The Definition of 'Surrender'

verb; to yield (something) to the possession or power of another; deliver up possession of on demand or under duress

All things Twilight related belong to Stephanie Meyer


I sat in my uncomfortable wooden chair, just staring at Aro. He was opposite me on the dusty bed, his hands still in cuffs and his eyes wandering, seeking out something to aid his temporary blindness. Bella said it would last at least a few days. I didn't feel sorry for him in the slightest.

Aro and I hadn't talked in over an hour. Bella had left me alone to guard him while she went out to do God knows what. She was very quiet about her plan, but I figured she had something up her sleeve on how we were going to reach Carlisle. That was our ultimate goal. I just had to sit and wait for her to come back.

"You're not helping anyone by doing this, Mr. Cullen," Aro said, his head turning in my direction.

"Excuse me?"

"You're not helping anyone and you can't save Bella."

"I'm not trying to save her."

"Yes, you are. You think this is helping her get better? She needs me. Not some flighty boyfriend who leads her down the wrong path."

"You are no good for anyone." I cracked my neck.

He smirked. "You feeling antsy?"

"No."

"How long has it been since you've had any medication?"

"I'm not sure," I lied. It had been a little over five days. Not good, but I had gotten better at ignoring that fact.

"You can't fight instincts, Mr. Cullen. Max will take over if you don't let me help you."

"I'll wait until I see Carlisle."

Aro rolled his eyes, and even though he couldn't see, I think his point was clear by the gesture. "Carlisle wasn't helping you. That's why you became my patient."

"No. He was doing just fine. I was getting better."

"Can I tell you something?" He didn't wait for an answer. "There's no curing a man like you, Edward."

"Yes, there is." I roared and shot up from the chair. I sat back down immediately once I realized that I might charge this man. "I will get better."

"You attacked two people and didn't remember a thing. I think that's quite an important factor in understanding why you're so sick."

I stayed silent.

"You have no control over yourself and probably never will. You can't fight genetics."

"What are you talking about?"

"There is overwhelming evidence that bipolar disorder can be inherited and that there is a genetic vulnerability to developing the illness if a child is born to a patient with the illness."

"You don't know what you're talking about…"

"Your father, do you remember those times when he went away on 'business'?"

"He was gone a lot." I didn't like where this conversation was going, but I couldn't stop myself from answering his questions.

"He was coming to see me, Edward. Your father was a patient of mine for many years."

"No, he wasn't." My voice rasped and became gritty with anger.

"Oh, but he was. You know the symptoms. Some days he would be so loving towards you and then others, he seemed far too distant, almost as if he didn't know who you were."

"No—"

"Stop trying to fight this, Edward. You are sick because your father was sick. You're one in the same."

"No!" I jumped out of my chair and extended my arm, punching Aro in the face. His neck snapped to the left, and he grunted out in pain but didn't slump over. "You're lying. Stop it!"

"He had been coming to me for years, long before I was even at Windemere. Your mother didn't even know about it."

"She would know."

"But how? You know that he liked to keep his secrets. He was the best at hiding things and he certainly wouldn't let anyone know he was sick. His disorder has never been recorded or was even put in his medical history. I made sure of that. Do you think that car crash was an accident? I'm sorry, Edward, but no. Your father was one of my patients that had absolutely no way of getting better. I tried to help him, but he was too far gone."

"You 're lying," I repeated and hit him again… then again.

"You'll never be healed. I'm sorry to tell you that, but it's true."

"Shut up." I pulled at my hair and banged my head on the wall. "Please just shut up."

"You and Bella aren't good for each other. You're both damaging."

"No, the other people in her life are damaging. That includes you, and her father who never comes to visit. She needs me. I'm good for her."

Aro's brow scrunched. "What did you just say?"

"What?"

"You… talked about her father."

"Yes. Charlie." I started to pace. "He never comes to visit her. I've never seen him and it seems like he doesn't have any interest in her life, but Bella loves him so much."

"Edward, Bella's father died five years ago."

I stopped moving. "No… no, she said…"

"He's dead, Edward. I assure you Charles Swan died five years ago on the job. He was a police officer. What has she been telling you exactly?"

I couldn't breathe. I could barely stay up straight. I had to plop back in the chair so the room would stop spinning.

"This just proves what I've been telling you for a long time," Aro said with an air of superiority. "Bella is… not well. She needs me to help her."

"That… doesn't make sense. She said…" I exhaled.

"She's not well in the head." He darkly chuckled. "It's to be expected."

"No!"

"You're learning a lot today, Edward. How do you feel? I told you not to trust her. I told you that, remember?"

I couldn't take anymore and stormed out of the room in dramatic fashion, slamming the door behind me.

She's not well…

Was Bella just as bad as the rest of us? Was she making things up in her mind? Maybe this was just a coping mechanism. I was sure she knew her father was dead. Or maybe Aro was messing with my head to begin with. That seemed like something he would do.

"Just calm yourself, Edward." I stood up straight and inhaled deeply.

"But what about your father?" Max asked, not so tactfully.

On some level, I knew he wasn't lying about Edward Sr. Nothing surprised me about that man anymore. He was sick and his fucking genes were imbedded in my body. This was his fault. All of this. He had damaged me beyond repair. I knew enough about medicine to deduce what Aro's words meant. You can't cure genetics. No amount of medicine or therapy would stop me from being who I was inside.

I once again started to bang my head on the wooden wall, trying to pound myself into unconsciousness. I didn't know how long I did it, but I was starting to feel numb after a couple of minutes.

"Edward! What are you doing?" Bella's voice sounded panicked and worried. "Stop it."

I was pulled away from the wall and felt dizzy, teetering on my feet wildly.

"Are you trying to kill yourself?" Small hands guided me to a chair and I was gently placed in a soft cushion. "Don't move."

My vision was blurry, so I couldn't really see anything, but I heard her feet scurry away, and then come back a second later.

"This is going to sting a little," Bella said remorsefully. "I'm sorry."

I hissed in pain as cool liquid touched my forehead and caused it to erupt in fire.

"Don't move, Edward. I have to clean it."

"Clean what?" My whole head was throbbing at this point.

"You have a huge gash on your forehead. What the hell did you do?"

"Oh," I sighed.

"Were you trying to kill yourself or something?"

"Yes," I admitted. "Probably."

"Why?" Her face was starting to come into focus, and I could see just how scared she was. She had blood all over her hands and was furiously wiping my face with gauze.

"Bella, I want to meet your father," I said lowly, my voice almost a whisper.

She stopped moving for a second, and her eyes flickered away from mine, but then she resumed her actions. "He only visits about once a year."

"I remember one time you said he already left so I couldn't meet him. I was just wondering when I might?" I shrugged as if it didn't bother me.

Bella took a towel and gently wiped off my head before standing up to wrap it in fluffy bandages. "You might."

"I think I need to tell him that I'm in love with his daughter."

"He knows. I've told him." She was lying. I could hear it in her voice.

"What is he like?"

She sighed and sat back in front of me, my blood still on her hands. "Why are you asking me all of this, Edward?"

"I just want to know."

"I've never met your mother."

"Would you like to?"

"Sure, but I don't understand why you'd want to meet Charlie."

She blinked a couple of times before getting up and rushing to the bathroom. I followed after her. "Bella—"

"I don't think that would be a good idea." She started washing her hands, scrubbing furiously.

"Why not?" I was getting agitated.

"Because I don't think it is, okay? Just leave it."

She tried to leave the bathroom, but I blocked her path. "Where is he, Bella?"

"Get out of my way." Her lips were quivering.

"Tell me where your father is?"

"He's at his house, in his room, or watching ESPN."

"Really?"

"Yes. He lives in Forks. It's a couple of hours from here. Why are you asking me all of this?" Her tears were breaking my heart, but I let them fall without trying to comfort her.

"Tell me the truth, Bella," I demanded. "Where's Charlie?"

"He's—"

"He's dead, isn't he? He's not here anymore."

"Don't say that!" She pushed me in the chest hard, and I stumbled backwards. "He's fine. He just doesn't like to visit me."

"No, Bella. He's dead."

"No, he's not." Her fists started to pound the shit out of my body, everywhere. It didn't really hurt, but I got the point. I let her continue for a few seconds before grabbing her hands in mine.

"Bella, you need to tell me the truth."

"I did. I swear." She was crying so hard that her body was shaking. I had never seen her like this. "He's in his house. I know he is."

"When was the last time you saw him?" I asked her, my demeanor a lot calmer. I saw how much she was hurting and just wanted her to talk.

She turned away from me, but I didn't let go.

"Bella, please. You have to talk to me. When did you last see him?"

"A couple years ago. I don't know." Her speech was muddle by the tears. "Let me go."

"I'm not going to do that if you hit me again."

She didn't answer. I loosened my grasp, and she immediately attacked me. I bolted her to the wall with my body.

"Edward, I can't do this."

"I just need you to tell me the truth."

"I can't remember, but he's here. I know he is."

"No, Bella. Your father isn't here." I hugged her.

"Edward!" The voice was deep, loud, and commanding. I hadn't heard it in a long time. I let her go and spun around.

"What did you do to her?" Carlisle rushed forward, pushing me out of the way to get to Bella.

I was stunned and at a loss of what to say. Bella sunk to the floor, a mass of tears. He crouched down and started to talk to her in a quiet tone.

"Yay. You're back." A small bundle of joy jumped on my back and lips started to kiss my neck. "Edward, I have so much to tell you."

"Alice, what are you doing here?" I was so confused and trying to focus on Bella, but she was making it very hard. "Get off of me."

"No. I'll never let you two go again. I missed her." Her arms held me tighter.

I lifted Alice up and set her in front of me, easily handling her small body. "You are too much for me right now. "

"But you have to admit that you missed me." She smiled.

I chuckled, "Yes, I did."

"Oh, what happened to Bella?" Her eyes grew, "And your head?"

"Nothing. I'll handle it." Carlisle picked her up and carried her off into another room.

"What's going on?" Aro shouted from down the hall.

"I see he's still being held captive." Alice shook her head before taking my hand. "Come on. I have so much to tell you."

"Wait, wait. I need to check on Bella."

"No. You leave her alone." For such a small person, Alice had a lot of strength and pulled me onto the ugly brown couch. It was starting to get dark outside, but I wasn't sure what time it was. "What happened?"

"We started talking about her father and…"

"Oh, no. Bad move, Edward." Alice patted my knee.

"Why?"

"She doesn't know he's dead," she whispered.

"What?"

"Well, she knows, but she refuses to acknowledge it. Carlisle says it's just better if we all act like it didn't happen."

"That's…"

"Insane? I know, but it works. Every year he takes her to visit his grave, but she always comes back like nothing's wrong."

"How is that helping her?"

"I don't know. I'm not her doctor." Alice shrugged. "She used to act like that all the time. The crying, the outbursts. It was a daily thing. And then, when you got here, it kind of stopped."

"This can't be happening. You're all enabling her." I rubbed my forehead, which was starting to hurt again.

"Don't judge her."

"I'm not, but why haven't I heard anything about this until now?"

"We didn't think it would come up so soon."

"Really?"

"Not to that extent. Usually Bella just waves the questions off. She never talks about it."

"God, I can't believe this." I leaned back, resting against the couch. "How exactly are you here, anyway?"

"Oh, I, um, snuck out." She blushed.

"With Carlisle?"

"I can't lie for shit." She pulled her legs up under her. "He caught me and wouldn't let me leave. I tried to lie, I really did."

"What has been going on here?"

"Oh, my God. It's a massive war!" she exclaimed. "First of all, after you two left, everyone went crazy. Carlisle got so mad and he quit."

"He did what?" I sat up too quickly, and my head started to spin.

"Yup." She nodded. "He did, and then he sued not only the state, but the board of Windemere and each of the doctors, including Aro."

"On what grounds?"

"Patient mistreatment, medical malpractice, negligence, a whole bunch of stuff. And not just on Bella's and your cases, but all of ours. He wants us moved away from the facility to somewhere in Florida where they'll actually help. He said he's been thinking about for a while, but Bella and you just set him off. He had to get you two back."

I was speechless, once again, for the second time today. That never happened.

"But he's still up here every day to check on everything. The board is throwing so much money at him to drop the lawsuit, but he won't do it. He's bringing the state to court so that they'll change their mental patient laws. I don't really understand it, but it's in all the papers."

"Wow."

"Yeah, yeah." She scooted closer, "And your mother is helping him."

"She's doing what?"

"Esme is calling the best lawyers from everywhere. She said that Carlisle probably won't win of all his cases, but at least he's bringing attention to the subject."

"How can he sue a place he worked at for so many years and vouched for?"

"He has so many files of malpractice on Aro. It's ridiculous. And the way the board runs Windemere, he says it's borderline illegal already, so it won't be that hard to prove it to the courts."

"Holy shit. He's really doing this, isn't he?"

"Oh, yes, he is. He hasn't gotten far besides filling the stuff, but Esme thinks it could take years. And, of course, we've all been following you two as you race across the countryside. It's been very exciting."

"Not really." I grinned half-heartedly.

"It's on the news a lot. They have no idea where you two went and everyone's afraid Aro's dead."

"She was talking to you the whole time?" I asked.

Alice nodded. "She's been planning this thing since she realized they were shipping her off. She never intended to stay there."

"Alice, Bella wants to see you." Carlisle strode into the room, a dangerous scowl on his face.

She kissed my cheek and jumped off of the couch, skipping away.

Carlisle was mad. I could tell that much by his breathing and the way his fists clenched. He started to pace, almost like I did, but he had a smaller gait. He walked slowly and calmly, but he was steaming under the surface.

"What did you think you would accomplish by any of this?" he asked.

"I thought…"

"No, you weren't thinking. Do you realize how much trouble you're in? And not just you, but all mental facilities in the country are now on high alert because of the stunt you two pulled."

"We were just trying to get out." I hung my head.

"You could have called me, Edward."

"Or you could have called us. You abandoned us to be with that monster."

"I was fighting for you!" I had never seen him so angry. "I did everything in my power to keep you here, but I couldn't. When they took you two, I immediately sued for everything under the sun and tried to fight."

"We couldn't stay there. We got out anyway we could."

"By kidnapping a registered psychiatrist? You could be in so much trouble."

"Oh, really, they're going to send me to jail? It's not like I'm getting out of here anytime soon, because there's no cure for me."

"That's not true, Edward."

"Yes, it is. My father was sick, just like I am. There's nothing you—or anyone, for that matter—can do to treat me. I'm going to be stuck in this fucking hell hole for the rest of my life."

"Edward…"

"And what the hell gives you the right to decide how Bella deals with her father? She needs to know that he's dead and never coming back!"

"That's not how everyone can deal with things. She needs a gradual progression into that."

"You're making her go crazy. You're no better than Aro."

"I have to turn you two in; you know that, right?" He looked at me with such shame that it almost hurt.

"I don't care. Do whatever you want." I held my head in my hands.

"Uh, excuse me," Aro opened the door and wobbled out of the room. "Carlisle, help me."

"Aro, you're fine."

"They've blinded me."

Carlisle went over to check his pulse and flashed a light in his eyes. "This will only last another couple of days, maybe just one. Don't worry."

"What is going on? Are they being punished?"

"Let me worry about that. Just go lie back down."

"No! I demand to be taken out of here."

"Aro, I'm handling this," Carlisle said sternly.

"Don't speak to me like that—"

Carlisle nearly pushed him back into the room and threw him on the bed roughly. He came back out and didn't bother closing the door.

"Edward, I just want you to know that I didn't mean for any of this to happen," Carlisle said.

"How did my life turn into some kind of horrible soap opera?"

"I just want you to know that I'm going to do everything to get your better." He started to talk rather quickly. "Just follow directions and let me handle things."

"What did you do?" I raised my head.

Before I could answer, the door of the cabin busted open. Police were suddenly everywhere, swarming me with guns and commands. There must have been ten of them in that small, enclosed space.

I struggled as much as I could, remembering Bella in the back.

"How could you do this?" I shouted at Carlisle who looked truly saddened by the sight in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I had to."

"Edward Cullen, you're under arrest for kidnapping..."

I purposefully tuned the voice out as I felt my hands in cuffs. That seemed to be a regular occurrence in the past couple of months.

I couldn't see Bella, but I could hear her protests from behind me. Carlisle was trying to calm her down. Alice was screaming obscenities. It was a madhouse.

I was pushed outside. The sun had now set and it was completely dark in the meadow, but there were a couple of police cars flashing their lights. I was shoved into the back of one with enough force to bang my head against the opposite window.

I grunted in pain as the door slammed shut.

I didn't know where I was being taken or what was going to happen to us but I saw Bella's frightened eyes as she was put in another car.

I just prayed like hell it wouldn't be my last memory of her.


HOLY SHOCKER BATMAN

Lots of things revealed in this chapter, no? Edward Sr. was sick? Bella's father is dead? What is going on? Crazy, i know. Sometimes, I shock just keeps getting more and more out there, but that's what I like. So, they've been caught. It was how it has to be. Sorry. Fun coulnd't last forever.

How did you like the chapter? Tell me in a review.

Thanks to suzie55 for the pre-reading and Jennyb0719 for the beta work. And thank all of you for being so patient. It takes a lot to write this story and get the details right. Long writing process.