Chapter 23 – Bedrest

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Associated Press (AP) Seattle Washington – Nanny held for trespassing, resisting arrest, two counts of assault on a federal agent and destruction of private property.

Sources close to the Cullen Medical cooperation, the NY branch of Seattle based Voltera Biotech Inc, say a stalker situation was the reason behind the resent police raid in the Cullen/McCarthy building in downtown Brooklyn NY.

In a statement, Voltera Biotech Inc rep, Stephenie Meyer, said that "The matter has been turned over to the FBI and the New York District Attorney's office. It is currently an ongoing investigation and we are confident that it will be handled appropriately by all involved."

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5:06 PM August 27, 2010

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"No, no…. No don't….Not Ed-ward…Nooo."

Bella's muffled whimper woke him immediately.

Stretching to work the kinks out of his neck, back, and shoulders, Edward rubbed his eyes and reached for her hand. Almost instantly his touch seemed to calm her. Soon her breathing settled back into the slow rhythm of restful slumber.

True to his word Edward was spending the night curled up in a hospital chair and it was everything but comfortable. Then again he had gone trough so many sleepless nights lately that one more hardly made any difference.

He had started out in an orange plastic chair in a semi-private, florescent lit, waiting room, because apparently that was as far as the Cullen name and fortune got him. The head of nurses, Mrs. Cope, was the no-nonsense, rule enforcing, iron lady type of gal and could not be bribed or flattered or coerced, no matter what. Edward even went as far as offering a sizeable donation to the hospital's children's cancer ward, but all that got him was an upgrade to a cot in the on-call room… four floors down, next to the surgical ward. It was an offer he turned down in favor of staying within the vicinity of the emergency short stay ward. If he couldn't be with her, he wanted to at least be close by.

Time moved impossibly slow. Alice brought him a change of clothes and a pillow, she and Jasper were the last ones to leave around midnight. Different members of his family had been coming and going throughout the evening, baby sitting him, even though he had assured them it wasn't necessary anymore. FBI had taken the suspect into custody and besides the hospital security had been informed of the situation and all the exits were being covered.

Edward remained in his plastic chair until sometime around half past four in the morning when he was woken by the smell of coffee. The heavenly scented beverage came in a sippy cup courtesy of a scrub clad male nurse who kindly informed him that Mrs. Cope, aka the old dragon, had finished her shift for the night. Nurse Alan, as his name tag read, also dropped a sly little hint that the nurses station would be unattended for a few minutes while he ran a quick errand.

Needless to say, Edward bid the waiting room farewell pretty quick after that. The hallway was empty save for a few shadows lurking in the corners and he managed to cross it and find the right door without being stopped or seen by anyone. Hallelujah!

Bare sickly green walls greeted him along with a single metal framed bed. The room was shoe-box sized and deprressive, but at least it was a private room, a detail he had seen to himself when Bella was first admitted.

He found his Bella sound asleep on the bed… his Bella… that's what he had taken to call her in his head. She appeared to be blissfully knocked out on the pain meds that she reluctantly and after much persuasion had agreed to take. Edward noted that even in her sleep she looked completely exhausted. There was faint bruising under her eyes and her cheeks drawn and paleandyet she still was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

He dragged the chair next to her bed a few inches closer and settled down too watch over her as she slept. He was fairly certain she would do the same thing for him if the situation was reversed. Hell, she had done the same thing for him, not just once, but multiple times the last couple of months.

Sometimes he sensed that Bella cared for him far more deeply than she would ever admit. At other times she seemed to be merely putting up with him out of a sense of duty.

They still hadn't really talked about what had happened between them the previous night. It had felt so right, the two of them together…. All the touches, the way they moved together, the sounds... Yet the uncertainties were many... as were the obstacles that needed to be addressed…

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Edward was vaguely aware of sudden movements in the room. The movements grew in intensity until they had him wide awake. He raised his head and turned his gaze towards the bed where his Bella was whimpering pitifully in her sleep. She wasn't just making dissatisfied noises, though, no she was struggling, karate style, with someone or something that wasn't there. It was the third time he had woken up in a similar manner.

Her cries were unintelligible, but the meaning was clear and Edward couldn't bear listening to it any longer. Nightmares were something he was all too familiar with. When holding her hand wasn't enough to calm her down, he resolutely climbed into the small hospital bed and took a firm hold of her shaking body.

She trashed in his arms, angry snarls erupting from her throat and then just as suddenly as it started, she stilled.

"That's better," he soothed. "It's just a dream, everything will be all right."

He heard her heave a heavy sigh, as he took one of her clenched hands, and eased her fingers apart.

"Edward?"

"I'm right here."

"I'll have the Mushroom Ravioli," she muttered, smacked her lips, and went back to snoring.

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When Bella woke, she woke with a jolt, her breath raggedly heaving to and from her lungs as she stared, wild-eyed at the ceiling. The room was dark save for the dull light coming through the cracks around the door. She didn't know where she was for a moment, or why her head felt so heavy, but then it came back to her in a rush of memoriesthat took her breath away.

"Edward?"

"I'm right here. Go back to sleep." His voice was close, surprisingly close. She could feel his breath caressing the skin of her neck like a warm summer breeze.

She strained her puffy, heavy lidded eyes in an effort to locate him the darkness. Was that an arm she felt draped across her middle? She flexed her shoulders experimentally and tried to shrug out of his hold, but it was no use.

"No sudden movements, sweetheart," he scolded her, tightening his embrace and placing his chin on her shoulder. An gesture that was not only blatantly possessive, but utterly confusing as well for poor Bella.

"What are you doing in my bed?," she asked while fighting the fog that seemed to have settled over her brain.

"It's cozy and I like it here."

"I bet you do," she groaned. "But I don't want you here."

"Too bad, because I'm not moving one inch. It's the middle of the night. Try to get some rest Bella."

"But…"

"No buts. We can argue about this in the morning. Right now you should just try and relax."

'Relax', well that was easy for him to say. Did he seriously expect her get any rest with his limbs wrapped around her like a pretzel? She was not… and would never be… "the pretzel kind of gal".

"Sorry, did you say something?"

Bella's cheeks warmed when she realized she had said that last part about not liking pretzels aloud. "Ugh… Never mind," she grumbled, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. Great, first she was drooling on him and now she was rambling like a brain-damaged moron. No wonder he sounded concerned.

"Are you feeling alright?," he asked as he brought up a hand to touch her cheek gently. "You look a little flushed."

Annoyed, she swatted his hand away. "Gee, I wonder why? I'm feeling a bit crowded here. You can't possibly think this is comfortable."

"Why not, you're all soft and lovely to cuddle."

"Whoa, inappropriate much," she scoffed, throwing him a glare.

"What?" Edward asked innocently. "It was a compliment. "

Bella struggled to sit up, but before she could even gain her bearings he had pulled her back into his embrace again. "See, soft like a kitten," he mused as he pressed her flush up against his chest and tucked her head against his neck.

"Even the softest of kittens have claws," she warned, wriggling to get away.

Edward half-sighed, half-groaned. "Kitten, you better stop squirming or certain things won't stay soft much longer."

She halted her movements immediately, knowing all too well which certain thing he was referring to.

"This is a hospital, for Christ sake!"

"Uhm yeah, but I'm not sick. I'm a perfectly healthy male, having a perfectly healthy male reaction."

"That's exactly why you shouldn't be in this bed in the first place."

"Don't make me the bad guy. I tried to wake you, but you wouldn't have that. Instead you clung to me like there was no tomorrow. I'm only here in this bed because you were calling out my name in your sleep."

"Clearly that was the morphine talking," Bella huffed, feeling her cheeks grow warm again.

"Of course, kitten, whatever you say," Edward smirked. "Obviously you're still quite a bit loopy or we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Nuh-uh, not loopy. I might be a little sluggish, but I know when I'm being groped against my will!"

"Are you sure about that kitten? I could have sworn I heard you purr just a second ago," he teased, his voice dropping to a dangerously husky level. "I've heard a good ol' orgasm can be quite a powerful pain reliever."

Oh, lordy… "You've got to be kidding me. This is not just any bed, it's a HOSPITAL bed and I'm in this place for a reason. Does 'concussion', ring a bell?"

She heard him sigh, or rather she felt him sigh. "Sorry. You're right, this is no joking matter, " he apologized after a few moments of silence. "When we found you on the floor, unconscious, with your head in a puddle of blood….I thought … I feared…"

"It looked worse than it was, " Bella hurried to silence him before he could finish his sentence. "Could we maybe not talk about this right now. Still, loopy, remember?"

"I thought you said you were sluggish, not loopy," he chided her, but it was in an unbickering sort of way.

"Well, that was before the ceiling started spinning. And the double vision is trippy as hell."

"Bella, should I get a doctor in here?"

"Sure go ahead. I'd love to hear you explain what you're doing in my bed," she laughed, but then she realized he was serious. "No, I'm fine. My head hurt but it's not too bad."

"That's good," Edward said slowly. "I hate too see you in pain. Look, I guess neither one of us is in the right mind frame right now, but we really do need to talk Bella, like really talk."

"Not now," she protested with a frown. "Not like this."

"No, not now. Later, when this is all over."

"When this is all over," she agreed, closing her eyes to avoid further discussion on the topic.

An uneasy silence settled over the room. After a moment, Bella sighed. "Edward, if you want me to get any rest at all, you really need to give me some space to breathe."

"Right," he sighed and scooted away from her about a fraction of an inch. "This better?"

"Did you even move? Like at all?"

"There is no pleasing you, is there?"

"You're taking up an awful lot of space."

He moved again, making the metal frame of the bed rattle like a shopping cart full of empty soda cans.

"Look who's squirming now?"

"It's a narrow bed."

"Sure, it is. I know a bulge when I feel one and that thing poking me in my back right this very moment certainly feels like a massive one."

"Sorry, I should get up."

"Up?… No, but an inch lower would be nice... If you really want to please me, that is," she giggled because apparently her verbal filter had completely vanished at this point.

"I meant, I should get up and out of this bed, " Edward clarified. "You're looking awfully flushed again."

"I'm not."

"You most certainly are."

Damn! He was right, not only was her heart beating at an alarming rate, but certain parts of her body seemed to be moving on their own accord, searching for heath and friction from anything within reach.

"Gah, it's your fault. You got me all horny," she whined in an almost longing tone.

"It's the morphine. It's heightening your senses. Just to be clear, we're not having sex."

"Of course not. I have a headache."

"Then stop rubbing up against me, Swan. The only way that head of yours is going to stop throbbing is if you keep it still."

"I'm throbbing alright, but it's not my head that's the problem…"

"Isabella Marie Swan, I'm not having sex with you while you're high as a kite. There will be no funny business. No sudden movements, no rubbing, no squirming and most definitely no penetration."

His attempt to be dismissive had quite the opposite effect and Bella found herself shuddering involuntarily. "Say… say that again," she asked breathlessly.

"Isabella," he said her name in a warning tone of voice.

"Not that…" Her eyes were glassy as she turned around to face him on the narrow bed. "…the other part."

"I mean it." His voice sounded strained. "No sex, no penetration, no sudden movements…"

"What about touching... " she breathed against his neck, knowing full well what kind of reaction that would elicit.

He didn't disappoint. First he shuddered, then he stuttered, "W-.. What about it?"

"I crave to touch and be touched… like a kitten…Will you pet me?"

"I… your head… we shouldn't… I shouldn't."

Ignoring his protests, she grounded her hips experimentally against his groin and was rewarded with a throaty moan. His bulge was not a just bulge anymore, it was a fully erect, rock solid hard on.

"A little rubbing never killed anyone," she mumbled, reaching out to cop a fell of him through the fabric of sweatpants.

…..

It was when her lips found the spot, yes, that spot, the one behind his ear, where his pulse hammered against his neck, that he realized just how screwed he was.

He kept repeating " No sex, no penetration, no sudden movements " over and over again, chanting it in his mind like it was a mantra, but then she fondled his cock and all reasonable thoughts flew out the window.

"Sh*t ... okay fine. If getting you off is what it takes to get you to relax then I'll do it, but you're laying still. I'm doing all the work and you're not moving one inch, you hear me?"

"Whatever you say, sugar," Bella laughed, looking awfully smug with herself as she guided his hand between her legs.

"You drive me fucking crazy," he whispered against her skin as his mouth traveled up her neck and to her chin until it finally found her mouth. Their tongues twirled, tangled and mated and they both moaned in unison. The hospital gown allowed for easy access and soon his fingers were parting her soft wet folds and gliding through the center of her silky heat. Between the kissing and the rubbing, his Bella became very excited, very fast.

With combined efforts they discarded her gown. Edward's own clothes were becoming increasingly tight and uncomfortable and he wanted them gone as well… He craved more, needed more.

"This is killing me. I gotta feel you, babe. Lemme have some skin on skin, just for a moment," he muttered pulling back to fumble with the drawstring of his pants.

He pressed his hips, his thighs, his swollen cock as close and as hard against her groin as he could without actually being inside her. There would be no penetration and he intended to stick to that vow.

"Uhhh ... you feel so good," Bella groaned, arching against him like a feline. At that moment she really did remind him of a cat, a sex kitten, gentle but wild, soft but with claws.

He bucked against her and gripped her knee and drew it up his leg until it wouldn't go any farther. She took that as encouragement to open up wider and add a slight rocking motion of her own.

They wriggled and moved, they rubbed and bumped against each other. It felt incredible and soon his body was moving on its own accord. His hips grinding faster, harder, lower and until BAM! Tap A was buried to the hilt in slot B, only it wasn't mechanical or clinical at all, it was primal and raw - and totally unintentional, but oh-so-enjoyable…. so good.

He didn't last long, but neither did she. The increased friction made her grunt and growl in a rather animalistic way. A few thrusts was all it took before her inner walls began to convulse around him. His own release came a scant moment later, the intensity of it leaving him dumb and blind. And for a moment, completely and utterly happy… until reality reared its ugly, bandaged, head.

Was that a whimper he heard? Was she hurt? Was she conscious? Was she breathing?

Damn! He knew this was a bad idea…

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As dawn broke Edward found himself once again back in a plastic chair.

YES, he was back in the chair next to the hospital bed again. It was safer that way… It was easier to think when he wasn't touching her, wasn't holding her, wasn't breathing in her every scent. Besides, if there was one thing Bella needed, it was undisturbed sleep.

Lost in thought, he didn't hear the door sliding open, nor notice that someone had joined him, not until he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder, that is.

His breath caught in his throat for a horrible second before he realized it was just someone from the medical staff. Laughing at his own idiocy, he turned to the woman.

"Sorry. Didn't hear you come in." He sat up straighter and rubbed the back of his neck.

"That's okay. I'm a nurse, my name is Camille. I just stepped on my shift a few minutes ago," the woman explained as she took a few steps closer to the bed to check on the patient.

"Does she need to be awake for this?" Edward asked glancing over at the sleeping form on the bed.

"No that wont be necessary. I'm not going to poke and prod, I'm just here to take her vitals."

Bella stirred slightly as the BP cuff tightened around her arm. She opened her eyes to slits as the nurse slipped the thermometer into her mouth.

"Good morning, Ms. Swan," The nurse greeted her cheerily. "How are we feeling this morning?"

"Mi 'ed 'urts a bit," she mumbled around the glass stick before her eyes drifted shut again.

"Well, that's to be expected. You have quite a lot of stitches, a concussion and some major swelling. I'm afraid it's going to hurt for a while," the nurse explained in a far too cheery voice.

"Her condition hasn't gotten worse though, has it?" Edward asked with concern.

"No," the nurse shook her head as she removed the thermometer and recorded the information. "Everything looks fine. In fact, I think she might be going home today. I can't make any promises, of course, but like I said everything looks fine."

Bella mumbled something un-intelligible under her breath. She didn't feel 'fine', sure her headache was reasonably mild, but her body was … well sore, for lack of better words. She had a feeling it was better to keep that information to herself though…

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Bella was released from the hospital just around lunchtime. Seth picked her up in an anonymous black rental car. Edward was there too, of course, and so was Alice and Jasper. However, the welcoming committee was anything but festive. It turned out they came baring news… good news and bad news….

The good news being that the suspect, Ms. Weber, had made certain admissions. Not a full blown confession or anything, but enough to have the suspect transferred to a nearby mental health facility where she was to undergo psychiatric evaluation. This is where the bad news came into play. While waiting for the transport to be arranged the suspect had used her shoe strings and bra to hang herself inside her holding cell.

"We miscalculated. She showed no signs of being self destructive," Seth tried to explain as they pulled out from the parking lot outside the hospital. "We knew the stalker was to be considered unstable, but Ms. Weber seemed reasonably calm and level headed. We weren't even sure we had the right person until the slip up the other day,"

"The slip up?" Edward questioned from the back seat.

"The 'hot-chocolate-incidence'. She got carried away with the rat poison. We found fragments of fingerprints... and uh….," Seth explanation came to a halt when he registered the shocked silence in the car and realized that Bella had kept the Cullens in the dark about a thing or two as far as the investigation was concerned.

"Swan, you didn't tell them?"

"I saw no reason to mention anything about this before we made the arrest."

"I'm not sure I'm following here," Alice interrupted, confusion evident in her voice. "She put rat poison in Edward's hot chocolate?"

"Strychnine, not enough to kill anyone, but enough to make you quite ill," Bella clarified quickly, throwing an nervous glance in Edward's direction. "Luckily, one of our agents got suspicious and intervened before anyone got hurt."

He returned the glance with a ferocious scowl. "When exactly was this? How long have you known who the stalker was without informing me?"

Bella heard the accusation in his voice, he was upset that much was clear.

"Three days…. but we had everything under control, there was no real danger. I wanted to make sur-…"

"THREE FUCKING DAYS?," he exploded practically gritting his teeth in fury.

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So, the stalker was solid gone - dead - out of the picture. It should have been a relief. Yet, the news of the poor girls suicide ended up hitting Bella hard. She could only imagine what it was like for those who had known her longer such as his friends and family.

The reactions to the news were somewhat varied. Little baby boy Elliott for one was crushed having lost his favorite babysitter. His parents emotions on the other hand were leaning more towards guilt, shock, and disbelief.

And as for Edward… well actually Bella had no idea what Edward's reaction was because he had flat out refused to speak to her ever since finding out about the strychnine spiked chocolate.

She had hoped to get a chance to explain the reasoning behind at least some of her actions, but it appeared as though he had purposely made himself unreachable. She had tried multiple ways of getting through to him. She had apologized in writing and she had meant it, but she was done groveling to him. Bella Swan did not grovel. Especially not to someone who was too much of a chicken shit to stay around and talk things through face to face.

She knew she was better off cutting all ties and moving on. Emotional attachment was a luxury she couldn't afford. Not if she wanted to get her career back on track. She had been lucky this time, lucky that the suits from Internal Affairs had been reasonable and settled for a six weeks suspension. After that, there would be both physical and psychological evaluations to pass before she would be reinstated as a field agent, but at least she still had a job to return to.

That job had been her lifeline, her only link to sanity, when everything else around her had turned to ashes. She was not about to allow herself to mess that up by losing her head over a man.

She felt a stupid tear scurry down her cheek and she clenched her eyes shut. It was going to be the last sign of emotion, she vowed to herself. She'd gotten over him before. She'd get over him again, for good this time.

Hadn't she already gotten through the first week of being without him?

She would get over him eventually.

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An: one more chapter to go... *SHAMELESS BEGGING* Come on people, this story is worth more than 37 reviews. Last chance to hit the button and give it some love. I'll take anything I can get, a one word comment, a smiley face...anything... *END SHAMELESS BEGGING*