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.

Not wanting to draw undue attention to her location since others were still out looking for her, he moved on out of the alleyway to settle once more in the doorway across the street. It was then that he discreetly made a phone call to a friend to get help for his daughter and to get an investigation started about what was taking place inside that building.

CHAPTER 25: HURRY UP AND WAIT

Charlie, disguised as a homeless, unkept individual, continued to hover in the doorway across the street from the alleyway watching all of the activity taking place of both the medical and police teams that were on the scene. He was having a hard time understanding why none of the ambulances had left. Bella had to be in pain due to what she had endured, he knew because of what he had seen inside in that lower room.

He witnessed the one person that was still alive, inside the building, being hauled out in handcuffs. Of course, he had been checked over by a paramedic just to ensure that he had no wounds that required a trip to the hospital. But, the one person that did require attention was still being held on the scene as well. And, as far as Charlie was concerned that delay wasn't acceptable at all.

So, after a bit more time had passed, Charlie placed another phone call. It wasn't long after that call that he saw things begin to move and the ambulance that Bella had finally been loaded into rolled out of the alley and took off toward the hospital.

Charlie had requested, during his phone call, that his girls, Alice and Rosalie, be informed of the current status and then disconnected. However, it wasn't long after that his phone vibrated in his pocket and he answered to be informed that no one answered at the number he had given. It was then that Charlie told the caller, never mind, he would deal with it himself.

And, he did. Charlie called Sam to let him know what was going on and Bella's condition plus location. Sam was also asked to let everyone else know the news and the fact that some cleaning up was still left to be done before anyone would see Charlie again. Before Sam can question any further what was left to do that required Charlie's attention, the call was disconnected, and Charlie pocketed his phone once more. Then he once more took up his watchful position.

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After considering the suggested plan, Sam had to agree that it was the best course of action that would, indeed, draw the least amount of attention. Nothing would be done out of the ordinary under the circumstances. So, he accompanied Edward to the hospital where Bella had been taken. It had also been decided that the other two couples would remain where they were until after Edward had talked with Bella's doctor or doctors, whichever the case might be, depending on her injuries.

Both men also were aware that the police would be involved since Bella's connection with the FBI had been kept quiet. So, questions were likely to be asked as to why Edward and Sam were at the hospital, but, that would only be the case if the officers were unfamiliar with Edward and his association with Bella.

Of course, Bella's superiors were aware of her abduction and that Sam was going to be the stand-in for Bella until her situation and condition were resolved. But, nothing else had changed from what Bella and her team had put into place for keeping their charges safe.

Sam's presence at the hospital would quietly represent the FBI, even though he was a U. S. Marshall, and that association was still going to be kept quiet even now. But, since Sam was known to be a personal family friend the FBI had approved him representing them instead of sending in a newbie. It was agreed that the quieter the information concerning the truth of the three guys and their FBI protection detail the greater chances of keeping Edward, Emmett and Jasper safe.

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Det. Norris did have a few questions of his own, but, they had nothing to do with the immediate case. They had more to do with why was a higher up calling and giving orders as to the handling of the victim and not about the handling of the bodies that were discovered at the crime scene? Surely, one was just as important as the other and he saw nothing concerning the victim that would decree some sort of special handling of her; there were no visible signs of injury, although, she did seem to have a problem finding a comfortable position from time to time.

It wasn't because she was doing a lot of moving around, no, she stayed pretty much in the same position as the paramedics had put her; it was more her facial expressions and the little bit of squirming she was doing extremely slowly and delicately that he did notice from time to time.

He tried to get answers from the one person that had been found inside alive, but, he wasn't able to tell them anything. All he said was that he had been knocked out twice and wasn't even sure who had hit him either time. And, about the things he did know, he wasn't saying. All the man kept repeating was he 'wanted his lawyer'. So, with that demand all interrogation stopped. The man had been checked over by the paramedics and was pronounced okay, then he was put in a squad car where he waited to be transported downtown to the precinct for booking.

The thought passed through Det. Norris's mind that he was missing something important about this whole situation. And, it bothered him greatly that he couldn't get the answers he needed from the ones that were alive. One or both of them knew what had taken place, but, were refusing to cooperate in any manner. Why, he couldn't understand. To his way of thinking you would think that the woman, most of all, would want all of her abductors punished, but, she wasn't giving any information whatsoever.

The call he had gotten ordered him to release Ms. Swan, that was the first he knew of the woman's name, immediately for transport to the hospital so she could be treated for her injuries. He did try to explain that no apparent injuries were visible, but, had been cut short by his superior. And, that brought the question to mind of how his superior knew the victim's name, or, the fact that she was still being held at the crime scene. So many questions with no answers being given.

True, he hadn't rushed to get her statement since he felt that he had plenty of time due to the fact that she didn't seem to be severely injured. He had deemed the scene inside the building held greater importance since there were several bodies lying around the entrance.

However, when he did try to get a statement from Ms. Swan, after getting the call from his superior, she had very little to say about what had taken place; she gave a basic description of what had taken place of how she had gotten to her current location, of what had taken place after being taken into the building, but, offered little about how she had managed to escape.

The one thing that was very evident was that Ms. Swan had been able to see who had committed the carnage inside the building after she had managed to get out and hidden.

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Charlie continued to watch quietly from his spot across the street for a while longer before leaving. He had someone he wanted to meet and discuss some things with him. Butch would be able to help him have a clearer understanding of the 'what's and the why's' of this whole mess; and, at this moment that was the thing most needed.

He felt that Butch would be able to explain the reasons behind the executions that Edward, Emmett and Jasper had seen. Then maybe help make sense of why an out and out move hadn't been made against the guys. That part just didn't make any sense to Charlie and created a big question mark in his mind. And, Charlie couldn't stand any unanswered questions to hang around for long.

XXXXXX

Edward and Sam arrived at the hospital within moments of Bella's arrival. Once he had checked in at the desk to identify who he was and to ask about her and her condition, the nurse told both men to have a seat and her doctor would be out as soon as he could to inform them about Ms. Swan's situation. But, before turning away and heading for the waiting area, the nurse did halt Edward as she asked if Ms. Swan had any living relative that could be informed of her circumstances.

"Her father is in town, but, unreachable at the moment because of his work. We do know that he is aware that Ms. Swan was on her way to the hospital, but, asked that since I'm her boyfriend that I stand in for him until he's able to arrive." Edward explained to the nurse.

"And, when do you expect him to be available?"

"I just explained that I've been asked to stand in for him since he's not able to be here due to the fact that he won't be able to be here for some time." Edward answered the woman in a bit of a harsh tone. He was becoming highly irritated because of all the hurry up and wait issues that seemed to be slapping him in the face.

With both the nurse and Sam looking at Edward with slightly stunned expressions, he doesn't say another word, but, turns toward the waiting area once more to wait for news of Bella. And, as he enters, he notices that the place is nearly packed with people waiting for news concerning their loved one. Why does everything have to take so long? That is a question he will continue to ask himself for quite some time, or, at least, that's the way it will seem to Edward.

After taking a seat off in a far corner, Edward looks around once more and that's when he realizes that Sam isn't right next to him, but, he does notice him off in a seat that isn't too far away in case something does happen. What? Edward could only use his imagination, but, still he and Sam were staying aware and watchful just in case. After all, no one expected any sort of problems at the restaurant, but, look what happened there. That's the very reason why Edward and Sam are now sitting in the emergency room waiting area until they can hear about Bella's condition.

XXXXXX

Charlie retraces his steps back to the same location of where he had seen Butch before. And, sure enough, the two men encounter each other in the same place and in the same way as before. However, this time Charlie wasted no time explaining why he was looking for his old friend.

"Charlie, you know damn well that I can't just hand that sort of information over to you immediately. I need to time to do some C.Y. . Once that's done, then I'll be able to answer your questions."

"How long do you need?"

"Just a few hours. Yeah, I think just a few hours should do it. It'll give me time to secure my cover, but, at the same time make sure that I have the facts about what you're wanting to know."

So, with a time to meet later being agreed upon, the two men parted ways. It was then while he was out of sight that Charlie called Sam to get an update about Bella.

XXXXXX

The waiting for information concerning Bella seemed to be taking hours, although, it hadn't even been two hours as yet. It was during this time that Edward observed Sam reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. The conversation took less than a minute before Sam put his phone away.

As soon as a seat close to Edward became vacant, Sam moved over to sit by his charge and was able to quietly tell Edward about the phone call that he had gotten. "It was Charlie calling to see what we knew about Bella. I told him that we were at the hospital and waiting for the doctor to come tell us something.

"I did also mention about the small incident that occurred when we first arrived, and Charlie said he would take carry of that, so we'd have no problems dealing with any decisions that might be needed to be made where Bella was concerned."

"Thanks, Sam. That's appreciated."

AN: Okay, an expression was used in the story that some of you might not be familiar with its meaning. When someone mentions C Y Aing, that term stands for COVERING YOUR ASS, and that is what Butch is wanting to do before giving any more information to Charlie. Everyone is on needles and pins wanting to know how Bella's doing. Also, Charlie is going to make sure Edward has no more trouble about making decisions for Bella's health.

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