A/N: So you all hate me for the little drabble 'Key Party.' I know you do… I would apologize but I'm not sorry.

I hope this chapter makes up for it…Edward and Bella will eventually talk…I know you want them to.

Melanie has captured me with her Coffeeward so I hope you are reading her 'Simply Coffee' so you can love Coffeeward as well.

Dalloway5906 and I will be chatting it up over bottles of wine this weekend and I will do my best to finagle another 'Reboot' chapter out of her.

So remember…Bella ended up spending almost 2 days sitting out on that bench before she went back inside…

"Smile Edward."

He looked around frantically, hearing her voice but unable to see her. His eyes were blinded by the bright sun reflecting off the sand. His hands were clenched tightly into fists as he spun in a circle, his feet sliding on the sand as he searched for Bella.

"Bella? Bella please!" Edward screamed and he was suddenly blown backwards off his feet, pain exploding across his belly and chest. He rolled to his stomach, his eyes tearing in agony. "Oh God…Bella no!" He cried as he turned his face and saw her body lying in the sand, her eyes staring off into nothing.

"Edward."

"Bella…please!"

"Edward."

"Bella…"

Edward opened his eyes slowly, feeling the wetness on his cheeks and raising his hand sluggishly to wipe it off. He looked to his left and saw Rosalie sitting in a chair next to the bed he was lying in. Everything came back to him in a rush and he closed his eyes and wished he could just go back sleep, even if his dreams were torturous. At least there he knew he was dreaming. If he stayed awake he would have to come to the realization that Bella wanted nothing to do with him. He couldn't blame her. He had pushed her away, thinking it was better for them both. But that dream…apparently his subconscious was one step ahead of him.

"Hey Rose." Edward said, his voice rough from lack of use.

"Hey." Rose said, twisting her hands together as she tried not to think about sitting next to his hospital bed four years ago as he clung to life. His injuries back then were so sever, the blood loss was critical and he nearly died. If he was a cat, he would be down to three or four lives by now.

"Where is Mom? Is she okay?" He asked, pushing himself up with a grimace. Rose stood to help him but he waved her off with a snarl. She could not stand to sit back in the chair and wandered over to the window instead, looking out over the destruction that lay below.

"She's fine. Dad has her getting a CAT scan just to make sure. She should be back in a little while." She said quietly. She hated the tension that wrapped around the room like a fog. So much pain.

"Bella…" Rose started but a grunt from the bed had the words dying on her lips.

"Don't Rose…just don't. It was my fault. I thought I could have something I didn't deserve." Edward said with a sigh as he lay his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes. "When will this stop?"

Rose was wondering the same thing.

**()*()**

"Miss, I'm sorry but you can't have that in here." A nurse called as Bella and Jake walked through the halls of the hospital. Bella spun on her heel and glared at the woman.

"That…is a search and rescue dog who managed to find seventeen people under the rubble two days ago. So I think he deserves some respect." Bella snarled as she pulled on Jake's lead and continued down the hall. She hoped that Edward was still in the same room he had been in before she ran like a coward. As she rounded the corner, memories of what happened in his room days earlier halted her feet. Her breath came in pants and she had to crouch down with her back against the wall before her legs gave out on her. She almost lost him…she almost lost him before she even had him. God what was she doing? This was exactly why she did not give her heart to people. If Edward had not made it she would have been just like Rose, a shadow of the person she once was. But was it better to not experience that at all? Was that old adage true…

'Tis better to have loved and lost than to never to have loved at all

Bella didn't know…but at this point, she didn't think she had a choice. Somehow that man lying in the hospital bed down the hall had captured her heart and she needed to see where that would lead her.

**()*()**

"Oh thank God! My baby boy is okay." Esme gushed as she flitted around Edward's hospital bed. He had been granted permission to get up and they took the catheter out so he could use the bathroom on his own. He was moving slowly and everything hurt like hell, but nothing more than his heart. Thankfully his mother was too obsessed with worrying over his injuries to notice his state of mind. God damn he missed Bella…he never really had her but he missed her all the same. He wanted her, there was no way he could deny it, but he realized she did them both a favor by leaving. What kind of future did they have? There was no way he could give up his job without feeling like he let down his dead classmates and there was no way they could nurture a relationship with him halfway across the world. And he would never ask her to give up her job; he knew how much she needed to help. It was a good thing she left…but that did not make it hurt any less.

"Oh good, there she is! Bella come here darling girl and let me hug you!" Esme cried and Edward's eyes flew to the open doorway. His mouth dropped open and his eyes widened as he watched her walk into the room, Jake following close behind. Her eyes did not meet his, but he saw the way she glanced over his body, as if making sure he was still in one piece. He ached to hold her, to feel her skin under his fingers.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked Esme quietly as she was pulled into an embrace, allowing some of her panic to subside as she saw that Edward was awake and seemingly unaffected by his brush with death.

"Oh I'm fine, I'm fine. Carlisle sent me for some tests and they all came back normal so I got the all clear. And this boy of mine…did he give us a scare or what? I swear I aged ten years when that monitor flat lined. I thought you were going to faint dead away." Esme chuckled and watched as Bella's face paled and Edward's eyes flew to her.

"You were here?" He asked hoarsely. Bella nodded, her eyes fixed on her feet. Esme looked from Bella to Edward before patting her on the arm and heading for the door.

"Your father is taking me to a hotel to get settled in and then we can go back to the house to see what we can salvage. You two…talk." Esme ordered as she all but ran from the room, giving Jake a pat on the head as she left.

Bella stood awkwardly, her eyes never leaving the floor. Jake had enough of her acting like a child and walked over towards Edward's bed, dragging her behind him. He hopped his front paws onto the bed and laid his head down next to Edward's hand. Edward took the hint and started rubbing Jake's ears, smiling when the dog let out a mighty groan. He looked up and found his eyes locked with Bella's, her face pale with deep shadows under her eyes. God he wanted to hold her.

"You okay?" He whispered and he watched her blink rapidly in an effort to keep her tears at bay but all it did was force one to run down her cheek. The dam broke and she buried her face in her hands and started to sob.

"I thought you were dead. I thought I had lost you and I never even had you." She cried and Edward cursed as he nudged Jake aside and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He reached for her and was thankful she did not fight him as he pulled her into the space between his spread thighs. She gently wrapped her arms around his neck, trying hard not to put too much pressure against his stomach.

"You have me…you've always had me." He whispered as he held her, praying that for once in his miserable life, something would go right.

Do you think I will make things easy on them? Well then you don't know me very well.