Denver Paranormal Society

Chapter Twenty-Five—Just Breathe

Edward

I tried my best to remain awake, taking in my surroundings. The sterile and antiseptic smell of the room I was in gave me a clue that the past twenty-four hours I thought I'd dreamed of, were real. A somewhat hazy memory of fighting doctors, nurses, and my father in a poor attempt to get to my wife rolled through my head. It reminded me why I was so determined to wake up, not caring about my own health.

Bella.

Our daughter.

Our family and friends.

For the past few hours, as a private room for Bella and I was set up, I had trouble connecting the snippets running through my mind. It all seemed jumbled up, memories fading before I could latch onto them. My father said it would feel that way for a while until I could get my bearings and be weaned off the medication. I'd prefer pain to forgetting my own goddamn name, but every time I tried to tell my father that, it came out as gibberish.

The voices around me started to fade again.

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"Is he awake?"

When had I closed my eyes? Bella's soft voice came through loud and clear, but I couldn't manage much more than a shrug, making me hiss in pain. Two dislocated shoulders meant every move hurt.

"Stop moving, Edward." Bella's voice had firmed up; gone was the sweetness I usually craved. Angry Bella meant sleeping on the couch or the silent treatment. No thanks. "If you don't wake up soon, angry Bella will look like a damn kitten compared to me right now."

I puckered my lips.

"Uh, what is wrong with my husband?" She still sounded upset, but more like the worried kind. "He's not usually so…drunk."

"I am not," I groaned, slightly dizzy. "I thought it would be best to start this day with a kiss." I giggled, moaning because my ribs hurt like hell.

"Is he still on morphine?" Bella now sounded better; amused, too. Though I had no idea why. Was it something I said?

Someone else answered before I could. "I'm afraid so, Bella."

"Hey, that's my dad!" My head turned toward the sound of his voice. "Something is wrong with my eyes."

"They're just heavy due to the medication. Give it another try." His voice softened, directed at someone else. "I did warn you that he can get this way under most pain medications." My father laughed, taking my hand in his.

"Fuck, your hands are like ice." I managed to open one eye, regretting that instantly. It hurt. "Bright light, bright light." For some reason, my voice sounded pitchy, high and unlike mine. Maybe someone else was talking.

"Oh my God," Bella murmured somewhere toward my left. I had to see her, but I couldn't get my head to cooperate. "I've only dealt with a slightly tipsy Edward before, not high as a kite Edward."

My dad was laughing. "Then you're in for a treat. After he had his wisdom tooth pulled, he sang the national anthem for no apparent reason."

"Do you think I can ask him anything and he'll answer?"

Dad released my hand, adjusting something on the IV line that pinched in my arm. "It's not a truth serum, Bella."

"I know," Bella whispered. "I just want to be sure he doesn't regret meeting me."

I heard my father sigh, and I wanted to answer Bella myself, but my lips wouldn't move!

Bella! Can you hear me?

She didn't read minds, I reminded myself. Not unless I was a ghost, and I felt pretty damn real. If it hurt to move, it had to mean I was alive. How could I talk to her when I felt incoherent and ridiculous?

I allowed the dark to take me under again, determined wake up soon and talk to my wife.

Bella

I watched Edward sleep after his father left to do some rounds. Despite the drugs in his system, it was clear to me that he was having a nightmare. His eyes would crinkle and clench hard, moving rapidly under his lids, and his chest rose and fell harder. My name would fall from his dry lips, sometimes a whisper, while other times, it sounded like fear. In those moments, I did my best to let him know I was there, that our daughter was fine.

A part of me wanted to fall apart because the aftermath was devastating. The betrayal would hit the team and Edward the hardest. Then there was my father. Though he had a small regiment of angels healing him little by little, easing some of his pain, it was hard to do under the watchful eyes of the medical staff at the burn unit in Denver. Once released, they would heal him completely, but even then, they could risk exposure and questions my dad couldn't answer.

Even now, having only been admitted to the hospital for complications in my pregnancy, some of the doctors and nurses questioned my sudden renewed health. My skin returned to a healthy glow, my blood pressure remained steady, and for some reason, I was no longer dilated as I had been when I was admitted. Garrett had taken care of that after the Potomac incident, but I couldn't exactly tell my doctor that I was healed by an angel.

They'd put me in a straight jacket instead of releasing me soon. All I wanted was to help Edward get better and do it in the comfort of our home. Yet, I knew I had to address the betrayal within our group sooner rather than later. Our friends were all coming over in the morning; no one knew what I had learned while in hell.

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Edward

I felt Bella's hand against my cheek and the brush of her words on my skin, heard the soft cadence of her voice near my ear. "Wake up, my love."

I groaned, wanting desperately to see her, fighting the heaviness over my eyes. It lingered on my chest and around my head. My hand automatically rose to my hair, my breath turning harsh when I felt a large bandage.

"Careful," she whispered, taking my hand in her own. "They had to drill a few holes in your head to ease the pressure. They shaved the area."

"Sorry." I turned my head toward her voice and tried my best to smile. "No more tugging for you."

Her soft laugh made my heart warm, but her sob made it twist. I opened my eyes, grateful that the lights had been turned down. The tears racing down her cheeks only made me apologize more. She shook her head, capturing my hand before it could reach her tears.

"You're not supposed to move your arm that high yet," she stated, kissing my bruised knuckles. "The doctor said you'll be fine." She looked so beautiful. Her dark long hair was shinier than usual, soft looking waves down to the middle of her back. Her lips were a natural rosy pink, almost the same color as the blush on her cheeks.

"How long?" I murmured, trying not to close my eyes.

"We've been in the hospital for four days."

"The baby is all right?" I heard my parents discussing Bella and the baby's health, but I needed to be sure.

"She's doing fine, kicking her momma in her bladder to remind her every chance she gets." Bella rubbed her cute baby bump and offered me a genuine smile. She answered my next question without having to ask it. "The doctor gave me a clean bill of health." She leaned closer. "Thanks to a few angels."

My brow tightened in confusion. If they helped heal her, why hadn't they done the same to me? They've done it before.

"They did, but there's only so much they can do while you're under supervision."

I hadn't realized I said anything out loud. "Your father?"

She told me the extent of his injuries. The doctors were hopeful his eyesight could return after the swelling went down. The severity of his burns were centered around his eyes, hands, arms, and chest, and had gotten much better. At first, they were all categorized as third-degree burns, but thanks to Castiel and Jacob, they were closer to second-degree burns. Sue, also pregnant with Bella's baby brother, was doing her best to keep herself together while helping Charlie through the worst of the pain.

"Our friends." I feared the answer. Lauren and Emmett had been possessed during the traumatic ordeal, and I knew exorcism was hard to accomplish without harm to the host. Then there was the explosion that put me in the hospital in the first place. Others had been close, too.

"Will be here soon." There was something in her words that made my blood run cold.

"What is it?" I squeezed her hand, trying to get her to look me in the eyes.

"While I was…I found out who was helping them sabotage our team."

"Someone from the team?" Everything in her voice said I was on the right track. Who would do that to us? Was whoever it was responsible for everything that went wrong in the last several months?

The broken wards that allowed hundreds of spirits to enter our home, almost killing Bella in the process.

The fact that two of our team members had been possessed, despite all the safeguards we'd placed on them.

There was also the night several demons showed up in our home—a house with every possible spell to guard it against anything demonic in place.

"Who was it?"

Bella shook her head again, grasping my fist. "Calm down. I'll explain it all when they get here."

"You can't allow whoever it was within a hundred miles of you!"

She rose to her feet, kissing my lips softly. "It'll be fine. Trust me. They have no more power over us."

Before I could ask what the hell she was talking about, the door to our hospital room swung open to reveal a worried looking Emmett McCarty. "Hey, boss."

I looked at Bella, wondering if he was okay, as in no longer possessed by a demonic spirit. "Emmett, glad to see you looking and sounding like yourself."

Emmett blushed a little, making my wife giggle. "I'm sorry for any pain or trouble I may have caused under that asshole's influence." He shuddered. "Took some time to convince Rosalie that I didn't think she was a fat fucking bitch."

"Emmett!" Bella glared at him, rubbing her stomach. "Language!"

Emmett put up his hands in defense, grimacing. "Sorry, boss lady." He shrugged after a moment. "Anyway, it was weird. I saw and heard everything that thing was doing but couldn't stop myself." It was at that moment, the others caught up to Emmett, playfully pushing him out of the way. Eric and Lauren held each other close, also apologizing for whatever possessed Lauren had done.

"We don't know why. Emmett and Lauren were all carrying spells to prevent possession."

Emmett pulled down his shirt to show us a slightly red tattooed version of the anti-possession spell. "This was the only way I could convince Rosalie to let me back into her bed…I mean house." He was quick to change his answer after Bella sent him another glare. "I had a coin in my wallet and even wore the watch you'd given me."

Lauren nodded, indicating she felt the same as Emmett while possessed. "I had on the necklace."

"So how were you two possessed if you were protected?" I asked, turning to Bella to help me sit up in bed.

"We can answer that question," Jasper said, as he walked into the room. Alice entered right behind him, neither meeting anyone's eyes.

"You!" Emmett growled when comprehension dawned on him. "Alice offered to clean and re-bless my items. You did something to them, so they were useless."

"Jasper borrowed mine to photograph in case we ever need to make more," Lauren whispered, sobbing against Eric's chest. "How could you do this to us?"

"Did you know, Bella?" Jasper asked, raising his head to meet her eyes.

"Don't fucking look at her!" I was beyond angry, livid. What was worse was that Jasper may have been Bella's friend first, but we'd grown much closer. "Why would you do this?" I looked at Bella, not one bit surprised by Jasper and Alice's confession.

"You knew?" My fingers tightened around hers, needing her to look at me.

Tears gathered in her eyes, but didn't fall. "I found out about them while I was in hell."

The monitors nearby went haywire and I seriously thought I was having a heart attack. Bella's words were lost as she cradled my face, trying to get me to calm down. "Just breathe, Edward. Just breathe."

How was I supposed to do that when she'd been in hell? Everything I just learned continued to jumble up my thoughts. Too many things had happened, and it too much information to process.

She's safe now, I told myself, too tired to fight the darkness.

AN: It's fine, more will be explained about Jasper and Alice and why they betrayed them. Poor Edward, if he wasn't high as a kite, the pain and fear made him a bit all over the place. We'll learn more, but I will tell you that this fic is almost complete. Thanks to Dawnie (aka kyla713) for all your help with the chapter, I love ya!