Thank you for your patience and your continued support. I had a wonderful trip to Washington D.C. this past week, but now it's back to the daily grind. If you haven't been, you need to go! This was my third time and it never gets old. The Holocaust Museum is a must see, as is the American History Museum. Of course, you also need to go to all the monuments, other museums, and Arlington National Cemetery. Truly amazing.

Any Nationals fans here? There were no games in Washington this week, but I still made a special trip out to see the ballpark. Plus I had to stop at the team store and get some Bryce Harper memorabilia. Don't tell my Cardinals boyfriends : )

… …

My heart felt like it was going to leap out of my chest, and I brought my hands up to my face in horror. Peter had caught the ball, but Edward wasn't moving. He laid flat on his back on the ground. Peter held the ball up, showing that it was caught, but only after he leaned down and shook Edward. Then he frantically motioned for the trainers and Alistair.

They started to jog out, and Peter remained at Edward's side. I felt lightheaded and weak at the knees, but my eyes were glued to the television. I couldn't look away.

I felt a little bit better when I saw Edward moved slightly, even before the athletics trainers and Alistair reached him. He didn't move his body, though, and he just picked up his head briefly and then dropped it back to the ground. His arms moved slightly, but that didn't do much more to reassure me.

I booked the next flight out of St. Louis to Pittsburgh before the game even resumed.

Edward was taken off of the field in a cart, and I couldn't tell if all of my experience as an emergency room doctor was helpful to me right now or more of a hindrance. On one hand, I knew that head injuries were incredibly common, especially in sports, and usually could be healed with rest. But on the other hand, I also knew that they could be serious, as well, and that no two head injuries were alike. I watched as he lifted his hand up to the crowd as they carted him off, and then ran into our room to throw some clothes and my toiletries into a suitcase.

I was halfway to Lambert Airport when a call from Esme came through on my Bluetooth. Knowing that she had either been watching the game or had heard about the incident in some other way, I answered immediately.

"I'm already on my way to Pittsburgh," I said in greeting. "My flight leaves in a couple of hours."

"Oh thank god," she replied, sounding relieved. "Marcus is on his way, too. I think he was able to get on a private plane thanks to a favor from a friend, but I'm not sure. You might beat him there."

"Where is Edward at?" I asked. "I just realized I don't even know."

"Allegheny General," Esme said. "I'm his emergency contact, and they just let me know where they were taking him before I called you. I'll text you his room number once I find out. Carlisle and I are trying to get a flight out, too, but we're not sure it's necessary. They didn't know how long he would be there for. What do you think? Give me your professional opinion."

I thought carefully for a minute, all too aware of how delicate this situation could be. I had dealt with plenty of parents when treating patients, and I knew it was an emotional process; having a child injured and in the hospital. "Honestly, he probably has a concussion," I said. "It could be serious, but maybe not. I couldn't bear to watch too closely when it happened, but it was encouraging that he was moving on his own afterwards."

"He was knocked unconscious," Esme said fearfully. "Does that mean anything?"

"Maybe, maybe not," I said honestly. "I'm sorry that I don't have more to tell you, but every head injury is different. But I'll call you as soon as I find out more."

"Of course. Thank you, Bella," Esme answered. "I appreciate it. Give Edward a hug for me, won't you? And let me know right away if I need to come out there."

"I will," I promised. "Thank you for the hospital information. I'll call you in a few hours."

We said another goodbye, and I pulled by car into a pay lot close to the airport shortly after. Luckily, the airport wasn't too busy, and I got through security fairly quickly.

Now, all that was left to do was wait.

… …

Marcus had beaten me to the hospital. He was sitting at Edward's bedside, but immediately stood when I burst into the room. However, I only had eyes for Edward. He was sitting up, and despite looking a little groggy, he was fine.

"I'm going to grab a bottle of water," Marcus said, giving me a small smile.

We hadn't officially met until now, but this was hardly the time or the place for formal introductions.

He left swiftly, and I collapsed into the chair next to Edward's bed. "You scared me," I said, my voice cracking.

Edward's hand found mine instantly, squeezing hard. "I'm sorry," he replied. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course," I replied, bringing his hand up to my mouth and kissing it. "Nothing could have kept me away. How do you feel?"

"Sore," Edward said with a grimace. "But other than that, I'm fine."

"Fine?!" I asked, a little surprised. "Nothing?"

"My chart is over there," Edward said, gesturing with his chin. "Maybe you'll see something in there that says otherwise, but they seemed to think that nothing was wrong."

I reluctantly let go of his hand so I could get up and grab his chart, but I returned to my seat immediately after I picked it up off the wall.

My eyebrows furrowed as I read, but it was more out of disbelief. His scans had come back negative for face, neck or head injuries. No concussion, no spinal injury, no fractures, and no need for a CT scan. Just a head contusion.

"I know- I was lucky," Edward said, drawing me out of my thoughts.

"Extremely," I replied, returning his chart to its place and then sitting on the edge of his bed. "Wow." He reached over and cupped my face in his hand, I and turned into it. I had been a nervous wreck for hours, and now, it all dissipated at once. It was a good, but definitely odd, feeling. His touch comforted me, and I brought my hand up to cover his. We remained quiet and still for a moment; soaking each other up.

"I just got off the phone with mom." Marcus reentered the room, holding two bottles of water and immediately holding one out to me. "She's relieved, and says that you don't need to call her, Bella. She said she'll just text you in the afternoon."

"Thank you," I said, for both the water bottle and for relaying Esme's message. "How long have you been here?"

"Probably less than an hour," Marcus replied, glancing at his phone. "I'm glad you could make it out, Bella. The circumstances obviously aren't ideal, but it is nice to meet you."

"You, too," I replied.

"I'm sorry, it totally slipped my mind that you hadn't met each other," Edward said. "Bella, this is my brother, Marcus. Marcus, this is Bella."

"Thanks, captain obvious, but we could have handled that ourselves," Marcus said teasingly, and Edward rolled his eyes at his younger brother.

I smiled at their antics, and found myself wishing that I had siblings of my own. Life as an only child had always been lonely, but as I grew older, I was reminded of that less and less. Seeing Edward and the close connection he and his brother clearly shared was one of the rare reminders I got these days.

"We've been facebook friends for a while, too, haven't we, Bella?" Marcus continued, moving the chair a little further away and sitting in while I remained on the edge of the hospital bed.

"That's right," I remembered with a smile. "I love the pictures you post of your little boy. Austin, right?"

"Right," Marcus confirmed with a smile. "And he'll have a baby sister in a few months. Edward is his godfather, and he'll be the little misses godfather, as well," he added.

Edward nodded with pride, and my heart melted. "You don't want someone who hits his head less?" I teased. "Might be safer."

Marcus laughed loudly, and Edward pinched me on my side. "Hey, if a head injury is what it takes to spend a little time together…" Edward trailed off, shrugging his shoulders jokingly.

It was very early in the morning, and eventually, a nurse came in to remind us that it had been a courtesy for us to see Edward, but visiting hours were long over.

"Stay," Edward said, not letting go of my hand. "Please."

The nurse sighed, but returned with an extra pillow and blanket for me. With one more kiss, Edward and I both fell asleep shortly after.

… …

September 28, 2015

I was eating a piece of Edward's toast several hours later when my phone chimed. Marcus had tagged me in a photo. I smiled when I saw it and read the caption, and Edward was instantly curious.

"What?" he asked, a bit of jam smeared on his chin. I wiped it off with my fingers, tasting the sweet raspberry jam for myself.

"Nothing, nosy," I replied, but held my phone out towards him. "Marcus took a picture of us last night."

Edward smiled as he looked at the picture. "'No concussion, no spinal injury, and no need for CT Scans. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. He'll recover 100% in no time and will unfortunately go right back to being himself. Personally, I think he just wanted Dr. Bella to come to the rescue'," he read, quirking an eyebrow. "What an ass."

I laughed, taking my phone back and looking at the picture again for myself. "He's funny," I replied. The picture was sweet, and Marcus had obviously taken it from the doorway early this morning on his way back from getting our water. Edward's hand was on my cheek, and my hand was over his. It would have been frame-worthy if it weren't for the hospital setting.

"Funny in the head, maybe," Edward said with another laugh, but then turned seriously. "I am glad he came. It was great of him."

"It was," I agreed. "I think it made your mom feel better, too, that both Marcus and I were here. She wanted to come very badly, but I told her to wait. And now that we found out that there aren't any issues, we know that she really didn't need to come."

"Right," Edward agreed. "I feel bad for her, though. I'll have to call her."

"You're being discharged soon," I reminded him. "Right after would be a good time to call her. And you're getting a few days off, right?"

"Yeah," Edward said. "Today and tomorrow, for sure. But I'm going to stay with the team. We're so close to clinching…"

"I know," I replied. "I wouldn't expect anything else."

"Will you stay?" He asked, taking my hand. "I mean, you're already here…you might as well."

I hesitated. I had told the hospital that I had a family emergency, and hadn't known when I'd be back. It was completely possible for me to stay, but I wasn't sure if I should.

"Sweetheart, please," Edward implored. "If we clinch the National League Central today or tomorrow…I want you here."

"Okay," I finally said. "Let me make sure I can find a hotel room, but I'd love to. I also need to call the hospital first."

I had told myself that I wouldn't let my relationship get in the way of work, but this was different. Maybe I was just making excuses, but I really did think that being with Edward right now was more important, if they said it was okay.

Luckily, I had nothing to worry about. One short phone call later, and I was assured that other doctors had already been called in to take my shift today and on Thursday.

The game scheduled for later today ended up being postponed, so they would play a double header tomorrow. A Cardinals win in either game would mean that they would win the division title, and the excitement was in the air as Edward and I went out for dinner with several of the guys. Not as many wives had come along for this trip, but I was relieved to see that Leah had. She had explained to me before that she was an author, so she was able to travel quite often with Sam as long as she had her laptop and access to her editor.

Everyone fawned over or teased Edward, including me. It didn't escape me for one moment that he was incredibly lucky to come out of such a horrible incident unscathed, and so therefore, I was lucky, too. I couldn't imagine my life without him at this point.

… …

If you missed it, I did post the video of the collision on my facebook page- Cynosure Fanfic. If you haven't watched it yet and would like to you'll find it there. No spoilers at this point, and it's not gruesome or anything- especially because after reading this, you already know that he wasn't injured.

Thank you again!