I am so sorry it took so long to get a new chapter. Real life has been tough for a while and my writing MOJO has all but left me. I hope this is good. Thank you to those who asked me about finishing this you really did restart my MOJO! Enjoy although this is a tough chapter for Natalie and Bella. It's pretty emotional so I recommend some tissues! Also remember I don't have a Beta so any mistakes are all mine!

Chapter 13

The drive to the hospital was quiet but not uncomfortable. Natalie was playing with her hair and looking out the window. I couldn't stop checking on her in my mirror. We pulled into the parking garage and sat in silence for a moment before Natalie unbuckled her seat belt breaking the silence. I took her hand once we were out of the car and we walked to the elevator.

The ICU was on the fourth floor and we were parked on the third so we took the elevator up and then crossed over the sky walk to the hospital. Natalie loved watching the cars drive under us as we walked over. I let the nurses know we were there to see Heidi and we waited for them to let us in.

As soon as we were allowed back the nurse led us to the small conference room again. Dr. Cullen stood just inside waiting for us. He greeted us with a warm smile and shook my hand.

"Good afternoon, Natalie. Did you have a nice day at the park?" he asked.

Natalie looked confused but then I realized that she didn't know that Dr. Cullen was Edward's father.

"Natalie, this is Edward's dad. I meant to tell you that the other day," I clarified. She looked relieved.

"Wow, really? Edward is really nice. You are too so I should have known," she said with a small smile before asking, "What's going to happen to my mom?"

"Well honey, she's not doing too well right now. She is very sick, has been for probably a long time. So between that and what happened the other day, she is having a very tough time."

"I didn't know she was sick. What's wrong with her?" Natalie asked carefully.

"She has a disease called Hepatitis C. It makes the liver very sick and makes it hard for her body to work properly. She also has some problems with her kidneys because of the trauma. Her back bone is broken in a couple places and her brain is not working anymore," Dr. Cullen explained carefully.

"So is she going to die?"

"Probably soon. We can't keep starting her heart when it stops because it is too weak to restart many more times."

"Okay. Can I see her? I need to say goodbye," she said with calmness that I couldn't believe.

"Of course you can," I said for Dr. Cullen.

She took my hand and we followed Dr. Cullen from the room to her mother's bed down the hall. Before we entered he turned around and explained that because of the wounds on her back they had to rotate her position every so often to keep infection at bay. She was now on her side propped up with pillows and that has been problematic before so be prepared for some alarms from the machines.

When we entered the room I watched only Natalie. Tears streamed down her face but she wasn't sobbing. Her eyes darted around the room taking in the different machines and tubes that connected them to her mother. She seemed to freeze halfway to the bed. She tilted her head and then asked, "Where can I touch her?"

Dr. Cullen helped her get close to the side of the bed her mother was facing and showed her that she could hold her hand. She softly wrapped her fingers around her mom's still hand. There was no reaction on Heidi's face or movement in her fingers. I don't know what I was hoping for but the stillness just cut through me like a cold wind. This woman was gone, just like Natalie said.

As I was wiping the tears from my eyes, Natalie started whispering to her mom. "Mommy, it's ok if you need to go. I understand. It has to hurt to be like this. I hope you can't feel it. I'm ok. Bella saved me. That terrible man is gone. Edward took him away. He's in jail now. He can't hurt anyone again. I love you mommy. I'm going to go live with Bella now. She's a good mommy. I'll miss you. I'm sorry things were so hard for you. I'm sorry you thought you had to do the bad stuff. I'll always remember you. I'm going to be ok though so you can go be with God now if that's what you want."

My heart was so broken already for her but witnessing this little girl telling her mother to let go just about destroyed me. She was truly remarkable.

She leaned in and kissed her mother's hand. Then she turned to Dr. Cullen and asked, "Can you pick me up so I can kiss her cheek? I can't reach."

He nodded his head and I saw the tears fall down his cheeks too. He picked her up and she leaned over to place a gentle kiss on Heidi's cheek. "I love you momma."

I had to hold in the sob that threatened to break loose. Dr. Cullen gave her a soft hug before placing her back on her feet. She looked to me and then passed me to the collection of nurses in the hallway. They were all crying. Lauren the nurse from the day before motioned for Natalie to follow her. I didn't want to let her out of my sight but I needed a moment to gather my wits.

After she left the room the sobs broke free and Dr. Cullen pulled me into an embrace. "I have been an ICU doctor a long time but I have never seen a child so amazing," he said quietly.

"She's unreal," I said through my tears.

He let me go and I had to ask some tough questions. "So what now? We just wait for her to code again. This is so hard."

"Basically we have to wait for her to code and then see if she can be stabilized if not then she will pass."

"How do you know that is the right decision?" I had to ask.

"Well when she was brought in her pupils were not reacting at all so the chances of her recovering from the brain injury are less than 10% based on statistics. Then when you add all the other obstacles she is facing her chances decrease to less than 1%."

"Ok. Can I have a moment with her?"

"Yes of course," he said.

I moved close to her where Natalie had just stood. I didn't think she could hear me because I was sure she was gone but I believed that her soul could hear me. "Heidi you have an amazing little girl. I may not agree with everything you did but you did a good job with her. I know you had to make a lot of choices that I will never understand and I know you loved her. Thank you for that. She is safe now. She will be with me. I love her so much. I'll make sure she remembers you. I hope you have found peace where you are."

I patted her hand and left the room with one last look at her face. At the nurses station Natalie was getting lots of attention. One nurse was braiding her hair while another was dabbing lip gloss on her perfect bow lips. She was smiling and giggling. It made my heart happy. I was hoping this would be the last time she had to be sad. I knew we would have a funeral but hopefully this was the end of her suffering. That thought, of course, made me feel guilty but she really deserved some happiness.

"Are you ready to go, Bella?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah honey. Let's get out of here," I replied. It was a little after six now and we needed to go get some groceries to get through a few days at the hotel. Dr. Cullen told us he'd let us know if anything changes.

She took my hand and looked up to me with a smile. We said good bye to the nurses and Dr. Cullen. We went to the gift shop on the way out and got a small bouquet of daisies sent to the nurses' station on the ICU floor. I thought Natalie would want to send some to her mom but when she explained why she couldn't I was once again amazed. She looked at me like I was crazy when I suggested it so I asked why.

"My mom isn't in that body laying up there. She's gone. I can't feel her there at all. So I don't want to send flowers to just a body. I'd rather send some to the nice people who are taking care of the sick people up there."

I could argue with that. She was wise beyond her years.

We went to the grocery store and I had to remind her that we only had a small refrigerator in the hotel. She wanted a little bit of everything. We got some stuff to fix a few dinners and another box of cereal. I let her pick out a lot of snacks and we even bought some more movies. I got her a pack of colored pencils and some coloring books. She was overjoyed.

Back at the hotel we made some spaghetti and garlic bread. It was simple and we were both really hungry after the emotional day. I pulled out my laptop and did some writing. I had to get all my emotions out. Natalie spread out on the floor with her coloring book and pencils.

After I had poured my heart out on the document and she had colored a full page of princesses to look life-like we got ready for bed and pulled out the sofa bed. I turned on Aladdin and we popped popcorn. We snuggled into the bed and watched the movie. Neither one of us felt like talking. It was kind of nice.

About half way thru the movie Natalie was sound asleep. She looked so tiny and younger than she really was. I couldn't help but smile at her.

It was only around nine thirty so I tried to go to sleep. I tossed and turned for a long time. All I could think about was Heidi. I don't know what I would have done had I been in her shoes but I feel like she made so many mistakes. I felt kind of proud of her effort however misguided it may have been. She really did the best she could with what she had. However, I was still so angry with her for exposing her daughter to such terrible things. I was having a hard time forgiving her for neglecting Natalie for so long.

I must have fallen asleep though because I woke to my phone ringing at ten forty-five. I was hoping it was Edward but it was the hospital. My heart stuttered knowing this was 'the' call. "Hello," I said quietly as I tried to get out of the bed without waking Natalie.

"Miss Swan, this is Lauren from ICU."

"Yes. I guess you have some news," I said uneasily. I didn't know what I was hoping to hear.

"Miss Larks passed away at ten p.m. She coded almost right after you left and we were able to stabilize her for a while but then she coded again and after working on her for over fifty minutes we had to call it. I'm so sorry for your loss."

The tears streaked down my face. Part of me was relieved and part of me was devastated. "Ok. What happens now? How do we collect her for a funeral?"

"Well she'll go to the morgue in a bit and they will take her where ever you have the funeral. Just call me and I'll help you out," she said patiently.

"Oh thank you. I'm sure that's not your job but I really appreciate it," I said just before we said good bye. Now I had to tell Natalie. I was worried I should wake her up but really didn't want to.

My phone rang again only this time it really was Edward. I was so relieved.

"You have impeccable timing," I said as greeting.

"Oh really, were you thinking about me?"

"Sort of but I just got word from the hospital that Heidi passed away. I don't know if I should wake Natalie or tell her tomorrow."

"Oh babe, I'm sorry. I would wait till morning. Poor kid has been through enough. How did therapy go?" he asked.

"Good. She is so strong. She was a little angry but she got it out and is excited to go back. The hospital was the hardest thing I've ever been through. She is unbelievable," I explained. "You should have seen her let her mom go. She basically told her mom that she was ok now and that it was ok for her to go be with God."

"Oh, my gosh! I would have been bawling," he said sounding amazed.

"Yeah your dad and I were barely holding it together. The nurses were all in the hall crying. It was so precious and so sad."

"Well, now you guys and move on and get settled."

"I know and that makes me so happy but then I feel guilty for feeling happy. I have to keep telling myself that this is what Natalie wants and what is best for her," I said relaying my worries.

"It is the best for her. It's sad and she shouldn't have ever had to deal with any of this but you are doing exactly what she needs. I helps that you love her so much too."

"Thanks. I do love her. I feel so blessed."

We talked for a while longer and then he had to go to work so I crawled into bed with Natalie and decided to get a few hours of sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day and we would start our future from there.

Stay tuned because I will try to update again soon. I don't expect more than maybe 5 or 6 more chapters though. We shall see!

Thanks for reading and thanks even more for sticking with me!