Edward froze on the spot, his mind racing.

He did not know how long he stood, unmoving, barely breathing.

A dog could be heard barking in the distance, followed by the sound of heavy steps coming closer and then several police officers, detectives and dog handlers appeared all at once. So much for Edward's assumption that he'd gone under the radar. Apparently, someone had been paying attention, after all…

One of the police officers stopped in front of Edward, the rest of them were all zooming in on the, by now unmoving, person on the ground. She seemed to have slipped into unconsciousness… Why was she unconscious?

Edward heard talking, but he couldn't make out the words. It was all white noise. He was on the verge of blanking out completely.

"Hey mister - Are you okay?" Someone touched his shoulder in a gentle manner. "What's your name? Can you hear me?"

"Huh? I mean yeah, I hear you. What did you ask?!" He let his eyes come to a stop on the uniform clad man before him.

"Did you call 911? Are you on the phone with them right now?"

"Wha- …Oh," Edward realized he was clutching his phone to his chest.

'Get a grip!' he scolded himself, pushing away that woozy feeling that had his knees feeling like they wanted to buckle. 'No, this won't do!'

He took a deep breath and finally managed to stutter out a somewhat coherent answer. "I-… No. I haven't…. I mean, I couldn't-… It happened so fast!"

At this admission, the police officer immediately took action, barking orders for someone to call an ambulance.

"It happened so fast!" Edward repeated again, mostly to himself.

He should have called for help… that's what a normal, decent human being would have done…

He looked over helplessly at Bella and frowned. The blood-smear on the ground had grown alarmingly large over the past few minutes. Panic gnawed at him. This was wrong—this shouldn't be happening.

He couldn't look away. Couldn't unsee. Couldn't breathe. His knees were seriously threatening to give out underneath him again. It was only then that he realized he was swaying precariously.

"Hey, it's okay. Don't worry. We'll take it from here." Suddenly the police officer was back at his side again, steadying him. "There is an ambulance on the way. Come on, look away if the blood makes you queasy."

"I'm sorry, so sorry …." Edward said brokenly, as he found himself being guided to sit down on the grass a feet away from the commotion.

.

..

.

"Shhh, take it easy! You're shaking. "

Edward was only vaguely aware of the voices that spoke around him as he sat huddled on the ground.

"Who do we have here? Is he okay?"

"I think he's experiencing a shock reaction."

"Can you tell us your name?"

They sounded distant, like he was underwater and they were above the surface.

He tried to say something, but found that he couldn't get a single word out. Breathing properly was turning into a challenge.

"You'll be alright…. Are you cold? Someone, get us a blanket or a jacket or something!"

At some point, he realized the ambulance had arrived and that B-… the patient was being lifted off the ground and placed in the back of the vehicle.

At least she would be getting help now. The tightening in his chest loosened a tiny, tiny bit. Only to get worse again… because, what if it was already too late?

He learned later that the chief of police had been seen stepping into the ambulance as well, before it speeded off with lights flashing and sirens blaring.

By now, a crowd of onlookers was gathering around, watching and whispering. Someone in uniform- a paramedic, or a police officer, he wasn't paying enough attention to determine which one it was—asked if it was alright for her to take his stats.

He shook his head from side to side, vigorously. He wasn't sick, he didn't want or need anyone fussing over him. He just needed to remember how to breathe. He hadn't had a panic attack is school for quite some time, years even, and this was not a good time to be having one, damn it!

Fortunately, both his mother and his sister arrived to the scene soon thereafter. If there was anyone that could talk him down from the metaphorical ledge he was balancing on, it was his mother. She knew better than to touch him, but she got as close as she could and counted with him from one to ten and then backwards until she was satisfied he was breathing again.

She continued offering soft words of comfort to him, while fielding questions from both the police and the paramedics on the site.

No doubt she was making the usual excuses for him. She had to say something…The shocked, paralyzed state he was currently still trapped in was bound to raise questions. He wasn't listening though, he didn't have to.

He knew perfectly well how this went.

His OCD and anxiety issues really, truly, were his 'Get Out Of Jail Free' card. It worked even in the shittiest of situations.

He would laugh if he wasn't so focused on inhaling and exhaling.

.

.

An hour later and Edward found himself resting on an uncomfortable cot-like bed in nurse Coop office. At least he was out of the way of prying eyes… but he wished nothing more than to be able to trade the cot for his own bed

He wasn't free to leave though. The police had informed his mother he wouldn't be allowed to go home, until they'd had time to take his statement…Not only that, but apparently there were some questions that needed to be answered as well.

At this point though, Edward was beginning to think they'd forgotten about him and gone back to the station… He knew he should be thankful for getting this little respite before actually having to speak to anyone.

However, time was moving impossibly slow and he was tired of waiting.

"Are you asleep?" his sister asked, her voice uncharacteristically quiet and solemn.

"Stop asking me that every five seconds," Edward opened his eyes to glare at her, and then shut them again tightly with a groan. His head was throbbing with pain.

"I thought I heard snoring," she responded, sounding almost… apologetic. "I can turn down the light if you like?" she went on suggesting, leaving her chair when he nodded in response. "There, better?"

He opened his eyes again, blinking a few times at her.

"I think mom's back, she might have some news for us. You want me to go look for her?"

"Please," he muttered, adding '…And painkillers. Get mom and painkillers.'

"Sure, hang tight. I'll-.." was all Alice manage to get out, before she was interrupted by someone opening the door.

"I thought I heard voices," Esme said, hurrying inside the room.

"Yes, Eddie's awake," Alice announced, moving to offer their mother the chair closest to the cot.

"I wasn't asleep!" he protested.

"Fine, but you were definitely nodding off."

"It's not a bad thing if you fell asleep, Edward. You're very tense. You should try and relax; it might help with the headache," his mother said calmly. "Oh, that reminds me, I've hunted down some aspirin. I'm not sure they'll do much for you, but you should take them…"

"Thanks. I'll settle for anything," he answered, accepting the pills, as she popped two of them out of their packaging and into his hand.

"Do you want water?"

He shook his head, swallowing them dry.

"So apart from the headache, how are you feeling?"

"I don't know… bored? Why is it taking so long?"

The way his mother was eyeing him cautiously had him feeling self conscious. Did she know where his headache stemmed from? Could she sense the panic still bubbling under the surface?

No, he decided. No way she knew. She didn't seem the slightest bit appalled or judgmental… and she would have, if she knew the thoughts that kept flashing through his head every five seconds.

At this point, his sister seemed to have run out of patience. "Mom, did you reach dad?" Alice asked, demanding Esme's attention. "Please, tell me you've got some news for us."

"Your father couldn't take the phone, sweetheart. I was told he'd just stepped into surgery."

"Surgery?" Alice echoed. "Who is he operating on? Is it Bella?"

"Yes, from what I've gathered that seem to be the case," Esme nodded slowly. "I did speak briefly to Dr. Campbell to see, what information, if any she could pass on to me. Isabella is a minor though, so there are of course strict regulations outlining how this is supposed to be handled."

"But… but will she-.… It's really bad, isn't it?" Alice asked with a frown.

"I was told it's not life-threatening at the moment, but that it's not looking great either."

"Why would she need surgery though? Is it because she was bleeding?"

Edward had to bite the inside of his cheek not to snap at them to shut up. He knew what was coming and didn't particularly want to hear the confirmation of his fears.

"I would think so, yes. When someone is suffering from quite extensive internal hemorrhage, like I believe was the case with Isabella, then it could be a sign that there is some sort of damage to internal organs or muscle tissue."

"There was a lot of blood," Alice nodded sadly.

All this talk about blood brought back flashbacks from earlier that had Edward shuddering involuntarily.

Instantly a hand was patting his shoulder reassuringly - his mother's hand, he realized. It didn't make him feel any less nauseated.

"There was a lot of blood, yes," Esme confirmed. "Sometimes internal bleeding will not be evident until many hours after it starts."

Edward felt like vomiting.

" – and blood may pool on the inside any cavity in the uterus or abdominal area and not find its way out until later," she continued her explanation.

Edward felt like dying.

"And like I said, it could indicate an internal injury that would need to be repaired surgically. Keep in mind, I'm only speculation though. It doesn't have to be quite that dramatic. It's fairly normal to experience both blood loss and passing of blood clots in her situation. It's something most women deal with during the first few days after giving birth."

There it was, said aloud at last…

Two gasps were heard at the same time. Alice, being the most dramatic person in the room, was waving a hand in front of her face as is she was on the verge of bursting into tears.

In the meantime, Edward was working on trying to remember how to breathe.

"Sorry," Alice finally said, her voice wavering. "It's not that I hadn't realized… There's gossip about it already. It's just…. hearing it confirmed and aloud like that…it makes it more real. And real is scary."

"Is it?" Edward heard himself utter in a strangled voice that was weaker than a whisper. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Is it real? Is it confirmed?"

"I know it's hard hearing this, it is hard for me telling you this, but the answer is yes." Esme confirmed. "There will be official DNA-result in a day or two, but according to Dr. Campbell there really is no doubt, no room for interpretation, no uncertainty about it… Just the bleeding alone, combined with Isabella's HCG levels, are enough to conclude that she's the one that gave birth to those babies."

"Can't believe this … How come I didn't know-…" Edward couldn't help a hysterical laugh from escaping his lips.

"Oh, no Edward. You did good," his mother hurried assure him, obviously having misinterpreted his reaction entirely." None of us knew what was going on. If you hadn't found her when you did, she-… she could have bled out and died right there on the school grounds. Another ten minutes and it could have been too late. You probably saved her life. "

"This is messed up. I should have known…." he muttered and shook his head, winching at the hammering pain. She didn't understand, but how could she? He couldn't even wrap his brain around it himself. It was all too much…

"Shhh, she's in surgery right now," his mother interrupted him."Antibiotics, fluids, blood transfusions - she's getting the treatments she needs. She'll pull through this."

Just then, someone knocked on the door and nurse Coop poked her head inside. "Officer Fuller wants to know if they can come in."

"Tell them to give us five more minutes," Esme replied, looking somewhat frazzled.

"No, let 'em in," Edward heard himself protest. He just wanted this over with. He'd waited long enough already

"Are you sure?" his mother asked, to which he nodded 'yes'.

"Okay then, I suppose the sooner you speak to them the sooner we can go home."

Oh boy, she really had no idea…. One wrong word out his mouth and this could potentially go from bad to worse real fast. Still, he saw no point in putting it off any longer.

.

….
.

"… so you weren't actually looking for miss Swan then?" Officer Brady Fuller asked, looking at Edward with steely, unreadable eyes.

"No," he answered truthfully. "I mean, I wasn't NOT looking for her. My sister had sent me several text messages telling me to check the bathrooms. I just figured, I had time to get my cigarettes first."

"And you had your cigarettes in your car?" This was said with no judgment, just conjecture.

"No, they are in my locker," he sighed, rubbing his face. "I normally keep them in my car, but this morning my sister gave me a ride, so I put the pack in my jacket which I left in my locker. I didn't realize this until I had already reached the parking lot though. That's when I turned around to head back the main building and that's when I spotted B-… Miss Swan."

"I see." The man's expression was still unreadable.

"Why did you leave the gym in the first place, Mr. Cullen?" the other police officer, Heidi Burns, asked. Her tone was friendly enough, but he could read suspicion on her face.

"I just wanted a break … It was running kind of long, the assembly, I mean…."

"At the risk of getting detention? The assembly was mandatory and smoking on school grounds is not allowed... Also, faking an emergency should be viewed equivalent to setting off the fire alarm on purpose. When I was in high school that alone was enough to warrant a week long suspension."

"I didn't fake no emergency. I didn't do anything," Edward objected.

"Mr. Cullen, we've heard from numerous people that the only reason you managed to sneak out was because you had a friend of yours fake an asthma attack."

"Please, call me Edward.. and uhm… I didn't ask anyone to run interference for me," he said wearily. "My friend was just trying to get out of there, same as me... I go away with it. He didn't."

"What part did your sister play in all this then? You said she was texting you? She's the petite girl who was in the room when we arrived, correct?"

"Yes, that would be Alice. She can be very persistent and kind of pushy, I guess, but she means well. She was texting me about her friend, trying to rope me into checking on the girl for her. They are really close friends, those two and I definitely got the impression it was a bit of an emergency. I just didn't realize how bad it was, or I would have acted differently… prioritized differently," he grimaced.

"And by prioritized differently you mean…?"

"Not wasting time looking for my cigarettes first."

"Any particular reason you took your sister's concern lightly? Does these kinds of emergencies happen a lot?"

"No, it's just…. I knew Bella had been sick over the weekend - 'throwing-up- all-day-long' kind of sick. So, when I heard she'd upped and left her seat in the gym, I simply figured she was having another bout of that very same stomach bug again. And…the thing is, I don't like germs. They freak me out… so, honestly, I wanted nothing to do with that. Alright. "

"Okay, but your sister knew it was a little more serious than that, I take it. I mean, seeing as you described her being 'persistent' and 'pushy'…"

"Maybe...I don't know. My sister can be quite intuitive sometimes."

"So, talk us through this," Officer Fuller continued. "What happened when you caught up with Miss Swan on the pathway by the parking lot? Did you talk to her? Did she say anything to you? Did she mention not feeling well?"

"No, it all happened rather quickly... There was no talking, there was no time for it. She barely even acknowledged my presence."

"Actually, we have two policemen stating they overheard you shouting at her. They couldn't hear the exact words you used, but they said it sounded like you were upset with her. How do you explain that?"

.fuck...

"I wasn't upset with her… Confused and a bit frustrated, yes, but not upset.. I don't remember there being any shouting. If I was shouting, it was probably one of those in the heat of the moment things…"

"My son has just been through a rather traumatic experience. He's got a raging headache bordering on migraine," Esme reminded them in a firm but gentle manner. "He hasn't had time to process everything yet."

"Thank you Dr. Cullen. We'll keep that in mind. Edward… anything you'd like to add?"

"It happened so fast." Edward felt like he had repeated that phrase at least twenty times already.

"Okay. So, you saw her standing there… What happened next? "Officer Fuller motioned for him to continue.

"One minute she was standing there with her back turned, next thing I knew she was on the ground withering in pain. I saw the blood and kind of freaked out. Then, you guys arrived, followed by the ambulance... I'm probably still in a bit of a shock to be honest."

"We have a few more questions, but if you like we can take a break here," Officer Fuller suggested kindly.

"No, I'm fine." He sighed, running his hands through his hair until it almost stood on end. "Let's get this over with."

"This is a rather small school, so I assume you know Miss Swan quite well, correct?" officer Burns asked, changing the line of questioning. "Do you have any classes together?"

"No, but my sister has bio with her. That's how they became friends. She only moved here like a year ago…I think?"

He looked over at his mother, as if he needed her to confirm this. He didn't, of course. He knew down to the exact number of days how long he'd known Bella Swan. He wasn't going to let that one slip though….

"Yes, little over a year actually," his mother nodded. "This is a small town and everyone knows everyone around here. Charlie Swan is a friend and Isabella is a frequent guest in our house."

"So, Edward, would you say Miss Swan is a friend of yours?"

"Sure, she's close with my sister. We all get along "

"Now, before we continue, there is something I have to ask," Fuller started, in a serious tone of voice. "Have you ever…. dated Miss Swan?"

"No," he answered truthfully and with no hesitation. "I don't really date and even if I did, she isn't my type."

"She isn't your type? Why is that?"

"If I wanted to ask someone out on a date, I wouldn't go for someone that I know lies down on my mother's couch on a regular basis. She's a psychiatrist, if you didn't know that already and Bella is-…"

"Edward Anthony Cullen, that's enough!" Esme interrupted with a somewhat shocked face.

"What? I'm only trying to be honest here," He shrugged as nonchalantly as he could.

"Needing therapy doesn't make a person less dateable, or less worthy of love. You, if anyone, should know that."

"So, what I take from this is that Isabella Swan is a patient of yours, Dr. Cullen. Care to confirm this?"Officer Fuller prodded.

"I prefer not to at this point," Esme was shaking her head. "I take the doctor-patient relationship very seriously. I try my hardest to protect my patients' anonymity and integrity, but like I said before, this is a small town. Sometimes words get out no matter what… However, I do NOT under any circumstances discuss my patients in front of my children. I'm appalled my son would even hint that he knows anything about who comes to my office and how often they are there."

"Alright, thank you for clearing that up," Officer Fuller said, holding his hands up as if to halt her outburst. "I have to ask you again, Edward. Just so we're clear. No misunderstandings. Has there ever been any romantic interest in Miss Swan on your part?"

"No. Never. I mean, I'm not blind, she definitely pretty in an under-stated sort of way… but I have never had any romantic interest in her... And for the record, I'm sorry about my comment earlier. It was uncalled for."

No one said anything for a moment.

"Alright. That only leaves one final thing for us to discuss," officer Burns said, taking over the questioning. "If you paid attention to the assembly this morning you'll know there was a discussion about DNA and paternity testing…"

"Yeah?" He couldn't help but frown a bit at this. "You want to test my DNA, is that what you're saying?"

"It depends, is there a chance we could end up with a match, if we did?"

"Hey, I think this is getting a bit too personal. I was told this would be an informal talk - nothing more, nothing less," Esme interfered, just as Edward was opening his mouth. If she was still upset with him, she didn't show it. Instead, she went on adding, "If you want to make a formal request, then go ahead and do it. We don't mind coming down to the station for a proper interrogation in a day or two, but right now I don't see a point in continuing this."

"I'm sorry, you're absolutely right," Fuller admitted, not looking or sounding sorry at all. "Edward, this is not an interrogation and you don't have to answer any question you're not comfortable with. At the moment, we're just looking for any information that may help."

It was then that Edward was struck by an idea so ingenious he physically whacked himself for not thinking of it sooner.

"Bella Swan has a boyfriend you know," he spoke up, pleased that his voice sounded neutral, almost bored."Or I guess you didn't know…. but yeah, there is this one guy she's been dating on the down low for a while. If anyone should be asked to submit DNA, it's him."

"Is that so?" Both police officers were looking at him expectantly.

"Yeah, I won't give you a name, because that would be-… I mean, I don't want to throw someone else under the bus. I guess I already am… sort of… but just ask around and you'll find him. Enough people know who he is, so it shouldn't take you long."

"We'll see about that," officer Fuller nodded. "But thanks for the heads up."

Oh, you're welcome, Edward smirked inwardly.

The ingenious part? Well, for starters, it would get them off his back for awhile. Because, honestly, he didn't have any answers to give them.

Yes, he'd slept with the girl more times than he cared to recount. … Okay, fine - 32 times, over the course of seven months. But he always used condoms, damn it! He SHOULD be in the clear, yet of course there was a smidgen of doubt. He could practically hear his father scold him, 'Son, nothing is ever 100% effective, even if you use it correctly.'

Seriously though, there had been no leakage or breakage that he knew of. He always checked afterwards, to make sure. Only, that wasn't entirely true…. he may or may not have been stoned out of his mind a handful of those 32 times. That was the only part about this that truly bothered him - that tiny, tiny risk that-… No, he pushed the thought away faster than it popped up.

It was only fair that 'precious' Jake got to take some heat for running his mouth about how he'd been sleeping with Swan since the day she arrived in town.

Edward felt a sudden stab of . . . something. Irritation?

Could those two have been going at it behind his back?! Not the entire time perhaps, but it only takes one time, one bad decision, ONE SPERM to get a girl pregnant! If there was one thing he'd learned from today it was that he couldn't be certain of anything anymore.

At least this way he'd get Black, either ruled out, or confirmed as a match, before he decided what to do next.

"I've had enough! Can I f-ing leave now?" he asked, not bothering to rein in the frustration bubbling in his chest anymore.

"Yes, I think we're done for today," Officer Fuller agreed, offering his hand for one final handshake.

.

.

"Come on," Esme said softly, laying a hand gently on his shoulder. "Let's get you home, so you can rest, you must be exhausted."

"I am… Fuck, I don't even know what time it is."

"It's a little after one in the afternoon. I wish you'd drop the cursing every two seconds and learn some patience, Edward. But all in all, you handled yourself reasonably well. I'm proud of you for keeping a lid on your temper."

"You shouldn't be. I'm a liar," he almost blurted. Instead, he settled for, "I'm sorry… you know, for that thing I said about her being your patient. I didn't mean it the way it came out."

"I know you didn't. This is a situation out of the ordinary, so I'm not going to be judging you too harshly for not thinking before speaking," she replied, trying — but not quite succeeding — in giving him a stern look. "Just don't do it again, alright?!"

"I won't," he agreed willingly.

"Good! Can you believe what a day this is shaping up to be? I can't even begin to fathom …" his mother started saying but then trailed off, shaking her head. "All I know is, my heart aches for Isabella."

What a day indeed and one they would never forget.

…..