I'll save the apologies for the end of the chapter, but I just want you to know I'm so, so, so sorry!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Charlie's point of view:

I stared blankly down at the phone in my hand as I ran through my office and out the door. Carlisle's car was parked right outside and I wasted no time in sliding behind the wheel of my own car. Edward was missing. My daughter had gone after him, possibly leading to her own death.

"I'll kill him," these were the thoughts going through my head as I sped rapidly down the highway after Carlisle's car. "If he hurt her…" my thoughts were interrupted by the vibrating of my cell in my pocket.

Numbly, I reached down and flipped it open. "Charlie Swan, you tell me what the hell is going on right now!" Renee's voice came through the phone so loud that Victoria glanced over from the passenger seat.

"Renee, not now," I said, trying to keep my voice even.

"Charlie, you text me, tell me my daughter's in danger by some psycho, and expect me to just not call? Seriously, tell me, or I'll come up there myself!" she screeched into the phone.

"Actually, I think that would probably be best," I said quietly. "Get the next plane to Forks."

I flipped the phone shut before she could get in another word and turned it off. Returning my attention to the road, I took the next corner on two wheels, ignoring the looks I was getting from passers by. My only hope was that I wasn't too late.

"If anything happened to her," I said out loud. Victoria reached over and lightly touched my shoulder.

"Bella's tough," she said, trying to console me. "I'm sure she can take care of herself."

Neither of us were sure who she was trying to convince. "I remember," I said as I turned down another, darker road. "The last thing I said to her mother when we were arranging for her to come up here. I promised her that I would protect her from this kind of thing."

"Don't talk like that," Victoria chided me again.

"I wasn't even able to protect her from this," I groaned in frustration and pounded a fist into the dash board.

"What could you have done?" Victoria asked as we began driving down a driveway. "She loves Edward. She would have done everything in her power to protect him, no matter what anyone else had to say about it."

"I just wish I'd been more honest with her about the whole case," I said. "We could have helped each other figure this whole thing out, and no one would have gotten hurt."

Victoria was out of the car before it had even come to a complete stop. My gun was in my hand, safety off, as I jumped out of the car and sprinted for the house. Carlisle, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Esme were all right on my heels.

I was about half way to the door when a sudden commotion caught my eye. "Stop," I said and held out an arm to prevent the others from going any further. A figure stumbled from the house, running almost blindly it seemed straight toward me.

"Oh Christ," I heard Jasper mutter behind me. "Is that Edward?"

Esme stepped up beside me, her eyes growing wide as Edward came closer. He put on an extra burst of speed and slumped forward into Esme's arms. "Get her help," he gasped out and lowered Bella gently to the ground.

Edward's point of view:

I stepped quickly back, dropping the gun to the ground, and falling to my knees. My father's body lay sprawled across the floor, blood and brains splattered everywhere. I had just killed someone. A man was now dead on the floor because of me. I stared down at the red on my hands, fascinated with it.

Pain shot through me as I realized too late what I'd done. No matter who it was, someone was now dead. I had become the one thing I had sworn to myself I would never become. I had become a killer. "I'm nothing like you!" the words I had shouted at my father at one time rang through my head loudly. Maybe I was more like him than I thought.

A light touch on my hand brought me back to reality. "Edward," Bella's voice was so full of pain that it tore at my own heart. Bella.

A new wave of self hate hit me as I remembered her. I had been so caught up in my own misery that she had slipped my mind. "Oh god," I turned and stared down at her, face pale and drawn with pain. "Bella, please look at me."

I leaned forward and lifted her up into my arms. "I'm going to get help, okay?" I continued to talk to her as I stood and pushed the dark hair back from her face. The pain in my left arm was forgotten as I turned toward the door. "Bella, you're going to be okay." My voice broke and I tried to hide the tears that started in my eyes. "Please, I've lost so much and I don't want to lose you too!" I was running toward what used to be the front door. "And I know I'm probably the most selfish bastard on the planet, but don't die on me!"

I cradled her to my chest like a baby as I carefully maneuvered us through the remains of my front door. I could see people in the distance, but I didn't care who they were, as long as they had a phone for 911. Nothing else mattered to me but the girl in my arms. Jumping off the porch, I took off across the yard, ignoring my own exhaustion. It could wait until after she was safe. And she would be safe. Vaguely, I saw Esme's outline before I crashed into her. Her arms came up around me as I gasped for breath. "Get her out," I said between gasps for air as I lowered her gently to the ground.

Everything else seemed to happen in a blur. Bella reached up, and grabbed my hand, refusing to release it. Carlisle went into doctor mode so fast it made my head spin. "You, call 911. You, get me something to stop the bleeding. You, get out of my way." This directed at Charlie.

"But she's my daughter," he protested as he stepped back.

"I know, but in a situation like this, you're about as useful as a hooker at a queer convention," Carlisle explained as he took the towel and pulled up Bella's shirt.

Emmett snorted behind me and I looked quickly away from Bella's exposed breasts. "Edward, we're all adults here," Carlisle said, passing me a folded towel. "Look at what you're doing. I want you to put it to her side and apply pressure."

I nodded and pressed it over the wound, ignoring the hiss of pain from Bella. Leaning all of my weight over the towel, I pressed as hard as I dared. She never broke eye contact with me, and it broke my heart to see the pain there. I reached out and stroked her cheek lightly. "It's almost over now," I said quietly. She nodded and closed her eyes, a small smile twisting up her mouth.

The sound of sirens in approaching made me look up. The medics pushed past everyone and began loading her onto a stretcher. "We're going to have to ask you to move, sir," one of them said to me, but Bella's hand shot out and clenched onto my own.

"Stay," she said, her grip tightening. "Please, don't leave me."

My voice was level as I looked at the medic. "I think she's made her choice," I said through my teeth as I walked beside the stretcher. Carlisle climbed up into the ambulance first.

"Meet you at the hospital," Alice called, putting a restraining hand on Charlie's shoulder. I knew Charlie must be frustrated that he couldn't ride with his daughter, but at the moment I didn't really give a shit. "You're gonna be okay now," I said as we pulled into Forks Hospital.

I knew there would be so many questions thrown at both of us in the next few days, but I couldn't find it in myself to care. Bella was alive and that was all that mattered to me at this point.

We all sat around her bed, waiting on the drugs they'd given her to ware off. Even Renee had shown up. I smirked as I remembered how she'd sprinted into the room, demanding to know what had happened to Bella. She had yelled at Charlie for half an hour and had even slapped him once or twice. Like mother, like daughter. I'd told the story so many times by this point that my voice had become slightly hoarse.

Carlisle came behind me and put a light hand on my shoulder. "Good job tonight, son," he said, smiling down at me. "I don't think you've ever done anything so stupid, but so brave."

I shrugged and returned my eyes to Bella's face. Renee had hugged me and kissed me on the cheek so many times that I think I might have a permanent lipstick stain there.

The door behind us opened and Rosalie strolled casually inside. "I was at the police station getting what you asked me to," she said, slumping into a chair. I couldn't help but notice how she avoided Emmett's eyes. Instead, she opted to look at Charlie. I would have to remember to ask Emmett about that later. "Since Edward killed his father out of self defense and he was a cereal killer, the charges were dropped. Anyway, there's no one left alive who would press them." She stood up and hugged me. "If you ever do anything that stupid again, I'll shove my foot so far up your ass,"

"Rosalie, language," Esme broke in and Renee smirked. Rosalie lowered her head and stared at Bella's bedspread.

I looked at Bella. Suddenly, I was aware of a feeling spreading through me. It was a need, a yearning to be close to her, to hold her, and protect her from everything. I stared hard at her and knew that I would do anything she asked without question. Jasper laughed quietly next to me. "So, you finally acknowledged it then," he said as Alice laughed.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, turning to look at him.

"You love her," Alice spoke up from Jasper's lap. "It's written all over your face."

I reached out and pushed some hair off her face again. "I, yes," I said, testing the words in my mind and feeling like such a child. "I love Bella."

I didn't realize what I'd said until the entire room had become silent. "I told you so," Victoria said from across the room. Charlie shot me a look that said clearly 'Hurt her and I'll kill you." I smiled at him to show that hurting Bella was the last thing on my mind, but his hand still twitched toward his gun.

Bella's point of view:

Pain in my left side was the first thing I felt as I began to regain consciousness. The next thing that registered was the hand wrapped securely around mine. "I think she's coming around," it was my mom's voice. What was Renee doing up here?

I opened my eyes, and then closed them quickly, wincing in pain because of the bright light. I heard someone move to close the curtains and tried again. A slow smile spread over my face as I stared around the room, taking in all the faces there. That was the last thing I saw before my vision was obscured by a mass of dark hair. Renee threw her arms around me and I winced as she hit my side. "Sorry," she said as she kissed my cheek. "Oh Bella, if you ever scare me like that again,"

"Hey, mom," I interrupted as she pulled herself off me. "It's good to see you too, but I need to breathe."

Edward chuckled and my eyes immediately snapped to his face. Our eyes locked and he stared into my eyes with so much intensity that it took my breath away. "I'm going to get something to eat," Carlisle spoke up suddenly. "I think we all need something."

Renee nodded and jumped up from the mattress, turning and grabbing Charlie's hand. "I agree with Carlisle," she said, looking around the room. Inside my head, I was thanking my mother. Everyone began standing and leaving the room. Rosalie shot me a wink and closed the door behind her.

I tried to sit up, but couldn't quite make it. Edward stood and lifted me gently into the sitting position I was trying to get. He looked down at me, not quite sure what to say. "Thank you," he said, hugging me again. "I owe you so much."

"You saved me," I said quietly. "You killed your own father to save me. Edward, it's I who should be thanking you."

His face tightened at the mention of his father's death. I leaned over and put my arms around him again. "You did what you had to," I tried to assure him. "Nobody blames you for it."

"I know," he said. "But I killed someone, Bella. I fucking killed someone. And you almost died in the process."

"Yeah, but I didn't," I pointed out. "And it's all because of you. Thank you for not letting me die."

"Why would I let you die? I love you," the last part seemed to have slipped out without him noticing, because he put a hand to his mouth and stared hard at the ground. My heart jumped in my chest, and I barely held the smile off of my face. Suddenly, my stab and gunshot wounds didn't seem so painful anymore.

"What did you say?" I was trying to keep from dancing around the room. Edward didn't look at me. I leaned forward and tilted his head, so that he didn't have any other choice.

"I said," he suddenly looked at me hard and took a deep breath. "I said I love you."

And then his lips were on mine and there was nothing else in the world. Edward's lips were warm and soft against mine. I put my arms around his neck and twisted my hands through his hair. He lifted me from the bed, so that I was straddling his lap. "I love you," I said between kisses.

I felt his tongue touching my bottom lip and allowed it entrance. He moaned into my mouth and I smiled, pushing myself closer to him as our tongues fought for dominance.

"Ahem," came Carlisle's voice from behind us. We pulled apart and I looked up at him, a blush creeping into my cheeks. "I was just going to ask if you two wanted anything to eat," he laughed. "But I can see that you're kind of busy, so I'll just come back later."

"You do that," Edward said, pulling my face back to his. I giggled as he kissed me again, softer this time. Kissing Edward was like nothing I had ever experienced in my life before. It was heaven.

I pulled away and snuggled deep into his lap. "You're so much more comfortable than the bed," I told him and leaned my head against his shoulder.

"Glad to be of service?" he asked and chuckled. I laughed too and began thinking of all that we'd been through. It amazed me now that Brad had only died a couple of months ago. And then something hit me and I sat straight up in Edward's arms, twisting my body to stare into Edward's eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked, his body tensing.

"Edward, when did your father break out of jail?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly.

"About a month ago, why?" he asked in confusion.

A steel hand seemed to close around my chest. We thought we had done it. Edward had thought he was doing the right thing by going after his father, but we had all been wrong. We had all been so dreadfully wrong, and now more people could die for our mistakes. "Edward, Brad was dead an entire month before your father broke out of jail," I said.

I'm so sorry for not updating in like a month. You see, I had a wrestling tournament every weekend, and I had finals to worry about. If it makes you feel better, I have been working all day on this chapter for you all. So I hope you enjoy this chapter. Now, I'm off to watch the super bowl. Go Stealers!