A/N: Bet ya never thought you'd see me again. Here's to resurrecting a fic four years later and hoping everyone is still around!
Thanks to my beta BeLynda for fixing my ridiculous mistakes!
Please leave me a review and let me know what you think, I'll actually be finishing the story this time around.
White.
White.
White.
White walls. White sheets. White floors. White shoes. Red shoes. Red puddles. Red stains. White sheets with red stains. White hands with red stains.
Bella looked around the small waiting room, her hands shaking. She couldn't hear, only see. See the white sanitized spaces and her husband's blood marking all of it. The blood was rushing through her ears so quickly that it sounded like someone continuously trying to find a radio station in a dead zone. She could faintly make out a sound, a small sound. Could it be someone's voice?
Addy's voice.
It suddenly came in crystal clear – a station found in the desert.
"Mommy!" She cried. Bella's eyes snapped to where her daughter was sitting. She looked so frail, her clothing still bearing the sins of her father.
"W-What's wrong, baby?" Bella's voice was low, strained from not being used in a few hours.
"I want to see Daddy." Her big brown eyes were suddenly swimming in tears.
"I know, baby. The doctor will be done soon. Why don't you let Nonna take you home?" Bella looked towards Esme who hadn't left Addy's side.
"I don't want to leave." This was the same thing she had said the other four times they tried to get her to leave. When Bella had tried to force her to leave, Addy screamed so loudly she thought they'd call the cops for a possible kidnapping.
"I know, Addy, but I promise that when Daddy gets done talking to the doctor Nonna will bring you back right away. Okay? Can you please go, and you can watch as much TV as you want?"
Addy seemed to be weighing the options before finally conceding, turning towards Esme. Her grandmother smiled at her, pulling her into her arms, and standing up.
"We'll be at the safe house on the edge of the city." Esme quietly said to Bella.
Bella nodded, kissing Addy's head several times before watching them exit the hospital surrounded by guards –belonging to both Edward and Carlisle.
"Have you heard anything?" Carlisle walked over from the opposite side of the waiting room, placing his phone inside his jacket pocket.
"No." Bella shook her head, sitting back down in the seat she had occupied for several hours. She couldn't bring herself to even look at him. Carlisle was the reason her husband was fighting for his life. He had dragged his family, and now her family, into this darkness. Why did her dad befriend Carlisle? Why didn't her father turn him in when he had all the evidence. Then, maybe Edward wouldn't be on a surgeon's table right now.
"I saw it, Isabella." Carlisle's voice dropped several octaves, forcing Bella to listen closely. "When you yanked your shirt off to cover Edward's wounds, I saw what you were trying to hide under your tank top."
Bella's blood ran cold, and she felt her sweat begin to prick across her forehead.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Carlisle."
"The wire, Isabella. Did you really think it would be that simple to bring this family down?"
"You don't understand. That's not what I was trying to do."
"You're lucky to still be sitting here. I should've put a bullet in you when I saw it and blamed the sniper."
Bella's anger rose quickly, her head quickly turning towards him. She was out of the chair in a second, moving across the small aisle to grip the collar of Carlisle's expensive shirt.
"Listen to me, Carlisle. I am not afraid of you nor have I ever been. If you want to fucking threaten me go right ahead, but I will tell you that you better hope to God I'm dead when you try." Carlisle's eyes flashed with anger and his hand gripped her wrist, jerking it away from his shirt before glancing around. The receptionist had been watching them, but quickly diverted her gaze when he noticed her.
"You think," Carlisle was cut off by the doors swinging open.
"Mrs. Masen?" A doctor appeared, his scrubs were covered in blood. Bella felt her stomach drop through the floor at the sight of his tired and dark expression.
"He's dead." Bella's voice struggled to escape her tight throat.
"No, no, we were able to stabilize him. He's in the ICU for now. The bullets … they did some damage, but we're keeping a close eye on him."
Her head was swimming, she felt like she could breathe after a lifetime caught underwater.
"I need to see him."
The doctor nodded and started to motion towards the doors when Carlisle stopped them.
"No, I need to see him first." Carlisle spoke with authority. The doctor's eyes moved nervously between the two people.
"Well, it's family only … and she's his wife. Are you related to Mr. Masen?"
Carlisle was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't admit that he was, in fact, related to Edward.
"No, just a family friend."
The doctor nodded and led Bella through the doors, towards the ICU wing.
"If there's anything we can do, please let us know." He left her outside of his room and Bella took a deep breath before opening the door.
Edward laid in the bed, his chest slowly rising and falling in time with the tube strapped to his mouth. Bella's hands trembled as she reached out, brushing his copper hair away from his pale face. He looked frail – weak – a state she was not used to seeing.
"Edward…" She whispered, pressing her lips to his forehead as the tears fell. "Don't leave me, Edward. I can't do this without you." He was cool to the touch and he smelled of antiseptic, not his usual cologne. Bella sat on the edge of his bed, pressing her face against his chest and she cried, letting go of the stress and fear she had been holding onto for the entire day.
O…O
"I want ta go!" Addy yelled at Esme, her small hands fisting in anger at her sides.
"Addy, you heard your mommy. She'll call as soon as they know something." Esme had burned the clothes Addy had been wearing earlier, opting to change her into pajamas in hopes that she would be able to sleep. Her phone rang, cutting through Addy complaining.
"Hello?"
"Esme?" Carlisle's voice came through the phone and she felt herself tense.
"Is … is he okay?"
"Yes." Esme let out a sigh of relief, her body relaxing.
"What did the doctor say?"
"All I know is he's in the ICU and they've stabilized him."
"What do you mean? Why is that all you know?"
"He would only allow Isabella in the room."
"Well, she is his wife, Carlisle, whether you want to believe that or not."
"Esme, I'm not having this discussion with you again. I was just calling to check on everything."
"We're fine. The guards are posted at every door and the perimeter. I think there's even one on the roof."
"As there should be. I'll be home soon."
"I love you, Carlisle. Please be careful."
"I always come home, moya zvezdochka,"
O…O
It had been 28 hours since Edward had been brought to the hospital and Bella spent every possible minute with him. She was only allowed in his ICU room for short bursts of time, so she traveled between his room and the waiting room, but they had told her he'd be moving to a general recovery room shortly.
"Mrs. Masen?"
Bella's eyes opened and she rolled her head towards the door to his room.
"I brought you some sweats to change into." The young nurse held the sweats up.
"Thank you, Ella." She rolled off of Edward's bed, slowly placing her feet on the floor. Her body was sore from being curled in the small space left by Edward's body and laying on the uncomfortable vinyl couches in the waiting room.
"Is there anything else I can get for you?"
"No, thank you. This is more than enough." Bella slid into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She looked at herself in the mirror; her eyes had dark circles around them and her hair was in serious need of a brush. She pulled her bloody shirt off and tossed it onto the floor. The wire running across her abdomen was still securely held in place by the tape that had been applied two days prior.
Bella picked at the edge of one strip of tape, scratching it until it finally lifted off of her skin. She pinched it between her fingers and quickly pulled, ripping it off as she stifled a whimper of pain.
"Goddammit." Bella muttered, rubbing the red skin that had been beneath the adhesive. She took a deep breath and ripped off the second piece of tape, throwing them into the trash. Bella pulled the wire out of the recording device and pushed both pieces down to the bottom of the trash, hiding it under paper towels. She had to find Carlisle and get to him before Edward woke up. She quickly changed into the sweats and dropped her clothes off into a hazmat bag outside of the bathroom. Bella was about to leave the room for the night when a sound drew her attention. Turning back towards Edward's bed she caught a movement – his fingers twitching.
"Edward?" Bella quickly moved towards her husband. "Edward, can you hear me?"
His eyebrows furrowed, and Bella was suddenly thankful they had removed the ventilator and he only wore an oxygen mask. Edward's long eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks, and Bella could see his eyes moving beneath the lids.
"Edward … Open your eyes for me." She stroked his face, trying to keep her excitement at bay. His body relaxed back into the bed and his movements stopped, much to her dismay. Bella felt her face fall and the edges of her eyes began to burn. She leaned back, sitting firmly on the edge of the hospital bed, unable to stop the tears from falling faster than she could angrily swipe at them.
"Bel-la." A raspy, muffled voice came from behind her. Bella quickly turned, seeing Edward's green eyes looking up at her.
"Edward, oh my god, you're alive." She laid against his chest, hugging him tightly as he groaned. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," He took a deep breath, a hand coming up and rubbing slowly against her back. "Where's Adriana?" Bella's head lifted as she looked at her husband.
"She's with your mom." She watched as realization seeped into his face.
"Oh fuck, Isabella, is she okay? Is my family okay? Who was it?" The monitor next to Edward's bed began to beep faster and faster as his heart rate sped up.
"Edward, relax, relax! Everyone is okay."
Edward tried to sit up, wincing as his stitches pulled.
"Ah, fuck." His hand covered his abdomen.
"I don't know who was shooting at us. Your fa- Carlisle … I haven't seen him lately. I'm not sure if he knows anything."
"Get me my phone."
"I really think you should be relaxing."
"Isabella," He growled. "Give me my phone."
Bella rolled her eyes and grabbed his phone from the bag of personal belongings sitting on his side table.
"The police will want to speak to you … when you're ready. That's what they claim, anyway. I'm sure when people find out you're awake, they'll be here within an hour."
"Then let's make sure no one knows." He took his phone from her and slid his finger over the screen, tapping on it a few times. Edward winced again as he lifted his phone to his ear. "I need an update," He spoke into the phone. "I said, I need an update."
Bella moved around the small room, looking out the window to pass the time. An SUV caught her attention as it slowly passed by the hospital. There was nothing special about it, a run of the mill black Tahoe with tinted windows. It crept along, it seemed as if the driver was lost, turned around in the maze of a parking lot. She watched as it passed, a blue and white license plate illuminated by the small light bulb under the liftgate. There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about it, so why was her gut telling her something was wrong.
Suddenly the lights shut off, the entire hospital darkening along with the parking lot lights. Bella quickly turned on her heel, her hand wrapping around the gun in the back of her sweats. A few seconds passed before a hum could be heard, the generators kicking on, emergency lights lighting the hallway. She could see people quickly running past the small window in Edward's door.
"Something isn't right, they need to get here right away." Edward ended his call while simultaneously ripping the electrodes off of his chest.
"Edward, you can't get up. You need to stay in bed."
"So that someone can come in here and finish what they started? You've lost your fucking mind, dear." He slid the needle of his IV out of his hand, causing her stomach to churn. Edward sat up in the bed, grimacing and tossing his feet over the side, his arm wrapped tightly around his stomach. "Please tell me you have a gun."
"Yeah, Carlisle left me with one." Bella moved to his side, wrapping his free arm around her shoulders and helping him stand. Edward was unsteady on his feet, leaning heavily against her, almost sending Bella to the floor.
"Whoa, Edward … I'm not sure about this. Let me ditch you under the bed or something and go out."
"Absolutely not. Let's go." They managed to make it the few feet to the door when gunshots rang out.
"Fuck, Edward. What do we do? We're sitting ducks."
"Where are the stairs?"
"They're … five doors to the left. No, six – six doors down."
"Okay, let's go."
Bella slowly opened the door, trying to hear where the shots were coming from over the sounds of feet running and people screaming. Edward limped next to her, his hand gripping tightly at her shoulder as they slowly moved, trying their hardest to stay low.
"Right there," She pointed towards the door with a red exit sign hanging above. "This is such a bad idea, Edward." With an arm wrapped around his back Bella led him towards the emergency exit. She shoved her shoulder against the metal door, slamming it open and ushering him into the stairwell. More shots rang out from below them.
"Of course, it couldn't be easy. We have to go up, Edward."
Edward was breathing heavily, his forehead covered in sweat. Bella ignored the blood seeping through his hospital gown. Edward gripped the railing, his breathing labored.
"We can't go anywhere like this, Edward. Fuck we should've stayed in the room." Bella's mind was racing, the gunshots moving closer to their location. The stairwell was dark, one light on the flight above them lit a few steps down and a single light on the landing below them gave a convenient dark corner where she stood. It wasn't dark enough to fully conceal them, but maybe it could provide enough cover for her to hide Edward. She wrapped his arm around her neck again and shuffled him towards the corner, his groans echoing against the walls.
"Listen, I need you to sit all the way back against the corner and stay quiet." The door above them slammed open, bouncing off the cement wall. Bella grabbed her gun, moving a few steps up. She backed up when someone jogged down the flight of stairs, she rounded the railing and moved down a few steps, crouching down. The man came down the stairs next to Edward, pausing as he caught sight of him. Bella lifted up and shot the stranger in the head, his heavy body collapsing against the stairs.
"That was too close, we have to move." Bella grabbed the rifle from the man, looping the strap over her shoulder and grabbing Edward again, heaving his body against hers. She opened the door, stepping out into the hallway and moving into the room across the hall. A woman in plain clothes was sprawled on the floor, blood spilling from a gunshot wound in her chest – a man in the bed was dead as well. "Christ, what is happening."
"They're coming for us."
