A/N - Happy belated 4th :) Holiday + trip to the Omaha zoo with the kiddos = a bigger gap between chapters than I'd like. I hope you're still with me.

Big hugs and major thank yous to tiffanyanne3 and HEAR at Project Team Beta. I don't know how many stories they must go through, but they still make this rookie feel like hers is important and worth the time. I owe each of them a round of shots after dealing with my comma obsession.

Thank you for reading - my goal is to simply reach someone, anyone with this story.

SM owns it.

Song Credit - Cold Day In The Sun *Foo Fighters*

Bella's POV

I flushed the toilet and moved to stand so I could brush my teeth yet again. It was getting really tiresome spending more time hunched over, expelling what little there was in my stomach than I spent out of the confines of the four light blue walls. We had gone with a beach theme in our master bathroom as a reminder of our honeymoon. Edward's parents (with a little help from Edward himself) had sent us to a private island owned by one of his father's colleagues. It was absolutely perfect. We spent our days exploring, hiking, and swimming in the ocean. Nights were spent eating some ridiculously fancy meal on the patio of our hut. Yes, we stayed in a hut. Completely surrounded by water; it was as surreal as it sounds.

I smiled, remembering how much fun we'd had exploring every inch of the island, including each other. My smile faded as my present reality came crashing down around me as I remembered the news we had received that afternoon. We weren't pregnant. I shouldn't have been as devastated as I was; we hadn't been trying, and we were pretty firm in our plan to wait until things got more settled, yet I was heartbroken. In the few hours we had assumed I was pregnant, the shock and terror quickly gave way to pure elation. Picturing a little Edward or a little princess who would have had her daddy's heart from the second she arrived…it left me reeling.

I finished rinsing out the bile and toothpaste, realizing when I looked up in the mirror that tears had fallen. I ran some cool water over my face before making my way back to our bed. Just as I was about to pull the comforter over me, Edward walked in.

"Hey," I whispered.

Edward gave a small sideways smirk. "Hey, Beautiful."

Something was off about his appearance, but I was too exhausted to try and pinpoint what it was. My eyelids were heavy; I struggled to keep them open, so I let them close, knowing Edward would join me soon. Before long, I felt the bed near my legs shift as he sat down.

He took a deep breath. "Babe?"

"Hmm?" I questioned, still not opening my eyes.

"My dad called." Something about the way he said it had my eyes open instantly. His voice was…distressed? Fearful? Pained? I couldn't quite put a finger on it, but I knew whatever it was, it was not good news. Family or not, there was only one reason a doctor called you after-hours, after vial upon vial of your blood has been taken.

I moved to sit up. "What'd he say?"

"They found some abnormalities in your blood work. They'd like you to come back in tomorrow for a more thorough work-up."

Edward sat, rubbing his hands together, avoiding eye contact with me. I sat there looking at him, trying to make sense of what Carlisle meant.

"What else did he say?" I asked. Surely there was more information in there somewhere.

What kind of abnormalities? What do these abnormalities usually mean? It's treatable, right?

"Nothing, really. He just asked that you come back in tomorrow so they could do some more blood work."

"Well, did it sound serious? Did he say it was an emergency, or are they just ruling things out? I mean, he had to give something away!" I was beginning to get irritated with the lack of information. I thought, being family, we'd be spared the vague doctor-speak.

"Hey, relax. He didn't say anything else, or I would tell you. I'm not going to lie, baby. He sounded concerned. He also acted concerned when Alice had cramps in high school."

He had a point. My father-in-law was notorious for being overly thorough. That was why patients loved him, though. They knew they were getting the best care possible; nothing was going to slip through Carlisle Cullen's hands if he could help it.

Edward continued to soothe me, allowing my anxiety to diminish and slumber to take over.

I awoke the next morning to the sounds and smells of frying bacon. It was my one weakness, the ultimate breakfast item. For the first time in weeks, I felt hungry. I got up slowly, knowing that if I moved too quickly I'd be headed straight for the bathroom.

I walked down the hall and down the stairs. When I neared the kitchen, I saw Edward flipping pancakes onto a plate. I stood, admiring the defined muscles of his upper back. The way the tendons in his arms flexed as he moved the pancakes from the griddle to the plate made the nausea and throbbing in my head momentarily disappear.

"Smells good in here," I said. He turned over his left shoulder and gave me the half smirk, only this time it was the one that made me fall in love with him - the "I'm trying to impress you and I really hope I don't screw it up" smirk.

"Good morning. I was hoping this would spark your appetite a bit."

"I think it worked," I said, my stomach growling as I sat down at the corner table.

I dished up a modest single pancake and a couple slices of bacon, not wanting to push my stomach too much after days of nothing. I put on the customary butter and syrup and cut a small piece. I was nervous, as this was a hefty meal to be attempting, but it smelled so good.

It didn't disappoint. It was heavenly; the soft, warm, fluffy piece of pancake melted in my mouth.

"These are amazing," I said between chews.

"Why, thank you. I aim to please," he teased. "I'm just happy to see you eating."

I took another couple of bites of pancake before the bacon caught my eye. I was feeling confident in my body's ability to hold things down, so I braved a generous bite.

"Oh, my god," I moaned. "I love bacon."

"I know," Edward chuckled.

"Seriously, you have perfected not only pancakes, but also my specific crispy bacon needs."

As I continued talking through the mouth-watering breakfast Edward had whipped up, I began to feel it; the telltale butterflies and cramping in my stomach cause my hand to abandon my fork and cover my mouth. I made it to the bathroom outside the kitchen just in time.

"Bella?" Edward asked from just outside the door. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just give me a minute," I said before flushing the toilet.

Thankfully, I had taken the time to put a spare toothbrush in the downstairs bathroom since all the nausea had started. I also had one in the kitchen next to the sink and in the guest bathroom at the top of the stairs - oh, and in my car…and a travel-size brush stashed in my purse. I never knew when it was going to hit; it was easier to be prepared and ready to brush no matter where I was.

"Hey, are you okay? I'm so sorry," Edward said, wrapping his arms around me as soon as I opened the door.

"Edward, I'm fine. Don't apologize. The few bites I had were incredible. I should be apologizing for wasting all of your hard work."

He moved his hands to palm both of my cheeks before placing a kiss on my cheek. He looked at me apologetically and made his way back to the kitchen to clean up.

"I'll come help you. Just give me ten minutes to shower," I said.

"Bella, please. Go shower. Take all the time you need," he responded, picking plates up and moving them to the sink.

An hour later, we were in the car headed back to Carlisle's office. The lighthearted and calm atmosphere we had over breakfast had shifted to a tense silence.

I hadn't been all that nervous; sure, worst-case scenarios played through my head, but in reality, this was most likely a simple precaution that my thorough father-in-law needed in order to rule out those worst-case scenarios. That was what I was telling myself, but Edward's demeanor had me on edge. I felt like there was something he wasn't telling me, but then again he was Edward, and more like his father than he would ever admit. Every scrape and headache, he was there doing whatever he could to make it better. Ridiculous, really, but I loved him and knew that he needed to feel in control.

As soon as we arrived at the clinic, Angela brought us back to the lab.

"Where's Carlisle?" I asked as the lab technician prepped my arm.

"He's with other patients. He left lab orders and told me to let you know he'd contact you as soon as he got results."

I looked to Edward, and he looked confused and upset. I turned to look at Angela, who was simply watching the tech and getting labels together.

It didn't take long before another five tubes were filled, and we were sent home.

A few days passed, and Edward returned to work at his clinic. He had a lot of work to catch up on after being home with me for two days. I attempted a half-day at the library when I started feeling slightly better, but only made it an hour before I was in the bathroom more than at the desk. I missed my work terribly, but when the kids began questioning why Miss Bella looked so sick, and shying away from me when I approached, I knew it was time to head home and wait until whatever this was had passed.

I was lying in bed watching another horrendous episode of Dr. Phil (don't judge me, I became addicted in my cableless college days), when my phone rang.

I perked up, hoping Edward had caught a rare break at the clinic and was calling to check in. I was surprised to see Carlisle's name on my screen.

"Hello?"

"Bella, it's Carlisle."

"Hey, what's up?" Carlisle almost always called Edward when he needed to pass along information.

"We got your blood results back." Oh. Duh.

I was still confused as to why he was calling me.

"Edward wasn't answering his phone. I assume he's busy at work," he continued.

"Yeah, he's been pretty swamped."

"Not a problem. I'm hoping the two of you can come in this afternoon." He was in full-on doctor mode, versus the concerned father-in-law whom I completely adored.

"Um, I'm not sure when he'll be done for the day. I can call the clinic and find out…"

"That'd be great, Bella. Just come to the office whenever you can."

Carlisle hung up without a goodbye. I stared at my phone, trying to piece together what he had said and how he had said it. I shook my head and began dialing the number for Edward's office.

"Cullen Physical Therapy, this is Rosalie, how can I help you?" Edward's office manager answered. Rose was incredible and kept the office moving so Edward could simply focus on his patients. Dealing with insurance companies and the occasional snarky patient was not my forte, so I was over the moon when we found Rosalie.

"Hey, Rose, it's Bella."

"Hey, Bella, did you need Edward? He's with a patient, but I'm sure I could snag him quick."

"No, that's fine. What does his schedule look like today?"

"Mm, he should be done by about four-thirty."

"Great, could you make sure no one else schedules after that? And have him call me when he gets a free minute."

"No problem, Bella. I'll let him know."

"Thanks, Rose."

I hung up and went to take a shower. My phone rang again as I was combing through my hair. This time, I saw the name that always made my heart skip a beat.

"Hey," I sighed.

"Hey babe, Rose said you called. What's up?"

"Your dad called. He wants us to meet him at his office."

"Did they get the test results back?" he asked. I could hear a door shut, presumably the one to his office.

"Yeah, he just said he wanted us both to come in whenever you were done for the day."

"I'll be home as soon as I can," he said, shuffling papers.

"Edward?"

"Yeah, babe." He was withdrawn, focused on whatever he was doing in his office.

"It's going to be okay, right? Everything will be fine."

"Yeah, babe. I'll be home soon," he said before telling me he loved me and hanging up.

Within a couple of hours, Edward was walking in the door.

"Edward, what are you doing home? I told Rose to just make sure you were done at four-thirty."

"I know. I had her cancel my last couple appointments."

"Edward, that wasn't necessary. You're already struggling to get caught up," I whined. While I was happy that we were going to be able to get to his father's office sooner, it also meant the next week would be spent catching up, which meant early mornings and late nights. I hated it.

"Bella, you are more important to me than any of my patients. Let's go see what they found out so we can get you feeling better, okay?" He brought his hands up to my cheeks and stroked under my eyes with his thumbs. I could see the anxiety in his eyes, which likely mirrored my own.

We had arrived at his office shortly after Edward arrived home. The drive was quiet, each of us lost in our own thoughts. The sun was out for the first time in days. Streams of light, along with the slight breeze coming through the cracked window, helped calm my nerves.

We sat in the waiting room for a few minutes before Angela ushered us back to Carlisle's office. She gave a small, sad smile, which immediately had my adrenaline pumping. She knew something, and it wasn't good.

Still, I maintained that whatever it was, it was treatable, and with Edward and our families around us it would all be fine. Edward sat next to me in the horribly uncomfortable office chairs, rubbing the knuckles of my right hand with his thumb. He was staring at the carpet, and his knee was bouncing at a pace I had never seen before.

"Hey," I whispered, nudging him. He looked up. "It'll be fine."

"I know," he said, giving the sad half-smirk - the antithesis of the smirk I so loved.

Carlisle walked in as Edward and I looked at each other, trying to calm each other and failing.

"Dad," Edward said, standing to shake his father's hand.

"Edward. Bella." He nodded in my direction.

He moved behind his desk and sat in his chair, resting his chin on top of his folded hands.

"Bella, the original blood tests we did came back with some abnormalities."

"Yeah, you mentioned that. What kind of abnormalities?" I asked.

"There was a fairly low amount of red blood cells and platelets. Below the level we like to see, anyway."

I nodded in understanding, urging him to continue.

"I wanted a wider test of those, plus a white blood cell count, in addition to a few other levels."

I felt Edward's hand tighten minutely around my own, and I heard a small but sharp intake of breath. I looked at him and did not miss the silent conversation going on between him and Carlisle.

"Carlisle," I said, sharper than I intended, but I needed to bring his attention back to the medically illiterate in the room.

"The latest set of blood tests came back with similar results. Your red blood cell count was significantly less than it should have been, as was the platelet count. The white blood cell count, in contrast, was significantly higher than normal."

I had a brief flashback to a health textbook from high school, talking about what those levels indicated. I began to feel the blood drain from my face.

"Bella…" Carlisle trailed off.

Edward and I simultaneously tightened grips on each other's hands. Carlisle took a deep breath while running his hands down his face in frustration.

"Bella, the counts we received are all indicators of acute leukemia."

A/N - Mmkay, so remember when I said I'd avoid the cliffhangers? I'm taking that back. These are becoming the natural stopping points in the story and good places to break between POV's. I hate them as much as the next person, but it would just be awkward ending it any other way.

Speaking of which, take a second and review. Thoughts on the plot? Characters? Concerns? Things you want to see happen? Let me know! I don't have an outline for this story - just a general idea of where things are going - so your ideas and details could very likely end up in the coming chapters.

I'm on twitter - Sweet_Tranquil. Speak up, say hello. It makes my heart swell.