Photography is an immediate reaction, drawing is a meditation. ~Henri Cartier-Bresson

Chapter 7

It all happened so fast that Mrs. Hodges wasn't sure what to even do. One minute, Miss Swan was looking at the balloon bouquet, the next she was sprawled awkwardly on the floor. The squeal that erupted from Mrs. Hodges alerted several other office staff.

Moments later, Nurse Denali came rushing in.

"What happened?"

"Well, she was on her way to lunch when I pulled her in to see the delivery she'd gotten. She was looking at the balloons, and then she went all red faced and passed out!" Mrs. Hodges was very careful to describe the scene. She wanted no part in being implicated of injuring one of Oak Ridge school's finest teachers.

By this point, the custodian, Mr. Pattinson and the Principal, Mr. Taylor, had shown up on the scene. Nurse Denali politely asked them to carry Miss Swan to the nurse's station to recover, as she was still out cold.

"Mrs. Hodges, could you call Miss Swan's emergency contact? We will probably need to have someone come and get her," Principal Taylor directed. He hoped it was something simple like lady troubles and nothing of a more serious nature. The last thing he needed was a workman's comp case on his hands. Budget cuts had been brutal for the school, and he'd had to cut many corners, including swapping out their usual envelope for a sub-standard envelope which may or may not have contained poisonous glue adhesive on the seal.

Mrs. Hodges immediately began flipping through her files looking for whomever Miss Swan had listed. Unfortunately for both of them, Miss Swan hadn't listed anyone!

"Oh, bugger," Mrs. Hodges mumbled.

"Now what?" The secretary sat back in her seat to collect her thoughts for a moment when the garish balloon display caught her eye. It was so large that one really couldn't miss it.

"Well, someone must really like her in order to send such an extravagant display..." Mrs. Hodges mumbled to herself. She plucked the card that was delivered from the bouquet.

"Ahh, a Mr. Edward Cullen seems to fancy you." Mrs. Hodges felt a little guilty for reading the card before Miss Swan had a chance, but it was fortunate that now she had a lead on whom to call.

To Bella:

B is for the way your beauty shines

E is for the ways you make me feel euphoric

L is for your long hair, so silky and luxurious

L is for the way your lips mould to mine

A is for the way I will always think you are alluring

From: Edward

O_o

Edward had just found, within the Glamour Shots employee handbook, the loophole that he believed would lead to Jessica's termination, when the phone rang. He typically didn't answer switchboard calls during work hours, as it was Jessica's job. Today, though, there was a tiny sliver of hope that Bella had received his balloon bouquet and was calling to pledge her undying love and devotion…and to say "thank you."

"Hello, thank you for calling Glamour shots, this is Edward. How can I help you?"

"Mr. Cullen?"

"Yes, this is he." Edward suddenly felt a tightening in his stomach. He felt as though he was being summoned to the principal's office. If only he'd know how right he was!

"This is Mrs. Hodges from Oak Ridge Montessori. Do you know a Miss Bella Swan?"

"Yes..." Edward answered hesitantly. He didn't understand why Bella's school would be calling him. Several scenarios raced through his mind; none of them were good.

"Well, Miss Swan is ill, and we need someone to come and pick her up. She doesn't have any emergency contact information on file, so I had to track you down." Edward tried to respond but Mrs. Hodges just continued to chatter away. She detailed how she'd read the card from his lovely balloon bouquet, and how she had used "the Google" to discovered Edward's place of employment. Sometimes it frightened Edward what you could find about someone on the internet.

"Mr. Cullen?" Edward had totally disengaged from the ramblings of the old women. It wasn't until she called upon his attention again, that he regained his focus.

"Sorry, yes..."

"Will you be able to come get Miss Swan?"

"Oh, of course, yes. I will be there momentarily!" Edward made haste as he raced into action. He alerted Jake that he was leaving for the day to rescue his lovely Swan.

Jake, being the drama queen he was, wanted all the "deets" and demanded Edward call him later.

O_o

Edward had arrived at Bella's school in a tizzy. Mrs. Hodges hadn't told him why Bella was ill, and Edward only assumed the worst.

Mrs. Hodges led the distraught looking Edward to the nurses' station where Bella still lay sound asleep.

Edward noted to himself that she looked very much like Snow White with her pale complexion and flowing brown hair. The only things missing were forest animals hovering above her head. Before he could second guess himself, he leaned in and kissed Bella gently on the lips, hoping that, much like prince charming had done with Snow White, he would awaken her from her slumber.

"Mer...smbesly..." Bella's voice was hushed and barely audible. Edward took it as an opportunity to rouse Bella from her mid-morning nap.

"Bella?" Edward was gentle and hesitant in his tone.

Bella's eyes fluttered for a moment, and then slowly slid open.

"Edward?"

"I'm here, my delicate flower." His fingers stroked a lock of hair from her forehead and her eyes drifted shut once again.

"Are you the baby's father?" The voice was nearby, but Edward was disinterested; that was until he registered the question before him.

He turned to see a woman wearing a name tag, Tanya Denali, School Nurse. "Pardon me?" Edward replied.

"Well, I assumed that since Miss Swan fainted, and she received the celebration balloon bouquet, not to mention her slight weight gain and her propensity for wearing loose-fitting clothes, that she is with child?

"So, are you the father?" Nurse Denali asked again. Her tone was slightly condescending, and Edward didn't care for it one bit. He also didn't care for the implication that his "flower"had been plucked!

"Miss Swan is not pregnant, not that it's any of your business. It would behoove you not to make sweeping assumptions about people, Ms. Denali!"

With those parting words, Edward made arrangements to take Bella home.

Once he had the balloon bouquet and Bella situated in his car, he began driving toward her apartment. He still hadn't a clue as to why Bella was ill and slipping in and out of consciousness.

Then, Edward thought better of taking Bella to her own apartment. While he was indeed concerned about her waking to find herself in a strange setting, he couldn't help but feel it would be better if he kept an eye on her. Edward made the last minute decision to go to his condo instead.

A few moments later, Edward pulled into his driveway and began trying to figure out the best way to get Bella inside. Carrying her seemed like the only way, as he didn't want to wake her again. When he was only half way up the walk, Phil bounced up from behind the bushes, startling Edward.

"Aye mate...I see you took my advice and drugged the little lady up. She looks to be out cold. That should do you right up,"

Phil said, giving Edward a thumbs up. Phil had given Edward a lot of advice about women the previous evening. However, Edward hadn't found any of Phil's advice useful; not to mention the fact that most of Phil's ideas probably would have resulted in his having to serve jail time and register with the local police for the rest of his life.

Edward just grunted and ignored his neighbor, taking Bella inside. He placed her on his bed and watched her for a few moments. Bella had seemed cool to the touch, so Edward wasn't concerned about a fever.

Not knowing what he should do, he called the only person who had been helpful to him lately.

"Jake? It's Edward. I have Bella here..." Edward went on to explain what had happened at Bella's school, and that no one really offered any explanation as to her fainting spell. He decided to omit the suggestion that Nurse Denali had given.

"Oh, Sugar-Plum! She's hypoglycemic! I remember she told me when she was in for her photo shoot and had gotten food on her clothing. She was feeling flushed and almost fainted, bumping into a trashcan. Check and see if she's eaten today."

After thanking Jake for his assistance and helpful suggestions, Edward hung up the phone and tried to stir Bella. Since the kiss had worked previously, he decided to try his luck one more time. The results were the same. Bella's eyes flickered open to a nervously waiting Edward.

"My flower, have you had anything to eat today?"

Bella's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Balloon?"

"You ate a balloon today? No wonder you're not feeling sound." Edward couldn't help but chuckle at his own horrible joke.

Edward hesitantly reached out and touched Bella's shoulder, hoping to gather her attention.

"I need you to tell me if you've eaten. You fainted, and I think your blood sugar may be low."

Bella shook her head no, and Edward raced from the room to get her started on fluids.

O_o

Bella didn't understand how she'd gotten to the strange bedroom, but Edward was there, so she felt safe.

The last thing she remembered was looking at Edward's balloon bouquet and thinking about what a wonderful man he was. His thoughtfulness and romanticism had made her blush.

Edward appeared back in the bedroom only moments later, with a glass of orange juice in hand. He'd even brought it with a bendy straw - Bella's favorite. Edward's thoughtfulness knows no bounds, Bella thought to herself.

After several sips, Bella started feeling her strength come back, and she finally felt steady enough to sit up, but Edward wouldn't hear of it.

"Lie back, my delicate flower. I will take care of you."

"Thank you, Edward. Thank you for everything… the balloons, getting me from work, taking care of me. You are truly wonderful."

Edward was currently wearing his heart on his sleeve. There was no mistaking how he felt about Bella now. The wide smile and splotchy crimson blush told volumes.

"Bella, there is something important I want to talk with you about. I may be overstepping my boundaries here, so please bear with me." Edward stopped to gauge Bella's willingness to allow him to continue with such a serious subject while she wasn't feeling at her best.

"Go ahead, Edward." She suddenly felt nervous after hearing his serious tone.

"Well, there is no easy way to say this. Bella, I care for you, and your safety is of the utmost importance to me. I…I…" Edward stumbled and began tugging at his hair again.

"Just spit it out, Edward," Bella interrupted, disappointed that his declaration wasn't heading in the direction she'd hoped. Edward wasn't interested in being with someone who didn't take care of herself and was careless with matters of health and well-being. She even got a bit glassy-eyed at the impending rejection.

"I want to be your emergency contact!" Edward said in a hushed and hurried voice.

"Oh, Edward! I want that, too…more than anything!" Bella squeezed Edward tight, fearful that if she loosened her grip, he would change his mind.

O_o

As mid-morning grew to late afternoon, Bella and Edward lounged on Edward's bed, getting to know one another. It had bothered Edward that Jake had known Bella was hypoglycemic and he hadn't. He'd managed to feed her two small snacks to get her strength up, and he had also talked her into staying for dinner. Edward offered to take Bella out, as he didn't have anything in the house but Hungry-man dinners. He knew a delicate beauty like Bella wouldn't eat such a thing.

"Edward!" Bella gasped as she looked in his freezer. "You have Salisbury steak TV dinners! You've been holding out on me. Those are my favorite!"

Edward knew, without a doubt, that he'd found his perfect match. At that moment, he hoped he could be Bella's emergency contact… and so much more.