I don't own these characters. They are the sole property of Stephenie Meyer. I only borrow them. No humans are permanently harmed through my actions, though I do confess to harassing, annoying, torturing, and exasperating them – just because it's fun. I make no money from my little stories, sad day. I only play in the sandbox, I didn't build it.

Author's Note: Someone had asked about Bella not telling them to contact Edward right away. Her thoughts were a bit muddled after the accident, but if you want to know exactly what she was thinking, it's covered in the latest outtake. I've had a few people say that they'd love to know more about Rosalie and Emmett. To my surprise, they sort of started their own story. I won't begin posting that one until this one is completed, because it will cover the later years. But I can tell you that right now the title is "The Art of Persistence" and I'm having fun writing it. We'll see how Emmett and Rose get along in the years to come. :p

Chapter 21: Sweet Destruction

I looked at Bella to ask what pharmacy she usually used, but I could tell by her expression that was useless. She was grinning like a loon and studying her fingers. Good meds indeed. I looked in the rearview mirror and grinned at Emmett. "Uh…your mom's a little bit out of it." He laughed and nodded. "Do you know what pharmacy she usually uses?" I figured they would have her insurance information on file.

Luckily, Emmett did know and I dropped off the scrip. They told me it would be ready in an hour. That gave me time enough to get Bella settled and then come back for it. Emmett could keep an eye on her while I was gone. Which reminded me…I'd have to call my commanding officer and explain that I needed to use a little of my leave time next week.

Luckily, he was a family man too and would understand.

Wait. Too? That just sounded… Well, really, really right. Which was scary as hell.

Just as I was starting to get good and panicky, Bella snored. Loudly. The boys burst into giggles and it sounded really good. It also dispelled the last of the tension that had lingered from finding out about Bella's accident.

I grabbed Bella's keys out of the purse the nurse had handed me and tossed them to Emmett. "Can you go open the door?"

I looked at Sam. I knew from training soldiers that if you kept them busy they had less time to worry. These boys needed to get their minds occupied with something they could actually do.

"Sam, can you go turn down your Mom's bed?" He nodded and jumped over Seth, kneeing him in the balls in the process. I winced for him. Seth just took a deep breath and covered his goods. "Sorry about that, Seth."

He nodded, unable to speak. Jake looked at me, apparently unconcerned about his brother's difficulty. "What can I do, Mr. Edward?"

"Do you know where your mom keeps the water bottles?" I asked. He nodded eagerly.

"Okay, go get one and then take it upstairs to your Mom's bedroom. Does she have a little table by her bed?" Another nod. "Then just put it on the table. Got it?"

"Got it!" he yelled as he slid out of the car. I glanced at Seth. "You going to live?"

Seth nodded jerkily and then crawled gingerly out of the car. He hobbled into the house and I flinched. My own balls started aching in sympathy. I circled around the car and opened the passenger door.

Bella was still passed out, her mouth open. There was a little drool at the corner of her mouth. I grinned, knowing she wouldn't appreciate it if I took a picture of her with my phone, though I was sorely tempted. I picked her up in my arms and she just sort of sagged against me. Her lack of response made me nervous. I was guessing she had a pretty high tolerance for pain, but not much of one for pain medication.

I hoisted her up more securely and carried her in through the open door. I made my way up the stairs and found her room because I could hear the boys arguing over how far the sheets should be turned down. I angled her in through the door, careful not to hit her head. "This is fine, boys," I assured them as I placed her on the bed. I removed her shoe (the other was in a white plastic bag from the hospital). Then I covered her with the comforter because I didn't really feel comfortable taking off any of her clothes, especially not with eight curious eyes focused on us.

I really didn't want the first time I unbuttoned her blouse and slid her pants off her hips to be in front of an audience – especially her sons.

"Uh…" I ran my hands through my hair. "I'll go see if your mom's medicine is ready." I looked at Emmett. "Will you sit with her?"

"Yeah, sure," he answered and he settled into a chair I imagined Bella used to read in. For the first time, I took a good look at her room. It wasn't overtly feminine, and I guessed that decades of living with only males was the reason. It was done is greens, soft mossy green, touches of a bolder forest green, and a pale green that almost glowed white.

It was simple and inviting.

I glanced once more at Bella. She snorted and rolled over to her side, wincing as she moved her broken foot.

Just my luck… I'd finally gotten in Bella's bedroom and she was unconscious. And her son was staring at me with a little smirk on his face like he knew what I was thinking.

I just couldn't catch a break.

~TBTA~

I arrived back at the house, Bella's prescriptions in hand. I had been surprised when the pharmacy tech asked me if I wanted to pick up Mrs. James' other prescription. Torn between not wanting to invade Bella's privacy and realizing that Bella would be in no shape to pick up it herself for a while, I said okay. After all, it might be a medication she needed now.

When the tech handed me the clear plastic bag with the prescriptions inside, I grinned. It was a shit-eating, maybe one day I'm gonna get lucky kind of grin.

Bella was on birth control. I took a quick glance at the label, my own nosiness astounding even me, and I saw that it was a new prescription and had eleven refills left.

Well, well, well.

~TBTA~

Bella was restless when I got back, so I had Emmett hand me a pain pill while I held her up a little bit. He handed her the water bottle and between the two of us, we managed to coax her to take one. She was out of it again about two seconds after I lowered her to the pillow.

I tucked her in and I motioned to Emmett so that we could talk out in the hallway. I pulled out my wallet and handed him some cash of the cash I'd gotten out of the ATM at the pharmacy. "Why don't you order some pizzas?" I suggested. "Get whatever you and your brothers like."

He nodded.

"I'm going to sit with your mom for just a few minutes, but let me know when the pizza's here and I'll come downstairs and eat with you guys."

"Okay."

I watched him lope down the stairs, making stampeding elephant noises again. Then I was back in Bella's room. I sat in the chair again and watched her sleep. She muttered and mumbled a little bit, nothing I could make sense of as she snuggled more deeply under the covers. I wondered if she was cold. I got up and looked for a blanket. There was one in the top of her walk-in closet, her little luxury.

Inside her closet was pure chaos. I wondered how she could find anything. Beside the blanket, there were several photo boxes. The urge to go through them was almost irresistible. I'd seen the family photos on the walls, but I felt as if there was some key to understanding Bella inside those boxes, those unseen photos.

I resisted the urge and covered her huddled form with the blanket, brushing back her hair as I did so. I resumed my spot in the chair, listening to the sounds of the boys downstairs. They were loud, as always. Bella didn't seem to be bothered by all the noise. I guessed she was used to it.

I sat there and just listened, taking it all in. The sound of Bella breathing, the rustle of the sheets as she shifted in the bed, finally getting warmer, the soft whimper when I supposed her foot throbbed. I listened to the sounds of the boys' voices, their teasing and taunting of each other, the thump of their giant feet on the stairs, up and down, up and down, thundering back and forth. How many times a day did they go up and down those stairs? I heard the sounds of the television. They were watching something with a lot of explosions.

Closing my eyes, I let the symphony of the sounds of family inundate me. I realized in that moment that this was what I wanted. Ten years ago, maybe even five years ago, this desire would have baffled and terrified me. Bella was correct when she said it was a lot. But that was sort of the point, wasn't it? Because if it wasn't a lot, it wouldn't be Bella. She would be a different person without all of this baggage. Honestly, the baggage was part of what drew me now.

There was something freeing in admitting that. It was insane; it made no sense. Right here in this house was everything I hadn't known I wanted. I wanted the chaos and the noise; I wanted to break free of the narrow role I had assigned myself in life. Bella and those boys had shaken my foundations and had started building something new from the rubble.

Destruction had never felt so sweet.

~TBTA~

The pizza was delicious. Emmett managed to put away seven slices all by himself. It was as if the burger, fries, and shake from the hospital had been figments of my imagination. After dinner, Emmett and I went back up to check on Bella, but she was sleeping peacefully – not even snoring.

"I'm going to go pick up some clothes and stuff at my house," I told Emmett. "I'll be back in about an hour."

He nodded and told me he would check on his mother while I was gone. I knew he would. I showered quickly, not even needing to rub one out since the sight of Bella with that bandage on her head and her leg in a cast had, temporarily at least, banished my near-perpetual hard on. I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not.

I gave Jasper a quick call to tell him what had happened, but he already knew. Apparently, Emmett and Rosalie had already talked. Then I was racing back to Bella's house. Jake was there to open the door, no need to knock with Jake around.

The other boys were in the living room, their eyes glued to the television. I nodded at them as I walked up the stairs. Bella was still sleeping, sprawled out over the bed with her unbroken foot sticking out. I guess she'd gotten hot at some point. I removed the blanket, folded it, and put it back in the closet. I ignored the boxes of pictures.

When I got back downstairs, I saw that perhaps my good behavior over the pictures was going to be rewarded. It looked like the boys were watching old home movies on an ancient VCR. I hadn't even seen one in a few years.

I looked at the screen and there was Bella. She was pregnant, like really pregnant. Seeing her lean over (carefully and slowly) to kiss what had to be about a two year old Emmett, I figured that it was Seth growing inside of her. She grinned at the camera. "Okay, Mac!" she cried. "Enough is enough!"

There was a boom of loud laughter from behind the camera. Mac. I'd never heard his voice. The camera angle spun wildly and there was Mac, his face looming large in the screen. "My beautiful little wife thinks she's fat," he told us with a roll of his eyes. It was the first time I'd ever heard his voice. It was big and deep, exactly what I would have expected.

"I am fat! And it's all your fault!" I heard Bella call out in the background.

Mac grinned. "Yes it is." He wriggled his eyebrows and I laughed because I had seen Emmett do exactly that same thing. The boys turned to me with guilt written all over their faces, as if they just realized what they were watching. Emmett reached for the remote to turn it off. "No, leave it on," I said quietly. The boys had been through a lot recently. The anniversary of their father's death, Bella's accident, my arrival in their lives. Was is so odd that they would want to reconnect with Mac? I realized in that moment that I could either fight that bond, or I could embrace it. The choice was mine.

I sat down, squeezing in between Jake and Seth. Jake leaned his little head on my chest and sighed. He was tired; it had been a trying day.

We didn't talk about what we were watching. We didn't need to. We just shared the moment.

~TBTA~

After watching almost two hours of home movies, I told Emmett I was going to check on his mom again. We'd been taking turns checking in on her every hour or so. She was always sleeping when we peeked in, so we left her alone.

This time, however, she was awake, sitting up in the darkness of her room. I felt like an ass; I had forgotten that she would wake up to a dark room. Quickly, I turned on the bathroom light. It threw golden fingers over her green bed, shimmered in her dark eyes. Even pale and exhausted, her eyes droopy from the pain meds, she was beautiful.

"Edward?" she asked, tilting her head at me. "What are you…?' She frowned.

I sat down on the edge of the bed. The first time I had sat there. My hands were unable to resist the temptation to brush across the sheets that had been wrapped around her. They were soft and smelled faintly of laundry detergent. "I brought you home," I reminded her. "The boys are downstairs. They've been fed and are taking their showers now."

"Oh…"

I glanced at the clock by her bed. "Do you need another pain pill?"

She thought about it for a moment and then shook her head. "No, not really." Bella ran her fingers through her hair. "They make me feel dopey." Shaking her head, she sighed. "I don't like it."

"Yeah, well, it's kind of cute," I told her with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes at me and then looked down and plucked at her blouse. "Uh yeah…" I mumbled. "I didn't want to uh…" I shrugged. "Well you know."

"You didn't want to see me naked?" she teased.

I met her eyes and gave her a wicked smile. "Oh most definitely, but I want you fully aware and awake to enjoy the experience in a mutual sense." Make what you will of that Bella James…

She flopped back on the pillows a bit. "You play unfair." Then she shifted uneasily and I could guess what her problem was.

"Would you like me to grab you some more comfortable clothes and help you to the bathroom?"

"I can get to the bathroom just fine, thank you," Bella replied indignantly. "I'll have you know that I'm no amateur when it comes to getting around with a cast."

"Kind of a klutz are you?" I teased.

"I was," she admitted. "But I outgrew my awkward phase, as my mother likes to call it."

"I hear that happens with swans." Okay, I had teased her about her maiden name. Bella Swan? Really? What were her parents thinking? Beautiful swan? What if she'd been homely? That was just asking for the other kids to tease her. Luckily, she had the looks and the grace to carry off the name otherwise it could have been a cruel joke.

"Just help me get out of this bed and I'll take care of business," she ordered.

"Yes ma'am."

She put her hand in mine and gave a gentle pull. The motion brought her face to face with me, her lips tantalizingly close. She looked up at me, licking her lips. My dick had apparently recovered from his scare earlier and roused up in interest. "I want to thank you," she said. Her voice was soft and breathy, making me wonder how it would sound while I was buried inside of her.

"For what?" I couldn't think. My dick was throbbing, achy and heavy in my pants.

"For bringing the boys to me, for bringing me home…for taking care of me," Bella whispered.

"I like taking care of you," I confessed softly. Slowly, I lowered my lips to hers. I heard her give a quivering sigh and her mouth opened for me. Clutching at me, she moaned and I suddenly realized that I was in Bella's bedroom, my leg touching her bed, and she was kissing me rather like she had no intention of stopping.

And there were four boys in the house with us. I stifled the groan of protest at what I knew I had to do.

I pulled away. "Go get changed," I said. My voice sounded like I had been smoking three packs a day for a couple of decades. I cleared my throat. "I'll go check on the boys."

She nodded. "Are you going home?" Did I imagine the disappointment in her voice?

I smiled and shook my head. "Sorry, you're stuck with me for a few days," I told her. "You don't have a car and you've got a leg in a cast anyway. The doctor wants to see you in a few days and check on that foot."

Bella paused for a moment and then smiled. "It'll be fun having you here," she said softly and then hobbled off to the bathroom, grabbing some clothes from the dresser along the way.

As I watched her disappear into the bathroom I promised myself that I would do absolutely nothing to fuck this up.

Fic Rec:

Equal & Opposite by Oh Jasper My Jasper – this is slashy goodness. Jasper and Edward have been best friends forever. I won't go into detail about the plot because this story is both complex and compelling. There's too much to include. You'll get drawn in right away. Needless to say, Edward's a bit of an ass, Jasper is coming to terms with his sexuality and the repercussions of all of it with his best friend. I just finished this story and am currently reading the companion story, Errors & Omissions . As always, a link is in my favorites.