Warning: The warning from the previous chapter still stands.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns these characters and the awesomeness that is Twilight! I'm just subjecting them to my fun little schemes.

Chapter 37

He felt Tyler shove him out of the way as his body willed itself to move towards the house and to let Tyler take care of his pregnant girlfriend. The image of Clair Smith, bound and gagged, covered in blood and sweat, was something he knew he would never, ever be able to get out of his head. Tyler's face, contorted in grief, was another image he could have done without. She was alive, barely, but Edward saw her chest rising and falling rapidly. The girl was obviously terrified but definitely still awake, she had somehow gotten the piece of cloth down over her chin so that she could talk.

As a popping sound was heard from the house behind him, reality slammed into him and he took off for the house. He had no idea what he was looking for, what he expected to find. Robby needing help? Robby dead? Who knew, all Edward knew was that little boy was here somewhere and he was going to find him. The fire was pretty well contained, though smoke filled his lungs. Edward pushed on, refusing to let the stinging burn get to him. The house was only four rooms. A kitchen and living room on the bottom floor and a bathroom and bedroom on the top. The bottom of the house was empty and he sprinted upstairs. The heat was stronger and the smoke was thicker but he checked both small rooms with no luck—there didn't appear to be anyone around.

He started to cough and knew he had to get back downstairs. Robby wasn't there and chances were he'd die himself if he stayed upstairs. Stumbling back down, he hit the bottom and looked around. The smoke wasn't as bad and the fire had been put out. Emmett was coming through the front door, dressed in a full on fire suit. If Edward could see his friend's face behind the mask, he knew it would be a whole lot of what-the-fuck-is-wrong-with-you. Edward regained his composure, having breathed in the less dense air and began following Emmett out. He was turning to take one last look of the room when he saw it. A white door, charred on it's sides from the flames, the red door handle the only thing he could focus on.

Striding over, he grabbed the knob but it wouldn't turn. The door, unlike most household doors, was locked from the outside with a key—it wasn't so the person in the room could keep people out, it was to keep the person in the room. There wasn't a fraction of a doubt in his mind that Robby was on the other side of that door. Emmett was yelling something to him as he frantically tried to throw his body against the door, willing it to give. His friend must have given up on fighting him because he came over and as the two of them reared back and threw everything they had into it, they ended up tumbling down a flight of stairs.

An unfinished basement was where they landed but that hell was where a small boy was found alive. Later, Edward would thank God for the fact that the room didn't have insulation, wooden walls, or anything that would have gone up like the rooms upstairs. It was a large, open, cement room and cowering in the corner, crouched on a soiled twin mattress was Robert Joseph Davareaux.

Bella grasped the house phone in her hands as she paced in front of the television. Edward and the boys had only been gone for an hour but this felt wrong to her. This wasn't a typical call. This wasn't just another fire like all the other ones over the years. Since Annie's passing, there were no more update calls to keep the wives posted and more than any other night, Bella felt Annie's absence. She was an emotional wreck, fighting tears, tired, and scared for her husband. He was close to this case, closer than she'd ever seen him get to a client and that's what worried her. He'd dealt with plenty of kids: kids with abusive fathers, abusive mothers...you name it, he'd seen it. This wasn't knew to him and he always tried to not get too attached. There was only one time, it was a little girl who was only two months old. He had called Bella from work that day, a few months after he started working for CPS, and told her to take his credit card and go buy new born diapers, a couple bottles and formula.

When she got home, her husband was holding a starving baby in his arms and trying to remember where at his parent's he had stored Kaley's crib. They had been trying to get pregnant and so the crib had remained in the basement well after the baby was picked up—two days later—by her biological grandparents. That was the only time Edward really brought his work home with him. He didn't want Kaley to hear about the things he saw. This was different, though, and it scared the hell out of her.

When the phone rang she jumped in surprise and as it fell to the ground so did her heart. Annie was no longer at the other end of the line, standing on the side lines having time to call. Since Annie left them, the wives dreaded a ringing phone. The only refuge was the exact opposite of a phone call, it was seeing their loved one walking safely through the door. She fought the urge to vomit as she looked down at the phone, still lying on the floor, and saw Carlisle's number pop up.

She hadn't caught it before it hit the floor so she slid down to it's level to answer. "Carlisle?" it came out as a quiet whisper.

"Bella, would you be able to come down to the hospital? I know Kaley's in bed..."

Bella hung up on him, instinct taking over. She grabbed her keys from the kitchen table and only slightly hesitated on grabbing Kaley out of her little bed. It was warm enough that they didn't need coats but she clumsily got her daughter's shoes on her and slid on her own flip flops. She was aware of the ringing house phone but couldn't bring herself to answer it. Standing there talking on the phone wasn't going to get her to her husband any sooner. By the time she had Kaley strapped into the booster seat, her phone was vibrating like crazy in her purse. She ignored it.

Pulling out she saw a car come up behind hers. When she pulled into the fairly empty hospital parking lot, Bella noticed that the car was still behind her but turned to go towards the area where the doctors could park. As she carried a sleeping Kaley towards the emergency room, her self-loathing began to set in. For the past few months she had prayed day and night for new life, not thinking to take a chance to pray for keeping the life she had. For the first time since she was a little girl, dreaming of one day getting to have a little baby to take care of, she was completely at terms with not having that opportunity. If she never became a mother biologically, she didn't care, all she wanted was her husband to be safe and okay.

She shifted Kaley uncomfortably, her muscles straining as she held her daughter who was no longer a tiny two year old. Leaning against the nurses station with her, she took a deep breath to calm herself as the nurse asked if she could help her. "My name is Isabella Cullen. I'm here to see my husband, Edward. He is a firefighter with Station 88..."

"Mam, there's no one here listed under that name..."

"Bella!" Spinning around, she saw Esme striding towards her, coming in from an entrance that said 'staff only'. This had to be bad. This had to be really, really bad. If they called Carlisle in that had to mean something was wrong with his son. Why else would he be there and why the hell would his mother be following her the whole way to the hospital? Bella shook her head, surprised she hadn't recognized Esme's BMW as the vehicle that was behind hers.

Esme approached, dressed in a pair of jeans, a black polo, and little heeled sandals. Bella couldn't believe Esme had taken time to dress so nicely, Bella herself was wearing a pair of flannel shorts and an old t-shirt of Edward's. "It's not him, honey. Carlisle was trying to tell you..."

"What do you mean? He's okay?" Bella asked, leaning her full weight on the nurse's station now. Esme opened her mouth to explain but Bella didn't hear a word of it. Tyler was running through the waiting room, full on sprinting. Jasper, James, and the two new recruits walked in and sat down.

Cutting off whatever explanation Esme was giving, she said quickly. "Start over. What the hell is going on?"

Esme sighed and directed her to a seat. Jasper came over then, seeing them for the first time. Esme explained the parts that she knew and Jazz filled in the blanks. She was told of them finding Clair, of Edward being 'an idiot' as Jasper added and going into the house to find Robby. The police were investigating what went down as they spoke but apparently Thomas Davareaux had a hole in his head, as did his wife, and Caleb's body was found underneath a mattress in the upstairs bedroom. Robby was the only one who survived, he was untouched from the fire and bullet free. Edward was okay as well, Esme reassured her. He, Carlisle, and Emmett were up in pediatrics with the smallest Davareaux boy and Edward was anything but fine emotionally.

"Can I go up there?" Bella asked, standing up, not really caring either way—that's where she was headed.

"Yeah. Let me take sleeping beauty. I'll get her to school tomorrow. You go tend to my son."

Bella went up with Jasper and when they came to the pediatrics unit it was hard for her to even walk down the hallway. The halls were vibrant and decorated with pictures drawn by the kids, posters of cartoon characters, and there were toys in every room. It tried to come off as a happy place but with the lights dimmed for the sleeping kids, shadows cast a creepy darkness over everything.

Carlisle was dressed in his white doctors coat, talking to a nurse behind a desk. Emmett hugged her as he was making his way down the hallway. "How's Clair?" he asked sullenly.

"I don't know anything yet. We just got here. Tyler's a fucking wreck..." Jasper replied.

"Bells, Robby's room is right there," Emmett said, pointing two rooms away.

Leaving the boys to talk, Bella crept to the door and saw Edward facing away from her, staring down at the tiny little boy. He was so much smaller than Kaley was and Bella knew it was because he wasn't fed properly. Robby was laying there, wide awake but as if in a daze. He stared at her husband's face, a look of apprehension on his own. His little hand was about six inches from Edward's, which was laying on the bed beside Robby. Bella watched them, remembering how afraid Edward and Matt had both told her he was of men. Every so often, Robby would move his little fingers closer to Edward and Edward would move his slightly closer as well. It was like they were getting to know each other without talking, the little boy trying to decide if he could trust this strange man when he had no reason to trust anyone.

Bella stepped quietly back from the door, back into the hallway, and slid down the wall to the floor. She was exhausted, a realization that hit after she saw that her husband was okay. She still hated herself for taking Edward for granted over this past year, forgetting that his life was just as important as the life of an unborn child. A child of her own she could live without. Living without Edward was impossible.

Edward watched the little boy hesitantly watching him. They were both pretty dirty, both had unruly hair that was sticking out in all directions, both were exhausted, and both were wanting to get the hell away from the hospital. Despite the little boy's scars from 'accidents' when he was little, there was no record of him ever being admitted to Forks Hospital or any other hospital for that matter—Carlisle had been sure of it.

After Edward found the little guy shaking with fear down in the basement, he went to pick him up, as if instinct took over his entire body. He should have known better, though. He was more than aware of the fact that the little boy disliked men. In fact, when he went to get Robby so he could carry him out of the house, the boy let out a scream and darted for the stairs, nearly tripping Emmett. Emmett, worried about the smoke filled upstairs, grabbed the little boy around the waist. Robby kicked and screamed the entire trip to the hospital, even throwing a fit when Carlisle tried to touch him. When Edward finally came into the room, the little boy was standing instead of on the bed where Carlisle wanted him and when Robby looked at Edward, he took a step closer on shaking legs.

They'd given him a sedative but the boy refused to sleep, so he just laid awake, staring at Edward in apprehension. Guilt had ripped a hole the size of Texas in Edward's gut as he thought about the basement the little guy was obviously living in. There was a bare lightbulb for light, a very dirty mattress on the floor, his clothes were folded neatly in wire crates, as was the blanket at the end of the 'bed'. There were no toys, nothing colorful, just a red bucket in a corner. Edward couldn't bring himself to think of what it was used for. Good fucking riddance, Thomas Davareaux. May you rot in hell, you piece of shit.

He fought to control his anger but stayed calm for fear that Robby would become scared. He wanted to go home, home to his Bella, and then he realized that he needed to call her. He felt like a piece of shit as well, his poor wife was probably panicking by now. Pulling his phone, he dialed home and listened to it ring. With a cracked voice, Robby surprised him by speaking for the first time. "Are you telling them to come get me?" The perfect grammar and absolute fear made Edward's heart clench.

"No," he said firmly, "they can't hurt you anymore."

Edward watched as the little boy looked away, looking at the drawn curtain, as if he could see the other side. He hung up when she didn't answer and dialed again, this time her cell. "I'm calling my wife," he said, trying to make small talk with the boy, "she's very nice. Her name is Bella."

"Is she pretty?" the little boy asked quietly.

Edward felt his eyes getting wetter. "She's very, very pretty. Do you remember Mrs. Cullen? She brings Kaley to school in the morning?" When the little boy nodded, he continued, "Well, that's her. She's Kaley's mommy."

"Kaley has good food at lunch time. I'm sorry I eat it. I always ask her..." he said, trying to make his body as small as possible by pulling his arms in and bringing his legs up.

"Buddy, it's okay. Why didn't you tell someone you didn't have food?"

"It's free at school."

"So why don't you eat?"

"I only get one...I'm sorry. Miss Smith is nice though. She gives me food, too."

"What do you eat at home?" Edward asked gently, grateful to have the little boy talking.

Robby became quiet and Edward knew his answer. Just then, Bella came in, carrying her cell phone in hand and giving them a small smile. The little boy jumped when he saw her but then became stock still. "Hi, Robby," Bella whispered to him, resting her hand on Edward's shoulder before kissing Edward on the cheek.

"She is pretty."

Edward laughed at the little boy's remark, standing up to hug Bella, Edward agreed. "She's very pretty."

"Kaley says she loves you and her daddy a lot."

"Buddy, I am Kaley's daddy," Edward said with a smile.

"Daddy's aren't good sometimes..." Robby said quietly, a defeated look on his face as his sad eyes wondered back to the covered window.

Bella frowned and walked over to pull the curtains back and open the window. "Not all of them are bad. Kaley's daddy is a very, very good one," Bella assured him. "Do you like the stars?"

"I like windows. I never get to have a window..."

Carlisle came in then and Robby scooted as far on the other side of the bed as he could get before the bars got in the way. "Robby, buddy, I need to check you over..."

Edward watched as the Robby's chest rose and fell rapidly to the point that he worried Robby was going to have a heart attack. "Dad, can I talk to you in the hallway a minute?"

"He's your dad?" Robby asked, obviously surprised.

"Yeah, buddy..." Edward let Bella answer his question as he followed Carlisle out.

"Let me take him home. Get him cleaned up. Feed him..."

"Edward, come on. That boy needs to be with a psychiatric unit for a little while. He's been through intense abuse and trauma..."

"So it makes sense to you to keep him locked up, tied down, and sedated? If I wanted to do that, dad, I would have fucking left him in that God damned basement!" Carlisle was taken aback, as was Edward—he never spoke to the only man he'd ever known as his father in that way. "I'm sorry..."

"I just think it's what's best."

"I disagree," Edward said, looking down at the floor.

Bella watched Robby playing with his blanket and sucking his thumb. The boy was a little old to be doing that but it seemed to calm him and that's all Bella wanted for him—a reprieve from the depravity he'd experienced throughout his young life. "Baby, can I talk to you a minute?" Edward called from the doorway. She stood and walked over after giving Robby small smile.

"Are you ready to go home?" Bella asked, yawning.

"Um...soon. I've talked Carlisle into letting us take Robby home for the night..."

"Edward, no," Bella said firmly, shaking her head. "You are way to attached to this case. He needs to be with people who know how to handle him..."

"He's not dangerous, Bells, he's scared..."

"When it comes to a situation like this is there really a difference? What if he freaks and tries to hurt himself? Are you willing to take that risk?"

"Yes. I am. I'm not giving up on that little boy. I won't do it. I'm not turning my back on him until he's in a good home with people who give a shit about him."

"So you want to bring him home? For how long?"

"Just until I can find another foster family..."

"He's five years old. You said it yourself. People want babies, not grown kids." Bella fought to keep the resolve in her voice but found herself trying to take her own advice. She was falling in love with Robby every second she was near him.

"We can keep him for a little while..."

"Edward, do you hear yourself? He's not a puppy! You don't just ask if you can keep him!" But maybe we could...

"Would it be different if Robby was a baby?"

Bella didn't know how to counter that one, she thought for a minute, letting him sweat it out before finally answering honestly. "No. It wouldn't be. I don't want to adopt or foster or whatever you consider it."

"You adopted Kaley."

"She's yours," Bella said after a loud sigh.

"He's no one's," Edward countered with conviction and without missing a beat as he pointed toward the little boy's room.

"Fine. One night. He can stay with us tonight and we'll see how it goes." Bella worried Edward was too attached to this amazing little boy already. How could they care for him? How could they give him what he needed?

"Thank you."

"Edward, I'm only so against this because you are so emotional about the whole thing. You can't save them all, Edward. You just can't," Bella said quietly, cupping his cheek with her hand.

"I didn't. His brother is dead and now Robby's an orphan."

"Better an orphan than dead, Edward. That's exactly where he might be were it not for you."

"Where's Kaley?" Edward asked after a minute of them just staring at each other.

"Safe and sound with your mom. Now, come on, we're all exhausted...and I have a feeling it's going to be an even longer night. Let's get him home."

Wow, can you say roller coaster ride? What do you think will happen? I really need your opinion about Robby on this one. Either way, sorry for the cliffy last chapter, I hope you don't all hate me too much. This chapter and the next ends without one—I'm trying to behave myself ;) Keep up the awesome reviewing you've all been doing—over 650! I love you all deeply and do this for you! LP xxoo