Jacob

As they watched Edward's parents take him away, dread started to grow in all of them. They'd barely begun to help him, and now that Jacob could see the way forward, the chance was taken away from them. And once again, Edward was losing the people around him. Until the call Bella got from Dr. Evans a few hours later, which seemed like the second chance they needed. It was as if they were waiting for that call. Bella, Jacob and Embry went to Bella's car without a second thought, and driving toward Orlando. This time, they would not fail. This time, they would reach him. This time, they could save him. Jacob was sure of it. So sure, that it wasn't until they arrived at the hospital and were ushered into Dr. Evans' office, that the full scope of what was going on, hit him. Dr. Evans was a small, but powerful woman. She gestured to the two chairs opposite her desk, and pulled up a third for Embry. They all sat down, and Jacob could feel Bella's stress. For good reason. The last time she'd been in an office like this, is was because Brady had died.

"Thanks for hurrying. I'm afraid the situation is serious. Which you were all aware of, or you wouldn't have gotten here so quickly. Any information you can give me about your friend will help," she said.

"Okay, to start, he lost his-"

"To clarify, we are talking about Elizabeth Masen, yes?"

"He's transgender. Goes by Edward," Jacob volunteered. Dr. Evans nodded, unsurprised.

"His boyfriend died about a month ago. Zachary Lee. It was in some of the papers in Clearwater, but I'm not sure if it got as far as Orlando," Bella continued. "But this eating disorder spiraled out of control after a party his brother threw, a week or so before Christmas. His brother and his brother's friends force fed him alcohol and drugs, and then raped him, and left him outside in the snow. And when Brady died, that was it. He'd already lost the love of his family. Trust me on that, before he came out, they had a great relationship. But after, it was like they were strangers. Even after coming out, though, I knew Edward, and it wasn't until after this party that his depression hit. I brought him to Florida because I hoped that being around people who cared about Brady would help him. They all went through similar things, and I hoped that giving him people that could care about him would help."

"And did it?" Dr. Evans asked.

"It was starting to," Jacob offered. "But his parents showed up before we could get anywhere."

"If what you were doing was helping, I'm not going to stop you. But you'll have to work alongside my treatment plan." Dr. Evans said, getting up. 'I'll show you where Edward's room is. But I have to warn you. His appearance might be a bit much for you."

"Trust me," Jacob said. "We've seen worse." He glanced at Embry, and they followed the doctor through corridors that smelled sterile, to a room in the ICU. At first, Jacob thought they had the wrong room. That wasn't Edward. It couldn't be. But the reality of what Edward was hiding under thick layers of clothes, couldn't be denied. Edward lay in a heated cocoon of blankets, IVs in both hands, a feeding tube in his nose, and a thick breathing tube down his throat, but it was the bones that protruded from what was visible of his chest and shoulders, that was most shocking. And then Jacob realized, looking back at the last few days, that he'd never seen Edward without a sweatshirt or jeans. All that was ever visible was his face and hands. Even so, he should have seen… this. And suddenly, everything made sense. Perfect sense. The frailty of him. Why he passed out so frequently. Why he was always cold and tired. Embry put a steadying arm on his shoulder. "I think I was wrong," Jacob said, not able to tear his eyes away from the tiny, ruined body in the bed. "I haven't seen worse."

"No one would blame you if you want to go," Bella reminded him gently. "You don't have to stay."

"Of course I have to stay," Jacob said, frowning. "Helping him recover will make everything else worth it."

Edward

Edward flowed in and out of a dream state. Nothing and no one mattered. He could die now, and there would be nothing anyone could do about it. So why wasn't he dead?

"You're not finished yet," a voice said. Was this real? He looked around at a vast expanse of white. Standing in front of him, as if he'd never left, was Brady. Brady looked at him with an expression that he couldn't place. Sadness and love, mixed together. "Edward, what happened to you?" He asked. He knelt down, and they looked eye to eye for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime. Edward could reach out and touch him. As if knowing what Edward was thinking, Brady pulled him into a hug. He felt solid and real, and Edward clung to him. "Edward," he said, "You've given me so much. But I need you to do one more thing for me."

"Of course," Edward said. Of course he would do anything.

"I need you to go back. I need you to live. Please go back and live the life I didn't get to live, for me. Do everything you knew I wanted to do. Go everywhere I couldn't."

"I can't do that," Edward said.

"Edward, look at me." Brady put his hands on Edward's shoulders, and looked him in the eye. Eyes so dark brown they were almost black, met green. "I can't go back. But I can give you the next best thing. I can give you someone who will love you, no matter what. Someone who was drawn to you the moment he met you. You'll never be alone again."

"But I don't want anyone else. I want to stay here with you."

"I'm always with you. Everything you see that reminds you of me, is a part of me that's there with you. I'll always be there with you. But you deserve someone who will be more than I ever could. I love you, Edward. And it's because of you that I can love. But I want you to have someone who already could, before you came into their life." As if from above, Edward could see the hospital room, and the people in it. He could see his own body, lifeless and unresponsive. He could see Bella, pacing the length of the room. And there was Embry, calm and watchful, standing in the corner. And Jacob, next to the bed, a hand on Edward's. "There's so much to say. I wish I had the time to say it. He put a hand over Edward's heart, and with his other hand, he lifted Edward's face to his. The kiss said everything. It said "I love you, and I'm sorry." It said everything that Edward needed to hear. It said a lifetime of comfort, for all the pain that Edward went through. And mostly, it said goodbye. "Edward, you gave me love. Now, I'm giving it to you. Take care of it for me." Edward looked up at Brady, but the great expanse of whiteness was empty. Brady was gone. There was just one last whisper. "Live."

The next thing he knew, he was aware of machines beeping, and needles in the backs of both hands, and tubes down his nose and throat. His immediate response was to fight it. It wasn't a conscious thought, so much as a claustrophobic, animal fear.

"Edward, calm down. Calm down, you're okay." He shook his head, still trying to fight against the tubes and the needles. "Edward, wake up. You're in a hospital. You wouldn't wake up, and they had to bring you here." Slowly, he calmed down. The lights were too bright, and he struggled to see. "That's better," whoever was talking soothed him. It dawned on him that he was back. And then, he couldn't breathe. He couldn't- he fought the tubes, wanting them out, walking to escape, wanting death. But even that, he couldn't do right. "Hey, calm down. They worked so hard to wake you up. Please, just stop fighting it."

"Want to die," he managed. "Please." He felt heat surge through him from the needle in his left hand, and then unconsciousness took him again.

Jacob

Embry held Jacob back as nurses and doctors worked at the bed. Edward was fighting them. They were assured that this panic response was typical, but no one could ignore what they all heard Edward say just before they sedated him. They shouldn't be surprised. They'd all felt the exact same way. Of course, none of them had been quite so close to achieving that goal.

Embry, sometimes so unaware of the emotional needs of others, drew Jacob to him, and hugged him, shielding him from watching the nurses pull the breathing tube out of Edward's mouth. Eventually, the sedation wore off, and Edward's eyes fluttered open. Nurses were on hand if he tried to pull out a needle, but he was calm. He looked around the room, and as guarded as he'd been up until now, he couldn't help the tears that slid down his cheeks. The nurses, satisfied that he wasn't going to mess with the needles or the feeding tube, left, one by one, to see to their other patients. Edward rolled over on his side, drawing his knees up to his chest, trying to make himself smaller, if that was possible. Cautiously, Jacob went over to the bed.

"Edward," he started.

"I saw him," Edward said, fresh tears rolling unchecked onto the pillow.

"Who?"

"Brady. I saw him. I was so close to being with him again, and he told me I had to come back here. To you." Jacob looked up at Embry, at a loss.

"Sounds like something Brady would do," Embry signed.

"He said that I was the reason he could love, but that he wanted me to have someone who could already love before they met me," Edward continued. He wiped his eyes with the heels of his hands. "He told me he wanted me to live the life he wanted to live, and do the things he wanted to do, and go to the places he wanted to see. But mostly to live."

"So what are you going to do?" Jacob asked. Edward sighed.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice," he said. "I have to live."