Sorry about this one but it is kind of on the short side with just over 2000 words. No pictures for this chapter.

Read, enjoy, and review.

Chapter 10

EPOV

The slam from behind caught me totally off guard but I knew it was all part of the game. I smiled as I heard Bella scream at him from the stands but the pain radiating from my entire leg and hip area caused me to be really still and not move. "Dude are you okay?" Jasper asked as he slid to a stop right beside my head.

I shook my head and gritted my teeth to keep from crying.

"Oh God, Ma is going to kill me. Is it your leg again?" He asked as he pulled my helmet off gently.

I nodded because I had been out of the game for six weeks last year from a partial hamstring tear and this pain was worse than I remember that pain being. I could hear Bella continue to scream at the idiot that had knocked me down.

"Masen, can you walk?" Coach Brown asked as he knelt beside me.

I shook my head and gripped my leg the best I could. "No." I gritted out.

"Okay, we will get you on the stretcher and to the hospital, son. Just hang in there." He said as he plucked out his cell phone and punched in some numbers as he walked away. I assumed he was calling Carlisle to let him know I was on my way to the hospital.

The EMT's, coaches, and my teammates lifted me as easily as they could and placed me on the stretcher. All I wanted was to make sure Bella was okay, she had gotten quiet and that worried me because I knew she had to be worried about me being okay. "Bella?" I croaked out as the EMT's rushed me across the field on the stretcher.

"Is she a pretty brunette?" One of the EMT's asked.

I nodded.

"She's coming." I nodded and gripped the side of the stretcher to try and alleviate some of the pain from being moved.

"Casanova, are you okay?" She asked as she ran to the side of the stretcher reaching for my hand as I reached for her.

I shook my head and blinked to keep the tears from spilling over. "I don't know, it just hurts." I gritted out.

She nodded and gripped my hand tightly in hers. "I will follow you to the hospital, okay?" She said as she released my hand so the EMT's could load me into the back of the ambulance that was always waiting on the sidelines during a game.

I shook my head adamantly. "No, baby, please ride with me. Distract me from the pain. Please" I begged her.

"You can ride on the bench right beside his stretcher. We are taking him to see Dr. Cullen." One of the EMT's told her and she quickly climbed in beside me and gripped my hand tightly in hers again. "It's going to be okay, Edward, I promise." She told me encouragingly as she kissed my knuckles. I wasn't so sure because I didn't like worrying her or Carlisle and Esme. Plus this was the second time I had been seriously injured on the field and as much as I enjoyed the game I didn't enjoy getting hurt and the physical therapy it took to fully recover.

I shook my head. "I don't like this, Bella. I don't like getting hurt and worrying the people who care about me needlessly. I don't like it at all." I told her as I shook my head repeatedly and gripped her hand as we went over some pot holes in the road and pain seared from my thigh.

"It's going to be okay, Edward, I just want to make sure you are okay." She told me with a small smile.

I shook my head again just as we pulled into the hospital. "It's not okay, Bella." I told her as the ambulance came to a stop and the back doors were yanked open simultaneously to reveal Carlisle who had a worried grin on his face.

"It will be fine, Casanova, I promise. I will see you in a little bit after Carlisle checks you out, okay?" Bella asked as she kissed my lips gently.

I stuck my bottom lip out at the short and sweet kiss she gave me but I knew we had to go. "Okay, baby, will you call Esme?" I asked her as she climbed from the ambulance. I knew Carlisle had probably already called her but I wanted to make sure.

She smiled at me and shook her head gently before pointing to Esme standing there shifting from leg to leg. . "She's already here, baby, I'm going to go wait with her while you get checked out. Don't forget we have a date tomorrow night." She whispered the last part in my ear which caused me to grin wickedly because no matter what I planned to be out of this hospital and carry out the plans I had made for our date.

I smiled and nodded as she walked over to Esme and Carlisle clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Leg again?" He asked as we walked through the ambulance bay door.

I nodded and groaned. "I think it's worse this time around though, it hurts worse." I gritted out as the pain spread throughout my entire body as we rolled through the hospital.

He nodded. "Let's get you an MRI to see how bad it is." He said as we separated.

Two hours later I was laying on my stomach in a new hospital bed with an ice pack on the back of my leg by my knee. It was bad but not bad enough to require surgery thankfully, just a few weeks of relaxation and crutches. I was texting back and forth with Bella who was with Esme, Jasper, and Alice in Carlisle's office.

Carlisle just walked in and pulled Esme out. Do you know what is going on?—Bella

I groaned as I quickly tapped out a response. We had been talking for about ten minutes and I had managed to avoid telling her I was going to be on crutches for several weeks and wouldn't be able to put any pressure on my leg for at least a week. When a few minutes passed without a response from me my phone buzzed again.

EDWARD MASEN, YOU BETTER TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW! I don't want to hear this stuff from your father, I want to hear it from you!—Bella

I groaned and slammed my head on the bed a little bit before quickly tapping back a reply message.

Please come to me and I will explain it all.—Edward

K.—Bella

I groaned again because this was a good sign that she was pissed off. I had quickly found out that she was a stickler for all things proper when it came to conversations and texting, she always used 'okay' for her responses but when she was mad she would send what she had just sent me.

I laid the phone on the bed beside me and waited for my angry girlfriend to come to me with a smile on my face. The last time I had gotten hurt I had been with Tanya and she hadn't even bothered coming to the hospital with me to check on me. I didn't see her for almost a week as I recovered at home then she got pissed when I told her we couldn't have sex for a few weeks while my leg healed. She had broken up with me and told me to call her when I could 'perform' again.

"Edward?" Bella's timid voice came from the doorway.

I turned my head in her direction. "I'm okay, baby, I promise. Come here please." I begged her as I reached my arm out for her since I couldn't move any of the rest of my body.

She quickly came and sat in the chair beside my head reaching over to run her fingers through my hair as I laid my head on my folded arms. "You are lying in a hospital bed in your boxers with a huge ice pack and ace bandage wrapped around your leg. You are so far from okay, it's not even funny." She said softly.

I groaned and nodded. "I know, baby, I pulled my hamstring again. I will be on crutches for a few weeks or so but I promise, baby, I will be okay." I whispered softly to her as tears pooled in her eyes.

She nodded and leaned forward to kiss my lips gently. "Okay, I believe you, I just don't like seeing you like this. I thought it was bad when Carlisle pulled Esme from the room and she came back in crying."

I nodded. "I'm sure it was tears of relief which she probably would have quickly explained to you if you had stuck around. But it doesn't matter because I don't like you seeing me like this either and that's why I'm not going back to the game, baby. I can't take the risk." I whispered the decision I had come to while Carlisle checked out my leg and I was having another MRI done.

She looked at me with wide eyes. "Are you sure about that?"

I nodded again. "Absolutely. I started the game because it was recommended by my therapist as a way to release some of my pent up frustrations and anger and eventually I just fell in love with the game. It's not worth risking my health over and I never pictured myself making a career out of it. This is the second time I have hurt the same muscle, I don't want to risk permanent damage by hurting it again. I can't take that risk, I have a baby on the way and a future to plan with you."

She smiled and ran her hands through my hair again. "Okay. Do you need surgery to fix it? I kind of walked out at the first mention of the word surgery." She said sheepishly.

I shook my head. "Luckily I don't. I just need rest, physical therapy, and crutches for a few weeks."

She nodded. "Okay. You know, you look kind of sexy laying there in your boxers and nothing else." She said with a smirk on her face.

I groaned and buried my head in my arm. "Don't start, baby, I had to get out of my football equipment for the MRI." I told her with my face muffled in the crook of my elbow.

She laughed. "How bad is it really?"

"Not really that bad, the muscle is strained but not torn at all. I will be able to go home in a few hours." I reassured her quietly as I reached out to grip her hand tightly in my own. "I will be on crutches for several weeks, won't be able to drive, or put any kind of pressure against my leg for at least a week."

She nodded. "I can drive you back and forth to school and I can also help you with anything else you need."

I sighed and nodded. "I hate depending on other people for things, Bella. That is my one great downfall in life."

She laughed. "That is not considered a downfall, Casanova. You are just independent, but you are learning to depend on other people. Slowly but surely, I have seen it in the past week."

I shook my head at her. "I don't know what I would do without you, Isabella. You make everything so much better." I told her honestly as I reached out to cup her face in my hands.

She smiled and leaned forward to kiss me. I groaned and curled my hand in her hair tilting her head so I could have deeper access to her lips. I hadn't been able to kiss her like this all day and I didn't like it at all.

Just something to encourage you all to leave your thoughts, if I get 10 reviews before Thursday then you guys get an extra chapter. If you don't feel like leaving your thoughts then I will see you all on Thursday! The choice is yours!