A/N: This week's Author's Note will be short and sweet. That's because I have been trying to make a decision all week. I'll tell you what my dilemma is at the end of this chapter or maybe in an entirely separate note.

Anyhow, I want to thank my faithful readers and reviewers as well as say congrats to 5t4c3y whose story 'My Best Friends Kid' has made it to over 1000 reviews YEAH!!!! Way to go Stacey!!

Previously..............

"Do you remember anything else?" he asked, struggling to maintain his composure.

Bella was silent for a few seconds. Her head was splitting from what she suspected to be the effort of trying to remember, and the intensity of the new memory which had resurfaced. An excruciating pain and a wave of nausea hit simultaneously, and she scrambled to get off the bed to get the bathroom.

Chapter 7 – Burn My Security Blanket, Why Don't You?

When Edward realised when was about to happen, he scooped her up, and took her into the bathroom where she promptly emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. With the cold porcelain of the toilet cradling Bella's forehead, Edward took a washcloth, soaked it with water from the faucet, and sat beside her on the floor. He cradled her in his arms, and used the soaked cloth to wipe her face, and then her lips. Leaning against his chest, she closed her eyes. After a few minutes the dizziness and nausea began to subside.

When she finally opened her eyes, Alice was standing in the doorway chewing on her bottom lip. Concern was etched in her features, and Bella felt a strong urge to console her friend despite the embarrassment of having had an audience while she lost her lunch. Alice gave her an understanding nod and disappeared from sight.

"How are you feeling?" Edward asked his velvet voice filled with concern. Bella felt her heart beat increase in tempo when she looked into the emerald pools of his eyes.

His cologne was one that Bella knew she was familiar with, but could not place at this time. Her mind went blank for a few seconds, as a gamut of emotions thundered through her. Why did she react this way towards Edward, and did he feel the same confusion she did? If he did then he was one of the greatest actors on the face of the earth, because she could swear that her emotions were plastered all over her face like a brightly painted neon sign.

"Bella?" Edward said when she remained silent. "Are you okay?"

Bella licked her suddenly dry lips nervously. "Yes, I'm fine."

Edward's eyes unconsciously followed the path the tip of Bella's tongue took, and he felt as if someone had sucker punched him. He felt as if the already small bathroom had suddenly become three times smaller, and he knew he had to get out of there before he did something stupid – like fit his lips over hers. Directly after the thought entered his mind the burn of shame followed. Here she was sitting on the floor of the bathroom being violently ill, and all he could think about was kissing her. Talk about being heartless and selfish.

To cover his awkwardness, he slowly detangled himself from her, got to his feet, and helped her to stand. She swayed slightly, and when he went to steady her, she brushed away his hands as if she could not bear for him to touch her.

"I-I'll be fine. Can I have a bit of privacy?" she asked in a low voice.

Edward nodded, turned and walked out of the room closing the door behind him. He leaned against the door, and drew in a deep, steadying breath. The sound of a person clearing their throat interrupted Edward from basking in the glory of his escape. He turned slowly, and caught Alice watching him with a look of admonishment.

"What are you doing?" she whispered furiously.

Edward made sure the bathroom door was securely closed, and taking Alice by the arm, escorted her into the hallway. Other than a nurse who was pushing a cart laden with medical supplies into a room, the area was basically empty, and for that he was thankful.

"What are you talking about?" he asked innocently, when she had yanked her arm out of his grip.

Alice poked him in the chest. "Don't give me that crap. I saw what happened just now. This is a serious situation. Right now her entire world revolves around you. You're probably the only stable thing in her life, and you have to be careful not to take advantage of the situation,"

Anger rose in Edward like a geyser. "That's all I have been trying not to do. Do you have any idea how hard this is for me? I was there when her heart stopped beating, when she was literally dead for those few precious seconds it took to restart her heart, when she slipped into that coma. All I can think about is how I almost lost her again, and that I have to protect her – protect her from the bastard who did this to her, and most of all from me and our past."

Alice suddenly looked ashamed, and gave him an apologetic smile. The entire situation had come as a great shock to her, and while Edward had had the opportunity to become accustomed to the circumstances, she had to play catch up in a considerably short space of time.

"I'm sorry," she apologised. "It's just that I see the way you look at her, and right now she's confused and frightened. It would be a major case of hero worship."

Edward clenched his fists. "Look, I had to accept that that part of our life is over. I am not the sort of person who would use amnesia to undermine the decision she has made. It wouldn't be fair to her, and when she finally remembers, she'd hate me even more." He gave her a sad, crooked smile. "I'll be careful okay?"

"Okay," Alice raised her hands in surrender, "Are you going to tell her the truth about your relationship?"

Edward shook his head. "No. That would only complicate things further. Right now, she needs a friend who's going to be there for her, not an ex-husband."

Alice was in the process of commenting, when Dr Masen came up behind them and clapped Edward friendly on the shoulder. During the past few weeks, Edward and Victoria had become great friends, and he suspected that she knew exactly how he felt about the woman hidden away inside the bathroom in the next room. Even though she knew they were no longer legally tied to each other, she treated him as if he was Bella's family, and not a chapter long since ended in her life.

"Hey there, how's it going today?" she greeted, and gave him her usual sunny smile. Today her unruly hair had been wrestled into a bun at the base of her neck, and she wore fluorescent orange and white sneakers. They clashed horribly with her blue scrubs.

Edward mentally gathered himself together, and gave her his customary daily hug. "I'm okay, but those shoes....UGH!!" he grimaced.

Victoria glared at him with one eyebrow raised. "You told me that I need to try to cheer my patients up, so I tried something a little different. Orange is a happy colour. So far I have had quite a few comments, thank you very much. Even Mr Lymond smiled and you know he never smiles."

Victoria was referring to one of her patients who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and was as cantankerous as they came. He gave everyone a difficult time and never, ever smiled with anyone.

"He was probably trying to be polite. Did he smile at you before or after he saw you coming with the needle?"

Victoria threw him a mean look, and then began to laugh. "Very funny,"

Edward smiled and quickly introduced the two women to each other. He also gave Victoria an update of Bella's recent episode. When he finished, Victoria was now wearing her 'Doctor' face as Edward had dubbed her expression whenever she was all business.

"Let me check in on her first, because I have some news that depends greatly on her condition." She said, and with that disappeared into the room.

Bella replaced the toothbrush in its holder, and wiped her hands on the towel hanging from the ring on the wall. She felt better. The headache still persisted, but at a much decreased pitch. She dreaded facing Edward after what had just happened, but she knew there was no escape. Chances were he was standing outside the door waiting for her to come out, and her face grew hot with embarrassment. If every time she had a flashback she stood to lose her dignity, then she was going to remain completely clueless.

Realising that hiding in the bathroom would eventually cause more problems – like security coming in and breaking the door down, she drew in a deep breath and yanked it open. To her surprise, the only occupant in the room was Dr Masen. Her back was to her and she was writing something in her chart.

Upon hearing the bathroom door open, Victoria turned to her patient. Her cheeks, a dull red colour, highlighted the paleness of her face. For a few seconds, she thought Bella was about to collapse. She quickly went over to her, placed a supportive arm around her shoulders and they made their way towards the bed.

"Are you alright?" she asked, as Bella sat on the edge of the bed.

Bella nodded. "I'm fine. Just a bit of a headache and a slight lost of dignity," She felt renewed heat infuse her cheeks as she remembered how Edward had sat on the floor beside her, as she had puked her guts out.

"Yes, I spoke with Edward just now and he told me about your episode. Don't worry; it happens sometimes – depending on the trigger and the strength of the memory. Eventually you will learn how to control your responses," She explained as she settled the pillows at the head of Bella's bed.

Bella grimaced and swung her legs under the sheet. She caught a brief glimpse of the scar on her leg, and felt a shiver run through her. There were so many things she would have to become accustomed to. So many things she would have to discover and learn to compensate for.

She was so caught up in her thoughts about the future that Victoria's next words hit her like a brick wall.

"Actually, that's one of the reasons I came to talk to you," she said smiling gently. "I was thinking of sending you home. Your progress has been phenomenal, and I can't find a reason to keep you here anymore."

"W-what about my memory?" Bella whispered, fearfully. She clutched the sheet in a death grip and Victoria's eyes caught the movement.

She sighed in resignation. If it was up to her, she would have Bella stay for a couple weeks more, but she could no longer justify to the Chief of Surgery why she was keeping a patient who was physically ready to be discharged. Upon reflection, she realised that she had become too close to Bella and Edward. She saw them more as friends than patient/family member and that's why she had allowed her to stay the extra week. She knew Bella was terrified of leaving for a number of reasons she could relate to. After all, she would be terrified if someone had tried to kill her, and was being sent back into a potentially dangerous situation. That coupled with having no memory was a recipe for disaster.

"Your lost of memory is not enough of a reason to keep you. Physically you're out of danger, and your Physiotherapy can be done on an out patient basis," Victoria explained, remorse colouring her tone. "I wouldn't discharge you if I thought you weren't ready."

Bella was silent for a few seconds and then a determined look came into her eyes. "Okay. When?"

Victoria was surprised by Bella's reaction. At the least she had expected her to ask for a few days more, but one of the things she had come to learn about her patient during the pass few weeks was that she had an iron will, and was willing to face most things head on. Whether that be another surgery to repair damage, or a change to her rehabilitation program.

"Is tomorrow morning too soon?"

Bella shook her head. "No, that's fine. Does Edward know?"

"No, I wanted to discuss it with you first."

Bella gave her a grateful smile, and tried to push the fear of leaving the safety of the hospital aside. She inhaled deeply. "Well, you better call them in. I guess we have some good news."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As Edward stepped off the elevator and onto the fourth floor, his mind was travelling at warp speed. Bella's announcement of her release had taken him partially by surprise. He had always known that based on her progress she might be released soon. However, this had all happened much sooner then he had expected, and the plan which had been formulating in his mind during the past few weeks, would now have to be put into action.

When she had delivered the news, she had been very up beat, but he and Alice had immediately seen through her facade. Bella had always been a terrible actress and an equally terrible liar. In addition to that, her trying to keep a secret from him was like a recovering alcoholic being placed in a room full of brandy, and told not to take a drink. Next to impossible.

He had seen the fear in her eyes, and he would be a fool to assume that her 'would be' assassin was the only reason. The outside world posed an incredible challenge for her, and while she had functionality of all her limbs, she was now considered handicapped. Helplessness was not something Bella dealt with very well, and to have her independence taken away from her, was almost like losing a limb.

He reached his destination and knocked twice. Victoria's voice came from the opposite side of the door and instructed him to enter. When he did so, she gave him a knowing smile. It was obvious that she had been expecting him.

"Hey Dr V," he said, using the nickname he had given to her, "Do you have a few minutes? I want to run something by you,"

Victoria looked at her watch. "Wow, it took you longer than I expected. I mean a whole 45 minutes have gone by."

Edward grinned, pulled up the chair and took a seat. "I needed sometime to think, so I left Alice and Bella together and took a walk."

Victoria nodded and leaned forward on her desk. She placed her elbows on the desktop, her chin in her palms and smiled.

"So, what is it you want to discuss?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Seattle University Hospital

Seattle, Washington

Dr Carlisle Cullen closed the door of his office and sighed with relief at the blissfully quiet atmosphere. He made his way over to the black, leather couch which sometimes doubled as a bed, and stretched out his tired and worn body. He closed his eyes and felt his body relax against the cushions.

The past two days had been some of the busiest days he had had in six months. The Emergency Room had been filled to capacity since yesterday's bus accident. A drunk driver had crashed into a bus full of tourists, and both vehicles had plunged into a river. This had resulted in him working a 48 hour shift without any rest as he had had to assist where was needed.

The mass casualty situation could not have come at a worst time. A week before, a Flu epidemic had hit and a great percentage of the staff were off ill. He grimaced when he remembered that yesterday had been his wedding anniversary, and he had stood Esme up. He had made reservations at one of Esme's favourite restaurants and they had both been looking forward to spending some uninterrupted time with each other. He had been heading through the door when the first ambulance had arrived, and offloaded the first of a number of critically injured patients. After that, everything else had pretty much gone to hell.

A million and one surgeries later, he remembered that he had forgotten to call Esme and cancel their plans. It had been 3:00am and he knew she would be asleep, so he again put off making the call. While she understood what being a Doctor's wife was like, he knew she would still be hurt and more than a little upset with him. To make a long story short, he was in deep trouble.

He was considering how to make it up to her when he felt his cell phone vibrate in the pocket of his coat. He pulled it out and flipping it open, saw 'Edward' appear on the display. He smiled, pressed the connect button and placed the phone to his ear.

"Hi son, how's it going?"

Edward chuckled. "Good for me, but not good for you. I called you at home and mom answered. She's not too happy with you right now. Seems you stood her up.....again,"

Carlisle groaned, and rubbed his free hand across his face. "I know. Bus accident and I lost track of the time,"

"By the way, Happy Belated Anniversary. I was a bit caught up myself and I forgot,"

"See? I'm not the only Cullen with a bad memory," Carlisle said triumphantly, "How are things? How's Bella?"

Edward paused and immediately Carlisle knew something was up. He sat up, swung his legs off the side of the couch, and placed his feet on the floor. "Son, is everything alright?"

"Yeah. Actually, Bella is being released tomorrow and I need your help,"

"Sure, whatever you need. What's going on?"

Edward drew in a breath, and for a few seconds there was silence. When he spoke again, his voice was decisive. "Dad, I'm bringing Bella home, home to Washington."

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A/N: So as I was saying at the beginning of the chapter, I have a dilemma but I have decided to write a separate note on this because I do not want it to over shadow the above chapter. I will upload again shortly.