BPOV:
I woke up with a start. I assumed I was in the hospital but instead I woke up in Edward's large suite at his parent's house. I was groggy and unfocused but I knew something wasn't right. The pain made it impossible for me to move but I tried and ended up screaming out in pain. The door swung open and Carlisle walked in, his face a mask of concern and fear.
"Bella, what's wrong princess are you okay?" he asked sitting at the end of the bed.
"Hurts; where's Edward?" I mumbled, my throat felt like sand paper and my voice was so gritty I barely recognized it.
"He's being cared for somewhere else, he's safe Bella. We just figured you'd be more comfortable here; with family" He said cryptically reaching for a glass of water and bringing the straw to my lips.
The ice cold water felt amazing on my throat and had an instant cooling effect on my dry burning mouth.
"Slowly little one; you've had a lot of pain meds and not a lot of solid food. How is your pain?" he asked quietly.
"What happened?" I asked
"You had a pretty bad abdominal gunshot. The great news is, it was an in and out. The bullet did no damage, and you didn't need surgery. There was also a graze in your thigh. That just needed to be cleaned up and bandaged" he explained brushing a stray hair away from my face. His touches were so fatherly. It should have been awkward but it wasn't.
"Shouldn't I be in a hospital, I mean-how did I-?" I had so many questions but didn't have the ability to put the sentences together.
"Bella, calm down let me explain. Our enemies have ways of finding things out; and there are some who are law makers that are angry that they have never been able to make anything stick to me or my sons that they are willing to help these enemies in any way possible. My job as the head of this family is to keep my sons and my daughters in law safe. You are a member of this family. You will always be protected. Bella; you have quite the soft spot with my wife and I because I inadvertently helped your step father neglect you. You're a bright loving young woman who deserves the very best in life and because of his poor choices that benefited my business; I need to make that right and also I see the same love between you and my son that I feel between myself and my wife and for that- bringing that type of spark to my son I will spend the rest of eternity thanking you for that" he said squeezing the hand that didn't have iv lines taped to it.
"Carlisle; what Phil did; or didn't do has nothing to do with you. You don't need to make that up to me. I love your son and the way you and Esme have welcomed me and embraced me and just taken up for me is the family I've craved most of my life, but you guys are the bonus the real gift is the love I get to share with Edward. I never knew that was even possible. I will always protect him and the family" I said finally able to put my thoughts together completely.
"Bella that-okay the police would like to speak to you about what happened. According to them this is retaliation for some illegal street race my sons took part in the night before. Were you guys at a street race?" he asked and immediately I felt this instinct to protect Edward, even if meant I had to lie.
I'd never been a good liar, I had just found it far easier to just tell the truth and deal with the fall out; but this was something different. Loyalty; my loyalties would always lie with Edward; I would make sure he was protected. Any good woman would; stand by your man and all that, but this- this was different- and if the tables were turned; Edward would move heaven, earth, and anything in between to make sure no harm ever came to me; and I was going to do the same.
I put on my best confused face and looked up "Street race? We were never at a street race, we hung out with the family at Edward's friends' bar and then we'd all had too much to drink so Edward called Liam for a ride home. Liam dropped Edward and I off at his house and we were there all night" I explained.
Carlisle eyes began to twinkle and the corners of his mouth twitched as if he was trying hard not to smile.
"Are you sure Bella?" he questioned.
"Carlisle, I drank a lot last night but not so much I have no idea where I was. We were at the bar the entire night. Rose, Alice, Jasper and Emmett were there. Dakotah I think is the bar owner's name he gave us a few drinks to welcome Edward home" I lied.
"That's my girl, Bella if this makes you at all uncomfortable-"
"Carlisle, Edward is going to be my husband; this is my family Loyalty over everything right? You always protect your family" I said firmly
"Welcome to my family Bella, I can't tell you how proud I am of you. No matter what anyone tells you Bella; you're a beautiful, kind, strong, and smart young woman. My son needs a strong woman by his side, a woman with courage and a different kind of strength that what is required in normal life. You have all those qualities and more. He is lucky to have found you and I'm proud to be able to call you my daughter" he smiled as he leaned forward and hugged me.
"Are you hurting? I have a doctor here just to take care of you. Anything you need will be taken care of" he said.
"No actually the pain isn't so bad. I'm just really tired and just worried about Edward. I really want to go to him" sad trying to adjust myself but the pain shooting through my abdomen stopped me cold and made me cry out.
Carlisle quickly stood up and strolled over to the door and stuck his head out. An older man with graying hair and kind grandfatherly eyes came in.
"Hello Bella, I'm Dr. Gerandy. I'm gonna be seeing to your injuries. I don't want you to suffer needlessly and you should never allow yourself to be in pain. So be honest with me. Are you in pain?" he asked
"Yeah, my stomach, but it's more like muscle pains. If I try to move, it's pretty intense" I confessed.
"All normal with the kind of injury you've suffered. I'm going to put something in your iv to take the edge off. After the medicine has taken effect I'm sure it's going to put you to sleep. I'll take a look at your wounds and change your dressings. I really think you should get some rest. You're going to need the rest." He said patting my hand kindly. He went over to stand of drawers and pulled out a syringe that he attached to a needle. He pushed some of the liquid out of the end and then walked over to me.
"Okay Bella, this is going to help with the pain. Get some rest young lady, when you wake you'll feel better" he said as he pushed on the plunger of the syringe. Almost immediately the edge of the pain was gone and I felt relaxed and extremely sleepy.
When I woke up the room was dark except for a small lamp in the corner. I looked over and Esme was quietly working on a lap top. She was perched in a chair with her legs tucked up under her. I didn't want to disturb her but I had to move my legs.
The second I moved she was up and off the chair and at my side.
"Well hello sleeping beauty. How do you feel?" she asked
"Actually better; it hurts but nowhere near as bad as it did earlier. I've decided I never want to be shot again" I said trying to adjust my pillows.
"No sweet girl let me do this, let us take care of you." Esme chastised as she fluffed and adjusted my pullow.
"No, the sooner I'm able to do things for myself, the sooner I'll be able to care for Edward. How is he? Where is he?" I questioned.
"He's as well as to be expected. He had to have surgery. He was shot four times; It was touch and go for a while; but now the doctors are convinced he'll pull through, Carlisle called in some favors, he has a lot of powerful friends in high places. Nothing but the best for his family" she said touching my hand.
"He's a good man Esme, he's been so good to me since day one; I know he would never do anything that wasn't in any of our best interest. I'm lucky to have all of you" I said sincerely.
"I don't know who is more lucky. He told me about the chat you two had today. Isabella I'm just in awe of you. I'm so impressed. At first after the incident; Carlisle and I both worried that you were a fragile wall flower, you would run at the first opportunity and that you wouldn't be able to hold your tongue if the police got ahold of you. I should have given you more credit. We all underestimated you; except Rosalie of course. She was none too pleased with us. When we began to circle the wagons to do damage control she was appalled that we didn't think you would protect the family. I'm quite ashamed even moreso after talking to my husband. I'm sorry Bella" She said wiping away a tear that fell.
"Esme, you don't owe me an apology. I mean the old me; I can't say I wouldn't have run straight to the police; but the new me; whom I happen to like a lot more knows that the man she loves may not be on what most would consider the right side of the law, but I know what he would expect of me. I love Edward and I want him to be proud to call me his. I will always be loyal to our family"
"You were meant to be with us. We didn't know how incomplete we were until Edward found you. I think you'll round us out quite nicely" she said.
"Oh god the brunch, did the papers paint Edward as some monster?" I gasped.
"No; it's quite the opposite actually. Tanya well, she came forward with some wild story that Edward and Emmett were behind some illegal street racing ring and this was some sort of pay back or some silly thing like that. Funny thing is no one has been able to come up with locations or pictures of these races; and she claims you were at this race; but then again pictures surfaced of you and my son getting quite cozy at some dive bar" Esme said with a devilish grin on her face.
"Street racing, really, it's quite sad that she was a disgruntled ex-employee who slept with her boss to get ahead and it never happened. She really should be ashamed of herself" I giggled.
"So are you hungry; you've been out for a few days. We need to start getting you up and around" Esme said.
"I would love a shower, is that okay?" I asked
"I don't see why not. I'll let Jerry know we can probably unhook you from all these wires. How is your pain?" She asked with a concerned glance.
"I think I should be okay. I'm actually not as sore. I feel a little closer to human and a little farther from zombieland" I said.
Esme left the room but I could hear her voice out in the hall as the bedroom door was cracked. Rosalie and Alice were in the hall and waved at me as Esme told them to leave me rest before they attacked me. I waved back. I did miss my sisters.
I looked over at the clock it was a little before ten at night. I looked over to the nightstand and saw my cell phone plugged into its charger.
I slowly and gingerly leaned over and grabbed it. I frowned when the message box was empty. I reread the last few texts that Edward and I exchanged. I knew he wasn't able to text me and was busy healing and recovering but it didn't stop me from missing him terribly.
Dr. Gerandy came in and disconnected my IV. He looked at the bandages on my belly and my thigh.
"All in all young lady; I think you will be just fine. There will be minimal scaring and there was no nerve damage. I think you should be okay to advance your activity. I will leave you some pain medicine to take by mouth and encourage you to move around as you can tolerate it. I will stop by tomorrow to look at you" he said patting my shoulder.
"Thank you for taking care of me. I really appreciate it" I said with a smile.
"I've worked for the Cullen family for years. My father before me worked for them. People can say what they want but you'll never find a more loyal group of folks than them. Good family and good people in my book. I'm glad Edward has found such an amazing beautiful young lady to share his life with. I'll see you tomorrow Bella he said softly patting my leg and exiting the room.
I sat for a second and Esme came in with a big fluffy robe and some fleece lounge pants and a tank top.
"So we ready to do this?" she asked cheerfully.
"I'm probably going to stumble around like a drunk" I giggled
"Well from what I saw from you and my son leaving the bar you've had plenty of practice" she said with a wink.
"Oh touché dear mother in law, but that bitch brow could use some work" I retorted and she laughed softly.
"Well I think we've got you on the mend beautiful girl. At least you didn't lose your sense of humor" she said as I pulled the covers back.
If I said getting out of bed for the first time was a walk in the park you could call me a filthy liar. It was hell and I can honestly say I was looking forward to getting back in bed and taking the pills that dulled the pain; but I had to take a shower, and I smelt something delicious and I had to get some of whatever that was.
My shower was an adventure that Esme and I nearly doubled over from laughter and pain for me quite a few times. I mean I ended up clean and my hair washed and conditioned but Esme ended up taking a shower and ruined her designer track suit and smudged her perfectly applied make up all to hell.
"You're lucky I think the world of you. Otherwise I'd beat you within inches of your life. I look like a drowned rat" She complained as she used one of the makeup remover towelettes from my vanity.
"These are amazing Bella, where did you get these. They smell lovely" she said as she softly rubbed away her make up.
"My mother, she orders them from a makeup company. When we would play dress up when I was little that was how she got the makeup off me. The smell always reminds me of her.
'I love how soft they are; you simply must get me some of these" she said admiring her face.
"Who's ever thought I would be sharing makeup tips with the queen of southern charm and class" I teased as I gingerly bent over to pull my pants up. As I stood up straight there was a little pain and burning but it was nothing compared to when I first woke up.
"I will, and their makeup is amazing. I could never afford it but when I could I would always treat myself" I confessed.
"Well you can afford it now, and treating yourself is what the Cullen women are famous for" she turned toward me.
"Esme, I would never want anyone to think I'm some gold digging free loader. I would love Edward and the rest of you regardless of the money and I would never want Edward to think I was taking advantage of him. So I won't spend his money so frivolously" I said slowly raising my arms to stretch away the tightness from not using my muscles.
"Isabella, Edward lives to spoil you. All the men in this family pride themselves on being able to provide their families with every want and every need. We know you're not with him for his money, I mean it's almost laughable how little you spent when you went shopping with the girls. Sweet girl you've been on your own taking care of yourself for long enough. Let me son take care of you; you've given him his dream of not being alone, of having a partner, so let him give you whatever you dream of?" she pleaded.
"Oye woman lay on the guilt why don't you. Fine whatever I'll see if I can put your son into the poor house. Meanwhile; when are the police going to launch the Spanish inquisition? I want to get this over with. I want to be with Edward" I grumped as I gingerly crawled onto the bed.
"Well Carlisle and our attorney would like to be there while you're being questioned; but you tell us when you're ready. Carlisle wants you to be ready both mentally and physically" she said.
"No Carlisle doesn't know me quite yet and isn't quite sure about me and wants to make sure that my loyalty is with the family. So I want him to be there. I want to prove to him that my heart will always be with Edward and my loyalty will be with the family. Tomorrow I want to do it tomorrow. I want to do this and be done with it so I can focus my energy on taking care of Edward" I said firmly.
"Bella-"
"No Esme I totally understand. I get it; loyalty is important and if I wasn't loyal right now I have the power to hurt all of you. It honestly physically hurts to think about ever causing any of you pain, or putting any of us in danger. You guys have been so good to me and changed my life for the better; I want to pay you back if I can" I said giving her hand a squeeze.
"You my dear girl belong with us. I think that you were born to be a Cullen. Now get some rest. We all have a big day ahead of us tomorrow" she said pulling the covers up to my chin and tucking me in. She softly kissed my forehead.
Carlisle came in and gave me a couple of pills for pain. I should have been able to go to sleep. Instead I lay awake all night. I was full of anxiety about being questioned about the police. I was scared that I would do or say the wrong thing. I was afraid Edward would be taken away from me again. I felt like I should tell the truth that yes there was a street race and that Edward did leave for a while after his cell phone went off; but telling the truth would mean that Edward and Emmett could be implicated in a murder that happened the night before; that there was also an ATF warehouse full of heroin and cocaine that was robbed of ninety percent of its inventory; the way that the federal government looked at the Cullen's would immediately try to lay the blame for all of that on them and somehow I knew that if that happened they would put all of them away. They are my family and I knew they would lay down their lives for me. So I would do the same for them.
The knock on the door to wake me up came as I felt like I was just getting into sleep.
"Bella? Are you awake?" Carlisle said softly.
"Yeah, come on in Poppa C" I joked with the name I'd given him.
He came in dressed more casually than I'd ever seen him. I was shocked to see him in khakis a red polo and red and white Nikes
"Yeah I know, I don't dress down often but according to Edward; I need to do it more often.
"You look different but a nice different you look more approachable. So where is the going to happen? Do I have to go to the police station?" I said suddenly my nerves were getting the best of me.
"No; the police are going to come here. Physically Dr. Gerandy doesn't think you are strong enough to be far away from home yet. So we are going to go downstairs to the den. Esme and I will be with you if you want us too, we can leave if you want" he stated.
"No, I'd like for you guys to stay with me. Carlisle; you should know I will always love your son and I will always be loyal to my family" I said.
"Bella; after we talked last night I no longer have a question which is why I've allowed you to remain in my home. I told you I always put my family first, I will protect them from anyone or anything that has the motive to hurt them. I know you would never hurt us. You're one of us now" he said and walked out of the room
It took a large amount of effort me to me to get out of bed and dress in a comfortable pair of lounge pants and one of Edward's t-shirts. Emmett came in and helped me downstairs to the family room. By the time Everyone helped me settle onto the couch and get wrapped up in a blanket I was literally exhausted and in pain.
"Bella if you're not up to this-"
"No Esme, the longer we make them wait, the more they will make assumptions and put more things out that aren't true. I won't have them cause any more trouble for us. I need to finish this" I said and turned to the agents that had entered the room.
They looked like rats in a cage full of hungry snakes.
"Uhh Ms. Swan I'm Detective Taylor from the Broward County Sherriff's department and this is my associate Agent James from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. Firstly we want to thank you for agreeing to speak with us today, as you know we have a few questions about the shooting that occurred last weekend" He said pulling out a tape recorder.
"First of all I didn't agree to anything, I would just like to stop all the bullshit lies and innuendos that have been spread about my boyfriend's family at a time where they should only be worried about my boyfriend's health; and not defending themselves to the press; not that you care" I snapped.
"Ms. Swan I understand that you're-"
"No you don't understand anything, My boyfriend and I were attacked and shot in broad daylight and instead of being out looking for the monster that did this to us, you're questioning us like we did something wrong. When did going to brunch become a felony?" I snapped.
"No one is implying that you've done something wrong; we're just going on a tip that you and your boyfriend were at an illegal drag race the night before. Your boyfriend fixed the race and took the car of a Russian mobster's son and this is them retaliating. So we're just trying to validate this tip" The other detective scooted forward explaining his position with a soft voice.
"It's my understanding that my boyfriend's father told you that we weren't at a race last night" I asked.
"Ms. Swan do you know who Tanya Denali is?" the hostile detective asked.
"No; I don't but I'm sure you're going to tell me?" I asked shifting uncomfortably on the couch, sitting in the same position and being so tense was starting to make my muscles ache and my wound on my thigh was starting to itch.
"Bella; if this is becoming too much, we can end this" Carlisle said kneeling down to the floor next to me.
"No, I want this done and over with. I want them to find the monster who did this to us so the sooner they get whatever it is they think they're going to get from me they can get on with finding the real perpetrator" I said.
"Tanya Denali is Edward's ex girlfriend. She is also a former employee of the Cullen's. Ms. Denali said that she saw you and Edward at a pre-race party at a fast food restaurant. How do you explain that?" he asked.
"Oh the gold digging curtain climbing stage five clinger also known as my boyfriend's one night stand? Unfortunately we did run into her Friday night at Steak and Shake. There was a verbal altercation between myself and Ms. Denali where she insulted my boyfriend and his family then she proceeded to try to insult his family by slinging some accusations about the nature of their business. I told her she was a whore and she was fired. She attempted to attack me but tripped over her own feet and fell. After that Edward and I came here and were upstairs all night; but we did stop at Walmart before coming here. So you see there was no pre race party that I was aware of" I explained.
"What about Saturday night?" he asked.
"What about it?" I asked
My statement sent Mr. bad cop over the edge.
"Do you know that lying to the police and a federal agent is a crime Ms. Swan?" he demanded.
At that point Carlisle's lawyer spoke up from the corner.
"If you're going to charge the girl you better dam well have the evidence to do it. We're doing you a curtesy by allowing you into this fine families home to go on your fishing expedition. You come here with nothing but the wild story of a scorned flight attendant who by the way was in violation of a mediation order to not approach Mr. Culen without the presence of legal counsel; so really gentleman I would tread lightly and think very carefully about your next questions" he said firmly.
I turned back to the detective with a smirk on my face.
"Ms. Swan did you threaten Ms. Denali?" he asked
"No I told her if I caught her around my boyfriend or his family again I would make it my mission to destroy what little bit of a reputation she has left. That was no threat. It was a promise" I said crossing my arms over my chest.
"Saturday night, you say you were with Mr. Cullen all night?"
"Yes, I was with Edward all night. We went to the bar and out with his brothers and their wives and then we went to his house and that is where we stayed" I said staring him in the eye.
He wrote something down on his pad. I loked around the room. Emmett was standing by the fireplace with his arm around Rosalie's waist. Carlisle was sitting in a high backed easy chair next to the couch I was on. Esme had been out of the room and came back in she smiled at me as she walked over to Carlisle's desk and handed him a large glass of iced tea.
"So Ms. Swan are you saying you were with Mr. Cullen all night and there was no way he could have left your presence?"
"Well I think that if you run a black light over his sheets you will see just how much he was in my presence all night." I sneered with my arms folded across my chest and my brow arched. I had to hold back a snort when Carlisle sprayed the detective next to him with the iced tea that he'd been attempting to swallow.
Emmett doubled over coughing trying to cover up his laugh.
"Ms. Swan, I looked into your background. You can't possibly think that Cullen won't hang you out to dry. When I find out that you're lying to me. I'm going to bury him and he's going to take you down with him" The agent warned.
"That's it we're done here; the next time you want to question my clients you better have a warrant. You're way out of line Agent. You're done here, I'll escort you gentleman out" the lawyer said his arm motioning his arm toward the entry way.
The agent dropped his card on the coffee table. "Ms. Swan I really hope you come to your senses. If you remember anything you should call us. We can help you" He said kneeling down looking at me.
I narrowed my eyes and spat "The only way you could ever help me is to find the person who did this to me and Edward. He did nothing to deserve this and we've done nothing to deserve the criminal treatment from you"
He muttered something under his breath about stupid love sick girl and walked out. After the front door closed the lawyer entered the living room.
"Carlisle if there is nothing else I'm going to get damage control. Call me if they try anything and of course sweep" he said.
"Caius I'm not a fool, but trust me it was on my mind as well. I think we're okay" Carlisle responded.
"Edward should be thanking his lucky stars for you. I'm impressed with you young lady. Welcome to the family" he said tilting his hat to me and walking out.
"Let's go into the office until we know this is okay" Carlisle said looking around.
Emmett lifted me up like weighed less than nothing and carried me into Carlisle's office and tenderly set me down on the couch.
"You know I can walk?" I asked
"Yeah but if the shoe was on the other foot Edward would do the same for me" Emmett said and went and set at his spot on Carlisle's right side.
"Well Bella, that was quite a fucking performance; I'm more than slightly afraid of you right now" Carlisle said.
"Yeah right, You have no reason to be afraid of me. I did what I had to do to protect the man I love. He would do the same for me" I shrugged.
"He is going to cream his jeans when I show him" Emmett said.
"Show him? What are you talking about boy?" Carlisle asked.
"They were in our house. You don't think I wanted to watch this shit later to see if there was something we could use. Come on dad have you taught me nothing?" Emmett said.
Carlisle leaned back in his chair. He had a look of pride on his face as his eyes swept the room.
"We'll get through this; Caius is going to do some digging and get back to me-"
"I'm sorry Carlisle. I want to see Edward. I don't mean to be disrespectful. I just-"
"No Bella, no need to be sorry I honestly didn't think you would last as long as you have" Carlisle said.
I could barely contain myself as Carlisle told the guards to bring the cars around. I was going to see Edward. I felt like it'd been forever and that was much too long.