Flight of the Phoenix

Chapter Five – Wait


I approached Emmett's red jeep with him at the wheel. Jasper and Rosalie were sitting in the back. "How is she, Edward?" Emmett asked.

"Not good. Just get me to the hotel so I can clean up. We need to go hunting now," I explained as he drove out of the parking lot of the hospital. There was a growl behind me. A feeling of calmness was threatening to take over me. I hissed at Jasper's attempt at trying to soothe my anger.

Edward, you need to calm down first, Jasper thought.

"I will calm down once James has been torn to shreds for Bella and for Alice," I growled through gritted teeth.

"What do you mean, for Alice? What does James have to do with Alice?" Jasper responded, confusion in every word.

"He knew her when we first met him out in the clearing. He knew her all along. He was after her when she was still human, but another vampire saved her and made her safe. Alice was in a mental institution before. That's why she doesn't remember anything."

"Let's go," Jasper said as a wave of aggression was sent throughout the jeep. I knew that if Jasper came into contact with James, there would be no stopping him. But he had to wait in line.

"So, we have to kill James?" Emmett asked as he pulled into the hotel parking structure.

"Yes. I know Carlisle won't like it. There's also the possibility that Victoria and Laurent will join him," I stated simply.

We all swiftly exited the jeep and made our way up the stairs to our floor. Emmett handed me a key card, and I went to our hotel room I read from his head. I quickly changed and cleaned up, missing the scent of Bella in my clothes.

The others waited in the hallway. Jasper was thinking of James's body being ripped apart. Emmett was thinking how many swipes it would take for James's head to come off. Rosalie, on the other hand, was questioning our sanity. I exited the room and went into the hallway.

"Why should we risk ourselves for this human?" Rosalie whispered, only audible to our kind, her arms across her chest and her eyes narrowed.

"She's broken, Rosalie. It's his… my fault she will no longer be able to have children. I owe it to her to make sure he doesn't come after her again." Sadness crept in my voice as we entered the jeep.

"She can't have kids…" Rosalie clenched her fists, thoughts of children with dark curls ran through her mind. "Let's go." She'd always wanted children. That was one of the biggest regrets about her existence as a vampire. There was no doubt in her mind. She felt... something for Bella, remorse.

"Alice said that he landed somewhere near Cedar Rapids, Iowa. From there she saw him heading to Canada through Wisconsin and Minnesota, and then she said that she lost sight of him in Ontario," Jasper stated.

"Maybe we should just head to Ontario and see if we can follow his scent from there," Rosalie indicated as we flew through Chicago at a blinding speed.

"No, we should start from where he started. He may have used the lakes to get to Canada," Emmett stated, thinking of road maps of the regions.

"He's right, we want to make sure he doesn't double back. Head to Cedar Rapids. At the speed we're going, we should get there in a little over an hour."

"Are you forgetting, Edward, that he already has at least a four-hour head start?" Jasper indicated, picturing James entering the hospital and Alice trying to protect Bella. I turned my attention to Jasper.

"Do you think that is what he's going to do?" I asked silently, aware of the possibility of James doing what Jasper was thinking.

"Maybe, he seems like the type. There's also the possibility that he's not working alone. Victoria could be helping him. Let's not forget that he's likely to know about Alice's visions, so he'd try to use that to his advantage." The words were barely out of his lips when my phone buzzed in my pocket.

"Alice."

"He's here."

"Is he alone?" Emmett flipped a U-turn and headed back to the hospital.

"Yes. We're not leaving her side, Edward. I don't see him attacking yet."

"We'll be there in about fifteen minutes. Don't leave her, Alice. Tell Carlisle we no longer have a choice. James is dead."

"I know. Hurry."

I flipped my phone off. "Get us there, Emmett. We don't want to keep James waiting," I growled.

The tension in the jeep was palpable. We needed to figure out the best way to approach James. He knew of Alice's visions, but did he know about my gift? "It's probably best if we don't arrive in the jeep." Everyone nodded in agreement. We stopped abruptly, leaving the jeep in the parking lot of a grocery store.

"Emmett, Rosalie, head in from the north until you get to Alice. Jasper and I will head in from the south. Circle a few times until we can find a trail. If you have to make a call, make sure he's not around," I instructed, ready to get this over with so that I could see Bella.

Emmett and Rosalie headed north as I'd instructed. Jasper and I headed straight towards the hospital. We circled near the hospital a few times until we found James's trail. He was alone. We circled around to the south entrance and entered. His trail led inside.

His trail leads inside the hospital from the north entrance, Emmett thought. I could see him down a nondescript hallway, following James's scent.

He's searching for her. Rosalie was near a nurses' station, trying to find where the trail led to.

"Emmett and Rosalie said that he entered the north entrance also. He's making us go in circles. I'm going to Bella's room." Jasper nodded, but continued to follow the trail.

I made my way to the room that Carlisle had last seen Bella in. Alice was waiting at the doorway.

"Her father and Carlisle are with her now. She still hasn't woken up, but she's talking in her sleep." Alice smiled a smug grin as a memory played back in her head of Bella mumbling my name three times and that she wanted me to stay with her.

"It seems you made quite an impression on her. Question is… did she make an impression on you?" Alice crossed her arms across her chest and cocked an eyebrow. I shook my head. I was not ready to answer that question.

"Alice," I growled. She smiled again and let me through into the room. I walked in timidly, not wanting to overstep my welcome.

"Edward, back so soon?" Charlie asked, thinking back to the same memory that Alice had let me see earlier. He was worried that Bella would start dating me. He should worry, I thought to myself.

Wait… am I planning on dating her?

"Yes, sir, I wanted to make sure Bella's condition is stable." I walked over to the foot of her bed. With my own eyes, it was much more difficult to see her in this condition. She looked so small on the bed. So pale, her lips still did not have the pink tint that they usually held.

She'll be fine once we handle James, Carlisle thought as he looked over her chart. I tore my gaze from her and gave a questioning look at Carlisle. It seems we have no choice in killing James. Of course I will do what I can to help.

"Where's my mother?" I asked my father, returning my attention to Bella.

"Esme went to pick up Renee from the airport, thankfully," Charlie answered, taking Bella's hand. His thoughts had an overwhelming desire to kick himself for letting her go to college so far away from him or her mother. He blamed himself, like he blamed himself for all of her little accidents.

Did he not see the pull that Bella possessed towards anything dangerous? How else could someone explain the fact that James had decided to come after her with only one encounter with Alice?

I questioned his motives. He was a hunter. He saw Bella as nothing more than a way to get to the rest of us. He liked the challenge that our family would give to protect this harmless girl.

I let my mind wander to Alice and Rosalie, who were with her in the hospital. Alice was trying to "talk" to me.

He's gone. Emmett and Jasper lost the trail when he crossed Lake Superior. Sorry.

I knew once he'd gotten wind of all of us here, he would flee. But I also knew he'd be back.

Bella's eyes fluttered slightly, and she started to mumble in her medicine-induced sleep.

"Edward. Edward too… perfect," Bella mumbled and then sighed as my father and Charlie bit back a laugh.

Well, you now know how she perceives you. And you didn't have to read it from her mind. Carlisle chuckled, barely audible to a human.

I glared at him. I didn't need to add more complications to our relationship. Her being physically attracted to me would make things complicated. It was bad enough already being obsessed with her blood, her thoughts and her body. We didn't need to add more fuel to the fire. Was I really thinking of forming any kind of relationship with this woman? Could I really be her friend... or more? I had no idea what she really thought of me. I knew I could avoid her in school – it was a large campus. But the pull I felt towards her would never allow me to leave her.

"Bella has always talked in her sleep, since she was a child." Charlie chuckled.

Hmm… this was a way for me to listen to her subconscious thoughts and dreams. The idea of watching her sleep fascinated me.

I heard Esme's thoughts as she entered the hospital with Bella's mother. "We should go, Carlisle, so they can have privacy," I indicated, wanting to leave before Bella's mother entered the room. Carlisle nodded.

"Thank you for everything, Carlisle, Edward, and to the rest of your family. Will we be seeing you again tomorrow?" Charlie asked as he took a strand of Bella's hair and tucked it behind her ear.

"Yes, Charlie, we will be around for at least a few days to make sure of Bella's condition," Carlisle stated, patting Charlie's shoulder. "She'll be fine, Charlie. Get some sleep. The airline said that they are putting up the families at the Hilton. My family and I are staying there too. If you need anything, let us know. We'll be happy to help." Charlie nodded as Carlisle and I walked out of the room.

The others were in the waiting room. Carlisle and I made our way to them as Esme walked Renee to Bella's room. Renee's mind was different than most adults her age, very child-like and her worries were very much like Charlie's.

Esme returned to the waiting room as we all contemplated what was going to be the next step.

But before we delved into that topic, I wanted to know why. I turned to Alice. "Why, Alice?"

She sighed. "If I had told you that the scent was from someone in town, you would've gone to find her and killed her." I nodded. I already knew I would have.

"When you started sniffing me –" she chuckled before continuing "I saw the vision of the plane crash. At that time, the plane was going to crash because you couldn't control yourself, and you covered up her death by bringing down the plane." I pinched the bridge of my nose. I would've killed them all.

"I instantly thought that I should warn you… but a new vision came to me." She sighed again before continuing. The rest of the family listened to Alice's confessions intently. "If you did not get on the plane, the plane would have gone down, but Bella's body would not be found among the wreckage. At the time, I didn't know that James would have been involved. So, I found another option – let you go on the plane, then warn you when you were already in the air." She grinned.

"Another option, Alice?" I growled. "There were so many things that could've gone wrong."

"Yes… and the moment that I had made the choice to call you, everything went fuzzy again. So, I knew I had made the right choice. Things cleared up once James made his choice, but by then all communication with the plane had been lost. There was no way to warn you." Alice shrugged, taking a seat.

I shook my head and looked at the rest of my family.

"We can't leave her unprotected. She has to stay at least a couple of weeks in the hospital. Most of those days will be cloudy, except for tomorrow," Alice indicated as her visions led to fuzzy images of Bella being taken out to a car from the hospital in a wheelchair.

"We also have to go home. James is going to get on a plane soon and is heading back to Washington." Alice struggled to make sense of the visions in her head. I didn't recognize the airport that he was in.

"Why would he go back to Forks?" Esme asked, coming up with the same conclusion as Alice. It didn't make sense.

"Maybe he's going back to get more information on Bella. Does he know what school you and Bella were heading to?" Rosalie indicated as she pictured James going through Charlie's home.

"He must know about the school. The only time that I had met with Bella back home was outside of the grocery store. She was wearing a Dartmouth t-shirt, and Esme mentioned that she was attending this fall with Edward."

"Are you saying that he waited until she was on the plane to get to her? He waited until Edward was involved. He was so competitive when we played baseball. He hated that Edward was too fast and he couldn't get on base," Emmett scoffed.

"I think, just in case, we can't leave Charlie unprotected once he returns home. James may decide that he can get more information there," Carlisle indicated, lacing a hand over his eyes.

"I have to stay. She is going to ask for my help. Renee and Charlie are going to have to go back to work, and Bella will need someone to help her until she heals," Alice said, obviously happy as visions of Bella's new home with new furniture and stocking her closet ran through her head.

"Well, that leaves Edward, Alice and Jasper staying here to watch over Bella until she can go to her home. Esme, Rosalie, Emmett and I will return home and keep an eye out for Charlie and for James," Carlisle stated. The entire conversation passed in less than thirty seconds in tones only audible to our kind. Everyone else departed to for the hotel.

I let myself listen to Renee's thoughts.

She looks so fragile. Why do all these things happen to her? A plane crash! She's a walking lightning rod for all bad things. How can I keep her safe? How is she going to take not being able to have a child? I always pictured her little girl with her beautiful brown eyes. How is she going to take being so broken?

Alice thought as she and Jasper left. Edward, I have to take Jasper back to the hotel. There's a victim coming in soon that will be covered in blood, and it won't be good if he's here. I'll call if I see anything.

I walked out of the hospital and headed outside of Bella's hospital window. There was a large bush that provided cover as I sat on the dirt under her window. I didn't want to be seen in the waiting area. It would just cause problems with Charlie, and I still hadn't met Bella's mother.

It was easier to watch Bella from her mother's thoughts. Her mother's mind constantly wandered. She was easily distracted. She would be staring at Bella, stroking her hand, but she'd be thinking of her husband Phil that was at home with a broken leg and trying to manage on his own. She would quickly sneak a peek at Charlie and idly wonder if he was still dating someone named Sue Clearwater. All the while she was remembering when Bella had broken her hand when she punched some boy. A boy named Jacob Black.

I growled. She was remembering when Bella had come back from a vacation from her father's, and she had said that she'd punched a dog that was trying to kiss her, but he had a hard head. I wanted nothing more than to rip his head off.

What was this ridiculous feeling of rage and hurt that was overwhelming me? Jealousy?

Only this creature could stir such strong emotions. Only this creature was capable of having two mythical beings fall in love with her. How had I come up with that conclusion? Am I in love with her? Is this what it felt like to be in love?

I processed all the feelings I had felt since I'd come into contact with her. It had been an emotional rollercoaster. I felt curiosity, an urge to comfort her, lust, desire, jealousy and the overwhelming need to be with her. When I'd left her side to go to hunt, I felt like I'd left a piece of me behind. I'd been irrevocably changed from the moment I had met her.

Did this mean… that I was in love with her? For me to be in love with a human was laughable. To fall in love with a human who stirred such powerful desires was impossible. But yet the emotion was there. I quickly went through all explanations of love that I'd read, seen in a play or movie, and none seemed to compare to what I felt for her or to our situation. I was in love with this woman, this human.

But could I be selfish enough to stay with her? I had known her for less than a few hours, and I already had her in constant danger. My own thirst, the plane crash and James were plaguing her existence. How could I stay with her, when I could be the one that could lose control and kill her? Even if my thirst didn't conquer me, my touch could kill her. Even now, I was fighting the urge to run into her room and hold her hand, stroke her cheek and kiss her lips.

Her lips… that one kiss outside the plans till tingled on my own lips. Her skin tasted so sweet, and the warmth was amazing, like a flame licking the icy planes of my lips.

Stop! I couldn't think about that. I would not allow myself to do that again. But to fight the urges that were deep within me and that were fighting their way to the surface were getting harder to ignore.

I focused again on Renee's thoughts. Bella was talking in her sleep again. "Edward… kiss… don't go stay… with me." Bella sighed and smiled slightly. Renee looked over to Charlie as he laughed and shook his head. My dead heart swelled up at the thought of her dreaming of me.

The rest of the night, Bella remained quiet as I planned for my future with her. I knew that right now, I would not be able to leave. Not when she needed me, not when she wanted me to stay. I loved her, and I knew I always would. I would stay with her throughout college. Watch over her, protect her from harm. If she chose to move on, I would let her go. But I would still watch from afar.

Before it was light out, Alice picked me up in my Volvo. We were going to have to stay indoors to avoid the sunlight. I arrived at the hotel and changed into some clean clothes and Alice gave me a jacket, a pair of sunglasses and a cap to wear. I had to hurry and sneak into the hospital and find a room that I could "watch" Bella from. Alice dropped me off just a few minutes before the sun made an appearance.

I spent most of the day wandering from room to room until Alice said it would be safe for me to see Charlie and Renee. It was well into the afternoon when my phone vibrated in my pocket.

"How much longer will you be?" I said into my phone.

"Carlisle, Esme and I are on our way to the hospital. Renee and Charlie are going to leave shortly after we get there so they can get cleaned up at the hotel. She won't wake until tomorrow morning," Alice said, the sound of an engine running in the background.

"Good."

I hung up my phone and made my way to the waiting room. A few minutes later, Alice, followed by Carlisle and Esme, walked in just as Charlie was leaving Bella's room.

"Carlisle, Esme it's good to see you're here. The doctors said that they are taking away the medication that is letting her sleep so she can wake up. How long does that usually take?" Charlie asked, concern and sadness in his eyes and features.

"It's different with everyone, Charlie, I would say at least until late tomorrow morning. You look like you could use some sleep. Why don't you head to the hotel?"

"That sounds like a good idea. I'm going to go get Renee, so you can meet Bella's mother and see if she'd like to go too." Charlie looked at each of us. "You wouldn't mind staying for a few hours while we go to the hotel?"

"Of course not, Charlie, we'll stay with Bella," Esme said soothingly.

"That sounds great. Let me go get Renee." Charlie walked back to Bella's room and a minute later they both emerged. Renee ran straight for me and threw her arms around me. I was a little shocked.

Relax, Edward… hug her back,Alice thought.

I gently patted Renee's back as she lightly sobbed. "Thank you. Thank you. You saved our daughter. Thank you so much." Renee pulled away and wiped her tears with a tissue she held in her hand.

"Sorry, it's just that Charlie told me about you, and I just wanted to thank you," Renee mumbled, staring at me for few seconds then looking at Charlie.

"Renee, that was Edward, this is his father Carlisle Cullen, you've met his wife Esme and their daughter Alice." Charlie introduced us as Renee shook each one of our hands.

"Carlisle is a doctor and agrees with Bella's doctors. She won't be waking up tonight. Maybe late tomorrow morning. We should take this time to go the hotel and get cleaned up," Charlie explained to a reluctant Renee.

"We'll stay with her until you get back." Alice answered an unspoken question.

"That's fine, we need to call for a cab, Charlie." Renee walked back towards Bella's room. "Let me say bye, and then we can go."

"Charlie, I can drive you and Renee back to the hotel," Esme offered.

"That would be great, Esme." A few minutes later, Renee and Charlie left with Esme. I went and sat in the chair next to Bella. I took several deep breaths; the scent of Bella's blood sent flames down my already-scorched throat. Carlisle looked at me warily.

Son, I'm worried about you. Should you really be here?

"No. But I can't force myself to leave."

Why, Edward? Alice said that her blood calls to you.

"I don't know how to explain it. My whole existence… my world was centered on my family and music but now… now it centers on her."

Do you love her?

"Yes, I suppose I do. There is no other explanation for what I'm feeling. Yet it seems inadequate. I'm scared, Carlisle."

Of what, Edward?

"That she'll feel the same way… that she won't feel the same way. I want to stay with her, but I will not take her life from her."

Carlisle and Alice gave me some privacy as I studied Bella's face. My urge to touch her overwhelmed me, so with a feather light touch I traced the contours of her cheekbone, her eyelids, her jawline, her nose and her lips. I leaned in and lightly pressed my cold, hard lips against her soft, warm ones. As I pulled away, she whispered, "Edward."

I held her hand for what seemed to be a short time when Alice entered the room.

"Charlie and Renee are on their way back." I nodded in response, released Bella's hand, stroked her cheek and sat down on the chair a little farther away.

Just then, Charlie and Renee entered the room. Once again, Charlie was thinking about me and his daughter dating. At least he didn't seem so opposed to the idea. Renee's thoughts were more along the lines that she thought I was very good-looking and that Bella was lucky to have made a friend already.

"Hello, Edward."

"Hello, sir." Charlie looked at me and cocked an eyebrow. "Charlie, I'm sorry." Charlie smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Edward, I can probably tell you to go on back to the hotel, but I have a feeling it would be a wasted effort." He chuckled.

"I'll wait outside until they tell me to leave," I said, getting up from the chair.

"You can stay, Edward. Charlie and I haven't had dinner yet. We're heading to the cafeteria before it closes to grab something. Would you like anything?" Renee asked, stroking Bella's hand.

"No, thank you. I just ate," I answered, as Alice and my father entered the room. Charlie leaned in and kissed Bella's cheek.

His thoughts were centered on a strange call he'd received from Billy Black. I clenched my teeth. The wolves were wondering about my involvement in the plane crash and Bella's injuries.

Renee and Charlie left. Once I knew we were safe to talk, I turned my attention to Alice.

"The wolves are questioning Charlie about our involvement with Bella. Can you see if they are going to cause problems?"

Alice looked into the future, and she saw nothing when she thought about the Quileutes pack. We had managed to avoid the wolves since we'd moved back to Forks, for the most part.

We'd only met with one named Sam Uley. We had thought that the genetic quirk that allowed for the mutations to exist had died out in the last generation. But Bella had confirmed that there was more than just one.

"I don't see anything. But I'm starting to think I can't see any of our futures when the dogs are involved." Alice snickered.

"I'll make some phone calls to remind them of the treaty and assure them that there is nothing to be concerned about," Carlisle said as he removed his phone from his jacket and headed out to the waiting room.

"Nothing to be concerned about. I wish I could believe that," I grumbled.

"Edward, she'll be fine, her future is becoming clearer." Alice thought of a vision of her and Bella arm in arm, another of an upset-looking Bella sitting in front of a mirror as Alice fixed her hair, another of me and Bella dancing, but there was another that Alice was fighting for me not to see.

"What are you hiding, Alice? Do you still see James attacking?"

"No. Not anymore. I don't understand why, though. Since he knows that I have visions, I suppose he knows that I won't see him attack until he chooses to."

"Good, then Bella is safe from becoming a vampire." Alice's resolve slipped, and she saw me running in the forests of New Hampshire with Bella running alongside of me.

I jumped up from the chair. "No! Why is she one of us?"

"Calm down, Edward. I don't see James involved in this. You and I both know that this can only go two ways. You won't be able to control yourself and you kill her, and I will be royally angry with you if that happens, and the other way – she becomes one of us."

"No, I'll leave now. I'll go somewhere else. I won't stay with her." I paced the room.

"Think about leaving, Edward. Think about it… can you really leave her behind? Leave her unprotected? James can go after her later, and you'll never forgive yourself. You'll die without her," Alice explained.

The idea of leaving and never seeing her face was too painful to bear, but so was the thought of me taking her soul, her life.

"Edward… don't go," Bella whispered, the corners of her lips turned down.

"Can she hear us?" I asked Alice. Alice chuckled and was hiding another vision from me. I glared at her and took Bella's hand in both of my own.

"Like I said before, you won't be able to leave." Alice smiled smugly before prancing to a chair near me.

We spent the rest of the night with Bella's parents, where her mother and father told interesting stories of her childhood and her inability to avoid accidents. A nurse eventually told us that visiting hours were over and that we needed to leave. Alice and I left, and Charlie followed us to the waiting room, where my father was on the phone.

"Renee is spending the night with Bella. I'm going to head back to the hotel," Charlie explained to Alice.

"We'll drive you. Carlisle and I are heading back, while Edward runs an errand for Esme," Alice suggested carefully, allowing me to stay the night outside Bella's window again.

"That would be great," Charlie expressed as Carlisle came over to us. His thoughts were on a call he'd had earlier.

We may have trouble with the pack, Carlisle thought before leaving.

"We should be heading back to the hotel. We'll see you later, Edward," Carlisle said while leading Charlie out the exit with Alice at their heels.

See you in the morning. I'll pick you up so you can change.

"Early," I whispered.

Of course.

The next morning after I returned from the hotel, Esme and Carlisle took Charlie and Renee to breakfast. Alice assured me that Bella and I would have a chance to talk alone when she woke up in a few minutes.

I sat beside her, and as much as I wanted to hold her hand or stroke her cheek, I restrained myself. I didn't want to scare her. Bella's eyes started to flutter, and then those beautiful deep brown eyes met with mine.

"Edward." She coughed. I grabbed a glass of water with a straw and held it close to her lips. She looked at me for a moment, and then took the straw in her lips. I studied the way her features looked, her lips slightly puckered. She looked adorable. She let go, and I placed the glass back on the side table. Bella sighe. "You're still here."

"Yes. I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Alice is here too."

"Yes, how did you know?"

"I heard her when I was asleep." I stiffened. She'd heard everything that had been said in this room. She'd heard, but had she felt everything?

"What's the last thing you remember?" I asked warily, trying to avoid the pending conversation.

"The smell of blood… ugh." Bella scrunched her nose a little.

"Humans can't smell blood," I stated.

"I can. It smells like rust and salt." I stared at her. What was she? She seemed to be human with the same fragile body as all others, but her mind, her thoughts and everything she did made her seem that there was more to her than met the eye.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. But you had that look in your eyes again. I didn't want you to risk exposing yourself," Bella mumbled.

There she went again, saying something that would be beyond any human saying. She was concerned that I would expose myself, and not the fact that I'd been ready to kill her. I shook my head in disbelief.

"Did I say something wrong?" Bella asked, looking at me, concerned.

"I'm trying to understand you, and every time I think I have you figured out… you say something or do something so surprising that it confuses me further."

"Like I said before, I'm a freak. Don't let it bother you. I'll always tell you what I'm thinking."

"You'll edit."

"You don't want to hear everything," Bella whispered and averted her eyes from me.

"Do you remember anything after the emergency room?"

"Yes, and at the crash site." She looked at me and smiled slightly, a glint in her eyes.

This time it was my turn to avert my eyes from her. "Umm… your parents went with mine to have breakfast."

I looked back at Bella, and she rolled her eyes. "I know. My mother said she was going before she left."

"You heard us."

"Yes… everything. I know what the doctor said about me."

"How do you feel?"

"Like I was in a plane crash."

"Very funny. You know what I mean."

"I feel that you have something to say and that you are trying to avoid it."

"Perceptive. But you still haven't answered my question."

"I've never pictured myself with children, so I guess it doesn't really matter."

"Why don't you picture yourself with children?"

"How do I explain it? I guess I'd be too worried that I'd hurt the baby with my clumsiness. Why risk it?" Bella shrugged and winced. "Ow!"

"What hurts?" I stood up and leaned over her and gently placed my hand on her cheek.

"Nothing now." She smiled and took her right hand and held my hand in place. The warmth was amazing. I pulled away gently, and Bella pouted slightly.

"Bella –" I closed my eyes.

"You've kissed me twice. Why?" Bella asked, her eyes touched with sadness.

"I –"

"Don't try to lie to me. Is it just because you feel sorry for me?" Bella's eyes started to glisten with tears.

"No, of course not! This can never work."

"How do you know? Did Alice see that it wouldn't?"

I growled. "Bella, that's not it. You know what I am, and you're human."

"Why does that matter? I'm already broken."

"Don't say that. You'll be up and about in a few days."

"No, Edward… I'm broken. I already know my life will never be the same. I'm starting to wonder… if maybe I was destined to be with you."

"Destiny," I scoffed.

"Yes, I was supposed to move to Forks in my junior year of high school. I would've met you then. What Jacob told me about your family prepared me for meeting you. And we ended up in the same flight so that you could save me. Destiny."

"Hardly." I heard Alice approaching the room, smug thoughts ran through her head.

"No, she's right, Edward," Alice said as she entered Bella's room.

"What makes you think so?"

"Easy. Did you know that you two are neighbors and have four classes together?" Alice smiled at Bella, who returned it with her own smile.

"You still haven't answered her question, Edward," Alice said, glaring at me. I glared back.

"What question?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"Why did you kiss her?" Alice said.

"You know why, Alice," I growled.

Oh, I know why, but I think you need to tell her why, Alice thought as she winked at Bella and left the room.

"Edward, you don't have to answer. It's okay. I couldn't expect you to feel anything for me," Bella said as she closed her eyes.

I placed both of my hands on her cheeks and kissed her lips. I pulled away slightly. "I… I love you, Bella. Never doubt that again, please." I kissed her once more before pulling away and pulling a chair close to her bed.

"You know, relationships that start with nothing but heart-stopping action never last." Bella laughed.

"That's what I'm counting on."


AN: Thanks to lisa89 for helping clean this up.