The next time I opened my eyes, there was another bed in my room—but it was empty.

Bella was curled up in the chair beside my bed, her hand holding mine as she slumbered, her head resting on her bent knees.

I studied her face, frowning at the sight of her injuries. The bruises on her face were still dark. Her mouth was swollen and sore looking. A large bandage was on her left temple and some of her hair had been shaved off. I could see the bandage wrapped around her neck as well, and I tensed, remembering seeing Aro pressing the blade to her throat.

She was so pale; the circles under her eyes evident even from where I was laying. One hand had an IV port in it, the skin around it dark and discolored.

She should be in bed, not napping in a chair beside mine. I lifted my head slightly, wondering where everyone was. Someone should be here to help me put her back in bed. I knew I couldn't do it myself.

Bella stirred and lifted her head, blinking at me. Then she smiled—that warm, shy smile she only ever gave to me.

"Hi," she whispered, leaning closer, placing her hand on my cheek. "I've been waiting for you to wake up."

"You should be in bed, Mouse."

She shook her head. "You were too far away then."

"I'm surprised you were allowed out."

She smirked. "Carlisle and Esme are getting something to eat. They think I'm asleep, so they have no idea. I let them leave so I could come closer."

I shifted, ignoring the pain that radiated through my shoulder and chest. Lifting the scratchy blanket, I grinned. "You aren't close enough."

Between her injuries and mine, it took a few minutes, but finally she was settled beside me. Gingerly, she rested her head on my chest, making sure it didn't hurt me. I didn't care about the pain—I only wanted her closer. I drew the blanket over both of us, sighing at the feeling of having her beside me.

"Are you in pain?" I asked quietly.

"I'm okay, Edward. Really, I'm okay."

"I thought I lost you, Bella. I didn't think we were going to get out of that room," I confessed.

"I thought you were dead," she said in a quiet, shaky voice. "There was so much blood and you wouldn't wake up."

"Shhh," I soothed. "I'm right here. It's over." Awkwardly, I stroked her head. "Rest, baby. We'll talk more when you've rested."

"Don't let me go," she pleaded.

"Never."

~o0o~

I opened my eyes to find Carlisle standing beside me, shaking his head. Esme stood with him, a small smile on her face.

"I arranged for her to be in your room, Edward," he admonished me. "Not in your bed."

"She needed to be close," I objected. "You said she had to rest—this was the only way I could get her to sleep."

Beside me, Bella snorted. "This was your idea, fuckwit. Don't get me in trouble."

"Hush." I looked at Carlisle. "She's talking in her sleep again. She has no idea what she's saying."

He rolled his eyes. "I'll put her back in her own bed before the doctor comes in and has a shit fit."

Bella pushed closer and I glared at him. "No."

Esme slapped his arm. "Leave them be."

"The doctor…" he grumped.

"Buy him another fucking MRI machine. I don't care," I mumbled. "I'm not letting her go."

He threw up his hands. "Fine. You deal with it."

I smirked in triumph and shut my eyes again. "Now shut it, old man. You're disturbing us."

"Yeah, Carlisle," Bella piped up. "We're supposed to be resting."

Carlisle groaned and Esme giggled.

"They're so cute."

"Yeah, so fucking cute," he replied. "Pain in my ass too."

I opened my eyes and caught his wink. I winked back, then allowed myself to drift back to sleep.

My family was here, Bella was safe and Aro was dead.

Nothing else mattered.

~o0o~

The next day Bella was down the hall, being "freshened up" with Esme when he walked in. Tall, with muscles that bulged under his T-shirt; I recognized the build, but not the man. Gone were the scars, the dark eyes and the ever-present scowl. Emmett McCarty was everything Felix was not. Blue eyes, with dimples so deep, it was as if divots had been carved into his cheeks, and a grin so wide and full of life, he was unrecognizable. His entire demeanor screamed easygoing, and when he spoke, his voice was deep and loud—not the raspy whisper I was used to hearing with Felix. He towered over my bed, his presence filling the room, but his handshake was gentle and his eyes warm as he inquired how I was feeling and where my little sidekick was hiding.

"She'll be back. They let her have a bath."

I was jealous—I wanted a shower, but they refused to let me until tomorrow. Bella did promise a sponge bath later, and I planned on holding her to that promise.

"And Carlisle?"

"He'll be back in a moment. He went for coffee."

He sat down, the chair creaking under his large frame. "I've showered a dozen times since this ended. I can't get clean enough," he stated. "The feel of the water, the rush of air on my skin is fantastic."

I nodded in understanding. Carlisle told me he had worn his disguise 24/7, including contacts, only able to remove either for the briefest of time periods. I could only imagine how good it felt not to be covered up. The cleansing feel of the water would be quite something.

The violence he had seen, that he'd been part of, would take far longer to be cleansed away. I knew I was going to have nightmares for a long time. I wondered if Emmett would ever get over what this assignment did to him.

We shared a looked that said it all, without a word passing between us.

"I need to thank you."

He frowned. "For what?"

"Protecting Bella."

He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "If I could have figured out a way of not bringing her to Aro, I would have—but I was trapped. If I didn't, my cover was blown. I had to trust her, and the two of you, to figure it out and hope we all came out alive."

"What the fuck was one of Aro's guys doing in that area?"

"It was a total fluke. He was visiting his momma. He couldn't believe it when he saw you. He called Aro right away."

That explained the call Carlisle witnessed.

"Aro had Sam follow you. Then he sent me to the farmhouse to see what you were hiding—he wanted to know why you had another place so far away, and why the hell you weren't at the club. He was pretty pissed you had slipped past his security."

I smirked. "It was shit."

"It was. I must have forgotten to mention the large holes he allowed in his so-called plans. He was so old school. He ignored shit all the time, and I knew it would work for us."

"Egotistical idiot."

"Yep. So when Bella opened the door, I knew. It explained so much. The reaction you had to her that night in the warehouse—I knew you didn't know her then, and the only reason she could still be alive, meant two things. "

I arched my eyebrow at him.

He held up his finger. "One—she had somehow become something important to you since you were hiding her presence from Aro, and two—if you were hiding that, you were hiding other things, which meant you were the one dismantling Aro's empire. You were the missing link I couldn't find."

"I couldn't find you either."

He shrugged. "We're both fucking excellent at our jobs. Bella was your one mistake."

"She was an unexpected complication, but I don't regret her."

"I'm sure you don't. She's quite something—she was so anxious to help you—to do anything she could to make sure you were safe and your assignment was completed. She didn't think twice about coming with me and being a pawn."

"She wouldn't. She never thinks about what could happen to her," I said disapprovingly.

"I wouldn't have let anything happen to her, Edward. It wasn't part of my directives, but I had already decided Aro was dying that day. I was tired of his evil, and regardless to what else happened, it was time."

A shiver went through my body as I remembered seeing Aro behind her, holding a knife to her throat.

"It came close," I mumbled.

"I was monitoring it. I had to make sure I hit him, not her—and I was trying to buy Carlisle some time. I figured he'd taken Sam out and would have called in your backup. Mine was slow in coming—I didn't have the backup you did—I was in too deep."

"Part of me—the largest part—wishes she'd never gone through that. But I am grateful it's over. Once she knew what was happening, I'm not surprised she insisted on being part of it."

"She did, once she calmed down." He shook his head and sighed. "I frightened her when she opened the door and she tried to get away—she was expecting your man, not me. When she fell and hit her face, I tried to help her…" He grimaced as if in pain.

"What happened?"

"She kicked me in the balls and cursed at me, threatening many things, among them assuring my inability to father children in the future." He chuckled. "Quite the spitfire, your sidekick."

"She is that."

"Anyway, I calmed her down and made sure she understood I was a good guy. Then she told me you were as well, which confirmed my suspicions. I told her I had to take her back with me, but I'd make sure she was protected. We came up with a plan and, well, you know what happened. A few things didn't exactly work, but we made it out."

"And Aro is dead."

"I wounded him, but your Carlisle took him out."

"Why didn't the room blow?"

"Because I am awesome that way," Bella's voice interrupted us, and I looked up, grinning at her.

She looked…better. Well, at least the blood was gone. She was covered in bruises and bandages, still far too pale, but she was here—safe and alive.

She climbed out of her wheelchair, limped her way over and bent, kissing Emmett's cheek. "Much better looking now, Mr. McCarty."

"I know."

"Modest as well, I see."

He grinned, his dimples deepening. "I call it like I see it."

She reached out, and I took her hand, the slight tremor letting me know she was putting on a brave front. I shifted, making room, and tugged her down beside me. I dropped a kiss on her head. "Hey, Mouse. Okay?"

She nodded.

The door opened and both Carlisle and Esme came in. Carlisle carried a tray of coffee, and his face broke out into a smile when he saw Emmett. After handshakes and coffees were shared, I turned to Bella.

"All right, MacGyver. How'd you stop the room from blowing? Bubble gum and tin foil? Hairspray and a toothpick? Or are you a bomb expert in disguise?"

She giggled. "Nothing that elaborate."

"What then?"

"You told me once Aro kept that remote with him all the time."

"Yep. His right hand jacket pocket. Always close. Always ready to set it off."

"I lived on the streets long enough, Edward, that I learned a couple…tricks."

"Tricks?"

She waggled her fingers.

My eyebrows shot up. "You pickpocketed Aro?"

She nodded and Emmett chuckled.

"He hated being touched. How'd you get close enough to take out his remote?"

"It was your girl's idea and so simple, it was perfect. When I, ah, dragged her into Aro's office, literally kicking and screaming, I made sure to push her—hard—right in his direction."

Bella took up the story. "I fell into him, and while he was sputtering and pushing me away, I pulled his remote out and dropped in a new one Felix, I mean Emmett, picked up on the way back. He knew what Aro's looked like, and the last thing Aro expected was me exchanging it. When he hit the button, the only thing that happened was some garage door in the neighborhood opened. " She smirked. "As soon as I was alone, I pulled the other remote apart and smashed it."

My breath caught. "So the things in the room? His"—I swallowed heavily—"trophies?"

Emmett leaned forward. "They're all safe, Edward. All bagged and safe in lockup. Except"—he reached in his pocket and pulled out a clear bag—"this one. Bella begged me to get it for you. She told me the story."

He handed me the bag, and, with shaking fingers, I opened it and tipped the contents into my palm. For the first time in years, I held my father's pocket watch in my hand. I traced the crest engraved into the gold, over and again, unable to speak.

It hit me. It was over. Really over. I didn't have to live in that world anymore. The one thing that had gripped me for years—the need to remove the world of the man who murdered my father—was done.

Aro was dead. His empire destroyed. Carlisle had already told me of the ripple effects of the operation. There were arrests, other busts, drugs seized and the halt of Aro's latest endeavor—illegal arms —which was why Emmett had become involved.

I was done. I no longer had to chase a ghost. I could live my life now, free from the past. Move forward.

I could do it with the woman tucked into my side—my Mouse, my Bella.

My own little MacGyver.

Leaning over, I opened her hand and pressed the watch into it. "Thank you for this."

She smiled up at me. "Carlisle is working with them to get all the items back. He explained how much you want as many as possible back into the hands of family members."

I looked at Carlisle, who nodded in agreement. "We'll see what we can do. We'll help with closure for them as much as we can."

I looked down at the watch, gleaming dully in the light as it sat in Bella's hand. "It's important. Something so small can help so much."

Our eyes met—Carlisle—the man who missed his brother, my partner who stood by me, my uncle who stepped in and took care of me, guided me and was always there for me. He was my family.

It was over for him as well.

It was time for both of us to start looking forward.

Thank you for reading. The last two chapters will post this week. Mid-week and the weekend.