact that I don't know how to help him was really getting to me, so I left the room. My dad followed quickly behind me.

"You alright, son?"

I felt his hand on my shoulder, but shrugedg it off. "Fuck, no. I'm not. What am I going to do, Dad?"

"You'll do what you need to do, Son. I have every faith in you. There's a long, bumpy road ahead of this little boy, but I know that you and Rosalie can do this. Look, I've been in contact with Jenks and he thinks that if the social workers agree to it, we might be able to fast-track an adoption order. Since the child has no other living relatives who are able to care for him, and with your background as an elementary school teacher, you're an ideal parent for him. He's doing that he can on his end, and he'll let us know what we need to do, and believe me, son, we'll do EVERYTHING we can to help you with this.

"In the meantime, you need to help this little boy heal in the way that the doctors can't. You need to help heal his soul. You can't possibly do it alone, you're going to need to hand him over to the therapists and trust that they can help him with the PTSD he's likely going to develop."

I turned to Dad and let him hug me. I'm secure enough in my manliness to hug my old man, and there was no doubt that I was in serious need of fatherly love. "Are you really sure I can do this?"

"Yes, Son. If I've ever been sure of one thing, it's that you have the power to help people heal. Your love, tenacity, and compassionate nature are exactly what this little guy needs."

I hoped he was right.

"Financially, you know your mother and I are here for you. It's a good thing you ended up buying the house with four bedrooms. We'll help take care of getting a room set up for him. Has anyone brought his personal effects to the hospital yet?"

"No, nothing but his moose, thank God. You know how kids get when they don't have their favourite stuffed animal."

"Esme brought your old favourite quilt for him. She didn't think you'd mind, and she thought he might like having something that had been yours. That might help for the interim, but we need to get someone to get his toys and clothes from the house for him. It might make him feel better."

"I'll ask Zafrina to look into that. Thanks for coming, Dad."

We hugged again. "You know your mother and I will do anything we can, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks. We should probably get back in there."

Mom was just tucking my old quilt around Jaden when we walk back in.

"Mr. Emmy?"

"Yeah, little buddy?"

"I hope you're not mad, but your mommy is letting me use your old blankie since mine's not here. It's nice and soft, I like it a lot."

I took a seat beside him in my usual chair and gently ruffled his hair. "It's all good, Jaden. You can use it for as long as you need to. It's a good blanket. It used to keep the nightmares away for me when I was little."

"Mr. Emmy?"

"Yeah, little buddy?"

"Is it true that I'm going to live with you and Miss Rosie when the doctors stop poking at me and tell me I'm better?"

Taking his little hand in mine, I rubbed lightly, afraid of disengaging a tube or wire. "Yeah, it's true, but only if you want to. You don't have to; we can find another home for you to go to." I hoped that this wouldn't be the case. I couldn't let someone else take him.

He was quiet for a moment. "So, my mommy and daddy are really gone?"

I nodded against his hand.

The poor little guy took a deep breath before turning to open his poor little eye to look at me. "I'd like it very much, Mr. Emmy, if you and Miss Rosie would take me home."

Jaden

"Miss Alice, you're silly! Harry Potter isn't scary at all!"

"I don't know, Jaden, this story is kind of freaking me out a little bit. Are you sure it's not too old for you?" she said, looking at the book Miss Bella had brought for me.

Sometimes, even though I knew they were not trying to be annoying, grown-ups could really drive me nuts. Everyone was arguing over what was good for me, what wasn't good for me, and it was freaking me out more than the Dementors in the Harry Potter books. I hated being in the hospital and I just wanted to go home.

Home.

No, I don't want to go home. Home is where the bad stuff is. Home is where the blood is and the guns and the...no, no, don't cry again, Jaden. Be brave. Don't let Miss Alice see you cry again.

"Jaden, you okay, buddy?"

Ah, Mr. Jasper. He'll make things better. "Yeah, Mr. Jasper, I'm okay."

"You sound kind of sad today. Is Emmett making you crazy? You've been in the hospital for a few days now, are you getting tired of him?"

Mr. Jasper sat down on the end of my bed and reached out his hand to Miss Alice. They are in love and going to get married, and have a baby. I asked Miss Alice the other day if I could hold the baby when it comes, and she said that I could. I haven't had a baby to hold since Casey was little.

"No, Mr. Jasper, Mr. Emmy isn't making me too crazy. He's sleeping more at his house now, so his snoring isn't keeping me awake, and he's taking more baths now, so he doesn't stink. His house won't smell funny when I go there, will it?"

They both started to laugh. I'm not so sure that I told a joke or made a funny, but they sure thought it was hilarious. I was serious, though, I didn't want to live in a stinky house. I figured it couldn't be too bad if Miss Rosie lives there, because she ALWAYS smells nice; sometimes like flowers, but my favourite was when she smelled like peaches.

I was okay with going to live with Mr. Emmett and Miss Rosie if I couldn't live with my mommy. I had liked Mr. Emmett the first time I met him on the playground when I was little—when I was in grade one. A bunch of kids were picking on me because I was so small. I guess he saw it happening, so he came over and rescued me. He's always kind of been my hero ever since. I was SO happy when I was put in his grade two class that I could have danced, because I knew if the kids started picking on me again that he would stop them.

"Will I like Mr. Emmy's house?"

Miss Alice smiled and rubbed my hand. "Yes, Jaden. Esme, Rosie and I went to buy you all kinds of new things for your room, and when you get out of the hospital, we'll let you decorate it with all the things that you like."

"But, what about my old bed? My old toys? I want those. Why can't I have those?"

There was silence, and I knew from all my experience with grown-ups that silence isn't good.

"Miss Alice?"

"We are going to get as many of your old things as possible, but we weren't able to get your bed. If you don't like the one we picked out, you can pick out a new one. We thought maybe you'd like a bunk bed."

I opened my good eye wide. I ALWAYS wanted bunk beds, like always, always, ALWAYS wanted them. Mommy had said that maybe I could get bunk beds when I was older, but it never ever happened.

Mommy. My bed. The blood. Someone was screaming. Daddy was yelling and hitting me but he wasn't helping Mommy. I tried to help her but...I screamed and cried until Daddy put the gun to his head and...

Jasper

Jaden's eyes glazed over before they widened and he started to scream hysterically. I asked Alice to run and get a nurse while I tried to calm him down. Alice's frenetic and panicked energy wasn't helping him in the least.

I moved up to where Alice had been sitting with him, and I wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could without hurting him, and sang quietly to him, while rocking him a bit. One of the nurses came running in and injected something into his IV. Within moments, his screams quieted down until they were nothing but whimpers and soft sobs.

"What happened?" she asked as she checked his vitals.

I looked up from Jaden, who was now out cold and only trembling mildly. "We were just talking about his new bedroom, and he was asking about his old furniture and he just sort of spaced out for a few minutes before he started screaming. I think he had a flashback. Is Zafrina around today? I think she should know. I also think the on-call therapist should be alerted. I can't believe no one has tried to talk to him about this—he's been in the hospital for almost a week!"

"I'll page her when I go back out to the nurse's station. Did you want me to call Emmett? He wanted to be alerted if anything happened."

Looking at my watch, I realized there's no point in calling him. "He'll likely be here any minute. We'll let him know what happened. There's no need to have him rushing here at breakneck speed and having him get into an accident. Jaden seems okay...for now."

Alice stood in the corner crying softly. I called her over and gave her a kiss. "It's alright, darlin', he's okay now."

"He scared me so bad, Jazzy. His eyes went blank and he just started screaming. I really hope he's going to be okay."

Jaden twitched a little in my arms, dropping his moose. Alice picked it up and placed it back in his hand. He instinctively grabbed it, moved it to his face, and smiled a little.

"He's just so sweet, Jasper. I don't understand how someone could do this."

"Well, darlin' I can't begin to understand what his father was going through to do this, and really that's not what matters right now. We need to get this little guy back on his feet and moving forward, help him get over his past, and move on. It's going to take a lot of work and love from all of us, but I think we can all do it."

Alice's face showed resolve and determination when she replied. "We need to make things better for him."

I smiled at my beautiful girl. "I have no doubt that we will."

I hope that wasn't too bad. Hell, I just hope you could read it, what with the technical glitches on ffn lately.

As always, I love to hear what you're thinking, and Emmett loves that you'll all still loving him as much as you do.

My fic rec this week:

Tomorrow is October 1st and the first day of the Countdown to Halloween II-One Haunted Hallows Eve. Over 30 authors (including me!) have contributed one-shots and each day you'll be treated to a new one. Each one will be lemony Halloweenie goodness.

Yes, I said weenie.

Anyway, check it out at http : / www DOT fanfiction DOT net/s/6326403/1/Countdown_to_Halloween_II_One_Haunted_Hallows_Eve (and don't forget to take out the spaces and the word DOT where applicable)

I didn't win the Hidden Star Award, but I wanted to thank everyone for voting. Seriously, just being nominated was great.