A/N: Not the most action packed chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. I'll try to get the next chapter up faster.


CHAPTER 17:

On my way to change, I peered into Edward's room. His stature was completely relaxed. I was pleased that the pain meds had kicked in.

"Bella." He spoke as his eyelids fluttered again.

"Edward, you're supposed to be asleep." Sliding his legs over to the other side of the bed, he winced. I sat in the now empty space.

"I don't want to sleep." His voice became husky with pain.

"Shhh." Like the night before, my hand went up to untangle his hair. Immediately, he relaxed into my touch. "I'll be here when you wake up, but you need to sleep." His head nodded.

Putting on jeans and a sweatshirt, I came back to sit in the little room. After a few hours he woke up again. He seemed confused until our eyes met, then he glanced down to the sheets and remembered where he was.

"Do I get to leave soon?"

"Edward. You got shot. You're going to be in here for a little while longer."


Four days. Four whole days of him glancing at the door as if he would suddenly be able to walk himself out. I began to wonder if he had some past trauma with the hospital; each time he woke up, before he noticed me beside him, his heart would jump, and he looked like he had to escape.

"Bella, I've been here for ages. When can I leave?" The question broke my heart as much as it did the first time he asked. The room began to feel claustrophobic after a while.

"I'm not sure." His eyes played with my sensibility, but I wasn't going to risk his health. "I'll be right back." The skin on my neck tingled as his gaze followed me. "I'm getting the nurse," I clarified. Looking back one last time before leaving the room, I noticed the color in his face that had finally returned. I smiled a bit which was returned with a hesitant grin back.

Walking quickly in the hallway, I arrived at the nurses station. A woman leaned against the counter entranced in the conversation she was having with the person on the other side. Her eyes flashed to me; a fake practice smile grew on her lips.

"Yes?"

"Hi, um. I was just wondering when Edward Cullen, the patient in room 406, gets to leave. Like in a few hours? Day?" Biting my lip, I tilted my head down. I utterly hated having to ask for help.

Immediately, she started walking. It took me a few seconds to realize she left, and I had to jog a little to catch up. Before opening his door, she peered in. Her eyes lit up in a manner that rubbed me the wrong way. Silence filled the room as she eyed him up and down.

"Well Mr. Cullen," her words slowed at his name, "it seems that you are free to go after a doctor comes by. I'll go find someone." Something is off about her. Eager...she's way too eager. Edward's eyes were solely on me as she talked.

"Are you sure you're ready to go home?" I muttered as the door clicked shut.

"I'm fine."

"I know that's a lie, but because I trust you, I'll allow it." I sat back down in the uncomfortable chair and listened to the clock tick by.

Exactly 3 minutes and 45 seconds later, a man walked in the room. The nurse from earlier followed him in. Why is she here?

"Hello Mr. Cullen, I'm Dr. Landall. The last couple days have been pretty rough. How do you feel?"

"Fine sir." He plastered on a smile in an attempt to leave faster.

"Well," he flipped through the chart and looked over Edward's demeanor, "I think you should be ready to go, but you have to take pain meds every couple hours and change the dressing on the wound."

"I think I can manage that." Turning away, the doctor took big strides out the door. The ambitious nurse still stood in the doorway. I could see her trying to decide if she could ask for his number without losing her job. A stroke of jealousy washed through me. Although I had no claim on Edward, I didn't want to put him in the awkward position of turning her down. And I knew he would turn her down, because the whole situation was unprofessional.

I intertwined our fingers, but she still wasn't getting the hint. Multiple minutes passed and Edward's expression got more confused by the second. He clearly didn't understand why she was still here.

He cleared his voice, "So…um. I can leave?"

"Yeah," she had a very chipper voice.

He looked down at his arm, which still had an IV on it. "What about this?" He pulled the IV up to show her. Knowing that she was about to pull it out, I turned away. Once I was certain the IV was removed, I faced Edward, the female nurse still ogling at him.

"Bella, what do I wear out of here?"

The thought hadn't crossed my mind yet. But thankfully when Alice had the time to visit she brought a backpack full of clothes for him. "Alice brought a bag for you."

"Where is he?" Her voice echoed down the hallway; the tone was very hard to ignore. I didn't doubt that multiple pairs of eyes were on her.

Stepping out of the room, I watched her recognize me and then begin to sprint. A moment later, her arms wrapped around my waste. Her eyelashes were stuck together with tears. "Hey Ali."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"From what I know he probably will be. He should be coming out of anesthesia soon." My eyes leaked like hers. I felt my will to stand up properly slowly fade from my body. It was my fault. I couldn't see Alice through the tears, but I felt her move away from me. A different pair of hands laid on my shoulder. Emmett.

"Bells, you wanna come and sit down with me and Rose?" I nodded in response and dragged Ali with me.

Once my breathing had evened and I could bear to look his sister in the eye, I knew I had to apologize. "Alice I'm so, so, so sorry. I should have been there. I let other things come before our work and him." Her fingers combed through my hair. "It won't happen again."

"Bella. It's not your fault. How could it be?" She went in for another hug. "But you have to catch the asshole. Okay?" I nodded before sleep slowly overtook me.

I awoke alone with a familiar duffel bag beside me.

I handed the bag to him. We both stared at each other politely waiting for the nurse to leave. He shifted awkwardly in the bed. When it became evident that I'd have to show her that we needed to leave, I got up with a sigh and opened the door. Before I could escape the room, her body slid in my way. Done with the pretense, I practically shoved her out of the way. My god, the nerve of some people. He was dying a few days ago. Leave us alone.

Once the door clicked shut, we turned to glare at each other. I still couldn't understand why she hadn't left yet. Wasn't he free to go? The lull of conversation bored me so I decided to get a good look at her. Manicured nails. Dyed red hair. Was a natural brunette. Green eyes––not like Edward's though. Her eyes lacked depth. Considering I had been making forced eye contact, she found it necessary to start a conversation.

"So how do you know Edward?"

The urge to roll my eyes was so strong, but I resisted and replied, "We work together." She smiled.

"So what does Eddy do for a living?" Oh how I love to be left out of the question.

"He's in the FBI."

"Oh," her eyes held a newer spark to them. Sighing, I heard a knock on the door.

"Edward?"

"Bella, can you come back?" His voice was muffled.

"Yeah," I rushed back into the room, closing the door to block out the nuisance.

He bit his lip, "I know this is awkward, but I need a little help."

"Ohh…okay." He already had his pants on and shirt on. Helping him put on his shoes, every time I put the heel on, he winced. He bent down to tie them, but stopped suddenly. It hurt me to see him struggle like this.

"Are you okay? Do you need to take a break?"

"I'm fine Bella." His voice was hard and cold. I would have to remember to thank Alice for the clothes. She was always so prepared, she even had brought crutches. Straightening out his shirt,

"Okay, can we leave now." The defeat rang in his tone.

"Yes, but I think they'll make me wheel you out." With wide innocent eyes, he looked up at me, silently pleading to not be wheeled out. "Edward, come on, it's policy." He stared up at me again and sympathy got me this time. "Fine, we'll try to get you out without them, but if that damn nurse comes and makes you sit in the wheelchair, it's not my fault." I handed him the crutches and his crooked smile grew.

We walked out the door, well, he hopped out the door. I had already signed all the necessary papers, all we had to do was leave now, but that damn nurse made it impossible. We had barely passed the threshold, when she magically reappeared.

Going up on my toes, I whispered to Edward, "I'm going to do something a little abnormal, but just know that it's because I am tired of this nurse." At first he stared at me with confusion, but then he nodded.

"Aw Edward, once we get you home I'll make your favorite. Does that sound good?" My voice pitched higher as I rubbed his back; she paled.

"You need to be in a wheelchair." Ms. Chipper had lost her positivity.

"Okay," he sighed and sat into the chair.


I opened the door to our apartment. The lovely smell of home hit me as I held the door for him. As he hobbled to the couch, I diverted my eyes, because every second he showed pain hurt me as well.

"Edward, what do you want for dinner?"

"Anything is fine."

I pulled out some frozen chicken to thaw. While the warm water worked on removing the ice, my phone buzzed in my back pocket.

"Swan." Hoping off the couch, I gave Edward a quick smile before stepping out into the hallway.

"Bella, I know you don't want to hear this."

"What now Em?"

"You've got to come back to work." I kept cracking my finger joints out of a nervous habit.

"We asked for leave. We have enough money for the moment."

"That's not what I mean Bella. God, even if you didn't we would chip in."

"Then what?" I huffed out a breath, but it didn't help my nerves.

"You'll beat yourself up about it if you stay there all day every day."

"I'll be fine." My back pressed against the opposite wall from the door.

"No, you'll go crazy. I know you Bella. Or at least enough to know every time you look at his state your head screams that you caused it somehow. Your guilt will eat you alive if you don't distract yourself."

"Okay. Hypothetically if you were right, what should I do?"

"Come work with me."

Slightly stunned by the question, I took a deep breath before speaking. "Emmet, I have no expertise in what you do…at all."

"You won't need to do much. Just help us with our research."

"Fine."

"See that wasn't too bad. I'll see you at 2 in the office."

Edward's face conveniently popped into my head. I can't leave him alone. "What about Edward?"

"He has a sister right?"

"Yeah."

"We'll drive him there, we've got work to do."

"EM THAT'S A LOT EASIER SAID THAN DONE." Ali is going to go mad by the end of this.

He chuckled through the phone and then ended the call.

"Hey Bella, what's up?" Ali's sweet voice brightened my spirits a little.

"I have a huge favor to ask."

"Okay shoot."

"Can you come over and look after him? Emmett needs me at headquarters."

"No problemo. I'll be there in like fifteen minutes, but beware I was in the middle of a project I have to complete. So if there's glitter everywhere, don't be surprised."

"Another gala?"

"Yeah. The company seems to like the last one that I organized."

"Well, I would say so." Her last banquet brought in 10 million dollars after being named the hottest party of the year, which I couldn't disagree on.

After a short goodbye, I was left alone in the hallway. As I stepped inside, the room began to suffocate me. His rough breaths from the couch filled the room. Even while sleeping he wasn't peaceful. This is going to eat you alive. Emmett was right.

With my keys in hand, I almost woke him before deciding that his sleep was more important. A short note would do.

I'll be back in a few hours. Emmett said I was needed for one of his cases. I hope you don't mind.


My mind had been conveniently filled all day…with the building layouts. It wasn't interesting, but it was something. Reaching down to my phone, I realized that I had accidentally turned it on silent. Five missed calls—my heart jumped.

Dialing, it only took three seconds before the other person picked up. "Edward?"

"Bella, thank god I was so worried. Where are you?"

"Alice was here for like ten minutes and then had some emergency to tend to."

"You're alone?"

"Yes, and where are you?"

"Oh my god, I never meant for you to be alone. I'm coming home. I was at the office helping Emmett's crew." His sigh of relief was evident through the call.

I shot Emmett a quick text and printed out all of the evidence I complied.

His sister had to go and I won't leave him alone. He can barely walk around. All the papers are still on the printer. Sorry. -B

My phone vibrated in my pocket as I slid into the car's seat.

"Swan." My shoulder held the device to my ear as I pulled into traffic.

"Bella, you don't have to come home."

"Yes I do. What if you need something?"

"Then I can get it; I'm not helpless."

"I'm coming anyway. I'll be there in five minutes regardless."

"Turn around."

"No."

"Please." I hated that word with all of my being. Because I knew if he said it again, I would probably do it.

"Edward. I'm trying to be nice, but please shut up. I'm coming home. You can't change that." 2 minutes away.

And then I was in front of the apartment door, trying my best to not break the lock as I entered.

"Where the heck did Alice go?" I yelled as I half-jogged towards him.

"I have no clue when I woke up she was babbling about some project and glitter and then she left." I took a deep breath and reminded myself that he was fine-ish and that next time I'll try to get Rose to come over. On second thought, they might've killed each other by the time I come home. Just one more thing on my to-do list—call Ali.

"Why'd you leave?" The window became a needed distraction from his relentless stare.

"I had to help Emmett out."

"No, you chose to help Emmett out." That felt like a punch to the gut.

"And would you have had me turn him down?"

"I'm wondering why he asked in the first place. Emmett always has everything under control; he barely even needs the team he has."

"It doesn't matter okay?" The "okay" cracked in my throat so I coughed to cover it up.

"Are you bored of me or something?"

My biggest slip-up at the moment was deciding to look at him: his expression pulled on my tear ducts. The salty water coated my vision in a blurry film, before I had the right mind to turn around. He can't see me like this. My mind drove up an undesired memory, pulling me even farther into grief. I found difficulty controlling the sobs.

I knew that I owed him an explanation, but I couldn't not right now.

"Bella?"

"I need a couple minutes." Numbness crawled through my legs as I entered my room. Laying on the bed, I let the sun's rays heat up my skin until it was scorching.

"Bella," based on his voice, he had to have been pressed up against the door.

"I won't ever get bored of you Edward. I just…I can't see you hurt like this."

"Come out here." That would defeat the purpose. "Please."

And somehow, my body turned against my mind and brought me to him. The knob turned slowly beneath my grasp until the door opened about an inch. I pulled it open more to reveal his pall face—too much blood loss.

"Hey, hey. None of this is your doing." He struggled to get the crutches into a position where he could hold me closer. I took the hint and came on my own accord, wrapping my hands around his waist and taking on some of his weight.

"It might not have been my doing, but I could have prevented it."

"Maybe, or maybe you would have ended up dead in the cross-fire. I think that what happened happened. You should let it go; you can't change it no matter how badly you want to." His voice echoed in my head: You should let it go; you can't change it no matter how badly you want to.

"You're right."

"I always am," he said with a smile as he pulled away.

"Hungry?"

"Always."

And then we fell into this alternate domestic rhythm. Alice and I (after I had called and she had apologized profusely) had divided up driving him to physical therapy. Five weeks of minor cases alone and a brief partnership with Emmett had allowed Edward to recover enough to walk on his own without crutches.

Somehow, Jacob got pushed on the back burner. I called him most days and promised a date once a week, but beside those two things, my mind had been devoid of Jacob Black. As time passed and Edward was almost cleared for work, Jacob became overly desperate—calling every couple hours.


A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading. I hoped you enjoyed it. Please review :)