Chapter Twenty One: When Evening Shadows

Bella's POV

"Chocolate or vanilla?" I asked Edward as we lay in bed together. His birthday was coming up in a week, and he told me he didn't want anything big or fancy. He told me that being with his friends and family was enough, but I wanted to do something special for him.

He'd done so much for me and I just wanted him to have the best twenty-sixth birthday ever.

"Vanilla with chocolate frosting." He answered as he gently stroked my naked back. "Seriously, Bella, nothing fancy. You've done a lot with parties the last few months."

"Yeah," I nodded. "But, I really want to do this for you, Edward. You only turn twenty-six once."

"Fine, but I get to plan your birthday in September." He threatened and I pushed on his chest to sit up in bed. "Deal?"

"Deal, but no surprises." I warned. "Last time someone threw me a surprise birthday party I ended up punching Rosalie in the nose."

"What?" He laughed. No one knew what happened unless they were actually at my party.

"It was my sixteenth birthday and I thought they were taking me to Alice's to pick out an outfit for dinner." I shrugged, finding my bra and panties on the floor. "When everyone screamed 'surprise' I accidentally punched Rosalie in the nose."

"Okay, you'll know every single detail about the party." He assured me, getting out of bed and finding his boxers on the floor. He came around the bed as I was pulling my jeans up, and pulled me into a hug. "I wish you didn't have to go."

"Me either," I whispered. I hated leaving him at night, but it was not the time to start having sleepovers. Especially not at my house. Ava was just too young for that, and I couldn't ask my parents to put her to bed because I wanted to have sleepovers with my boyfriend.

Edward was amazing about it though. He understood completely why I couldn't stay with him and vice versa. I got to stay over every now and then, but for the most part I needed to go home.

We finished getting dressed and he walked me down to his car. Every time I had to leave him, it got harder. I knew asking him to marry him last month was absurd, but I really hoped thats what was in store for us. I drove to Angela's house to pick up Ava, who was having a playdate with Jason, before going home to start dinner.

I spend the next week planning everything for Edward's birthday party. I knew he didn't want anything extravagant, so I kept it simple. I asked my Dad if he would grill for the party, and just bought a few decorations and picked out his cake for him. He'd done so much for me and I felt like I'd never be able to pay him back, but I really wanted him to have a special day.

The night before his birthday, I arranged a sleepover for Ava with one of her friends, Bree, so Edward and I could spend the night together. I loved being able to be with him and not feel guilty for leaving early. We made love until we were almost too tired to pull the covers over us once we were done.

"Happy birthday," I whispered at midnight. "I love you."

"I love you too." He yawned, kissing the top of my head. I snuggled closer to him and watched as his breathing got deeper and more steady. He was so peaceful in his sleep, and maybe it was the mother in me, but I loved watching him sleep.

The next morning, I got up early to make him breakfast in bed, something he said was something his mom always did for him when he was a kid. Just as I was finishing the eggs, my phone rang.

"Hello?" I said into the phone, and I hadn't bothered looking at the ID.

"Bella!" Esme said excitedly.

"Hi, Esme." I said, holding the phone in between my ear and my shoulder so I could flip the pancakes. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, but our flight was delayed." She sighed. "We won't be getting into Seattle until around dinner time. I am so sorry."

"It's okay," I shook my head, putting the pancakes on the plate. "We can do one of the museums tomorrow or something."

"Good," She said happily. "Thank you so much for planning this for my son. I really appreciate it and I know he will too."

"I love planning parties." I told her. Throughout the year, I had grown to love Edward's parents. They were in town for Christmas and came over with Edward for dinner. They were really easy to talk to and even my Dad made easy conversation with Carlisle.

I loved that our families got along so well.

"We will call you when we land, and hopefully there ins't a lot of traffic." She sighed. The airport was a good forty-five minutes from our house. I talked to her for a few more minutes until the rest of his breakfast was finished. I said goodbye and picked up the tray to carry it to his room.

"Happy twenty sixth birthday!" I cheered as I shut the bedroom door. He rolled over onto his back and pushed himself up onto his elbows. "Make a wish." I laughed, putting the tray down and lighting the candle I put in the stack of pancakes.

"I have everything I want, right here." He told me, leaning in and brushing his lips against mine.

"Nice try." I laughed, pushing him away from me. "Make a wish." I told him again. He mocked me and took a long time to ponder his wish before finally blowing the candle out.

"This looks delicious." He said, rubbing his hand together. "Thanks, babe."

"You're welcome." I smiled, kissing his cheeks as he grabbed his knife and fork to cut his pancakes. "I hope they're okay. I used a new recipe with whole wheat flour."

"They're yummy." He said with a mouthful of pancake. "Oh, yeah. They're good." He told me, making me smile. We finished our breakfast and jumped into the shower together before heading over to pick Ava up. Since Edward's parents coming was a surprise, he originally said that he just wanted to spend the day with Ava and I.

Ava helped us pick out the movie for us to see, and it was surprisingly a good movie. It wasn't that I didn't like animated movies, but I had always preferred live movies even when I was little. When the movie was finished, we took Ava to the park to kill some time. When I got Esme's text saying that they were on the way to the house, I decided it was time to get home so I could get Ava cleaned up.

Alice was already at the house with my mom to help get things prepped for dinner so that I could spend more time with Edward. While I got Ava bathed, Edward spent time with my mom in the kitchen, just talking to her. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think my boyfriend would have this good of a relationship with my parents. As much as I liked Carlisle and Esme, I didn't think I could just talk to them alone while Edward did something else.

By the time Ava was dressed, Edward's parents were pooling into the driveway. I walked Ava over to the main house where she begged Mom to let her help. Mom put her to work putting the cheese on a plate for my Dad to use for the burgers.

"Babe, can you get the door?" I asked when the doorbell rang. I shrugged and showed him my hands, which were covered in raw chicken since I was prepping it for the grill. When he opened the door, I couldn't hear anything but Esme cry. I looked over and saw him caught in her iron grip.

"What are you doing here?" Edward asked. I knew he wanted his parents here for his birthday, but he told me they probably wouldn't be able to come with work. I could tell how badly he wanted them there, and so I made the call, knowing the worst thing they could do was say they were too busy with work.

"Bella called." Carlisle said, nodding over to where I was standing. "You've got a good girl there, Edward."

"I know," He smiled, looking over at me and winking. It was embarrassing to still be blushing when he did those kinds of things, but I always did.

"Mom, where's Dad?" I asked as we sat in the backyard, snacking on the appetizers she'd made. I was getting a little worried since Dad should have been home when Edward's parents got there.

"He called a little bit before Carlisle and Esme got there." She explained. "I totally forgot to tell you, sorry."

"Where is he?" Alice asked as the gate opened. Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett walked through with food and presents in their hands.

"He had a work emergency." Mom explained as she stood up to take the potato salad Rosalie was handing. She put it inside, and came back out with another appetizer. "I wasn't going to put this out, but I don't know how long Charlie is going to be. I'm so sorry, Edward."

"It's no big deal." Edward shrugged. "Just as long as I get one of Charlie's burgers. While we waited for my Dad, we played some of the games I had planned for while Ava was still around before she went to bed. But, after almost two hours, I could tell people were getting anxious.

"I can grill the chicken." Emmett offered. "I always grilled for my grandma when I was still living there."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah, I love grilling. And, I'm pretty good at it." Emmett laughed, looking over at Rosalie hoping she'd be impressed.

"He actually is pretty good at grilling." Jasper chimed in. "He never made me sick."

"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks." I sighed. I knew Ava was starting to get cranky because she was hungry, and my Dad could always make people a burger if they wanted one when he got there. Emmett grilled the chicken, and I could see my Mom getting anxious. After I cut up Ava's chicken and put some veggies on her plate, I went over to Mom.

"I'm worried, Bells." She whispered so Ava wouldn't hear. "He's never been this late before, especially not without calling."

"Have you called the station?" I asked.

"They're still out." She shook her head. "Or at least that's what I got from the intern saying he wasn't exactly sure what was going on." She rolled her eyes as he phone began buzzing. She was so excited to answer it, she almost dropped it. "Hello?"

I watched and tried to listen to what the other person was saying. From the look on my Mom's face and how pale she was getting, I knew things weren't right. Tears started streaming down her cheeks and she she started to shake.

"Mom?" I asked, looking over at Edward who looked concerned as well. He walked over and took my Mom's hand, leading her inside to the kitchen table. "I need someone to keep Ava occupied."

"I'll go," He offered.

"No, I want you here." I told him. Whatever the person was telling my Mom wasn't good and I needed him to be here with me when she told me what was going on. "Can you go tell Alice or Rosalie?"

"Sure," He nodded, kissing my forehead. He ran over to Alice to tell her and she gave me a worried look. I shook my head and pointed to Ava. I just needed Ava not to be alarmed. Edward jogged back into the house as my Mom hung up the phone.

"Mom?" I asked again.

"Purse." She said, barely above a whisper. "Hospital. Purse." She wasn't even speaking real english at this point.

"What's happened, Mom?" I asked, following her through the house, but she was just wondering aimlessly. "Mom!"

"There was a bank robbery." She eventually said once she found her bedroom where her purse was. "The man was armed. Dad was shot."

"No," I whispered as Edward grabbed my hand.

"And so was Harry and David." She whispered. "I need to get to the hospital."

"I'm coming with you." I told her.

"If you end this party super early, Ava will get suspicious." She reminded me. Ava was smart and could sense when things weren't right. "Tell her I had to step out and sing happy birthday."

"Mom," I cried as Edward squeezed my hand.

"Once you have cake, she'll think the party is over and you can send her with Alice or Rosalie." Mom told me. I didn't know how she was staying so calm. "I love you, baby."

"I love you too," I whispered as Edward let go of my hand so my mom could give me a hug. I hadn't cried in my mothers arms since the day I found out I was pregnant. I watched as she pulled out of the driveway, and gave myself a few minutes to compose myself. Edward went back outside to get Rosalie and Alice so I could tell them what was going on.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Rosalie finally asked, her face drained off all the color. "Do you know?"

"No," I shook my head. "We're gonna do cake and ice cream and end the party early." I explained. "After that, can one of you please take Ava? She'll probably need to stay the night."

"I can take her." Rosalie offered. "Is there anything else we can do?"

"Just keep her occupied and just..." I choked back a sob. "Don't let her know her Pappy is hurt."

"Of course." Alice smiled softly, bringing me into a tight hug. Once the three of us were composed, we went back into the yard where the party was. We sang happy birthday and ate the cake and ice cream. Rosalie told Ava that they were going to have a super fun weekend with a sleepover and special treats. Ava was confused at first since she'd just had a sleepover, but eventually went to pack a bag with Rosalie.

"Let us know if there is anything we can do, Bella." Carlisle said sweetly they started packing up their things.

"Thanks, I will." I nodded, turning towards Edward. "Go with your parents. It's your birthday, you should do something fun with them."

"Are you kidding?" He laughed. "I'm not going anywhere, Bella."

"But..." I argued.

"Bella, your Dad is seriously hurt and in the hospital." He reminded me. "I don't care what day it is, I'm going with you." He told me and I didn't have the energy to argue with him. I said goodbye to Ava and jumped in Edward's car with him. The drive to the hospital seemed to take forever, and I froze when we finally parked.

"My Dad has been a cop for my entire life," I told him, looking out the window. "The worst that's ever happened was that he got pretty badly beaten up by some jackass." I teared up. "What if he doesn't make it, Edward?"

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it." He shrugged, leaning over and kissing my cheek. "Come on, let's go inside."

Edward and I made our way into the ER's entrance and the nurse at the desk told us he was in surgery. I was gripping Edward's hand to tightly as we walked to the surgical waiting room that my knuckles were turning white. I kept wanting to wake up from this awful dream, but when we got to the waiting room I knew I'd never be waking up.

Mom was slumped down in one of the chairs with a magazine in her hands. She wasn't looking at it though, she was just staring straight ahead. Harry's wife Sue was standing near one of the doors labeled Hospital Personnel Only while David's family sat huddled together close to my Mom.

"Mom?" I asked quietly as Harry's daughter, Leah, came back with a drink tray in her hands. She handed one of the coffee cups to my Mom and one to David's wife, Bree.

"They're in surgery." She explained, taking a sip of her coffee. "David was shot a few times in the back, but Bree told me he wasn't in very critical condition."

'Dad and Harry?" I asked, sitting down next to her.

"Dad is in critical but stable condition." She whispered. "For now. And Harry..." She trailed off. "They don't think Harry is going to make it, Bella."

"No," I cried, tears spilling from my eyes. Harry was my Dad'd best friend, and he was basically my second father. Ava loved him just like she loved my Dad, and Sue didn't deserve this. She was the sweetest person I'd ever met and I knew she'd never recover if she lost her husband.

Edward came and sat down next to me. He took my hand in his and just held me while we waited. And we waited for a long time for any doctor to come out with news. Any news, whether it was good or bad. It was agony not knowing anything, and I couldn't sit still any longer. I got up and told my Mom I would be back soon.

I walked down the hallway and found the elevator. I hadn't even realized Edward had followed me, but I wasn't going to send him away. I pressed the number six, and the doors shut. When we got off the elevator, the sounds of babies crying filled the air.

"Bella?" Edward asked as I walked down the hallway towards the big nursery. I stopped in front of the window and smiled down at the newborn babies.

"I just needed..." I trailed off as I watched one of the nurses care for a fussy baby. "I just needed some hope and some good."

"They're so small," He smiled as he looked at a baby boy in front of us.

"They are," I smiled. I remembered being a new mom, coming here and just staring at Ava when I should have been in bed, sleeping. A few minutes later, my phone buzzed in my pocket and I dug it out. I saw my Mom's name on the screen, and I took a deep great before answering it.

"Mom?" I asked.