DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Twilight Saga. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Note: I wrote this chapter when I was only a few chapters into this story. I always knew we would end up here. We are really close to the end now. Take a deep breath…this one is going to sting.

I Listened to Snow Patrol's Run while writing this… www. youtube .com/watch?v=ZQbgihHWNGo&playnext_from=TL&videos=6c3YtAhk6MQ

A big thanks to my beta, AgoodWITCH, for her work on this story. Thanks to her working so hard to get these back so soon (I have all of the rest of the betaed chapters in my grubby hand now), I can pick up the posting schedule, and since my teaser had a few of you flipping out…here's the full chapter just a day or two early. I will spread out the last two chapters and Epi over the next week, starting on Tuesday. Hope you enjoy the end of the story folks!

Waiting on the Edge

The world moved in slow motion around her as Bella sat in the hospital waiting room, gripping the chair arm with white knuckles, her other hand clenching the necklace around her neck tightly in her fist, not responding to the questions of the loved ones around her. She barely blinked as she stared at the double doors that led to the operating room where the doctors were working tirelessly to heal Edward's numerous injuries, all the while screaming in her head at herself. No…please, no…please, not him! Just this morning I agreed to be his wife and now…Edward is the love of my life…I can't lose him…not now…not ever!

Her memories poured forth as she stared nearly comatose at the doors that led to the operating room where the only man she'd ever loved was slowly being pieced back together by surgeons. Could it have just been that morning that she had woken up to Edward's emerald eyes smiling down at her? It seemed like a lifetime had passed in those few hours.

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"Wake up, beautiful. How did you sleep, baby?"

Bella stretched and smiled, reaching up to wrap her arms around Edward's neck and tug him down toward her. "Perfect, as usual when you're in bed with me."

They shared a brief kiss before Bella squinted toward the clock by her bed. "What time is it?"

Edward smiled. "It's still early, but I wanted to show you something before we had to get to our signings this morning."

Bella furrowed her brows at him before sitting up slowly. Edward smiled, smoothing down her wild sleep messed hair before taking her hand and tugging her out of bed. As he opened the door from the small bedroom area to the main cabin of the RV, Bella was instantly struck by how silent the normally busy area was. She stumbled as he led her to the sitting area where a dozen roses sat in a large vase in the center between two plates piled high with eggs, bacon, and pancakes.

Bella cocked her head as she looked at Edward who smiled crookedly at her. "Happy Birthday a day early, Bella. We're going to be traveling all day tomorrow, so I thought we could celebrate this morning."

Bella smiled up at him, a tear pooling in the corner of her eye, "Thank you, Edward. Usually I just try to ignore it, but this is very thoughtful."

Edward frowned at her as he settled in across from her before passing her a bottle of warmed maple syrup. "Why would you ignore your birthday?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "You've met me right? What about a bunch of people singing to me and staring at me while I open a pile of presents says 'comfortable Bella' to you? Unless it's on a track, I don't like people paying that close of attention to me."

Edward smiled, shaking his head as he stroked the box in his pocket. He watched Bella as she ate her food, humming with satisfaction after each and every bite while the butterflies in Edward's kept him from eating. When she was done, Edward took her plate, rinsing it carefully as Bella stared absentmindedly out the window at the busy activity outside. She was so focused on her thoughts and the movement outside; she didn't notice Edward kneeling behind her until his velvet voice called to her.

She turned to look at him, gasping when she discovered him on his knee at her side, holding a black velvet covered box toward her in his flattened palm.

"I know we haven't been together for long and that to any outside observer this would seem completely insane, but I know I am meant to be with you, forever, and I can't wait for forever to start. I don't care if you want to wait three years or fly to Vegas in three days; all I care about is that you agree to be my wife." He flipped open the top of the ring case, displaying a brilliant line of small square diamonds embedded in a band. "Isabella Marie Swan, will you do me the great honor of marrying me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, have a family with you, and sit on our back porch some day watching the kids swim in the swimming pool while we drink lemonade and talk about the weather. Will you? Please?"

Bella was weeping uncontrollably by the end of his speech, her hand resting over her thundering heart. Edward watched anxiously, awaiting his fate and praying her tears were of joy and not pain. After what seemed like an eternity, a slow smile spread across Bella's face as she croaked out a 'yes.'

The instant the words were whispered, Bella screeched in surprise as Edward yanked her out of the booth and into his arms, burying his nose in her hair as he thanked her over and over. Bella wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, turning to kiss at his neck until he turned his face and their lips met in a searing, delicious kiss. When they finally broke the kiss a few minutes later, Edward looked to her with pleading eyes.

"Can I put it on your finger now?" Bella nodded, extending a trembling hand as he carefully slid the band around onto her left ring finger. As Edward slid the ring into its new home, he whispered a short explanation. "I wanted to get you a big shiny diamond, but that would be hard to wear under your racing gloves, plus I'm not sure you're really a big diamond kind of girl. This should be safe and still pretty, I thought."

It fit perfectly, making them both smile as he lifted it to his mouth and kissed the ring softly. "You made me so happy today. I love you so much, Bella."

Bella shifted her hand to cup his cheek with a sigh. "I love you too, Edward…so much."

A few hours and a steamy celebration in their bed later, Edward came back to Bella's side as they slid into their fire suits in the RV bedroom, producing a long black box from behind his back. Bella frowned up at him in a combination of annoyance and confusion. Edward smiled, opening the box to reveal a plain chain necklace.

He leaned in close to kiss her nose before smiling down at her. "I didn't know if you would want the journalists to know about this yet, so I bought a chain for you to wear it around your neck in public until you're ready. If you don't mind them knowing, then I'm all for not bothering, but I know you probably want to tell your Dad first before they know about it."

Bella smiled brightly at Edward, nodding and taking the chain from the box. "Thank you, that was very thoughtful of you. I don't want to take this off…ever…but I don't want Dad to find out this way. Are you sure you don't mind?"

Edward laughed, taking the chain from her hand and gesturing toward the ring. Bella begrudgingly slid it off, handing it to Edward who deftly threaded it onto the beautiful thick chain before gesturing for her to turn around. Bella's breath caught in her throat as Edward leaned in, kissing her neck softly as he rested the chain on her chest before drawing the ends behind her to connect them gently at the base of her neck, letting his fingers tickle the skin there gently before sliding them down to straighten the necklace on Bella's chest. Bella let out a shuddering breath as Edward smiled, grasping her shoulders and leaning in to kiss her neck again before whispering in her ear.

"It's not as perfect as on your finger, but I think it will do for now, soon to be Mrs. Cullen."

Bella shivered at the sound before lifting her hand to rest over the precious piece of jewelry resting between her breasts.

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The clock ticked loudly on the wall, as one hour turned into two and then three. Bella had yet to eat, drink, or even acknowledge anyone. Alice and Rose sat dutifully by her side, resting hands she didn't really feel on her shoulders and doing all they could to comfort her as she worried the new necklace that they had never seen before in her left hand.

As the third hour drew to a close, a commotion began at the end of the hall, as a group of reporters hounded someone entering the hospital. Bella didn't even bother to look at direction until she heard a voice that she needed to hear nearly as much as Edward's call her name as he ran to kneel before her.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as warm, comforting hands cupped her face. "Bella, Baby…are you okay?"

Bella's body melted as her eyes finally pulled away from the door to focus on the brown eyes before her. "Daddy," she whispered. "I can't lose him, Daddy. I just found him."

She opened her hand to reveal the item she had been gripping tightly for the past few hours. "If I hadn't said yes, maybe he'd still be okay. Maybe…maybe I'm a curse, Daddy."

Charlie wrapped Bella in his arms, caressing her hair gently, just as he did when she was little. "No, baby! No! You're not a curse. It will be okay, Bella."

Bella sobbed against her father's chest as the minute hand clicked by with still no word from the operating room as she replayed that fateful moment, feeling her anger boiling again as it repeated in a horrific loop in her mind's eye.

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The race was going well. There had been no major accidents and only two short yellows in the whole race. Things were going well when Daniels started his tricks again. First, he nudged Gordon, sending him into the grass and blowing a tire, causing him to lose control and hit a barrier that separated pit road from the track. Next, he passed Dale Jr. and forced Kasey Kahne to drift high, forcing Jr.'s rear bumper into the wall, spinning him sideways, clipping Kahne mid turn before blocking Montoya.

Daniels was now in sixth place behind Bella, who was trailing Edward closely, when they were down to the final thirty laps. He trailed them for five laps before he made a move to pass Bella at the bottom of the turn. Bella began to drift up slightly to avoid a collision, grazing the wall slightly before recovering as Edward snarled on the coms.

Bella fell back in behind James, noticing something was off. She called out to her team, to which Jasper responded.

"Something got screwed up when I grazed the wall back there. My rear end feels off."

She entered the next curve following Edward and James closely, feeling her rear end drift dangerously at the top of the curve.

"Damn it, that son of a bitch!" Bella yelled as she barely missed the wall, losing three places in the process. "Jackass screwed up my car! I'm going to have to take it into the pits."

Edward groaned into the coms, cursing as Daniels tried to force him into a similar situation as he had Bella. Edward moved down instead, barely missing making connection with Daniels' front quarter panel and forcing him to slow in order to avoid knocking himself out. He felt his heart clench at the mournful curses of his fiancée across the coms.

"I'm out! He knocked me out of the chase! You kick his ass, baby. I want you to drive your ass off and show him that one of us will be on that track no matter what shit he pulls!"

Edward grumbled as he entered the next curve, about to pass his fiancée as she limped her way to pit road. As he passed her hobbled vehicle, he began to see red. In the course of the season, Daniels had caused chaos up and down the tracks and had yet to face any official sanctions. It was enough to make you miss the days when there was a code of honor in the sport. With an angry grunt, he tightened his grip on the wheel and focused as he cut Daniels off again, determined to put the man in his place once and for all.

Bella hopped into the spotter station after answering a few questions once she reached the pits. Where normally she would be gracious about the situation, Bella felt no such inclination at that point. She was sick of seeing Daniels harass the track with his dirty driving.

"Honestly, I'm tired of seeing certain drivers cause accident after accident and nobody does anything to stop it. Over half of the major accidents this year, including the one that put me in the hospital earlier this year were caused by one driver. That's just not right. Watch the tapes…it's not like it's a secret. Now if you'll excuse me. I'm going to go spot for my f…" Bella's hand flew to her necklace concealed behind her firesuit before stopping herself. "boyfriend, so maybe he won't suffer the same fate."

With that she waved and walked away, huffing as she hopped in next to Felix who chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulder before sliding the big background noise reduction headphones over her head.

"She's here now, E," Felix said as Jasper hugged her and left to go deal with a pissed off Rose in the pits.

"You okay, baby?" Edward asked hurriedly as he stuck to the groove.

"Yeah, honey. I'm fine. How are you?"

"Agh…hanging in there. Wish you were still here with me, though."

Bella sighed. "Me too."

The line became quiet as Felix and Bella watched the track intently, Bella's body going tense every time Daniels moved in closer to Edward. Another smaller crash toward the back of the pack knocked out another three drivers as they raced on, quickly approaching the countdown from ten to the black and white. They were almost into the second curve of the large oval track when Daniels made his first attempt, dropping below Edward and trying to force him up, but Edward stayed steady and slid back down into his position. The next curve, Daniels tried again, this time with a tap to Edward's quarter panel trying to direct him into the grass so Daniels could take his place, but what happened next was Bella's worst nightmare come to life. As Edward's car hit the grass, he tried to recover, but the force of the turn put the center of gravity toward Edward's side of the car. He was about to correct when the car behind Daniels became disoriented by the situation and made the wrong decision, ending up smacking into the side of Daniels, who then ended up getting caught under the edge of Edward's car, putting it up on its side. At this point, a fourth car ended up losing control and colliding with the underside of Edward's car, causing a fireball to rise from the undercarriage before his car was shoved into the concrete barrier that separated the Gallery from the grassy area of the track.

Bella screamed as she watched it all happen, jumping down and running as hard as she could in the direction of the track where Edward's car was now pinned. She shoved through groups of people staring with mouths agape as a red flag was dropped on the race and the cars came to a total standstill. All eyes in the arena were focused on the wreckage, waiting anxiously as fire and rescue vehicles rushed to the location of the accident.

When Bella finally managed to push through, run across pit road, and made it to the area near where they were situated, she could see that the emergency crews were cutting the car apart to reach Edward. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the wreckage until she heard someone talking not far away from where she stood behind the barrier. The crowd was caught unaware as Bella let out a scream before jumping over the barrier and running full speed at the passive looking form of James Daniels talking idly with the man next to him as if he was just another spectator.

James looked up to see what was happening just as Bella slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. She jumped on top of him, fists impacting his head and chest repeatedly as everyone around them watched in shock.

"You fucking son of a bitch! You caused this you greedy asshole!" she screamed as she continued her attack, trying to fight off the hands that were trying to pull her off of him. The spectators on the field and in their homes watched in amazement as the tiny girl beat the crap out of the dirtiest driver in NASCAR, more than a few cheering her on.

Finally, a strong set of arms peeled her kicking and clawing off of a bruised James Daniels. "Izzy! Izzy, you have to calm down, kid!" Emmett bellowed as he shifted his grip to grab her arms. "Izzy, they almost have him out. If you want to stay with him you have to stop and go to the ambulance."

Bella stopped, blinking at the sight before her through her tears before relaxing into Emmett's bear hug. He set her down carefully before guiding her with his arm around her shoulder to the ambulance and forcing her to sit on the bench along the side of the interior. Soon the EMT's arrived, telling her she couldn't ride, but when she begged through her tears, covertly showing them the engagement ring, they agreed, quickly closing her within the double doors and speeding toward the nearest hospital.

Edward was bruised and bloody, his right arm resting at an unusual angle on the stretcher as the EMT's worked hard on him. They inserted an IV into his left arm, injecting clear liquids into the line between listening to his heart and taking his blood pressure. One of the EMT's leaned forward, lifting Edward's eyelids to shine a light into his eyes when Edward mumbled before crying out in pain. Bella gasped, tears rolling down her face as Edward screamed her name.

Bella reached forward, grasping his hand in hers. "I'm here, Edward. I'm here, baby. I love you. You're going to be okay."

Edward clutched her fingers tightly in his hand, which appeared to have been saved thanks to the scorched glove and sleeve of his suit, which now lay in shreds on the floor of the ambulance after the EMT cut it away to insert the IV. With every bump in the road, Edward would hiss or cry out as Bella would cry and tell him she loved him.

After what seemed like an eternity, they arrived at the hospital where Edward was quickly wheeled through the double doors and Bella was made to stay in the waiting area despite both of their protests. A doctor came out shortly after, explaining to Bella, who was alone in the waiting room at that point, that Edward had broken ribs, a broken arm, and two broken legs. He was going to have to undergo surgery to repair the legs and the ribs, which were rubbing his lungs and threatening to puncture them. With that, the doctor disappeared once more leaving Bella to stare at the doors that closed behind him.

When her friends arrived, she told them what the doctor had said, never looking away from the door, and never saying anything else until her Dad arrived.

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Charlie situated himself next to Bella, holding her to his chest as she stared once more at the door. She didn't understand what was taking so very long. It didn't seem like it should take that long to fix broken bones, and she was worried that they found something worse when they opened him up.

The clock continued to tick as the hour hand began to approach the forth hour and the doors opened. Bella jumped up, rushing forward to speak with the doctor who had come out to inform her of Edward's surgery. Her body melted as he smiled at her.

"Mr. Cullen is fine. We found a bit of internal bleeding when we went to fix his ribs, which we were thankfully able to stop. His ribs are wired and will be sore for quite some time. His legs both have pins in them to hold the bone in place while they heal. He is now stable and in recovery. He's a very lucky man, Miss Swan. He is going to hurt and need a lot of rehabilitation, but he's going to be just fine."

Bella smiled, wiping at her tears before looking up at the doctor. "I'm just so glad he's alive, but I know he's going to want to know. Will he be able to race again?"

The doctor smiled sadly. "Honestly, it's hard to tell now. It all depends on how well he heals and responds to therapy. I want to say that he can, but there's always the chance that he might not. It's something we will have to wait to see."

Bella sighed, worrying the ring hanging from her neck with a sense of relief. "Thank you, Doctor. How soon until we can see him?"

The doctor smiled. "He should be out of recovery in the next hour or two. It's going to be too late for visitors, but we might bend the rules for you if he wants to see you."

Bella nodded with a teary smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he smiled back before disappearing behind the double doors.

Bella turned to face the group all listening behind her with a relieved sigh; collapsing into her father's waiting arms.

"See, baby girl, he's going to be just fine. I think it's time we get you some food. He will be very upset if he wakes up to find out you didn't eat all that time. Okay?"

Bella nodded, wiping at her face and feeling the exhaustion of the last few hours. She winced as she finally noticed the throbbing pain in her hands, which were bruised from her assault of James. She knew she was facing big trouble for her outburst, but to be honest, she really didn't care.

"Want me to go get you something and bring it back?" Charlie whispered sweetly. Bella nodded.

Charlie hugged her shoulders and leaned in, kissing her temple gently. "Okay, sweet girl…and by the way…Happy Birthday."

Bella looked up at Charlie before looking at the clock, which read twelve ten a.m. Her birthday had officially come just in time for her to hear the best news she had ever heard…the love of her life was going to be okay.

Charlie left, leaving Bella to melt into a chair between Rose and Alice. They watched her carefully, surprised when she reached out to take both of their hands on either side of her and squeeze before thanking them quietly for watching out for her. Seconds later, she curled up in a ball on the chair and closed her eyes, giving in to the utter exhaustion.

Bella wasn't sure how much later it was when she felt someone jostling her shoulder. She opened her eyes to see her father sitting beside her, a tray on the small coffee table before her, and a tiny nurse in front of her with a strained smile.

"I'm sorry, Miss Swan. Normally it's against policy to do this, but Mr. Cullen woke up and is getting far too upset in his demands to see you. He simply will not take no for an answer. Will you please come back with me to help soothe him?"

Bella jumped up yelping out an 'absolutely' before rushing to follow her through the maze of corridors. She heard him before she saw him, shocked that with the damage to his ribs he could possibly manage to be that loud, his voice hoarse and weak, yet still demanding adamantly to see her. Bella smiled in spite of herself as the nurse stepped through a door, motioning for Bella to follow quickly.

Bella gasped when she saw the shape Edward was in as his strained whisper yelling stopped the second he saw her. They blinked at one another for a brief second before Bella ran to his bedside, bending carefully over the wires and lines that crisscrossed his bruised and heavily casted body to hug him gently. Edward sighed, finally letting go when he saw with his own eyes that she was okay and she knew he was okay. Bella took his hand as Edward's eyes fluttered closed, his chest releasing an unsteady breath and his heart rate dropped back into a steady cadence.

Bella stayed for a long time, holding his hand, now limp within hers as his body finally gave into unconsciousness in the wake of his relief. She watched for the nurses, expecting to be told to leave, but instead found someone pushing a small plastic chair behind her.

"It's uncomfortable, dear, but it's far better than leaning over him like that."

Bella blinked at the sweet, middle aged woman in surprise. "You're going to let me stay?"

The woman smiled kindly. "The best thing in the world for him right now is recuperative rest. Right now, his vitals are far better than they were even when he was still sedated. I think you are just the right medicine to help him recover."

Bella smiled appreciatively at the woman. "Thank you so much. I was going crazy waiting to hear he was out of surgery and I needed to see him as much as he did me."

The woman nodded before moving to go attend to another recovering patient, while Bella settled in as close to the bed as she could and rested her head on the thin white mattress next to Edward's arm while she held tightly to his hand. She would stay that way for the next hour until Edward would be moved to a private room, in which she would still be allowed to stay in order to keep him calm when he woke later. As a result, Bella didn't leave the hospital once for the next four days, in spite of the insistence of her friends, father, and even Edward. Bella had seen for herself just how much Edward needed her, and she was going to be there for him, only leaving long enough to take care of her personal needs in his private restroom. In Bella's mind, it was just one more thing that solidified that they were meant to be together, forever.