Hey Guys, sorry for the wait. Things have been busy in RL (looking for a job, starting a new job soon, sick, family, friends). Anyway, as promised Edward will be now arriving in this chapter. I

just wanted to say beforehand (that I probably should have mentioned earlier) that there will be no sexual abuse in this story (past or present for our characters). While in many situations such as the one Bella and Edward are in that for mof abuse is common it is not something I personally am comfortable writing (particullarly surrounding child sexual abuse). So yes there are other things that have and will happen (clearly) but never that.

Okay, enough with the heavy. Enjoy the chapter :D

Stockholm Chapter 4

Bella POV

The first thing I am aware of is the pounding of my head and the heaviness of my limbs. I groaned and slowly my hand came up to cradle my head as I tried to quell the mini jack hammers that were having a field day in my skull. I think they're trying to build a condo in my head. I don't think I've ever had a migraine like this one nor have I ever been in this much pain.

I tried to open my eyes but the light of wherever I was burned and caused a spike of pain to course through my head, making me to shut them quickly and moan. When I tried to sit up I gasped in pain, my other hand clutching my side, and every time I moved my legs I felt a dull ache in my joints. Crap, was there any part of me that didn't hurt?

Maybe my toes…

"Try not to move too much." I soft and velvet voice said beside me that despite its calm tone made my eyes shoot open in shock. I gasped once again at the intrusion of the light, making me squint but luckily my eyes started to slowly adjust. The guy who spoke is kneeling by my side and appeared to be around my age, well I think; he was young. He had the most amazing green eyes and his hair was some weird brownish redish colour that stuck up in different directions. He appeared to be maybe six feet and of an average physique though even I had to admit his face, that was shockingly even paler than mine, was beyond gorgeous…a disturbing thought since I don't know who this person is and if they meant me harm.

"Who…who are you? Where am I?" My voice is scratchy and my throat was irritated, making it uncomfortable to talk. Seriously, I sounded like an eighty-year old chain smoker or something with the way my voice croaked. As I glance around I can see I'm in a strange room and lying down on a twin-sized bed. As if he knew how sore my throat was he bent down and brought up from the floor a cup with a straw in it, gesturing for me to drink. I look at it warily, not sure what was in it. Do I take the risk of drinking it if it meant that it was quell the burning in my throat? How do I know there wasn't some kind of poison or drug? Well I doubt it was poisoned as if he wanted me dead I would be but I wasn't sure about drugging.

"It's just water." He murmurs, sensing my hesitation. He must be good at reading peoples body language; either that or he can read my mind or something.

I try to sit up and hiss at the movement, forcing me to clutch my side in pain again and making it difficult to breath. The hand that isn't holding the cup moves to my back as he eases me up gently, his touch having a surprisingly calming effect. When I'm leaning against the headboard he hands me the cup. I take it gingerly and sniff it; when I didn't smell any weird or suspicious odors I slowly take a small sip, pleased when I do indeed only taste water. I take a bigger sip and let out a sigh of pleasure as the cool liquid runs across my tongue and down my throat, soothing some of the burn. Water has never tasted so good.

When I drank the full cup I look up. "Thank you." I whisper.

"You're welcome." He gave me the cutest crooked smile I had ever seen and I can't help but give a small timid smile in return. I glance down and I can see bandages on my arms and hands. I touch my face again and this time I notice bandages on my face as well. I felt the dried blood in my hair and gingerly I touch the back of my head, hissing when I reach a large lump that appears to have a scab over it.

"What…who?" I asked, confused unsure exactly what I was asking. What happened? Who did this to me? Who helped me? The list went on and on in my head as I continued to take inventory of my body. From what I would see I was covered in brusies and cuts. I still had the clothes I worry the party on but they were dirty and even torn in some places, though my shoes were gone.

"I cleaned and bandaged your cuts, they could have gotten infected if I didn't." The boy continued as I examined on of the bandages. "I don't think your ribs are broken but they are probably bruised. You head doesn't need stitches but it was cut pretty bad but I cleaned it. I'm sorry I can't do more for the pain." He says apologetically.

"How do you know?" I ask. Not that I wasn't grateful but I was confused on how he would know such things considering he was way too young to be a doctor or a nurse. He looks confused so I reiterate. "About my ribs, how do you know they aren't broken." They sure feel sore enough to be broken.

He shrugs. "Experience. Like I said I don't know for sure but you would be in more pain if they were broken. I also examined your side earlier, to check if it needed to be wrapped…um I didn't remove any clothing, just lifted it enough to see and I didn't…" he blushes and stammers "t…touch you…inappropriately. I…I hope that's okay." He looks me in the eye for a second and looks down again and for some reason I believe him. Plus I have to admit he's kinda cute when he stammers.

Fuck something is wrong with me, seriously. Who thinks about that kind of stuff when in this situation?

"No…um it's okay, thank you again." He nods and murmurs 'you're welcome' before bending down where I can see him putting away what looks like a first aid kit. "What's your name?"

He looks up. "Edward Masen."

"Well Edward I'm Bella Swan."

"Masen." He murmurs and I look at him confused.

"Huh?"

"It's Bella Masen now, they'll punish you if you say any different." He says quickly.

"Who are they?" I ask but as soon as I finish the sentence flashes start coming back to me like some fucked up horror slide show. The torn tires, the man, the struggle and finally the cloth over my mouth before nothing; just darkness. I can't recall anything after the cloth before I woke of here. Tears come to my eyes and I choke back a sob. "Edward where are we? Who took me?" For some reason my gut tells me he isn't part of this, not in the way that man was, but I also felt he had at least some of my answers.

"You're in our bedroom and father took you and brought you to your new home." He said simply, avoiding looking at me. He stood quickly with his first aid kit and walked across the room and disappeared through a door that I now saw was a bathroom. While I heard him open something and move things around I took a moment to look around.

The room I was in was in the shape of a square with simple tan walls. The twin bed I was lying on had a simple wooden frame and had a lavender blanket and a single white pillow. Behind my headboard was a small round end table with a lamp. On the wall behind me going across it was another identical bed with its head board also facing the little table, creating a 90 degree angle, except this one had royal blue sheets. At the end of end of each bed was a small dresser matching the same wood as the bed frames and on the other side of the room by another door, one I assumed led to another room or hall of some sort, was a tiny bookshelf with a few random books and items on it. Beside the bathroom door was a sliding door that looked like a closet and none of the walls had a single window in them. My only guess would have to be that we were underground somewhere.

As I took in the room and thought over Edward's previous words my heartbeat and breathing increased dramatically as the situation truly started to dawn on me. I've been kidnapped, beaten and taken to some undisclosed location god only knows how far away from home for some unknown reason. I didn't register the pain in my ribs, my blurry vision or the fact I was hyperventilating until I felt warm hands cupping my face and Edward's gentle voice.

"Calm down Bella, please calm down. Copy my breathing." He took a deep breath through his nose holding it for two seconds and then letting it out slowly through his mouth. My eyes locked with his as I copied his movements and for a few minutes we breathed together as he brought me back from my panic attack. "Better?"

"A little." Which was true but I still felt tears gather in my eyes and the pounding of my heart. "I want to go home. I have to go home." I said pitifully.

"You are home and if you say otherwise they will punish you. You need to be grateful for being here; it's one of the rules."

"Rules? Grateful? How can I be grateful for being forcibly taken? And who are they? You said father before, who is 'father'?" I rambled, firing off my questions quickly.

"Our father's name is Alec and Jane is our mother. They brought you here to save you from your old parents. They only bring those who come from horrible homes, evil homes who create evil children. They saved us so we can be a family; they love us." His voice takes on a monotone almost robotic quality to it, as if he is reading directly from a script. Honestly, it creeped me out.

"Us? Edward…how long have you been here." I say quietly, fearing the answer.

He shrugs. "A long time." When I look at him with a look that clearly says elaborate he sighs. "I don't know, since I was six or something like that, I'm not sure." I do the math in my head and going on the assumption that he's around my age that is at least a decade if not more; I can't imagine what he's been through.

"Edward, what about your real parents and your real family? Don't you miss them?" For all I know he doesn't remember them but I hoped he had some recollection of them.

He stiffens and stands up, turning away from me as he begins to pace. "They didn't love me, they never loved me. Only mother and father love me. They love me, they know what is best." His voice took on that script tone again and it didn't take a rocket scientist to see the poor guy has had that lie forced upon him time and time again for god knows how long.

"Edward I'm sure none of that is true. You were kidnapped from what was probably a loving family. Don't you want to see them again?" I push. I have no idea if that's true but surely whoever his family were are better than this Jane and Alec.

"No! I was saved." He says loudly, turning to face me. "They didn't love me, they didn't love me. Evil, they would have corrupted me." He chants this a few times and becomes increasingly agitated. I've heard of Stockholm syndrome but to really see it in person was both heartbreaking and confusing; heartbreaking because the poor guy has been brainwashed and had to endure probably intense physical and emotional abuse; confusing because while I understand to a certain extent how it works, it's hard to imagine actually sympathizing or caring for my abusers. I didn't know how I could reverse his thinking, if I could. Hell I certainly wasn't qualified but somehow I would have to try. If I wanted to get myself, and hopefully Edward, out of here I would need his co-operation. However, deciding I pushed him enough for now I try to calm him down.

"Okay okay calm down Edward we won't talk about them anymore. But Edward, I have to leave, I need you to help me to leave." I beg.

"No, you can't leave they brought you here to save you. We're a family, family doesn't leave they stay."

"Edward I didn't need saving. My parents love me very much and they have never harmed me." He shakes his head like he doesn't believe me. "My dad, he's a cop and he will be trying to find me. I have to get out of here and you can come with me, my dad would help you to, he's a good man." I try to convince him, maybe if he can understand that I was not taken for the reason he thinks maybe I can turn him against whoever these psycho's are. However, before I can say more I hear a thump from above and Edward stiffens, looks at a clock on the wall I didn't notice before and then runs to my side.

"Mother is home. Bella you must not talk about leaving us or you will be punished. Be good, be good." He says vehemently. He murmured something like good boys don't get punished under his breath but before I could question him he continued a little louder. "Bella please, don't misbehave, I don't want them to take you away like the others. Please don't leave me to." He says urgently, despair in his voice, as more thumps are heard. When I listen closely it sounds like someone coming down steps so I assume I'm underground somewhere.

"What others." I whisper in a panic.

"No time." He runs over to his bed and sits on it, his back straight, hands folded in front of him and head looking straight.

"Edward!" I hiss, panicking. He just shakes his head and shhh's me.

A moment later I heard footsteps approaching and stopping outside of the door, a shadow visible under the door. The sound of several locks being undone echoed in the room, the sound causing the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck to raise and a horrible chill to run down my spine. I felt myself cringing in fear and shuffling further into the corner of my bed, the furthest from the door. Despite the pain in my ribs I pulled my knees up tight into my chest and hugged them to me, trying to appear as small as possible.

When the door opened a woman in her late thirties or early forties walks in. She had dirty blonde hair and appeared to be about my height, give or take an inch. She was in a simple black skirt, light pink silk blouse and simple black pumps and at first glance she looked like any other women you would see walking down the street. However, when her eyes met mine I felt a shiver of fear run through me at the ice cold blue eyes and the sinister and triumphant smile that was on her face. For some reason all I could think was this is what pure evil looks like.

Gave new meaning to phrase the devil wears Prada.

For a moment Edward and I both just stared at her and when she finally dragged her eyes away from me she looked at him, a small frown on her face. "Edward, aren't you going to greet me?" While she phrased it as a question her tone indicated that truly he had no option.

Edward stood immediately and went to her side, planting a very quick kiss on her cheek. "Forgive me mother, I'm so glad you home." His voice took on that script tone once again and already I hated it with a passion.

Even though earlier he kept saying how much his "parents" loved him and knew what was best for him I realised as I took in his body language around her that he never said he loved them in return. You can tell by the way he was standing that he was defensive and didn't want to be too close to her if he didn't have to be. This was not a guy who loved his "mother", this was a guy forcing himself to play a role, a guy who desperately wanted to believe the lies he was told both by them and to himself, a guy trying to survive; yet despite all this I could see deep down he didn't believe it, so deep down in fact that I don't think he even realizes it.

I'm brought out of my musings when she turns towards me and starts walking quickly over stopping at the side of the bed and looming over me. I try, unsuccessfully, to move further away but the wall prevented any further movement.

"Well I see that you're finally awake." She says happily and I stay silent, just staring at her. Behind her Edward continues to be tense as he watches us, his eyes pleading with mine though I'm not entirely sure what exactly he wanted. "You gave your father quite the hard time young lady and I'm going to let you know right now that your behaviour last night was unacceptable. You will not act like that again! Do I make myself clear?"

I find myself glaring and speaking without even thinking about it. "He is not my father. He attacked me and kidnapped me and my real father will find me so you may as well let me go you psycho." I said with surprisingly amount of venom in my voice even though on the inside I was shaking in fear.

I heard Edward's sharp intake of breath before I felt the smack of her palm across my cheek. She grabbed my chin and turned it towards her so that we were face to face. "How dare you speak to your mother like that! You are here because you belong here. You are here because we are your family now. You better forget everyone else you ever knew because I can promise you that you will never see them again, one way or another." She hissed and I was quick to pick up on her threat. "You are going to be the good daughter that I want and do as your father and I say. Bad girls are punished because that kind of behaviour cannot be allowed to continue. After all we only have your best interest at heart honey." Her voice became sweet at the end and she stroked the cheek almost affectionately; despite the softness of her touch in reality it just made me want to puke; I wasn't sure which persona scared me more, the "nice" one or the angry one.

I went to say something but over her shoulder I saw Edward shaking his head frantically, looking very worried. Figuring I should I probably follow his cues I sighed and stayed quiet and for a moment me and her just stared at each other, neither willing to back down.

"Are you going to behave now?" She asked, raising and eyebrow.

"Mother, I'm sure she is just tired, she didn't mean it earlier. She only just woke up, I haven't had a chance to explain the rules." Edward implored, saving me from answering.

"That is no excuse, a lady should know how to behave. I have my work cut out for me but I never back down from a challenge especially if it's what's best for my children." Children my ass, we're her captives in the sick fantasy her and her husband have. The bitch was a fucking delusional sociopath.

"I'm sure she'll learn quickly." He murmured, defending me while simultaneously being submissive towards her.

"We'll see. For now though she needs to change, no daughter of mine will be wearing clothing designed for boys." She said with determination. She went to the closet and opened it so the clothes, specifically dresses, came into view. They all seemed to variations on sun dresses and judging by their length would come down to one's knees, give or take an inch. She pulled out a simple baby blue dress with a tan bottom, pairing it with a pair of matching baby blue flats. Then she went to the drawer at the end of my bed and rummaged through the top drawer, pulling out a bra and panty set. She came towards me with a smile on her face, as if she was doing such a good thing while I sat there terrified and Edward stood as stiff and still as a board looking at the ground.

"Now let's get you out of those clothes." She said cheerfully and I flinched away from her. This woman is crazy. She actually wants me to strip and so she could dress me. I am not her fucking barbie.

"Don't touch me." I half growled half whimpered.

Her eyes narrow. "Isabella I am your mother and if I want you to change you will change." She says sternly, a double meaning in her voice.

"Mother, she is covered in dirt and blood. Perhaps she would prefer a shower first? She could change after." Edward suggested quickly as he witnessed the situation escalating. "You have had a busy morning at work, why don't you relax and leave them with me and I'll…I'll make sure she changes." He stuttered quietly.

Jane glares at me before turning to Edward and smiling, patting his cheek in what would have been affectionate but she did it rather hard.

Edward didn't flinch.

"Alight my boy. You help your sister and then I want you to prepare lunch, I'll be back in an hour don't keep me waiting." She warned before leaving the room without shutting the door. A few seconds later I heard another door shut and the sound of someone going up steps. Even though I knew she would be back I felt myself let out a long breath in relief that we got a temporary reprieve from her.

"Bella, c'mon you need to wash up and change and then we have to make lunch. Please hurry you don't want to make mother angry." Edward said coming towards me and offering his hand. I took it slowly and a small shock ran up my arm. I saw his arm twitch as if he felt it to but he ignored it as he gently helped me up and off the bed. I hissed a bit at the movement, despite his attempts to be as gentle as possible.

"Sorry." He said apologetically.

I shook my head. "Not your fault."

He helped me walk slowly to the bathroom and I squinted at the bright room. Everything was white; white walls, white tile, white tub, toilette…well you get the idea. The tub/shower was against the wall furthest from the door while a sink and toilet lined the wall across from me. Everything was clean, like OCD clean; I swear you could probably eat off the floor. Beside me was a small cabinet that I assumed held towels and probably that first aid kit that Edward used earlier. As there was not chair or bench Edward lowered me onto the edge of the bathtub and then started fiddling with the shower, turning it on.

"Ummm this thing," he pointed to the little lever you pull up if you wanted a shower rather than a bath, "sometimes it will slide back down for no reason so if the shower suddenly stops just pull it back up." He then went to the cabinet and I was right when I saw some plain white towels and he took one out, placing it on toilette. He scurried out of the room only to return a moment later with the dress and underwear Jane took out earlier and draped it over the sink.

I shuddered as I looked at it. "I don't want to wear it." I whispered. "Please don't make me wear it."

He looked at me sadly. "You have to Bella or you'll be punished." He came and kneeled in front of me, taking one of my hands. "Please just wear it, I don't want you to be punished, I don't you hurt. Do as mother and father say, they really do know what is best."

I looked into his green eyes as they pleaded with me and nodded my head. He was right. If I was going to survive this, I was going to have to play along; if I was going to find a way to get us out, or at least buy time till my dad finds us, I would have to gain their trust; I would have to do as they say.

For now…

Sooo what did you guys think. I hope you enjoyed it and are happy Edward is back :P I'll try to update soon bear with me if there are delays as I should hopefullty be starting my new job soon once I finish getting a few qualification things taken care of lol. Please review :D

Below is some general information about Stockholm Syndrome for those who are unaware of what it is. Remember, each case like each person is different. This is just a general idea, not universal.

Stockholm Syndrome: Stockholm syndrome is a term used to describe a paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express adulation and have positive feelings towards their captors that appear irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims.

The Stockholm Syndrome comes into play when a captive cannot escape and is isolated and threatened with death, but is shown token acts of kindness by the captor. It typically takes about three or four days for the psychological shift to take hold. A strategy of trying to keep your captor happy in order to stay alive becomes an obsessive identification with the likes and dislikes of the captor which has the result of warping your own psyche in such a way that you come to sympathize with your tormenter.

Psychologists and child-abduction experts say cults and kidnappers use numerous mind-control techniques, including isolation, sleeplessness, hunger, extreme discomfort, and the alternating use of kindness and cruelty.