Alright, my lovelies, it's getting to be that time again. I'm thinking that there are only one or two more chapters left of this story. Of course, my over active imagaination and I have something else up our sleeves and I plan to start writing it as soon as this is finished.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns these characters and the awesomeness that is Twilight! I'm just subjecting them to my fun little schemes

Chapter 21

"You're sure?" Charlie asked.

"Yes. I've spoken to him on her phone. I swear to you..."

"Did you see him take her?" he interrupted.

"No."

"Where the hell was she?" Edward winced, Charlie was getting more and more upset. He had to admit it. He had to admit that this all happened because she had gotten angry with him.

"At a hotel, sir, " Edward said quietly.

"By herself? I thought she was staying with you!" Guilt slammed into him and he didn't know what to say. There was nothing to say. He had been responsible for this man's daughter and now she was two steps away from death. "I'm leaving. I'm on my way now. I probably won't make it until tomorrow. Dammit!"

"Sir?" Edward asked, trying not to cry.

"What?" Charlie asked, suddenly sounding very tired.

"I'm going to get her back. I swear to you. I'm going to get her back."

He drove around London, checking the warehouse, local bars, hotels, anywhere that they could possibly be. Desperate, he even called Tanya and asked if she'd heard or seen anything. The only help he'd gotten that whole day was from Eddy—who told him he'd have the two young fighters he had talked about earlier come to the fight. Edward wanted to tell him there was no need for back up. He would accept his fate as soon as he knew that Bella was out of there. Emmett and Jasper had both called him, obviously having heard from Bella's father. They told him they were on their way as well, with both girls, who they hadn't told about Bella's kidnapping yet.

The hardest and most frustrating part of the day was around seven o'clock, just after he'd given up and headed to Jude's to get ready for that night. While he had called Bella what seemed like a hundred times that day, he'd never gotten a response. He'd just gotten ready to head to the warehouse when he'd received a text message. Edward he It was from Bella and that's all that it said. He immediately sent a text back. Are you okay? There was no response.

When he pulled up to the warehouse—by himself, he took note of Eddy and two big guys walking into the building. Keira was parked about one hundred feet away in his red Ferarri, obviously ready to run the second Liam could get Bella out of there. He wore long sleeves the the hopes that it wasn't blatantly obvious his arm was broken. Putting on a face, he walked in confidently and was immediately swarmed by bookies and spectators, trying to get a few words with him. He knew they were really sizing him up after what happened at the last big fight.

Edward gave them short answers, scanning the crowd like a paranoid, crazy person for Bella. She was nowhere to be seen—and neither was Jake. Eddy and Jude seemed to be doing the same thing. Making his way to Jude he asked him if he had seen her. They were trying to not let anyone know tonight's fight was anything more than just another fight that people could make money on. Liam stood on the other side, the side that was obviously looking forward to meeting the new guy. Edward knew that as soon as Liam found her, he'd get Jude's attention. When Bella was safely with Keira, Liam would find Eddy, who'd signal Edward with a yell. Edward knew he could quit fighting then.

Suddenly, people began to turn toward the side door beside Liam. He noticed Jake first, then there she was. Bella was trailing behind him and the second she saw Liam, Edward could have sworn a small smile crossed her face. Then, as they both got closer to the makeshift ring, her eyes locked with his. Jake must have noticed because he stepped in front of Bella and Edward noticed the pissed off look he was throwing at him.

She looked okay, he could tell there was a lot of makeup on her face, much more than his Bella would ever wear—he also noticed there was a weird tint to her skin around her mouth and left cheek. Her face was bruised. It also didn't get passed him that Jake had her dressed like every other girl in here. The tight, barely there dress that clung to every inch of her—the same type of outfit Keira wore that made him want to give her a jacket—was something he never wanted to see her wearing in front of other men. Edward clenched his fists, more than ready to throw everything he had at her asshole fuck-up of a husband.

Apparently, everyone else was getting that same vibe, the crowd was looking back and forth between them. After a few more moments, people began approaching Jake. Edward took the opportunity and focused his attention on Bella. She was obviously terrified and he fought the urge to go to her. Then, something happened that shocked the hell out of him. Two men walked over and shook hands with Jake, two very big men—the same two that had walked in with Eddy. He looked at Eddy who just shrugged and looked as confused as he did. At the same time one of them put a hand on the small of Bella's back, Jude came towards Edward with a smile. He glanced at him before thinking about how much he'd want to punch that strange guy...had his friend not motioned Jake away from Bella, leaving her by herself...and leading her back towards the door.

"God, that fucker is stupid!" Jude said, getting his attention again.

"What the fuck is..."

"Bella's headed to the car with Aro as we speak."

"Aro? My wife is getting in car with a man named Aro and I shouldn't be upset about this?" Edward snapped, looking at him like he was completely nuts.

"You are married?" Jude asked, confused.

"No...I...nevermind. What the fuck is going on?"

"Aro and Alec are friends of ours. Jake such a dumb ass, he has no idea. Shit, I could have walked up to Jake myself and he wouldn't have thought twice about it. The cops are coming, man. Someone," he winked," tipped off the cops. We gotta go."

"He's right here! I have to finish this."

"You aren't going to finish shit except your life if you go through with..."

"Edward, let's go," Liam said, also joining them. "Keira sent me a text, Bella's with her. She's scared but they're on their way to the hospital. It took me and Aro both to get her into that damn car. She must love your ass. She wanted to come back in."

"Jake's right there, Li. Come on. I have to stop him from hurting her again."

"She needs you, Edward. Come on, think about the baby. Do you want your little one to grow up without a father?"

Edward suddenly realized that while Bella wasn't pregnant, he had a chance right now to go back to her. There was a possibility that someday...in the future...maybe they could have a child. The idea, though, that Jacob fucking Black was right across the room from him made him think about what Jake getting away with this would mean for Bella. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Liam, "She's not pregnant. I only said that to get mom and dad off my back."

He shook his head, "You're a son of a bitch, ya know that, right? Listen, you obviously love her. She obviously loves you. I'm not even going to get into the whole you're-meant-to-be-together bullshit. I have been through many bad experiences with love and can honestly say if you two get your shit together, maybe it wouldn't be so bad for you guys. You won't ever know that though if your ass is sitting in a prison cell. So, let's go..."

Edward kept looking in Jake's direction. His gun was in his vehicle outside, he could go get it. Jacob Black could be over forever. He wouldn't even see it coming. Sirens sounded in the background as people began to take off running. Edward was used to this, he had to do this plenty of times. Jacob, though, Jacob had no fucking clue what he was doing. Unable to move, Edward thought of his Bella and everything she'd been through with Jake—and with him. Who the hell was he to say he was better for her than any other man. The elation he felt seeing those rings, his family rings, on her hand was enough to make him want to dance like a fucking psycho. It had only taken a second for him to remember all the reasons he didn't deserve her, all the reasons she deserved someone like Emmett or Jasper—someone who wouldn't let her down. He shook his head, knowing he was a selfish bastard. Looking from Jake to Liam, he knew what he had to do.

"Where the fuck did you get a Ferrari?"

"It's Edwards," Keira shrugged, making Bella want to smack her even more.

"Do you drive his ridiculously expensive sports car often?" Bella asked with a fake smile.

"Sometimes. The backseat was always too small..." Keira let her voice trail off, realizing what she'd almost said.

Bella turned to look at her and if looks could kill, Keira would be burning to death on the comfy leather seat...Edward's comfy leather seat. Bella had been taken completely by surprise when the strange large man covered in tattoos came over to her, telling her he was a friend of Edward's. Now, she started to get anxious. There was some serious apologizing she needed to do. She prayed to God that he would listen to her. "He's meeting us at the hospital, right? I don't see him behind us," she stated, turning to see the side mirror.

"Um...he will probably stop there...once the fight is over."

"What?" Bella yelled. "No. You said you'd text him. You said if I got in the car you'd tell him to meet us at the hospital."

"Bella, this is his chance to stop Jake. He's worried about the baby...I'm sure he has been ever since he found out. I told him..." Bella looked at her incredulously. He fucking knocked up Keira! She was about to protest when Keira stopped mid-sentence and shook her head. Bella looked towards the brightly lit hospital and noticed a group of people standing outside with a bed. "When Carlisle says he'll be ready...he means it."

Before Bella could ask what she was talking about, she realized that the group consisted of Esme, Carlisle, Kate, and David. "Are they seriously waiting outside the ER with a hospital bed?"

"Yup," Keira laughed.

Carlisle threw the door open the door. "Bella! Thank God! Can you walk?"

Bella just sat in the seat of the expensive car and looked at him. "Yes. I just have some bruises..."

"Bring the wheelchair over, David!" he yelled, turning away from her.

"Carlisle, really, I don't need..."

Sure enough, David came jogging over with a wheelchair. He then proceeded to take the keys from Keira, who was standing beside Carlisle now. Bella sighed, figuring it was pointless to argue. Everyone was trying to hug her, including Kate, who reminded her of Keira's...condition. While she was scared and still shaken from earlier that day, she was more confused than anything. Looking towards Keira, she asked "How far along are you?"

"Wait, what?" Everyone turned to look at Keira.

"You're pregnant, too! Oh, all three of you. At the same time!" Esme said, completely shocked...but happy. This time it was Bella's turn to ask what the hell she was talking about. "Oh, dear, don't worry. Edward told us everything. We're just excited. Edward's going to be such a great father!"

"Oh, Bella, woah," Keira said, holding her hands up, "I'm not pregnant."

That's when it sunk in. Everyone thought she was pregnant. Becoming completely silent, she let Carlisle push her towards a private room with no more protest. Either Edward knew something she sure as hell didn't or he lied to everyone in this room. Judging from his discomfort of the idea of them just being married, she knew there must be a damn good reason for him to lie about her being pregnant—she just had no fucking clue what that reason might be.

She let Carlisle help her into a bed, though she knew she hurt his feelings when he went to touch her and she flinched away. "I'm sorry."

"No reason to be. Just try to relax. I promise I won't hurt you, Bella."

"I know." Giving a small smile, she sat back and let him check all of her vitals before saying, "Really, though, I'm okay. I'm just going to be a little bruised and once this makeup wears off, people will be able to see it. I've definitely been worse off before. Is Edward here yet?"

"I don't think so, sweetheart," the way Carlisle said it made her sick.

He felt around over her stomach and she tried to move away from him again. Bella truly hadn't realized she was even this scared of guys. The only one who really tried to touch her was Edward. Deep down, she knew this doctor wouldn't hurt her but tears sprang up anyway, as well as panic. "I really need Edward. Please. Can I just try to call him?"

"I think you should let me handle it. I'll go call. Just try to relax. Do you want any visitors?" he asked, referring to the four people waiting outside of the room.

"No," she said quietly. "I just want you to get a hold of him."

"Alright. I just want to check one more thing first," grabbing a small device, he held it to her stomach and listened. "Bella, do you know how far along you are?"

Bella tried to figure out what to tell him. Edward has some serious explaining to do when he gets here. She thought back to the only time they'd had sex. Had that really been less than a month ago? "Um...we don't know for sure yet...probably like a month?" Bella said it like a question. I'm a really, really bad liar...

"I guess that could be a reason for no heartbeat...I'm going to take some blood. It's just a typical pregnancy test. Nothing to worry about. I'm sure the baby's fine. It's just too early."

Bella wanted to run at the thought of him drawing blood. It was one thing to watch when Edward was in the hospital because he was really suffering. She, on the other hand, knew there was no reason to pull out the needles. "Carlisle, can we please wait for Edward? I...I want him to be here...when I find out."

"Alright, I'll go try to call him. Why don't you just close your eyes for a little bit and try to get some sleep?" There was definitely something he wasn't telling her.

Bella had nothing with her. The oversized bag she had was still in that ratty old building Jake had kept her in. She had less now than she did when she had first gotten to London. When Carlisle got back, she decided to ask again if she could use his phone to call Edward herself. He gave her that strange look again, telling her that he couldn't get a hold of him, and this time worry replace confusion. Shaking her head, she knew then that it was naive of her to expect him to leave the fight. It wasn't Edward. She'd been gone from the warehouse for over a half an hour. There was no way he had walked away and followed her. She couldn't blame him, she was the one who walked away from him to begin with.

The sooner she accepted that he was gone, the better, though that didn't mean her heart didn't feel like it had just been ripped out of her chest. Guilt and sorrow tore through her as she brought her hand down to rest on her stomach. She hadn't wanted children with Jacob, and up until this point, she thought it was about her not being able to dance. Now, totally surprised, she realized how much she regretted the fact that she wasn't pregnant. It felt like every part of him was gone. She hadn't known him that long, she hadn't had the chance to remember him the way Keira or even Tanya would, and that knowledge killed her.

Nodding in acknowledgment to Carlisle, Bella felt tears. He must have misinterpreted her hand on her stomach because he walked over and kissed her forehead, almost as gently as his son always had. "You are not alone in any of this, Bella. Not only could Esme and I never turn our back on you, with child or not, that child is blood related to one of the more important families here. He or she will be set for life."

Bella knew she should tell him now, just admit to the fact that Edward lied. At this point, she found she couldn't even say her own name if she wanted to. Her brain had completely shut down on her. All she knew is that she wanted to be back at the Masen's home, in Edward's bed, alone by herself to grieve. "I don't want to be here," she whispered.

"Alright, let's just get this blood work over with and we'll go. Edward was worried about what condition you'd be in, perhaps we did go a little overboard," Carlisle said, smiling through his own distress.

Another half hour later, and still no sign of Edward, Bella was giving up on the sliver of hope she had that he was okay. The solemn, tired look on everyone's faces as they made their way out of the hospital told her they were at the same point she was. Keira was the only one not with them as they walked out. She had just waved goodbye to Kate, who was getting into the car behind Carlisle's Mercedes when Keira came sprinting out of the hospital's front doors. Her stiletto heels clicked across the parking lot as she yelled for them to wait. "He's here! Edward's here!"

Bella's heart must have skipped about six beats before she finally began running herself. Bella met Keira halfway, demanding to know where he was and how she knew. "They paged Carlisle. They said his son is waiting for him in ER waiting. He's here!"

Not looking to see if anyone was following her, Bella ran. Jake had her dressed in a ridiculous dress, that she had no choice but to leave on, as well as super high stilettos. Before she broke her neck, she did pull the shoes off, praying there was nothing to dangerous to step on. Making her way into the hospital she saw Eddy taking quickly on the phone and Liam pacing. Bursting through the door, she froze when she saw Edward. He was sitting on the chair, looking completely untouched, but he was...crying?

"Edward!" Bella exclaimed, well she thought she had, it actually came out as an excited whisper.

"Bells?" He asked, as if he was a parched man in the dessert and she was the last bottle of water in the world. Standing up, he walked over to her and pulled her into a hug so tight, she heard him grunt from the impact to his ribs. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak, she couldn't even think. If her body had shut down before, it was out of business completely now. "I thought...when I got here and you weren't here..."

Bella had begun to shake and her legs gave out. Leaning into him completely, she began shaking her head and when she finally found words, she couldn't believe what they were. "If you ever fucking do something as stupid as what you did tonight, I swear to God, I'll kill you myself. By the way, I'm not going anywhere. Ever again. So, Masen, you better get used to me really damn quick."

They were looking into each others eyes, both of them speechless, when his family approached them. They seemed to stop at the door and Bella realized how ridiculous she and Edward probably looked. He finally pulled away and she thought he was angry about her outburst. "Edward, I didn't mean..." she stopped mid-sentence when he got down on one knee, in the middle of the hospital's waiting room, and presented her with his grandmother's engagement ring.

"Bella, I don't ever want you to doubt that I want what's best for you. Ever. No matter how much of a sacrifice it could be. I regret to inform you that you staying away from me is not something that I am willing to sacrifice to keep you safe. So, Isabella Marie, will you embark on this journey of reckless stupidity with me-that is probably the most dangerous thing you could possibly do with your life. Forever? Because, I'll tell you what Miss America, I'm not fucking going anywhere. I'm here for you. Only you. That's the way it will be for the rest of our lives."

Bella just looked at him wide-eyed, "Oh my, God," was all her shocked body could manage. Edward looked away from her and she saw the rejection on his face. "No...wait...not no I won't marry you! No...I won't not..."

Edward nodded his head, "It's okay..."

"Yes! Yes! Yes, I want to marry you! I'm sorry, I think I'm in shock or something?" she said, confused.

"In shock or not? This is what you want? You'll agree to marry me?"

"Yes!" Bella yelled this time, pulling him up off the floor—just like she always had and now always would.

When he slid the ring on her finger, everyone in the room, including a ton of people who didn't even know them were gasping and staring at them. Suddenly self-conscious, Bella began to redden as his family walked over and started hugging both of them. She couldn't remember if she was hugging people they knew or just the other witnesses to her embarrassing acceptance of his proposal—and honestly she didn't care. Edward was safe. Everything else they could deal with later.

When people were done passing her around, Edward came over and wrapped his good arm around her waist. Tiredly, he smirked, "Let's go home and stay in bed for the rest of our lives."

"Lead the way, Masen. Oh, and while we're on the topic...why the hell was I pretending to be pregnant a half hour ago?"

"You have no idea what happened with your husband yet your first question is about that?"

"Start talking, Edward," Bella glared at him playfully.

"Not tonight. Besides, how do we know you were definitely pretending?" he asked with a smile and a shrug. She stopped briefly, looking at him with her mouth gaping open, before running a few steps to catch back up.

"I thought you were dead." Bella cringed, realizing yet another ridiculously unwanted statement had just come out of her mouth.

"I though you were. All of this has really put a lot into perspective, huh?"

"Yeah," Bella said quietly, thinking about the craziness of what had happened in just twenty four hours. She had punched Tanya, carried cocaine in her pocket, fought with Edward, gotten kidnapped, got away, thought Edward was dead, lied about being pregnant...maybe, gotten engaged...before even getting a divorce, and now she was about to say something she never would have said a month and a half ago. To anyone. Ever. Opening her mouth, she took a deep breath and said, "I kind of want to be."

Edward opened up the passenger side door for her, obviously lost in his own thoughts, "What? Married?"

"No...pregnant," Bella said sheepishly, anxious for his reaction.

The next chapter will involve a lot of explaining and dialogue, as well as a reunion. It's almost over, ladies and gentlemen. Love you all! LP xoxoxoxoxoxo