AN: They're all back home now. Let's see how Edward's doing
Thanks to all my reviewers, I love every word I read. My eternal thanks to the usual suspects, MeteorOnAMoonlessNight for beta skills and MissLiss15 for pre-reading.
Disclaimer: Nothing has changed; Stephenie Meyer still owns twilight and Edward.
Chapter 28
Now, Bella
Charlie was almost asleep again by the time we reached the end of the road, but his grip on me never loosened. Rose drove quietly out of the estate and back onto the freeway, heading toward home, though I wasn't sure I would ever consider it to be mine.
I already liked Esme and Alice, and even Jasper, but I would never be able to live in that house; I was too used to my own space. I'd become used to Edward coming and going as part of his job of CEO of a large corporation, and I had never suspected anything of his true job. I trusted his love, but I wasn't sure about trusting anything else until we had a long talk, and he had to be honest about everything before we could move forward.
The only thing I knew was that I loved him almost beyond reason and that I would fight for what we had.
The lights on the freeway became more frequent, but were hypnotizing me with their flash, flash, flash as they passed by on the other side of the road. I'd not had much natural sleep over the last few nights and found myself drifting, my eyes closing for a few brief seconds before opening again to gaze sightlessly into the night. The radio was playing some late night music, which Rose had turned down low, but other than that, the car was silent.
"Not long now, B, and we'll be home." Rose's voice penetrated my brain and I pushed myself upright, blinking as the lights became brighter for a while and then darkened as we headed out of the other side of Chicago. Charlie murmured in his sleep but didn't wake.
Esme's words repeated over in my head. 'He's waiting here for you. And Bella, he's not happy.'
I knew before I left that Edward would be angry, mostly because he would have perceived that I put myself in danger, and if I was honest … yes, I probably had. But I just couldn't sit there any longer with no idea when Edward would actually be back. I knew in my gut that Charlie was in that house, and I couldn't hang around and just trust that Aro wouldn't move him somewhere else. I understood where Edward was coming from, but he would have to accept that things needed to change.
While all these thoughts were going through my head we drew up behind a taxi outside Carlisle and Esme's house. In the dim light coming from what I now knew to be the guard house, I recognized Carlisle and Garrett as they climbed out and walked through the smaller gate beside the electronically operated main gate, and headed toward the house, while the car they were in drove on and disappeared. Rose rolled down her window and spoke quietly to the guard who obviously recognized her, and the main gate slid open, letting us drive through.
I could see the lights spilling from the front door where Esme and Alice stood, and assumed that Lily was in bed. A silver Volvo sat facing the gate with the engine running, and I could see Jasper standing beside the rear door closest to the house, speaking to someone in the back of the car.
Rose drew the car up to the rear of the Volvo and I immediately pushed the door open and climbed out with Charlie in my arms. My heart lifted when Edward stepped out of the Volvo, but before I could do or say anything, he stumbled, going down onto one knee and sliding slowly to the ground.
Panicked, I handed Charlie off to Rose and raced toward Edward, who lay still. Carlisle was immediately on his knees feeling for a pulse.
"Is he all right, Carlisle? What's wrong with him?"
"He's been through a lot in the last week, and Vladimir's had a go at him more than once by the look of it." Carlisle looked around and nodded at Emmett and Garrett. "Give me a hand to get him upstairs. I'll take a look at him there."
"Are you sure he shouldn't be in the hospital, Carlisle? I don't know what he's been through, but he looks as if he needs professional help."
"He wouldn't like that, Bella, not to mention that if the police get wind of anything, they'll be only too happy to get their hands on him. No, he's okay at home for now; we have a doctor who can check him over." He looked up at me. "Are you okay, Bella?"
I looked down at myself, realizing that I had splatters of blood on my face and a few bruises were now forming where Aro had hit me that last time. Now that things had slowed down, I could feel the pain through my ribs and stomach but they were nothing compared to how bad Edward looked.
"Oh, it's not my blood, I don't think." When Carlisle raised his eyebrows, I smirked. "Aro's."
I could see the questions in Carlisle's eyes but, for the moment, he held his tongue, watching while Emmett and Garrett carefully lifted Edward between them and headed toward the front steps. In those few quiet moments, I could hear muffled noises and banging coming from the trunk of the car out of which Edward had stepped before collapsing spectacularly.
"Who's that?" I questioned, only realizing after I'd spoken that I'd already made the assumption that it was a person in the trunk. When Carlisle shook his head, I searched out the two who had been in the car at the same time as Edward. "Seth, isn't it?" At his nod, I repeated the question.
"Boss told us to take Caius. We found him. No time to put him out of his misery; boss wanted to get to you first."
Without really thinking, I climbed to my feet, prepared to follow Edward. "Stick him in the basement, please. We can get to him later; he's going nowhere."
Seth looked taken aback and when he glanced toward Carlisle, I frowned. "Don't look at him, Seth. Do as I tell you!" I said sharply.
Carlisle just shrugged, raised his eyebrows and looked faintly amused, though I couldn't see anything funny in the situation. Seth, too, shrugged and then nodded once, accepting my authority. He and Jared opened the trunk and pulled a furious Caius from its interior before dragging him around the side of the house and out of sight. Caius's muffled shouts faded as a door closed, and my thoughts turned to Edward. I held my arms out for Charlie, wanting to touch him to reassure myself he was really here. Rose handed a sleeping Charlie back to me and I followed Carlisle up the steps and into the house.
Emmett and Garrett carried Edward to the room we'd shared a few nights ago. Charlie was still asleep; it was still the middle of the night for him, so Rose offered to slip him into the bed in Lily's room for now, while we took care of Edward.
"Thanks, Rose. I'll be in later, okay?" Rose nodded and left the room as I turned back to Edward. Emmett and Garrett had left the room without a word, and Carlisle switched on the bedside lamp before murmuring something about calling their doctor and leaving the room. Esme was hovering in the doorway, but I was too concerned about the man I loved to reassure her right now; I wasn't reassured myself, and had no time to spend on anyone else.
Smiling apologetically at her, I pushed the door closed and turned to look at Edward, who was clad only in a dirty pair of gray sweatpants. Numerous cuts and bruises littered his face, some still bleeding a little, and his torso was covered in black bruises. His feet were stuffed into a pair of sneakers and when I pulled them from his feet, they, too were covered in small cuts. Tucking my fingers into the waistband of the sweatpants, I slid them down, wondering as I did how it was he had no boxers on. A quiet groan from Edward shook that thought from my head as I carefully dragged them off over his feet before covering him to his waist with the bedsheet.
Taking a seat beside him on the bed, I took his hand in mine, noticing the raw marks around his wrist. "Oh, Edward, what have they done to you?" My eyes stung with unshed tears, which I refused to let fall now, knowing that if I succumbed, I'd be useless, and he definitely needed me now.
The door opened, letting more light into the room along with Carlisle. "Dr. Gerandy is on his way, Bella." His voice was quiet but I could hear the worry in his tone; Edward hadn't regained consciousness and with the beating he'd taken, I was worried, too.
"He did make a few sounds a little while ago, but he's not been awake or said anything." After a few minutes silence, I spoke again. "What if he does need the hospital, Carlisle? Is it safe for him to go?"
"Don't worry about that, Bella, Dr. Gerandy will deal with whatever he can, and will be able to arrange for anything more, should it be required. He's been our family doctor for many years, and is loyal to us. This has to stay under the radar, Bella, you understand?" He came to sit in the chair beside the bed. "Aro had Edward beaten, and then we blew up the house, but I'm pretty sure he's been running on adrenaline. When he saw you and Charlie were safe, it's my guess that he just let go, and everything he's been through hit him at once."
Before I could say anything else, the door opened again and Esme showed an older man with graying hair into the room. Carlisle stood and held out his hand. "Dr. Gerandy, thank you for coming so quickly."
"It's okay, Carlisle. You know I'll always drop everything for your family." His smile was genuine and his eyes kind. "And you must be Bella, Edward's better half." When I looked at Carlisle quizzically, he looked sheepish and mouthed 'Esme'.
"Nice to meet you Dr. Gerandy." I rose and shook the hand he held out to me, and then stepped back toward the bed. "Can you help him, please?"
"Call me Peter, Bella, and yes, I'm sure I can. Let me take a look at him."
Placing his bag at the end of the bed, Dr. Gerandy―Peter―switched on the other lamp, and removed a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff. He nodded after reading off his blood pressure assuring me that, at least, that was okay. He listened to his chest and quietly murmured, "Lungs are sound," under his breath.
"Carlisle, would you mind if it was just me here for now? I don't want to shut you and Esme out, but I don't think Edward would want to have anyone else here for the moment." When I saw that he was about to protest, I pressed on. "I promise I'll come and tell you everything as soon as Peter has finished." My eyes pleaded with him, and after a minute, he nodded and left the room. I hoped he understood that this was me taking my rightful place beside Edward.
Meanwhile, Peter was checking over the cuts and bruises on Edward's face, nodding as he catalogued them. "None of these are bad, Bella, but I'll steri-strip them once he's cleaned up." He glanced up at me. "Are you okay doing that?"
At my nod, his hands continued over Edward's ribs, pressing down each side, causing Edward to groan out loud. I winced at every sound he made as Peter's hands pressed over his abdomen. Peter slid the sheet away from Edward's lower body and then carefully rolled him onto his side, continuing his examination of the bruises beginning to form over Edward's kidneys. He frowned as he palpated and pushed his hands against Edward's body, before nodding slightly and rolling him back.
"Is―Peter―is he okay?" I hated that my voice was shaky, but pressed on. "Does he need the hospital? Carlisle said you can―"
"Bella, he's doing fine. If needed, I can get him into the hospital, but I really don't think there's any significant damage to his spleen or his kidneys; they're just badly bruised and it's been long enough that if there was any internal bleeding his stomach would be distended and hard to the touch. As you can see"―He pressed on Edward's stomach again―"soft. His ribs, I believe, are only bruised, but I'll strap them up just in case there are any cracks."
I took a deep breath, brushing away the annoying tears that insisted on reappearing. Peter's attention was back on Edward now, checking the cuts to the bottom of his feet and finally the abrasions on his wrists.
Peter stepped back and pulled the bedsheet back over Edward. "Okay, all finished now, Bella. If you get him cleaned up, I'll go talk to Esme and Carlisle and let them know what I've found. I'll come back in a short while and sort out those ribs, a couple of those cuts on his face, and bandage his feet."
"Why is he still unconscious, Peter?" Another groan from Edward. "He's obviously in pain. Can you give him something for that?"
"He's likely to wake soon, but I don't want to give him any painkillers until he wakes. It could mask any breathing problem or internal bleeding. Once he's awake he can tell us how he's feeling and I can give him something then. Okay?" I nodded and Peter patted me on the shoulder and picked up his bag, leaving Edward and me alone in the room.
Another quiet groan from Edward had me hurrying to the en suite. Grabbing a strip of absorbent cotton and a clean face cloth, I emptied a small decorative bowl I found on the counter, and filled it with warm water before returning to the bedroom.
I placed the bowl on the nightstand and took my seat back beside him. Over the next thirty minutes, I bathed his face and body, some of his small cuts reopening as I cleaned the dirt and blood from his face and feet. The tears that had been threatening since he collapsed in front of me spilled over, dripping onto his skin as I washed his chest and kissed each of his bruises, but by the time the knock on the door came, I had them all under control, and I'd re-covered his body.
This time, Esme and Carlisle asked if they could come in. I could see what it had cost Esme to step back and allow me to care for her son, so I nodded and opened the door wider.
"He seemed okay when he came home earlier." Esme stroked his forehead from the seat beside the bed. "I didn't know he was this bad, Bella, I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for, Esme? You know you wouldn't have been able to change his mind, no matter what was said. Once Edward has set his mind to something, he doesn't give up."
I sat on the bed again, taking his hand and leaning my head against his side. I'd been awake now for almost eighteen hours, with very little sleep over this last week, and thought I'd close my eyes and rest them for just a few minutes.
When I woke, neither Esme nor Carlisle were in the room, which was lit by only the pre-dawn light coming through the large window. Sometime in the last few hours I'd stretched out beside Edward with my head on his chest, and someone had covered us both with a comforter. The hand that I'd been holding before I fell asleep was now around my shoulder, and a light squeeze from it was what had woken me up. Leaning up on one elbow, I looked at Edward, who seemed to be sleeping rather than unconscious.
Turning to sit on the side of the bed, I slid my feet to the floor, before standing and heading for the bathroom.
"Bella?"
At the sound of my name, I whirled around and approached the bed. "Edward? Are you awake? Talk to me."
"Charlie?" The question was whispered. "Okay?"
My need for the bathroom was forgotten as I sat and then leaned over to kiss his lips. "He's fine, Edward; sleeping next door with Lily. How do you feel?"
"Like I got hit by a tank." He grinned and then shifted in the bed and groaning out loud. "God, that hurts."
"Dr. Gerandy―Peter― left some medication. Do you want something?"
"Please." Edward's eyes drifted shut after he'd swallowed two of the tablets Peter had left the previous evening. Immediately, he drifted back to sleep, with a small smile across his face.
** Dangerous Secrets **
