A/N: Ok, I know it's late, but here is the next chapter!

Oh, and I'm so sorry about the confusion in the last chapter. I know that you need fire and stuff to kill a vampire. That's what I meant by Emmett and Jasper "taking care of him". Sorry if that was confusing.

Chapter 20 (Bella's POV)

I opened my eyes to bright lights and realized that I was in a hospital bed. I tried to sit up, until I felt a cold hand on my chest, pushing me back down.

"Easy," the voice said.

"Edward," I whispered.

"It's okay. It's over," he murmured.

"Where's Nathan?" I asked, looking around.

"He's with Jacob and the human girl. They were here a few hours ago."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. Alice had a vision about you being attacked. I just followed your scent. He was...killing you." Edward's eyes took on a strange look as he stared past me. "I wasn't even thinking...I just...I killed him." His eyes met mine. "I didn't want to, but I didn't want him to hurt you."

"Thank you," I whispered. It grew quiet and I took the time to look around. I hated hospitals. Despite the wires and vaccines, though, it didn't compare to the pain that I had felt after James. Edward was in a chair next to my bed, his white hands on the blue blanket.

"Why was he attacking you?" he asked.

I looked away from Edward and out the window. "His name was Criss. We dated a few years ago. I met him at that club. After a while...I began to believe that I was in love with him. One night...I was drinking. We both were." I sighed and finally looked at him. "I made a mistake. But, I was blessed with Nathan. Criss left me right after our night together. Jake took care of me." I gave a slight smile, but it went away when I saw the look on Edward's face. He had his hands clenched into fists and he was staring down at them. "Right after you left, he showed up. He wanted Nathan, claiming that he was his father. I didn't want Criss to be in our lives. He...he just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer."

It was a long time before anything else was said. Finally, after an unmeasurable amount of time, without looking at me, he said, "Did you still care about him? Are you mad that I killed him?"

I sighed. "I wish he had stayed human. He wasn't the Criss that he was when we were dating." I reached over and grabbed his hand, his eyes finally meeting mine. "You saved me, and I will always be thankful. Please don't feel guilty. If it hadn't been for you, I don't think I would've ever seen Nathan again." My eyes watered up as I thought about never seeing my baby again.

Edward reassuringly squeezed my hand. "You don't know how much I care about you. I'll never let anyone hurt you, Bella."

"Edward, I...," I paused. Was I ready to admit that I loved him? Did I? Or was I just grateful for everything that he did. No. I did love him. "I...," I tried to continue, but he cut me off.

"Jacob's coming," he said, standing up and putting the chair back.

"You don't have to go," I whispered.

He just smiled. "He wants some alone time with you," he said and walked out.

Two minutes later, Jacob came in, smiling at me and hugging me. "Thank God you're okay. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better. But I'm alive. Where's Nathan?"

"With Kelsie. Don't worry, he's safe. Bella, if I had known you were in danger, please believe that I would've been there in a heartbeat," he pleaded.

"It's okay, Jake. You've taken care of me over the last few years."

"I'm just so happy you're okay," he sighed, hugging me again.

"Yeah, me too," I murmured, hugging him back.

A/N: Well, there's chapter 20. I have one chapter left and I promise that it'll be up by tomorrow. Believe me, you won't want to miss it. I'm very excited about it because I have one more surprise planned. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review because they're my favorite part about having a story up :)