Disclaimer: I own nothing. Bella's poems are real songs, I only edit them slightly so they fit the story, but I don't own them.

No cliff hanger this time, but Edward and Bella aren't out of the woods just yet, you'll see soon enough. Enjoy!

BPOV

When I woke up that morning, and I felt slightly better. I opened my eyes to find Edward watching me intently.

"You know, if anyone else did that it'd be creepy?" I smiled leaning down to kiss him,.

"Good morning to you too," Edward laughed, then kissed me with the same desperation as yesterday, as he pulled away I saw the smile I'd been waiting for stretched across his face like the sun breaking free of the clouds. I would do anything to keep him smiling like that.

"I need a few human minutes," I whispered as I pulled away from the kiss.

He nodded, "Carlisle's going to stop by a little later, I told you he needed to talk to us."

"Yes, I remember," and then grabbed the IV pole I was hooked up to and rolled it to the bathroom.

When I walked out, Edward gently led me back to the bed.

"Ugh," I looked at the IV.

"What?" He looked to see what I was looking at. "I can't believe that after all of your history. An IV is what bothers you, a little needle, and let's not even mention your reaction to blood," Edward teased.

"Technically an IV, isn't a needle, it's a small catheter. Don't you have several medical degrees?" I teased him back.

"I do," he laughed.

"Anyway, it's not something I've ever gotten over, just the idea of it makes me-," I shuddered for dramatic effect.

"Out of all the things, Bella," he shook his head.

"And yet, you still love me," I smiled, kissing him.

"Yes, I love you very much." He kissed me again, then he pulled away much too quickly, "Carlisle's coming."

"How are you this morning, Bella?" Carlisle asked as soon as he walked through the door.

"I feel better."

"That's good." He sighed, "There are some things we should discuss."

My eyebrows furrowed, but I nodded.

"As soon as you recover from the pneumonia, I wouldn't recommend waiting any longer. Quite frankly, it was a miracle that you recovered this time, next time you may not-," he paused.

"It's okay, Carlisle," I assured him.

"You may not survive. The tumor growth, it's worsening," he explained. "We've given Charlie and Renee all the time we can, but postponing any longer, it will put your life in danger."

"I understand, Carlisle." I grabbed Edward's hand.

"We'll need to tell them that you didn't make it, Bella."

"Okay, how will-?"

"We can handle the logistics," Carlisle interrupted me. "Did they have any plans for you?"

"For my funeral? No, we'd never-it's a hard conversation to have," I swallowed thickly. "How will this work?"

"We can tell them you passed in the night, while you were sleeping."

"Tell them I died at home while I was sleeping or something, with Edward right next to me," I squeezed his hand, he was being oddly silent. "That's what they would want, I think, to know it was peaceful and quiet, that I wasn't in pain, whatever you tell them as cause of death just- paint a nice picture, make it so I wasn't in pain. Can you do that?"

Carlisle just nodded.

"We'll tell Charlie tomorrow when he comes to see you. Afterwards, you'll need to remain concealed, once people believe you're dead, you can't risk being seen. Edward will have to help them plan the funeral, closed casket of course. He's your next-of-kin now, everything will go through him," Carlisle explained.

"Are you going to be okay with all this?" I asked Edward, trying to keep my emotions at bay.

"You're talking about your own funeral, and you're asking me if I'm okay?" He asked in disbelief. "You hear the irony, right?"

"Edward, I was dying anyway, now we'll get forever together." I squeezed his hand in comfort.

"What if something goes wrong? You heard Carlisle, there's a chance I may have to bury you, that you may not-"

"Stop, don't do that. I promised, remember? I don't break my promises," I said, interrupting his pessimistic train of thought. "It'll be okay."

"Carlisle, is there anything else we need to decide?" I asked quietly.

"No," he took a deep breath. "It'll need to be soon."

"So as soon as I leave here? When I'm a little better?" I asked.

"Yes, that would be best. I'll leave you two to talk." And with that Carlisle walked out of the room.

"I'm serious, are you going to be okay?" I asked Edward, my voice remaining as even as possible.

"It's just even the idea of you being gone, the mere notion, it is unbearable." He took a deep breath and continued, "Before you, Bella, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars, points of light and reason. And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn't see the stars anymore. And there was no more reason, for anything."

"Edward, I was never gone," I tried to console him. I pulled him into an embrace, he was usually unnecessarily gentle, but this time he held me tightly.

"It felt like it, more than you can imagine. I hated every second you weren't smiling, laughing, talking, doing anything really. Did I tell you that you had two seizures? Your fever was so high that you had a seizure, Bella. And then I watched them intubate you. It crushed me in a way I couldn't have possibly fathomed. I cursed the week when I left for Alaska, or when I stopped speaking to you. All time, just wasted. It feels like so long ago, doesn't it? It feels so juvenile, it's practically unforgivable."

"Edward, you had your reasons," I reminded him. Jasper had told me this yesterday. but it was still perplexing. It was challenging not think about what was the probability of me being awake right now. I knew it was very slight. It defied all rules, rationality, and odds. I suppose there are no rules that can bind you when you find your other half.

"There is no reason good enough, it was the blackest kind of blasphemy," he finished. Tears were welling in my eyes. I cleared my throat.

"Why did you wait to ask me, if I wanted to be like you? Were you worried you wouldn't want me anymore? That I would be too different?" I asked, changing the subject.

"You'll always be my Bella, no matter what- just be a little more durable. It's just not an easy subject to think about, much less actually discuss. Carlisle mentioned it the day of the accident, but I knew how I felt about my soul, and I still feel that way about myself, but I told you before, there's nothing that could taint the purity of your soul, not even what I would consider eternal damnation."

"You don't see what I see, Edward, you've told me all of your darkest secrets, and I see the goodness in your soul, it's there- whether you see it or not." Edward was about to respond, but I shook my head and we remained in comfortable silence for while.

In the silence, my mind kept wandering to Renee and Charlie, and soon I had a new idea.

"Can you hand me my journal? There should be a pen in my bag too."

"Of course." I couldn't even make out his movement, but my journal and pen were on top of the hospital tray that could wheel over my bed. The tray was right in front of me.

Edward was trying not to stare at me, but I could still see him watching in my peripheral.

The Best Day

I'm five years old, it's getting cold, I've got my big coat on
I hear your laugh and look up smiling at you, I run and run
Past the pumpkin patch and the tractor rides, look now, the sky is gold
I hug your legs and fall asleep on the way home

I don't know why all the trees change in the fall
But I know you're not scared of anything at all
Don't know if Snow White's house is near or far away
But I know I had the best day with you today

I'm thirteen now and don't know how my friends could be so mean
I come home crying and you hold me tight and grab the keys
And we drive and drive until we found a town far enough away
And we talk and window shop 'til I've forgotten all their names

I don't know who I'm gonna talk to now at school
But I know I'm laughing on the car ride home with you
Don't know how long it's gonna take to feel okay
But I know I had the best day with you today

I have an excellent father, his strength is making me stronger
God smiles on my mother and father, inside and out, they're better than I am
I grew up in a pretty house and I had space to run
And I had the best days with you

There is a video I found from back when I was three
You set up a paint set in the kitchen and you're talking to me
It's the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarfs
And Daddy's smart and you're the prettiest lady in the whole wide world

And now I know why the all the trees change in the fall
I know you were on my side even when I was wrong
And I love you for giving me your eyes
For staying back and watching try to shine
And I didn't know if you knew, so I'm takin' this chance to say
That I had the best days with you everyday.

"What did you write that's making you so sad?" Edward asked gently once I'd finished. I hadn't realized tears were forming in my eyes.

"Our conditions still apply, but this isn't for you, so go ahead," I handed the journal to Edward.

I was wiping my eyes when he looked up. "It's beautiful, for your parents?"

I nodded. "I want you to give them that, you know, afterwards, make sure they know how much I loved them."

Edward nodded and then wrapped me in a tight embrace. For a while, there were no words said.

Once I lied back down, Edward was playing with my hair, when he all of the sudden I heard a rumbling building in his chest.

"What's wrong?" I asked, I stopped tracing patterns on Edward's hand.

"The dog wants to see you," Edward seethed. I could see that he was still angry about the whole bruise thing.

"It's fine, Charlie probably told him what happened," I breathed, laying my hand on top of Edward's.

Then we heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," I answered, Edward's guarded expression remained.

"Hey, Bella," Jake greeted, then his eyes met Edward's, his expression instantly hardened. "Of course, it was too much to hope that he wouldn't be here."

I rolled my eyes, "Both of you stop it. Jake, of course he's here, he's my husband." Jake cringed at the word. "Edward, calm down, he is-was-um..is, my friend." In truth, I wasn't sure if Jake was still my friend or not anymore.

"We're not friends anymore? What, he won't let you have other friends except him and the other bloodsuckers?" Jake asked, his voice was laced with anger.

"Our last conversation didn't end on the best of terms, Jake." Jake cringed, but I continued, "You'll always be my family, if you want to be friends than we're friends, it's up to you."

"You said what to her?" Edward was standing in an instant, I knew I couldn't physically hold him back, but I placed a hand on his arm anyway. "What it wasn't enough you left her arm black and blue?"

"You stay the hell out of my head, you parasite." Jake stepped forward instinctively. It took him a second to fully process Edward's words, "Wait, what? I didn't do anything to her. I would never hurt Bella."

"That's right, you mongrel, her arm was bruised for over a week from your inability to control yourself," Edward snarled.

"Edward," I pleaded for him to stop. I could see the guilt forming on Jake's face.

"Bella?" Jake turned to me desperate for an explanation.

"When I almost fell in your garage. You grabbed my arm to catch me, please don't feel bad, Jake. My arm is fine. I bruise incredibly easily, it was an accident."

"Please, he was upset that you didn't want him," Edward scoffed. My hand was still on his arm, he gently moved from my grip, and stepped forward to Jacob. Jacob was getting increasingly upset with Edward's proximity.

"Back off, you filthy bloodsucker," Jake snarled. He was literally shaking with rage. I could see this was turning into some weird mythological macho contest. It was annoying that they were talking about me like I was some prize to be won instead of a person. "She only wants you because you know what you're doing and I don't. Don't blame me because you're a better manipulator than I am — I haven't been around long enough to learn all your tricks."

"She is mine." Edward's low voice was suddenly dark, not as composed as before. "I never said I'd fight fair."

"Um...can you two stop talking about me like I'm not here?" I implored. Apparently that was too much to ask, I could tell that Jake was still hurling mental assaults at Edward.

"You are just upset that the best man won, pup," Edward sneered. I continued to feel the irritation that they were talking about like I couldn't make my own decisions.

"This isn't some twisted game, you two, Now both of you stop," I demanded, it would have been more effective if my throat still wasn't hurting.

"It might not be a game, Bella, but he's playing every bit as hard as I am," Jacob fumed.

"Enough already, before you get yourselves kicked out of here, we are in a hospital remember? I'm not even going to start on how offensive and sexist that little argument was. And enough with this dog and parasite nonsense. I want you two to know something — when it comes to all this enemies nonsense, I'm out. I am a neutral country. I am Switzerland. I refuse to be affected by territorial disputes between mythical creatures." I shook my head. It took them a minute to back down, but they both retreated to opposite sides of the room. Edward returned to his previous seat next to me and grabbed my hand.

"You look like children," I laughed humorlessly, I knew they both heard me, but neither acknowledged what I said.

"Bella, I'm so sorry about what I said and what I did. I wasn't trying to hurt you, I swear and I didn't mean it, really, I didn't," Jake started apologizing.

"I know, Jake," I sighed. "Apology accepted."

After a moment of silence, Jake took a seat on the other side of me.

"You look like terrible," Jake laughed, this sounded more like my friend Jake. I felt an immense relief that they weren't arguing anymore, I didn't have the energy to continue refereeing the two of them.

"Thanks," I replied sarcastically. "Dying does that to a person."

"That's not funny," Edward and Jake responded at nearly the same time.

"See, you do have something in common, you both have no sense of humor," I laughed.

"Sure, sure," Jake replied. Edward just scoffed.

"Aren't you scared? Any normal person would be," Jake asked.

"To death," I replied.

"My God, Bella, you need a better sense of humor," Jacob whined. I looked to Edward.

"I actually agree with him," Edward confessed.

"I think you two would be great friends."

"Other than us being natural enemies, sure why not?" Jake laughed.

"Jake, can Carlisle and I speak to you outside?" Edward asked suddenly, "We'll be right back."

I nodded. I wasn't sure what they talked about, but when Jake came back it was like the energy in the room shifted. He didn't stay for very long. When he left he wrapped me in a tight embrace that lasted at least a minute before he pulled away kissing the top of my head.

"Just be happy, be okay, alright Bella?" I didn't get to respond before he swiftly walked out of the room.

"What just happened?"

"Nothing, just some," Edward paused, "logistics."

"Logistics?" I raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Nothing for you to worry about, love," Edward promised. I wanted to ask him to expound on that cryptic response, but Edward changed the subject with another question, "I do have another question for you, if you'll allow it." "Where does the spirit meet the bones?"

I had been waiting for this question for a while, but I wasn't exactly thrilled to answer the question, especially when I had another near-death experience.

"The correct, philosophical answer is compassion, but my, more literal, and morbid answer is a graveyard," I answered, my voice just above a whisper.

He just nodded, he looked lost in thought.

"You really were okay with dying." It wasn't a question, but I answered anyway.

"Yes," I sighed. "It's not that I was okay with it, resigned feels like a better word. There's no getting around terminal cancer, at least not a non-supernatural way of getting around it. There's really no other option but to make your peace with it, and I had."

"Had?" He looked up to meet my eyes.

"Yes, had," I chortled, "And then you came in, dazzling me, making me want to fight again, even when I knew there was no point," I sighed.

"Then I started resenting my numbered days, like getting so angry, it drove me crazy, you drove me crazy. I wanted to hate you the way you first hated me, but I couldn't. I was so conflicted, I wanted to keep you, but I knew I couldn't, and it upset me so much. Not once did I get angry before, not when I got the first diagnosis, not when I couldn't go to school, not for anything. Because it felt useless, I didn't want to make anything harder for Renee and Charlie, and then I met you. And I was angry all the time, and look how that turned out."

I was in and out of conscious the whole day, Carlisle had said that my body needed rest, so whenever my eyelids started to get heavy Edward hummed my lullaby which just lulled me to sleep even faster. Whenever I woke Edward had new questions for me. While he asked, I continued to write, the entire day passed like that.