Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight and all characters. The plot is mine.

Thank you to the wonderful Princess07890 for beta-ing this story for me. She makes it shine.

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Chapter 6

BPOV

I decided that today, when Jessica comes to take care of Leah, I was going to call Jacob and speak with him about his missing and late child support payments. I didn't like to get into heated discussions with him around Leah, because, nine times out of ten, I ended up crying from frustration. I wished he understood that his daughter needs his help financially, but she also needs a father.

Jacob hadn't cared to see Leah since he began dating Victoria, one of our classmates from high school. Since they started dating a year ago, he pretty much quit coming by the house to visit. It tore me apart when I found out that they had started dating, but I quickly put it out of my mind so that I could focus on Leah. She is my world and she deserved a mommy that is happy, at least in front of her. I could put on an act, if I had to, for Leah's sake.

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I sat on the edge of my bed, my hands were sweaty, and my mouth felt dry as I dialed Jacob's number. With each number I pressed, my heart rate picked up.

"Jacob, hi…it's me, Bella." I was timid because these conversations never went well.

"Yes Bella, what's up?" Short, seemingly sweet, and to the point.

"Um, well…I was wondering when I could expect your next child support payment.I need to make the house payment soon because I've fallen behind. It's almost in foreclosure…and it's because I haven't been able to count on your help." I explained as nicely as I could, but I know he wouldn't take it that way.

"Quit blaming me for your money troubles, Bella. You could get a job,and then you wouldn't be in that situation." Jacob raised his voice. "And I won't be blamed anymore for that piece of shit house being in foreclosure." He was now fuming.

Well, so much for this being a calm conversation. He was such an ass. He never acted like that when we were together, and it broke my heart that hedidn't realize that I can't work. I would love to go back to work at the library, but, the fact of the matter is, I would lose my job with as many days as the nurses call in sick, or take the day off with little to no warning;that's one of the reasons I took Alice up on the phone sex job -I can do it from my home and on my own time without having a set schedule. If Leah is sick, or if I don't have a nurse, Alice doesn't care if I don't work that night.

"Jacob, I do have a job..." my voice cracked, "but I still need help with Leah. You are her father, even if you don't want to be at the moment." I tried to stay calm so that he would settle down, but I doubt it would work.

"Finally! Where are you working?" He spat.

"I'm…I'm working for Alice."

"You're what? Don't tell me you're a hooker now." He laughed, as if making fun of me.

"You need to grow up, Jake. I'm not able to work outside our home because I can't leave Leah for long periods of time…I just don't trust that, if something were to happen, the nurses could handle it. So, Alice offered me the job and I accepted… I'm sinking over here, Jacob." I took a deep breath and blinked back the tears that have formed in my eyes. "If the house goes into foreclosure, then we have nowhere to go." I tell him in a whispered voice. I'm not even sure he heard me, and my blue eyes are still shining with unshed tears; at least I haven't cried yet.

"I don't think I like the idea of my daughter living in a whore house."

"Are you kidding me right now, Jacob Black? I am doing everything in my power to take care of Leah with little to no help from you! If you are going to sit there and make assumptions that you have no idea about, then why bother at all? I'm doing the best I can with the shitty hand I've been dealt!" I screamed; now, I'm angry.

"I'm sure my attorney would love to hear about this. Maybe I should ask for sole custody of our daughter." He threatened.

"You wouldn't!" I was so pissed that I was now shaking. "You don't know the first thing about her medical care anymore, Jacob. You wouldn't last five minutes with her and you'd be calling me and begging me to take her back. She would die in your care. It's sad that Leah's own father knows nothing about her. You would risk her life taking her away from the only person that truly loves her, just so you can get out of paying child support?" I began huffing and taking in deep breaths. "And furthermore…I'm sure that bitch of a girlfriend of yours would dump your ass if Leah ever did come live with you. You wouldn't be able to pick her up and vacation and go about your merry little way at a moment's notice with a handicapped child living in your home." I saw red as I ripped Jacob a new asshole.

My breathing escalated, and I felt like I was about to have a panic attack. I tried slowing my racing heart by taking deep breaths to calm myself, before I totally lost it.

"We'll see about that, Bella…my attorney will be contacting you. Thanks for all the info on your new job. Have a great day." He snickered and then hung up.

I sobbed; I couldn't control myself. I lay down on my bed, curling up into a tight ball. This couldn't be happening. I wasn't entirely sure if Jacob was telling the truth, but the threat alone killed me.

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Alice dropped by around dinner time to visit me and Leah. I cried all afternoon, but, when Jessica's shift was over, I sucked it up and dried my eyes so Leah wouldn't worry. I knew Leah would be able to tell if something was wrong with me. I still think she knew something was up because she was being extra cute with her facial expressions. She was rolling her eyes and shutting them playfully. I lovedwhen she talked to me with her eyes…it's the only communication she had, but she spoke volumes with those pretty little eyes. My sweet angel.

When Alice came into the house, she gave me a tight hug and asked what was wrong. She said she felt like she needed to come over tonight to see us and she was glad she did because I look like shit;her words, not mine. I thanked her for the compliment and shook my head at her.

"Bella, please tell me why you're upset. I felt like you needed me today, and now, looking at you, I can see that you've been crying your eyes out." She huffed.

"I called Jacob today…" I began, but she interrupted.

"I can only imagine what he said, asshole."

I whisper so that Leah wouldn't be able to hear what I was saying. "I asked him about sending child support and he threatened to go for sole custody of Leah." My back was toward Leah, tears began leaking from my eyes and I try to wipe them before Leah sees them.

"That son of a bitch!" Alice whisper yelled, her hands were balled into fists and she started to bite her bottom lip.

"He threatened me after I told him I was working for you. He basically called me a hooker and said he didn't want his daughter around that sort of thing. Well, actually, he said living in a whore house." I was still wiping away tears and holding back my sobs. "I only told him I was working for you after he told me that I should go get a job."

"He is the poorest excuse for a father that I have ever seen. He doesn't pay child support on a regular basis, and then, he has the gall to threaten you when you say you are working? Ugh…." Alice was now pacing around Leah's room.

I'm still whispering, "Alice, you know darn good and well that taking care of Leah is hard. She wouldn't last long at all if he took her away from me." A sob escaped and I ran to the bathroom for one quick minute to regroup.

I blew my nose and splashed water on my face, and then tried to compose myself for Leah's sake. I returned to Leah's room with a fake smile plastered on my face to find Alice playing peek- a- boo with her. I heard faint giggles, which turned my fake smile into a genuine one.

Alice turned toward me, "Bella, please try not to worry, okay? If he takes you to court I'll help you out. I have a distant relative that's a damn good family attorney and he will give me a discount…or I'll cut his balls off." She was trying to make me laugh.

"You've done so much for us, already, Ali; I don't want to involve you with legal bills and put stress on you. That's the last thing I would ever want." I hugged her and told her how much I loved her.

Leah decided to be vocal and begins saying her ah's. It sounds like she's trying to sing, so I turned on her music and Alice and I put on a little dance just for our girl. Leah smiled so big with her eyes, that her eyes are almost shut. When dance party USA was over, Alice and I were out of breath and giggling at some of the funky moves we were doing.

"Bells, do you want me to run and pick us up some dinner?"

"No, I actually have some food, thanks to the advance on my paycheck." I smile. "Oh, I wanted to tell you something, but I don't want you to get mad, or think I'm being careless, or stupid."

"O-kay…." Alice's brows were furrowed in question.

"Well, I have a frequent caller. I know I've only been working for about a week, but he asked for my direct number… you said we could give it out to the ones that wanted to be regulars."

"Yeah, go on…" Alice prodded me.

"Well there's this one guy named Edward; he calls me every night." Alice nods her head. "And I've never had to role play with him."

"What are you talking about?"

"The first night he called me, he seemed down in the dumps. I wasn't exactly sure how to start a conversation with someone without them saying things to me first. Anyway, I just asked how he was doing and we started a normal conversation."

"Okay, that's fine, but you talk dirty to him now, right?"

"No, he doesn't want to talk about sex; he just wants to talk to me and we've been playing this question and answer game to get to know one another." I sigh. "He pays for the calls, obliviously, but he seems interested in me and I look forward to his calls at night." I looked at Alice to gage her reaction. Shewas staring at me funny. "I told him when we started the question game that I wouldn't tell him my last name, my address, or talk about my daughter."

"Good idea….you don't want a stalker situation." She nodded her head.

"I slipped up though and told him I live in Forks; weirdly enough he's from here. His parents still live here; he lives in Seattle. When we were talking, though, I just about slipped about relieving Leah's nurse the other day. I quickly changed the subject, but he knew I was keeping something from him."

"It's none of his business and you don't need to tell him if you aren't comfortable. I would advise you not to say anything to him about that anyway."

"He offered to pay for a cell phone for me since I made the comment that he is a phone sex caller. I told him our relationship is strictly business, but I can tell he wants to get to another level with me. He's pretty much said so. I'm drawn to him Ali; he's a perfect gentleman on the phone and has never once been inappropriate." I looked to her for guidance.

"Why'd he call in the first place if he didn't want to get his rocks off with hot phone sex?" She sounded confused.

"He was lonely and a friend of his programmed the number into his phone. He was drinking and thought what the hell…his exact words."

"Hmm, well I'm not sure what you want me to say, but, of course, you know I'm going to say be careful and don't do anything stupid like meet up with him."

"Really Ali? Like I have so much time on my hands that I could meet up with him. Not to mention that I rarely leave Leah alone, unless it's to do errands. I'm just smitten, I suppose. Someone is actually paying attention to me, albeit on a phone sex hotline, but still it's flattering." I gave her a sad smile.

"Bella, there is someone out there for you that will love you and Leah. Don't be so hard on yourself. You are amazing and I am your biggest fan. You inspire me."

Alice gave me a hug and then started playing with Leah again. She grabbed her baby doll from her toy basket and helped Leah play. Alice picked up Leah's hand and let her touch her baby. They touched all her facial features as Ali explained what each one was. She already knew them all, but it's so sweet to watch Alice say "nose", and then hold Leah's finger to her own nose. She did this with each part.

I felt so lucky to have Alice in our lives. It was so lonely without adult contact and sometimes I went a bit stir crazy, so I was thankful she came to visit us. Once my dad retired, he packed up his RV and traveled the country, hitting all the great fishing spots. I was happy he did that for himself, but I really missed him. After Jacob and I divorced, he wanted to come home and buy another house so that I wouldn't be alone. I wouldn't let him sacrifice his life for ours; so everytime he called, I pretended that things were going wonderfully. I had a tendency to be very good at hiding my emotions for the sake of others.

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Every night, Edward called me, and each time I got butterflies in my stomach. I was like a giddy teenager all over again.

I loved his sexy smooth voice. I had a picture in my head of what he looked like, but I was pretty sure he was much hotter than what I'm imagining. He had been calling at eleven o'clock on the dot and we talk for two hours straight. We had answered more questions about ourselves, and I hadn't been upset. I had avoided telling him about the threatening Jacob phone call. I just hope it didn't materialize into anything. I kept my fingers crossed.

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On Sunday night Irina came for her shift. Leah was still very junkie, and it had gotten even worse. I'd been suctioning like crazy today and had given her extra breathing treatments. I don't usually have weekend day nurses, so I spent the whole day with Leah and noticed that she's wasn't getting better. In fact, I noticed that she was getting slightly worse each day.

I gave Irina report and reminded her that, if she needed me, to use the intercom system on the wall at the head of Leah's bed. It's only used in the event of a 911 emergency. She let me know that she would monitor her very closely and told me goodnight as I left the room.

As I shut my bedroomdoor, I turned on my work phone and tossed it onto my bed so that I could change into my pajama pants. I hadn't even made it to my dresser before it started ringing. I dove for the phone and my body bounced on the mattress as I retrieved it.

I giggled at how ridiculous I was acting. I even answered the phone with giggles.

"Hi, sweet Bella," The velvety voice crooned.

"Hi Edward," I was still giggling.

"You are quite the bubbly little thing this evening." His sugar sweet voice was so yummy to my ears.

"I am, aren't I? I look forward to your calls each night, they've become addicting."

"I agree. You are quite addicting Bella."

"Hmm, so how was your day today Edward?" I asked.

"Long day at work; I'm really busy with a new project, so it's keeping me on my toes. It's only going to get worse I'm afraid when we start breaking ground on the new hotel."

"So does your boss help you or do you make most of the decisions?"

"Bella, I am the boss." He chuckled.

"You Own Hotels?" I said it slowly.

"Yes, I thought you knew that."

"No, you said you worked for a hotel; big difference, silly." I was now shaking my head and my mouth was open.

"You know… we are breaking ground in Forks on our newest hotel very soon." He pauses. "And ..." He started to say something when my intercom beeped. Irina began to yell for me to come quickly.

"Oh shit! I gotta go…" I threw my phone down without hanging it up and I punched the intercom to tell Irina I was coming. The button stuck, but I kept running.

As I entered Leah's room I saw my baby turning blue and her saturation monitor is alarming. Her vent was alarming as was instinct; I started to take over.

"What's going on?" I was yelling, not because I was mad, but because my adrenaline was through the roof. My hands were shaking. I grabbed the suction tubing, which was connected to the Ballard at Leah's trach. I pushed the suctions catheter down her trach to try to get the excess mucus from her lungs. I go down twice, and then flushed it with the saline bullet. Her oxygen sats are in the high 60s, but they were going down rapidly. Her heart rate was beginning to slow down as well. I was trying to disconnect Leah from her vent so that I could use the ambu bag to start resuscitation. I turned on the oxygen tank that sat next to her bed. The ambu bag is always connected to the tank.I turned the liter flow to 8, and then began to bag her.

"Irina, call 911. We need ambulance transport to the hospital. Tell them to hurry…Oh my God. Leah, mommy loves you …. You're going to be okay, mommy's here."

I was still bagging her trying to get oxygen into her lungs. Her sats were going up but very slowly. I had Irina suction as I continually bagged her. I heard the sirens, so I know the ambulance was close. I told Irina to go unlock the door for the paramedics as I continued to bag the precious air into Leah's lungs.

Leah was crying at this point with tears flowing from her beautiful blue eyes. She's terrified and it's breaking my heart.

Her oxygen saturation was at 94, so I reconnected her to her vent and turned on the oxygen tank that was bled through her ventilator; it was a separate tank from the one I used to bag her. I turned the liter flow to three, but her sats were still hanging in the low 90s. By that time, the paramedics were in her room asking questions and then they told me that they would follow my lead. Most paramedics are unfamiliar with ventilators, so, basically, I was the one who would take care of Leah in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. We got Leah on the gurney and strapped down. Her vent and external battery for her vent were on the gurney with her, along with her sat monitor. Irina carried her suction machine and her emergency bag with the spare trach and anything else that Leah may have needed.

Once we were settled in the ambulance, Leah began to desat once more. I was still shaking like a leaf, but I was trying to do whatever it took to keep my baby alive and get her to the hospital. The paramedic ups the oxygen to her vent to 15 liters and she has 15 liters of oxygen in front of her face. Leah's sats are now in the upper 70's and I'm really scared. I start to bag her with the 15 liters of O², but her saturation was still low.

We arrived at Forks Community Hospital and were immediately taken to a room where a Respiratory Therapist is standing by. After Irina gave the RT Leah's vent settings, Leah was quickly put on the hospital ventilator.

The doctor ordered a chest x-ray to see if anything was going on with her lungs. I was positive she was in the beginning stages of pneumonia, or had a collapsed lung. Leah was now resting comfortably on the hospital vent, but her heart rate was still high and her sats were still low. The beeping and dinging of the monitors were constantly going off.

I stood next to Leah and held her hand; I kissed her forehead and whispered to her that mommy loved her and she was going to be okay. I wasn't confident she was going to be okay, but I needed her to believe it.

I loved my baby girl.

Dear God, please let her be okay. Please heal her little lungs and let her come home with me. Please don't take her tonight.

Tears started running down my face.

I was a mess.

I was still shaking.

Irina, Leah, and I have a long wait in the ER. We were waiting on the blood tests to come back. It took them six tries to finally get a vein. Leah's veins are tiny and not at the surface of her skin. With her lack of muscle, it's always hard to draw blood. We finally got an IV started in her forehead and get blood from there. She looked pitiful. She was wiped out from everything that had happened, so she's finally sleeping. I decided to call Alice to let her know that Leah crashed and we had to take her to the hospital. Plus, I needed a shoulder to cry on, and loving arms wrapped around me.

Alice answered the phone groggily; considering it was now way after midnight, I knew she had probably been asleep for hours. I told her what happened; she was out the door and on her way here before we even hung up the phone.

I loved Alice; she was my rock.

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Leah was finally admitted and had a room in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. It was now 4:30 AM; Alice and I were sitting in the recliner chair together. Leah was asleep. The x-rays came back as pneumonia and a collapse in her lower left lobe. They had already started an IV antibiotic and said that Leah's pulmonologist would come by in the morning during rounds.

Alice put her arms around me and kissed my temple. She held me until I fell asleep and stayed with me until morning.

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"Knock … knock..." We were joltedawake at the disturbance. "How are you Isabella? I'm here to check on Leah; I hear you all had a scary night."

"Hi Dr. Cullen, yes, it was scary but, hopefully, Leah's on the mend." I yawned and Alice rubbed her eyes and pulled a blanket over her head.

I stood up and went over to Leah's bed; she was still sleeping.

"I took a look at her x-rays this morning; she's got a lot of fluid in her right lung and some atelectasis in her lower left lobe. We will want to take another x-ray tomorrow morning to see how she's responding to the antibiotics." He took his stethoscope off from around his shoulders and began to listen to Leah's chest. When he finished, he told me that he was going to adjust her vent settings while she was sick, and then, when she was well, we would change them back to normal.

Dr. Cullen has been an amazing Pulmonologist for Leah. I knew he would do what he could for her; he always had. Each time we were in the hospital, he came to see her and consult with the PICU doctors. I trusted him very much.

Leah woke up and I gave her kisses and said "Good morning, sunshine". Her eyes were dull; she felt awful and I knew it. I would keep her as comfortable as I could; I wouldn't leave her side.

EPOV

I was getting ready to tell Bella that I'd be in Forks next weekend, and that I'd love to meet her in person. I thought our phone conversations were going wonderfully. I felt connected to her in a strange sort of way. I thought about her all day and couldn't wait to call her every night. She even said she looked forward to our calls.

When I started to ask if she would meet me, I heard a loud noise in the background and someone shouting something. Bella sounded startled and yelled that she had to go. I didn't hang up the phone; instead, I just listened. I heard alarms and muffled voices. It was if it was through a speaker or intercom. I heard bits and pieces, but the one thing I did hear was 'call 911!' I must have been on the line for over twenty minutes just listening until it went completely quiet. I hung up at that point.

I tried calling back … I must have called at least thirty times. It started going straight to voicemail after the tenth try. I left messages for her to call me because I was very worried. I never got a return call.

I felt helpless. My hands went through my hair, pulling my bronze strands out, as I paced the floor. I couldn't relax enough to go to bed; instead, I poured myself a stiff drink, worrying, trying to figure out what I could do.

I didn't know how to find Bella, but I needed to check on her to make sure everything was okay. It finally dawned on me that I could call the main number to the phone sex hotline. Maybe I'd get a manager or someone that could possibly get a message to Bella for me. I knew that they would never tell me what happened or give me a way to get a hold of her, other than give me her direct work number. I already had that and it wasn't doing me any good.

The main number to the hotline was a voicemail; it stated that the company would be open between the hours of nine AM and four PM and to call back then.

Oh my God, I was not going to be able to control my shit for that long. I decided that pacing and making a rut in the wood floor was going to have to suffice until I could talk to someone at the main office.

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At exactly nine o'clock, I called the main number to Bella's work. The girl on the phone said that the lady I needed to speak with had an emergency last night and would be in by noon. I didn't leave a message because I didn't want her to think I was some stalker and she wouldn't return my call.

I knew that the lady she was speaking about was most likely Alice. Bella had told me about Alice owning the business and giving her the job. It made me worry even more that Alice wasn't in the office from the emergency last night. I assumed it was Bella's emergency.

What had happened? Thoughts were running through my head and none of them were good.

I didn't do any work this morning. Instead, I showered and made a pot of extra strong coffee since I never slept last night.

At exactly noon, I called Alice again. I was put through to her and wanted to bombard her with questions. Instead, I was very calm.

"Hello, I'm Edward; I am a friend of Bella's, one of your employees."

"Hello Edward." Alice sounded exhausted. "How may I help you today?"

"I'm not sure how to say this, so I'm just going to say it." I was pacing the rut back in my wood floors. "I was on the phone with Bella last night and during our conversation she abruptly had to go. She never came back and…" Alice interrupted.

"I'll give you a refund; will that be all?" Alice asked.

"Fuck no…I mean no. I'm not worried about the money. I am more concerned with what happened to Bella. I tried calling her numerous times since I have her direct work number, but she hasn't answered or returned any of my calls." I was trying to control myself. My fists were clenchedas I tried to convey to Alice my concerns.

"Edward, I appreciate the concern for Bella. I'm afraid that I cannot give anyone information about any of my employees. I would hope you would understand that." She was all business.

"I completely understand and, actually, it eases my mind. Bella is very special to me; we have become friends…what happened last night scared me very badly. I heard things…" I was hesitant to say that I had heard anything but I had to let Alice know that I was very concerned.

"Oh…Okay, Edward;I'll tell you what. Bella did mention you to me, so I know that you've become friends. I'm still not giving you any info… but… I'll tell her that you contacted me and would like for her to call you at her earliest convenience. I'm not guaranteeing anything though."

"Can you just tell me… is she alright?" My voice was quiet and shaky.

"Bella is fine." She cleared her throat.

I said it almost silently, "Is her daughter okay?"

"Edward, I need to get back to work. I'll give Bella the message, thank you for your concern." She was, once again, all business. "She has your number, I presume?"

"Yes, she does have my number. Thank you for taking my call and please… tell her I'm thinking of her and she's in my prayers." I choked out.

"Y-yes, I will. Goodbye." Alice stuttered.

"Goodbye." I hung up the phone, not feeling much better. If Alice gave Bella my message, then I would feel better, but I can't assume she will get it to her today or in any timely fashion.

Please let my Bella be okay...

Please Bella, call me… I said to myself.

A/N:

Okay… peeps. Did you make it through Leah's scary episode? I will tell you this has happened at least ten times to me. I have saved my baby each time and my adrenaline sky rockets through the roof. I can't help but think it is going to be her time. It makes me so sad to relive these scenes, but for those of you that know nothing about Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) I will suffer the pain to get awareness out there.

I hope you stick with me. I have some ideas of how Edward and Bella will finally meet.

* Just so you know. My husband is my Edward. He's been my rock and has never left my side. I couldn't do what I do without him…he is truly amazing. So this chapter is dedicated to him!

Please review…it would make me happy…and after this chapter I need some LOVE!

You can visit my Facebook page…the link is on my ffn profile. I have a group for my other story FLY AND BE FREE…I post my MC chapters on there as well :)

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Thanks for reading… Much love XO