STRUGGLES

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. She also makes the banners for each of my stories.

"I need to go and get things started and I'll be back shortly." So, after telling Bella this Edward left the room and headed down to talk with Emmett and Charlie.

CHAPTER 32: WHAT'S COMING NEXT?

As soon as he had walked into the waiting room, Edward went over to his father, Carlisle, without hesitation. He leaned forward to whisper to his dad, "I need for you to go and stay with Bella for now while I talk with Emmett and Charlie.

"Dad, she isn't to talk with anyone and it needs to be kept quiet that she has awakened. I need to forestall the cops questioning her for the time being. Once I return to her room, I'll explain everything to you."

Father and son pulled back a space and looked at each for only a short moment before Carlisle nodded his head once and left the room without a single word being uttered by him. Carlisle could see by the look in his son's eyes and the serious expression on Edward's face that things were about to happen.

This action did cause some raised brows from the women, but, before they could make a comment or ask a question about what was going on, Edward simply said that he had made some discoveries that could help Bella, but, he couldn't tell them much of anything just yet. "I need for you ladies to trust me. What I'm asking for you to do is for Bella's benefit. So, please don't ask any questions at this point and keep carrying on as if Bella didn't open her eyes for even a moment.

"Now, I need to have Charlie and Emmett to check out some things for me and I think once we have the answers to those things we should be able to clear Bella completely and have the right people arrested." As he finished speaking, he took a step back and waited to see if his words had the impact that he was hoping they would. And, it didn't take long to see their reaction of agreement. So, with getting the response he was hoping for from the women, Edward turned towards Charlie and Emmett, motioning for them to follow him.

All three men moved further down the hallway, away from the waiting room and the guard stationed outside of Bella's room. What Edward needed to tell them had to stay just among them at the moment. He knew that if word got back to the police before he was ready for it to do so, then, things could and would get a bit more complicated than it needed to be.

Once all three men were far enough removed from everyone else that Edward felt comfortable enough to speak, he began telling Charlie and Emmett everything that Bella had revealed to him. Both men waited silently while Edward was talking before making any sort of comment. Then as if of one accord, they both said, "She is awake!"

"Thank God!" Charlie said with emotion threatening to overwhelm him. Then he uttered to no one in particular, "That bastard can no longer harm and control my little girl."

"It's about damn time." Emmett offered with emotion being very apparently tightly held in check.

"Okay. What do you need for us to do, Edward?" Charlie asked; he was ready to get to moving to bring all of this mess to a conclusion and fast.

"Yeah. Just point me in the direction you need for me to go and I'm there, man." Emmett said and was ready to get started immediately. He was in awe of what his young friend encountered and endured just for the love of her family and friends, wanting to keep them all safe.

"Charlie, what I need for you to do is to get a hold of your friend, Capt. Jenkins and see if they have the results back from the blood test and ballistics as yet. That information is going to work in our favor if it confirms what we all believe to be the case of who else was in that house with Frank and Bella.

"And, you, Emmett, I need to do a deeper check on the background of the Harrison family. Find out who their associates are that would have the connections or power to have been able to do what Frank was able to use to control Bella.

"Gentlemen, I do believe if the answers come back as I suspect then we have the means to clear Bella and then bring the guilty to light."

After Edward had finished speaking, both, Charlie and Emmett, looked at each other and then back to Edward. All that they had been told and with the assignments they each had been given, it was hard to believe that everyone was that close to having the case resolved in Bella's favor.

But, Charlie had one lingering doubt left, so, he simply asked, "Are you sure that all of this additional information will bring this case to a close, and, my Bella will be free and clear of everything?"

"Yes, Charlie, I do believe that this will free Bella of everything and give her back the life that she has been denied." Edward answered him honestly while looking him straight in the eyes as he said it.

"Very well, you've done well by my daughter thus far, so, I have no reason to doubt you now. Don't worry about Jenkins, he's a straight cop and a firm believer in doing things by the book. I'm sure you've already guessed that by the way, he has been aiding us up to now." And, with that said, Charlie left to go talk with his friend to see about getting the information that Edward had requested.

Emmett didn't move from his spot for a couple of minutes longer as he continued to watch Edward, but, suddenly, he shook his head, gave Edward a quick nod and walked back down the hallway to the waiting room. Edward wasn't sure why Emmett would be going back to where the women were, but, he assumed that it was to collect Rosalie.

And, now that he had things moving in the direction that he needed, Edward returned to Bella's room, so he could talk with his dad and to bring Bella up to date on all that had been taking place while she had been unconscious. He wasn't sure how she was going to react to some of what he had to tell her, and, he really hoped that it wouldn't cause her to react negatively like she had when Alma Johnson had opened her mouth about Bella about to be charged with murder. He wasn't sure what he would do if that happened. That was why he wanted his dad there during this upcoming conversation.

Edward also knew that he needed to go over Bella's statement with her of what she would be telling the police. He was wise enough to know that the information that she had told Edward when she had regained consciousness, wouldn't stay quiet for long. As soon as her guard found out she was awake he would be notifying his superiors immediately. Once that happens, the storm would start, and things would begin moving in fast motion.

Edward opened the door to Bella's room without acknowledging the guard sitting by the door. It wasn't that he was being rude, but, he had other things on his mind and they all had to do with clearing his client.

Edward had to get her cleared. The situation had moved from business, or, doing a favor for a friend of his parents; it had become personal. It had become personal even before Edward knew that it was going to move into that area. It became personal at the time that Alice had her vision concerning what he would find once he arrived in Seattle and saw Bella. It had become personal, even though he didn't know it at the time when Alice had shared her vision with him on the flight to Seattle.

Edward remembered laughing at his sister until the moment he had walked into the hospital room and took his first look at his new client. The first look that had grabbed his heart, that had caused his pulse to speed up and that had caused the breath to leave his body. It was then that he had a flash of the vision that Alice had told him about on the plane as they left Chicago and flew to Seattle.

And, it's been like that each and every time that he comes anywhere near Bella. Overwhelming emotion grabs a hold of his heart, his pulse begins to race, and he feels like he's gasping for air due to the undeniable beauty of the woman he's falling fast and hard for Isabella Swan Harrison, his client. So, it was no surprise, if he had stopped to think about it, that he unconsciously stopped just inside the room, after closing the door, to look at the woman lying in the hospital bed as he experienced the effects she seemed to have on him.

Carlisle watched his son with a worried look: he wasn't sure what the problem was with Edward. He, as well as everyone else, had noticed this slight pausing each time that Edward entered the room with Bella. Alice had told him and Esme, privately, about the vision she had had before she and Edward came to Seattle. And, with that in mind, he wondered if what Alice had told them was coming true for Edward the same as it was for Alice.

Carlisle and Esme prayed that both of their children were finding their life partners. If this was the answer to a parent's prayer, then chances were that both Edward and Alice would be moving to Seattle and creating a home closer to Carlisle and Esme.

When Edward appeared not to be moving away from the door, Carlisle questioned, "Son?" That seemed to snap Edward out of his daze, and with a small shake of his head, Edward moved to take the seat next to Bella's bed once more just like he had always done in the past since the first time of seeing her.

Once he was seated and had absentmindedly gathered Bella's hand into his, he began updating Bella about everything that had been happening while she had been in her catatonic state. And, it was when he had reached the happening over the last few days that he halted and looked at his father. Edward was a bit hesitant to tell Bella about what had been discovered recently because his fear of losing her once more was weighing uppermost in his mind.

He looked to Carlisle and wondered if he should ask if it was safe to continue telling Bella about Alma Johnson's death and what they had found at the Harrison house. But, Edward knew that he wasn't a coward, however, his feelings had never been involved with the cases he had handled before now. So, he had never had a reason to consider what to tell a client and what to withhold.

Both, Carlisle and Bella, noticed Edward's hesitation and was curious about why he had stopped speaking. Bella had opened her mouth to speak when Carlisle beat her to the punch with his question, "Edward, what's wrong? Why are you hesitating in giving Bella the rest of the information about what has been going on?"

"Dad, to be honest—" he paused as he looked directly at his father and then glanced over at Bella, then he continued, "I'm not sure how to word the rest of the information in a way that wouldn't upset Mrs. Harrison. I just don't want to do or say something that is going to cause a reoccurrence of her retreating back into her catatonic state."

"Ah, that I can understand, but, son, it would be best to talk to your client with complete honesty. I'm sure Bella would rather know the whole truth instead of part of it. If you only leave any of it unsaid, then she wouldn't be prepared for it coming from a stranger and that could be the trigger to throw her progress backwards.

"Does that help to give you any guidance on how to proceed?"

"Yeah, Dad, thanks for being so obvious." Edward answered sarcastically. But, an unexpected sound caused both Edward and Carlisle to quickly turn their heads towards the only other occupant in the room.

Bella was half sitting up since she had raised the head of her bed and she was trying very hard to keep from laughing at the two men that were squabbling amongst themselves. But, no matter how hard she tried, small giggling sounds were escaping. And, then one loud guffaw was heard which caused the two men to begin with small snickers and chuckles. Then suddenly, all three, the two men and the woman, were laughing together. A good gut-wrenching laughter that encouraged the release of any tension. It was a sound that Edward had never heard before from her and one that Carlisle hadn't heard from her in a very long time.

As the laughter died down, Edward was feeling a bit more confident about continuing to tell Bella about the last few days and all that had been discovered during that time. And, just as he told her about Alma Johnson being found dead, Bella suddenly asks, "Who the hell is Alma Johnson and what has she to do with Frank and me?"

"She was the nurse that first told you about the police investigating Frank's death and maybe, charging you with murder. Then later it seems, from what we've been able to find out, that Alma Johnson is related to the Harrison family. But, her tie-end to your case has yet to be discovered." Edward answered her questions. Then continued to explain about what information had been in the coroner's report and about a gut feeling that Emmett had about checking Bella's and Frank's house once more.

"And, did he find anything?" Bella asked a bit hesitantly.

"He sure did." Edward answered immediately and then told her what had been found and that everyone was waiting to hear what the police test results were.

It was as Edward reached this point in his report to Bella that everyone was suddenly surprised by the door being unexpectedly open and in walked Charlie Swan. He didn't notice his daughter being awake at the moment since all of his attention was centered on Edward. He was waving a sheet of paper in his hand and told Edward, "The results are in!"

A/N: Bella is now up to date about all that had been happening and what had been found. She is beginning to show more freedom of spirit after what she had been told. But, what is on the paper that Charlie is waving around? What are the results?

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