CHAPTER 10

Bella POV

So, Jackson was probably the loudest baby ever, I decided as Jasper walked around in the small space, cradling his son in his arms. He was attempting to lull Jackson to sleep, but had been unsuccessful in his mission so far. Even clean and wrapped in a blanket, the little man was unhappy with his world.

Ali had been insistent on me cleaning up Jackson first, and it had been very simple. I'd only had to bathe and dry him. Though he was a little fussy, I'd managed, convincing myself that it was training for the future. I'd washed him down with bottled water and dried him with the softest towel I could find, then handed him to Jasper once I was done. Then following Ali's directions, I'd cleaned her up. Ugh…

But Jackson only calmed down after Jasper, with an exhausted look on his face, decided to hand him to his mommy. I couldn't stop myself from smiling as I thought of all the sleepless nights and tantrums that were waiting for him. Poor boy.

Suddenly, all the emotions from... everything seemed to crash down on me, and my body involuntarily began to shut down. Knowing that I won't be able to stop the exhaustion, I grabbed a blanket and a pillow and trudged to a corner. It was the stress, I convinced myself.

Sirens... wailing... Fuck, the police were after me. But I didn't do anything! I jumped into the Bugatti that just happened to be sitting on the curb, keys in ignition. I started the car and accelerated in a speed that shocked me.

I shot upright, gasping from the shock and pain in my back, only to close my eyes when I realized the "sirens" were Jackson's wails. My God, would that baby ever shut up! He was the cutest thing alive, but man…

"Ah, Sleeping Beauty awakes!" Jasper called out, and it did me good to hear him use such a carefree tone. I scrambled over to the new family just in time to see Ali feeding the baby. I was just about to 'awww' at the scene, when I remembered that Ali might not be stable yet. I flinched remembering how she'd almost ripped Jazz's dick off during the labor. So, I simply took a seat next to her instead of putting my life in danger.

"Was I out too long?"

"No, not all. Jasper and I were just discussing all the things we'll have to buy for the baby."

"Right, right, of course." They'd covered all the main items like cribs and baby monitors, but my sister was in love with details, so they'd still had a little bit of shopping to do before everything was officially done. More than they'd planned, I'm sure, since everything was gone.

"Bella, you have to save me." Jasper looked at me, grinning slightly. The first time around had been bad enough; I couldn't even imagine what Ali would be like the second time.

I snorted. "Like I'd ever get in the middle of you two."

Jasper chuckled while Alice pouted at me. I simply shook my head and leaned back against the wall. As Alice and Jasper discussed their future in whispers, and with nothing else to do but wait, I let my mind wander for the first time.

Edward…

I knew that I had to trust him; it was the only way I was going to get through this sanely. But I couldn't stop the tiny part of me that wondered what would happen if he never found us. Would we die in here? That would be awfully morbid, considering the newborn, and my mind started to go crazy with all the possibilities.

No, he'd find us! I shouted in my head, stopping the chaos. We just had to hang on.

I had enough faith in him to know that much. I also knew him well enough to know that he was probably losing his mind right now. I could almost imagine him, sitting at the back of an ambulance because they wouldn't let him dig, his hands tugging his hair painfully. I could only hope that Carlisle would be there with him, calming him.

A sudden thought crossed my mind, and my heart dropped to my stomach in dread. Esme! She was at home too, and Gran's old house wasn't that far from here. I prayed to God that Esme was okay. Carlisle did not deserve to lose someone close to him... again. Though he was the most mature and calm in the trio, losing Gran had taken a toll on him. Edward may have been the closest to Gran, but I knew within a few minutes of seeing them together that Carlisle respected and loved her very much. She was a rock to both Carlisle and Edward, their support system, their personal cheerleader. Of course, Emmett adored her as well, but Emmett was Emmett. He didn't let his emotions show as much. Even if he had, I doubted that he would've made them public, keeping them between him and Gran. No, he was too macho-man for that.

I chuckled, remembering the first time I met Emmett.

A burly, dark-haired man approached me with a grin. "So, you're the stripper?"

My jaw almost dropped to the floor. "Excuse me?"

He scoffed. "Come on, spill it. There's no way in hell that nerdy brother of mine got a girlfriend willingly. How much did he pay you?"

I felt my eyebrows rise at his every word, and the funny thing was that he truly believed what he was saying. "Well, Mr. Cullen, it appears that you have been misinformed. I am Edward's girlfriend. No, he did not pay me. Yes, I love him, and the fact is that I'm very lucky to be his girlfriend considering he's kind, smart, caring and quite well-endowed."

There. Take that.

Once I was done with my little speech, I side-stepped him and walked into the house to find Edward.

It was safe to say that Emmett kept his distance from me for a bit, before slipping back into his jovial self. Even though I'd thought he was a complete jackass, I'd given him a second chance since Edward loved him so much. As I got to know him, I realized why. Emmett might be immature and cocky, but he was also the most loyal friend anyone could have, and he was actually kinda funny. My heart tugged violently in my chest as I realized I might never see him again. My hands balled into a fist tightly as I tried to control my emotions. I wasn't the only one here suffering, and I was pretty sure it'd freak out Ali and Jasper to see me like this. They'd been through too much today.

A loud roar interrupted my thoughts, and I looked to my right to see where the sound was coming from. Though I couldn't see any difference, I figured that it had to be the rescuers. Then debris started to fall to the floor in little pieces.

A strange sense of peace washed over me. It was them. I could feel my Edward! He was out there, on top of the mess over us. He was looking for us, and he wouldn't give up!

But I didn't let the hope and relief take me by storm yet. No-that would happen after we were out of this hellhole, because the falling debris was starting to worry the shit out of me. I looked at Jasper, Alice and the crying Jackson, because the noise had woken him. Jasper wouldn't even look at Jackson, studying the floor with his jaw clenched, and Ali's eyes were full of tears. But Jasper hovered over them, protecting them with his body. Alice reached out to grab me, and I moved closer and threw my arms around my big sister, trying to protect her and Jackson from that side.

He's coming. We're gonna be saved.

I was fighting against the hopeful emotions with all that I had, because if they didn't find us... I wouldn't be able to take it. So I sat, my arms around my best friend and sister, waiting for the noise to stop, waiting to see what happened next. After a while, and no more falling debris, I moved next to Jasper. I leaned on his shoulder to calm him and myself down. It was freaking me out to see Jasper like this. He was always the most level-headed person—admittedly he still was rational, more rational than me—and to feel him this tight and bound was heartbreaking. Jasper was a free spirit, the one that Ali had loved in him from the start.

The thundering roar stopped after a while, and we all realized at the same time that it was replaced with voices. Even over Jackson's crying, we could hear them...Could they could hear us? I was up in a flash and rushed to the spot where the noise was coming from. My heart almost stopped when I heard his perfect voice, screaming for us. The tears were unstoppable then, pouring down my face. My throat began clogging up...again.

He was here. He was finally here.

"EDWARD!" I yelled out, sobbing. The night's events all crumbled down on me, rendering me helpless. I simply curled up in a ball as emotions crashed over me, one after the other.

Another 'Bella!' bounced around these hollow walls, and I smiled when I realized that Emmett was there, too.

Were they all here? Oh my God!

The baby! Edward needed to know. "Alice gave birth!" I yelled out, but there was no reply. Wonderful.

"Bells, you need to get out of the way!" Jasper called out to me, his voice raspy.

I nodded even though he couldn't see me and slowly walked to his side of the room, running my hand along the wall for support. I aimed my flashlight and discovered Jasper and Alice against a wall. Something had fallen, I could tell, as Alice had another small gash on her forehead, and Jasper had acquired a nastier one and seemed to be holding one of his arms closer to his body. His other arm was wrapped tightly around a whimpering Alice and the crying Jackson, who was sure to start raising hell soon. I sat beside him and grabbed Ali's hand. I needed her support, her presence, as much as she needed me. I moved my thumb in soothing circles on her palm, trying to calm her down. She couldn't freak out too much, she'd just given birth.

We all flinched as the noises picked up again with a crash, but now it was different, less... methodical. Alice gripped my fingers tightly as she got comfortable against Jasper. This was going to be a while, I realized. I sighed and shifted until I wasn't uncomfortable. They knew we were there. They knew we were alive and well. So, then it was just a waiting game.

But it was the most horrible of waiting games as we watched debris fall here and there, wondering if and when the next piece would come down on us. At times I wanted to scream for them to stop, but I knew I couldn't. It was the only way to get us out of here.

How long we waited, I wasn't sure, but I thought it was probably about an hour. I'd lost all sense of time down here. Suddenly, none of it mattered as my dimming flashlight highlighted a pair of legs lowering from the ceiling. Some light filtered through the open hole, but it wasn't much, and I realized that it was still night.

"The stairs collapsed," Jasper warned, and I heard the guy huff. He muttered something to himself before he swung his legs a bit and jumped. Thankfully, he didn't land on a pile of rubble and sprain his leg.

I ran my flashlight over the man and my heart clenched when I saw that it was Jake.

Jake!

The onslaught of emotions that I'd managed to tamper down rose again, and I started hiccupping and sniffing like it was nobody's business. Jake grinned when he saw us all cuddled up in a corner.

"You guys alright?" Jake asked.

Jasper scoffed, and I knew what he meant. A tornado had just destroyed our home, causing us to spend hours or days in a basement where we'd been unconscious for a period of time, and when we'd woken, we'd had to treat our wounds, worry about falling debris and sharp objects, and deliver a fussy, loud baby.

But then I thought about how we would all be safe and happy now, and I started whimpering again.

It was probably not the best reaction, as I saw Jake snap his head toward me, and his eyes filled with concerned.

"Bella! Bella, what's wrong?!"

His voice had a natural boom like Emmett's, so his words bounced off the walls, apparently enough for the "outsiders" to hear, because I heard a really concerned, borderline, neurotic redhead losing it, his voice screaming Jake's name. My baby.

I stood and punched Jake in the arm for frightening Edward before launching myself at him. He caught me easily, wrapping his huge, meaty arms around me. I winced as the pain in my back sparked back to life, and Jake dropped me on my feet and spun me around to examine me.

"I'm fine, Jake." Only after he determined that for himself, did he move to inspect Ali and Jazz, but not before he yelled back up, "Edward! She's fine."

"E! Babe!" I yelled, but then Ali distracted me by handing me Jackson and for the first time, I really looked at it... erm, him. He was so tiny, a little longer than a basketball, and so light too. I moved him around a bit in my arms as he gurgled and, I swear, smiled at me.

Hmph, maybe he wasn't that bad after all.

"Alright," Jake said as he concluded his check-up. "The baby's going up first, then Alice, Bella and Jasper, okay?"

"Bella!" I heard Edward yell again, but I knew that Jackson, Alice and Jasper needed to go first.

"But they shoul—"

"No buts." A rough, yet smooth voice commanded, and I turned around to Em standing right behind me. I scrambled back in shock. How the fuck had I not noticed him? He looked at me sternly. So I did what any mature, twenty-five year old would do, I placed my free hand on my hip and stuck my tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes before trapping me in a bear hug.

"Edward's okay?" My voice was muffled against his chest, a startled Jackson between us.

"You mean aside from losing his mind?" He snorted. "Yeah, he's fine."

Jake clapped decisively, ruining our moment. "I think we should get moving, people. Ain't got all day!" He poked Ali to move forward, towards the tight rope that was hanging from the ceiling. Emmett took Jackson out of my hands and held him firmly in the crook of his arm. He gave the rope a tug and they were being pulled above ground. After a few minutes, Em reappeared, sans the baby. Jake grabbed the rope before scooping Ali in his arms. I was glad. Though she wasn't hurt much thanks to Jasper, she was still sore from... everything. He tugged the rope and was lifted.

Em held a hand out for me, and I took it; he was my hero. I clung to him as we were lifted up, but let him go once we were hoisted by other workers out of the hole, at a tunnel of sorts. I grabbed the rope there to make sure I didn't fall back as I crawled through the debris. Em was right behind me, making sure I got out safely. It seemed so simple now, my coming out of hell. But those moments it took to make it out would forever haunt me.

Chilled air blew across my face as we broke free of the rubble, and I welcomed it, breathing in the fresh, clean air. I stood for a few moments, just taking in it before Edward materialized before me.

Edward!

I jumped into his arms, needing to feel him, to be closer. I clung to him and crashed my lips to his. But he took it slowly, carefully, I guess some would say, and I realized he was most likely concerned about any injuries I might have. I huffed lightly and pressed my lips against his, thankful for everything he'd done, even when he wasn't with me, so I wasn't going to argue… for now. I was just glad to be there, in his arms, both of us and our families safe and sound.

A/N: I'd love to know your thoughts. Take care. xoxo