SM owns the Twilight universe, I just rearrange the stars.

Out of the Shadows

Chapter 16: Love Will Take You

EPOV

My stomach was aching with nerves, as I stood on her front porch waiting for her to open the door.

Esme called me on Friday morning to let me know what had happened to Chief Swan, and that Bella was now in Forks to be with her father. I stayed in Vancouver for only a few hours after filming wrapped. I had to make an appearance at the wrap party and then I was gone. I hired a car so I could drive through the night to get back to Forks.

I had no idea if Bella wanted me there, but I had to be there for her. The last contact that I'd had from Bella was that she wanted to talk with me when I got back to LA, but I just couldn't wait any longer to see her. I stopped several times on the way down to get coffee and something to eat. When I pulled into Forks I was absolutely exhausted but I had to drive by her house. I came down her street, and saw that there were lights on in the bedroom and kitchen.

So I was waiting nervously for her to answer the door. The door opened slowly, and then she was there. "Edward!"

I wanted to reach out to her and take her in my arms, but I didn't know if any of my wooing attempts had worked. All she had said was that we needed to talk, and that could be a lot of things, like 'I'll love you forever' or 'Stay away, you stalker'. I was more nervous now than I'd ever been before in my life.

As I looked her in the eyes, I could see the marked circles under them from sleepless nights. She had lost some weight over the last two weeks, and the color was completely gone from her face. My heart ached with desperation to hold and help her, in any way I could.

"I came as soon as I could." I took a tentative step forward, and was immediately enveloped in her arms. My arms wound around her back, and I held on like a drowning man. "I didn't know if you wanted me here but I had to come." I gave her head a quick kiss, and inhaled the intoxicating smell that was my Bella.

She slowly pulled away from me. "I'm so glad that you came. How did you get here?" We walked back into her house.

"I drove through the night from Vancouver. Once I told Grant what happened to your father, he made all the arrangements for me to get out of there quickly." She had pulled away from me, and I felt cold again.

"I was just on my way to the hospital to be with my dad. Your dad is hoping to pull him out of the coma this morning. I have to be there." She was grabbing her coat and purse, but she paused and looked at me like she was expecting something.

I took her hand, "Do you want me there with you?"

"Would you mind?" I took her other hand in mine and gave them a quick kiss.

"Not at all. Whatever you want from me. I'm here for you." She opened her mouth to say something then closed it again. "We can go right now if you like."

She locked up the house and we drove over to the hospital in my rental car. We remained silent during the ride and while we made our way to her father's hospital room. Just before we entered the room, Bella stopped and reached back to take my hand. We quietly walked into the room.

There was only a nurse in the room with her dad when we walked in. Her dad looked so small and fragile in the bed, hooked up to all the machines.

"Good morning, Katherine." Bella was addressing the nurse. "Has there been any change?"

"No change yet. Dr. Cullen asked that we start reducing the medication through the night so I don't think it will be long." Katherine looked up after finishing up with Charlie. "Oh! Sorry Bella. I didn't realize you had someone with you."

"Katherine, this is Edward, Dr. Cullen's son." Bella looked back at me. "He's a really special friend of mine." She gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

I exchanged pleasantries with the nurse as she was leaving the room. Bella never let go of my hand, so I followed her over to Charlie's bed. The nurse left us alone, as Bella took a seat next to her father. She finally let go of my hand as she took Charlie's into hers. I stood behind her and kept my hand on her shoulder.

We stayed like that, in silence, until my dad walked into the room with other medical staff.

"Edward, it's a surprise to see you. Have you and Bella been here long?" He came over to me and gave me a hug.

"No, we've been here for about an hour." I looked down at Bella, as she stared intently on Charlie's face waiting for something to happen.

"Bella, it shouldn't be much longer now. We have a few things that we need to do, and then we will give your dad something to help him come out of the coma. Would you and Edward like to go and get some coffee or something?" Carlisle was looking at me as he spoke the last sentence. I knew that he wanted Bella out of the room, just in case something went wrong.

I gently squeezed her shoulders. "Bella, I wouldn't mind some coffee and your company. Okay?"

She nodded her head, and I lead her out of the room and down to the cafeteria. She was like a living zombie, just going along in any direction we went. I sat her down at table while I got us some coffee and food.

When I got back to the table, I could see the tears falling silently down her cheeks. I moved her chair so I could crouch between her legs, and I gently lifted her head. "Bella, what's wrong?"

She threw her arms around my shoulders, and started to sob into my coat. "I can't lose him, Edward. I don't know what I'll do if he doesn't come out of this coma."

"Bella, it will be fine. My dad wouldn't be trying this if he didn't think it would work." I rubbed her back as she cried. "We'll go back in a while, and check on your dad." I reached behind myself to get a chair so I could sit across from her. "You're not alone in this anymore. I will stay with you for as long as you need."

I so wanted to tell her that she was stuck with me for the rest of her life, but I couldn't. She was going through so much right now with her dad that I didn't want to put more pressure on her.

We sat there nibbling on food, and talked about inconsequential things to pass the time. I sent a quick text to Alice and mom to let them know that I was with Bella at the hospital. After finishing our food, we slowly made our way back to the room, hand in hand. Just before his room, Bella stopped.

"Can you check for me?" Her eyes were still red, and she was nervous and fidgeting.

"Oh course." I opened the door. My dad was still in there, and gave me a small nod.

"I think there's someone in there that wants to see you." I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead as I opened the door fully.

She quietly made her way into the room. I held the door open for her, and saw the smile and tears on her face as she first saw her father awake.

"Bells," was all that Charlie could choke out. She rushed to his side, and gave him a kiss and gentle hug. My father and I slowly exited the room to give them privacy.

"So dad, how bad is it?" We were walking down the hall to his office. He gave me a quick overview of the injuries and surgeries that Charlie had been through.

"He's out of the woods now, but it is going to be a long recovery for him. He's going to need a lot of support and help, so I hope that Bella can stay around for awhile." We stepped into his office, and he immediately turned towards me. "So I guess the wooing went well."

I gave him a tentative smile. "I'm not sure yet. We really haven't talked about us yet. I just knew that I had to get here to be with her. Her dad is all that she has now. Before all this happened, she did say that she wanted to talk to me when I returned to LA but now I don't know where we stand." I slumped into one of his chairs. The drive through the night was catching up to me, so my eyes were drooping.

I woke up to someone gently stroking my face. I slowly opened my eyes to best vision in the world, Bella. She was leaning into me and smiling at me with such, what I hoped was, love.

"Hey," I said as I dragged my hands through my hair.

"Hey, yourself. He's awake, Edward. He's going to be okay." I threw my arms around her and brought her into my chest.

"I'm so happy for you, Bella. Sorry I wasn't there with you. I just couldn't say awake any longer. How long will your dad be in the hospital now?" She moved away from me, but only slightly.

"Your dad says that he should be here for a couple of weeks, so the surgery on his pelvis can heal a bit before he gets home. Due to his injuries, I have to modify the house a bit because he won't be able to do the stairs for a while. Oh, that won't work." Her brows furrowed, and she had the look of intense thought.

"You only have the one bathroom, right?"

"Yeah, how do you know that?"

"I know things about you that you don't realize. Don't worry about it. I'll look after getting something built for him." She looked me directly in the eyes, and started to open her mouth to argue with me. "And I won't take no for an answer. Your dad has done so much for this town, there's no way that I'm not doing this for him and you. I don't want you struggling with him up and down the stairs."

Her face lit up with a genuine smile, and we just stared into each other's face. Slowly, she was moving her face towards me but I was too impatient. I quickly closed the gap, took her face in my hands and kissed her. It was a gentle kiss at first full of tenderness, but quickly deepened with strong emotions.

We broke apart with a sigh but I didn't let go of her face. "You don't know how long I've wanted to do that." She moved her head onto my shoulder and gave me a kiss on the neck. "Probably for as long as I've wanted you to," she said as she gave me another quick kiss.

She stood up, took my hand, and pulled me up from the chair. "Let's go see my dad, then I'm taking you home. You look like shit." Laughing as we walked out of my dad's office.

Her dad was awake when we walking into his room. He smiled at Bella, and then took note of me standing behind her, holding her hand. "Edward, good to see you again. Good to see anyone again, actually." He gave a short laugh, and then held his side in pain. "Whoever said humor was good when you're sick wasn't talking about after a surgery."

"Dad, you've got to take it easy. Uh, Edward and I are going to fix up the house for when they let you out of this place."

"I appreciate that but don't go to any trouble." I could see that he wanted to say more but he lost his train of thought.

"Sir, it's good to see you on the mend, but I think that my dad would be mad at us for keeping you from your rest. I'll bring Bella back later tonight for another visit." I looked down to Bella, to make sure she was okay with that, and then started to leave the room. Bella came out into the hallway shortly after that, and we walked out to the car.

Bella stood by the car with her hand out and looking at me. "What," was all I could answer. "Keys, please. You're not driving in your sleep deprived state." I reluctantly handed over the rental keys, and got into the passenger side. The drive to my house was a short one, and I was never so happy to have someone else driving me. We were quiet for the drive. Neither one of us knowing where to start with our conversation, but I knew that she would want some explanations.

Alice and Jasper were waiting for us on the porch when we pulled up. She caught Bella in a huge hug as soon as we stepped out of the car. "I'm so sorry to hear what happened. How is your dad?" Bella extracted herself from the hug, "He's doing okay now. When did you and Jasper get here?"

Jasper came up behind us and shook my hand. "We only arrived an hour or so ago. We didn't want to overwhelm you at the hospital. We knew that you were in good hands." He looked at Bella then me. Somehow, Jasper always knew the right thing to say in a situation.

Mom was waiting for us in the house with a large lunch. We happily sat around the table, talking about this and that but nothing to intense. I was starting to drift off again right at the table. "Bella, why don't you go upstairs and have a little nap before going back to the hospital. I'll let you know if Carlisle calls. Oh, and take Edward with you too before he keels over on the table."

Bella took my hand, and we slowly climbed the stairs to my room and the one she used last time. As we approached the room, Bella stopped me. "Edward, would you mind if I laid down with you." I gently pulled her hand towards my room.

We stretched out on the bed with a considerable gap between us. Bella slowly moved backwards towards the middle of the bed. I met her there and snuggled up against her back with my arm over her waist. Not long after, I could hear her steady breathing to let me know that she had fallen asleep. I closed my eyes, kissed the back of her head and fell asleep.

Please let me know what you think. I thought about stopping it here and leaving you guessing but I'm not that cruel. Only a chapter or two left. I have to at least get Charlie home.