I remember the day she disappeared like it was yesterday . . .

Bella was coming home from Seattle when her car left the road and collided with a tree. I was home on leave, and when she was late and didn't answer her phone, I started driving—having a dreadful feeling as I went. I found her car just as an officer arrived on the scene. The driver's side door was open, and there were signs of blood on the seat.

At that moment, I knew my life would be forever changed. I knew I'd lost everything precious to me, but I couldn't accept it. I continued to scour the surrounding woods with a search team, and once the search was called off, I still kept looking. I searched until I had to go back overseas, and then I kept a tip line up for any information.

I couldn't believe she had just disappeared; no, I would never believe that scenario. But the police thought she had wandered off. Maybe she was injured and had fallen into the raging river not far from the scene. If that had been the case, I still don't understand how we never found her body, which is part of why I can never move on. I've always held onto a sliver of hope she was still alive.

And if she gave birth, she could be.

My heart aches when I stare at the young girl in the hospital bed. I want to know everything about her—especially who hurt her so I can do the same to them. I wonder what her life has been like—if she's been with Bella all these years or if they were separated. There's so much unknown, and she's in no position to answer me anytime soon.

There's a knock on the door, and I look up, finding Leah with a stuffed bear in her arms. It's getting late, so I imagine she's on her way home after her shift.

"Hey, how is she?" she asks, coming into the PICU room.

She's possibly my daughter, I think, but I decide not to tell her. "She's still not out of the woods, but her vitals have finally stabilized."

She walks over, placing the bear under the girl's arm. "What's her name?"

I shake my head. "I'm still not sure. For now, I guess she's Jane Doe."

Her brow wrinkles. "She looks like a Lucy—the red hair and freckles. Maybe we can call her that until she can tell us who she is. It's a little more personal than just Jane Doe."

I nod, smiling gently. "That's a good idea, Leah. How was your shift?"

She shrugs. "I spent it worrying about her, to be honest. You mentioned you knew my father."

"Yeah, sorry I didn't really introduce myself. I'm Edward Cullen. I grew up in Forks."

"The Cullens." She smiles, nodding. "Everyone knows your family. Your father took care of mine before he passed. He's a great guy."

Fuck, how am I going to explain this all to my parents? I can barely wrap my head around it. "He is. I need to get a cup of coffee. Any chance you'd sit with her for a bit?"

She nods. "Absolutely, but I can grab you a cup if you'd rather stay."

"You'd do that?"

"Sure. You seem kind of stuck to her side."

I look over at the girl—Lucy, for now—and nod. If she's my kid, I'm never leaving her side. I've already missed too much, and now . . . I could lose her. I once thought I couldn't imagine a god so cruel to take the loves of my life from me, but then he did. If he gave her back just to take her again, I don't think I would survive.

. . . . .

Leah brings me coffee and a sandwich, which I greatly appreciate, considering I didn't even finish my muffin this morning. She looks at Lucy kindly, smiling sadly as she takes in the monitors, tubes, and wires. I glance at the heart monitor and feel reassured when I see it's sixty-six. Her blood pressure is still on the low side, but it's not dangerously low.

"Somebody's got to be missing her, right?" Leah asks as I eat.

I was, I think. And that's when I decided to tell her. "Do you remember hearing about my wife, Bella?"

She nods. "Yes, I'm so sorry for your loss."

"She was pregnant at the time—still early. Well, this girl, as you call her, Lucy, had a photo of us, which Bella kept in her wallet. The police showed it to me. When Bella went missing, so did her purse and wallet. If you look at Lucy—her hair and face—there's a resemblance to me, isn't there?"

She cocks her head, creasing her brow. "Resemblance to . . . you. You mean she might be yours? Your daughter? Holy shit."

"Yesterday, on the corner, before she was hit, she looked right at me and smiled. Her eyes went wide like she recognized me. I'm waiting on a DNA test, but I have no doubt that she's my lost little girl."

"And now she's . . . like so badly injured. I'm so sorry, Dr. Cullen. That's a hell of a lot to be hit with all at once."

I nod, huffing. "Yeah. And I haven't told my parents yet, so if you could keep this to yourself for a few days, I'd appreciate it. I don't even know where to start."

"You should call them. You need their support right now."

She's right, but I think starting with Jasper might be best. He's my older brother and a lawyer here in Seattle. He'll know where I need to begin. Obviously, I need custody of her immediately. I'll get my own DNA test first thing in the morning and rush the results. The police won't hurry it through, and I need proof right away.

"I'll call my brother."

She smiles. "Good. You should do it now, so I'm going to head out. Is it weird to say I'm happy for you? I mean, you've found your daughter—that's a miracle."

I nod, looking over at Lucy. "Yeah, it is."

I wish her a good night and finish my sandwich before pulling out my phone. I have no idea how to explain any of this, but I hit my brother's name and put the phone to my ear.

It rings twice before he picks up. "Hey, man, what's up?"

"I, uh . . . need you to come down to the hospital. It's difficult to explain, but—"

"Are you hurt?" he asks worriedly.

"No, no, I'm fine. Honestly, I'm kind of better than fine. I saw a girl get hit by a car today and saved her life, but then the police found an old photo in her belongings. Jasper, it was of Bella and me. She looks just like Bella. I think . . . I'm pretty sure she's my daughter."

I hear the phone drop, but he quickly gets it to his ear again. "Jesus Christ, Edward. That's . . ."

"Insane, but true. I'm going to get a DNA test, and then I'll need your help. No one knows who she is, and the police put her photo out without any hits. I need custody of her. You can help with that, right?"

"Yeah, absolutely. I'm on my way there, and we'll fill out the forms, so I can file them as soon as we have the DNA results. This is truly insane, but if you're right . . . Bella was what, like, three months along? That means she survived for months."

"Exactly, which means she could still be alive, and this girl is the key."

"Hopefully. Look, I'm going to head out. Where do you want me to come to in the hospital?"

I give him the floor and room number, then call the front desk, letting them know I'm expecting a visitor, and then go back to holding Lucy's hand. I watch her chest rise and fall as the ventilator does its job.

I watch her and wonder what she's like. I think she's shy, like Bella, but maybe has a bit of a temper like me. I imagine she has a kind heart even though she's been through hell.

I can't help but wonder if she recognized me this morning. The way she looked at me . . . I know it wasn't just an average smile.

She knew I was her father.

"Were you looking for me?" I ask, pressing a kiss to her hand. "No one is ever going to hurt you again, sweet girl."

I'll kill anyone who tries, and that's not an exaggeration. I'm going to protect my little girl now that I have her back. With her help, maybe I can find my Bella, too.

Still, the chances of Bella being alive are slim. Just because our daughter survived doesn't mean she did. I have to hope, though. The likelihood of our daughter being alive was slim, and yet here she is.

Hope is all I have now.

Thankfully, it doesn't take Jasper long to arrive. I turn the light on when he comes in so he can see her clearly. It's hard to tell how much she looks like Bella because of her injuries, but I can tell he recognizes our mother's hair—my hair.

"Holy shit," he mumbles. "Is she . . . going to be okay? This looks bad, Edward."

I nod. "She has fractures of the pelvis, ribs, leg, and skull. She had massive internal bleeding and a small brain bleed, but she's finally stable and seems to be doing well."

He sighs. "Poor kid. At least she had you as her doctor."

I nod. "I saved her life, but now . . . I don't know what to do next, Jaz. We have no name, no one coming forward. Until she wakes up, I know nothing about her."

"But you're sure she's yours?"

"She has my eyes and hair and Bella's face and build. I know it's hard to see under the bruises, but she looks just like Bella. Can you see it?"

He looks her over and nods. "Yes, but without a DNA test, we're limited, so we need to rush one. It won't be cheap."

I roll my eyes. "I don't care."

"Okay, first thing in the morning, we'll do that. For now, we can fill out some paperwork. We'll need to get her a birth certificate if she doesn't have one and put you on it."

I nod, ready to do whatever I need to. "I just wish I knew her name."

"Yeah, that's going to be a bit of an issue. How long until she wakes up?"

"A few days, probably. We're keeping her sedated until the swelling around her brain goes down."

"All right, we'll start with guardianship then." He opens his bag and pulls out his laptop, setting it up on the bedside table.

We go through countless forms together, which takes over an hour. I sign them all on his touchscreen and hope it's enough to get me guardianship so that I can make medical decisions. Without any next of kin, it falls on me anyway as her physician, but I can't keep taking care of her now. I couldn't dare operate on my own child again, and there's a chance she'll need to go back to the OR if she has any more bleeding.

I'm completely exhausted, but I don't go home once Jasper leaves. I get another cup of coffee and sit back beside my daughter, taking her hand.

"We're going to get through this, little one," I promise, gently squeezing her hand.

Don't own Twilight.

Thanks to May, Brier, and Mary for prereading. And thanks to Fran for beta'ing.

I legit have no idea how the legal process would go in this instance, so please forgive me if I'm way off. Thank you all for following, favoriting, and reviewing! I'm blown away by the support.