Chapter sixteen-

Hospital-

Alice POV-

Jasper, Emmett, Rose, and I all went back to Edwards apartment for the night. Bella still hadn't woken up, but everyone kept saying she would be fine. Edward had requested for the babysitter to bring Connor to the hospital, so both of them would be there when Bella woke up. The rest of us were sent back to the apartment. Emmett and Rose slept on the pull out couch, while Jasper and I took the bed.

I could tell that Jasper was doing a lot better than before. I had gone and stayed with him after Tanya, which seemed to help him a lot. We just hung out a lot, and he vented and cried whenever he needed to. I didn't leave until I was sure that he would be okay. Edward and I had always joked about how now he owed me one. But really, I think I owed him. During that time Jasper and I had bonded, and that was rekindled when we saw each other again.

"How are you doing, Alice?" His voice was quiet, and he reached out to brush the hair out of my face. I didn't realize that I'd been crying.

"It's just been a hard day, that's all." I whispered back. I hated to try and talk while I cried. It usually came out as some jumbled mess that no one could possibly understand. Somehow Jasper did, though. Jasper and I had both called work and explained the situation. Our bosses were very understanding and had told us that we could take as much time off as we needed, as long as it was reasonable.

He rubbed my back in soothing circles, until I stopped crying.

"You know that she'll be alright."

"I know. It was just… I've never seen her so messed up. I can't believe that Jake would do that. He always seemed so perfect for her before. I almost didn't believe it when she first told me. But to see it happen… I don't know how she was so strong." I sighed. Rolling on my side, facing him.

"I don't know either. I think having Connor was a major incentive. How do you feel about Edward and Bella? They definitely have something going on there."

"I'm happy for them. Especially for Bella. For her to find someone as great as Edward right away is great. He's really good with Connor, too." When we left Edward had been holding the dozing off Connor, while he sat in a chair, rubbing his back. It was if fatherhood was completely natural for him. I knew that he would be a good father for Connor, and I was glad that Bella had opened up for him.

"So am I."

"How are you doing, Jasper? Have you been feeling better?"

"Yeah. Seeing you again has definitely helped, also. It's been almost five years, Alice, but it still hurts some days. It hurt to see Edward with Connor, knowing that I was supposed to have a child, but I'll never get to meet it. It was never even given the chance to have life experiences." He choked up as he said this, and I started rubbing his back, hoping that it would have the same effect as it had on me. I could feel his muscles instantly relax, and I knew that it had worked.

"I'm really sorry to bring it up, Jasper." I leaned over to kiss his forehead, but he moved his head and my lips came in contact with his. It was a brief kiss, but it startled me.

"It's okay. I'm all better now," He smiled.

"Hmm. I'm glad."

Soon after I fell asleep. I woke up when the phone rang, and heard Emmett go to answer it.

"Hello? Oh, hey Edward. How is she?" He kept his voice low, not wanting to wake us. Too late, I thought.

"Oh, really? That's great. When can she come home?" There was a long pause, as Edward explained the situation, I assumed.

"Okay. I'll tell everyone. I'll call if we can't stop by. Yeah, will do. Bye."

At this point I shook Jasper awake, saying, "Edward called." Into his ear. He sat right up, and followed me out to the kitchen.

"So what did he say?" I asked, rocking back and forth on the balls of my feet.

"Oh, they had to amputate Bellas head, but she's fine now." He kept his face completely serious.

"Idiot! I hate you! What did he really say?"

"She woke up, and the hospital is happy with how things are turning out. She can come back tomorrow, but she has to stay in bed for at least a week. She wants to see you, if you're up for it. Edward said he could get the staff to let us in."

I glanced at the clock. It was a little after four in the morning, and we were all in our pajamas. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go."

We all headed out to our vehicles, still in our pajamas. I'm sure Rosalie would have liked to change, but she knew that it wasn't a good time to torment me. We made our way to the hospital quickly, and knocked on the front doors. A member of the staff came soon and unlocked the doors, letting us in. I half ran up to Bellas room, and tapped on the door before opening it. I peered in at Bella, who was still ragged and bruised, but at least she was awake.

Bella POV-

Everything hurt. Literally, everything. Breathing, moving, talking. All I wanted to do was see my friends, and then sleep. Edward sat at the edge of my bed, alternating between holding my hand and stroking my hair. Someone had brought Connor a portable crib, and he was fast asleep in it. I silently thanked whoever had.

I heard a faint knock on the door and Alice pranced in, obviously holding back the urge to shout. I pointed to the crib.

"Be quiet, Alice." I warned. "If you wake him up you have to put him back to sleep. I hope he pukes on you." Edward laughed at my dead voice threatening Alice.

"Don't worry. I do know how to be quiet." I looked at the others who were all standing in the doorway, they looked uneasy and out of place.

"Come on in, guys. There are quite a few chairs in here."

They walked into the room, Emmett stopping to reposition the blankets on Connor. They all found chairs and I put my head back down. I wanted some more pain meds, but I knew I couldn't have them yet. It wasn't fair.

"How do you feel, Bella?" Rosalie asked.

I tried to laugh, but it got caught up in my throat. Don't laugh, it just burns. I added to the mental list I was keeping. "Well, we're going to have to postpone the shopping trip." I said. "Basically everything is sore. It hurts to move, and for some reason my throat is super sore. And of course I have a headache, but who wouldn't, after getting smashed against steel, right?" I tried to joke around, but they weren't having it.

"You don't have to joke, Bella. You don't have to entertain us." Jasper said. I hadn't talked to him much, but he seemed like a good guy. I hoped that he and Alice hit it off.

I sighed. "I know. Edward?" He looked up at me when I said his name.

"Yes?"

"Can you have the nurse bring me some water, and ask her how long I have to wait for more pain meds?" I tried not to let on how badly everything hurt, because it seemed as if it hurt him just as much.

"Absolutely. I'll be back soon."

"You know, Bella, I don't know if that shopping trip will even be necessary." She said, shooting a meaningful look my way, and then glancing towards Alice and Jasper. I looked her way, and saw that Jasper had his hand on Alices back. Of course, I understood what she meant, but Alice didn't.

"What? No. We are definitely going shopping, just after Bella gets better. Both Jasper and I have two weeks off, plus our other vacation time we have saved up. We will definitely have time to go shopping."

I wanted to laugh, but I reminded myself of why it was on the mental list. "Okay Alice, don't have a cow, we'll go shopping once I get the okay."

Both Emmett and Jasper chuckled. "That's Alice for you." I heard one of them comment.

"Mama." I heard Connor call from the crib. He had woken up during our conversation. Oops. A little too loud, I guess. Emmett went over and picked him up.

"Hey buddy, you're going to have to lay off your mom for a bit. She's not supposed to pick you up." He set him next to me, and Connor sat, looking at me. I hated to think what it was that he saw.

"Cow?" He tilted his head, as if he wasn't sure how to say it. I'm going to have to start watching what I say around him. Alice laughed.

"That's what you get for accusing me of having a cow." She said. She went over and picked him up.

"Jasper and I will take him for a little walk, maybe he'll settle down again." She took Jaspers hand and strolled out into the hallway with him.

"See what I mean?" Rosalie asked.

I nodded. "Definitely. But apparently a shopping trip is still necessary." I added.

Just then Edward came in with plastic cups and a pitcher of water. Following him was a nurse.

"I'll give you some more meds in about fifteen minutes, okay?" She said. She waited for me to nod, and then walked out again, continuing on her rounds.

"She wanted to come in and make sure that you would be okay." Edward explained. "What did you do to get rid of Alice and Jasper?" He asked.

"Connor was antsy, so they took him for a walk. He learned how to say cow, by the way." I smiled.

"Do I even want to know?" He asked.

"Bella told Alice not to give birth to a cow." Emmett stated. He shrugged. "Shopping. You know how she is about it."

"Ah, I see. How are you feeling now, Bella?" He asked, once again. It seemed like he asked every time he had the chance. I couldn't decide if it was getting annoying or if it was still sweet.

"The pain medication is wearing off. I'm getting better and better." I smiled, attempting sarcasm.

"I'll go get the nurse." He got up and started out of the room.

"Edward, let her finish her rounds. She'll be here in ten minutes. I can wait that long. Make sure that they give me a big prescription when I leave here though. Whatever they give me sure does a lot." The difference between having the pain medication and not was excruciating. I wouldn't be able to move if I didn't have them, and it hadn't even completely worn off yet. I hoped she would get in here before it did.

"Just rest until she is." He suggested. I was too tired to resist. I closed my eyes and listened to everyone talk in hushed voice. Something about Alice and Jasper. It sounded like Rose was filling the boys in on our plan. I heard some hushed laughter, and could tell that they were going to go along with it. Good. I thought. I was worried that maybe they wouldn't, making some comment about girls, and how they always had to play matchmaker.

I wouldn't mind going shopping with Alice, I was sure. I hadn't gone in what seemed like forever, and she was right. My closet desperately needed an update. I knew that it must have looked extremely boring to her. Seeming as how it was basically suits and T-Shirts. Besides, I loved shopping with Alice. She had amazing taste. And judging by the way Rosalie dressed, so did she. It was our ritual when we went shopping. We would shop for a few hours, and then grab an orange Julius. We always got orange, never bothering to try other flavors. Orange was both of ours favorites, and I wasn't about to give up a chance to have one just to try out a new flavor. After our little break, we would usually hit the accessories stores, and little boutiques. We always got out clothes shopping done before the break, which gave us plenty of time to shop for shoes afterwards. Both Alice and I were suckers for shoes. I had quite a collection over at Jacobs. If they were even still there.

I heard the nurse come in, and slip some more medication into the bags connected to my IV.

"Thanks," I whispered. The medication instantly made me exhausted, and I drifted of into a deep sleep for the rest of the night.

Edward POV-

The difference between Bellas face before and after the medication was drastic. She had clearly been in more pain than she was letting on. Soon after she fell asleep, the others headed back to my apartment. I was so glad to have such good friends, and that Rosalie was such a great match for Emmett. I was also glad that Jasper had Alice now. If he had still been with Tanya she would have wined, and probably stayed back at the hotel so she could get all of her beauty sleep. Even though Jasper had loved her, the rest of us had always thought she was way too high maintenance for him. I wasn't glad that his past had happened to him, but I can't say that I still wished for her to be in his life.

I laid down on the cot that the nurse had brought in, and I asked her to take the crib out. It would leave more room in the small hospital room, and I was sure both Connor and I would sleep better. Even if I couldn't sleep with Bella in my arms, I could still have her son next to me. He was picking up a lot of words, and fast. He had also started saying 'no.' almost right after he had said cow. I was glad that I normally didn't swear.

Sometime in the early morning I fell asleep, listening to the monitors and the occasional shuffling of sleep.

This was another longer chapter, which was mostly things that were just filling in obvious questions. You now know what Edward owed Alice for. Next chapter Bella will come home, and we will see what's going on with Jake. Keep reviewing! It usually makes me write, seeming as how i feel guilty with leaving you guys only one chapter today, I wrote this one. Hope you like it.