Chapter 25: For the Best
Bella's POV
"You've done nothing but argue with her since she has been here Renee!" Phil screamed.
"I have not! I'm just trying to help her through this rough time!" Renee snapped.
"How?! By telling her she needs to leave her husband?! Real helpful Renee!" He said.
"Well excuse me if I'm worried about my daughter!" She growled.
"You can be worried about her Renee, just lay off the harsh comments a little!" He told her.
"Harsh?! How am I being harsh?!" She screamed.
I took deep breaths as I sat on my bed and listened to them argue back and forth.
"We're going in circles here! The same argument over and over again!" He said.
"I still don't see what the big deal is! I'm just trying to be supportive of her!" She said.
"Supportive?! Yeah, telling her she is stupid and needs to come home is pretty supportive!" He screamed.
"Cut the sarcasm Phil! I don't need it!" She yelled.
"Well then cut the attitude!" He snapped.
"Fine, since you are so supportive of my daughter why don't you raise her!" She screamed.
"Renee." He groaned.
SLAM!
I started to see spots that clouded my vision.
"Phil." I said.
He didn't hear me.
"P-Phil!" I said a little louder.
Nothing.
I stood up slowly ignoring the pain going through my stomach. I couldn't stand up straight, I held on to the walls as I stumbled into the living room where Phil stood with his back towards me.
"P-Phil." I said.
He turned around, "Bella!"
He rushed over to me setting a hand on my back.
"I-I don't fe-feel so good..." I whispered.
"Tell me what's wrong!" He said.
"I see spots, lots of them. And are there two of you?" I asked.
"Any pain?" He asked.
The second he said that I screamed in pain doubling over and grabbed my stomach.
"Okay, let's get you to the hospital." He said.
He helped me stand up straight, that's when the whole world started to spin faster.
"Phil."
"Yeah?" He said.
"Help me."
Phil's POV
"Bella!"
I caught her before she hit the ground. Her head rolled back as I picked her up in my arms and rushed her out of the house. I was thankful we had two cars because I couldn't wait for an ambulance to take twenty minutes to get here. I put her in the back seat before jumping in the front seat. Once at the hospital I rushed through the front doors carrying Bella in my arms.
"HELP! I NEED HELP!" I screamed.
Doctors and nurses rushed over with a gurney, I set her down carefully.
"What happened?!" Dr. Jackson asked.
"She passed out! She said she was seeing spots that were clouding her vision, along with dizziness, and she was having pains in her stomach!" I told him.
"How far along is she?" He asked noticing her round stomach.
"About five months? Maybe a little over?" I said.
"Let's move!" He screamed.
I was led to the nearest private waiting room.
"The doctor will be in when he can." The nurse said.
"Take care of her, she's my little girl, she's all I have." I chocked out.
She smiled, "Of course."
I ran my fingers through my hair.
I pulled out my phone and called Renee.
"Call to apologize?" She answered.
"Dear lord Renee! Can you swallow your pride for one minute?!" I snapped.
"No! This is crazy Phil!" She screamed.
"This isn't about that right now Renee!" I told him.
"Then what is it about?!" She asked.
"Bella's in the hospital Renee." I said.
Silence.
"What?" She asked.
"She passed out after you left. The doctors are working on her right now." I said.
"But... I- Did I cause this?" She whispered.
A part of me, the angry part, wanted to tell her yes. Yes, you did this to her. You did this to your own daughter because you have done nothing but nag and yell at her. But no parent deserves to hear that, no parent needs to hear that they are the cause of their child's hospitalization.
"No. Renee, you did not do this. She has been under so much stress that this would have happened anyway! Listen, just get down here because she needs you Renee, your daughter needs you." I told her.
"I'm on my way." She said, I could tell she was crying.
There was a knock on the door, I turned around to face the doctor.
"How is she?" I asked.
"I want to tell you she is just fine and can go home, but I can't." He said.
"W-What does that mean?!" I asked.
"I think your daughter is showing signs of pre-eclampsia." He said.
"I- What is that?" I asked.
"It's caused by high blood pressure. Has Bella been under a lot of stress lately?" He asked.
"Yeah, uh- She is visiting because her husband has DID and is in therapy right now getting help. Her mother has been on her case a lot about that, and she just learned that her husband is living with his therapist that is a girl." I explained.
The doctor nodded, "Well her blood pressure is extremely high which isn't good. We need to get it under control because things could get serious if she develops eclampsia."
"Which is?" I asked.
"A much more serious thing then pre-eclampsia. It can cause seizures, it can attack her organs, she could deliver prematurely, a lot can happen so it is important we get her blood pressure under control." He explained.
"Can it be cured?" I asked.
"No, but we can treat it. We caught it early on which is a good thing. In most cases it isn't caught until it's too late so we are lucky." He told me.
"Is it life threatening?" I asked.
"Unfortunately yes. It is life threatening for both Bella and the baby." He told me.
"Is she awake?" I asked.
"Not right now, we are giving her medication to get the blood pressure to go down and we are also keeping an eye on the baby. If things get too serious, we may need to deliver." He said.
"She is only five months pregnant!" I argued.
"Which is why we need to get this controlled, like I said we are lucky we caught it now." He said.
I sighed.
"Look, I know this is hard, but it may be a good idea to contact her husband." He said.
"I'll try." I said.
He nodded before leaving the room to go do some tests to figure out if she does have pre-eclampsia.
I got my phone out and dialed Edward's therapists number, she answered on the third ring.
"Hello?"
"Is this Andrea?" I asked.
"Yes, who is this?" She asked.
"My name is Phil, I'm Bella's step father." I said.
"Oh! Hi!" She said.
"Listen, how is Edward doing?" I asked.
"Good, we haven't seen an outburst in a week or so." She said.
"That's great. Any chance you may be able to come to Florida? As soon as possible?" I asked.
"Um, I don't know about that. Is there something wrong?" She asked.
"Bella is in the hospital." I said.
She gasped, "Is she okay?!"
"She has pre-eclampsia. The doctor is keeping her for a few days, he thinks it might be a good idea if her husband can be here." I told her.
"Nothing serious is going to happen to her right?" She asked.
"Dr. Jackson says she is still in critical condition, so if you could get Edward here that would be great." I told her.
"Look, I'm sorry to say this but I don't think that coming there is the best thing." She said.
"You just said that there has been no signs of James or Peter for a week!" I said.
"I know, but bringing him there may trigger it." She told me.
I sighed.
"I'm sorry." She said.
"Sure." I said hanging up.
…
I sat on the couch hugging Renee, the doctor walked in as we both stood up.
"She's awake, but her blood pressure is still really high. So try to keep the stress level down, have you heard from her husband?" He asked me.
"He can't come down. Something about it being too risky." I told him.
"Okay, well she knows I asked about him so when you tell her make sure she doesn't get worked up about him not coming." He said.
"Okay." I said.
He showed us to the room she was in, she was sitting up and looking around the room.
"Bella!" Renee said rushing over.
She hugged Bella and kissed her head.
"I'm fine." She said.
Bella's POV
"Where's Edward? Is he coming?" I asked.
"Honey, I'm sorry but Andrea said she couldn't bring him." Phil said.
"Great, so my husband and father of my child can't come because his "therapist" said no. Selfish witch." I said, although it wasn't witch that I said...
"Bella, we need to keep you calm." He told me.
"Has the doctor been in to explain to you what is going on?" Renee asked.
"Yes, he also said that if I can't be in a calm environment at home than I need to find a hotel." I told her.
"Look, Bella I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stress you out. I'm just worried about you and your life with Edward." She started.
"My life with Edward?! My life with Edward-" I snapped.
"Will be just fine once he is helped." Phil interrupted.
He gave Renee a warning glare.
The door opened and the doctor walked in with another doctor.
"Are you giving her medication?" This mystery doctor said.
"Yes." Dr. Jackson said.
"Is it helping?"
"It seems to be." He said.
"What about the baby?" The doctor asked looking at my chart.
"Heart rate is a little low so we are keeping an eye on it." He said.
"Good," He said looking up at me and smiling, "I'll be taking over from now on thank you."
"Of course." Dr. Jackson said leaving.
"Dad!" I said.
"Hi princess." Carlisle said kissing my head.
"You didn't have to fly all the way here!" I told him.
"I figured since Edward isn't here someone should be, plus I don't know these doctors so I need to make sure my daughter is in the best care possible." He smiled.
"Dr. Jackson was good to me." I said.
"Good." He said.
"He said the babies heart rate was low?" I asked.
"It does look a little lower than we would like it to be." He said.
"Will it go back up on its own?" I asked.
"It will once its mother calms down and relaxes." He told me.
"How can I relax? I am so stressed out!" I said laying back on the bed.
"Which is why you are here." Carlisle said putting my bed in the sitting position.
"I want to go home." I said.
He was about to say something but his cell phone went off.
"Hello? How do I know this is really you?"
I heard someone yell frantically on the other end.
"It's for you." Carlisle said handing me the phone.
"Hello?" I said.
"Bella! Oh my god Bella I'm so glad to hear your voice." Edward gasped.
"Edward!" I said smiling.
"How are you? They say that you are in the early stages of pre-eclampsia?" He asked.
"Yeah, the doctor said it's from all the stress I'm under." I told him.
"Had I known me living with my therapist was going to stress you out I would have told her no." He said.
"That isn't the only thing stressing me out right now." I told him.
"Your mother?" He asked.
"If you can call her that." I said looking at Renee who was talking to Carlisle.
"Look, if you don't want to be there then leave. You have the card I gave you, buy the nicest hotel room you can find. One with a hot tub or jacuzzi, with an awesome view one the balcony." He said.
"I can't do that, that would be to expensive." I said.
"Nothing is to expensive for my girl and unborn child. You deserve the best, so that is what you will get." He told me.
"Carlisle did an awesome job being your father, he raised you well." I said.
Carlisle heard me, he looked at me and smiled.
"I know, he is pretty amazing." Edward said.
Dr. Jackson walked in.
"Edward, I got to go, the doctor just walked in." I said.
"Do whatever he says to do Bella, I love you." He said.
"I love you too." I said.
We got off the phone and I watched Carlisle and Dr. Jackson talk for a few minutes.
Carlisle walked over to me and sat on the edge of the bed.
"What is it?! Is the baby okay?!" I asked getting alarmed.
"Everything is fine, we're going to keep you over night to see if the babies heart rate goes up. If so, you can be released." He told me.
"Okay." I said knowing there was something else.
"I booked a hotel room for you, I will be staying there with you for a few days to make sure you get settled in and things are okay. You will stay there until it is time to come home." He said.
"She can't stay in a hotel! She's pregnant! She also has a high blood pressure disease that could be life threatening to her and the baby!" Renee argued.
"She needs to get away from the stress Renee." Phil said.
"I wasn't talking to you Phil!" She snapped.
"This is for the best, she needs to relax in a calming and safe environment." Carlisle said.
"She can do that at the house!" Renee said.
"Not with her mother trying to rip her marriage to shreds!" Phil said.
"Our marriage will be ripped to shreds if you don't stop this!" Renee shouted.
"Stop it!" I screamed.
Everyone stopped talking and looked at me.
"I think it's best for everyone if I go with dad to the hotel room. I can always come visit, it's not like you wont see me the entire time I am here." I told them.
"She's right, it's what's best for everyone. Especially her and the baby, if she goes to the house she risks the chance of delivery and she can't deliver at five and a half months." Carlisle said.
Renee sighed and walked over to me, she pulled me in a hug.
"I'll be okay mom." I said.
"We're only a phone call away, remember that." She said.
"I know." I said.
"Renee, let's go pack her things. She should get some rest." Phil said.
Renee kissed my forehead before walking away, she held Phils hand as they walked out of the room.
"They're going to be fine right? Their marriage I mean?" I asked.
"Everything will work out, every married couples fight. Even you and Edward will have disagreements, but at the end of the day you have each other and that's all that matters." Carlisle said.
"Cause that doesn't sound cheesy or nothing." I laughed.
He smiled and leaned over to kiss my forehead, "Get some rest daughter, I will be in to check on you in a few hours."
"Thank you dad, for coming I mean." I said.
"Anytime." He smiled.
He got off the bed and walked out of the room.
I took a deep breath before laying down and closing my eyes, my hand resting on my expanding belly.
I just hoped everything would be okay now that I am getting out of Renee and Phil's house.
Hi again! I know, it's been a long time! But I'll save the "my life is hectic" speech! Thought I should update though seeing as I kind of left it at a cliffhanger! =P