AN: Thank you all for the continued support and reviews everyone! It seems that Edward's POV has been requested for this chapter. Hopefully it doesn't disappoint! It's mainly based around Dr. Edward Cullen, and his knowledge of Bella's condition. I'm no doctor, so the information was gathered through the ever trusty Google. I'm crossing my fingers that it makes sense. If any of you readers are medically trained, I'd love to know if I'm on base here, or if I need to change anything!

Thanks again, and enjoy! : )

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Can someone explain to me what the hell just happened?

Tonight was seriously a messed up situation; and that's me trying to be nice about the events that went down. Jake hasn't changed one bit since high school, in my opinion. The things that came out of his mouth tonight were appalling. First I had to put up with his taunting and our impromptu fist-fight; then, he had to go and express those…philosophies with Tony in the room. I think Tony was introduced to a side of his Uncle he hadn't seen before; a side that won't easily be forgotten.

But my anger wasn't entirely focused on the douche bag, but my family as well. I love them all, I really do; but how could they go behind my back and apply for a leave of absence without consulting me? My career is very important to me; its especially taken precedence since Bella left. Is it even legal to ask for a leave of absence for someone else? At the next available chance, I'll have to check my emails because I have a feeling that they impersonated me to get the desired results.

Taking a leave of absence is a serious move, one that cannot be taken lightly. Before any action is taken, it's important to make sure your job is waiting for you when you come back. Am I sure my family took the right course of action? Sure, my father said they're okay with my absence, but they could be saying that, but thinking something different. It's not like the request was given with a lot of notice. With both my father and I here, we've left the hospital short-handed; were they able to make arrangements to cover our work responsibilities? Cover our patients?

Prior to today, the thought of a leave of absence wasn't even in my mind. However, now that things have turned around when it comes to Tony, the request does seem reasonable. I'd be willing to stick around and try to get to know the little guy. But how long is this leave of absence good for before the hospital considers letting me go? There is no set date for Bella to wake up. I've seen comas that lasted a couple of days, to a few weeks; some of the strangest cases have documented comas that have lasted years! Right now, we are five days into the coma.

With my job on the brain, I had to take step back from being Bella's Edward, and focus on the medical aspects of her condition. Bella's been incubated because doctors were afraid she wouldn't be able to breathe on her own; and, due to her lack of eating, she's been getting her nutrition via Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN). But that isn't ideal for long term comas.

Since the first day at the hospital, when doctors really couldn't pinpoint a reason for the coma, they noticed a hemorrhage on the computed tomography scan of the brain. Blood appears brighter than the brain tissue of the skull, and recent scans were able to pick up when the hemorrhage increased in size. The doctors had hoped that they could treat the hemorrhage with basic medication, however, the increased size of the hematoma has them leaning now towards surgery. The mass of the blood within the brain could be responsible for continuing damage to the surrounding tissues. Early surgical removal or decompression seems to be the best options.

But no surgery can guarantee it being a sure deal. Yes, Bella can successfully come out of the deadly situation, but she could also lose her life, or she could love functionality of her body organs. Is the risk worth it? Bella has a lot of lose. Hell, Tony has a lot to lose in the situation. Who makes the final decision for her? With Charlie gone, and Jake acting like the royal pain in the ass that he is, whose next in line? Does Bella even have a living will, or even a will in general? These were definitely questions to look into further.

Switching to a new, yet related topic, my mind focused in on the Jessica Black that came to the hotel room tonight. That was not the woman that I knew while in high school. She had certainly changed, but it seemed like it was a change for the better. I was glad that Tony at least had someone in his life that was being level-headed and taking the time to think about what's best for him without getting into particulars from the past. Hopefully she can work some magic and talk some sense into her husband. I'm sure she wasn't expecting to see that side of him so early on in their marriage. The first year of marriage is advertised as the toughest; but, as much as I hate the guy, I didn't want to see his marriage crumble so early on.

I was brought out of my musing when I heard Tony inquire, "What's a leaf of absent?" Deciding to be stubborn, I voiced, "Have fun with that one Dad," and then left the living room. I hadn't gotten far before I heard the hurried footsteps of the meddling Pixie following me.

"Edward, wait up, please." Ignoring her, I sped up somewhat in hopes of getting to my room in enough time to lock her out. But that idea was quickly thwarted. "I know how to pick a lock, Edward. Don't even try me." Uugh!

"Haven't you done enough already Alice? I just want to be alone right now," I said, trying to reason with her. But once Alice has her mind set on something, my request was the furthest thing that she would give in to.

"I can't do that Edward. If I leave you alone to your thoughts, you will do nothing but internalize everything, and think yourself into a frenzy. Our actions, though shady, were not made with malicious intent. When we started the process, you were still anti-Tony, and we were trying to force you into….furthering your relationship with him. We didn't know that you'd finally melt the icy walls that surround your heart to let the kid in on your own."

"Ohh you're right Alice. That makes everything better," I sarcastically replied. Getting up in my face, Alice pushed me hard on my right shoulder with all the strength she had, which surprisingly was a lot. That's going to hurt later.

"Grow up Edward; we were just trying to push the relationship along. Now we know you are finally taking matters into your own hands. Welcome to adulthood. So where do you go from here?"

Slightly perplexed, I asked, "What do you mean Alice? You already made sure that I have time off and that I'm here until Bella wakes up. What more is there to do?"

Sighing in frustration, Alice sat me down on my bed, and began pacing the room. "Seriously Edward, do we have to do everything for you? This week you were just introduced to your son, a son that you are just starting to build a relationship with. Does that relationship disappear after his Mommy wakes up? Shouldn't you be looking into a more permanent solution; like, relocation?"

I cut her off there. "Alice, I don't even know if Bella would appreciate me being here around her son in her absence. I doubt she'd like me around all the time. I can't exactly do anything without consulting her first, which is kind of hard to do when she's unconscious."

"Newsflash Edward, Bella is still in love with Bella's Edward, or were you not there when Tony was sharing those precious stories? And as jaded and dark as you've become, I know Bella's Edward is still there somewhere deep inside you. If you play your cards right, you can easily get both the girl, and a family out of this situation."

I put my head down into my hands. Of course I heard those stories. Ever since Tony mentioned Bella's Edward in his sleep, I've wondered what he knew about me. And from the few stories that Tony shared today, I could tell that Bella looked past my indiscretions and focused on the idealized version she had of me. I couldn't help but think this could work in my favor in the future. Maybe the good that Bella remembers about me will help her be more open with my being in her….their lives. Still, I didn't want to put all my eggs into one basket yet. And anyways, pessimism suits me.

"Alice, I think it's a little early to start thinking about relocation. For all I know, Bella can wake up and banish me from their lives. Wouldn't want to have to pack and move more than once, right?" I explained. Listening to myself, I knew that my argument wasn't very convincing. But she'd have to accept it for now.

"Whatever you say Edward, but you can't stop me and Mom from looking into the local real estate market. I'm thinking a little reshuffling will be in order. I don't know about you, but now that Bella is back in our lives, I plan to keep her there, even if I have to hold her as a hostage. She's not getting away again. I missed her too much."

Looking at the saddened face on my sister's face, I got up and placed an arm around her shoulders and said, "Me too Alice. Me too."

"And who knows, maybe I could open a second store in Seattle, which would require my presence on the West Coast more," she explained with a slight smirk on her face. "After all, we wouldn't want to separate Sophia from her new BFF. Relationship building is important at this age."

I couldn't help but laugh at my sister. She may be meddling little thing, but she was damn good at it. No wonder she always gets what she wants! "Yes, we wouldn't want to burden Sophia," I said, appeasing her and her line of reasoning.

"Glad you can see my point of view Eddie. Now, if you'll accuse me, I believe there are some listings Mom and I need to look into. At least we have plans for Sunday!" With a final wink, Alice spun around and left me alone in my room. Lying back on my bed, I couldn't help but think that when my family wants something, they get it. They got me to take a leave of absence; they got me to work on my relationship with Tony; heck, they'd probably have a house under contract by tomorrow. There's no stopping the relentless Cullens. And deep down inside, I was glad they were so pro-active.

I made a promise to myself that from this point forward, I would work to get what I want as well. If I've learned anything from this experience, it's that time is precious, and I'm not willing to waste anymore time denying what I want and what I have.