***A/N*****

Thanks for reading! I appreciate it! As always, let me know what you think.

Let's get these kids in the same room with both of them conscious shall we?

Everything Twilight belongs to S. Meyer

Chapter 16- Remember

BPOV

I turned my head on the pillow to look out the hospital window, and let my gaze wander over the Chicago skyline. The sun was peeking through the clouds, and I could see the wind blowing through the trees below. The fall weather was just beginning to change the colors on their leaves.

I woke up about an hour ago, after sleeping most of the morning. I was exhausted after Dr. Nelson's visit and must have fallen asleep pretty quickly. It was frustrating because I hadn't actually done anything to make me feel exhausted, but I guess as the nurse said, I was going to be tired for awhile.

I turned my head back to face the room, and noticed there was a tray of food next to the bed. It looked like some kind of sandwich, maybe turkey, along with a small bowl of berries, and a cup of hot water, and a tea bag. I reached my hand out, and placed it around the cup. It still felt hot, so they must have delivered it recently. I also noticed there was a small red notebook and a pen next to the food.

I slowly tried to shimmy my way up to a more comfortable sitting position, but even that was daunting. My entire body felt like it had been hit by a truck.

I looked at the sandwich, not sure if I was hungry or not, and began to unwrap it. When I got a whiff, I felt my stomach grumble, and decided I should try to eat something.

I took it out of the cellophane wrapping and brought it to my lips to take a bite. It didn't taste too bad, but I soon realized it was pure agony as it made its way down my throat.

Nope, not ready for that yet.

I placed the sandwich back on the tray. and reached for a strawberry. I squeezed my eyes shut in preparation for the pain, but it seemed to go down a bit easier.

I plucked a few more berries from the bowl and ate them, and then tried the tea. It was awkward getting the cup to my mouth using my left hand, but I managed to make it to my lips without spilling any or scalding myself, and it felt soothing as it went down.

My body ached everywhere. I pushed the tray away, and took a look down at myself as I began to pull back the blankets and move the gown up to my stomach.

Shit.

My knees looked like someone used them as punching bags. They were both swollen, and black and blue.

My stomach looked fine, as did my upper and lower legs. My feet were covered in hospital socks. I wiggled my toes and they felt fine too.

I arranged the gown back over myself and pulled the blankets up, as I looked around the room again. There was a big whiteboard on the wall in front of me, and at the top, in large blue marker, it said,

You Are At University of Chicago Medical Center

Today is Tuesday October 19th

Your Nurse is Mary

Underneath that it said

Your Name Is...

There was nothing written next to that line.

I remembered Dr. Nelson told me they didn't know who I was. Why not? Didn't they take my ID from my bag when I had the accident? I always carried my wallet with me.

I assumed I took a fall. The bruising on my knees, the broken arm, the hit to the head. I must have face planted pretty bad. Jake was never going to let me live this down.

My eyes went wide. Oh my God. Jake!... And Ang! If I'd been here for three days, they were probably freaking the hell out since they hadn't heard from me. Jake was probably camped outside my apartment.

I began to scan the room, frantically looking for my belongings. My cell phone, my bag, I didn't see anything. I looked to the small wardrobe against the wall, maybe my clothes and personal things were in there?

I needed to call them and let them know I was ok. I felt a panic attack coming on, being alone in this room by myself, not knowing what happened to me. My breathing started to pick up, and I began sucking in large gulps of air as tears pooled in my eyes.

Calm down. Calm down. You're fine. When Mary comes back you'll write in the little book and they'll get you a phone and you can call Ang and Jake. It's going to be fine.

I took a shaky breath or two, and felt myself coming down. I closed my eyes, and concentrated on taking a few deep breaths.

In and out, in and out, that's it, calm down.

I heard the door to my room open with a soft whoosh, and I took another deep breath before opening my eyes. When I did, I saw Esme quietly enter the room, a tentative look on her face. She wore a form fitting black turtleneck, and the gold locket around her neck gleamed in bright contrast against the dark fabric. My breath caught when I saw her.

Maybe the anxiety attack hadn't fully dissipated, or maybe I was just relieved to see someone I knew, but the moment I saw her, the moment I saw her looking at me with such concern, I couldn't help it. I felt myself crack, and I broke down in wracking sobs.

I could see tears welling in her eyes as well, as she rushed over to the bed and sat down in the chair next to me. She quickly grasped my hand in one of hers and softly caressed my face with the other as my sobbing intensified, my shoulders shaking with the force of it.

"Ohhhh Bella. Honey...Shhhhhh. Shhhhh. It's ok. You're ok. Bella honey you're ok. It's all going to be ok. Shhhh. Shhhhh."

She continued to croon softly, and slowly, I began to get my emotions under control, my sobs eventually dwindling to small sniffles. She pulled a few tissues from a box sitting on the table, and handed me one, while she used another to dab at her own eyes.

Once we both composed ourselves, she leaned closer, looked into my eyes and smiled.

"Well hello there dear."

I smiled back through watery eyes, and gave her hand a squeeze. "Hi" I croaked. It was barely a whisper.

"Oh sweetie, don't try to talk. They told us you need to rest your voice for a few days. How are you feeling?" I tried to open my mouth to speak again.

"Oh my, well isn't that a stupid question? Especially if you can't answer me."

Looking up at her, I felt a sense of calmness wash over me. I know this may sound strange because I'd been asleep for three days, but I missed her. I felt so much better just because she was there. Was that what having a mother felt like? I never had one before, so I wasn't sure. If it wasn't, it should be.

She pulled back from me a bit and smoothed the blankets, "Well from what I hear, you're going to be just fine, better than fine. You'll be back on your feet in no time." Her expression sobered a bit and she squeezed my hand again. "I'm just so glad Edward was there. Thank God he was there."

Who? I looked at her with a small wrinkle of confusion between my eyes.

"Edward dear, my son? He helped you, and brought you here that night."

Her son? She didn't have a son. Oh wait, yes, her nephew, Edward. She and Carlisle adopted Edward and his sister Alice. But wait, Edward was with me when I had my accident? Why? I didn't even know him.

I looked at her, and pointed to the notebook on the table. "Oh, yes, this is perfect."she said as she reached for the paper and pen. She removed the cap, opened the notebook, and handed them to me.

I paused at the unfamiliar feeling of the pen in my left hand, and tried to position it the best I could and she held the notepad while I tried to write.

"What happened?"

She raised her eyes to mine and said, "You don't remember?"

I shook my head 'no', and wrote on the pad again. "Tell me."

She looked uncertain. It seemed like she wanted to tell me, but was afraid of what she should say. I looked at her expectantly and she let out a sigh. "Well, I don't know a lot, and I don't know how much I should say because I don't want you to get upset. I also know Edward would like to see you, and ask you some questions."

Why would Edward want to ask me questions?

Then it hit me. Edward, Esme's nephew... I mean, son. He was a Detective. Dr. Nelson said a Detective had been hanging around the hospital and wanted to question me about my accident.

I didn't want to wait for someone else to ask me questions and tell me what happened, I wanted to know now.

I looked at her again. She glanced around the room, and bit her lip, as if she didn't know what to say. Finally she turned back to me, as if she had made up her mind.

"Bella, honey...someone attacked you when you were walking to the train station on Friday night."

My mouth popped open. Someone attacked me?

This was so far from any scenario I ever imagined when they said I had an 'accident'. I had a million questions, and I reached for the pen again. "Who?" I wrote.

She looked uncomfortable. "Sweetie, I'm going to let Edward answer all those questions for you. I don't know too much about what happened, and I don't want to speak out of turn. All I know is, he and Emmett came across you that night and stopped it. Thank God, thank God they did."

Emmett? There were two of them?

"Stop! Chicago PD! Stop!" I looked up at Esme quickly.

She leaned forward enthusiastically, "What is it? do you remember something?"

I wasn't sure. Did I?

I looked at her with a helpless expression and felt the tears threatening to fall again. "Oh sweetheart," she said, as she reached down gently to wrap me in her arms, the best she could around the sling. I cried on her shoulder for a moment while she rubbed my back, and told me everything was going to be ok.

Yes,I decided. Yes, this is what having a mother should feel like.

I heard a noise at the door, and looked up from her shoulder. A man was standing in the open doorway, and he was staring at me, intently. He wore a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and he had beautiful green eyes. They looked tired. Esme must have sensed my attention was drawn to something behind her, because she pulled back slightly, and craned her neck around.

"Oh, Edward," she said. "Come in, come in. I want to introduce you to Bella."

He looked like he was frozen by the door. He raised one of his hands, and started running it through his hair a few times, before he hesitantly walked into the room. I pulled back from Esme, and wiped the remnants of my tears away with my hand. He continued to stare as he approached my bed.

I felt a bit self conscious, and could feel my face starting to heat up as I watched him place his hands on the rails at the end of the bed, gripping them tightly. His eyes were still fixed on me when he finally opened his mouth to speak.

"Hello Bella, it's nice to meet you. I'm Edward...Edward Cullen."

My eyes flew up to his at the sound of his voice, and there were only two words flashing in my brain like a neon sign.

Ass Saver!

I always wanted a mom like Esme...

The white board thing is true. My dad had a brain injury and the nurses always put something on his white board every day. The names of my sisters and I, his name, and where he was.

Thanks again for reading! Maybe another chapter before the end of the weekend.