YOU'RE WHAT!

Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.

The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.

It seemed as if in no time, but, then Bella had no way of telling how much time had lapsed since the man had entered the hideout, before he was exiting it again. He paused and looked away as if seeking something, but, shook his head as he reached behind himself to close the door. It was in that moment that the light shone very clear onto the man and Bella finally knew who it was. And, it shocked the hell out of her!

CHAPTER 23: RESCUED

"What the hell is going on? Am I dreaming or just plain delusional?" Bella's shocked mind was scrambling to find the answers to those questions. The person she had just caught a glimpse of couldn't be the person she seriously wished to have present. If Charlie was here he would be working to locate her and have all the ones responsible arrested. He wouldn't be caught dead dressed as that man she had seen in the doorway. Her father was too fussy at times about how he dressed around home or out where he would be seen. Bella remembered making fun of him at times about being around Alice too long since he appeared to be picking up some of her habits or outlook about his appearance.

But, a sudden noise, or, rather, the sound of voices at the entrance of the alleyway could be heard. And as she glanced back over to where the man was standing, or, where he had been standing once more caused Bella to give pause and to wonder once more if her mind was playing tricks on her because of her condition and the amount of control she was having to exert to maintain her presence of mind without allowing a moan of pain escaping pass her lips.

She realized that once more she had allowed her mind to wander as her attention was quickly returned to her current situation because of the sound of footsteps coming down the alley and nearing the door. The thought quickly passed through her mind about what was going to be the reaction of the new arrivals to what they would find inside.

As that thought passed through her mind she caught herself as she almost giggled out loud. That would have been bad as it could have given away her location and Bella knew she didn't have it in her to be able to escape a second time if she was caught. If she was caught it would be the death of her regardless of the outcome. She had to keep her mind in the here and now to be able to get back to everyone and to keep Edward safe. That was the highest priority: to keep Edward safe. That was her job and she was damn good at it.

It was at that moment that Bella realized that she didn't know where the strangely dressed man that had been standing in the doorway earlier, had gone. He seemed to have vanished into thin air, but, that was impossible, so, where the hell did he go? This served to remind her to be more vigilant and to stop losing sight of what was going on in the 'here and now' situation.

Did he step back through the door to lay in wait for the newcomers? Was he close by her position which would lead to her location being discovered? Was he friend or foe? Friend to her and foe to them, or, the other way around? These were questions that began playing on a loop through her mind as she tried to look around as best she could without giving anything away.

She was still startled, even though she was fully aware of everything going on around her that was within her sight by the loud shouts and the noise that was going on inside the building. All of that had captured her full attention; so much so that she saw a shadow creeping towards the door, but, before it could get there the men that had arrived only moments before quickly came rushing out; not even bothering to close the door and ran down the alley towards the street. The shadow wasn't far behind, but, was making sure to keep its presence unknown. It appeared that it was going to follow the men that had quickly vacated the building.

XXXXXX

Everyone finished the day that had been planned and met back at Bella's once more. It was only then that anyone realized that Charlie Swan was missing. And, as Sam Uley walked into the room to assume his task of watching over Edward no one hesitated to inform him of the missing father. All Sam did was to shake his head and looked at the three men as if they were missing something obvious since they seemed to be the most upset over the vanishing police chief.

He looked at Alice and Rosalie to see if they might want to enlighten the men, or, if they wanted him to do it. It didn't take long before both Alice and Rosalie began to quietly chuckle and then it got a little louder before becoming all out laughter. Sam, of course, joined in since the three of them knew exactly what Charlie had done when everyone else was otherwise occupied; he quietly left at a time that his presence wouldn't be missed until later. That way no one could try to stop him.

"Does anyone have any idea when he might have left?" Sam asked as he glanced at each one in turn.

Heads were shaking a 'no', before Rosalie voiced a guess, "Knowing Charlie as I do I would say that he left sometime last night when he said that he needed the time alone to decide on a course of action. It seems that he decided and didn't want to chance anyone trying to stop him from doing whatever it was that he was planning to do."

"I would say that you're absolutely correct, Agent Hale."

"Okay, would you mind filling the rest of us in about what you believe he might be doing?" Edward demanded as he looked at Alice, Rosalie and Sam.

"Knowing Charlie as well as we do, he left almost as soon as he had gotten out of our sight. He already had made up his mind what he was going to do and how he was going to do it at the time he had told Sam that he would be the one to get Bella back. Charles Swan was a man on a mission and that mission was to retrieve his daughter no matter what he had to do to achieve that goal.

"He didn't want anyone else to be aware of his plans because if he had to bend or break a few rules it was best that no one knew. In his mind, what isn't known when questioned, or, if questioned, then lies aren't told." Alice explained then she added, "It's what he would do where any of the three of us were concerned."

"But, if he would do that then how could you three do your jobs with such a restriction hanging there over your heads?"

"That's easy to answer. He knew that their jobs involved a great deal of risk, and as much as he didn't like it, he accepted those facts because he's in law enforcement as well. It's only under certain circumstances that he would become involved." Sam explained instead of waiting for either of the two women to answer the question.

"So, what are you saying? Are you telling us that Chief Swan isn't beyond breaking the law, or, taking it into his own hands to get Bella back?" Asked Jasper in a somewhat disbelieving tone. The man that Alice had raved about in such loving terms, as well as Rosalie and Bella, and the man that he had met, although, briefly, didn't sound, act or strike him as the type of person that would say to hell with his own moral compass because of a situation such as this one.

"No, I'm not saying that whatsoever. Charlie Swan isn't one to use the law for his own purpose. He won't bend it, break it or use it in any way other than what is right and upstanding; he's the one person you can honestly label 'a man of principle' and be correct. But, understand this, he might put a toenail on the line, but, would never cross the line between what he believes in and what is the right thing to do.

"Charlie takes into account all things that could happen and prepares himself for whatever he might be facing and having to deal with. He is very methodical and refuses to allow emotion to rule how he handles his job. I don't mean for you to think that he is unemotional because that isn't the case; it's just that he refuses to allow emotion to rule how he does his job to the point of pushing him beyond what's right."

"He is going to succeed, right? He'll be able to find her and bring her home?" Edward asked while trying to keep his underlying emotions under control. When he thought about what could be happening to Bella, his emotions almost slip the tight rein he has on them as they threaten to wash over him in unrelenting waves. In truly a short period of time Bella had become a big part of his life, of his dreams and held all of his heart. He just wanted her safely back with him and in his arms once more.

Then, as it had from time to time since meeting Bella, Edward wondered how he would be able to cope on a regular basis with Bella continuing with her current line of work after all of this mess surrounding him, Jasper and Emmett were concluded. He realized before now that it carried certain dangers, but, they had never been brought home, until now, just how much her career could affect their future with the constant threat to her life being involved. Did he have the right to ask her to give it up? To tell her his feelings and to expect her to love him enough to quit of her own choice? He realized in a way that was like saying, 'choose either me or your job'. Had he earned that right, and, at the same time, was it really his place to put her in such a position?

As these thoughts crossed his mind once more, as they had done quite often in the past, but, Edward was quickly brought back to the present by hearing a throat clearing.

XXXXXX

Bella could hear sirens screaming in the distance, but, as if her mind was playing tricks on her, it seemed as they were getting closer and coming in her direction. She knew that those were silly thoughts, since no one knew where she was. The fact of how well she was hidden had been proven because no one knew where she was; she hadn't been found by anyone and no one had thought to check behind the dumpsters.

It surprises Bella even further when she hears voices coming down the alley. She sees at least a half a dozen men in medical white pushing some gurneys and moving towards the doorway and then two breaking off from the group to continue on towards the dumpsters.

They stopped in front of the dumpsters and waited for a few minutes before saying, "Miss, we know that you're behind the dumpsters, somewhere, and we've been informed that you are in need of medical aid. Please, either come out to us, or, let us know your location and what condition you're in so we can get you to the hospital for help."

Of course, the fact that they even approached the dumpster delivered a shock to her, but, to hear them address her and to identify her location was an even bigger shock. She wasn't sure about how to react, or, if she should even answer. What if it was a trick? She was giving some thought as to how she could be sure that the offer for help was genuine or if it was fake just to get her to come which would give a way her hiding place. These people could just be guessing and only wanted to confirm that she wasn't anywhere near. But, all that she had seen seemed to tell her that these men were the 'real deal' and were indeed a medical team.

So, trusting her instincts she called out to them to let them know her location and the fact that she could hardly move. It didn't take long for more men, police officers this time, to join the group and assist in moving the dumpsters out of the way for the EMT's to be able to get to Bella and help get her onto a gurney to be loaded into the ambulance. And, as they pushed her pass the doorway, Bella observed a lot of activity, more than she had realized, was taking place inside the doorway and the building itself.

She wanted to ask questions, but, was hesitant to do so. That was more because she didn't know how much was known about the happenings that had occurred at this place and who were the ones in the know and who wasn't. Also, another thing, she didn't want to give away her rescuer.

He had been the one that had made things much safer for her until help could be had, and she suspected that it was him that had sent the call in about what had taken place inside the building and about her needing help. Of course, the big question was how could he know, but, that was best left for another day.

AN: Who did Bella imagine that she saw? How did he know where she was hidden and to send help?

Hope you will enjoy this story and will let me know your thoughts, ideas and comments as we move forwards