so, i'm sorry. i know, shitty author award here. whatever. i'm tired, it's nearly midnight, and i just finally finished this so i wanted to put it up asap. love you guys.

ik i've been kinda mia, and i had a few PMs and reviews asking me where i was, so i figured that since i dnt wanna put up a chapter that is simply an AN (that's always really mean and deceiving haha) i decided to get a twitter as well as a FB page where any of you can message me or talk to each other through feeds and stuff. also, my website is still up, so check that out. places to reach me:

twitter(dot)com/Adidasgrl328

www(dot)facebook(dot)com/pages/Adidasgrl328/281375303699

www(dot)freewebs(dot)com/myfanfictionpics

yeah, so, heres the next chappie. sorry again abt the delay and the lack of a dedication...

Edward's POV

Swimming in the darkness of unconsciousness, I fought for what seemed like an eternity trying to reach the surface. I had to break the surface. I felt like I was being held underwater. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see, and I couldn't move. It was like my head was filled with water, too, and my limbs were chained to concrete blocks, forcing me to stay at the bottom of an ocean. And it was dark. Really dark and cold and frightening. I struggled to free myself, but I couldn't. I was ready to stop fighting, but then I heard her voice.

"Ma moitié. It means 'my half'. You are, my other half. My better half."

I pulled, tugged, gaining control of my muscles with renewed strength. My shackles broke away, and I could push myself forward.

"Please Edward, you have to come back to me."

I swam. My limbs burned with the effort, and my lungs burned with the lack of air I still felt. But I had found a light, guiding me to the surface. It was the voice of my angel, my love. But I was tired, and the light was still so far away. I couldn't reach it. Fatigue settled into my limbs, as if I was still attached to the cement blocks, and I couldn't move further.

"I won't ever be whole again without you."

A hand appeared, reaching toward me through the waves in the heavy water. I stretched toward it, grasped it. It began pulling me closer, bringing me to where I needed to go. I gave the hand a gentle squeeze, the coldness and darkness disappearing in the depths of my mind, being replaced by sweet air and the image of my love in the mist, attached to the hand which brought me to the top and helped me break through the rolling waves.

And then the mist faded away and clarity returned to me. The ocean disappeared and the light was gone. The darkness was back, but it wasn't a scary darkness. There was beeping beside me, the sounds of various machines whooshing and whirring nearby.

"Edward, please..." my angel whispered. I squeezed her hand again.

"I'm...right...here, love," I whispered, at first trying to speak louder before realizing that the words burned in my throat, still rough from a long sleep. How long had I slept?

I heard her sob. "Oh, thank God!" The weight of her head was in my lap, her hand still gripping mine, but more tightly now, as though it was now the one helping her from the dark depths of an imprisoning ocean. I lifted my free hand and placed it on the back of her head. Stroking her hair in what I hoped was a reassuring gesture, I tried to recall what happened.

I recalled Bella toying with her cell phone. I recalled a strange sound. I recalled realizing it was squealing tires. I recalled the image of an out of control car sliding toward us. I recalled the jolt of impact, and the searing pain that followed in my head. I didn't recall much beyond that, other than the fading of everything else to black and silence as I myself faded away into unconsciousness.

I cleared my throat, opening my eyes to the dark room. A bit of light was seeping in through the curtains, but it wasn't very strong, more of an orange, so I assumed it was either about dawn or dusk. Machines around me gave off light, and the clock on my bedside table read "6:45". So then the dawn must just be breaking.

Bella was a dark figure, leaning over into my lap, and I was desperate to see my angel's face. It was rather quickly that her shoulders stopped shaking from her crying, and her fingers instead just traced soft, random patterns on my thigh. She turned her head so that I was no longer running my fingers through her hair and was instead stroking her soft, wet cheek. She hiccuped cutely a few times, and I gazed down at her, the little light in the room outlined her features.

She sighed. "I love you. So much. So, so much," she began whispering, and kept repeating it over and over again as if she didn't even realize she was speaking. She absentmindedly continued tracing little circles and figure eights and swirls on my leg over the blankets, and I watched her. It was absolutely adorable, to be honest. I must have stopped stroking her cheek at some point because she nudged my hand with her nose, like a dog, asking me to resume without words.

Then she started humming, and I was almost positive it was "You Got Me" by Colbie Caillat. She was only about half way through when the door to my room and my parents came into view.

"Oh, Edward, thank goodness. You're awake!" my mom exclaimed, and I chuckled as I looked at her. The worry lines on her usually youthful face showed her true years, but slowly those creases faded away and she just looked tired but happy. She wore no makeup, and her hair was in a messy pony tail. She looked a little pale, but if I remembered correctly, she was also, in all likeliness, a little hungover from last night. She was wearing what Dad and I had long ago dubbed her "Comfort Clothes": long-sleeved college t-shirt, jeans, and Nikes.

Now that I'd been awake for a good amount of time, the scratchiness in my throat had dissipated and now my mouth simply felt like it was growing mold. I needed a tooth brush.

"Don't we look lovely this morning, Mommy," I teased, grinning at her. I ignored the throbbing in my head, as I'd been doing all morning, and continued stroking Bella's cheek. She looked so peaceful, her eyes closed and her breathing even, that she gave the appearance of sleeping, but I knew my Bella better. If she were sleeping, I'd be hearing her pretty little voice spewing all sorts of nonsense.

"Hush. You nearly gave me a heart attack last night. Trying to send me into an early grave? You've definitely knocked a few years off my life as it is," Mom immediately shot right back, walking over to me. The closer she came, the better my view of her became. I noticed the tears gathered in her eyes, and as my dad turned on the lamp in my room - I suddenly realized it was definitely one of those much better, private suites - I could see that a few had fallen already.

My mom sat down on the side of my bed, while Bella remained in a very uncomfortable-looking plastic chair on my other side, seemingly content to just lay with her head in my lap as long as my hand continued to stroke her cheek.

"We were...so worried," Mom admitted, running a hand through my hair before settling it on the side of my face. It was shaking, and suddenly I was concerned for my mother's own well-being.

I slipped my other hand out from Bella's grasp, which she released all too quickly, sensing my need to comfort my mother without even seeing the look on her face. I tugged my mom's pony tail with a reassuring smile before resting my hand on her cheek. Dad came over and set a hand on her shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze.

"I'm okay. I know it's your job to worry, but you don't need to worry so much any more. I'm awake, and I'm healthy. As far as I know, I'm alive." I looked to Dad who just chuckled as I joked around about that. I looked back to Mom and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead like she always did to me when I was upset. "It's all G."

She finally cracked a watery smile and snorted. "Goodness, what had Seattle done to my little boy?" she teased. Under her breath, she admiringly whispered, "So grown up."

I simply grinned at her, and then looked to Dad. "So, what's up Doc?" My Bugs Bunny impersonation - okay, it was a pathetic attempt, but I was in a hospital bed in a gown that would have shown my ass to the world if I hopped up; cut me some slack - got a giggle from Mom and my angel, who was still tracing her nonsensical designs on my legs. Did she realize that was kind of a turn on?

Dude. Your mom is sitting two inches from you. Chillax.

"I'd love to tell you, but I'm afraid we'll have to wait until your favorite doctor arrives," Dad answered.

I frowned, knowing that he was being sarcastic when he said 'favorite'. "Doctor Denali?" I questioned tensely.

"Don't say my name with such distaste, boy," a man said, walking in. Silver hair, perfectly trimmed and styled, rimless glasses which were almost intentionally crooked, and a creepy smile were the characteristics of the one and only Aro Denali, my ex-girlfriend's bastard father.

"Not distaste, sir. I apologize if it sounded that way," I instantly replied, offering him a polite smile as suddenly my head began to pound with a new intensity.

"Very well. How are you feeling today, Edward?" he asked, turning his unhappy, cold, grey eyes away from my face and toward my Bella, who had frozen and tensed in a physical reaction to the - surely - unsettling tones of my voices. I wanted to hide her away from Dr. Denali, simply for that fact that the strawberry blonde demon he had named Tanya was born with half of her chromosomes coming from the old man.

"Pounding headache. Nothing I can't manage with a nap and some heavy duty tylenol." I shrugged it off like it was no big deal. I wanted this man out of the room ASAP. I looked down at my Bella, who wasn't wearing her sunglasses, as she shifted and sat herself up from my lap, wearing a look of displeasure. I'd admit, I wasn't too happy about that myself. Mom got up as well, allowing Dr. Denali complete access to me.

He examined me quickly, determining that I seemed pretty fine other than some bruising, a mild concussion, and the gash in my head.

"You're lucky, Edward. I've seen much worse come out of much less," the old man warned disturbingly before leaving the room.

"So, one more night?" I questioned my father with a pout.

He chuckled, nodding. "One more. He is right. You were very lucky."

Bella had her head down, as if looking at her hand which she was wringing in her lap. "There was so much blood," she mumbled so lowly that I was sure it was meant to be heard only by her.

Blood? There was so much... Oh, God, she'd been awake after the accident. She'd had to...

I reached out to her, but she didn't seem to respond. Dad laid a hand on her shoulder, leaned into her ear to whisper something, and she seemed to nod reluctantly before standing up and walking out of the room with him leading her. She extended her cane and gripped Dad tightly, forgetting her sunglasses on the table by my bed.

I reached over to grab them, holding them in my hands like it was all I'd have left of her for the rest of my life.

"She's been more worried than any of us," Mom admitted, taking Bella's vacated chair. Her hand settled over mine which were still nervously toying with Bella's glasses. They were Bella's security, and she'd left them here...when she was already so vulnerable.

"She worries a lot, too. Like you. A heart of gold, filled with fear. She wants to take care of everyone around her the best she can, because they always seem to provide her with more help than she can ever hope to return," I replied.

"Bella's a good girl, Edward. Really good. When I imagined who you'd marry one day, I didn't imagine her, but she's so much better than that fictional girl, because she's real and she loves you and she's just...just good. I couldn't hope for anyone else to hold your heart than that beautiful woman who just walked away with my husband."

I smiled at Mom's words, feeling such comfort in her spoken acceptance of my girl. It meant a lot. Those little things, like that, were what meant the most.

"She is good. Too good. And maybe she deserves better than me, but she chose me for some reason and I'm going to spend the rest of my life making sure she doesn't regret that decision."

Mom's smile was brilliant in response to my words. "Do you plan to..."

I grinned, chuckling. It was as though she didn't want to jinx it by uttering the words. "Not now. I want to get a ring...so I'm prepared when I do chose to. I don't really know when, but we've only just started this thing between us, so we've got time. Someday, just not today."

"I think that sounds like a good idea. You're young. Jasper and Alice have been together for year and you and Bella have only been together for a little over two months. Nothing wrong with waiting..."

I nodded, knowing she had more to say.

"...Just, remember that while you don't want to rush into anything, life is also unpredictable. Last night proved that. You don't want to miss out on anything before it's too late, or anything like that. Your dad pulled some serious strings so that Bella could be with you all night. But you needed to wake up with her beside you, and damned if I'd have let rules keep my boy's needs from being met." She shook her head, trying to stay on track. "You both needed it, and you'll both always need each other. From the moment I saw you two together, I knew she was it for you. And I know you know it too. And so does she. Don't let time keep you from what you really want."

I smiled gratefully at her. My mom was the best. Still, I sensed there was something more she wanted to say. "Go on, Mom," I finally encouraged.

"Just one last little piece of advice. There's never a 'perfect time', where you can just plan to pop the question. Things will get in the way, ruin your plans, and you'll end up never asking. Just go with the flow, Edward. When it's time, you'll know."

Bella's POV

"You're lucky, Edward. I've seen much worse come out of much less."

The faint smell of iron and rust.

"He is right. You were very lucky."

The feel of his warm blood on my fingers as I touched his forehead.

"There was so much blood."

I could feel the warm liquid on my fingers. Oh god. Oh god.

The broken sound of my voice when I called his name and received no response.

There was a hand on my shoulder. Warm, gentle, not Edward's. A voice was in my ear.

"Bella, will you please come with me? I think we need to give mother and son a moment together."

I knew he was actually trying to help me get out. I needed air. Fresh, cold, winter air. That was what I needed.

But I didn't want to leave him.

My scream when they pulled me away from Edward.

Air. Need air. Yes.

"He should be. He was lucky. But we can't ever know for sure."

Fine now. Go. Air.

I nodded, reluctant to leave Edward's side but needing to breathe because suddenly the stale scent of the air was making breathing a painful burn.

Carlisle led me away, and my cane tapped as we walked. He remained quiet, and I was grateful because I needed that. I needed just a moment. He took me into an elevator, which descended slowly as it stopped on one floor or another and other people squished inside.

His hand. Squeezing mine.

Yes. Fine now. Okay. Calm down.

I groaned, and Carlisle wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Head wounds are a little melodramatic," he spoke in my ear, keeping our conversation private. "They bleed excessively and tend to knock one unconscious. That's exactly what happened with Edward, Bella, and he's okay now. Nothing but superficial damage to his forehead."

I nodded.

"I know it's scary, and I know you're wondering what if...but you need to just take a deep breath and live in the present. Esme was in a car accident about seven years ago, and I knew exactly how you feel. She took a hit to the head, and broke her left wrist, but when she woke up, the first thing she told me was, 'Looks like your stuck with me. So quit thinking about what you'd be doing if this had been different and start planning where you're taking me to dinner once we blow this pop stand.'"

He chuckled, fond of the memory, and even I could feel the corners of my mouth turning up.

"That woman always knew me she could read my mind, but that's what happens when you love someone. You learn them inside and out until you can read their mind when they need to you. I needed to hear those words, and believe me Bella, they helped me. She was right. Don't think about worse case scenarios, think about what things you're going to do because you still have the chance to do them."

The elevator doors opened, and this time Carlisle escorted me out of them and led me quickly out into the cold air. I didn't have my jacket, but I felt a warm fleece wrap around my shoulders. Of course, Edward wasn't just a gentleman. He was taught by his charming father. Carlisle hugged me to his side and continued talking, soothing me more and more with each and every word. It was no wonder why he was such an amazing doctor.

"Where are we going?" I finally asked, now that the cold air and Carlisle had calmed me down.

"There's this diner where I usually go eat lunch when I'm working. Don't tell Esme about it, because she'd kill me for eating so poorly so often, but I love it. They've got the best cheeseburgers around."

He opened the door and guided the both of us in. I could smell hot dogs and burgers and grease galore the moment we walked inside, and my mouth watered.

"It smells like a grill in here," I commented, stating the obvious but wondering where we were. He never really gave me an actual answer.

He simply replied, "That's because they make the best cheeseburgers around."

I bit my lip, remembering our second date, as Carlisle led me into the busy diner. Silverware and plates clinked against each other, the occasional glass hitting the table too hard.

Their burgers weren't as good as the ones Edward and I had on our second date, but they were pretty damn close.

~*~

The pattern of Edward's breathing signaled that he was asleep when we reentered the room, but I had already known he was out as Esme had told us. She'd greeted us at the door, and informed us, very quietly, of his state of napping.

I returned to my seat, not minding the uncomfortable plastic as long as it meant I could be beside Edward again. I placed my hand over his and rubbed circles over the skin. Edward shifted, and I immediately regretted that I had disturb his sleep as he woke.

"Hey," he greeted softly, still sleepy.

"Hey," I answered, just as gently.

He turned his hand over beneath mine and was about to twine our fingers before he withdrew them from mine. I frowned, but heard him shifting. He patted the bed with his hand, then.

"Hop up, my love. I need you to be closer to me."

I bit my lip, apprehensive. I turned my head in the direction of his parents, knowing Carlisle was the doctor here at the hospital, and that hopping up on patients' beds was probably against the rules. "I don't think it's - hey! What...?"

Hands - Carlisle's - lifted me from my seat and up onto the bed with Edward, who immediately pulled me into him. Without my consent, my body curled into his.

"Hospital policy be damned," Carlisle chuckled. "You need him just as much, Bella."

"Thank you," I whispered.

~*~

Edward's POV

My parents left us alone, and we both turned on our sides. Bella melted into me as our bodies lines up, allowing us to rest heart to heart. Her face titled toward mine, and mine toward hers. We just laid there for what seemed like hours, staring at each other.

As always, I knew she couldn't truly see, but when we were like this, I felt as thought she was looking into my souls. She knew it so well, that I had no doubt she could see every bit of it. It was, after all, hers.

I cradled the back of her head in my hand and leaned my head further in.

"I love you," I whispered against her lips. "And for the record, you are most definitely the better half between the two of us, ma moitié."

She giggled. "God, that accent was atrocious. Still, I love you for it." And she pressed her lips firmly to mine.