33

Bella was exhausted. Even though she tried, she hadn't really been able to sleep. The constant humming from the machine monitoring her brain waves, the sound of the nurses in the hallway, the terror at what would happen if the tests showed that Bella was too far gone, that they had waited too late. No, Bella couldn't sleep because every time she closed her eyes, she worried that she wouldn't wake up again.

"What time is it?" she asked, drawing Edward's attention away from the newspaper he'd been reading, or pretending to read. He hadn't slept either, and she worried, of course. He had the biggest match of his career in just a handful of hours, and he needed to rest.

"Just after seven," he replied, turning his attention back to the paper. "Your hair is a mess."

Bella scoffed and dragged her fingers through the tangled mess. She had forgotten to pack her hairbrush and the cap she had worn for eight hours, not six at Emmett said, hadn't helped keep her hair from tangling. "So is yours."

Edward grinned. "I know."

She rolled her eyes and climbed off the bed, moving to the window and looking out over the city. The sun was starting to creep over the horizon, and the sky was clear. It was going to be hot, the perfect day for volleyball.

After wearing the EEG cap for eight hours, Emmett and Carlisle had taken her down for the MRI. She had never been a fan of the procedure. Laying on a table and being rolled into a tubular machine made her twitch. Now, they were waiting for word from Emmett and Carlisle on whether or not Bella's stubbornness had cost her the chance to save her life.

With a sigh, she turned and looked back at Edward, catching him watching her before quickly turning back to the paper. He didn't leave her side all night, holding her hand, keeping her entertained with mindless stories from his time with PV, his childhood, his dreams for their future. He wanted so much with her, more than she ever thought she would be able to have. He loved her, and she loved him.

"Are you nervous?" she asked, causing him to look at her again.

"Nah," he lied.

But before she could call him out on said lie, the door to her hospital room opened and Emmett and Carlisle walked in. On his feet immediately, Edward threw the paper on the bed and hurried over to Bella, wrapping his arm around her waist. Her heart was racing and tears filled her eyes, though she managed to keep them from falling for once. Felt like all she had done over the last ten days was cry.

"Well?" Bella asked. "Aren't you going to say something?"

Carlisle laughed, while Emmett merely smiled. "Calm down, Swan. We just walked into the room."

"Can we still do the trial?" she asked, ignoring Carlisle's attempt at sarcasm. "Can we?"

Carlisle and Emmett shared a look before Emmett said, "Yes. You are still right on the cusp of being eligible."

"Oh, thank God," Edward murmured, turning and wrapping her in his arms.

"So what happens now? I come back here tomorrow?" Bella asked.

"We can do the infusions from Carlisle's office," Emmett said, tilting his head to the man next to him. "We'll start tomorrow morning, nine a.m. sharp, and do the next one Tuesday. They'll take a couple hours to run their course."

Bella nodded. "And when will you harvest the stem cells?"

"As soon as we can get her in here," he replied.

"And how do you do that?" she asked.

Emmett smiled. "It's like donating blood. We will insert a catheter, and use a machine called an apheresis to separate the stem cells from the rest of the blood and return the rest to her body. It's harmless, Bella."

Nodding, she bit the inside of her lip, knowing it was silly to care about what would happen to Renee. The woman wasn't her mother. Not really, but she didn't want the guilt that would come with knowing that the woman was harmed in an effort to save her life.

"And you'll implant the devise, or whatever, when?"

"Four weeks." Emmett walked over and reached for her. She placed her hand in his and stepped toward him. He placed his their hand on the back of her neck, just below her hair line. "I'll place it here. Connect it to the nerves at the base of your skull. Over the next four weeks, it will dispense the mixture, and hopefully, cure you."

"How will you know if I'm cured?" she whispered, turning her head and looking at him with tears filling her eyes.

"We'll rerun the EEG and MRI," he explained. "I know you're scared, Bella, but this will work."

"I hope so." She looked back at Edward. "I really hope so."

—BDBH—

An hour later, Bella was sitting inside the hospitality tent, digging through her camera bag in search of her last memory card. She was exhausted, yet too wired to sleep. Today was the biggest day in Edward's career. A part of her felt guilty that he was giving up PV for her. It was selfish of her to need him here, to want him here. But without him, Bella wouldn't be able to move forward with the trial. He was the strength she had to even try.

"There you are, Swan."

Shifting her attention from her bag to the opening of the tent, she rolled her eyes as Felix came busting in with Alice right behind him.

"Where'd you think I'd be?" she asked, pulling out the last memory card she had and placing it on the table. Biting the inside of her lip, she pulled her meds out and poured her morning meds into the palm of her hand before picking up her bottle of water, feeling Felix's eyes on her the entire time. "Just gonna stand there and stare? You're making me uncomfortable."

"What? Oh, sorry," he muttered, sitting in the chair across from her. "I just wanted to make sure you were ready for tonight?"

"Tonight?" she asked, shaking her head. "What's tonight?"

Felix's eyes widened. "The party. The End of Tournament Bash. I . . . I told you about it a couple days ago."

"Oh," she murmured, trying to remember the conversation, but coming up blank. Just like her first date with Edward, she didn't remember any conversation with Felix. "Yeah, of course."

"Don't worry, Felix. We have everything under control," Alice said, pushing him out of his chair and giving him a look that clearly said not to argue with her.

Though Bella could see the doubt in his eyes, he simply nodded, gave her a pleading look, and turned and walked out of the tent. Bella didn't look at Alice as she popped the pills into her mouth and chasing them down with the bottle of water.

"So," Alice said, sitting across from her. "It's safe to assume you have no idea what he is talking about."

"Yeah," she admitted.

"Well, guess it's a good thing you have me, Swan."

"Peanut," Bella whimpered, shifting her eyes to her best friend. "What else have I forgotten?"

Alice sighed and placed her hand on top of Bella's. "I don't know, sweetie, but you have so many people around you that will help you remember how much you are loved, needed, and cherished. Just don't lose faith, okay?"

Sniffing back her tears, Bella nodded.

"Good," Alice sighed and checked her watch. "I had better run so I can get everything ready for tonight and make it back before Jasper and Edward's match. Not missing that for anything."

Bella tried to smile and watched as Alice hurried out of the tent. She took a deep breath and popped her new memory card into her camera before following Alice. Edward and Jasper were leaning against the railing on the far side of the pit, while Kate, Angela, Rose, and Tanya were warming up. Edward's eyes met hers and he smiled, and once again, she found her courage.

—BDBH—

Bella had to admit that watching Rose and Tanya compete against Kate and Angela had been one of the best matches she had ever watched. While Rose and Tanya had soared through the tournament relatively easy, Kate and Angela had scraped and fought tooth and nail to earn their place in the championship. Bella had always been a fan of the underdog, especially seeing as she had spent the first three years of her surfing career fighting against bigger and better surfers.

As their match started, Rose served first, sending a hard hit ball toward Kate, who got her arms under it and sent it to Angela, who set her up for a hard spike. Tanya was ready, however, and blocked it, but Kate anticipated the move and sent the ball back at her, earning the first point. The power between both teams was intoxicating.

Just after their first set, which Rose and Tanya won with a score of 24-22, Bella pulled her water bottle out of her camera bag and unscrewed the lid. She had just brought the bottle to her lips when she spotted Peter, Charlotte, and Emmett leaning against the far side of the pit, his eyes locked on Rose. His father, who said something to him, drew his attention away, Emmett's eyes meeting Bella's. She bit her lip and looked away, taking a drink of her water and trying to keep from thinking about the trial she was about to start.

"Hey."

Turning back, she was surprised to find him standing a few feet away. "Hey."

"You okay?" he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets, his eyes flickering to Rose once more.

"No," she replied, drawing his attention back to her. "You called them, didn't you? Peter and Charlotte, I mean. You called them and told them to come here."

Emmett hesitated before nodding.

"Why?"

Sighing, Emmett dragged one of his hands through his hair, his eyes flickering to where Edward stood with Jasper. "Because he's going to need them, and they need to be here for him." Emmett shifted his attention back to her. "Edward and I were never close. I lived with my mom, only seeing him when I spent summer and holidays with my dad. It was hard for him. His real dad checked out long before our parents got together, and he was lonely, I think. I had a whole other life away from him, but he was stuck there with them. And they love him, Bella, they do, but they're selfish and never put him first. Neither did I," he confessed, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. "When Carlisle sent me your file, when I came here and met you, saw Edward, I . . . I don't know. I guess, I was surprised."

"Why? You knew was played for PV, didn't you?"

Emmett shoved his hands back in his pocket. "I wasn't surprised to see him here in Hawaii."

"Then what surprised you?" she asked.

"You," he said. "The way he looked at you."

"What do you mean?"

Emmett smiled. "He needs you, Bella. Needs you more than he's ever needed anything. And I knew I had to help you. I have to . . . I have to save you, because my brother needs you."

Bella bit the inside of her lip, trying to keep her tears from falling. "He needs you, too. You know that, don't you?"

Emmett nodded. "I wish I could promise you that everything was going to be okay, Bella, but I can't. The trial may not work, and if it doesn't, Edward won't survive losing you."

"I know," she whispered, looking over at her husband, finding him staring at her with an intensity that scared her. Blowing out a deep breath, Bella looked back at Emmett. "That's why it has to work."

—BDBH—

"Holy shit, Swan, I thought I was going to be late," Alice laughed, falling into the sand next to Bella just as she took an amazing picture of Rose serving her fifth ace of the game.

Kate and Angela had battled back in the second set and beat Rose and Tanya 26-24, and they were fighting hard in the third. The score was tied at 28. Neither team were showing any signs of slowing down, either. Bella had never seen two women's team play with so much passion.

"Fuck, Peanut," Bella snarled. "That was the perfect shot!"

"I'm sure you got it," Alice laughed, tossing a cold water bottle next to her. "You need to drink. It's hotter than a bitch out here, and you do not need to get dehydrated."

Since the match was on a break, she didn't argue and opened the water, draining half of it in one gulp. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"So, did you get everything put together for tonight?"

"Duh," Alice teased. "Don't worry, Swan."

Bella smiled and looked back as Rose and Tanya entered one side of the pit and Kate and Angela set on the other. All four women were drenched with sweat, their bodies covered with sand. Angela spun the ball in the palm of her hand before throwing into the air, jumping a solid three feet, and sending it flying over the net. Rose dove under it, sending it flying into the air. Tanya came under the ball, setting Rose up, who jumped so high she was halfway over the net, and sent the ball down just inches away from Kate's hands.

"Goddamn," Alice murmured. "If I were into girls, Swan, I'd be so turned on right now."

"Me too," Bella snickered, bringing her camera up as Tanya carried the ball to the back corner of the court. "Keep watching, Peanut, this is going to be good."

And it was. Bella could see the look in Tanya's eyes, the determination, the power as she blew out a deep breath, threw the ball into the air and sent it flying over the net. Kate returned the serve, trying to hit the opposite corner, but Tanya was ready. She hit the ball back to them. Angela was under it, setting Kate up for the perfect spike.

However, Rose blocked it, sending it back to Angela, who dove into the sand, making an amazing save. Kate set her up for the spike this time, but once again, Rose was ready. And this time, when she sent the ball back at them, it hit the ground with so much force, sand flew several feet into the air.

The crowd erupted as Rose and Tanya jumped into each other's arms, screaming and crying over their victory. Kate and Angela hugged, their hearts clearly broken. Rose and Tanya broke apart and hurried over to Kate and Angela, wrapping them in their arms. As Bella took their picture, seeing the four women celebrating one of the most amazing matches she had ever seen, she found herself feeling emotional. They'd battled and won. Maybe — just maybe — she would too.

Thank you for all the reviews. I know the updates are slow, but things in real life are crazy.