Posted 2022-01-28; Beta'd by Eeyorefan12
"Signor Cullen?" The nurse peered at Edward over her clipboard.
"Si." He stood up, his heart hammering, trying to read the woman's expression for clues. "I'm Edward Cullen."
She studied her paperwork for a moment, appearing concerned. "Eh, come this way, please."
He parsed her intonation, trying to recall what he knew of the way Italians expressed sympathy—how did they give bad news? Her body language offered no clues, and he was too damn terrified to ask where or to what he was being taken
Following her, Edward studied the walls and their shifting colors. His heart pounded as the nurse led him past what appeared to be an examination room, beside which sat an empty incubator. Sucking in a breath, he tried to prepare himself. If their baby was here because it had been early, that was good, right? But she continued walking, taking him to an alcove, into which was tucked a tiny nursery. An attendant watched over two little bassinets lit by the soft glow of warming lamps.
"Your, eh . . . daughter," she said, smiling as she produced the word.
Edward blinked, staring at the plastic-sided baby bed she indicated before stepping forward.
"You can hold her, but levati prima le mani . . . er, wash first." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her mime handwashing.
"Si," he whispered. His eyes hadn't left the little bundle.
A daughter. That's our daughter. He had to remind himself to breathe. "My wife? Her mother?" he asked, needing to clear his throat just to get the words out.
"Still in surgery, Signor. They're making sure all the bleeding is stopped. She's doing, eh . . . good. Fine." She watched Edward for a moment. "Have you held a baby?"
He nodded and, breaking out of the spell of worry and wonder he was under, turned to the sink to wash his hands.
"You have medical training?" the nurse asked. When Edward glanced at her, she smiled. "You wash like a medico. Or a nuovo—a parent for the first time."
Edward heard himself produce something like a laugh. "Yes. I have medical training."
Feeling surprisingly overwhelmed, he leaned over the crib for a full minute, letting his gaze take in all that he could see of his child—his daughter. My God, he had a daughter. They had a daughter. She didn't look premature at all. "How big . . .uh, quanto grande?" he asked.
The nurse paused, and he could see her trying to translate the number as she checked her chart. "Pardon, ah . . . two-seven-two-zero. Grams."
He did the math in his head. Six beautiful pounds. When he lifted her, he did so with reverence. His careful handling recalled to him the same weight he'd once held when Father Patrick had deemed him ready to carry the lectionary for mass. Edward's tiny daughter was even more sacred. He moved as if in that liturgical procession to one of the chairs, cradling her to his chest and finally letting his tears fall. "I'm here for you, sweetheart. No matter what happens, I'm yours."
The nurse returned with a bottle, "Pelle a pelle is best, Signor." She paused, frowning, tapping the skin on her arm.
Skin to skin. Of course.
"Right." Edward handed over the baby and yanked off his long-sleeved shirt.
Watching the nurse's eyes widen, he realized that perhaps this wasn't what she'd had in mind. Or maybe it was Al's makeshift gauze wrap on his upper arm. Or his tattoos.
Well, screw it.
He took the baby back, unwrapping her and pressing her little body against his own. It was the most heavenly feeling he'd ever had, and he stuck his nose in her little mop of soft auburn hair, breathing in her scent; it reminded him of Bella.
The nurse cleared her throat, and Edward opened his eyes reluctantly. "Her madre will not be able to feed her for a while. Would you like to?"
Like he would let anyone else.
He felt a little guilty when he accepted the bottle, tilting the baby up in his arm. He knew Bella had been adamant about only breastfeeding, but of course she'd want what was best for their child. Then his daughter opened her eyes and blinked at him, and if he hadn't been in love with her before, he was now, utterly mesmerized by those same eyes that somehow were in Bella's face too. "You're perfect," he whispered.
The nurse returned with a much larger blanket, clearing her throat again. He took it, awkwardly draping it around himself and the baby.
The practicality of feeding a newborn was not something he was entirely prepared for. After he'd been fussed at and spat up on, he finally figured out the right angle, but his pants were already a lost cause. The nurse didn't hover, but she did come back to check on him regularly, occasionally giving a few kind words of instruction or support.
When Edward asked where the diapers were, she appeared legitimately shocked. "Eh, I can—"
"No, I'll do it." He wasn't letting go of this baby until he had to. Or until he could lay her in her mother's arms.
It was humbling to find that diapering a newborn could be more complicated than fieldstripping a rifle—and take longer—but he added it to his list of new experiences. Then he texted Al with the news about Bella so far, unable to keep the smile off his face as he let him know he had a daughter. He also asked him to grab him a clean pair of pants if possible. Al texted back: LOL Welcome to parenthood. Sure. Then: How's Bella's surgery going?
Still happening—okay so far, he wrote back. He realized then that he hadn't even told his dad about the outcome of their mission. It seemed that Al was ahead of him with his next text: Your dad's been briefed. I'll update him if you want.
Good. Even thinking about it, his gut twisted. He doubted Al would have told his father who'd killed Aro, though he certainly would have told him the man was dead. He'd wait to call home. He needed his father to hear it directly from him. Aro's death aside, he couldn't begin to consider what he'd say if—don't, Cullen. Focus on your baby.
When Edward began to nod off, he put the baby back in the incubator and donned his shirt, pulling the chair over so that he was right beside her, one hand resting on her tiny body. When the nurse touched his shoulder, he startled, this time reaching for a gun that wasn't there.
"Scusi, Signor. Signora Cullen is out of surgery. Il dottore will speak with you and then we can move the baby to her room." She paused, smiling. "If you would like to be with her?"
The air shuddered out of him like a sob. He nodded, standing, not letting the nurse push the small rolling bed, insisting on doing it himself.
The doctor met them outside of Bella's room, warning Edward that it would be several hours before she woke up. Edward listened carefully to his report on the surgery. Everything had gone well. There'd been no permanent damage.
Thank God.
When the doctor left, the nurse pointed out the small fold-up cot in the corner of the room, along with the baby supplies, although Edward struggled to drag his eyes away from Bella, pale and unconscious. "If you need anything, someone will come if you press this."
Edward closed the door behind the nurse, pushing the baby's bassinet right up against Bella's bed. He leaned over it, trying to regulate his breathing before giving up, pressing his forehead against Bella's, kissing her cheek, her lips, her hand. "You're okay. You're okay. You're really okay." He stayed there until his arms began to tremble. He was exhausted. It was after midnight, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, not yet anyway.
He called Al, who answered immediately. "How're you doing, Edward?"
"Bella's all right. She's out of surgery and sleeping." Edward rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.
"That's great news. What d'you need?"
"Some rest, but . . . I need someone watching. Who's available?"
"I've got most of the team on site. Amos and Gabe are patrolling outside. Do you need them closer?"
Edward looked towards the hall and the tiny nurses' station, wondering how the clinic staff would take to two armed men standing outside the room. He decided he didn't care. There were simply too many variables still at play for him to feel at ease yet. "Yes, right outside. And put guys on each entrance."
Every man on the team had served with Edward or under his command in the Corps. He trusted their loyalty . . . and their skill. They would stand for him and his family tonight—and until Bella was well enough for him to get her out of Italy.
"You got it. Anything else?"
Edward looked at his wife, asleep in bed, and at their daughter. "Isobel."
"What do you want us to do?" Al sounded like he expected the worst, and his hardened reaction in the bathroom made unsettling sense. Of course. He'd been preparing himself for the worst.
Edward felt a moment of chagrin for leaving his friend hanging on this.
"Give her a choice: prison or a debt owed." He already had a dossier prepared on her. More than enough to keep her locked up for a good long time. Still, no doubt someone somewhere had the same on him. He'd rather buy her loyalty than ill will. It wasn't like prison would reform her, or keep her out of circulation for long.
"Done," Al said.
There was no question in Edward's mind as to which Isobel would choose.
Edward wouldn't feel safe until they were home—and even then, he wasn't letting his girls go anywhere without an armed fricking convoy, not until he knew that Aro's interests and forces were fully neutralized.
His girls.
When Amos and Gabe arrived, they poked their heads inside the door and Amos tossed Edward a clean pair of pants, not bothering to hide his smile. He was a father too, and Edward wondered what other smiles he'd see on fellow parents' faces now that he was admitted to what felt like the most exclusive of clubs. Setting aside his beleaguered musings, he nodded at both men, letting them take up their sentry positions. Finally able to let his guard down, he resolved to sleep, opening up the cot and pushing it up against Bella's bed so that the baby's crib nestled between his head and the wall. If anyone came into the room, they'd have to get past him to get to the baby or Bella.
The world was far too bright when he heard Bella's voice.
"Edward?"
He shot up, banging his head on the edge of the hard bassinet, searching for threats as the baby began to whimper.
Bella cried out in pain.
"Don't move!" he warned her, clearly too late. Quickly surveying the room, he exhaled, realizing that no one was there trying to hurt them. Bella had managed to do that all by herself. Her hand was pressed against her midsection, and she looked like a ghost.
Edward pushed the cot aside and stood, picking up the baby and pressing her to his chest, not sure how to comfort her and his wife both at the same time. Fortunately, the younger of the two calmed quickly, surprising him. Wasn't she hungry?
"Our baby," Bella whispered. She remained unnaturally still, like she was afraid of moving, but her gaze remained fixed on the bundle he was holding.
"Our daughter," he said gently. He carefully turned her around for Bella to see. This was the point at which a new nurse entered.
"Bonjourno," she said, smiling. "You're all awake. How are you feeling?" she asked Bella.
"Sore." Bella was also still completely colorless.
Edward did not like this at all. The doctor had said she'd been given a transfusion, but they'd watch to be sure it had been enough.
"Si," the nurse said, going to the IV. As Edward looked at it, he realized that they'd left his needle in. Now though, it was attached to two lines, one of which was connected to a much smaller bag of pain medication. Good.
"No," Bella said, watching the nurse. "I want to breastfeed my baby."
The nurse shook her head. "Non. You won't be able to for at least another day. The, eh, anestesia must go from your blood, primo." The nurse clicked on the IV and then ran through her vitals before showing Bella how to press a pillow to her incision to help with the pain when she needed to move. She also informed Edward that they'd fed the baby, stunning him slightly.
I slept through that? The idea was shocking.
"Parents need sleep," the nurse said, smiling and chuckling a little at his expression. "Enjoy it while you can."
Finally, they were alone, and with the baby held in the crook of one arm, he wrapped his other one around Bella. They were together, and they were safe.
With his defenses now lowered, the pernicious fear he'd held at bay slithered into his awareness and heart.
He'd shot and killed Aro, and he needed to tell Bella. They'd taken out others in rescuing her too, but they'd given them a choice—a chance to surrender. He'd given none to Aro. He'd tell her, just . . . not yet.
"We have a girl," Bella said, smiling as Edward finally settled the baby into her mother's arms and Bella held her for the first time. She looked as awe-struck as Edward had felt hours before.
"Annie?" he asked. It had been the female family name they'd discussed.
Bella nodded, her eyes not leaving their little girl.
He smiled genuinely, thinking of how pleased and proud his grandmother would have been―how happy his own mother would be.
Bella was too weak to hold Annie for long, and after Edward resettled the baby into the crib, he leaned over his wife, gently sliding his arms behind her back, kissing her. "Careful," he murmured, as she tried to do the same to him. He'd have crawled into the bed with her if he could have.
When they finally released each other, he still kept one hand gently on Bella's shoulder, the other on his daughter's back. It would be a while before he was ready to let either of them be away from his reach or out of his sight, though he supposed he'd need to at least briefly, to help with making arrangements to get home.
While Al had texted about plans on several fronts—dealing with Isobel, crew clean up, the discovery and disposal of Felix's body, Raoul's medevac, and then the more complex one for Bella and the baby—there were still more logistics to be tidied up.
He also needed to thank the men outside. When he'd begun to suspect the scope of the operation it might take to rescue Bella and realized the need to augment his small team, he'd reached out to some of his former comrades in arms. They'd answered his call, as he'd known they would.
Semper Fi. Always faithful. It was never more true than today.
Looking around as if afraid of other listeners, Bella whispered, "How'd you find me?"
He smiled. "That was the easy part. As soon as I got access to the computers, I was able to find out where you were. It was . . . getting all the other pieces in play that took a few days."
She glanced through the window at the cluster of vehicles behind the building; the team had set up camp back there. "Like raising an army?"
He was glad she was trying to lighten the moment, but still he sighed, reminding himself—again—that they were physically safe. It was going to take time for his body and brain to believe it.
"The guys were mostly in place by the time I got here, but they couldn't do anything without intel. So, the first thing I did was pretend to cooperate."
"You said that when you called but . . . what did he tell you to do?" Again, he heard the note of worry in her voice.
Edward let out a nervous breath, rubbing his neck. "The first thing? To kill my dad." He was trying to play it off as nothing important but it was hard to, now that he was finally able to talk about it.
She stared at him, her eyes welling with tears.
"Oh Bella, no. It's okay. Dad's fine."
There was a shaky exhale. "That's . . . good."
He'd been so keyed up—was still so keyed up—he actually laughed out of nerves. "Sometimes I wonder what you think of me, Swan."
Or what you're going to think of me after this.
She shook her head, the tears still threatening. "What you must have gone through, having to even think about that—to have to pretend . . ."
He swallowed, looking away briefly and then squeezing her hand. "Going in, we knew that my dad was persona non grata. It wasn't too hard to guess that Aro would try and muscle his way into our organization. I'll admit that it was a bit of a shock, but it wasn't too hard to communicate what Aro wanted when I called Jasper. I did set things up with a, uh . . . contractor in front of Aro, but Jasper canceled it as soon as everything was in place. I was more concerned about you and Annie."
Bella lifted his hand to her face, pressing it tightly against her cheek and squeezing her eyes shut. "Everything could have gone so, so badly. I kept playing that day Isobel took me over in my head. If I'd just waited to go home—"
"Don't second-guess yourself. There's no point. We—my dad and I—miscalculated. We didn't expect Aro to escalate things so suddenly. Isobel had obviously been following you for a long time. She would have found another way, another time."
He watched her relax her features and nod. "So you pretended to cooperate. What then?"
What then, indeed?
He cleared his throat. He'd get to it. "That's where things got interesting. When we were here last year, I put some things into place as a backup, one of which was a Trojan horse."
Bella furrowed her forehead. "I've heard of them but—"
"A hidden computer program. I left it as a failsafe, something that would be a last-ditch measure to cripple Aro. And it has worked . . . very well."
If that wasn't the understatement of the year.
Bella shifted in the bed, wincing slightly. Her arms trembled and she blinked heavily.
He couldn't tell her now, could he? "You need to sleep—"
Coward.
"No, I'm fine. Keep going."
Annie started to fuss and he picked her up, grateful for the momentary distraction, instinctively rubbing her back until she settled. He kept the baby in one arm while he took Bella's hand. It felt so good to hold her hand again, to feel her fingers curled around his.
"The program was designed to do a few things, including set off a whole chain of financial transactions that would make it look like Aro was screwing around business partners. That took almost no time to create trouble yesterday, especially with the Bertolis. Antonio was onsite when it happened, so that was pure dumb luck. The big thing I was counting on were the raids that I knew would come. The Guardia di Finanza—that's the Italian agency for financial crime and smuggling—and Interpol have been looking for a way into his organization for years, and I made sure they got a gift-wrapped invitation with more evidence than they could carry for emergency warrants. I knew they'd be at his door in a matter of hours.
"Al and the team were waiting for orders when I turned myself over to Aro, but I needed access to the computers. I was pretty sure Aro would be keeping you close by,and my first guess as to where was right. His electronic security"—Edward snorted in disgust—"was so messed up, it's like everything I did last year was for nothing. I was able to get into the video feeds on the bunker to confirm you were there. More importantly though, I was able to download the schematics."
"He must have had you guarded, though? Watched?"
"Oh, he did. That was a bit harder. Getting out was . . . difficult." He thought of how he'd finally exited the building. "It actually involved Sulpicia's help."
At the mention of the woman's name, Bella's face tightened briefly. "Help." She lifted an eyebrow. "Yuck. Like the kind that requires you to go to confession? Or—?"
Though he smiled, Edward was a little thrown by her question. He had let the woman kiss him after all. "No," he said firmly. "Though I may have given her the impression she'd see me again—"
"Fat chance," Bella said.
"Agreed." He leaned over and kissed Bella's cheek before continuing his story. "So aside from nearly getting run over by Al when he picked me up, we went right to you once I was out."
"Did you use a bomb on the door?"
"God, no." Annie began to cry. "I think she's hungry." He paused, feeling the diaper. "Or maybe she finally pooped. Hold on."
"Oh, you feel free to handle that last one." Bella chuckled a little, which made her wince.
Edward shook his head. "I will take every single damn diaper there ever is to hear you laugh again." He leaned over and kissed her, cupping her cheek.
The sudden reappearance of her tears surprised him. "I was so scared, Edward. I thought she was going to kill me, and I didn't know what she was going to do with Annie."
"I know," he whispered. "But I'm here now, and you're safe. No one is going to hurt either of you."
"What happened . . . with Isobel?"
"I gave her a choice."
"Which was?" Bella looked worried.
"Going to prison or owing me her life. She chose to owe me."
Looking relieved, though still teary, Bella nodded. "Thank you." She was looking into her lap as she said it. "I know you thought she deserved . . . more."
Edward reached over and gently nudged her chin up with a finger so that she would look at him. "I was furious, Bella. I don't think I've ever felt that . . . murderous about anyone, not even . . " He swallowed, unwilling to say the man's name, alarmed by the warring emotions of both guilt and relief inside him. "But I heard you loud and clear in the car. I'm not saying I wouldn't have made the choice I did about Isobel on my own but you made me think a lot harder about it. I hope you're okay with all this."
She nodded. "I trust you, Edward."
There were the three words from her that could bring him to his knees every time. Thank God he had been able to rein in his fury long enough to make a rational decision about Isobel.
But Aro . . .
"What about. . . what did . . . " Bella appeared to struggle with her words. "Did you find out what Isobel did to Felix?"
Edward paused, wondering how much to share with her when she was still exhausted.
"I know he's dead," she whispered. "I just wondered . . ."
"You wondered how," he finished for her. He still didn't know exactly what Felix had done to her, and he swallowed down his dread, choosing to hold onto the verbal assurance Isobel had given him in the car. He didn't miss Bella reaching for her ear now though, and he noted the angry red mark on the lobe. He had an unsettling idea about part of what had gone on.
It was strange, feeling gratitude for Isobel's brutal justice.
Bella remained silent and still, her gaze fixed on some faraway spot.
"Do you really want to know?" he asked gently. Ignorance was usually a blessing in such affairs.
She tightened her jaw, giving a curt shake of her head. "Never mind. No. I only want to know he's really gone."
"That he definitely is," Edward said.
Amos had found Felix's body in one of the storage rooms, wrapped in plastic, with a bullet hole in his chest and a bloody stab wound in the last place any man ever wanted to see a knife go. Edward hoped he'd been alive to feel both.
And now Felix was nothing but a bad memory, vaporized—along with the entire bunker—courtesy of Gabe's thermobaric rocket.
Should Bella change her mind about knowing all this, he would answer her questions honestly. His wife deserved to know.
Annie's cries were getting louder, though.
"I think that's your cue," Bella said, wiping at her face. "I'm okay."
He was getting faster at changing diapers, though the rate of swearing under his breath was high. This one was decidedly messier than the last. Half a box of wipes and a thorough hand and arm washing later, Edward was back at Bella's side. She was sound asleep.
He thought of Bella's earlier question and looked down at Annie, almost asleep in his arms. "Did I use a bomb," he scoffed, not sure if he felt more like laughing or crying as he shook his head. "Like Daddy would use a bomb to save his girls. No, Daddy used semtex on the door hinges with a remote detonator." He studied her drowsy features for a moment before adding, "And then we blew the entire place to kingdom come."
He held his daughter, swallowing back the lump in his throat at the thought of losing someone so precious, hoping and praying he could summon the courage he needed to tell his wife what the true price of their freedom had been.
Eeyorefan12: Okay, so Chapter 61 was my favorite but this one contains the first paragraph in the whole story that brought tears to my eyes—in a good way. Any guesses? ;)
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