A/N: Look, a new chapter! Yay!
Thanks to Fran, my beta, who was clearly needed because after two months of not writing a single thing I seem to have forgotten how to end sentences without the presence of a preposition. And to my prereader SarcasticBimbo.
Bella sat at her desk and stared at the stark gray cardboard walls that separated her cubicle from the others. Her coworkers had pictures of their families and friends decorating their walls, but Bella didn't dare put anything of the sort on hers. There were too many risks associated with putting pictures of her husband and daughter out on public display. Too many families trying to get their hands on their daughter. Those families had the power to influence even the most dutiful FBI agents. Instead, she proudly posted a picture of a flower that Addy had 'colored' and a photo of her with Seth.
She shifted in her chair and glanced towards her monitor that had now gone dark. Bella picked at the edge of her desk; she could feel herself becoming stir crazy. She needed to get out of the office, but her new job came with a different set of responsibilities. In the past she would get to her paperwork whenever, and as long it was done done before court dates, no one said anything. With the FBI, reports were expected to be done as soon as possible and you were reprimanded if they were late. She had closed all of her cases except for the current string of murders, but she had already completed the report on that. Bella shut her eyes and pressed her forehead against the cool surface of her desk.
O…O
"What else could you possibly have to tell me? You already decided to marry me right before we nearly died. Then, you said you loved me before I almost shot you in the head. Is there anything else at this point?"
"Just one more thing," Bella nodded. "Unfortunately, I'm carrying your child." She shrugged and looked away.
"W-what?" Edward gripped her chin to turn her head back towards him.
"I said I am carrying your demon spawn inside of me."
"How long have you known?"
"Don't be mad." Bella replied quietly and stepped back.
"Why would I be mad, Isabella?" Edward clenched his jaw and worked it back and forth a few times.
"We should talk about this at a later time. When we aren't surrounded by so much death." She motioned to the man's body that lay just a few feet away.
"No, we'll discuss this right now." He stepped closer to her, but Bella kept stepping backward towards the staircase.
"Edward I-."
"How long have you known?" Edward yelled and Bella watched the vein in his neck start to pulsate.
"Don't you fucking yell at me Edward Masen! I will take you down, baby or no baby. I -," She wrapped her arms around herself and winced.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." There was no way in hell she was going to tell him she had been kicked repeatedly earlier in the night.
"What is it?" Edward advanced on her before she could pull back and jerked her arm away, lifting the side of her shirt. "What the fuck happened?"
Her skin had turned a dark shade of red with purple dotting throughout and it was slightly swollen.
"Edward? Bella? Emmett?" Esme yelled out. They could hear her shoes frantically moving over the floor. "Are you guys up there?" She sounded worried.
"Edward and I are up here." Bella called out and slid from beneath Edward's arms to jog down the stairs.
"You two have got to leave; now." Esme pulled on Bella's arm, leading her down to the first floor. "The police are on the way."
Bella opened the front door and could see the lights of the police cruiser bouncing off the houses in the distance. The sun was starting to rise above the rooftops, bathing The Mile in a yellow glow.
"They're here." She turned and closed the door behind her.
"Edward you know the way out through the back."
He nodded and gripped her wrist, pulling her through the house.
"Edward…"
"Just don't. Not right now."
O…O
"Isabella Masen?"
She turned in her chair towards the opening of her cubicle where a man in a green uniform stood, a vase of flowers blocking his face.
"Yes?"
"Delivery for you."
She nodded and motioned for him to place them on the edge of her desk. The guy carefully placed it where she had indicated and turned to leave. The purple flowers stood high in the cheap looking vase and Bella could feel the confusion on her face.
"Swan? Who got you flowers? That husband of yours?"
Bella shook her head.
"No, Matthews, if Edward had bought me flowers you can be certain they would be a lot more extravagant. I don't even know what this is. He sends roses and lilies." She glanced at the man leaning over the thin wall that separated their desks. Bella lifted one of them and let it drop back down into the vase when she noticed the card.
"It looks like Salvia. I've never seen anyone actually send it as a gift." He shrugged and Bella did too as she plucked the card from between two stalks. There were only two words written on the white card.
Remember when.
"Why wouldn't someone send these flowers?"
"They're just … an odd choice. They don't even grow around here and most of the time you only see them in gardens."
"Where do they grow?"
Matthews shook his head as he thought.
"The Midwest mostly, I think."
Bella glanced back at the vase.
"T-the Midwest?"
"Yeah, they used to pop up at my grandmother's place in Indiana."
"What about Illinois?"
"Yeah, you could grow them there."
She dropped the card onto her desk and sat down, quickly picking up her phone. Bella dialed the number for the florist and waited as it rang.
"Palace Florists."
"My name is Isabella Masen and you just had flowers delivered to me. I need to know who sent them."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but that information is confidential. I'm sure your beau wouldn't want me to divulge it anyway."
"My name is Special Agent Isabella Swan, I work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and I need you to tell me who they were sent from before I come down there and shut you down until I can secure a warrant."
She could hear rustling of papers in the background.
"Where were they sent?"
"The FBI headquarters."
"It says they were sent from an Edward Masen."
"How were they purchased?"
There was no way these flowers came from Edward. She tapped her pen impatiently on the desktop.
"Credit card, Visa, under the same name. I checked his ID."
Bella dropped the phone into the cradle effectively disconnecting the call. She picked it up again and dialed Edward's number.
"Masen."
"Did you send me flowers?"
"No…"
"Are you sure?"
"I think I would remember if I sent my wife flowers, Isabella."
"Someone's stolen your credit card." Bella sighed.
"That's impossible. What's going on?"
"Someone paid for flowers to be sent to me and used your card to make the transaction."
There were a few seconds of silence.
"All of mine are here."
"I'll look into it." She started to hang up the phone, but Edward's voice stopped her.
"Let me know what is going on later?"
"Yeah." Bella nodded her head.
"I love you."
She paused.
"I love you too, Edward." She hung up the phone again.
"Matthews?"
"Yeah?" He rolled around the corner of her wall in his chair.
"You're sure that's what this is? Salvia?" Bella fingered the tops of the flowers.
He shrugged.
"It's not as vibrant as my grandmother's, but it looks the same."
"Isn't that the stuff everyone was using to get high?"
"Yeah," He laughed. "I'm not sure why someone would send it to you."
"Me either." Bella touched the plant again before taking a breath. "Oh well, I'll figure it out later. I'm going to get some lunch for now."
O…O
Bella stood outside the restaurant as she tried to flag down a cab. Her eyes were watering and she had begun to scratch at her hands and arms. The yellow car came to a stop a few feet away from her and she pulled the door open, sliding across the cracked leather seat.
"Where to, ma'am?" The driver asked, looking at her in the rearview mirror. "Hey," His eyebrows drew together in concern. "Are you okay?"
Bella nodded and cleared her throat.
"Yeah, why?" She wiped at her eyes.
"You've got welts or something on your face."
She reached into her bag in search of a mirror, opening and closing her eyes slowly as her heart began to race. Bella shook her head and straightened her back, suddenly having difficulty breathing.
"I," Bella began to sweat, her body temperature rising. "I um … I need…" She gripped the edge of the seat, struggling to fill her lungs. "I need a d-d-doctor."
"Hold on, miss." The driver slammed on his gas, shooting out into traffic as he tried to navigate his way around the cars. "Just hold on, I can get us there in ten minutes."
She let her head fall back against the headrest, Addy and Edward's faces coming to mind as she closed her eyes. Bella could feel her body wanting to slip into unconsciousness, but she did everything in her power to stay awake. Her head rolled to the side, but she slowly lifted it back up and tried to watch the passing cars. Her eyes felt heavy and her throat was itching. Bella began to cough, taking labored breaths.
The driver glanced in the mirror, seeing the woman's face turn a sickly white color. Sweat was dripping from her hairline and her eyes were glassy and unfocused. The bright red welt that had started on her neck now extended over her jaw. He swerved to the left, narrowly missing an Impala's tail end and sent the woman crashing against the door.
"I'm sorry, ma'am."
"It's fine." Bella rasped and clenched her fists. She coughed and wiped at her forehead; her skin felt like it was on fire. She was struggling to breathe, her lungs barely filling as she started to wheeze.
Black spots appeared in her vision and Bella blinked against them.
O…O
Edward darted through the hospital, pushing aside anyone who happened to be in his path as he searched for the ER. He quickly ran to the desk, moving to the front of the line and tapped against the counter.
"Where is my wife?"
"Sir, you need to wait your turn."
"Tell me where my wife is!" His hand slammed against the plastic partition.
"Sir, you need to calm down before I call security."
"Call your goddamn security, I'd like to see them try. Now tell me where my wife is." Edward growled. The woman's eyes flickered from Edward's face to the phone.
"W-what's her name?"
"Isabella Masen. I received a call saying she was rushed here."
"She's in room 437, it's-"
Edward was already running down the hall before she could finish her sentence. His eyes darted from side to side, searching the numbers as they ascended. Edward's shoes slid against the linoleum as he quickly stopped in front of the correct door and shoved it open. There were two beds, one filled with a stranger and in the other he found his wife.
Bella was laying in the bed under a harsh light, her skin pale and covered with angry red marks. He picked up her hand and laced his finger through hers. His heart clenched at the coolness of her skin. Edward checked over her body, the fingers of his other hand searching for any sign of injury.
"Bella?" He whispered, pushing her hair off her forehead. She was connected to two separate IVs and an oxygen mask.
"Mr. Masen?"
Edward turned quickly, seeing a woman in a white coat standing behind him.
"Yes?"
"Hi, I'm Doctor Daniels," She held her hand out. "I treated your wife when she was admitted."
Edward shook her hand. "How did she get here?"
"A cab driver dropped her off at the ER."
"What happened? What are these red spots?" Edward cursed wondering where the guards had been.
"They're hives, probably from the allergic reaction she had. Do you know her allergies?"
His mind went blank as he looked back at Bella. She had never told him of any allergies.
"I, uh, I don't know what they are."
"Oh, are you newlyweds?" Doctor Daniels smiled and Edward's stomach dropped.
No, he thought, she just never thought to mention them.
He gave a noncommittal answer.
"We're running a test to see what her body reacted to, but so far nothing has come back. We gave her an epinephrine shot, she was also dehydrated so we've hooked her up to some fluids."
His fingers squeezed Bella's and he nodded, thanking the doctor.
"Edward…" Bella's eyes fluttered as she struggled to open them. She felt so tired and her body felt as if she had been in a fight.
"Bella?" He kissed her fingers, leaning over the bed. "Bella, can you hear me?"
"Yes, Edward, just quiet your voice." She groaned. "What the hell happened?"
"The doctor said you had an allergic reaction. Bella, what in the world are you allergic to?"
Bella's brow furrowed as she tried to remember coming to the hospital.
"I … I don't have any." She opened her eyes, looking up at Edward.
"Clearly you do, you're in the hospital."
Memories started to come back to her, images of flowers being delivered.
"The flowers."
"What flowers? The flowers you called about?"
Bella nodded and sighed, clenching her fingers around Edward's hand.
"You have an allergy to them?"
O…O
"Bells!" Jacob Black yelled, running up to her. In the five years that had passed since seeing him, he had certainly filled out.
"Hey, Jake." Bella smiled, trying to remember why she agreed to meet him for dinner. He had flowers gripped in his large hand.
"I got these for you." He holds them out, the tissue paper crumpled around the stalks.
"Thanks," She took them from him, running her fingers over the purple petals. "I really just thought we could get some something from the food trucks downtown."
Jake's face fell, but he quickly recovered.
"Uh, yeah. That sounds great." He led her towards the illuminated part of town where food trucks parked on Friday nights.
Bella awkwardly stood at the small window ordering her food while Jake stood too close for comfort next to her. She moved to pay, but he quickly thrust his cash at the man taking her order.
"Thanks…" She preoccupied herself with looking at the pathetic excuse for flowers. She wasn't high maintenance or one of those girls who expected some glorious bouquet of red roses on a date, but at this point he should have just not bothered.
"Do you want to sit down?"
"Yeah," Bella took her food. "Let's sit by the fountain." She began eating the second they sat down, trying to fill the awkward silence by talking about her tacos and how they were the best in the city. It wasn't long before Bella started to sweat, and her arms began to itch. "Jacob," She cleared her throat.
"Bells, is something wrong?"
"I don't feel well." Her eyes were watering.
"You're breaking out." His hand came to rest on her forehead. "You're burning up, Bella. We should get you to the hospital!"
O…O
"Jacob." Her eyes flickered up towards her husband.
"What? Jacob? Jacob Black?" Edward asked.
"They weren't," Bella gasped, her lungs struggling for breath. "They weren't Salvia."
"Bella, what are you talking about? Salvia? Jacob? What is going on?"
"He's not dead."
A/N: Well, who saw that coming? A few of you might have when BL was originally posted.
Y'all should join the Thugward Facebook page if you haven't already.
Also, I'm writing an entry for the May to December Contest which you should also check out. Postings begin on December 26th!
