A/N: There was a lot of great feedback in the last chapter. I always love your guys' reviews.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

~*~Together~*~

Bella

I could hear noises that I didn't recognize. A beeping sound and an odd kind of quiet that wasn't really quiet at all. Eventually, I was able to open my eyes to a white sterile room that I knew all too well. I was in the hospital. My head was groggy. I tried to remember what happened, but everything was so confused.

I tried to move my left hand, but a heavy weight was trapping my arm. Slowly, because slow was all I could handle, I turned to see what the problem was and when I did the beeping sound came faster. Edward was there with me, holding my hand and sleeping on my arm. Why was he here? What happened to me? I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and the beeping that had been steadily increasing began to ease.

I opened my eyes again and saw him still, almost convinced that I was dreaming. I had never seen Edward sleep before and it was an amazing sight. He was so peaceful and innocent looking. He looked younger, too. I smiled at his quiet form and stiffly lifted my other arm over me to brush my hand through his brilliant bronze hair.

I didn't know how many times I had fancied being able to do that very thing, but I had never been given the chance before. A little voice in my head told me that I shouldn't have even been doing it then, but I ignored it and continued comforting a sleeping Edward. I didn't know how or why he was with me in the hospital, but it didn't matter. The rest of the world faded away whenever I was with him.

But sooner or later it always came back and I looked up after only a minute to see a nurse standing in the doorway, smiling at the scene before her. I returned the gesture sheepishly and dropped my hand from Edward's hair to rest on my stomach. I didn't want to, but I had already endangered him enough. I didn't feel like adding more witnesses to the so-called scandal.

"How are you feeling, Mrs. Swan?" Tired, I said inside my head. Exhaustion was hitting me hard and even though I had just woken up, I felt like I still needed about twelve more hours of sleep.

"I'm…" My throat was dry and scratchy, but I swallowed and continued on. "I'm fine I think. What happened?"

"You were admitted last night after an attack. You're lucky your husband saw what was happening. You came away with nothing more than a couple of bruises, but it could have been a lot worse." I closed my eyes for a moment to digest what she had said and then looked over to the still unconscious man at my bedside.

"Edward," I breathed in thanks, brushing my hand through is hair once more without thinking.

"He hasn't left your side. And we've tried, believe me," she laughed quietly. "You've got something special in this one, honey."

I only smiled and continued to memorize Edward's beautiful dreaming face as the nurse went about her job. I knew I shouldn't have, but my hand began tracing his hairline and landed at the bandage that was stained slightly with dried blood. Whatever happened at the club, Edward had gotten hurt because of it. He'd gotten hurt saving me, and my heart both swelled and panged at the knowledge.

I felt a tear roll down my cheek and was thankful that the nurse was no longer in the room to witness it. There was so much confusion both in my head and heart that I didn't even try to stop the second from making its way down the side of my face, followed closely by many more.

I couldn't remember anything concrete about the night before. There were flashes of dancing and laughing with Alice, but it was all too hazy to decipher. I knew that something bad had happened because I could feel it in my bones, but I couldn't actually remember anything.

As it was, whatever might have happened didn't because Edward was there. Edward was there and pretending to be my husband. Again, I silently questioned what on earth was going on. I knew that I should have felt scared by the hole in my memory, but I couldn't feel anything but calm with Edward by my side. And as that calm took me and my questions moved to the back of my mind, my heavy eyelids drooped shut and I was oblivious to the outside world.

I would have loved a dreamless sleep or even a full out nightmare, but my unconscious thoughts were plagued with partial images and bad feelings. I could feel myself trying to move and not being able to, like my entire body was weighed down. Even my voice wouldn't work, but I knew somehow in the dream that I needed to scream. Why couldn't I scream?

I could hear someone calling me in the distance and I struggled to find him. I didn't know where I was or what was happening, but I knew that if I could just reach that voice then everything would be all right. With all the strength I had, I fought to find the man that would bring me solace and as the darkness faded, I remembered who he was.

I came out of sleep quickly at that point, opening my eyes to a brilliant light and shutting them just as soon. I realized that it was hard to breath as my mind cleared. I was taking short, shallow breaths in my panic, but they were beginning to settle as Edward spoke to me.

"Shh, Bella, you're safe." To anyone else, Edward's voice would have sounded calm and collected, but all I could hear was how worried and anxious he was. I was doing that to him.

I reopened my eyes only slightly to let myself get used to the intensity of the daylight now flooding the room and directed my gaze into the troubled green stare of the man who saved me. He was trying to hide his feelings from me, but he was doing a poor job of it. I almost wanted to laugh at how much Edward loved to protect me from things. Unfortunately, the amusement was second to a swarm of other emotions, the majority of them the exact opposite of laughter, and the floodgates opened instead.

I didn't want to cry. Hell, I didn't know why I was crying, not really. I couldn't remember anything, so it seemed ridiculous to be so emotional over something I couldn't even recall. But the more I tried to control myself, the louder and harsher the sobs got. I barely registered that Edward's arms wrapping me in a comforting embrace was not something he should have been doing. I was too focused on trying to pull myself together and clinging to him as if my life depended on it.

How was he always there when I needed him? I felt like God had put him on the earth solely for me and, yet, it was wrong for us to be together. Why? Why was everything so messed up? And then with all of the weight on my shoulders and the sudden release of crying in Edward's arms, I let my emotions take me farther into confusion.

Before I had come to Seattle, I was sure that Edward loved me at least in some small comparison to my own love for him, but then I saw him with that woman. He brushed her cheek the same way he had done with me only days before. Was I reading more into it than was there? But, no, he was in my hospital room, scared for me, holding me, pretending to be my God forsaken husband. I saw the feelings in his eyes, so why was he with that woman?

I had run before the scenario could be played out and I hated myself for it. It could have been nothing. She could have been just a very good friend, but I had run and gotten cornered by some creep. I honestly didn't know what would have happened if Jasper hadn't shown up. James was what he said his name was and his eyes were cold and calculating. His eyes. Oh, God.

My crying had started to calm slightly, but with that last thought a flash of the same steel grey eyes flooded my memory and I started hyperventilating. It was him. It was the same man and he had me up against a wall. His lips were moving as if he was talking to me, but I couldn't comprehend what he was saying. I remembered feeling like I wasn't inside my body, like I was floating. I remembered James kissing me and needing to get away, but I didn't have any strength to move.

"Bella, listen to me," Edward's voice broke through my hysteria. "Deep breaths. Someone, we need help in here!" he yelled out to the hall and then refocused on me. "You're okay. I won't let anyone hurt you."

Doctors came in at some point and tried to remove Edward, but he stayed put, whispering words of comfort to slow my breathing. My eyes stayed locked with his as the doctors did whatever they were doing and after a while, Edward stopped using words altogether and just calmed me with his stare. I was safe. I was always safe with him nearby.

"Isabella, I need to ask you a few questions," I heard a soft, authoritative voice say. I turned my head to see a middle-aged man in a lab coat and tie, apparently my doctor for the next eight or so hours. "Are you experiencing any dizziness or nausea?"

I shook my head on both accounts and the doctor proceeded with his examination, explaining what had happened to me and why I was in the hospital. I was dosed at the club with Gamma Hydroxybutyrate or GHB as it's known to the rest of the world. It was a good sign that I hadn't gotten ill from the drug, but the memory loss, although common, was still a concern.

There was a chance that I would never remember what happened fully, but if I did, there would most likely be more attacks like the one I had just gone through. On top of the mental trauma, I had bruises on my arms, shoulders and neck and my muscles would continue to be sore for a few days, but all in all, the doctor released me with a clean bill of health.

"Just take some Vicodin for the aches and pains and you'll be better in no time. But, Isabella, just because you're okay physically doesn't mean that you aren't suffering emotionally. I would recommend seeing a psychologist to talk through what happened last night."

I wanted to tell him that I would be fine, but before I could say a word, Edward had assured the doctor that he would see me to a therapist. He then shook the doctor's hand and turned back to meet my glare.

"Don't look at me like that. You need to talk to someone," he said, not fazed by my anger.

"I am perfectly-"

"You were tossing and turning in your sleep," he cut me off. "Then you woke up panicking, which turned into crying and then you started hyperventilating. You are not fine, so don't pretend to be," he finished with a stern glower.

I opened my mouth to argue, but I couldn't. The look in Edward's eyes had me speechless. He wasn't upset with me, but I could tell he was going to make sure that I took care of myself despite my stubbornness and I really didn't know what to say to that. If it had been any other person, I would have put up a fight, but I wanted to listen to Edward, to let him care for me.

"Fine," I replied through clenched teeth. Just because I decided to give in didn't mean I had to like it.

I saw the corner of Edward's mouth twitch in what was most likely amusement of my attitude, but other than that, his face was still serious as he reclaimed his seat next to my bed. He took a deep breath before talking to me in a softer tone, his eyes never straying from mine.

"I want… I need you to do this for me, Bella. You're not okay, no matter how much you think you are. I don't want you to be afraid of going to sleep at night because of nightmares you might have." He closed his eyes and took a heavy breath before continuing. "I don't think I could bear it if you didn't come back from something like this."

"You're making a bigger deal of it than it needs to be, Edward. I know you think I'm some mental mess of a person right now, but I'm not." Edward opened his eyes then and they were more intense than I had ever seen them.

"Don't. Don't play this up like it's nothing. Some creep put drugs in your drink. He took you into an alley and held you against a wall with the intent to rape you." I flinched at Edward's words, but he didn't stop. "Do you know what would have happened if I wasn't there?"

"But you were there," I said a little louder than necessary. "You were there and nothing happened! You didn't let anything happen to me!"

"But something did happen, Bella! He may not have gotten as far as he wanted, but he still tried. That does something to a person whether you want it to or not. I refuse to stand by and watch you drown in horrible memories of some jerk who thought it would be fun to use you like a toy!"

Emotions ran through me at the speed of bullets and I didn't know how to make sense of them. Edward had never yelled at me before and it made me see how scared he was underneath his carefully placed mask. His words evoked my own fear and the realization of how truly terrified I was by the situation was like a knife twisting in my gut along with everything else. I couldn't have stopped the tears then if my life had depended on it. But even through my blurry vision I could make out the pain in Edward's features.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't…" I noticed his voice break slightly, even though he tried to hide it. "I shouldn't have raised my voice at you like that. I just… Bella, I care too much about you to let you hurt yourself by thinking that you don't need help. Just…" He paused, pinching the bridge of his nose before taking up my hand and steering his gaze directly into my eyes.

"It's just talking to someone. That's all. Once a week, you go in and have an hour long chat with some guy or girl and all's well with the world. Can you please do this for me?"

"I already said I would go, didn't I?" I huffed with narrowed eyes. Unfortunately, my glare's power was undermined by my pout and wet eyes causing Edward to smile. "You don't have to look so happy about my forced surrender, you know. It's not very polite," I sniffed. Edward only grinned wider.

"I do apologize. How very ungentlemanly of me. Please accept my sincerest regret for finding pleasure in your forfeiture," he said in the most eloquent manner and with a small bow of his head.

I pulled my hand from his, folding my arms across my chest, and looked away with a pointed "humph" at his mockery. But even with my overdramatic reaction to his joking, I couldn't stop the smile trying to break through my scowl. I never could be upset with him when he acted like such a complete dork.

"Now that's what I like to see," he said softly, all teasing gone from his deep, melodic voice. When I returned my attention to his face I noticed how it had also softened into more tender expression. I could have stayed in that moment forever, but like all of my special seconds with Edward, it got interrupted, this time by one of the nurses assigned to my charge.

"It's nice to see you awake," she smiled as I looked up. "You had Mr. Swan here all worked up, from what I here. Wouldn't leave your bedside for anything. If only I could find myself a husband as devoted as yours, I'd be a happy woman."

I didn't answer, but looked over to Edward as the nurse told me the same discharge instructions as the doctor had. Unfortunately, I wasn't rewarded with his bright smile or even his usually focused eyes. What I could see from his downward gaze and defeated posture was worry, panic, and maybe even sadness. All I could do was watch him as the nurse handed me papers to sign and some to keep.

"There's a small one out there giving the Unit Assistants and Nurses a hard time for not letting her in the room. I believe she has some clothes for you if you don't want to put on the dress you wore when you were brought in."

I nodded and laughed at the mental image of Alice trying to storm the castle. "Yeah, I'd like that. Can I see her?"

"Sure thing, honey," the nurse smiled. "Just remember not to take off until he police get your statement." I nodded again, but with a grimace this time. How was I supposed to recount a night I couldn't remember? But talking to the police was the least of my worries. Edward was still freaking me out with his odd behavior and when the nurse finally left after a bit more nonchalant chitchat, I turned to tend to the broken man sitting by my bed, pulling his face up by the chin and forcing him to look at me. "Edward, what's-"

"I'm so sorry, Bella." I could feel my eyebrows scrunch in confusion. "I just… When the paramedic said that I could only stay with you as a spouse, I wasn't thinking straight. I just knew…" He trailed off as I began to giggle.

"Really, Edward? That's all? That's what had that look on your face? You were scaring me. I thought something was really wrong."

I took a deep, shaky breath, relieved that Edward wasn't in some kind of trouble. I suppose the situation could have been disastrous if the wrong person found out about it, but I wasn't going to say anything and I knew that my friends wouldn't either. Everything would be okay.

"What do you mean, 'That's all?' I'm pretending to be your husband. You don't find that weird or shocking in the least?"

"Well, I suppose I was a little confused when I first found out, but it doesn't bother me at all. Although, I do find it strange that people keep telling me how lucky I am to have such a man. Last time I checked, I was single," I teased. Edward narrowed his gorgeous green eyes.

"When exactly did you find out?" he asked suspiciously. I grinned.

"Last night while you were sleeping."

Edward opened his mouth several times before pressing his lips together firmly. I could almost see the wheels turning in his head trying to figure me out. To be perfectly honest, I didn't understand why he would think that I would be disturbed by his behavior. Even if I wasn't head over heels in love with him, he was still someone I had a close bond with and I would have been more upset had he gone straight home than with what he actually did in pretending I was his wife.

"You've known this whole time?" I nodded my head, trying to hide my smile, but I wasn't doing a very good job of it. "I guess it's your turn to laugh at my expense now, right? All right, let's have it," he said wryly.

"Oh, don't be like that," I said in mock frustration. I could still practically see Edward's mind working against him and as fun as it was to pester him with silly ribbing, I didn't want him to fret over my reaction to his fake title any longer. "Seriously, it's not that big of a deal."

"I crossed a line, Bella." I snorted at that and Edward sighed knowing exactly what I was thinking. "I know I've crossed lines in the past, but we have specific boundaries now."

I opened my mouth to reply with something snarky, but something in Edward's demeanor stopped me. I didn't want to fight with him anymore and even though I didn't altogether care about the stupid limit lines on our relationship, I knew that he did and I had to find some way for him to be okay with himself.

"I don't blame you for doing it, you know." He didn't say anything, but it looked as if he was searching for something behind my eyes. I had to try and let him off the hook. "Our special rules are good for when we're at school, but no matter what those restrictions do, they don't stop us from being friends."

I thought I saw some flicker of regret in Edward's eyes and I had to look away. The hopeful part of my brain wanted it to be because he wanted more for us, but the logical part made me think that maybe he regretted leading me on. Maybe he didn't think we were friends at all. Shaking my head and laughing at my useless internal debate, I turned back to Edward with a loving smile that would only ever be his. I knew that I would never feel the way I felt for Edward for any other man and I was okay with that. It hurt, but it was all I had, so I would take it.

"I know that this is hard for you because it puts your job at risk, but I honestly don't see anything wrong with me calling you Edward and laughing with you when we're miles away from Forks High."

"I don't think it works that way," he whispered and I could still hear the sadness in his voice.

"Why not? Why can't it work that way? I mean, it's not like there's some handbook that tells you how to be a friend and a teacher," I argued, even though I promised myself that I wouldn't. I just didn't like seeing him in pain.

"But that's just it, Bella. I'm not supposed to be your friend."

"Ugh! I'm so sick of rules!" I cried out to no one in particular. "Why do they get to dictate who can or can't be friends," I huffed, crossing my arms. Edward seemed highly amused, but his eyes still held a hint of sadness.

"Who exactly is 'they?'" he asked, trying to stay in control of his face. I hated when he tried to conceal his wonderful crooked smile. I loved it and it wasn't fair to keep it locked up.

"The man, of course. They're always trying to keep the little guy down," I said in all seriousness. That did it. Edward's face broke and I couldn't help the corners of my mouth lifting in a smile of my own at the glorious sight.

"You're too much, Bella," he said, gently shaking his head. I shrugged in an innocent denial, but he knew better. Eventually, though, my thoughts did turn serious and I wanted an honest answer.

"I still don't understand. Right now, right here, you aren't my teacher. You're Edward, the man who possibly saved my life and definitely saved my virtue, the man pretending to be my husband so that he can make sure I'm okay and the man sitting here, making me want to smash something and laugh at the same time," I finished urgently. He had to know how much he meant to me.

"I just don't know, Bella. I want to, but nothing changes the fact that you're still my student," he pleaded with me.

It took everything in me not to smirk at his tone and words. If he knew like I knew that he was about to give in, I wouldn't have had a chance. But this was something that I needed and I wasn't going to let my face reveal anything I didn't want it to. Not this time.

"I'm not asking you to go back on everything, but I don't see the point in pretending like there's nothing there save for a mutual respect when we're nowhere near campus. I mean, we're not even in the same county." I paused for a moment deciding on the best play. I learned from experience in being best friends with Alice how to steer a conversation my way and although I wasn't very good, it was worth a try.

"I care about you a lot," I said with my heart beating out of my chest. It was something a friend would say, but it meant so much more to me as I said it. "I understand that we need to be professional in the school setting," I continued, "But I would like to think that I'm more than just a student. I understand if I'm not, but you are certainly more to me."

"How can you think that you are just a student to me?" Edward asked. I could tell that my words stung. "Bella, you are so special. You don't even know how truly amazing you are."

I blushed then. He had said those same sentiments on several other occasions, but it was different this time. There was something in his eyes that I just couldn't place, but it made my heart stutter in its fervor. Every hope that I had ever had of Edward feeling love for me came rushing back at that moment. I could have played it off as my stupid wishful thinking, but, this time, I didn't want to. This time, I wanted to believe that there was a chance.

"God, Bella, you drive me so insane!" he strained to me, his hands tensing next to his head in a frustrated gesture, before taking up my own hand in his firm grasp. "Why don't you see yourself the way I see you? You just… You're so smart and talented. You make the world around you light up with your kindness and sincerity. How could you not know that anyone would be lucky to be…" he paused, "To be your friend," he finished softly.

It took me a few seconds to get over the shock of the emotion behind his words before I was able to speak and keep my wits about me. These feeling of hope were so new to me. "I'm sorry," I murmured, squeezing his hand. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"No, you… you didn't. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten so intense there," he laughed anxiously, darting his eyes anywhere but at me.

It was obvious that he felt he had said too much and it might have been completely horrible for me to feel the way that I did, but I was very pleased with myself for bringing that out of him.

With a heavy sigh, Edward closed his eyes and then looked back to me with a crease between his eyebrows. "What will it take for you believe me, Bella? I wasn't kidding when I said you drove me crazy with all your self-doubt."

"Let me be your friend," I stated firmly.

"Bella…" I could tell that Edward was completely exasperated with my stubborn pushing.

I didn't care. I was stubborn, after all, and I didn't see the point in being so miserable with our rules if we were over a hundred miles away from Forks and its stupid high school. I understood the full severity of what our unconventional relationship could mean if it were to become public knowledge, but it was ridiculous to think that word could get all the way back to our tiny, isolated town from Seattle.

"Please," I begged. I didn't even care that I sounded somewhat desperate. "Boundaries still intact at school and around everyone, but if I run into you in Seattle, Canada or Timbuktu, I want to be able to talk to you like I know you, really know you. I need that, Edward. Please."

"I… Bella, I don't… Ah! Fine, okay, have it your way," he said, both resigned and frustrated. He was still holding my hand, but his eyes were directed down at my sheet and I hated that he felt so conflicted over our situation. I understood it just fine, I just didn't like it all that much and I immediately felt guilty for pushing him into something he didn't want to do.

"No, I'm sorry," I hurriedly said. "I'll call you Mr. Cullen. I shouldn't have asked you to do something that would put you in such a difficult position."

"Bella," Edward looked up at me and I could see the war happening just behind his eyes, but then his featured softened and he gave me a small smile, "I'd like it very much if you would call me Edward."

The expression he wore made me smile a little even though I still felt guilty over using Alice's manipulation tactics on him. It was just so hopeful and relieved, like he'd wanted this all along.

"Okay… Edward," I said, looking over at him as I rested my head on my pillow. It felt good to be able to call him that freely again. Well, as free as time would allow. Once we were back within Forks city limits, it was back to the necessary restrictions.

"Can you believe those people?" I heard a shrill voice say from out in the hall. It could only be one person and I giggled in anticipation. "Don't you try and shush me, Jasper! I don't care if we're in a flipping hospital. She's my best friend and those cows," she said even louder than the rest of her speech, "wouldn't let me in to see her!"

I looked over at Edward and saw him covering his mouth trying not to laugh at the nearing antics of Alice. She had to be close if we were hearing her with such definition.

"'Only one person at a time,' they said. So kick the other guy out! It's not that hard!" Just then, the door burst open to reveal a very sleep deprived Alice and Jasper. While the latter looked about ready to drop, my tiny best friend was wearing a glare that would scare a professional wrestler and it was directed straight at Edward.

"I… think I should go," Edward said quickly, barely hiding his amusement.

He gave my hand a small squeeze before heading out past a livid Alice, but as soon as he was gone, her face broke and her lips trembled as tears danced at the edges of her eyes. Before I could blink, she was hugging me fiercely, sobbing into my chest. It hurt with how tightly she was holding me, but I just let her cry and stroked her hair to comfort her.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. This is all my fault. I knew something wasn't right and I should have taken it more seriously. I'm so sorry," she wailed.

"Alice, what are you talking about?" I pushed her away from me to look her in the face. "You couldn't have stopped this."

"Yes," she retorted, "I could have. You don't understand. I knew something was wrong and I just didn't listen to my instincts. You were so excited to go out and so I figured I could head off any danger, but I got lax and then you…" she couldn't finish her thought as a fresh round of tears came on.

"So that's why you wouldn't let me go off by myself." Alice's black hair swayed as she bobbed her head, still unable to speak quite yet. "Alice, that was all on me. I know that you have this gift, but just because you have these feelings about things doesn't mean that you should take the responsibility."

"But-"

"No. This isn't your fault. Say it." Alice bit her lip, not wanting to give in, but my warning glare made her sigh and open her mouth.

"This isn't my fault," she said resigned.

"Good, now where are my clothes," I smiled. Alice sniffed and looked to Jasper who slumped just a little more and walked back out to the waiting room. He looked exhausted. "Alice, did you guys sleep at all last night?"

"No," she sighed and her eyes drooped. "We were just so worried and even after we found out that you would be okay, we still had to go to the hotel and check out by eleven."

"Eleven? What time is it?" I asked, surprised. How long had I slept?

"It's one. We could have slept, but Jazz wouldn't have been able to drive on two hours of sleep. His adrenaline should kick in any moment now and then we'll be fine." As she said the last words of the sentence, her voice trialed off slightly and she stared unblinkingly at the wall behind me.

"Alice." No answer. "Alice," I sang, but she still didn't move. I yelled, "Alice!" then, and thankfully, she snapped out of her hypnotic trance.

"What?" she asked confused.

"There is no way you or Jasper are driving home. I'll drive."

"But, Bella-"

"Ah. No 'But, Bella' anything. We're not going to die because you were too worried to sleep last night," I said sternly. Alice just nodded her head and remained silent. We were still waiting for Jasper to get back when she spoke up.

"Bella, are you… I mean, did anything, um, happen?" I was confused for only a second before I saw the anguish in my best friend's expression and knew exactly what she was asking.

"No, Alice. Nothing happened," I said sincerely. "Edward got there in time." She nodded her head, taking in my words, as tears brimmed over her eyes and I pulled her into another hug. I hated seeing the ones I loved in so much pain.

Just as Alice was calming down, Jasper knocked on the door and entered my room followed by two very serious looking men in suits. This was the moment I had been dreading, but with my friends allowed to stay in the room with me - or more like Alice refusing to leave - I was able to get through it without too much discomfort.

Anger, on the other hand, was rising fast with each passing minute. My body was starting to hurt from the pain medication wearing off and the men working my case were treating me like I was some sort of idiot. It didn't matter how many different ways they asked the same question, I still wasn't going to remember and I was getting extremely frustrated.

Fortunately, the detectives decided I had given them enough before I lost my temper completely and I was able to let off a little steam by throwing my pillow at the closing door as they left, immediately regretting it as a sharp pain ran through my shoulder and ribs. For the second time in only a few hours, I looked over to see one of my visitors hunched and guarded.

But I knew that Jasper wasn't worried about me freaking out over him being my fake husband, so his posture only confused me. Alice also wasn't what I expected with her brow furrowed and a look of perplexed fury in her eyes.

"It was the same guy?" she asked in a low dangerous tone. I nodded. "He… I can't even…"

"Jasper," I said cutting off Alice's angry stuttering. She cocked her head to the side before looking at the person in question and then moved to comfort him.

"Jasper, baby, don't." He looked up at Alice's words, but I could see the doubt still present in his features.

"Seriously, Jasper, what could you have done? Decked the guy? And then he would have had you arrested. He didn't do anything wrong at the restaurant besides being creepy, but that's not exactly illegal, is it." Jasper shook his head, but I knew he didn't really care that he couldn't technically do anything. He felt responsible and with my prior agitated state, I couldn't hold back my outburst.

"Ugh, will you two please stop blaming yourselves? It is seriously getting on my nerves. He is the twisted jerk that did this, not you, not me, him. Isn't it usually the victim's job to feel like it's all their fault? Well, I'm not blaming myself, so neither should you."

With that, I ripped the fresh clothes out of Jasper's hands and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. I knew it wasn't right to snap at them, but I couldn't think of any other way to get it through their thick skulls that they weren't accountable for the actions of some pervert.

I took a few extra minutes to wash my face and get my bearings before returning to the hospital room, so as not to risk jumping down my friends' throats again. When I returned, Edward had reappeared, accompanied by the strawberry blonde, and he was holding out his hand to Jasper. With a resigned grunt Jasper handed Edward his car keys and walked out of the room along with Alice and the other woman.

"What's going on?" I asked. Edward turned to me and a corner of his mouth lifted in that crooked grin I loved so much.

"Tanya's going to drive us back to Rose's so I can inform Emmett that I'm driving you and your friends home because none of you are fit to do so, yourselves, and then we're going to head out."

It took me a moment to digest what he was saying, but when I finally did, I spoke up. "I can drive. I got plenty of sleep," I argued.

"Yes, but you're also going to take one of the Vicodin I picked up from the pharmacy and you shouldn't drive with that in your system," he smiled, knowing he was right.

I narrowed my eyes. He seemed nervous about something and I waited patiently for him to answer my unspoken questions. It didn't take long. He knew there was no way I was going to drop it, so he sighed deeply before informing me of his plan.

"Your father needs to know." I opened my mouth to disagree, but he cut me off. "He's going to find out whether from your psych appointments or the trial, so you might as well not keep it from him. I'm going to go with you and make sure you get home safely, for one, and then I'll help you tell him."

Oh, this was not good at all. I hadn't even thought about how Charlie would react to the attack or me being in the club illegally for that matter. Edward was right. Charlie would find out eventually and it was better to just get it out there, but I didn't want to have to tell him.

I don't know what my face looked like, but Edward pulled me into his arms without hesitation, telling me that everything would be okay. But even as I was held tight in his embrace - something I knew was wrong for us - I knew it wouldn't be okay. My dad had taught me to be careful in situations like the one I had gotten myself into and I knew that he would be disappointed in me. I also knew that it wasn't Edward's problem and that it would put him in danger of the rumor mill again if he went through with talking to my dad.

"I'll do it, Edward. I promise. You don't need to babysit me while I tell him, though. You've done enough and I don't want you to get-"

"Bella, stop." He pulled me away from him just enough to look me in the eye and pushed his thumb across my tear stained cheek. I hadn't even realized I was crying. "You've been through a lot and I am not going to let you do this by yourself. I want to be there for you. Will you let me?"

I searched his face for any sign that he wasn't being completely honest with me and when I found none, I sucked in a ragged breath and nodded my head decisively. I wanted him there for support when I saw the look in my father's eyes.

"It's going to be so hard when I tell him-"

"When we tell him," Edward interrupted. "Together."

It was strange how nothing seemed to be impossible when Edward was on my side. I could do anything, be anything as long as he was there.

"Together," I smiled. Everything would be okay because we were doing it together.

A/N: I gave you guys a lot of Edward and Bella this chapter. What do you think? Thanks for reading!