A Naoi Déag (19)

A/N: So, my birthday is tomorrow, and I will be offline this weekend so I figured I will just post now. Thanks to everyone who continues to read and rec. Those who don't like warnings look away now. This chapter comes with a tissue warning I have been told, and I did cry writing it, so there you go. Thanks as always to my lovely pre-readers and my beta, y'all know who they are. Enjoy the weekend and this chapter.

Aside from being generally amazing with getting the office up and running, Rose got the word out about my practice. We were booked solid for the next month and still had people calling in. Everything flowed perfectly. Even though Alice didn't have a lot of work experience, she was fair and knowledgeable with the nurses that she oversaw and worked with. She was my right hand at the office, and we worked together seamlessly. Rose got things taken care of the minute they came across her desk or brought to her attention. When I had a problem with an equipment technician dicking me around, one call from Carlisle later, I got a sincere apology and my work orders were all expedited. I was actually supposed to call him, so once I got some time, I slipped into an empty exam room to do so.

"Bella, dear, how are things going?" His voice was friendly and calm. He and I were starting to become closer as of late. In good conscience, he decided to take over the clinic start-up from Edward, due to our changing relationship. Eleazar also helped if Carlisle wasn't available.

"Hey, Carlisle. Geez what did you tell that poor man?" I asked, chuckling.

"I just used my powers of persuasion," he said, his voice the picture of innocence. He chuckled quietly when I said nothing. "Well, maybe I did a more aggressive form of persuasion. I gathered it worked?"

"Yeah, all the stuff that has been fritzing out has been replaced, or they are having technicians come by tomorrow to figure out why new equipment is having issues."

"Well, I'm glad that you called me instead of continuing to deal with that man's attitude. I know you're perfectly capable, but you and I both know women are not always treated fairly."

I scoffed and nodded. "Yes, I know. Thank you for your assistance with everything, Carlisle."

"It's my pleasure, Bella. It was actually quite fun. How is everything else going?"

"Amazing. Your daughter is a force to be reckoned with, and I think Rose made a kid cry yesterday; he was kind of being a brat."

Carlisle full on laughed, and it was just as beautiful as his son's laugh. "I'm glad that you decided to bring both of them on board."

"Never a dull moment." The earbud in my free ear crackled.

"Bella, your boyfriend is here, something about lunch or some other charming shit. He has had two women swoon so far, and he's only been here five minutes. Come save your patients." Rose joked.

I pressed the microphone on the clip attached to my shirt. "I'll be right out, Ro, but let him in the break room if he is making women pass out for god's sake." She laughed and I knew I wasn't going to get a response from her. "Carlisle, I gotta go. Your other child is here and is making women swoon."

"Okay, I'm glad things are going so well, Bella. Will we see you and Edward tonight at dinner?"

"Yes, sir."

We both chuckled and said our farewells. I hung up with him and headed to the break room to see Edward. He smiled when he saw me, and I flung my arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. He wrapped his arms around my back and pulled me into him. "Hey, agra."

"Hey yourself, dathúil."

"I brought you lunch. Sorry it's not something more elegant, but I figured you might not have much time to eat."

"Oh, that's so sweet, Edward." I looked at the table and noticed the Subway bag. "This is actually perfect. Turkey?"

"With bacon and toasted."

I opened the bag and pulled out the sandwich. I sat down and gestured for him to sit with me. "You're a prince among thugs. Thank you so much for this." I took a bite of the sandwich and gave him the other half of the footlong he had gotten me. We talked while we ate about how our day had been going. Today he was wearing his glasses. He usually wore contacts, but some days he just wanted to give his eyes a rest or he didn't have a lot of time to get ready. Today he didn't have time; I'm not ashamed to say I kept him up pretty late last night and woke him up early this morning before I left.

After my revelation a couple weeks ago, Edward and I still hadn't said the L word to each other, but it didn't bother me. We were both people that weren't looking for love, but somehow it had shown up in the people we least expected it from. In any other circumstances, Edward and I were two people that probably would have never found each other, but we ended up being exactly what the other person needed and never knew to ask for. We said that we loved each other in so many different ways that didn't require words, and that meant more to me than actually hearing the words.

I wiped his mouth with a napkin and then kissed him. We still were insatiable for each other, and even though we were at my place of work, I still couldn't help kissing him. He finished our kiss with a kiss to my forehead and hugged me to his chest. His warmth always soothed me and gave me that much more strength to keep moving, even when I was tired, like I was today. "Thank you again for the lunch."

"You're welcome, Bells."

Edward didn't say my given name often, but most of the time it was Bells, and it warmed my heart. He knew the meaning behind it, and it always made me smile. "I'll see you at home?"

"Yeah, then we'll head to my parents'."

I nodded. After one more kiss from him, he left and I headed back out to the front to see what we had been going on. From that moment, until we closed at five, it was a chaotic whirl of patients and charting. Rose locked the doors and cheered loudly after the last patient left for the day. I laughed and finished my last chart, putting the new patient paperwork on the stack on the desk to be filed in the morning. She looked at me with her eyebrows arched and I snorted. "You don't even file the paperwork, Ro."

"Yeah, but Amber does. She's good people, Bellsy. She hasn't gotten my coffee order wrong this entire week."

"We've only been open a week."

"See, so she is on a streak."

I shook my head and we all got everything shut down and ready for us to be closed over the weekend. We walked to the parking lot together where Alice and I waved to Rose as we got into the SUV that Edward insisted I drive since my car died. I was pretty sure he had pushed it over the edge, but I had no proof.

I noticed that I had a missed call, and when I opened my phone to check, it started ringing again. It was Emmett, which was weird because he usually didn't call me directly. "Hey, Em. What's up?"

"Bella, I need you to meet us at your surgical site."

"What happened?"

"There was an emergency." Suddenly the pieces clicked into place and ice filled my veins. "Emmett, where is Edward?"

"Bella, I just need you to hurry."

"Tell me where he is," I said through clenched teeth.

"He's fine. It's not him. I need you to hurry."

I sighed in relief, letting the panic go momentarily. "I'm leaving the clinic, so I'm close. I'll probably be there before you." I hung up and cranked the ignition and slammed on the gas.

Alice looked over at me and knew something was wrong. "What's going on?"

"Emmett said there was an emergency. He didn't specify who or what; all I know is it's not him or Edward, but he sounded worried."

Alice nodded, and when we arrived, we had indeed beat them there. Alice and I got as much prep done as we could for whatever surgery we may need to perform. When Emmett came in carrying whoever our patient was, my heart fluttered in anxiety. He and Edward were covered in superficial scratches and had soot marks on their faces. Emmett laid our patient down, and I realized with horror that it was Carlisle.

I opened the door to the hallway and saw Eric and Angela, two nurses who had helped take care of Dem walk by. "One of you needs to scrub in for this surgery, NOW!" I yelled without a backward glance or hesitation. "What happened? Quickly," I asked Edward and Emmett as I assessed Carlisle and took his vitals. Alice looked like she was in shock. Emmett told me that there was some sort of explosion, probably a car bomb. Carlisle was the only one closest to the car when it went off. Edward and Emmett were farther away because they were joking around and goofing off. Edward looked wrecked. As much as I wanted to comfort him, it was taking everything in me to keep it together, so I just turned where I couldn't see him.

There was debris and shrapnel, and that worried me more than any of the cuts he had. I grabbed a pair of scissors and started cutting his clothes off. Eric came in ready to assist. "Emmett, get Alice out of here."

This seemed to shake her out of her trance. "No, I got this, Bella."

I handed the scissors to Eric and nodded to Irina to start all the pre-op anesthesia prep that she always did for Alice and me. I pulled Alice aside. "No, Alice, this is your dad. I'm having a hard enough time keeping my composure. You are emotionally compromised; you can't be in on this surgery. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you're damn right that's my dad. That's why I need to be here." She hissed. She looked angry and sad, convincing me that I was making the right call. She wasn't being objective.

"Alice, I don't have the time to argue. You know I'm right."

She looked like she was going to argue more, but when Emmett's hand fell on her shoulder, she shut her mouth and let him pull her away. Edward followed them without a backwards glance to me. I walked back and scrubbed in for what was sure to be the hardest surgery of my career.

~IDDM~

I ripped off my gloves, surgical gown, and face mask as soon as I exited the operating room. Carlisle was stable. We repaired all the internal damage and had dug out every piece of shrapnel we could identify. There were bruises and swelling everywhere, but when looking at the monitors, I noticed the activity in his brain wasn't normal. Acting quickly, I got Eric to arrange a CT scan, and during that we discovered that Carlisle had Cerebral Edema, otherwise known as swelling on the brain.

It was significant enough that we had to put him in a medically induced coma. I knew I did everything I could, but it still didn't feel like enough. Best case scenario was we weaned him off the meds and he woke up by himself. Worst case scenarios were that he never woke up or the swelling got worse.

"Fuck!" I yelled and chucked a box of gloves across the room. I wasn't able to keep it in any longer, and I bent over at the waist and let the tears and anger seep from my carefully crafted walls. Aside from the fact that I cared deeply for Carlisle—he was starting to become a second father figure to me—he was also the head of the entire family. He was the father of the man I loved. He was father to my close friend, Alice, and husband to Esme, who I had come to see as a pseudo mother.

I was crouched down, against the wall, trying to get the crying under control when I felt a small hand touch my shoulder and a packet of tissues was handed to me. I looked up to see Alice, and she gave me a sad smile. "Eric gave us all the update on Dad. He could see that you were seconds away from losing your shit."

I scoffed and nodded. I pulled the Kleenex out of the plastic wrapping. Alice sat down next to me on the floor, folding her legs up under her.

"Yeah, that was to date my hardest surgery. I kept thinking of all the conversations he and I had, and all I could think was I just talked to him just a couple hours ago and he was fine." I sobbed, unable to keep my emotions at bay. The dam had broken and I was wrecked.

"I was pissed at the time, but I'm glad that you kicked me out, Bella. You made the right call, and I realized that you don't have the luxury we all have. You're it, so regardless of whether or not it's hard for you because you are emotionally invested, you still have to put all that aside and do what needs to be done."

"It would be easier if I wasn't in love with your family. I did what I had to because I couldn't let him die, Ali. If that had been you or Edward, I wouldn't even be able to recall any shred of the knowledge I have to fix it. Jesus. How is Edward?"

"He's...being his charming self? Like the last few weeks and months never happened. You know what this all means, right, Bella?"

I shook my head, getting a sinking feeling because Edward acting like the last few months hadn't happened wasn't promising. Selfishly, I wondered where this put us. "No, what does it mean?"

"Edward is the boss now, and Jasper is the underboss," she explained, fear filling her voice and her face. "I thought I had time, that we all had more time." The fact that Alice was scared filled me with a sense of dread that I had never felt before. I looked at her with a twin look of terror on my face. She must have realized that she was freaking me out because she shook her head. "Bella, this doesn't change anything between you and Edward."

"Doesn't it? I can't...I just told you if that had been Edward, I wouldn't have been able to save him. You think that everything is gonna be fine for us and we're going to skip off into the sunset? If he's back to who he was months ago? Do you even know how much we fought, how much I couldn't stand to even be in the same room as him sometimes?" I stood up because instead of sitting here talking about this, I had to see for myself.

Alice and I walked out to the waiting room where Edward and Emmett were. Emmett was the first to stand, and he gave me a hug without hesitation. When he pulled away and asked me how I was, I just shook my head and he gave me a small smile. When Edward stood, I knew. The look on his face was devoid of any emotions. I knew that he was worried about his dad, and I knew that he had been hardwired not to show emotion; all I could hope was that when he and I were alone, it would be different. It always was. My hope wasn't completely gone, but it was slowly starting to deteriorate.

~IDDM~

Esme knew what was going on, and I assumed that Emmett or Edward had called her to let her know the update on Carlisle. When Carlisle had gotten injured, apparently no one thought to call his wife, so she didn't know until after he was already done with surgery. She was pissed at Edward, I could hear her on the phone and he apologized, but since we were already on the way home and there was no chance of Carlisle waking up tonight, he convinced her to stay home. In support of her, we were going to all stay the night. Rose met us at the house, and once she took one look at me, I could see in her eyes that she was concerned for me. I also noticed that she glared at Edward. Apparently she noticed what we all did about how Edward was acting. In the car, Edward had barely said two words to me, and he told Alice to sit in the back seat with me. They almost came to blows, so Emmett ended it and had me sit in front with him, as he was driving and Edward sat in back with Alice. The tension in the car had been so thick it felt stifling. The first thing that happened when we stepped inside the house was I was enveloped in a hug by Esme.

"Thank you so much, Bella. I know that couldn't have been easy, but I'm so glad that you were able to help him."

I didn't know what to say; I really didn't feel like the hero, so I thanked her and returned the hug. Rose and Alice went upstairs to make the guest bed, and I told Esme that I was going to take a shower. She nodded and I went upstairs to the bathroom. Seconds after I had closed the door, there was a soft knock and Edward entered the bathroom.

I just looked at him in the mirror as I brushed my hair out. He still said nothing and just stared at me intently. After moments of this stare down, I turned around and looked him straight in the eye. "What, Edward? You haven't wanted to be around me all evening, so you can't have come in here to watch me brush my hair."

"You know I have to take over for my dad right? As the boss." He looked like he couldn't even believe what he was saying. He looked scared for a moment, before it passed and he stood up tall, acting like he didn't have a care in the world.

I looked down and I nodded. "Yeah, Alice told me."

"Where does that leave us, Bella?"

I looked back up at him, and that emotionless mask just pissed me off and made my heart ache. "What do you mean? Are you seriously asking me this the night I had to keep your dad from dying? I know he is your dad; I know you care, so why are you acting like this? This isn't the Edward I know. You're acting like you don't care about me or anything at all."

"So, I should be worried about you while my dad is lying in a coma? One that you put him in." His voice was accusatory and angry.

I recoiled from that like I had been slapped in the face. The tears sprang to my eyes, and I couldn't even believe that he had even said that. "I had to put him in one, Edward." I hissed. "His brain was swelling from hitting his head. If I hadn't done that and it continued to swell, it would most certainly kill him."

I got up in his personal space, which I knew was stupid, but I couldn't help it. "I'm the doctor here, Edward, so don't question my decisions like you know shit about it. Tonight, was the hardest surgery I have ever had to perform, because I care about your dad, so yes you should be worried about me. I get it now though—I'm not a priority. It's nice to finally know where we stand."

I was about to start full on sobbing if I stayed in here. I knew that we were pushing each other, so I had to get out now. I just left the bathroom without the shower, stopping outside the door to compose myself and wipe away the tears that had started to fall. When I went to go find Rose in the guest bedroom, she was in there with Emmett too. "Do you guys have room for me on the floor tonight?"

"What's going on, Bella?" Rose asked, concerned.

"Can we not get into it right now, Rose? Not tonight. I just need to get some sleep."

"Have you even eaten?" Emmett asked.

"I'm fine."

"Bella, sleep in here on the bed with Rose. I'll take the couch downstairs." Emmett volunteered.

I didn't have the energy to argue, so I nodded. Emmett grabbed his stuff, gave Rose a hug and kiss, which I wasn't able to watch, then he left. I had changed into sweats after the surgery, so I was already dressed for bed. I lay down on the side of the bed that was vacated by Emmett, and Rose turned off the light.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Rose's voice drifted over to me.

"No, I don't. Honestly, I am on emotional overload right now, and I don't think I can even fully explain what I'm feeling. Maybe it will look better tomorrow morning."

I heard Rose whisper okay. I lay there, not able to turn off everything in my head. I got out of bed and wandered to the bathroom and took one of the sleeping pills I knew Edward kept here. I got back in bed, and before I drifted off, I heard the raised voices of Emmett and Edward, but I was already under before I could think on it more.

A/N: So, there you have it. How are we feeling? Let me know thoughts, feelings, concerns. Once again, have a lovely weekend and see you all next week!