So it's summer.
Woooooopdy-dooooo. (:

Love you all.
And since this has already been quite the wait I won't keep you any longer.


Jasper was whistling to himself contently as we continued driving aimlessly on the freeway. For the past few hours we had been switching off drivers every now and then, both too exhausted to carry the task ourselves.

We were heading for our eighth city – seven others had already come and gone in the past three weeks. We couldn't stay at one place for any longer than a couple of days because there was too good of a chance we'd get caught, even considering the fact that we were in the middle of no where.

We would rent out either a hotel or motel room – whichever was more convenient at the time, and Carlisle would usually check in an hour or two later at the same place so not to draw any attention to our small group. Jazz and I always shared a room because I couldn't stand being alone at any moment. We'd end up getting a room with two queen beds because no matter how good of friends him and I were, it'd be incredibly awkward and inappropriate for him and I to share a bed with our significant other's miles and miles away. Not that I had any need for a bed any way. I never slept regardless of how tired I was.

We were somewhere in Wisconsin at the moment, I believed, and heading for the nearest remote town we could find. Like I said – even though we were a whole state away, it didn't help lessen or risk of being found by the Volturi one bit. I never realized how big of a production they had going. With all of their members, it was a confusing line to walk when deciding who was safe and who wasn't.

On top of constantly looking over my shoulder in paranoia, I was also empty. I missed Edward. More than impossibly imaginable. Jazz was good company and all, but no one could replace those irresistible, comforting arms. The realization of Edward's absence next to me at night was the main source of my insomnia.

Worse part of this whole thing was that we couldn't contact each other. Alice and Edward were somewhere in a completely different state, and unless an life or death emergency came up, we were not to contact the other.

Charlie was the only one we could call, aside from Carlisle who we met up with every other day, and I could never bring myself to have more than one-sentenced, one-worded conversations with him. I couldn't bear the hollowness his voice consisted of.

I wasn't the only one hurting though. Jasper was just on edge as I was about all of this. Him and Alice related to Edward and I in many ways when it came to how intense of feelings we had for each other. He missed Alice just as much as I missed Edward. Which wasn't possible, but he did.

So many times I had almost called him. Just to hear his voice. To hear that they were okay. The Charlie inside of my head always got the better of me though and convinced me to follow the carefully serious rules my father had given.

Besides, I supposed no contact was better than contact.

If they didn't call, then it wasn't life or death and they weren't in any danger. I tried to tell myself that was the case. That they were truly safe at the moment. But the voice of reason in my head always screamed at me that I was being too optimistic about all of this. After all, something horrible could have happened to prevent them from even calling in the first place.

Jasper's MPD had been substantially better lately. The doctors had finally seemed to find a strong enough medication that worked for him, and even on occasion when he did lose it, it would only be for mere seconds. Regardless of how much he missed Alice and how it affected his attitude, I noticed incredibly differences in his mood change. He seemed so much more relaxed and content now that he didn't need to be at a constant fear of losing it.

I began fidgeting in my seat again. I couldn't take this insanity much longer. I prayed Charlie would give us the word to come back home in a matter of days. The separation was literally killing me.

"Bells," Jasper stopped his whistling, "Get some sleep. I'll take the driving for a while, okay? You're so insanely tired right now. Seriously. When's the last time you actually slept?"

"I'm not tired," I snapped. "How do you know I'm tired?"

"Because," he chuckled, "If you weren't tired, you wouldn't have been mumbling your thoughts out loud to me." He reached over to pat me on the shoulder. Shit, I was tired. "I miss them too." he told me with a sad smile. "You staying up won't make them suddenly appear. If Edward knew how tired you were, he'd be kicking my ass for not forcing you to get some sleep."

I grinned a little, but it didn't feel right. I sighed, "I'll try, Jazz. No promises though."

Even though night had fallen long ago, the darkness didn't affect my insomnia and just as I predicted, I did not fall asleep. How could I? It's not that I didn't want to, it's that I legit couldn't. As ridiculous as it sounded, I had gotten far too comfortable with Edward and I's sleeping arrangements before we had left town. Without him, I never felt secure enough to even close my eyes.

Another hour went by and I finally decided the radio would be a good option. The silence was driving me into an even further state of crazy. Too bad the fact that we were in the middle of no where enabled us to be able to get an actual fucking station.

I let out a frustrated, exhausted, sad sigh before slumping even lower in my seat. Jazz shot me a disapproving look before turning his gaze back onto the road, knowing that nothing he said would change anything.

Before I knew it, I was staring at the faded green digital clock on the dashboard that read it was one in the morning. Fuck. I needed sleep. I really did. Or else I'd start hallucinating. Lord knows that wouldn't result in anything good.

So for the next hour, I made it my very ultimate priority to get some sleep. Any sleep. I think I might have actually been close to unconsciousness before my phone's loud rings filled the car. I shot my eyes open, feeling both excitement and worry as I dug around for it in the dark car.

Excitement because we finally got to talk to someone. Worry because of them calling at such a late hour. When I finally retrieved it, I stared at it a few moments before tossing it to Jasper. "Here," I wanted him to answer in case it was something bad.

He had the same, nervous look on his face I did as he finally answered the phone. I vaguely heard Alice's loud voice on the other line and after a few seconds of her talking, Jasper's face fell. My heart immediately sank as I watched his expression turn from shock to horror. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear this.

"Wait," he stated loudly, "Slow the fuck down and tell me what the hell happened again." Once again, Alice's frantic voice confirmed my suspicions that something was wrong. Suddenly, Jazz slammed on the breaks, spinning the car around and getting into the opposite lane we just were in – the lane that would lead us back to Chicago.

"I'm going to put Bella on now," he told her in a breathless, shaky voice. "Tell her everything that happened." He was already going over a hundred down the barren country road. With a grave expression on his face, he slowly handed me the phone.

I hesitated for a few moments before finally bringing it up to my ear. "Alice," I breathed.

"Bella!" Her voice was full of panic and tears. I knew I didn't want to hear this. "Bella, I'm calling from a helicopter right now," she paused. Well that would explain the loud noise in the background. A helicopter? Why the fuck was she on a helicopter?

"Edward and I were getting some gas," she explained frantically, "We hadn't gotten any in a while so we stopped at some gas station in Indiana – in the middle of nowhere." I really wished she would just get to the point. "It was like after midnight so we assumed we were fine. . ." she trailed off.

I heard her start to cry again. "They were there," she cried as I froze. "Bella, they were there and Edward was shot."

No he didn't. Edward didn't get shot. It was impossible. He couldn't have. I was surely hallucinating.

My eyes watered up when I realized this was reality. "What?" My voice cracked an octave higher in hysteria as my grip on the phone became dangerously close to damaging it. I began shaking my head as I turned to Jazz with wide eyes.

His gaze fell solely on the empty road. "Shit," he began mumbling, repeating it over and over.

"Is he okay?" He was. I knew he was. He had to be. The speedometer inched slowly up to one-twenty and I glanced out at the dark blurring scenery we passed.

She didn't answer at first. "Alice," I pleaded desperately, "Tell me he's okay."

"We're being airlifted to the nearest hospital that'll be good enough for what he requires," she informed me, "Charlie's meeting us there. I think it's somewhere just outside Illinois. We don't have legal identification so he's gonna help us with that too–"

"Alice." I cut her off sharply. There was only one thing I needed to know; the one thing she wasn't telling me. "Is he okay?" I spoke each word separate and distinct.

Her pause of hesitation told me more than enough. She finally sighed.

"He's got a twenty percent chance to live."

After the most painfully long five hours of my life, we were barreling through the hospital doors. After Alice's call and vague explanation, we hadn't heard anything since and had no idea on how Edward's well-being was at the moment. I had refused to stop crying the whole way, resulting in great fatigue and exhaustion mixed with an overdose of anxiety and a hell of a lot of heartache.

I was going to have to get used to it though because sleep was so far out of the question at the moment that it was almost laughable. Jasper and I basically sprinted through the main lobby, following the signs that lead us to the waiting room for all ER patient's accommodates.

It was only seven in the morning, so the room was practically empty. Along with a few other anxious people waiting, there was also Alice and my dad. Alice was curled up on her chair in a fetal position with her head buried in her knees. Charlie's attention was barely on the magazine in his hands, I could tell, as I noticed the large crease mark on his forehead.

I flew across the room. "Dad!" I hurdled myself into his arms without a second of hesitation.

"Bells," he breathed, squeezing his arms tightly around me.

I latched onto the few moments of relief I felt in his loving embrace before quickly pulling away. Not being able to wait any longer, I began firing questions at him. "Where is he?" I demanded, "How is he? Is he okay?"

Charlie pinched the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes before letting out a long sigh. "He's in surgery right now," he told me quietly. "They're doing all they possibly can to save him." I tried to decide whether this was a good answer or not.

On the bright side, he wasn't dead. On the dark side, he wasn't okay yet.

I got off his lap, "I gotta go see him," I informed, wiping away more tears as I crossed my arms.

He shook his head gravely. "You can't. No one's allowed in that room other than the doctors," he paused. "The bullet just barely missed his heart, Bells. You have to know that there's a possibility that things might not turn out well."

I shook my head as more water formed in my eyes. "You're wrong."

He sighed once again, sitting up from his slouched position. "On top of narrowly missing some extremely important organs, he lost a lot of blood from a nicked artery – they're doing blood transfusions at the moment I believe. They've been in there for a good two hours. I don't know how things are going."

I glanced at Jasper and Alice, noticing their reunion had been both short and bittersweet. He now had Alice positioned on his lap and was trying to soothe her by stroking his arm gently up and down her back.

"How was he before that? Before he went into surgery, I mean?"

"Unresponsive," Charlie frowned as he watched my face fall. I could tell the more I pursued this conversation, the worse it would turn out being. I bit my lip, holding back a shaky sob as I nodded and walked over to the lady at the desk.

She gave me a sympathetic smile as I approached. "Do you know how Edward is?" I asked, already knowing she wouldn't be able to give me an answer either.

She shook her head remorsefully. "I'm afraid I don't, Sweetie." She told me. "The moment I hear anything though, I'll let you know, okay?" I nodded glumly, slumping my shoulders and walking away.

I took a seat between Charlie and Jasper, staring at the bleak room before me with a great deal of numbness. My big brother Jasper reached over and took my hand tightly in his as he shot me a small smile. "Bee, he'll be okay. Kid's been through worse. He's strong. You and I both know it."

I let my eyes flutter closed again. "I hope you're right, Jazz."

"I know I am." He confirmed. "He'll be okay, I promise."

There was something about the calmness in his voice that lulled me into a trance of hope. His words had made him sound so sure they were true, it was impossible not to feel as if they really were. Because I had no other choice than to believe they were. He would be okay.

I heard Charlie's blackberry vibrate and watched as he checked his most recent text. "Rosalie and Emmett are about an hour away," he informed us. "They're just leaving now."

I stared at him in confusion. We were at least two and a half hours away from home. He chuckled, "Emmett's a bright kid. I would have never even thought of letting him use a cop car."

I smiled, letting out a quiet laugh. "I hope you know he's going to have way too much fun with that."

He shrugged. "Kid deserves it. I'll bet he hasn't had a lot of fun in a while."

I wanted to get my mind on something else for the moment, but I couldn't help it. I had to ask. I tapped a delicate Alice on the shoulder. She removed her head from Jazz's chest and looked at me through her puffy red eyes. "What happened, Al?" I whispered. "Tell me what happened."

She gave me a look of bewilderment before her expression changed into sadness once again. "I don't know how it happened," she shook her head. "We were in some tiny town – the kind nobody except the hundred people who live there know the name of." She paused a moment. "It was just after midnight that we drove into the abandoned gas station."

I knew I wouldn't be able to handle hearing this, but I had to know. I just had to.

She gulped and silent tears began streaming down her face once again. "I stayed in the car," her voice cracked. "I was so tired that I was almost asleep. After Edward filled the gas tank, he went inside to pay. We were the only ones there besides the worker." Her words were becoming less and less audible as she began talking too fast. "He was walking back to the car," she remembered. "My eyes were closed until suddenly, he yelled my name."

I let my eyes fall shut as my whole body shuddered. "I immediately shot up in my seat and met his eyes through the window. I don't think I've ever seen them so full of panic." She wiped her eyes and sniffed once again. "Before I could see what he was looking at, I heard a gunshot." Her whole body trembled as more tears filled her eyes. "He fell down," she whispered, "And the next thing I knew, I heard the tires of a car screeching out of the lot and off into the distance. They left before the police could find a single trace of them."

All of this played out in my head as if it were some terrifying horror movie. Only it wasn't a movie – just the harsh cruelty of reality.

"There was so much blood," she cried softly as Jazz patted her on the back, listening intently on the story. "The worker inside had already called the police for us, but they took a long time to get there because of how far away we were from everything." She took a deep breath. "I did what I could to stop the blood but that wasn't much," she confessed sadly. "I kept him awake for as long as I could. I didn't think he would make it at first," she told me in a shaky breath. "Once the police came they had to call for a helicopter which took even more time. Even they said they didn't think he would make it; they were surprised he was still alive."

The more she spoke, the more my heart sank. This story just kept heading downhill the more she talked. Where was the happy ending? As of now, I saw none. But I couldn't possibly think like that. As of now, Edward was still alive.

This wasn't suppose to happen though! Edward was the strong one. I refused to believe he had finally fallen. He couldn't have. He would make – just like he was suppose to.

"He went unconscious as soon as we got on the helicopter, but the paramedics were doing everything they could. They said the bullet went right above his heart so it was only a small percent chance he'd live. I called Charlie while we were on the helicopter and told him he should come. As soon as we arrived at the hospital, he went straight into surgery. That was hours ago though, and we haven't heard a single word yet." She finished with strangled pronunciation.

I guess that was that. I turned away, slumping even further into my seat as I stared blankly at the nothingness in front of me as I felt my insides rip and tear apart. I bit my lip so I wouldn't cry. If I started, I wouldn't stop.

A half-hour later a somber looking Carlisle entered the waiting room. Jasper had called him minutes after we had received Alice's phone call delivering the news. Since I was fairly positive that his driving had not reached the speeds of up to one-thirty, the hour delay between our arrival and his made perfect sense.

Forty-five minutes later, Em and Rose came through the doors. Their questions had been similar to what mine had been. I let Charlie take the reign and fill them in on as much as they could, because I couldn't even handle thinking about what had happened without breaking into sobs. They sat down as well with sad, hopeful expressions on their faces as they too waited.

Even though I was completely drained, I eventually got up to use the bathroom and stretch my legs. I trudged along the halls of the bland, vast hospital without an ounce of energy left in my body. I followed the signs to the bathroom very unsuccessfully and ended up getting lost numerous times.

Suddenly, two frantic looking doctors shoved passed me, almost knocking me over. "Hurry, they need help!" One of them said urgently to the other. I turned my head to watch them go – following their retreating forms with my eyes.

They vanished into a room only doors down from me. Curious, I dragged my feet over to where they had disappeared. I knew better than to open the door; someone was most likely in the middle of surgery.

I moved my eyes to the window of the room. Blinds were shielding my view except for one small crack of an opening. I pressed my face up to it, peaking through the small opening.

There were at least six doctors surrounding the patient lying on the table. Each of them had sweaty, stressed faces with frantically hopeless expressions. The two of them with their backs to me were blocking my view of the person lying on the surgery bed.

I watched all of them continue to shoot each other wary glances, yelling panicked phrases blocked out by the cement barrier between us. I studied them longer, noticing the ton of tubes and medical equipment each had in their hand. There was also a great deal of blood. Everywhere.

I studied closely the doctor that appeared to be the one giving orders. His face looked so sad, yet determined at the same time. He reached up to his face, pulling down the plastic covering his mouth. The next words he said weren't hard to make out.

"We're losing him!" I saw him mouth.

One of the doctors shifted to the side for a second. Long enough for me to see of flash of bronze hair I would have recognized from anywhere.

They were working on Edward.

He was the one they were losing.

My body seemed to shut down I sank to the ground, letting my body shake with broken sobs as my lungs seemed caught in my throat while I gasped wildly for air that didn't seem to come. I finally was allowing myself to grasp the dark possibilities of the future ahead.


CHAPTER SONG: Set Fire To the Third Bar - Snow Patrol

"I'm miles from where you are, and I lay down on the cold ground and I, I pray that something picks me up, and, sets me down in your warm arms."


Reviews are like prayers for Edward.