The Transfer (Revised)

A/N: Survey says: you sure get cranky when there's interrupted swanky. Apparently you weren't aware of that old saying: "Into every fan fiction a little blockage of the cockage must dropage."

Stephenie Meyer's Universe has become my world. I like to live in it, but I didn't create it. There was a greater creator than me.

So, let's wake up next to a warm, cuddly, woodly Edward, shall we? Hmmm?

Chapter 35: Highs and Lows (Revised)

EPOV

We'd never unplugged the twinkle lights below her bed, so the whole room below was bathed in a soft twinkly glow. It wasn't very bright, just a pale nightlight that sparkled. But it enabled me to see her clearly as I looked down at her, watching her sleep. Maybe I would have been able to sleep if I'd climbed down and unplugged the lights, but I didn't want to let her go, I didn't want to wake her up. And I really wanted to just stay right here and watch my sleeping beauty.

I laid my head back down on the pillow, turning toward her, my nose brushing her hair lightly. I breathed in her scent. It was her usual light scent, some type of berry and floral combination. Maybe strawberries, lavender and some other floral scent I couldn't identify, yet it seemed familiar. Maybe it was familiar only for the fact that I had become so used to her scent over the past weeks. She had become familiar as had her scent; in whole and in its parts.

My mom knew flowers. She'd planted a large rose garden in front of our home in Port Angeles shortly after we'd moved in, before the renovations on the house had even been completed. She tended to those roses as well as the other numerous plants and trees out front and the additional flora behind the house. There were always fresh flowers in our house, but I didn't know very much about them. Until now.

I'd learned a few things about flowers recently from the Internet. Of course you have no way of knowing how they smell, but I found the symbolism aspect interesting. I'd always thought people only selected flowers by their looks or scent. But now I knew there could be so much more to it. I'd been astonished when I read the significance of an orange rose. It couldn't have been any more appropriate if the symbolism had been stated as "Edward's feelings regarding Bella."

Bella suddenly shifted in her sleep and turned toward the wall as she mumbled, but then she settled back against me. I turned on my side toward her, pulling her up against me so that I was the big spoon and she was the little one. She made a little sighing sound in her sleep.

She'd still been upset when we'd first settled ourselves in her bed; I'd felt her brush away an occasional tear and I'd felt a few drops on my naked chest, but she had eventually calmed and drifted. I was glad she'd finally dozed off. I didn't want to be worrying about her being sleepy tomorrow as she drove all the way to Forks.

I'd told her I would take her. I honestly wouldn't have cared if I'd missed my classes. I could get the notes online and missing one day here or there is really no big deal. But she'd said no to that. She said she just wanted to spend some time with her dad and she wanted to have her own car, so she wouldn't have to depend upon someone to get around. She wanted to be able to go to the hospital and back home as necessary. She didn't say it, but I think she also didn't want to have to worry about my feelings about who she was visiting and why. The last thing she needed right now was to have one more person to worry about. I understood that.

I would miss her for the day and a half or two days that I wouldn't see her. Even though there had been times that I hadn't seen her for a few days here at school, I always knew she was here, and I knew I could go track her down if I really needed to. Now she'd be far away and I'd be wondering what she was doing and thinking and who she'd be spending her time with and why. Wow. Just like Jake when Bella had left Forks and had transferred here. Shit. What goes around comes around.

Our evening hadn't gone quite the way I'd planned, nor the way I'd later hoped. I hadn't cared that we didn't go out to a movie after dinner. The whole point of the evening was to spend time together. And we did. And it was pretty much spectacular. Every time we got the chance to just be together it seemed more perfect than the time before. Having fun with her was just so easy. It was a piece of cake. And to find out at the end of the evening that she just wanted to be with me, really be with me, well shit, that was the icing.

I wanted to love her. I'd been waiting to love her. And I wanted to make love to her.

I'd never thought of it that way before. When I'd been with Tanya in high school we'd had sex. I'd cared for her; I'd loved her. But I'd had sex with her and I'd slept with her. I'd never really thought of it at the time as making love to her. Maybe it was just the difference in focus. I now found myself in the position of wanting to show Bella that I loved her and how much she meant to me and that just sounded more like making love to me.

By the time she and I had gotten back to the campus after dinner I think we were both feeling pretty hot for each other. And I was nervous as hell, over-thinking the situation and worrying about how things might go. You think of that when you're a guy and you've sat on the sidelines for a few years. You wonder if you're setting yourself up for extreme embarrassment and the ultimate letdown. And I fucking over-think everything, anyway. I'm really hard on myself and I'm not happy unless I over-analyze every fucking little thing.

But then I realized that it's just so easy to be with Bella. I can pretty much say or do anything and it's okay with her. I'd told her we were in danger of her calling nine-one-one and she'd laughed; her eyes were all sparkly. She knew I was paying her a compliment. She knew what she did to me. And by the time we got back up into the dorm I had calmed down somewhat. Whatever happened would happen, and things would be fine, because she was who she was. She was my girl. All mine.

We gradually made our way into the swanky fort, all lit with the little twinkle lights, and the white billowy curtains at the sides. It was a pretty romantic atmosphere for a dorm room. She looked so pretty in that glowy light, just so sweet. And just so fucking sexy.

I wondered if she knew how sexy she was. It seemed kind of accidental. Some girls try for sexy, and it comes across as 'try' not 'sexy'. Bella was just such a natural beauty, and she had an easy laugh and a quick wit. That's a sexy combination. It's just too bad that our opportunity for our sexploration of each other ended as abruptly as it did. I would have liked to have spent more time with her in less clothes.

My lip curled into a smile as I thought briefly about how glad her dad would be if he knew what he had interrupted. But then my smile faded. I felt bad for her dad. I felt bad too, of course, about the accident. You don't wish something like that on anyone. It's not like Jake is my enemy or anything. But I knew the situation would be really hard on her and her dad. They didn't have a lot of family and I knew that Jake and his dad were their extended family. I just hoped to God that she was well and truly done with him in any kind of a romantic way and that he kept his fucking hands to himself.

I looked back down at her. My arms were still wrapped around her, and her hands were still holding on to me. I was so glad I had texted her. As lovely as she looked in those little blue panties and bra, it tore my heart out to see her crying. She had been so upset, once she was left to just think about the accident and her inability to do anything about it. Of course I stayed. I couldn't do much about the situation, but I figured she might sleep if I held her; I could at least comfort her.

I leaned down to her and kissed the top of her head. She shifted in her sleep, turning toward me again and rearranging herself. Her arm snaked around my bare waist. She mumbled a few words, then she said my name and I held my breath. She had spoken in her sleep earlier and I hadn't been able to quite make out anything she'd said. She'd just mumbled. I paused now, wondering if she'd speak again, wondering what her dreams were. I was just about to give up when she curled in against my chest a little more snugly and murmured "I love you."

My heart just fucking soared. I hugged her more tightly and kissed her forehead.

I had already known I wasn't going to be getting much sleep. And now, having overheard her say those words, I wouldn't doze off anytime soon. It didn't really matter. She'd be gone all day and I could sleep, because how else was I going to fill up my day? I missed her already.

Somehow it happened; I finally dozed off, draped across her as she held onto me. I woke up to the chiming sounds of her cell phone alarm going off. I was a little disoriented at first. Thank goodness I didn't roll over and fall out of her bed and down to the floor below. I glanced down to see her warm slender arm thrown across my bare chest, her head lying on my shoulder, and the previous night came flooding back into my mind.

The alarm chimed again and she stirred, her eyelids fluttering. Her big brown eyes were looking straight up into my eyes, and she had such a dreamy look on her face. Then I watched as she tried to focus, I saw the brief look of confusion on her face, which was finally replaced with understanding. She pushed herself up a little and looked at me.

"Hi, you." She smiled sleepily.

"Hi." I rubbed her arm gently.

"You stayed." She was smiling shyly at me.

"You asked me to. I wanted to." I patted her hip.

"Thank you." She leaned over and kissed me on the chest, right over my heart. Oh, no, love. Don't start. This is hard enough as it is. Or I should say, I'm hard enough as it is. Damn.

She yawned and stretched. "I was able to sleep. I'm surprised. Did you sleep?"

"I slept some. I watched you mostly." Great, Cullen, now she'll think you're a perv.

"You watched me?" She was incredulous. She was awfully cute.

"Yeah," I admitted and then shrugged, grinning at her. "You're interesting when you sleep."

She blushed and looked a little wary. "Why?"

Oops. Can't tell her everything, she'd just be embarrassed. "You mumble and you make faces."

"I make faces?" She made a face, frowning, and I almost burst out laughing. But she sounded worried. I wanted to laugh, but I bit my tongue.

"Yeah, nothing ugly. You make cute faces. I guess you must have been dreaming."

She rolled her eyes as she pulled herself up into a sitting position, scooting up by me. "You're just easily entertained, Edward. But you didn't sleep, and now you've got classes today."

I patted her leg, still covered by the blankets. That was a good thing. If I'd had to be up close and personal with her bare leg, at this point in my current morning predicament, I probably wouldn't have made a whole lot of sense or been able to follow any normal conversation. I was hanging on by a thread as it was and realized I had to respond to what she had just said.

"I can sleep later on. I'll be okay. Even in your sleep you're very distracting." I grinned at her.

"Distracting? How?"

I wouldn't tell her yet about what she'd said, I decided. That didn't seem fair.

"Well, look at you."

"What do you mean, 'Look at me'? Edward, seriously, look at me! I'm wearing a huge old T-shirt of yours, my hair looks like a haystack, and I'm willing to bet that I have raccoon eyes, from crying with all that eye makeup I had on. I look hideous."

I propped myself up on my elbows, smirking at her. "Trust me, you are the opposite of hideous. You look perfectly lovely." You look perfectly, problematically, lovely, love.

She shook her head like I wasn't playing with a full deck, but then she tilted her head and eyed me thoughtfully.

"What?" I asked, curious why she was looking at me like that.

She grinned. "You know, I've always wondered what real 'bed-head' would look like on you in the morning."

"The hair? Really? We're discussing the hair now?"

She nodded, smirking and biting her lip to keep from giggling.

"And? What are your thoughts on the hair?" I asked her, as I smiled over at her. I shook my head to further mess up my hair.

"And it looks exactly like it does in the middle of the day. No better, no worse."

She leaned toward me and ran her fingers into my hair, pulling her hand away, tugging on the caught hairs. Shit, that was too sexy for words. I quickly grabbed her hand; stilling it; pulling it out of my hair.

"What?" She thought she'd done something wrong.

"Not a good idea at this point in the morning."

"Why not?" she asked, confusion washing over her face.

I grimaced at her. Damn, grab a clue, sexpot! "Would you understand if I said it was 'sensory overload'?"

She looked confused for a moment, until I cocked an eyebrow at her. She suddenly gasped and blinked rapidly.

"Oh!" And then she covered her mouth as she laughed at my expense. Well, she was actually laughing at Dick's expense.

"Thanks for laughing at me."

She leaned in and kissed me on the lips. "I'm sorry. But it's nice to know."

"Kissing me doesn't exactly help my situation."

She looked a little pleased with herself. "Okay, sorry. You don't want my hands and mouth on you, I'll keep them to myself for now."

Oh fuck! So fucking unfair! Think about what you're saying, woman! Think about the visual you've just planted in my horndog mind!

She pulled the blanket down and off of her, pulling her legs up as she did so. "I've got to get ready and get going home. Stay here, I'll be right back." She climbed over me and I held onto her as she clambered down. She quickly grabbed some clothing from her drawers and closet and disappeared out the door.

I dropped back down onto her bed exhaling loudly and trying to settle myself and get my alter ego under control. And then I inhaled, smelling her scent all around me. I thought about the day she had moved in with Alice and I had moved her bedding, and now I had spent the night in her bedding. With her. I flashed on the moment I had awoken and seen her lying on me, draped across me. I thought how nice that would be to wake up to on a regular basis. I thought about how very right and comfortable that might feel.

I sat up. I had to stop thinking about this kind of stuff. I wanted to walk her out to her truck when she left, and I couldn't do that in my current state. Dick really had to get a grip on himself. Or someone did. Preferably soon. I'd probably have to spend a portion of my day in the shower. I wondered, fleetingly, if we'd made love last night, would my problem now be lessened or heightened. Doesn't matter. Didn't happen. Moot point. Shit!

When we finally got the uninterrupted opportunity to make love, I would probably just explode like Mount Saint Helens.

I was climbing down just as she came back into the room, carrying a small bag of toiletries. She was all scrubbed and fresh-faced and changed into jeans and a sweater. Her hair was neatly brushed and pulled up into a ponytail. She smelled minty fresh. She took a duffel bag out of her closet and put the smaller bag inside of it. She took a few clothing items out of drawers and off of hangers and stuffed them in the bag.

"Can I borrow this?" she shyly asked, holding up the t-shirt I'd put on her last night. She looked hopeful.

"Sure, but I wanted to walk you out to your truck. What am I supposed to wear now?" I smiled at her, rubbing a hand across my naked stomach and chest.

"That looks good on you." She pointed shyly at my semi-nudity.

"I'm glad you like it." I grinned at her. "You can borrow it anytime you'd like too."

"Thanks." She smiled and blushed faintly and then turned to look in her closet. She grabbed an old sweatshirt off of a hook and held it out towards me.

"How about this?"

It looked much too large to be hers. It looked like it would fit someone roughly my size.

"Was this his?" I asked, taking it from her and feeling a little uncomfortable.

She knew who I meant. "No. It was my dad's, but I bought him a new one last Christmas."

I took the sweatshirt and pulled it on. I looked down at the logo on the front.

"Go Mariners!"

She smiled. "My dad's a big baseball fan; root, root, root for the home team and all that. Come on; I've got to get going. Let's get me down to my truck so I can beat the traffic."

I grabbed her duffel bag, slinging it over my shoulder as I slipped on my shoes. We left her room holding hands as we headed downstairs.

We walked down to the parking lot to her truck. Out on a hillside we spotted Victoria and Lauren in workout gear doing some sort of Tai-chi or yoga moves facing the rising sun.

"Who knew that went on?" I asked Bella as I nodded toward them.

She giggled and shrugged. "And that you would have to wear matching clothes to do it!"

When we got to her truck I tossed the duffel onto the passenger seat and I hugged her for a few moments, wondering if I should tell her then and there that I loved her. I finally decided that it didn't really feel like the right moment. There was a cloud hanging over this situation. I hated to let go of her and I hated to let her go. Again I wished I was going with her. It was a long drive for her to make but at least she seemed more pulled together this morning. I was still going to worry.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay? You've got pretty far to go. I wish you'd let me take you."

"I'll be fine, Edward. I've done it before. And you have classes. Stop worrying."

"Will you please call me when you get there, so I know you got there okay? And if you're driving and you start feeling upset, just pull over. Call me and we'll talk. Don't drive if you're all upset." I was worried about her; I couldn't help myself.

She stood on her tiptoes, smirking, and kissed me lightly on the lips. "Yes, Dad. I'll call when I get there. I'll be fine. All right?"

"Okay." I smiled at her. "And I'll see you sometime tomorrow or Saturday. I'll talk to you tonight about details for the weekend, okay?"

"Oh no!" She looked alarmed suddenly.

"What?"

"I forgot to pack stuff for the weekend at your parent's house."

"Alice can bring your stuff. She'll love picking out outfits for you. Don't worry, we'll bring everything you need. You just take care of yourself and your dad. And I hope Jake and his dad are okay. Call me and let me know what's going on, okay?" She nodded and I kissed her goodbye and she climbed into her truck, started it up, and pulled out of the parking space. I made the international hand signal for 'call me' and she nodded, smiling and rolling her eyes. She gave me a little wave as she drove off.

I headed back to the dorm. Now I'd have to sleep on the couch in my suite until Bubbles and Blondie woke up in my room and wondered just how lucky Bella and I had gotten last night. They were going to be almost as disappointed as I was. They probably wouldn't be as sexually frustrated as I, however. Oh well, I knew there would be other opportunities in our future. I could wait.

BPOV

As I waved goodbye to Edward I decided that I would spend my drive focused on him and our evening together last night. It would keep my mind occupied so I wouldn't be worrying about Jake and Billy and my dad.

What an amazing evening I'd had with Edward. In the whole time I'd been with Jake he'd never showered me with that kind of romance. And it wasn't like it was calculated. I think Edward got just as much enjoyment out of doing those things for me as I did receiving them. I'd never really thought of myself as that sort of girl; the girl who would enjoy being the recipient of that kind of attention, but I'd never felt more special than I did right now.

Wait until Alice heard what he'd done at the restaurant. I knew she would approve. Even by her standards his gestures had been impressive. And the evening hadn't been formal. Edward was fun, really fun to be with and he brought the fun and laughter out in me.

And the sexy! Holy destruction of Fort Knox! That boy has a face and a body to die for!

The seduction of Bella Swan would have probably gone off without a hitch if it hadn't been for the phone calls. Edward was so incredibly sexy and smooth and gentle and…Gah! I was melting just thinking about us undressing each other and making out in the swanky fort. It had ended all too soon.

What a dependable protector and guardian angel he was. He had helped me get through the night, I'd slept rather well, and I felt able to deal with whatever came my way today.

I had thought I'd be okay last night, needing some time to organize my thoughts and pack for today, but when Edward had left my room, after Charlie's phone call, I got to thinking about Jake and his dad. I couldn't stop my thoughts from working overtime.

I thought back to what they'd been through when Jake's mom died. I worried about Jake's dad, and how things would be for Jake if he was suddenly alone. And then I thought about what things would be like if Jake were gone. I just broke down; I couldn't help it.

That was when Edward texted me and came back. By then I was a mess and didn't really know what to do. I needed to be hugged and held and Edward had stayed. I had been so upset and out of it I hadn't even thought to change into pajamas, so he'd given me the shirt off his back. Literally.

When the alarm went off this morning and I started to awaken, I was first aware of a very large warmth leaning right up against me. Then I had opened my eyes and was looking smack into his beautiful green-blue eyes. I thought I was still dreaming at first, but then I realized it was really him, really here with me. It was so nice waking up next to him, or across him, this morning. I had dreamed of him, but didn't remember anything too clearly.

I suddenly wondered what exactly I'd dreamed about him and if I'd talked in my sleep. What was it he had said about that? He'd said I was interesting when I slept. And then, "you mumble and you make faces." I'd focused on the "make faces" aspect. That was a new one. I've been known to talk in my sleep, divulging inner secrets and ridiculous thoughts, but no one had told me before that I made faces. But now I began wondering if he'd heard me say anything embarrassing.

That thought began gnawing at me. Oh shit, what might I have said to him? Or about him? Or, heaven forbid, what might I have said about Jake? Oh shit! Shit, shit, shit!

The light up ahead was yellow and I suddenly had to text him as I came to a stop.

Did I talk in my sleep?

I pressed 'send'.

EPOV

It was nearly six fortyfive. I had returned to the dorm and I had just sprawled out on the too-short couch in my suite sitting room, trying to get comfortable and go back to sleep, when my phone buzzed. Bella had left about fifteen minutes ago and suddenly she was texting me. That can't be good.

Did I talk in my sleep?

I nearly laughed out loud when I read it. I smiled as I responded.

Yes u did

A moment later I got the follow-up text.

What did I say?

I smiled again. She wasn't going to like this. I tried to be gentle.

Mumbles mostly

I was starting to grin. I knew 'mostly' would get to her.

Mostly?

I chuckled at that. She was catching on and she was worried.

Not much else.

I waited for her response and it came back shortly.

What else?

Uh-oh. Now what to do? I decided to just go for it.

Um…u said u loved me…?

My thumb paused, poised over the 'send' button and then I just figured, what the hell, and I pressed it. I envisioned the blush spreading across her face. I waited for her response. The others had been quick. She didn't respond. I waited. I finally turned over on my side, still waiting, wondering if I shouldn't have told her. Was she upset that I had mentioned it? Should I have mentioned it this morning? Should I have just waited until we were together, face to face? Did I just fuck up?

And then my phone rang. It was her. I flipped it open and held it to my ear.

"Hey," I said as I answered. I held my breath, wondering what she was going to say. I didn't want to miss a word and for some reason the blood was pounding in my ears.

"Hey." She paused and I heard her breathing. I waited for her to say something more. Finally she spoke. "It's true, Edward. I do. I love you."

I sat up quickly. "You do? Really?" I could feel the elated smile flooding my face.

I heard her quiet, wary "uh-huh" on the other end. I could tell she was holding her breath, waiting for something other than, "You do? Really?"

"Oh, I do too. I mean, I love you, not me." I grinned at myself. I sounded like an idiot. I was certainly grinning like one. "I love you, Bella."

I heard an exhale on the other end of the line so she had been holding her breath. I imagined her smiling. Just like me. Kind of foolishly. We were quite the foolish pair.

"I had to pull over, Edward, that's why I didn't text you back. I was at a red light at first, but then the light changed and the traffic began moving. I couldn't text you back right when we got to the good part." Her voice was kind of breathless, excited.

I smiled, wishing I could pull her into my arms and kiss her hard right then and there. "Well, so now we've gotten to the good part, I guess."

"Yeah." I could hear the wistful smile in her voice. "I miss you." She'd left only about twenty minutes ago.

"I missed you before you even left."

There was a pause and then she shyly said, "I'm happy."

I chuckled. "Well, good. I'd sure hate for you to be disappointed to find out that I love you."

She giggled. "I'll talk to you later, okay? I'll let you know when I get to Forks."

"Okay. I can't wait until this weekend. But I think this conversation will get me through until tomorrow or Saturday when I see you."

"Me too. And I can't wait until this weekend either. I better get going. Bye, Edward"

"Goodbye, love. Drive carefully." I shut my phone. I had a big stupid grin on my face and I was just going to enjoy the hell out of that conversation all day.

BPOV

I closed my phone and set it back in my purse. I glanced up into the rearview mirror at my face. I was smiling like a fool. I caught sight of the silver chain at my neck and fished the little medallion out of my shirt to look at it. I rubbed it like a talisman, thinking of Edward, my Edward, and I tucked it back inside my sweater. Close to my heart.

I really had to get going; it was six forty-five and I had several hours of driving to get to Forks.

EPOV

I had managed to doze off for a while before morning noises in the suite began to wake me up. A door here or there opening and closing, the sound of a shower, closet doors and drawers opening and closing in nearby rooms. But nothing wakes you up quite like someone throwing themselves down on top of you, slapping your face until you're fully alert and pretending to junk-punch you. Good morning, Emmett.

"Baby Bro, what the fuck are you doing out here? Things didn't pan out last night? No room to call your own? What happened with Bella Actually?"

"Shut up, Emmett, it's too early for this shit." Sometimes he was like an oversized Alice on steroids, asking way too many questions and not giving you any time to process them and respond.

"Come on, Edward. What happened?" he asked dropping heavily down to the couch, coming within an inch of my groin, as I lay on my side. Flannel pajama pants and a pair of boxers don't offer much crotch protection around Emmett. I needed flannels with a cup.

I rubbed my eyes and looked up at him. "She had to go home early this morning. There was a bad automobile accident last night and her dad called."

"Her dad was in an accident?"

"No, not her dad, it was…" Oh, fuck me, here we go. Why did I open my mouth?

"It was her ex-boyfriend and his father. They're in the hospital. I guess it was a pretty bad accident and her father was on duty when it happened."

Emmett's eyes widened. "This doesn't sound good. For them or for you."

Shit. No fucking filter. Can't he just NOT say whatever pops into his mind?

"Their families are really close. They're kind of like relatives. It's like his dad is her uncle. She's worried."

"Ed, be serious, she just broke up with that guy, what, two weeks ago? Now she's going to go and visit him in the hospital and be all sympathetic and worried? This doesn't sound like a good thing at all. You're screwed, bro."

And...thank you! I feel much better now that we've talked. Fuck! Keep your fucking thoughts to yourself.

"Thanks for being so positive. I've got to go take a shower."

"Hey, I'm just saying. Maybe you should have gone with her, you know?"

"I offered. She didn't want me to."

He just cocked his head and looked at me, one eyebrow raised.

I stood up, flipped him off, and headed to the bathroom before he could stab anymore knives into my heart.

I took a really long shower. I didn't want to deal with anymore thoughts that might occur to Emmett. Instead I tried to focus on my conversation with Bella earlier. But it had been tarnished by Emmett and now I just really wanted to talk to her, but she was still driving. And then I was in class. I wouldn't be able to talk to her until much later.

When I finally left the bathroom, with my towel wrapped around my hips, Alice was just leaving from my room.

"Edward!" She said, smiling at me. "So…how did it go? I want the detes! I want to know about the date and whatever you're willing to spill about afterwards. I can't help but notice that you didn't come back to your room last night." She was smirking a little.

I patted the top of her head. "It was really great, Alice. I'll give you details at lunch. She had to go home this morning, there was a family emergency, but she's okay and she's still coming to our house for Mom's birthday. I'll tell you later, okay? I've got to get dressed and get to my first class. I promise I'll tell you everything later at lunch."

I didn't really want to go into the whole thing, but at least I thought Alice would focus more on the positive aspects of my night and morning.

BPOV

I pulled into the driveway of our house a little over four hours after I'd left Edward. It was just a little before eleven o'clock. Charlie's cruiser and truck were both out front, so I knew he was home. I grabbed my purse and bag and headed up the steps and into the house.

"Daddy?" I called, "I'm home! Where are you?""

I heard him clear his voice. "In here, Bells." I heard his voice from the kitchen and I went in to see him sitting at the kitchen table. He was not his usual self. He didn't even get up.

"Hi, Daddy." I went to him and hugged him. Not something I did very often, but something we both needed right now.

"Hi, Bells." He hugged me awkwardly with one arm. Charlie didn't do physical displays of affection very well.

I took a seat, looking at him, waiting for him to tell me.

"I just got off the phone with the hospital. It's not good. Well, Jake will be okay, in fact they're going to release him later on today, but it looks like Billy's had a spinal injury. They think he may never walk again. It's low enough down his spine that he'll still have good upper body mobility and function, but he may be looking at a wheelchair for the rest of his life."

I was numb. I couldn't say a word. I just nodded and felt the tears flowing down my cheeks. Charlie got up and grabbed a box of tissues. Then he sat back down next to me, looking at his hands, not saying anything.

"What happened?" I asked through my tears.

"Drunk driver. Of course nothing happened to that guy. Seems that's the way it always is. He ran a red light going really fast and plowed into the passenger side of their car. Their car spun out, hitting a guardrail, flipping it up onto the driver's side. Jake was driving. The driver's side window busted out and the car slid on that side, finally coming to a stop."

I blew my nose. "And Jake wasn't injured very badly? What happened to him?"

"No, they checked him all out. He's had a concussion, was unconscious when the ambulance took him away, but he regained consciousness last night. He needed quite a few stitches on his left arm. He got pretty cut up from glass and gravel in the roadway after the window smashed out. The car slid along the road before it came to a stop. His arm got scraped along the roadway, but nothing got broken. He'd probably have a lot more damage if he hadn't had on the thick sweatshirt he was wearing. All that padding must have protected him pretty well. They were both wearing seatbelts. If they hadn't, well, I'm sure they wouldn't even be alive now."

I nodded. "Oh, Dad, poor Billy!" My tears started up again.

Charlie's hand covered mine and gave it a hard squeeze. "I know. It's life-changing. Come on, let's go to the hospital. We're going to bring Jake home with us for tonight. His sister Rebecca is flying in from Hawaii tomorrow evening and Rachel can't get here until Saturday morning. I don't think Jake should be alone just yet. It's a lot to process and I'm sure he's in pain anyway."

We left in the cruiser and headed for the hospital. I realized I hadn't called or texted Edward yet and it was now a little after eleven. He was in class, so I sent a text for now.

I got here ok. I'll call u at lunch. love u.

EPOV

I was at lunch with Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rose. I had told them about the date at The Pink Door. I told them about the roses and the candles, the mock proposal and the necklace.

Rose had looked at Emmett a little menacingly. "I hope you're taking good notes, Emmett; Edward knows how to romance a girl."

"What? Rose, you want me to be a faggot, like Edward?"

Both Rose and Alice hit Emmett simultaneously.

I blew an air-kiss at him and Jasper snickered.

Then I told them about her suggesting that we just come back here and not go to a movie. They had all leaned in closer, waiting for the juicy details. But there weren't any, and I'm not so sure I would have shared that information anyway. I explained about the call from her dad, how it had put the lid on things.

"Emmett told me he found you sleeping out here this morning," Alice said. "Why didn't you call me and tell me, or text me? You could have slept in your room. You didn't have to sleep out on the couch; I would have gone back upstairs to my own room."

"Actually, I didn't sleep out here; I slept with her. Well, I didn't sleep with her, sleep with her, I just slept with her. In her bed."

Emmett frowned. "That's as clear as fucking mud, Edward. What does that mean? Did you or didn't you deliver the package?"

I winced at Emmett.

"She was upset and crying. I just held her and slept next to her, you know, spooning her. She needed to be comforted."

"You're quite the romantic, Edward," Jasper sighed. "You've raised the bar for us gentlemen with your date-night antics and the way you cared for the saddened Miss Swan."

"Yeah," Emmett nodded, "But I would have still tried to deliver the package if it had been me."

Rose smiled at Emmett. "Yes, you probably would have still tried."

"Would you have accepted delivery?" he asked her smiling.

"With those dimples? Probably." She kissed his cheek.

My phone rang and I saw that it was Bella. I told them it was her. The signal was bad in the dining hall, and I could hardly hear her, so I stepped outside for a few minutes, listening to what she was telling me about the accident and the current situation.

When I came back in they looked up at me expectantly.

"He's getting out of the hospital and he's spending the night at her house."

Their faces looked just like I felt.

A/N: Concerns? Questions? Heck, I'll even take compliments. Talk to me, ladies. Your reviews often give me additional ideas...and I kind of like that. ;) Read on if it's revised.