HEY EVERYONE!

I'm so so so sorry for not telling you, but i was away all weekend skiing! I didn't have time to update my story, so sorry to keep you all waiting! Please forgive me, i'll try to be quicker, but school is starting on wednesday, so i don't know how much time i'll have.

Anyways, here is the next chapter! It was going to be longer, but i decided to stretch it out a bit into another chapter, which is coming tomorrow.

DISCLAIMER - i don't own Twilight, but Edward is locked in my cellar and not even his vampireness can help him! MUIAHAHAHAHHA! *crashing noise*

Edward - grrrrr

Me - o_O

Bella - grrrr

Me - x_X

B + E - XD

Enjoy! Read on, my brave warriors!

Edward's POV

I woke with Bella still in my arms, both my hands clasped in hers. I found that strange, I only remembered taking one of her hands. I shrugged to myself and gently brushed some stray hair out of her face, enjoying her gentle blush and the erratic beeping.

Someone else chuckled from the corner of the room, and I looked over to see Emmett grinning, stretched out on the sofa with a comic in his hands. "Nice to see you're awake, man. You wouldn't believe the amount of nurses who've come past and peeked in through the window." I glanced towards the door and a nurse who was watching us quickly ducked out of sight. Emmett chuckled again, "I think that's the fourth time she's looked in." He greeted her with a scary grin when she re-appeared, and she scarpered, her face tomato red.

I sighed, "Where is everyone?"

"It's like 5 in the morning, Eddie. Alice, Rose and Jasper all went home yesterday, and I stayed to guard you and Bella from over-excited squealing nurses." Bella murmured a little from beside me and I started. Emmett nodded, "She's been sleep talking again. Not much, but I think I could make out your name once or twice. It's amazing," he mused, watching Bella's lips move, "she wasn't making a sound yesterday, yet one night with you next to her and she's already sleep talking again." He shook his head, "She is one crazy girl."

Before I could answer Tess knocked on the door, smiling widely. "Good morning! Glad to see you're awake. Sorry I'm here so early, but I need to check up on Bella." I nodded and made to slide off the bed, but Bella moaned loudly and held onto my hand tightly, trying to hold me still. I distinctly heard her say, "No."

Tess and Emmett both laughed, "It's ok Edward, you can stay where you are. I don't think Bella'll let you leave anyway." I sighed and shifted back into my original position. Tess checked the machines, "A lot more dream spikes than yesterday. Has Bella done anything different since I last saw her?"

Emmett answered for me, "She's been sleep talking, and shifting about a bit. You saw her take his hand last night."

Tess nodded, and I gasped, "She moved?"

"Yeah. Last night, after you fell asleep, she took your other hand then went back to her 'sleeping beauty sleep'. It wasn't much, but still.."

"It show's she's getting better," I finished for her.

Tess left with another bright smile, and Emmett said, "Why don't you go get something to eat, Edward? I'll stay here and talk to Bella while you're gone." I was very hungry, but I wasn't sure I wanted to leave. Emmett grinned, "Don't worry, she'll be fine. If you tell her I'm sure she won't mind."

I rolled my eyes at Emmett but whispered quietly to Bella anyway. "Bells, love, I'm just going to the café quickly to get something to eat, alright? I'll be back before you know it." Bella didn't respond but her grip loosened slightly, allowing me to slide my hands out of hers and swing my legs off the bed. Emmett took Bella's hand and shook out his comic.

"Ok, Bells, I'm going to educate you in the ways of the great Spiderman!" If Bella was awake, I would imagine her groaning loudly. I smiled and opened the door, ignoring the curious stares from the nurses around me.

Emmett's POV

"And then…wham! Spiderman was attacked! But Spiderman was too clever! He used his string stuff to swing over a lamppost and onto the roof of a building! Stuff exploded! A car went flying through the air!" I laughed loudly, "Enjoying this, eh Bells? I must admit it is very exciting. Remind me to buy you some of these when you wake up."

I glanced at Bella again, wishing she could be awake so I could speak to her. It was lonely, reading Spiderman by yourself. Especially when the other man here is a total pansy and only cared about playing piano. I rolled my eyes. I was definitely going to have to do something about Edward's non-manliness. There was a reason that I had suspected he was gay.

I shot another glare at yet another staring nurse; seriously, when were these women going to give up? I wasn't available! And nor was Edward, but that was beside the point.

Edward had been gone for a while now; it was unlike him to stay away from Bella for more than 5 minutes. Bella moaned a little and her eyes flickered, but she didn't wake, so I just shrugged, turned back to my comic and read some more out, laughing loudly at the very funny bits. Bella didn't seem to appreciate the humour of Spiderman, but I let her off, because she was unconscious.

"Edward?"

I didn't notice Bella's breathing deepen slightly, too immersed in Spiderman, but when her chest hitched and she gasped, I stood up quickly.

"Bella?!"

Her face was squeezed up in some sort of grimace, and she was breathing hard. The monitors started going crazy, and I panicked. "Bella!" I cried again, reaching for the call nurse button and holding it down. Her eyes were moving quickly under her eyelids, and she was gasping for breath. I was at a loss for anything to do, so I just held on to her hand tightly, waiting for the nurse to come.

Suddenly Bella's eyes flew open. She stared around wildly, crying, "Edward? Edward!"

"Shh, Bells, shh, he's coming." I patted her hand gently, and she flicked her head around to look at me, her eyes wild.

"Emmett?"

I nodded, and she grimaced. I smoothed her forehead clumsily, and said, "Shh, Bella, tell me what's wrong."

"I can't…breathe…Emmett…it hurts!" She gasped and I gripped her hand.

"Don't worry, I called a nurse. Just relax…just focus on breathing."

But she couldn't. She kept panting, her breath hitching and catching in her throat. Her heart seemed to be going so fast that the beeping on the monitors sounded like one note. I stood up and smoothed Bella's forehead again frantically, "Shh, Bella, calm down."

"Ow…Em, it hurts! My head…" her voice was pitched high in terror. She winced, "and my chest! Ow! Edward!" she called again; by now I was having a panic attack myself.

"Just keep breathing Bells!" I pressed the nurse button again, and Bella whimpered in pain. She gave one last shuddering gasp and then fell back, her eyes closing again, her chest barely rising and falling.

"Bella! Bella! Shit!" A doctor burst through the door, and I screamed at him, "Something's happening! Help her!"

He ran over and pressed a finger to her pulse point, "It's ok, she's alright. We need to calm her down; something woke her up too early. She couldn't handle it…" He opened a case which had suddenly appeared and pulled out a needle, injecting something straight into her arm. He looked up at me, "Morphine. Help her sleep, calm her down."

"But she just woke up! Won't she go back to being comatose?"

The doctor looked a little surprised at my use of long words; I would've smirked if I wasn't so panicked, "Hopefully not. Just into a normal sleep."

I nodded, "Edward's gonna kill me."

I wasn't wrong, a few minutes later, Edward shot through the doorway, "What's happening? Is she ok?!"

"Yeah, she's fine, we think."

"You think?!"

The doctor took over, looking at Edward seriously over his glasses, "She woke up too early, and her nerves weren't ready for it. She panicked and began hyperventilating. Did she complain of any pain?" he asked me.

I nodded, "She mentioned her head, and chest."

The doctor nodded, "We're going to have to make sure the epidural hematoma hasn't re-occurred. Excuse me, please." He unclipped Bella's bed and began to wheel her away, aided by a nurse who had just run into the room. Edward stood back and stared after Bella, his eyes blank.

I sighed heavily and went to lie on the sofa, stretching my legs out and staring at the ceiling. Edward's fists were tightly clenched, and his expression was murderous when he turned to me.

"What. Did. You. Do?"

I backed up a little, afraid of him for the first time in my life. "Nothing, I swear. I was reading Spiderman, and I was being quiet, honest. She just woke up and freaked out. I tried to calm her down, I really did, but you weren't there, so what could I do?"

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose, breathing deeply then fell into a chair. "I wasn't there. And I should've been."

I frowned, "Edward, it's not your fault. Fate just saw fit to wake her up just as you were out getting something to eat. You can't blame yourself for needing food. And I'm sure she's fine." I looked worriedly over to the door as I said it, wondering if I was being over optimistic. How much bleeding can one brain take?

Edward's POV

Emmett and I sat in silence, worry eating me away from the inside. Emmett picked up his comic, but then seemed to decide against it and threw it into a corner.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Alice skipped in the door, saying brightly, "Good morning! How's-"

She noticed the lack of bed, and Bella, and shrieked, "OH MY GOD!! What happened to Bella?!"

She looked at me, her eyes wide with anxiety. Emmett answered for me, "She woke up, and had a panic attack, so they took her away to make sure her brain doesn't start bleeding again."

"Great." Alice lost her cheerful expression and slumped against the wall, Jasper stroking her hair soothingly. Rosalie folded herself into Emmet's lap. The silence returned again, broken by Alice when she asked, "So, how was Bella last night?"

I shrugged, "Fine. I got her to blush, and apparently she moved her hand."

Jasper raised a brow, "And that's important…why?"

Emmett rolled his eyes, obviously glad to have the edge over Jasper, "C'mon Jasper, that's really big news for a person in a coma. She's 'responding'. And she talked when she was awake."

"Did she recognise you both?"

"Only I was there, but she seemed to know who I was. Though, who would forget me?" This earned him a smack on the shoulder from Rose, and an annoyed growl from me. "Hey, just trying to lighten the atmosphere."

Alice sighed, "Well, at least we're making some progress. I wonder if she'll wake up properly soon. I miss Bella and her klutziness."

"Her bad luck was what got her into this mess." I said gloomily. Rosalie shuffled uncomfortably, her face suddenly unusually sad.

"Rose, what's wrong?" asked Emmett.

"Nothing."

"Rose."

"It's nothing really…" But her voice cracked a little when she said this, and her eyes glistened.

"Rose?" Emmett stroked her cheek worriedly, and she buried her face in his shoulder. "What?" He moved his head closer to hers. "No, Rosie, no, it's not your fault."

Alice looked startled, "Rose? Your fault? Why would it be your fault?"

"Because!" She looked back at us, her face red and tearstained, "It was my stupid ex-fiancée who did it! He put Bella in that stupid coma! He has her lying in that bed, unconscious! And he was my ex-fiancée!" She began to cry again, "I brought this all on you! I was too selfish to stay away from Emmett, and now look what's happened!" We all stared at her, shock plastered on all of our faces. Rose crumpled again, her big eyes trained on me, "I'm so sorry Edward. It's all my fault!" And with that she put her face in her hands and sobbed quietly. Emmett wrapped his arms around her and attempted to calm her, and Alice ran over and hugged her too.

"Oh Rose, it's not your fault! Of course we don't blame you, this was an accident! And we should've known Royce would try something, leaving Bella alone definitely wasn't the best idea. Don't blame yourself, Rose, please!"

Rose shook her head, and I got up, feeling she wanted my forgiveness more than anyone's. I sat down next to her and Emmett. "Rosalie, it isn't your fault. No one here blames you, least of all me. If anyone's to blame, it's Royce, and he knows whats coming to him. Well, at least I know what I'm going to do to him." Rose giggled a little despite herself, "Don't beat yourself up, ok? I blame myself too, you know. I shouldnt've left her here alone." Everyone else began to protest, but I put my hand up, "Don't try it, guys. We have plenty of time for regret. We just have to get Bella better."

They all nodded.

Over the next 2 weeks, nothing got better. Bella returned, apparently completely ok, but she refused to wake up. Not even my presence made her do anything anymore; she lay quiet and still, like a china doll. I stayed every night, and sometimes Alice did too. Every now and again they would force me home to do some schoolwork, take a shower and eat something other than hospital food.

The doctors where at a loss as to why Bella wouldn't wake up; according to them, there was nothing wrong with her. Her epidural hematoma had healed nicely; she had no other injuries or diseases. We supposed it was because she didn't feel ready to wake up yet, though I couldn't see why. The only conclusion I could come to, when I curled up next to her at night at the end of the second week, was that Bella just wanted some time alone.

Bella's POV

The darkness was back again. And it hurt too.

Everything hurt, especially my head. I couldn't remember where the pain had come from, all I could recall was a bright light, and a curly headed man sitting next to me and shouting. I didn't think I knew who he was.

Oh joy. Here I was, stuck where I was before, when I'd just managed to make some progress. If I could roll my eyes, I would.

The strangest thing was, I could hear everything everyone was saying, but I just couldn't drag myself out of my sub consciousness (I figured that's where I was) to respond to them.

The big sounding man and his Spiderman tales had carried on, and, to my despair, I now knew nearly everything about Spiderman and his various foes. The man had started watching the movies beside my bed, and if I had to hear one of Spiderman's 'arch enemies'' monologues one more time I was going to strangle him, no matter how long it took for me to get there.

After a while I fell back into my head, the voices around me going blurry as I went to sleep again, something I was doing a lot of the time now. How much sleep did I need before I was allowed to wake up?

Later

There was a soft humming coming from somewhere in my head; I could hear it quite clearly. It was a familiar tune and I recognised it, but I couldn't for the life of me remember where I had heard it before.

The melody continued, moving up tones and down octaves, and I breathed deeply, stretching myself out, feeling lighter than I had in days. I was faintly aware that an arm was around my waist and a hand was holding mine, but I was too wrapped up in the beautiful voice to notice.

I yawned and moved my head on the pillow, smiling happily, all the pain I felt gone. The velvet tones cut off, replaced by a gasp of surprise. I moaned, annoyed by the absence of the voice and opened my eyes slowly.

I was in a white room, which was darkened by the starry night outside the window. There was a lamp on in the corner, emitting a soft white glow. The floor around me was covered in cards, comics, videos, clothes and the table was overflowing with flowers and cards. I shook my head, extremely confused, and then stiffened as the arm around my waist tightened.

I turned to find a beautiful, bronze haired, green eyed boy staring back at me apprehensively. I felt my eyes widen in confusion as I looked at him, wondering who on earth he was. I shook my head at him, trying to wriggle lightly out of his grip. His brow furrowed, and my question froze on my lips as suddenly his eyes began to water and his face twisted in anguish. Why was this beautiful man crying? Who was he?

My jumbled thoughts started as I heard him whisper one word.

"Bella?"

Oh no! What shall we do?

Sorry for the cliffy, but it was such a perfect ending! Dw, it'll all be alright in the end.

Thankyou for all those reviews! I'm so close to 300 now! I LOVE YOU ALL!!! THANKYOU READERS!

It's nice to know my story got so much good reception! I've got a great new idea for a story i'll start when this one ends, i was planning it all weekend when i wasn't skiing! (i'm not doing that again, and here's why)

Right, so i ski around a pole, then find out it's all icy off the piste. I go flying onto my side and skid about 10 feet (vair painful)

My sister comes over to mock me, but she falls over too (haha)

My mum comes to save us, but then she falls over also.

We all end up sporting giant matching bruises on our right legs, mine the worst, and i have to limp everywhere.

So that is my skiing story. Anyway. I was thinking of Cullen skiing time (when they're all vampy's). Should i do a little story on that just for fun? I think it would be cool. Comments?

Review everyone! Happy Holidays/2009/School! (ugh)

Love ATO xxxx