Nothing belongs to me, well the plot does and the OCs, but everything else belongs to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer and I am not her and I am making NO money with this story.
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Chapter 29
There was nothing else to do for Edward and the family than to wait for news and to watch the ever changing media coverage of Bella's situation. It didn't take long before the media somehow found out what James had done and that he'd kidnapped Bella. The police and Mrs Hensley did their best to handle the demands of the reporters for news and the team on location had to ask for reinforcement because the street to the gate to the manor was crawling with reporters and cameramen who all wanted the best shot and freshest news. The peak of this insanity had been when a helicopter of a national news channel had tried to fly over the estate of the manor. Det Green hadn't been pleased and Edward was sure that the pilot and those responsible would have to answer to the police once this nightmare was over.
It was now evening and the family had eaten dinner, which Edward had once again neglected. Just the thought of food made him nauseous. Carlisle worried about his son and tried to get him to eat at least a little bit and was thankful when Jessica reminded Edward of the food Bella had prepared for him this morning. Jessica knew that Bella was worried about Edward's eating habits and had asked Jessica to watch her husband. His assistant's gentle reminder that Bella wouldn't be happy and most likely worry about him forced Edward to eat at least Bella's lunch packet. It surprised Carlisle greatly just how close the two had gotten and how much they loved each other. Only Bella could bring Edward to eat when he wasn't in the mood or busy. Carlisle watched his son with a sad smile as Andy, the bodyguard Garrett had left with them, entered the room.
"Mr Cullen, Garrett wants to speak with you. They're ready to take action."
Immediately, everyone in the room was alert and watched as Edward hurried to his desk and put Garrett on speakerphone.
"Garrett, everyone can hear you," Edward said. "Andy said you were ready to go in?"
"Yes, the SWAT team is here and everyone knows what to do. I'm going to search for Bella while they take care of James. One of the men is going to go with me but I'm the only one who knows where Bella could be and how to open the hidden doors. If everything works as planned we should have her out of there in under an hour."
That sounded too good to be true. "When will I know if you've gotten her? I should be there."
"Someone will call you as soon as possible but I don't want any of you here. Is that clear? You and the family would just be distracting the men and they need to concentrate. Andy and the other guys will bring you here once we've got her and it's safe. And not one moment earlier." Garrett knew Edward and could understand that he wanted to be there when Bella was finally free but they would just interfere. That was the main reason why Garrett and Det Green didn't want the family on location. The other reason was that they had to consider that Bella could be hurt and in need of medical treatment. Should that be the case they would have to act quickly and bring her to the hospital before contacting the Cullens. All in all it was best that Edward and the rest of the family stayed away so that they could do their work.
Edward wasn't pleased with Garrett's order but the rational part of his brain could understand that they would just be in the way and maybe even do something that could be bad for Bella and everyone involved. "Okay, we're going to remain here and await your call. But please, Garrett, call me as soon as you can. This suspense is worse than anything."
"I know and someone will call you. I promise and now let me do my job."
"Good luck," Edward whispered as Garrett ended the call. He slumped forward and tried to regulate his breathing but it was a hard thing to do.
He looked up when he felt a hand on his back. His father was standing behind him and gave him an encouraging smile. "Have faith, Edward. Garrett is smart and very good at what he's doing. If anyone can get Bella out of there, it's him."
"I know," Edward chocked out. "But it's so hard to stay positive. I don't know what I would do if I were to loose Bella. She's the most important thing in my life."
"We know, Edward," a voice said from the back of the room. Edward turned and saw his grandmother sitting on one of the seats. She was pale but also looked confident. "But you have to stay strong because Bella is going to need you. This whole ordeal will have traumatized the poor girl. And don't forget that we're going to be there to help you and deal with whatever else may come. We're a family."
"Yes, that we are." Edward looked at the members of his family and knew without a doubt that they would help and support him.
His family would never let him deal with this alone and he was deeply grateful to have them.
MaoC
Everything hurt. At least that was Bella's impression. Her head hurt, her sides and the damn wound. On the positive side her legs weren't hurting. Maybe.
Bella was dizzy and that made it difficult for her to concentrate. Or to keep track of time. She was pretty sure that it evening by now but because she didn't wore a watch she couldn't be sure. What she was sure of was that it was high time that she got out of the house because she'd lost way too much blood. Bella had changed the bandages three times but she was still bleeding and now there weren't anymore of it.
Over all her situation wasn't all that rosy and she was too afraid to sleep for fear that she wouldn't be able to wake up should James find her or should something else happen. To keep herself awake Bella began reciting booktitles and authors in alphabetical order.
BAMM!
The sound of a door slamming against a wall startled Bella. She'd been so focused on her recitation that it took her a moment to collect her thoughts. Yes, the sound had been of a door, the front door to be precise, but it had sounded like more than one door had been opened. Bella listened intently and made out the sound of people moving through the house. Many people.
Suddenly, she heard a shot going off followed by another and knew that help had finally arrived. Bella used all her strength to stand up and walk towards to emergency exit. Hopefully Garrett or someone else had sent someone there who could take Bella to a doctor. She ignored the yelling and screaming, the orders and threats and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.
Again shots could be heard but that was only background noise in Bella's mind as she fought to stay conscious. Bella made it as far as the steps that would bring her to the passage at which end the exit was before her legs refused to carry her any further.
"No," Bella moaned as she collapsed against the cold wall and her vision started to darken.
Dimly she heard running feet and someone calling her name but she wasn't sure her mind wasn't playing tricks on her and she was too exhausted to manage more than a whisper. But then someone was shaking her and pushing her hair out of her face. Bella raised her head a little and saw someone kneeling in front of her. It took longer than normally but after about three seconds she realized that it was Garrett and he was asking her something. It was hard, so hard, to concentrate and to listen to him but Bella knew that it was important.
"Bella! Bella, are you listening? Bella!"
"'rett," Bella mumbled nearly inaudibly but Garrett heard her and his answering smile was nearly blinding.
"Yes, it's me. Bella, can you stand up?" His eyes were roaming over her body, trying to take everything in but it was too dark to see well even with the flashlights.
"No," Bella managed to say. There was no way that she could walk. "Gun... wound ... ribs ...'urts. Too...much...blood."
"Okay, Bella, I understand. I'm going to carry you. I'm sorry but it'll hurt."
Bella hadn't even processed his words when Garrett put his arms under her knees and behind her back and lifted her up as if she weighted nothing. The sudden movement made Bella scream in pain. She's been too numb to feel her injuries but now they reminded Bella of their existence.
"AHH..fuck!"
"Sorry, Bella," Garrett said as he carried her down the passage. "Just hang on a little longer."
Bella tried to keep silent and conscious but she was in so much pain that she blacked out for a second or two. Garrett couldn't move smoothly because the passage was so tight that he had to walk sideways. Otherwise Bella's head and lower legs would have made connected with the walls. Soon Garrett reached the heavy metal door but someone else had already punched in the code to open it. Once they were outside they were greeted by a plethora of people. Men with guns were there, people with flashlights and radios. And medics.
Garrett ignored everyone and carried Bella to where the medics were waiting for them. Bella didn't hear what they were saying and her last thought before she slipped into darkness was "It's finally over."
MaoC
Edward was pacing his office like a caged lion. Every few seconds he paused to look at the TV before he continued his nervous movements. Sometime ago Emmett had joined him while Esme stayed with Rose to keep her calm. All this stress wasn't good for her or the baby but there wasn't anything they could do against it. It was just lucky that Rose wasn't a woman who easily panicked. She had a temper but was a reasonable woman who knew that everything was done to help Bella. Alice on the other hand was much more emotional and it was only thanks to Jasper's soothing presence that she was able to stay seated and somehow calm.
But it wasn't only family anymore that was in the office. The minute after Edward had ended the call with Garrett, Elizabeth had reminded them of Bella's friends. Until that moment no one had thought of contacting them. It hadn't been necessary because they had known that Bella hadn't left the house and they hadn't wanted to worry them but that had been before the media had gotten wind of it. Reluctantly, Edward had asked his father, grandmother and brother to call Bella's friends.
They had been shocked and scared and Jane had demanded that they were allowed to come to Cullen Corp. to wait with the family for news. Ar first Edward hadn't wanted them there but Jane had pointed out that it wouldn't take long before the media would hound them for news. That and the reminder that they were Bella's true family had convinced Edward to let them come.
Angela and Ben had been the first to arrive and they had been pale and worried. Jane had been something else entirely. Oh yes, she had been worried but she'd cussed and made very precise plans to torture and kill James. More than one man in the room had paled at her descriptions and Edward's respect for Felix had risen exponentially. It took some nerve to be married to a woman that evil. Jacob and his boyfriend Seth had been the last to arrive and the tear tracks on Jacob's face had told everyone just how scared he was.
Of course, Edward had known that the friends were close and like family but to witness it was another matter. They were to Bella what his parents, siblings and close family were to Edward. Yes, blood didn't necessarily made your family. Sometimes you found you family in a different way.
Edward was still thinking about Bella's friends when Andy's phone rang. Everyone stopped talking and looked at the huge bodyguard who was solely focused on the call.
"Andy here...Yes, everyone's still at the office but Bella's friend joined the family...Yes, understand...Anything else I should know?...Good."
Edward was going crazy just hearing one side of the conversation and Andy's responses didn't give Edward any indicator to what was going on. He was about to demand some answers when Andy ended the call and looked at Edward.
"The operation was successful and Bella is out of the house now. Garrett told me to drive you to the hospital to which they're bringing her."
"Hospital?" Edward asked panicked. No one had said that they would take Bella to a hospital after she was finally free. He knew that medics were on location that could take care of her, so why were they taking Bella to a damn hospital?
"I'm sorry, Mr Cullen, I only know that Bella is in need of medical treatment and therefore the medics are taking her to the closest hospital." Andy looked tense as if he were waiting for something to happen and it did as soon as Jane had put the pieces together.
"What aren't you telling us?" Jane said in a threatening voice. "If they're taking Bella to a hospital, then that means that medics can't do everything she needs. So what is wrong with Bella?"
Of course, that was logical and Edward should have caught that but he was too worried to think clearly.
"Yes, ma'am, Bella needs more medical treatment than the medics can provide. I wasn't told what was wrong but I know that her life isn't in danger. Now, I think we should go to the cars so that we can drive to the hospital where they can tell you more."
Andy hadn't even finished his last sentence but most of the people in the room were already collecting their things and rushing to the doors, Edward was one of them. Apparently, Andy had suspected something like this and was calling the other security guards to be prepared for the arrival of many worried and angsty people. Everyone got into one of the waiting cars and as soon as everyone was in, the convoy left the building and made its way to the hopspital.
"Holy fuck!" Jane whispered as they hit the streets and saw just how many reporters and cameras were in front of the building. It was a good thing that the windows were tinted or the flashlights of the cameras would have blinded them.
"Stupid blood suckers," Jacob growled with disdain. "Don't they have something better to do?"
Edward sighed and knew that some of the reporters would have followed Bella to the hospital and were already waiting for them. "Sadly, no. This story is hot news to them and they hope to catch some good pictures that they can sell. That's the other side of being that rich and successful."
"Don't worry," Felix said as he rubbed his wife's back. "I'm sure the bodyguards are prepared for our arrival and the hospital security will do everything to keep things as calm as possible."
Luckily, Felix was right. The security had already erected a barrier to keep the noisy reporters out and some of the Cullen's bodyguards were waiting to escort them inside. The moment the doors of the cars were opened they heard the screamed questions but they were ignored. The guards brought the family and Bella's friends to a private waiting room near the ICU. That they were brought here scared Edward and he feared that Bella was severely injured. Inside the room was Garrett and Edward hurried to him to ask what was wrong with his wife but Garrett started talking with needing to be asked.
"Bella's in surgery right now."
"What? But Andy told us that Bella wasn't too bad off," Jacob called out, interrupting Garrett's explanation.
"I know you're all worried and want to know what happened but you need to keep quiet so that I can tell you," Garrett said and looked at everyone to see that they had understood. Edward and the rest nodded and some took seats but everyone kept staring at him. "Good. Well, the operation went as planned and I found Bella soon. She was on her way to the exit but she collapsed before she could get outside."
"Oh God," Esme cried out but Carlisle gently hushed her.
"From what I could gather Bella and James fought when Bella tried to escape. I don't know what exactly happened and only Bella or Mr Hunter will be able to tell us but that has to wait. What I do know is that Bella has some fractured rips and a bullet wound that bled a lot. Bella wasn't able to walk on her own, so I had to carry her and she lost consciousness soon after we were in the open. The medics took a look at her and immediately decided that Bella needed surgery. I haven't heard anything new since they began treating her."
Edward nearly collapsed into the chair behind him when his legs couldn't hold him any longer. He couldn't believe that Bella was that injured. Some bruises or maybe a concussion, that there things Edward had expected but not something as severe as a gun wound. The others were asking Garrett questions now but Edward dropped his head into his hands and tried to breath through his growing panic. A few seconds later smelt his Nana's unique smell and then felt her hand gently rubbing circles on his back while she hummed some old song. It took a while but he did calm down. When he finally raised his head, he noticed that most of the people in the room were now sitting down and reading something or talking quietly.
"Um..." Seth's voice wasn't really loud but something about it caught Edward's attention. "I don't know if you care, but the Swans are in front of the hospital."
"WHAT!" Edward screamed and jumped up.
Seth was a little startled but gave Edward his phone on which he was watching the news. And they were reporting from the front of the building.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" He ignored his mothers scandalized "Edward! Language" and watched the pictures on the screen. To his immense surprise he saw how Renée Swan dared to say that they were so worried about their beloved daughter and that they needed to be there for her before they entered the hospital. "Garrett, please make sure that no one of this retarded family comes near Bella. Inform security and the staff while I'll deal with the worried family," he growled.
Garrett nodded curtly before he hurried out of the waiting area.
"Edward, I know that you don't like the Swans and they certainly aren't my favorites but shouldn't they be allowed to see Bella?" Esme asked. She was a mother that loved her children dearly and couldn't fathom that she wouldn't be allowed to be there for one of them in such a situation. Yes, Bella had been a little unpleasant when Edward had been ill but Esme knew that she wouldn't have been denied her access to Edward's room.
All this Edward knew, too, but there was a difference between Esme Cullen and the Swans. They didn't care about Bella's happiness and that they dared to speak to the media before even contacting one of them spoke volumes. "No, Mom, they won't be allowed near Bella. She doesn't care for them and they would only stress her and they would likely talk to the press just to get their faces on TV."
He didn't wait for a response before he walked out of the room. At first he was so angry that he didn't notice someone following him. Ready to snap at whoever it was he turned around only to find Jane walking beside him. Her face cold and unmoving.
"Don't even think about it, Edward," Jane warned him. "I'm coming with you to deal with the Swans. I do have some blackmail material should they prove to be difficult."
"Remind me to never ever piss you off."
Jane's answering smile made his balls want to crawl into his body. Choosing to deal with Jane's natural creepiness later, Edward concentrated on finding the thrice damned people that by some crazy joke of fate called themselves Bella's family and he found them just as he and Jane wanted to leave the floor.
As to further prove that they were more concerned about their reputation than about Bella, every single one of the Swans looked perfect. No stains or wrinkles. No hair out of place and the make-up of the women was flawless. Short, Edward wanted to throw something at them. He and nearly everyone else that had been waiting for news on Bella looked like shit. Edward's hair looked as if some bird had decided to nest in it and the shadows under his eyes were spectacular. The state of his clothes were unknown to him and he didn't care what he looked like.
This isn't a freaking beauty pageant, for fuck's sake!
The Swans, containing of Charlie, Renée, Tyler and his wife Lauren, were surprised to see Edward and Jane in front of the lift but Renée soon caught herself and tried to throw herself at Edward. Disgusted by her fake behavior he quickly stepped aside and nearly had to laugh as she stumbled before she managed to straighten herself.
"May I ask what you're doing here?" Edward's voice was like ice and his glare wasn't any warmer.
Apparently, Renée was a little insulted by Edward's welcome because her words carried a barely hidden anger. "Why, we're here to see my daughter. It's only proper that family comes together in times of need."
Jane scoffed at that but Bella's family paid her no mind. A mistake in Edward's opinion because they should know that Jane was dangerous and a little evil.
"I have to say, that I'm disappointed that we had to find out about Bella's injury and the business with your cousin from the TV. You should have contacted us immediately after you realized that something was wrong," Renée scolded him.
"You mean as soon as I knew that the media was involved?"
"Of course," Lauren sneered. "How would it look if we didn't come to Bella's bedside in a situation like this?"
"I don't know, maybe like you don't care?" Edward countered sarcastically. "Which would be the truth, by the way."
Charlie's face turned red as he heard the unmistakable insult. "How dare you speak to us that way! You know nothing about our feelings towards Bella."
Edward sniffed in disdain at his words. "That may be true but I do know that you told people tales about Bella and me. Why do you think my wife bothered to make sure that our social circles were aware of how little she cares for you? And don't forget that I heard the message, Renée, that you left on Bella's phone. All you're worried about was your reputation and not why Bella acted like she did."
"We didn't do anything wrong!" Renée claimed and Jane looked her as if she was a nasty bug. "After all we've done for her, she treats us like scum! We even helped her building her little publishing house. Without her grandfather's money she wouldn't have been able to sell a single book."
"Oh please," Edward scoffed. "You make it sound like the money was given to her just to help her, but I know better. As soon as you could you used the money to force Bella into the marriage but that's over now. This morning I payed the money back. With interests. You're not Bella's family. You're parasites that want to use Bella to make themselves more important. Sadly, Bella made it unmistakably clear that she wishes no contact to you and I will make sure that her wishes will be respected."
The Swans stared at him in disbelieve. It was obvious that they were unprepared for Edward's words and hadn't known of the payback but he had more important things to do and wanted to be back at the waiting room. Time to tell them how things were going go be from now on.
"I made sure that security and the medical staff know that none of you are allowed to know anything about Bella's condition and that you aren't allowed to enter her room. I'm her husband and what I say goes, at least until Bella makes a different decision. And now leave!"
"You can't do that!" Lauren yelled but there she was wrong.
"Oh I can and I did. And should you try to talk to the media I'll ruin you in every way possible. You might think that you have power but you're nothing compared to us. Don't push me. You won't like it."
"Are you threatening us?" Tyler growled and tried to look intimidating but wasn't succeeding.
"Oh he doesn't need to," Jane chirped and her smile as bright as it was cold. "Because if you do anything to profit from this situation or Bella's marriage to Edward, I'll be forced to leak some very unpleasant truths about your family. Tyler for example. I know what happened at your college. Tsk tsk. Such a naughty boy."
Now Tyler was as pale as a ghost and Edward dearly wanted to know what Jane knew but it wasn't really important right now. The rest of the Swans also seemed to be rather fearful of little Jane.
"What? Nothing to say? Oh what a shame. Let me say just one more thing before we part ways. ...The reason why my family never said anything against my marriage to Felix was because I could have ruined them with the blackmail material I'd collected over the years. And because I knew just what kind of lowlifes you were, I started searching for your hidden secrets and I now know nearly everything there is to know about you. Pleasant dreams."
Having delivered everything that was needed to keep them quiet, Jane grabbed Edward's arms and together they walked back.
"Jane, do you also know about the dirty deeds of our politicians?"
Jane's answering laugher rang through the empty hallway but she didn't say a word.
MaoC
The waiting was always the worst but they were lucky that it didn't take too long before Bella's doctor came to them bearing news.
"Hello, Mr Cullen. I'm Doctor Adam Smith and I was the one treating your wife," the fifty-three year old man with graying hair said. As soon as everyone in the room had seen his scrubs they'd nearly attacked him with their questions. It was a good thing that the man was very experienced and knew how to handle the families of his patients, no matter how well-known or rich they were. "Your wife is on her way to her room and the surgery went very well. She'd lost a huge amount of blood and the bullet hit her liver. We had to remove a small part of it but that's nothing to worry about. The liver is the only regrowing organ of the human body. Mrs Cullen has two broken rips but they didn't damage the heart or the lungs. It looked worse than it was and she should be out of here in a week."
"Oh thank God," Edward sighed and for the first time since this whole mess had started he felt some of the tension leaving him. He was so relieved that a few tears ran down his face. Edward was dimly aware that the others were also expressing their relief. "When can I see her?"
"Soon, a nurse will get you, but I have to remind you that Mrs Cullen is very weak at the moment and needs to rest. I know that you all want to see her with your own yes but, beside you, Mr Cullen, only five minute visits and two people maximum."
"Of course, Doctor," Jane promised. "All we want is to see Bella and then we'll let her rest."
"Good, good." Doctor Smith looked satisfied but when he focused on Edward again he appeared uncertain.
"Is there something else, Doctor?"
"Yes, Mr Cullen and I think it would be best if we could talk a little more privately."
Now Edward was confused. The doctor had promised that Bella would be fine so why did he need to speak to Edward without the others being present. "Doctor Smith, I don't have secrets from my family and the others are Bella's true family. I have no problems with them listening."
"Okay, Mr Cullen, and I promise it's nothing bad but rather surprising. You see when your wife first got in we needed to x-ray her and because we couldn't ask speak to her, we performed a pregnancy test. Um, your wife is pregnant, Mr Cullen."
"Sorry,...what did you say?" Edward whispered in a faint voice. The doctor had to be wrong, they were using protection for fuck's sake!
The others in the room weren't any less surprised and the "Say that again"s, "What!?"s and "Oh fuck"s were proof of that.
"You wife is pregnant. About eight weeks."
"Excuse me, Doctor Smith," Carlisle interrupted him as he stepped next to his son and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "That's a little surprising as Edward and Bella had planned to wait a little longer. It's a lot to take in."
"Ah, yes, I understand that."
"Is the baby fine? I can't believe that Bella is still pregnant after this ordeal."
Yes, Edward thought, it is nearly unbelievable that the baby should have made it through this mess.
"I have to admit that it is a little miracle but so far everything looks good. There's still a heartbeat and the ultrasound showed us nothing out of the ordinary. Mrs Cullen was very lucky. If her attacker had kicked her just a little bit lower, I doubt the fetus would have made it." Doctor Smith looked very confident and that soothed Edward's new fears. "Would you like to see the ultrasound picture, Mr Cullen?"
Edward just nodded and with a friendly smile the doctor handed him a small picture. He couldn't really see much on it but Dr Smith explained to him.
Okay, Edward had heard the doctors words and he'd understood what had been said but this picture made it real. Frighteningly so.
Soon afterwards the doctor left them and immediately Edward was surrounded by his family who all wanted to see the first picture of the newest Cullen member. The women squealed and aw'ed while the men congratulated him. Esme started crying as soon as she saw the baby and to everyone's surprise Elizabeth was crying, too.
Edward put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her gently. "Why are you crying, Nana?"
"I'm just so happy, Edward. At first you both weren't really happy and even if I knew you two would be perfect for each other, it's just amazing to see this happening."
"Yes, Nana, that it is. I'm very happy."
Elizabeth kissed his cheek before she gently whispered, "Your pop would have been so proud of you, Edward. This is everything he ever wanted for you."
"I know, Nana, and I understand why he did all this. He just knew me better than I knew myself," Edward said.
Their conversation ended abruptly when a nurse entered the waiting room and told Edward to come with her. He quickly followed the nurse, but he never let go of the little picture that showed their first child.
The sight of Bella lying in that room full of machines was horrible but he was very glad to finally see his wife again. She was pale but otherwise her face was unblemished. You couldn't see any of her injuries but Edward knew they were there.
Carefully, Edward bent down kissed her full lips before he sat down in the chair next to her bed. He grabbed her hand and ran soothing circles on the back of her hand before he started speaking. "Hey, Bella. You worried me greatly today. Never have I been so afraid. I love you more than anything, Bella and I don't think I could live without you. You're my better half. Your doctor told me that you should be out of here in about a week and do you know what else he told me? You're pregnant, my love, and somehow our baby is still safe and sound inside of you. We're going to be parents."
By now tears were running down his face but Edward didn't care. "Can you believe that? A baby! Even though this revelation came as a surprise I'm very happy. I can't wait meet our little miracle. You're going to be a great mom, I just know it. Please, get better soon so that I can see your beautiful eyes again and so that we can talk about our baby. I love you, Bella."
When Edward finally left the room he wore a smile on his face and even though things would be hectic for quite some time, nothing could ruin his mood.
He was going to be a father.
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Hello lovelies,
Well? What do you think? I bet you didn't see that one coming. It certainly wasn't planned, so I was pretty surprised myself. I don't want to hear that it's unlikely that Bella would still be pregnant. This is my story!
Okay, so now Bella is safe but we still have to deal with the slime ball.
Thanks again for your reviews. They're the best encouragement.
Love, Nini
