A/N: Thank you guys so much for your reviews. It means the world to me :)
Blood was spilling out of Bella's bicep as it throbbed in time with her heartbeat. She stared at the dark sky above her and she could hear the water splashing against the docks. Her hand went to the area of her vest covering her stomach.
"Bella?" Edward's voice yelled, but it was so far away.
O...O
One Hour Before
Seth tapped nervously against the steering wheel as they sat parked down by the water.
"What's your plan here?" Bella asked as she looked over at him. He was sweating already, his dark hair stuck to his temple, and his hands were nervously fidgeting around.
"Not really sure. They just said to bring you here and wait for someone to show." Seth looked around as he tried to see in the darkness.
"Who contacted you?"
"I told you, I'm not sure." Seth wouldn't even look at her.
"Seth, please tell me you didn't bring me out here just to offer me like a lamb to slaughter. You know Edward will kill you before you even leave the car."
Seth's hands balled into fists.
"I know that, Bella."
"Well then what are we doing out here, Seth?" Bella's anger was rising by the passing second.
"There they are." He motioned towards a dark sedan that pulled up a few feet away from them.
Bella felt her pulse jump and her hands shook slightly as she reached for the door handle. She had to believe that the Cullens were ready for anything. They needed answers and she wanted to personally see Jacob. Bella took a deep breath and opened the door to slide out of the car. The sedan didn't move, just idled a few steps away and none of the lights on the dash were on. There was no way to see who or what was waiting inside for them.
Bella's hand itched as she wanted to feel the weight of a gun in it. Edward wanted her to bring a drop, but if they searched her it'd be all over. No gun, no phone, no wire. She checked the perimeter, trying to see if she could find anyone watching over them. Of course the Cullens were too well trained for that. She stood by Seth's SUV and stared at the windshield of the car. For the first time, Bella found herself scared that Edward wasn't by her side through all of this. It had been years since Bella trusted Seth to protect her and there's no way he'd be willing to take a bullet for her now.
A sound caught her attention and the back passenger door opened on the sedan. Bella squinted in the dark to see who was getting out. A large figure moved toward them as they kept to the shadows to conceal their identity for as long as possible. He stepped forward under the old, overhead light that was hung above the door to a boat dock.
Jacob.
"What the fuck were you thinking, Jacob?" Bella's voice was louder than she expected it to be, but her anger was also already out of control.
Jacob didn't say anything as he stood beneath the light and watched her.
"My fucking daughter? You thought you could come near her?"
"I could've snatched her had I wanted, Bella. Consider yourself lucky." His voice was low and Bella suddenly found herself wanting that gun even more. She stepped toward him, but Seth's body blocked her.
All these fucking men constantly trying to control her.
She shoved hard at Seth's back, but he didn't budge more than a small step forward.
"I brought her here, now what about my family?" He asked.
Jacob's eyes flashed to the sedan and the back driver side door opened. A small child ran out of the car directly to Seth as she cried. She couldn't have been more than five.
"Fuck," He muttered and his entire body sagged as he grabbed her.
Bella realized what had happened.
"Seth?" She looked at him in disbelief, but Seth ignored her, hugging the child's little body to his chest as he sobbed.
"You took his fucking kid, Jacob? What happened to you?"
Seth turned towards Bella and his eyes locked on hers.
"I have to leave you here." He whispered.
Bella looked at her old partner and then his daughter who was inconsolable in his arms.
"Yeah, go … I understand."
"I'm so sorry, Bella." He whispered.
Bella's heart clenched, but she kept her face void of emotion. Seth quickly ran to the driver's door of the SUV and climbed in. She stared at Jacob as Seth's tires crunched across the gravel and she could feel the wind from him flying down the road to leave.
"The dynamic duo." Jacob laughed and she rolled her eyes.
"So what now, you kill me?" Bella sounded bored to her own ears, but inside her chest her heart was racing.
"You know, Bella. You've always had a tell." Jacob walked over to her, his hands deep in the pockets of his slacks.
Bella remained silent.
"You pretend like you don't care, but there's always this slight jump at the base of your throat. That's how I always knew when you were worried about something."
His fingers stroked the base of her neck and then slid down towards her chest before bumping into her kevlar vest. Bella's face pulled into a look of disgust at his touch.
"Get your hand off me, Black."
"You used to enjoy my hands on you, Bella." He whispered and gripped her throat.
"That never happened except in your deranged fucking mind, Jacob." Bella brought her knee up and slammed it against his balls.
Jacob suddenly stepped back and groaned in pain as he leaned forward, his hands on his knees. She felt a small sense of pride, but it quickly disappeared at the sound of a ding. The tell-tell sign of a door being opened on a car. Her eyes flew to the sedan where someone climbed out of the passenger seat.
"Black, get back in the car."
"I'm fine." Jacob growled and stood up, his eyes stared daggers into Bella.
She fought against the smile that threatened to spread across her face.
The man stepped up next to Jacob and Bella didn't recognize him at all.
"Are you Isabella Swan?" He asked.
The man towered over her, almost as tall as Jacob. He was older, near 60 if she had to guess, and he had jet black hair that matched his eyes. He wore expensive clothing and gold jewelry on his neck and hands.
"I think it's pretty obvious that I am." Bella muttered. "Who are you?"
"So you're the one that killed my brother?" His accent was thick and that's how she figured out who he was. What a sad day that Bella had killed so many men she couldn't identify their relatives.
"I didn't know Aro had any living siblings."
The man's mouth pulled into a smile, but it was anything but friendly.
"We've lost a few, but the good thing about old Catholic Italians is there's plenty more."
The glint of a weapon caught her attention. There was a gun in the man's hand and he made no effort to hide it.
Ah, fuck, Bella thought.
"Get in the car."
He lifted the weapon and it was pointed directly at her. She looked at the weapon and was surprised to find that he hadn't pointed it at her head, instead he had it pointed directly at her stomach.
"And don't try it, there's a sniper rifle pointed at you as well."
"I'm not getting in the car, you'll have to kill me here if you want to do it." Bella took a step back and the men advanced on her.
"Jacob, grab her."
His large hand reached out and he grabbed her arm to jerk her forward. It was then that she felt a sharp pain in her bicep.
"Ow, Jacob!" She jerked her arm away, but he was already back a few steps.
Bella noticed that his hand was bleeding and two of his fingers were currently on the ground. She took another step back and that's when a powerful force hit her in the chest and knocked her back onto the ground. It knocked the breath out of her and Bella laid back onto the ground to try and control her breathing.
She took inventory of her body. Her bicep was burning and when she lifted her arm she noticed blood seeping out and staining her sweater. Bella took a deep breath and moved her hand over the vest where her chest had been hit. There was no hole in the vest and no bullet, so no one had shot her. A shot rang out and the sound of glass shattering kept her from lifting her head up. More gun shots, more glass, more yelling and screaming as her arm throbbed. Rocks slammed into the side of Bella's face as she groaned, tires kicking dust and gravel over her body.
Blood was spilling out of Bella's bicep as it throbbed in time with her heartbeat. She stared at the dark sky above her and she could hear the water splashing against the docks. Her hand went to the area of her vest covering her stomach.
"Bella?" Edward's voice yelled, but it was so far away.
The baby was moving around so she wasn't worried just yet.
"Bella!" Another voice, Emmett's she thought.
Bella lifted a hand so they could see her and as a way to let them know she was okay.
"I'm all right." She yelled and heard boots on the ground near her.
Edward's face came into view above her and she smiled.
"Hey. Come here often?"
Edward shook his head and lifted her up, easily carrying her to the SUV they had parked off to the side.
"Let's go, the cops will be here soon."
Bella turned her head back to see Jacob's fingers still on the ground, but he was gone.
"What happened."
"They ran off, but Jacob was wounded and so was his friend. Their sniper is dead and long gone by now though."
"Is she all right?"
Bella's head snapped to the side. Carlisle was here and … worried about her? Had Bella known he was here she would've bet money on him being the one that shot her.
"She has a flesh wound on the arm, but she's fine."
"Something hit me in the chest, I think Jacob punched me."
Edward climbed into the back of an SUV with her. The seats were down and there was a fairly advanced first aid station set up. The hatch door closed behind them and the car was started before they pulled out of the docks.
"He didn't punch you, you were shot with a rubber bullet."
"What? Why?" Bella winced when Edward pulled the pieces of her sweater from the wound on her arm. Rubber bullets hurt worse than actual ones in her experience.
"They thought their sniper had hit you so we had to get you safely on the ground. The bleeding in your arm helped with the illusion, but I'm not going to lie. I liked making the call to shoot Jacob's fucking hand off of you."
"And they say romance is dead." Bella shook her head and helped Edward take her shirt off. She yanked at the velcro straps to loosen the vest, wanting to pull it off. The SUV turned and Edward braced his hand on the side of the car across from her.
"Were you guys planning on someone getting hit?" Bella asked and motioned to the first aid stuff.
"We always plan for that."
Once the car was moving straight ahead again he went back to helping her take the vest off and laid her back to look at the bullet wound.
"Jasper really is an amazing shot." Edward sounded almost in awe.
He opened a gallon of water and poured it onto the wound to wash the blood away. Bella hissed and her body tensed up, feeling the burn in her arm.
"Fuck." She muttered through clenched teeth.
"Hurts like a bitch, I know." Edward grabbed gauze to pat it dry before ripping open a surgical needle.
"Oh no. Can't we just put a bandaid on?"
Edward chuckled, but Bella felt her stomach flip at the sight of the needle and thread.
"Come on, baby. It's been years, you still can't stomach a simple wound closure?"
She shook her head and closed her eyes, laying her head back as the car moved her body.
"The inside of your bicep is going to hurt worse than the outside, but I think we'll be okay."
Bella glanced out the dark windows and saw massive buildings instead of trees.
"Why are we in the city? We should be heading home."
Edward shook his head and pushed the needle into her skin.
"Ow goddammit." She looked down and watched the thread pull through her flesh before he pressed the needle in again and pulled, closing the edge of the bullet hole.
Bella took a deep breath as her body threatened to vomit up the dinner she had. Edward moved as quickly and efficiently as he could, sewing the entry wound closed and then slathering it in vaseline. He moved her arm above her head, resting it against the car floor and repeated the process of cleaning and drying the exit wound.
"Just breathe, Isabella." Edward spoke as he concentrated on her arm. He threaded the needle though her pale skin and expertly closed the other side. Covering it in Vaseline he moved back just as the car came to a stop inside a parking garage.
"Come on." He muttered and helped her sit up as the hatch opened again.
"Where are we?" Bella looked around the empty garage.
"The doctor's office."
Edward led Bella to the elevator and slammed his hand against the number.
"Why? Edward I'm okay." She lifted her arm where only the edge of her t-shirt was stained and her arm was sewn shut.
"We can go home, I'd like to see Addy."
Edward leaned over and kissed the top of her head.
"We'll see her as soon as we leave here."
The elevator doors opened and Bella realized where they were. Instead of coming in the way they had the first time, they entered through the back of the office. Dr. Kate came out when she heard the doors. As opposed to the usual expensive outfits and white coat she normally wore, Bella saw the doctor was wearing yoga pants and a sweatshirt. She looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was 3 o'clock in the morning.
"Oh wow. I'm sorry Edward woke you up. We're okay." Bella smiled and rubbed her stomach.
Kate's eyes moved between them and she nodded at Bella. Her usual warm and open demeanor was also missing this time.
"I'm sure, but I'd like to check just in case."
Bella and Edward walked into an exam room and Kate pulled the machine over. It was already on so she had been expecting them.
"Wait, did you set this up before tonight?" Bella asked Edward.
He nodded and ran a hand through his hair.
Kate remained quiet as she slid the wand over Bella's stomach. Bella could feel the baby moving so she certainly wasn't concerned and when Kate turned the volume on the baby's heartbeat filled the room. Thus, Bella was still very confused as to why they were here. Kate attached a band around Bella's stomach with a monitor attached to it.
"I'm going to keep you here for at least an hour and make sure the baby stays calm."
"I really don't think this is necessary, guys."
Bella's eyes bounced between Kate and Edward then looked at the ultrasound screen.
"Better safe than sorry, Bella." Kate patted her thigh and exited the room.
"What is going on, Edward?" Bella asked.
"Nothing, I'll be right back. I need to pay her."
Bella nodded and Edward stepped out of the room. The door didn't latch and Bella could hear them talking in the hall.
"Out of all the stupid shit your family has done this has to be the dumbest." Kate yelled.
"She wanted to do it, Katherine. There was no stopping her." Edward sighed and rubbed a hand across his face. He was tired, no, exhausted. The kind of exhaustion that pulled heavy on his bones and made it hard to even walk.
"There had to be something that could've been done. Something that didn't require a pregnant woman getting shot. Again."
"That's not fair, Kate. What happened before was out of our control."
"Yeah, sure. And why does Bella have a gunshot wound this time as well?"
"She was shot in the arm, Kate. By us!"
Edward could feel his anger rising and he often found it difficult to control. Especially in situations like this where someone knew exactly how to push his buttons.
"This time." Kate turned to walk away, but Edward stopped her and held out an envelope. She sighed and pushed his hand away.
"I don't want your fucking money for this."
She walked down the hall towards her office.
"I'll be in to check on her in half an hour." Kate said before closing her door.
Edward tucked the envelope back into his pocket and sighed as he leaned down, his hands on his knees. He counted to 30 and thanked whoever was listening that his wife was safe and so was their baby. He stood up and composed himself so he could walk back into the room with Bella.
Bella was sitting on the bed when he walked in and she had about 10 rapid fire questions waiting for him, but the look on his face stopped her. He was trying to keep the worry out of his expression, but Bella could see right through it. And he looked as tired as she felt. She decided to wait until tomorrow to bother him and instead slid over to the edge of the bed, patting the empty space beside her.
Edward smiled gratefully and climbed onto the bed, pulling her against him as he closed his eyes. Bella scrolled through the news on her phone as she listened to her husband's heartbeat and her child's heartbeat alternate.
O...O
The sunlight woke Bella first and then the sounds of her daughter giggling downstairs. She rubbed her face and smiled before stretching along the sheets. A sharp pain in her arm brought back the memories from earlier that morning. After leaving Kate's office Edward drove them home and they both fell fast asleep. She climbed out of bed and made her way downstairs, following the sounds of her child and husband chatting.
"Oh look, Mommy's awake." Edward smiled and tossed Addy onto the couch, making Bella's stomach drop.
"I hate when you do that." Bella sighed and Addy laughed before launching herself onto her father's chest again.
"But she loves it so much." He laughed and carried her over to where Bella was standing to kiss her.
"Mommy, what happened?" Addy asked as she looked at the gauze wrapped around her arm.
"I fell down and hurt myself a little. I'll be all right though."
"I can fix it." Addy wiggled out of her father's embrace and ran off.
"She can fix it." Edward smiled and sat down on the couch, pulling Bella onto his lap. "How did you sleep?"
"I slept well, I was exhausted. A life of crime is so much harder when you're pregnant." Bella laughed.
Edward's face dropped and Bella was about to ask what was wrong, but he pulled her face to his and kissed her, pulling her body closer. Bella smiled and deepened the kiss, her tongue sliding against his as she moaned softly. His hands slid up from her hips, disappearing beneath the shirt she wore and Bella grinned at the feeling of his fingers on her skin.
"Bella … oh."
Bella jerked her face away and stared at Esme with wide eyes.
"Esme … you're here?"
Bella looked between her mother in law and her husband before she started to get off of his lap. His hands kept her anchored in place and he glanced at her, trying to convey why she couldn't move just yet.
"I forgot she was here." He laughed and took a few deep breaths.
"Did you bring Addy home?" Bella asked to change the subject and Esme nodded.
"Yes, I was just going to let you know that I restocked your kitchen as well. I should get going though." Esme laughed and turned to leave, disappearing through their kitchen.
Edward leaned his head against Bella's shoulder and started laughing.
"Good lord, Edward." Bella sighed and laughed.
"She dropped Addy off and said she brought a few groceries. I thought she left a while ago, but I guess not." He dropped his head back onto the couch.
"She did mention that we're supposed to go over to their house for dinner tonight. Something about Alice setting everything up for this one."
"Here we go!" Addy ran into the room and jumped onto the couch beside them. She had at least two dozen bandaids clenched in her little hands and her auburn curls fell into her face as she tried to get one of them opened. Her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated, her brown eyes narrowing. She stuck six multi-colored bandaids all over the gauze and then patted it. Bella clenched her jaw against the pain and kept her smile in place, but holy fuck did it hurt.
"Thank you, baby."
"It's all better now." Addy nodded and climbed off the couch.
"Yep, all better. Go take a bath, we have to go to Nonna's later."
Addy smiled and bounced excitedly on her toes.
"Last night we got to make ice cream sundaes for dinner!"
"Oh well in that case brush your teeth again just in case." Bella laughed and watched their daughter run off.
Once Bella heard the water running she turned to Edward.
"Tell me what Kate was so angry about last night."
Edward glanced up at his wife and then shifted his eyes to the wall behind her.
"Years ago there was someone close to our family who died."
He looked back to her and slid his hand over her thighs.
"Well, I guess it goes deeper than that. I'm sure you've noticed the issues between Emmett and Rosalie."
Bella nodded and her heart jumped. Was she going to finally understand what his issue was?
"There was a woman, her name was Sylvia, and Emmett was in love with her. This was before he met Rosalie and they were high school sweethearts. Emmett had known her since they were in middle school and he wanted to marry her. Carlisle didn't like her family, but he figured it wouldn't be that serious to let them marry and Emmett was the oldest. Plus, Sylvia came from a family full of men and boys so the chances of getting an heir to the family were pretty good.
"When Emmett was 19 they found out she was pregnant. He proposed to her right away and the wedding date was set for a few weeks after that. Two months after the wedding she was taken by a rival family. We um … we tried to find her, but they had her pretty deeply hidden."
Edward's body tensed up and he pulled at the hem of Bella's shirt.
"What happened to her?"
"Well we did find her and we managed to get her out of the house they were holding her in. But as we were leaving they showed up. We were prepared to protect ourselves, but she was caught in the middle of it all. Emmett found her on the ground and she was bleeding out. We rushed her to Kate and she tried her hardest to save her, but there was too much damage done. Kate delivered the baby in an attempt to save him, but…"
Edward trailed off and shook his head.
"Oh my God, Edward." The edges of Bella's eyes were burning.
"Yeah, it wasn't a great situation. Emmett went off the rails for a while and he had no interest in finding another woman nor having a family. He refused to take over for the family, Carlisle never had any intention of giving the family to him. He had chosen me by the time I was three. But eventually Carlisle told him he needed heirs and basically arranged the marriage between Rosalie and Emmett. They met twice before the wedding and Rosalie knew what she was - a bridge."
"But they couldn't figure out how to make it work?" Bella asked.
"I don't think Emmett knows how to make it work. Even though he married Rosalie, and I know he loves Rosalie, I think he feels that if he lets himself get attached something will happen to her or their kids."
"Yeah, but that's kind of shitty for him to treat Rosalie the way he does. It very clearly hurts her."
Edward shrugged.
"I'm not Rosalie's biggest fan and I know she can be kind of … cold. But they've been married for like a decade and he's treated her poorly this entire time."
He nodded.
"I know, it's a point of contention in the family. Carlisle has tried to talk to him several times at mom's behest. He even told the girls to stop messing around with Emmett, hoping it would make Emmett seek comfort in Rosalie. But it didn't work, he just started messing around with girls who weren't connected."
"So therapy was never an option?" Bella laughed.
"No, it definitely wasn't."
"Well, maybe you should talk to him about it."
"I've tried. He just doesn't see a point. In his mind he takes care of her, he's given her children, and she doesn't have to worry about anything."
"It's difficult for him to think maybe a woman would want something more than kids and being a stay at home mom?"
Edward sighed.
"I don't know, Isabella. Honestly I never expected to marry and if I did I figured it'd be someone a lot like Alice and Rosalie. Just someone to be at home and handle the house while I produced children and felt a sense of accomplishment."
Bella grimaced.
"But that's clearly not how it worked out." He laughed.
"I fell in love with a woman who would never be a homemaker and you're definitely not one to mind your own business." He smiled at her.
"No, I suppose I'm not. But I still think they could be happy together."
Edward sighed and ran his hand over her legs again before leaning up to kiss her.
"Maybe. Maybe one day, love."
