Disclaimer: Anything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer
Chapter 42 – Good Advice, Bad Idea
Carlisle arrived at the hospital twenty minutes before his shift was due to start, giving him enough time to head up to Edward's room and visit for a while. Even so, he was still careful to sneak through the corridors of his own department, avoiding catching the eye of any of his staff as he knew that whether he was technically on shift or not, they'd be all too eager to pull him into work.
With a breath of relief he entered Edward's ward, having successfully made it through the hospital unnoticed but his relief was short lived. Turning onto the corridor that housed Edward's room he was met by the sight of Emmett sitting on the floor, his knees folded to his chest and his head leant back against the wall. His eyes were red and puffy, his face unusually pale and the glossy tear tracks stood out clearly on his skin under the corridor's fluorescent lights.
"What's happened?" He asked urgently as his steps hurried to meet his nephew, fearing for the worst. His thoughts were already trying to catalogue Edward's injuries and what he'd seen in his charts on his last visit it an attempt to work out what could have gone so badly wrong until Emmett moved his gaze to him and sadly shook his head.
"Nothing, Edward's fine." He muttered, pulling himself back to his feet and rubbing a hand across his eyes before he sighed, "I'll be going home, he doesn't want me here."
"Emmett wait...what's going on?" Carlisle asked, reaching out to grab his arm as he tried to turn away. His fear for Edward's health may have been calmed by Emmett's dismissal but there was still something obviously very wrong and considering Emmett was sitting outside of Edward's room he suspected it was something between the brothers. For all he'd been expecting some kind of argument to have occurred, he really hadn't expected it to be anything bad enough to find Emmett looking so totally defeated.
"It's my fault. Everything that's happened to him...it was all my fault. I don't blame him for hating me. I hate me." He answered tonelessly, his voice trailing off towards the end making Carlisle struggle to catch his last few words.
"That's not true." He started automatically but Emmett shook his head and pulled his arm out of his grasp as he turned away again.
"Don't. Just...don't." He plead, his voice cracking slightly and Carlisle was so taken aback by it that he ended up just watching as Emmett walked away, his shoulders slumped and his head bowed.
The door at the end of the corridor banging shut behind Emmett startled Carlisle enough to make him realise that Emmett really had just walked out and it left him torn. He didn't want to let Emmett walk away, not like that, but if Emmett looked that bad then he had to check on Edward. If he was anywhere near as upset as Emmett then his breathing could easily get out of control and without the oxygen hooked up and the lower dosage of pain medication he was on that wouldn't be good so he really had no choice other than to check on him.
Finding him awake and calm was not what he'd anticipated at all.
"I've just seen Emmett; he looked dreadful...what happened?" He asked as soon as Edward noticed him, beginning to wonder if he really should have followed Emmett instead as Edward didn't even look upset.
"He wanted to talk, I told him no but he wouldn't listen. In the end he didn't like what I had to say." He answered, feeling slightly pleased that Emmett was suffering before a wave of reluctant guilt hit him when Carlisle continued to look at him with confusion and worry.
"And what exactly was that?" Carlisle questioned when Edward didn't elaborate any further on his own only to be met with a stony glare before Edward sighed and repeated what he'd already told Emmett, watching warily as Carlisle seemed to get more and more alarmed.
"Edward I can see why you'd be angry with him but you can't honestly believe it was his fault surely?"
Edward shrugged as well as he could making himself wince in the process as his shoulder moved but it got the point across if the slight frown on Carlisle's face was anything to go by.
"Rationally? No. I know it was James which was why I didn't want to talk to Emmett about it in the first place." He grudgingly gave in a little which only confused Carlisle even more.
"Then why are you letting Emmett believe you hate him? He's already cut up enough over not being able to stop James from getting to you without believing he caused it all as well."
"If he'd left it alone I wouldn't have said anything. I don't want to blame him and I certainly don't want to hate him but you've got no idea how hard that is even without Emmett always pushing or saying stupid things. I spent years without any family or friends around and the only way to stop that hurting so much was to convince myself I didn't need or want them in my life. Part of me still wants to believe that so I can't get hurt again and knowing why James thought he had to do what he did its hard not to let the anger get to me. When I look at Emmett all I can think about is the pain and he insists on bringing it all up."
"Ok, I guess I can understand that." Carlisle sighed as it did make sense but it didn't help solve the issue. "Emmett looked pretty distraught out there though."
"I want to say I'm sorry but I'm not. I warned him to leave it all alone. Maybe if he gives me some space for a while I'll be able to look at it differently. I didn't want it to end up like this." Edward responded truthfully. He really hadn't wanted things to get so out of control but Emmett seemed to have a knack for pushing all his buttons and he didn't think it was likely to get better any time soon if Emmett kept trying to get them to talk.
"I suppose that's fair enough. I'll talk to him later. How are you feeling anyway?" Carlisle asked deciding that the best thing he could do right then was change the subject. If Edward hadn't wanted to dwell on it in the first place he doubted if he pressed the issue as well that it would get any better. He didn't want the brothers to be so at odds with each other but there wasn't really anything that could be done about it and he didn't want to make Edward angry at the rest of them as well.
"Better I guess. Fed up of being in this bed and my leg is unbelievably itchy."
"The cast?" He questioned and when Edward nodded he couldn't help but smile a little, "That's to be expected I'm afraid. As for being fed up of being in bed I think there's a good chance one of the physiotherapy guys will be up here later to talk to you about your shoulder and knee and there might be the possibility of getting you out of here soon depending on what they say."
"Really?" Edward asked, his mood brightening as the fight with Emmett seemed to be instantly forgotten and Carlisle wondered if Emmett's conversation with him might have gone just a little better if he'd waited until Edward had had some good news rather than just a barrage of unpleasant returning memories.
"I think so. You're off most of the machines now and you don't seem to be having much trouble with your breathing. Everything else we should be able to manage at home but you will be taking it very easy for a while and there won't be much moving around as you're going to be restricted to a wheel chair and even that might be a little sore on your abdomen."
"At least I'll be with Lucy though." Edward commented happily and Carlisle was pleased that he didn't seem to be voicing any complaints on where he would be going home to. He just hoped they wouldn't meet any problems once he was home with Emmett staying there as well. If they weren't talking it was going to make life a little awkward for everyone but they'd find a way to deal with it.
"She'll be very happy to have you there as well." He commented, choosing to stick to voicing the positive aspects before he glanced at his watch and realised he probably ought to be heading back down to his office. "Is there anything you need before I go? My shift starts soon."
"Do you have a number for Detective Jenks? I think I need to speak to him again, I forgot to ask Bella last night and the conversation with Emmett didn't get that far." He responded, some of the excitement draining from his eyes as he started to worry at the edge of his covers. He really didn't want to talk to anyone about what he'd remembered but he knew he had to tell the detective. It was the only way to make sure they were all safe.
"I have his card in my office, I can try and get hold of him this morning. Have more memories come back?" Carlisle answered thinking that if he had been bombarded with more of them his reaction to Emmett was probably even more understandable. None of what he had to remember would be pleasant which would put anyone off talking about it and if he hadn't had chance to let it all sink in properly it would have been hard for him not to lash out at the first person who questioned him on it. Unfortunately that had obviously been Emmett only making the entire thing more volatile given his involvement in the situation.
"Yeah, most of its come back I think. Hopefully it will be enough to back up Riley's story anyway." Edward answered uncomfortably so Carlisle chose not to question him on the actual content of the memories for the time being. So long as the police knew what they needed to, all the rest of them really needed to know was how Edward was healing. The cause of his injuries he could fill them in on later when and if he wanted to.
"That's good then. Are you managing to get enough sleep?"
"Yeah, last night wasn't too bad. I did wake up in the night but I think that was caused more by all the naps during the day messing up my sleep pattern than by any nightmares."
"Well you're certainly looking a lot more rested anyway. I guess I better go make that call for you but Bella will no doubt be here soon so you shouldn't be on your own for too long. I'll come back and see you later on and I think Esme's planning to stay for a while when she brings Lucy in after school."
"You know I'm fine by myself." Edward commented with a good natured grumble but Carlisle shook his head in amusement.
"Lucy and Bella are a lot scarier than you, and they don't want you left you on your own. You know, they make quite a formidable pair; you're never going to get your own way ever again. " He pointed out and was rewarded with a smile from Edward as he agreed before they said goodbye and Carlisle left, reaching his office with plenty of time to not only leave a message for Detective Jenks but to call Esme and ask her to check on Emmett as well. Edward may have been in surprisingly good spirits but he didn't think Emmett would be any time soon and he had the feeling he probably didn't ought to be dealing with it on his own.
Bella was feeling a lot more upbeat than she had in a while when Renee dropped her off at the hospital. The chat they'd had in the night had really done some good and she'd actually managed to get a couple more hours of sleep before they'd all needed to get up for the school run. It still wasn't quite enough though as she was still tired but her mood only improved further when she stepped into Edward's room to see him sat up in the bed with a man dressed in maroon scrubs that she didn't recognise but who obviously worked there gently manipulating his left arm which was out of its sling for the first time.
"Hey." She greeted them as she headed for her usual seat and Edward smiled at her before he grimaced and his attention snapped back to the man who was helping him to raise his arm above his head.
"That hurt." He complained, lowering his arm back down and rubbing at his shoulder with his right hand.
"Sorry but it is necessary." The man responded so Edward turned back to Bella who was curiously watching them and smiled again. Despite his complaining, Edward seemed to be in a fairly good mood.
"This is Dan, he's a physiotherapist. I'm pretty sure that's just a code word for evil pain inflictor though." He introduced, levelling Dan with a glare as he added the last comment and Dan's mouth twitched up into a faint smile as he told Edward to bend his arm and reach across to his right shoulder.
"You'll thank me in the long run." He commented just before Edward hissed in pain again and let his arm fall back to his side.
"Well it's nice to meet you. I'm Bella." She said, watching with amusement as Edward grumbled and Dan ignored him, focused solely on the movement in his shoulder as he told him to lift his arm up again.
"My girlfriend." Edward elaborated making Bella smile at the hint of pride in his voice as he said it and satisfied with what Edward was doing with his arm for the moment Dan finally glanced to Bella with a pleasant smile.
"I'm glad you're here then Bella, you should pay attention to what we're doing. We're going to be running through some of the exercises he'll need to do regularly to rebuild the strength in this shoulder and considering all the complaining he's doing I've got a feeling he might try to skip some of them when I'm not around but it's important that he doesn't. The second dislocation has weakened the joint considerably and it'll probably always be a little weaker and easier to dislocate again but the exercises should help return full movement to the joint and stop it from stiffening up."
"I'll make sure he does them then." She commented, trying hard not to laugh at the playful scowl on Edward's face at her words before his attention was snapped back to Dan again as he encouraged him to lift his arm once more.
"Ow!" He complained again, "Are you sure this is going to help?"
"Yup, if you don't try to get it moving it will stiffen up and that's only going to hurt more in the long run." Dan explained making Edward sigh before he grudgingly tried the movement again, toning down his complaints to just a pained grimace.
"You know, for all this complaining you seem to be in a surprisingly good mood." Bella noted as although he was grumbling, he was still smiling in between the grimaces and his tone was a lot more light hearted than she would have expected considering he was genuinely in pain.
"Carlisle said I might get to go home soon and I can't wait to get out of here." He explained before Dan moved to help him stretch his arm backwards and his smile vanished instantly to be replaced by pain as Edward sharply pulled his arm out of Dan's grip, crying out as he did and beginning to shake.
"Edward what is it?" Bella asked, rising to her feet to get closer, all traces of humour gone as she noticed that his eyes didn't seem focused. Dan reached for his shoulder in an attempt to see if something had pulled badly but Edward cowered away from his touch.
"Where does it hurt?" He asked but Edward didn't answer and Bella started to piece together what was going on having seen the same vacant look in his eyes before. He wasn't with them in the room anymore.
"His memories of the night he was attacked have been coming back. I think another one might just have been triggered." She commented to Dan before she moved closer and reached out, cupping Edward's cheek and stroking his skin lightly with her thumb while Dan backed away to give Edward some space, "Edward you're ok, you're safe. James isn't here."
"Hurts." He murmured but his eyes refocused on Bella even if he did still seem a little lost.
"I know but you're safe. It's ok." She responded, leaning forward and kissing his forehead before stroking her other hand through his hair which was enough to bring him back from his memories.
"Bella?" He asked unsurely, his gaze flickering between her and Dan.
"I'm here. It was just a memory, you're safe." She repeated to which Edward took a deep breath before he nodded. He could see he was safe, he was in his hospital room, not his kitchen and James definitely wasn't there.
"Sorry, that was weird." He murmured, flushing slightly with embarrassment as he registered both Bella and Dan watching him closely.
"What did I tell you before about apologising?" Bella scolded lightly as she messed his hair up before sitting back down, relieved he seemed to be ok again although she let him claim her hand when he reached for it.
"Can you tell me what happened? Where it hurts?" Dan asked, stepping closer again since Edward appeared calm once more and breaking his focus from Bella.
"It was just when it went back...it threw me. It felt like when they were tied behind my back and I got a flash of James pulling them up and forcing my shoulder out. He tipped the spiked water down my throat when I cried out from the pain." He explained, feeling like he needed them to understand to explain his weird behaviour. He didn't like spacing out like that in front of people.
"Was there any new pain or was it just the memory?" Dan questioned, eyeing the affected area carefully.
"A little new, all the movements have hurt." He answered as it really hadn't been any worse than any of the other tests Dan had made him do. It was just something about the positioning, along with the burst of pain that had thrown him back into his kitchen.
"Ok, well if you feel up to it there's just a couple more things we could do with running through and then I can pass the message on to your doctor that you're good to go. Of course you'll have to come back in for some sessions and continue the exercises at home but as far as your shoulder is concerned you shouldn't need to stay here any longer." Dan commented and lured with the promise of home Edward agreed to go through the rest of the exercises for his shoulder. He also explained a little about what they'd need to do for Edward's leg to restore proper mobility to his knee but they had to wait until he was out of the cast before they could start any of it. Bella paid close attention to everything he said, especially when he demonstrated how to massage his shoulder and promised Dan again that she'd make sure Edward kept up the exercises in between appointments before he left.
"You really need to speak to Detective Jenks soon." Bella commented as soon as they were on their own, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb to offer comfort as she knew he wouldn't really want to think about any of it.
"I know, I asked Carlisle to call him for me this morning. I think I've remembered most of it, the important parts at least anyway."
"More dreams last night?"
"Not last night no, but just before you and Lucy came back from the toilettes yesterday I had one and then an argument with Emmett brought some things up."
"Why didn't you tell me? And an argument with Emmett? That doesn't sound good."
"Lucy distracted me with the parents evening thing and it wasn't but it was his fault. I told him we couldn't talk about it but he kept insisting and I said things I probably shouldn't have."
"What kind of things?"
"That everything that's happened was his fault."
"And was it?" Bella asked looking a little sceptical although Edward could see a flash of anger in her eyes and he knew she'd take his side and probably have a go at Emmett as well if he let her and while her protectiveness of him still astounded him he didn't want to get her involved. He already felt slightly guilty for letting Emmett leave believing he hated him, he didn't need anyone else yelling at him as well.
"Kind of? I don't know really, I mean it was James' messed up logic that was the real cause I guess but it was a grudge against Emmett that started it all." He answered her and she relaxed back into her chair slightly which he was glad for as he really didn't want to talk about any of it in any more detail.
"Ah, that must have been hard for him to hear." She commented and when Edward didn't respond she got the message, "You'd rather not talk about this right?"
"I'm sorry but yeah. I know I probably over reacted about things but right now I can't change how I feel about it and talking about it all will only make it worse."
"That's ok, you can tell me about it if and when you're ready." She replied, allowing him to relax as well as he squeezed her hand gently to relay his gratitude for her understanding.
"I will. Tell me about your night instead though? Did you sleep ok?" He asked, starting to look a little anxious as he studied her and noticed she still looked tired.
"Not really, but it meant I got to have a good talk with my mum. She had some pretty good advice." Bella responded, smiling a little to let him know she really was ok.
"Advice about what?" He asked curiously, feeling oddly nervous even though Bella said it was good advice.
"Everything really, she suggested we should make some plans for when you're out of here and up and about again. Give us all something to look forward to rather than dwelling constantly on what's already happened or could have happened." She explained, allowing Edward to relax again.
"That's actually a really good idea but you realise that it's going to be a while before we can actually do anything right? I think they said the cast will be on for at least a month and you heard what Dan said about needing physiotherapy for my knee once it is off."
"Of course but it gives us something to work towards anyway and I'm sure we can come up with a few things to do at home. Lucy will defiantly have some ideas."
"Just being home is enough to look forward to. I know Lucy's been in here every day but seeing her for a couple of hours just isn't enough." He commented making Bella squeeze his hand gently in comfort.
"I know, she feels exactly the same way. We're all looking forward to having you home. I'll definitely be glad to trade in the hospital canteen food for Esme's cooking." She joked which made Edward's crooked smile reappear for the first time.
"So you're planning on hanging around at their house a lot then?" He asked and though he was teasing Bella noticed the slight hint of doubt in his voice.
"Yup, if that's where you'll be then I'll be visiting a lot. Esme's already told me I'm welcome whenever I want." She responded lightly, loving the way Edward's smile grew and his eyes glinted with joy.
"Good, I've got used to having you around all the time. I like it." He stated quietly, just the hint of a blush appearing as he admitted it so to put him at ease Bella leant forward and gently kissed him.
"I like it too." She commented once she'd settled back and Edward just smiled back at her so after taking a moment to bask in the sentiment Bella ploughed straight in to her aim for the day, "So...what else do you like? We've only ever got as far as Lucy and music before. There's got to be something else...and I don't care how random, silly or apparently unfeasible it is. "
They needed something to look forward to and to work out just what that could be she needed to know what kind of things Edward was actually into which was something she had realised during the night that she had very little idea about.
Somehow he'd always managed to turn questions around to her and she suspected that given his nature to stick to himself and the very minimal life he'd been living that that had always been his intention. He either hadn't wanted her to get to know him, which was now a redundant reason to avoid answering since he clearly did want to get closer to her or he hadn't wanted to think about things he could no longer have. Again that reason no longer stood considering he now had a large selection of willing baby sitters to choose from and an aunt and uncle who wanted to spoil him if he'd only let them.
She wasn't going to let him avoid answering again and so they spent the rest of the morning teasing out every one of Edward's likes and dislikes and discovering the things he'd missed being able to do. From even the really mundane things like films he'd missed seeing to places he'd always wanted to take Lucy and bands he wanted to see play. Bella wanted to know it all and by the time she was heading for the canteen in search of lunch she had plenty of ideas for things they could do and places they could go once he was better but for the time being they also had a massive list of films to get Edward caught up on and a movie night with him and Lucy once he was home sounded really good. They just had to work out which films to watch first.
"Esme?" Lucy asked as they walked over to her car.
"Hmm?" She didn't look up from her phone as she distractedly answered and Lucy's brow furrowed as she watched her. Normally Esme was all too eager to chat but she'd already been frowning at her phone when Lucy had run up to her at the school gates and though she'd greeted her with a smile and asked how school had been she hadn't really been paying attention.
"What's wrong?" She asked and Esme paused, her hand on the back door ready to open it as she looked down at Lucy.
"Nothing's wrong sweetheart. Come on, in the car and we can go see your daddy." She responded with a glittering smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and Lucy's head tilted to one side as her eyes narrowed but Esme's attention had fallen to her phone again as she pulled the door open for her so Lucy sighed before climbing in.
Once on the road, the radio was playing but the car was otherwise silent. Lucy had watched as Esme put on the Bluetooth headset for her phone and continued to puzzle over her odd behaviour as she pressed buttons on her mobile every time they came to a stop at traffic lights. Something was obviously bothering her and Lucy didn't like it.
"Who are you trying to call?" She asked after the sixth time Esme tried to call someone. She saw Esme's eyes shift to hers in the rear view mirror but couldn't see enough of her face to correctly judge her expression.
"I'm just trying to get hold of your uncle. He isn't answering his phone." She grudgingly explained and Lucy's curiosity was piqued again.
"Maybe he's still with Daddy. You can't have mobile phones on in the hospital." She suggested and saw Esme glance to her again before the light changed and her focus went back to the road.
"That's right but I don't think he's there. Bella's with your daddy right now."
"Maybe he's put his phone down somewhere and forgotten it." Lucy suggested as it seemed like the type of thing he'd do. He got distracted easily sometimes.
"I think you might be right, he can be pretty silly can't he?" Esme acquiesced and Lucy murmured her agreement but noticed the way Esme's shoulders relaxed a little as she assumed the questions had come to an end.
Lucy wasn't convinced.
"Why do you need to call him?" She broke the silence again a few minutes later.
"Oh no real reason. I just wanted to know what he wanted for dinner." Esme answered, "You don't need to worry about it. Why don't you tell me what you did at school today?"
"I already told you about school." She huffed, "And Uncle Emmett will eat anything. Can we have spaghetti?"
"Of course you did, I'm sorry honey, I'm all over the place today and spaghetti's a great idea for dinner, thank you. Does ice cream sound good for dessert?"
After checking it was strawberry flavoured Lucy happily agreed it was a good idea and she took pity on Esme since she was so obviously flustered and dropped her questioning for the rest of the journey to the hospital, contenting herself by playing with the doll that had been left on the seat beside her.
When they finally reached Edward's room at the hospital Lucy ran straight to Edward's bed, pausing briefly to say hello to Bella who picked her up and sat her on the edge of Edward's bed allowing her to scrambled closer and hug his arm.
"You look better." She commented, pulling back and looking up at his face to find him smiling at her. He seemed a lot brighter and the sling was missing from his other arm.
"I feel it too. I might get to come home tomorrow." He told her and she squealed excitedly before hugging his arm tightly again.
"Well that's good news, when we will get to know for sure?" Esme asked, taking up the seat on the other side of his bed.
"Not sure, my doctor wanted to speak to Carlisle first." Edward answered before looking back to Lucy and being slammed with the unbearable urge to pull her into his arms and hug her. She looked so excited at the prospect of having him home and he wanted to join her in that but hugs were still a little difficult. The sling may have been off but the tests and exercises Dan had forced on him had made his shoulder ache worse than it had before and his ribs were still very delicate. Then again, as Dan had pointed out, he needed to move to help him heal without any stiffness so he pulled his arm out of Lucy's grasp and pushed himself up so he was sitting. Pain flared and it took a moment for him to breathe through it but then he was sitting up and it didn't feel too bad so he held his arm out and Lucy shuffled closer, snuggling carefully into his chest and letting him get both arms around her for the first time in what felt like forever.
He buried his face into her hair, just inhaling her scent and feeling the warmth of her against him and everything felt right again. No matter how much fun he'd been having with Bella there was always a part of him that was on edge when ever Lucy wasn't nearby. He pressed a kiss into her hair before he lifted his head again and found both Bella and Esme watching them with soft smiles.
The peaceful moment didn't last long though as he felt Lucy shift slightly in his arms and looked down to meet her narrowed eyes.
"Did you fall out with Uncle Emmett again?" She asked and Edward was surprised enough that he glanced to Esme who looked just as surprised before he looked back to Lucy.
"How do you know that?" He questioned and she rolled her eyes at him.
"Esme's being weird. She kept trying to call him and he wasn't answering but she just said she wanted to know what he wanted for dinner when I asked what was wrong." She explained like it was obvious and though Edward wasn't sure he really wanted her to know they'd had yet another falling out he couldn't help but be slightly amused at how nothing ever got past her. He had no idea how she'd come to be so perceptive, especially with people she hadn't even known that long but she certainly seemed to have a read on everyone around them.
Looking up at Esme again he could see she looked mortified and as she realised he was watching her she mouthed 'I'm sorry' but he just shook his head. Lucy would have found out at some point and he knew it wasn't Esme's fault. She was just worried about Emmett.
"Yes we fell out." He answered Lucy's original question and she sighed and shook her head at him.
"You're getting worse than Bella and Anna." She accused which made both Bella and Edward laugh.
"I'm not sure that's possible Luce." Bella commented knowing the only reason they hadn't fallen out recently was that she was spending all her time at the hospital and not around her little sister.
"I'm sorry; he's just unbelievably annoying at times." Edward tried to explain himself and he could see the smile that was trying to tug at Lucy's lips.
"What did he do this time?" She asked and though he was pleased that she didn't automatically blame him for the fall out he was also aware that it wasn't really fair to let her blame Emmett either.
"He wanted to talk about something that I didn't want to talk about and I may have over reacted. It wasn't all his fault." He explained.
"Are you going to make up with him then?" She asked, scrutinizing him and making him want to squirm even though he was trying to hold as still as possible to avoid aggravating any more pains.
"Eventually."
"You say it's bad to hold grudges." Lucy pointed out and he could see the way Bella was trying to hide her amusement out of the corner of his eye. She was definitely fighting a smile and he couldn't really blame her. Being scolded by his five year old daughter seemed to be a more and more common occurrence and he had to admit it was kind of amusing.
"I know, and it is. We'll sort it out, I just need to take a little time to think about it and calm down." He tried to explain and Lucy sighed before shaking her head.
"I'm glad I don't have a brother or sister. I don't like arguing and falling out." She announced making Edward chuckle as he tightened his arms around her and kissed her head again. He was kind of glad to hear that. He wasn't sure how he'd cope with a second child and it had always been a lurking fear in the back of his mind that one day she would want a sibling and it wasn't something he'd be able to make happen. Although as he glanced up from Lucy and across to Bella the fleeting thought of a little baby with her big brown eyes wasn't all together unappealing but he quickly shoved the thought out of his head and concentrated back on Lucy.
There would be plenty of time for thoughts like that in the more distant future if he somehow managed not to screw things up for them all. Right then they had the more pressing matter to discuss as to just which DVDs they were going to watch on his first night home. He and Bella hadn't quite been able to decide and they'd known Lucy would want a say so now she was there they could finally sort out the first of their plans to look forward to and he really couldn't wait for it. Bella had told him all about the Cullen's entertainment room and he could just imagine spending an evening cuddled up on the sofa with Bella and Lucy and he wanted to experience it more than anything right then.
Esme and Carlisle had taken Lucy home by the time Detective Jenks showed up in Edward's room. He looked tired and his suit was distinctly wrinkled but he offered a small smile as he settled into the chair opposite Bella's.
"I got Dr. Cullen's message this morning, I'm sorry it took so long for me to get here. It's been one hell of a day and this is the first chance I've had to get out of the station." He said, taking his jacket off and digging through its pockets for a voice recorder and his notebook.
"Thank you for coming." Edward responded a little awkwardly. He was well aware of what he was going to have to tell him and he really didn't want to have to think about it all. Bella had been a wonderful distraction from everything for the day, Renee's advice proving to be exactly what they'd both needed. They had gotten to know each other a lot better and Edward hadn't even realised just how closed off he'd kept himself until Bella had started to ask what films he liked and if there were any places in particular he liked to go. Up until then it had all just been habit to keep those kind of details to himself, after all if he didn't admit what it was he liked, then he couldn't miss it.
It had been a strange but freeing experience to share with her the bits of himself he'd kept hidden and closed off for so long and Bella hadn't been the only one getting to know him. As she'd kept asking questions he'd really had to think about some of them to find an answer. He could have easily have told her Lucy's favourite film or what she enjoyed doing most but there were blank spaces when he tried to find his own answers and he had realised he was going to have to relearn who he was apart from just being Lucy's father. There was a whole other side of him that he'd effectively boxed up and ignored as he'd put everything he had into making sure Lucy was happy and catching glimpses of it made him want to investigate further and he was glad Bella would be there to help him.
Seeing Detective Jenks sitting there though reminded him that before they could move forward to get to that however he had to go back first. They couldn't explore anything if James was hanging over them, shadowing every moment of joy with fear and pain so he was going to have to think about what he'd told him that day in his kitchen and with that came the ramifications of Emmett's involvement. Everyone had been very accommodating in avoiding the topic for the day but having experienced the detective's questioning before he knew he'd want to pick over everything he said. There would be no more avoiding it.
"I should go shouldn't I?" Bella commented as she stood, knowing Detective Jenks would prefer to talk to Edward on his own but Edward reached for her hand so she took it, letting him pull her closer. "I'm just going to go down to the canteen. I'll come back up to say goodbye before I go home."
Edward just stared up at her with wide fearful eyes and she wanted to do anything to take that look away but he had to talk to the detective so instead she leant in and pressed her lips to his, offering what little comfort she could. His hands came up to cup her face and hold her there. It had to be hurting his shoulder so she didn't fight him even though it was a little uncomfortable knowing Detective Jenks was sitting in the room. Edward didn't seem to have the same concern though and it was Bella who eventually had to pull back when he tried to deepen it.
"You'll be fine, it's just memories and they can't hurt you, you're safe now and I'll be back soon. I'll even stay tonight if you want." She murmured, still being held by him and her words seemed to ease him a little as he let go but he still didn't look happy.
"I love you." She promised leaning in to kiss his forehead before she straightened and stepped back.
"If he gets panicked, call a nurse." She warned Detective Jenks who nodded, assuring her that he would so with a final reassuring smile for Edward she left them alone and made her way to the canteen.
"Are you ok to do this?" Detective Jenks asked as he watched Edward trying to gather himself. It was very apparent that he was uncomfortable.
"Does that really matter? You need to know what happened." Edward muttered sullenly wishing more than anything that Bella could have stayed. She kept him grounded.
"Ok, well if you need to take a break at any point let me know. Your memory is coming back I take it?" Detective Jenks asked to ensure he'd understood the message Carlisle had left him correctly and Edward nodded.
"In bits, yeah."
"Ok, so...what's the first thing you remember?" Jenks started them off seeing that he was going to have to coax the information out of him. Edward was acting far too reluctant to just blurt it all out.
He did answer his questions though, explaining how James had got the drugs into him and then the little he could remember of the following conversation. As he spoke it was frustrating when the memory cut out. He knew there was more to the conversation from what Riley had told him but he was being careful to only tell the detective the parts he actually remembered so they only got as far as James revealing his motivation for the original drugging and he couldn't offer any explanations as to why James had attacked him again.
Even all the questions Jenks fired at him didn't bring any more of it back and seeing Edward's frustration growing he moved on to asking what the next thing he remembered was so he described seeing James pin Riley to the wall by his throat. There were a lot more question about that, whether he could remember what was being said, if he had any idea what had caused them to fight with each other and what happened after it, where Riley went but Edward couldn't answer any of them, all he could do was describe the way James had pinned him so they moved on again.
The actual attack was the part he could describe in the most detail and Detective Jenks had to ask fewer questions as Edward freely offered up what he could knowing that if he could once get it all out it would all be over and Bella could come back.
He told him how James had kicked his knee, knocking him to the floor and shattering the chair and his reaction to the phones ringing. Then he described how he'd picked up the chair leg and beaten him with it and his own struggle to try and get to his phone and call for help before James had stamped on his leg and broken it. His descriptions got a little hazier after that as he'd been having trouble staying conscious but he tried his best to describe what he did remember ending with how he'd written James' name on the floor under the belief he was dying and wouldn't be able to tell anyone any other way who had hurt him.
By the end of it Edward was upset but managing to hold it together long enough to assure Detective Jenks he was ok and hear that while it would help their case against James it wasn't a sure thing considering the problems Edward had had with his memory. Jenks made it clear that any defence lawyer James hired would no doubt try to discredit his account of the evening as his memories could have been affected by outside suggestions. He was fairly confident though as what Edward had told him did match up to his injuries and the evidence they'd already gathered.
It still left Edward with mixed feelings though as he was left to wonder if any good would actually come from him remembering or if he would have just been better off taking the drugs Carlisle had offered to get a peaceful night's sleep as at least then he probably wouldn't have gotten so angry with Emmett. It was too late to change anything though so he just had to hope the memories would be enough to end things with James.
Bella returned not long after Detective Jenks left and after Edward told her what he'd said about the possibility of his account of things being discredited and seeing he was upset she decided she was staying exactly where she was for the night. There was no way she could leave him like that and she knew he'd just end up over thinking it all if he was left on his own. He needed a distraction.
"It's only for one more night anyway, you're going home tomorrow." She'd pointed out when Edward had tried to argue that she should go home and he'd given in quickly as he hadn't really want her to leave anyway and she was right about it being the last time she'd have to do it. Carlisle had shared the good news that he'd spoken to his doctor and he was going home when he'd stopped in to visit at the end of his shift.
They talked for a little while, Bella describing what she'd seen of the Cullen house in a little more detail for him in the hope of distracting him and giving him something more pleasant to think about before he fell asleep and when his eyes started to droop she kissed him goodnight and ran her hand through his hair until they closed completely for the night. Then she sat back in her chair, pulled her feet up onto it and wrapped her arms around her knees as she watched him sleep hoping he'd find a pleasant dream for once.
The shrill ringing of the doorbell woke Esme and Carlisle from where they'd fallen asleep curled up together on the sofa in the entertainment room watching a DVD as they waited for Emmett to come home.
They hurried to get up, not wanting whoever was at the door to ring the bell again and risk waking Lucy and a glance at the clock on their way into the hall showed it to be two in the morning. That flooded panic through them as they realised Emmett still hadn't come home and it wasn't usually good news when someone called round so late.
Esme hung back a little as Carlisle pulled open the door until she saw Rosalie struggling under the weight of Emmett as she tried to keep him on his feet. There wasn't a mark on him but Esme could smell the alcohol before she'd even moved up to hold the door open while Carlisle pulled Emmett's arm around his shoulders and wound his own around his waist to take the weight off Rosalie.
"I'm sorry it's so late. He called me an hour ago and when I got to the club he was in he was already like his. He was trying to pick a fight with anyone who so much as looked at him and it took a while to convince him he needed to leave." Rosalie explained as Carlisle started to guide Emmett into the house and through to the kitchen.
"Don't worry about the time, just thank you for bringing him home. We've been trying to get hold of him all day." Esme responded, ushering Rosalie in as well before she shut and locked the front door.
"Do you know what's going on with him? The only thing he's said that I've been able to make out is that something is all his fault."
"He had a falling out with Edward last night. Some things were said that probably shouldn't have been and it looks as though he's taking it pretty hard."
"What? Edward can't seriously think what that psychopath did to him was Emmett's fault surely?" Rosalie questioned, quickly putting everything together and not liking what it meant at all.
"Not really, but he was angry and Emmett was there trying to make him talk about it and he was involved at the beginning of it all. Edward just lashed out and Emmett ran off before any of us could try and talk to him." Esme responded as they reached the kitchen where Carlisle had managed to get Emmett sat down at the breakfast bar.
"We need to get him sober." He commented, already heading to the coffee maker and turning it on before he got a large glass out and filled it with water. Esme got to work making toast and Rosalie watched as Carlisle tried to get Emmett to drink the water. He wasn't co-operating and kept trying to push the glass away so she stepped in, taking it out of Carlisle's hand as she forced Emmett's head up to look at her with a hand on his chin.
"If you want to stand any chance of me agreeing to go on date with you, you will drink this and sober up." She stated forcefully. Emmett blinked, swayed a little in his chair and then finally took the glass from her and downed it.
"Thank you." Carlisle said gratefully, glad she could still get through to him at least. "You're very welcome to stay here tonight if you want; it's too late to be out and it looks like we could use your help."
"That would be good, thank you. I want to see what he's got to say for himself when he sobers up anyway." She commented, "He woke me up for this and he's not getting away with it easily."
For all her words were harsh, Esme and Carlisle could both see they were born from concerned affection and they hoped she'd be able to scare Emmett enough once he was sober to stop him from drinking himself into a stupor ever again. It wasn't an answer to anything and they were more than a little annoyed with him themselves for worrying them by going off and not answering his phone all day.
Before anyone could berate him for his poor choice of coping method however they really needed to get him sobered up. A point that was made all the more clear when Carlisle moved away to find a bottle of aspirin and Emmett slid straight off his stool to crash onto the floor which he seemed to find hilariously funny as he started to giggle.
It was going to be a long night.
AN - Thank you again for reading and for the reviews :)
