DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER.

EPOV

I still couldn't believe it. All the time I had been in the hospital Bella had been there. Well, all the time that she was allowed anyway. She was hardly ever away from my side. Carlisle had asked them to put another bed into my room, so she could be moved there if she fell asleep. This girl never really ceased to amaze me.

I would've thought that my siblings would be a bit put out by Bella's constant presence, but they told me that they had really gotten to know her in the spare time they had while waiting for me to wake up. Even, Emmett, who had been dead set against Bella knowing about the situation had warmed to her, and he openly teased her about her clumsiness and even called her Bells. I was glad that my family had accepted Bella, because even though I'd only known her such a short time, she had become a crucial part of my life. A part that I don't think I could live without. She had become my rock. And she was, sadly enough, my only friend outside the family. Truth be told I would rather have her as my only friend than have a hundred friends and not know her.

The day after I woke up I was told that they would be along to remove the ventilator tube. Which I was thankful for. It wasn't painful per se, just extremely uncomfortable. Bella smiled at me when the doctor told me. She was happy that it would be removed. Almost as happy as I was. After it had been removed we would be able to have an actual conversation, instead of her talking and me just nodding or shaking my head.

When the doctor came in he had everyone clear the room. Even though she was loathe to going, Bella obliged, telling me that she would be just outside if I needed her. I was so thankful that I had found her.

Having the tube removed was not the most pleasant experience. That part was in fact painful. They had to remove the mask first, which had actually been stuck to my face, so it wouldn't move or become dislodged when I slept. That part was uncomfortable to say the least. They had to remove the mask that was attached to my face without disturbing the tube that went down my throat. It wasn't as simple as it sounded. They had to cut the mask so they could remove it from where it connected to the tube. After that they had to actually remove the tube from my throat. I would be lying if someone had asked me if I was scared and I'd said no. To be perfectly honest, I was terrified.

"It's okay, sweetheart," One of the nurses cooed as the doctor prepared to remove the tube. "It'll be over in a minute, you're going to be fine." I was thankful for her words of encouragement.

As they removed the tube, I could feel it moving from the bottom of my throat. I kept my eyes tight shut and only just managed to stop myself from crying out in pain and discomfort. I could feel it as the doctor, slowly pulled on the end of the tube. I just wished he'd get it over with, although I knew he had to be careful so as not to tear the inside of my throat. When it was out, my throat felt extremely sore. It hurt to breathe, each breathe burning the back of my throat.

"There we are," The nurse said sweetly to me. "All over now." I opened my eyes to see her holding out a small cup of water with a straw. "Take a sip. It'll help ease your throat." I did as she instructed and felt an immediate sense of relief as the cold liquid soothed my throat. I looked at the doctor, who was placing the tube onto a tray. Looking at it, it was huge. How the hell did they manage to get that down my throat?! I thought. It looked as though it shouldn't have fit but obviously it had. That was probably why my throat was so sore now. "Here, take another sip, dear." I took another small sip and again felt the relief that it brought. "I'll just leave it here for you." She smiled at me as she put the cup of water on the table beside my bed.

"Thank you," I managed to croak out. It hurt to talk, and I knew that I wouldn't be doing that so much for the time being. The nurse smiled at me again as she left. She opened the door and stepped back to let Bella and Carlisle into the room. They looked at me, both of them smiling although neither smile reached their eyes. They were happy that I could now breathe on my own, but there was some sadness to their eyes. As if they shared a secret between them that I wasn't in on. It unnerved me slightly.

"Hey, you," Bella said softly as she walked up beside me. "How're you feeling?" She placed a hand on my forehead in a caring way.

"Ok." I whispered. It didn't hurt so much to whisper. She smiled at me again. And again, it was a sad smile, as if she somehow knew something was about to happen. And again something I wasn't aware of.

I decided to let it drop for now, but later on, when Carlisle or anyone else was in the room, I would ask her about it. She wouldn't say anything while there was anyone else around. Of that much I was sure.

I took her hand in my own and gave it a gentle squeeze. I smiled at her and she sat down in her usual spot next to my bed. She put her other hand on my cheek and I leant into it, thankful, once again that she was there for me. I didn't know what I'd done to deserve a friend like Bella, in fact looking back I've been nothing but horrid for the last few years. Even if other people were unable to see it, I knew it was true. I knew that I hadn't done anything to deserve her, but someone up there had liked me the day I had started at Forks High School, in that Biology lesson.

"Would you like some more water?" She asked, breaking the comfortable silence that there was between the two of us. I nodded and lifted my hand for the cup. She handed it to me and I took a long sip of the water, sighing as it soothed my aching throat. "Better?" She asked taking the cup back and putting it back on the table. I nodded again, not trusting my voice.

Carlisle was having a discussion with the doctor who had just removed the tube, looking rather heated about something or other. I had no idea what they were talking about. It could be about me or it could be something to do with shifts at the hospital. I had no idea and I wasn't really fussed. I looked at Bella and I saw her looking at something on the other side of me. She was looking at the tube that they had yet to remove from the room. Either the doctor or a nurse or someone would take it away in a minute.

"Is that the..." She trailed off, obviously as shocked at the size of it as I was.

"Yeah," I croaked. She looked at me with a look of sympathy in her eyes. She obviously felt sorry for me, for having to have that stuck down my throat for a little over a week. I smile at her and she gave me a small grin back.

It was so easy to be with Bella. We didn't have to say anything at all. It was like we'd known each other for years and not a matter of weeks. The silences between us weren't uncomfortable as they were with regards to most other people. They were exactly the opposite. They were easy and felt natural, with there being no need to fill them with useless rambling or small talk.

"What happened to the others?" I whispered, not trusting myself to raise my voice at all.

"Esme took them home, to shower, change clothes and have a proper meal, rather than just hospital food." She replied.

"You should have gone too." Again I whispered this, as I didn't want to hurt my throat any more than it already did. She shook her head.

"I didn't want to leave you." She smiled at me, this time, the smile reached her eyes and she was the old Bella that I knew. She stroked my cheek gently with her thumb and I could feel myself becoming drowsy.

As I nodded off to sleep I felt her kiss me gently on the forehead. I smiled slightly and she continued to stroke my cheek.

I woke up the next morning with an extreme raw feeling in my throat. I wondered where it had come from and then I remembered that they had removed the tube that had been down my throat for over a week. I looked at the chair beside my bed and was confused as to why Bella wasn't there. Then I looked at the beds that were in the room and I saw Carlisle asleep in one of them, and in the other lay Bella. I decided to close my eyes and doze for a while, while I waited for those two to rise.

"Morning," I heard Carlisle say from beside me. "How're you feeling this morning?"

"Better," I choked. It hurt to speak so I decided I would keep it to a minimum, not that I ever did a lot of talking anyway.

"That's good to hear," said a voice from the door. I looked over and I saw Alice standing in the doorway, flanked by a giant Emmett, making her look even smaller than she already was. She skipped over to me and sat down in the chair that was usually occupied by Bella. "You know, you look awful Edward."

"Thanks," I groaned. From what I had heard, the old Alice was back, although I had my suspicions that it was an act. That she really wasn't that chipper and happy, but felt she needed to be in order to keep me from falling into despair.

With that the rest of my family walked in through the door. Emmett was at the back, whether or not because he thought everyone else should be able see me, or because he was afraid of me because he didn't know how I could react. Suddenly Bella appeared from nowhere at Esme's side. She smiled at me and then nodded her head ever so slightly towards Emmett. She had obviously learned that someone sleeping plus Emmett equals major mayhem.

Esme put her hand on my forehead and kissed where she'd pulled my hair away from my face.

"I was wondering one thing," I choked out. I thought that now would be as good a time as any to ask them, seeing as they were already standing around and watching me. "I was windering what actually happened. The day Mike Newton attacked me at the lockers....what happened?"

They all looked at each other uneasily. And then Carlisle cleared his throat.

"Children, if you could leave for a moment. I'll call you back in in a moment." Carlisle was looking at the others and then obliged, probably knowing was coming.

Bella made a move to leave, but I grabbed her hand in a effort to get her to stay. She smiled at me and conceeded. She looked at Carlisle and he nodded. She sat down in her usual chair next to my bed, and looked at me in a sad way.

"Carlisle?" I looked at him again, unable to bear the pain that was streaming through Bella's eyes. She was obviously remembering that morning, I could tell by the look on her face. I could also tell that it was a memory that she didn't like to replay to herself. "What happened to me?" I still couldn't really speak in more than a whisper so I was surprised when he lifted up his head to look at me, his expression mirroring Bella's.

Jeez, was it that bad?

"Well, um, Edward, I really don't know how to say this but um...." He trailed off and didn't start again until I looked pointedly at him. "You, um, you had a ... a heart attack, son."

I felt my world crash around me.

A heart attack?

Sorry for the short chappie peeps.
Edward's reaction is in the next chapter which should be up in the next couple of days - that is if my internet has stopped being tempermental.
Anyways, that's it from me. I'm off to beddy-byes. I havent slept in 36hours so if there are any spelling mistakes etc then PM me and I'll change them.
Am not really putting any coherent thoughts together at the moment.
Ciao xx