A/N:- OK HERE IS ANOTHER CHAPTER FOR ALL OF YOU GUYS AND GALS OUT THERE. HOPE YOU LIKE IT.
Chapter Twenty One: Charlie's Demise and a Fateful Shock
I wake up wrapped in Edward's arms. After dinner I was so drained emotionally I just wanted to go straight to bed. I must have fallen asleep as Edward was carrying me to our room because I don't remember much after I said good night to everyone.
Today Edward is going to go over a few things with Alice about our Wedding, while I go with Carlisle and Esme to the Hospital for a full check up because he wants to check out why my energy levels are so low and I'm tired all the time.
As I stir in his arms, Edward turns me gently so I am facing him and with a beautiful smile on his face he says.
"Good Morning Love, how are you this morning?" I smile in return and just bury my face into his chest. I breathe in deep and let out a heavy sigh. I HATE hospitals and I didn't want to go without him, but at the same time I want him to have an input in our wedding day.
Sensing my melancholy mood, Edward gently lifts my face up off his chest and looks me in the eyes and says in a very comforting tone of voice.
"Bella, sweetheart, you know that I will not be all that long with Alice because we all know that you hate hospitals and you will not be completely calm without me there. So Carlisle is going to do the tests that I would have to be out of the room for anyway, and I will be back by your side before you have a chance to miss me, besides Esme will be with you till I get there ok and neither of them will let any harm come to you."
I kiss him on the lips, intending it to be soft and gentle but it soon turns into a heated one just as there is a pounding knock on the door. We both pull apart and before Edward can say anything; knowing all too well who it is myself without any gifts at all; I say.
"What do you want Alice?" I feel Edward shake with silent laughter as Alice walks into the room.
"Well Bella, you don't have time to be continuing what was about to get started between you two and I need Edward in 5 minutes. So I want you two up and in that shower in 1 minute while I go and pick an outfit for you." We both groan, but do as we are told.
Edward turns the water on as I undress. He helps me in, takes his clothes off quickly and steps in behind me. We wash each other, step out, get dried and walk out with towels wrapped around us to see Alice standing by the bed with our clothes laid out for us.
"Here you go guys, get dressed quickly and come down to the kitchen, Esme has your breakfast ready for you." With that she turns and walks out the door, closing it behind her.
We sigh, but quietly and quickly get dressed, walk down to the kitchen and sit at the Island table there. Esme puts the food in front of me and I eat in silence. After I am done, Edward and I share one last kiss before Alice drags him away.
YES SHE DRAGGED HIM ALRIGHT! Let me tell you that is a funny sight to see because she is so tiny and petite and he is tall and lean.
I sadly sigh and I then feel someone put their hand on my shoulder, with a wave of calm coming over me at the same time. I turn slightly to see Jasper standing behind me with a small smile on his face; he leans down so we are eye level and says in a soft voice that is thick with his southern accent.
"Don't worry darlin', you'll get him back soon enough. Just try to remember that ok sugar?" I smile at him and throw my arms around his neck, and he returns my hug after a shocked moment.
When we break apart, I see Carlisle standing there with his hand out for me to take; I do and follow him out to the garage with Esme closely following behind us. The trip to the hospital is short and quiet; when we enter the hospital a nurse runs up upon seeing Carlisle and says through her pants as she tries to regain her breath.
"Dr. Cullen, we have an emergency that needs your immediate attention. I know that you will be busy all day with your adopted daughter, but this couldn't wait and you'll see why when you get to trauma bay 1." Carlisle nods his head and turns to look at Esme and I.
He takes my hand, gives it a squeeze and looks at Esme before saying.
"Esme, you know where my office is so why don't you take Bella there and wait for me. I'll meet you there, if I am longer than I intend or need you for any reason I will just call my office phone or send someone to come and get you."
With that he turns and follows the nurse through the double doors on the other side of the room from us and Esme puts her arm around my waist as she guides me to Carlisle's office.
Two hours later Carlisle walks into the room looking...well rather...drained; that's the only way I can explain it. He walks right over to me and looks me dead in the eyes as he takes my hands in his and with an expression that is the same as if something bad happened and you had to tell someone about it, he says.
"Bella, I need you to stay calm ok?" he pauses for me to answer him so I nod and he then continues. "The patient I was just treating is Charlie." I gasp and place a hand over my mouth. Carlisle doesn't pause for long before he again continues
"He is stable, but upon seeing me he asked to see you. I don't want to bring you to see him because it is not pretty, but I will if it is something that you think you can handle. He doesn't have much time left and he is refusing all help until he sees you.
"Also Miss Wooden was admitted at the same time, she and the baby she is carrying are doing fine. It looks like Charlie lost his temper at her and she fought back sending him down the stairs and through a glass panel in the new front door and got him good. So what do you want to do Bella?"
I start to shake slightly; Carlisle warps me into his arms.
Charlie is here...he's not going to last long...wants to see me...He hurt someone else, but they fought back...the chick from the Adoption agency who is dating Charlie is pregnant...
Is all that is going through my mind as I look up at Carlisle and reply. "Take me to him, Dad. I need to see what he wants." Carlisle nods his head and keeps a tight hold on me as he leads me to Charlie's room.
I gasp as I see the man I was once terrorised by just laying there on a hospital bed looking so weak, battered, bruised, bloodied and broken. A small bitter sweet smile forms on my lips at this sight and knowledge that he can't hurt me anymore.
Upon hearing my gasp Charlie looks at me with sad eyes and for the first time in my life I see the man my mother fell in love with and the man that I am biologically related to that I have only seen in their wedding photo Charlie had in the living room. I look up at Carlisle and lift my hand up to cup his cheek, looking down at me he gives me one last squeeze before saying.
"Bella, Esme and I will be just outside. If you need anything just call out ok." I nod my head; he turns and then walks out of the door closing it behind him. When I look back at the man before me, he is reaching out for me so I take a step towards him and pick up his hand.
Again I can't tell you why I am being so companionate to someone who has been so cruel to me, but I can't help it. In a soft whisper I ask
"What happened Charlie? And why are you refusing medical aid?"
He looks away for a moment, groaning in pain as he does so and then looks back at me before saying
"Because Bells, I don't deserve to live. I died the day your mother did and in a way I had a hand in her death, but not from abuse I swear to you. We were told that your mother should never conceive a child because it would be the death of her, but we really wanted a child and we were so happy the day we found out that she was carrying you.
"When she was about 8 months along, her body started to give out on her and she was put on strict bed rest. The day you were born was both the happiest and saddest day of my life, after I found out you were ok and my mother in law was looking after you all I could focus on was Renee.
"When you both came home, Renee couldn't move much she had that little energy left. The doctor's just kept telling us to keep her comfortable, that she may recover but there is no guarantee and we should be prepared. She wrote a will and left everything to you, we would bring you to her and when she was holding you, being around you in general just made her so happy and it was the only time her health seemed to improve any.
"I guess it made me jealous that she loved you more than me and that I didn't make her happy enough to find the strength and energy to pull herself up like she did to feed you, change a few nappies a day and hell she even bathed you twice; your Grandmother and I brought in a baby bath and put it on the bed for Renee so she could.
"We took photos of every moment you and her were together and your mother made me put it in a safety deposit box in Forks National. The key for it is around my neck, so please take it before you leave. Everything you said about how we were just dealing with grief in our own ways made me realise I was not the father your mother made me promise to be, it was the last straw for me I guess.
"Alicia has been and was being so demanding and nagging that I just snapped, I was trying so hard to be..."He starts to cough and sputter making blood come out of his mouth a little bit, I was about to call out to Carlisle when Charlie stops me and takes a shaky gurgling breath in and continues.
"Different for her, she is pregnant you know and I wanted to be the man that I was when I married your mom but I guess that wasn't to be. Can you make sure she and the baby is ok for me? You don't have to do anything because I do understand that I have to rights when it comes to you and that I forfeited any chance to any rights the moment I laid a hand on you.
"I do love you and I always have and will, I don't know why the hell I was how I was but your theory is the only thing I can go off. I want what is best for you and that is why I agreed to the Cullen's adopting you, but I was being selfish in what I demanded in exchange but only because you are all I have left of your mother and every time I look at you all I see is her through you..."
He goes rigid all of a sudden, the heart monitor goes crazy and I call for Carlisle, who rushes in and goes about trying to help Charlie.
Charlie squeezes my hand to the point I hear it crack and a sharp severe pain shoots up my arm, I bite my lip to keep me from making a sound from the pain because I didn't want Carlisle to stop trying to help Charlie.
I watch as my only blood relative slips away from me, but before he takes his last breath he says in a gravelly voice something that shocks me and makes me forgive him instantly.
"I am so sorry Bella, my baby girl. I never meant to hurt you and I hope you live happily for the rest of your eternity." I reply back immediately.
"I forgive you and promise I will be very happy and I will never forget you Daddy." With tears running down my eyes I lean down and kiss his forehead and when I pull back I see that he is smiling. He has this peaceful look on his face and didn't at all look like the monster that he had become.
He starts to close his eyes as Miss. Wooden runs in; looking very pregnant; rushes to his side and tell him she loves him and that he is forgiven for hurting her and she is sorry. He smiles at her and I see the love in his eyes as his eyes close for the last time and he takes his last breath.
Then there was nothing but the long unbroken sound from the heart monitor letting us know that there is no heart beat for it to pick up. Carlisle leans over, turns it off and gives the time of death to the nurses that came running in, but he stopped them from doing anything because Charlie didn't want to be revived apparently.
Miss. Wooden let out a whining wail kind of sob and collapses over Charlie's body. Carlisle tries to help her to a chair next to the bed so that the nurses could clean the body and get it ready to move down to the morgue, but she just shakes him off. I walk over to her, place my hand on her shoulder and as she looks up at me I tell her.
"He wanted me to make sure you and the baby are ok and are going to be well looked after, so if you need anything just call Carlisle and we will all make sure that your both taken care of ok? I know that it may seem I didn't love him, but he was the only blood relative I had, so I couldn't ever not love him to some extent and this baby..."I place my injured hand; ignoring the pain that goes up my arm; on her baby bump to emphasise my point.
"Is now my only blood relative and I want to make sure it has the best possible chance at a full and happy life." She nods and gives me a sad smile, one that I return and with that I turn and walk into Esme's waiting arms; who wraps them around me, turns us both and walks back to Carlisle's office.
When she opens the door I am surprised to see Edward standing there, but only because I didn't know how long it truly had been since we had parted from each other.
As soon as we are in the room Esme lets me go and I run into Edward's waiting arms and sob for no other reason than a life was lost, granted I am not upset that he will never be able to haunt my nightmares anymore because I now know he will never be able to change his mind and take me away from my Family, I am however upset over everything he told me before he departed from this world and my hand.
Edward sits us down in one of the chairs in front of Carlisle's desk and places me on his lap, holding me closely and tightly to him as I cry and sob. I cradle my hand in a manner that I hope is not suspicious.
When I have quieted down, I hear the door open and looking up I see Carlisle walking in with a chain dangling from his hand. He reaches out for my good hand and I let him take it as I watch him place a key on a necklace into my palm.
I look back up at him and he says with a sheepish smile.
"Remember our hearing is a lot better than humans so we heard everything he said to you Bella and I took this off his body just as Miss. Wooden burst into the room and everyone was distracted by her entrance to notice my quick hand movement." I nod my head with an amused smile on my face and look at it, not really knowing what to do with it.
Sensing my mood, Carlisle decides that right then is a good enough time to start with why we had originally come to the hospital for. Going over to his desk he picks up the phone and asks for my file to be ready for him to pick up and that he would need the sign in book for my mother's file to be released to us as well.
A soon as he is off the phone, he leaves the room and is gone only 5 minutes when he returns with two folders in hand; one thinker than the other. Returning to his desk, he opens the thicker of the two folders and reads over it. I feel Edward stiffen under me because I am sitting on his lap.
I think maybe Edward was silently ask to keep me close through Carlisle's thoughts, but I wasn't about to complain because I just felt that something is going to be discovered here that is not so good and I didn't think I could handle it without him.
I watch as Carlisle looks up at me and I brace myself for what he is about to say.
'I'll tell him about my hand later'. I thought to myself just as Carlisle starts to speak.
"Bella, it appears that your mother had an extremely rare form of Cystic Fibrosis that is more viral than the more common strain that causes mucus within the lungs and affected her whole body not just her lungs, on top of that she had a Genetic Heart Condition that was left untreated, but both were treatable with the right combination of medicines and curtain other therapies that would have been available then.
"I am going to have to test you for both, but I already know that you do not suffer from anything close to the former condition. However I cannot clear you of the heart condition because it does explain the low energy levels. This condition can kill you depending on the stage it is at. The good news is that I don't have to do as many tests as I was going to do today, so we don't have to be here much longer.
"If you will follow me we will find out together and before you ask yes Edward can stay by your side. In fact I may actually require his help." With that he gets up and Edward picks me up with him and doesn't let me down.
I take this time to speak up about my hand.
"Um...Dad...um I don't know how to say this but...um...when Charlie was holding my hand he kind of squeezed really hard at the end there and I heard it crack and it hurts just a bit to move it too much." I look at both of them as Edward sits back down and Carlisle comes to look over my bad hand.
Carlisle says as he is still looking at my hand.
"I think it is broken, but I am going to have to X-Ray it. So let's go there first and get this out of the way. You should have told me before now, but at least you told me." With that we all start to head out again. Edward still does not let me down.
I think he is freaking out and I understand because so am I, I kiss his cheek and whisper in his ear.
"Edward my love, I'll be like you soon anyway so all I have to do is live long enough for and be well enough to walk down that isle to the alter to meet you there and that is all that matters to me." He turns his face to look at me and smiles before we enter the X-ray room.
Carlisle has me place my hand on a black board and steps behind a screen a see a small flash and then Edward turns my hand obviously following Carlisle's silent instructions. After this is done and Carlisle goes off to get them developed quickly and has come back with the conformation of my broken right hand we leave to go to our next destination.
We walk into an examination room that has a big machine that looks like a huge round tunnel with a flat bed coming out of it.
Taking a deep breath, Edward sit me down on the bed, Carlisle walks over to me with a hospital gown in hand with a cheeky smile playing on his lips. He turns away as Edward helps me into the gown, then back up onto the bed again.
Once I am as comfortable as I can be Carlisle steps up to me with a brace to place on my hand and a table with a long needle on it over to me. I look at the needle as see it has a weird orange looking liquid in it and the brace is black. I can feel myself pale at the very sight of the needle, but I take a few breaths knowing that I am in good hands with Carlisle.
Edward rubs comforting circles on my back; I watch Carlisle's face as he gives me a small smile before he takes my right hand and says in a stern but comforting voice.
"This has to stay on for a few weeks and may hurt as I put it on." He starts to bandage and brace up my hand. After a few minutes he looks back up at me and in that same voice as before says.
"This will sting a little, but it will help me see what I need of your heart to find out if you have your mother's heart condition. This Condition gets worse with the changes a female goes through during pregnancy and while Men can get this condition to, it is more common in women for this reason.
"This may have been triggered with you falling pregnant by Jacob and then made worse because of how long it was within you, factor in your father's abuse and it all could have contributed to activating it if this test shows that you have it and then we will go from there ok."
I nod my head and he then looks at Edward; who walks around to the other side of the bed to help lay me down flat on my back. Edward places his forehead on mine, brings his left hand up to my right cheek effectively stopping me from being able to see Carlisle inserting the needle into my chest and whispers loving words to me as I feel a small bee sting on my chest.
I assume Carlisle has inserted the needle with this sting, but I am so focused on Edward and what he is saying that I am not really aware of what Carlisle is doing except that the table starts to move into the big machine and then it stopping until Edward suddenly stops speaking and looks at Carlisle.
I look to see a very sad expression on Carlisle face that almost breaks my heart.
"Bella, it appears that you do have your mother's condition and that it is in an advanced stage." He pauses and places both his hands on my shoulders, while giving me a fierce but loving stare before continuing. "We can still treat it and keep it from advancing anymore for a few more months longer than you have which I guess to be about 2 months without treatment."
I start to panic when he says this and I can feel my heart pound in my chest, he squeezes my shoulders to calm me as Edward kisses my forehead.
"Don't worry my daughter; we will get you to that alter standing on your own two feet before we let anything happen to you ok? We may have to bring the date of your change forward a little bit, but we can discuss that at a later time alright?"
Still in a little bit of shock I only nod my head before I start to feel breathless and really tired all of a sudden. Hearing the change in my breathing pattern Carlisle goes and gets an oxygen mask for me and then he turns again as Edward helps me put my clothes back on and gives me a glass of water that Carlisle handed him once he turned back around from me getting changed out of the gown.
Edward picks me up after I have downed the whole glass because I started to dose off and I hear Carlisle say to him to take me home, put me straight to bed and that he should make sure I am comfortable and well rested, I also heard him mention that Alice was not allowed to stress me out too much before I couldn't fight off sleep anymore.
Sometime later I wake for a moment enough to feel Edward kiss me on the forehead as he places me in a seat, so I assume it's the car so we can go home. I hear the engine start as I succumb to the blackness of sleep again.
I once again sightly come too when I am lifted again, but the last thing I hear and feel is Edward's velvet voice and his cool, smooth and hard lips pressing gently to mine before they press upon my forehead.
"I love you and we will get through this together, sleep sweet." Then it's all dark as I feel Edward wrap me in his arms in the comfort of our bed.
A/N:- AS ALWAYS PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! I HAVE THE NEXT CHAPTER OF THIS STORY ALREADY WRITTEN UP AN ANOTHER BEING EDITED BEFORE WE GET TO ANOTHER STAND STILL FOR A LITTLE BIT. I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO HEAR IF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS OR SUGGESTIONS OF THINGS YOU WOULD LIKE ANSWERED OR SEE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT BEFORE THIS STORY IS FINISHED.