Edward's POV

I stood in the waiting room at the hospital for what seemed like forever, but was probably no more than an hour, before Carlisle came out and told me what was going on.

"Edward, she's in the Intensive Care Unit. We're not quite sure how much longer we can keep her on Life Support. She is in quite a critical state."

I hung my head. I had no words. Nothing to say to him. I felt ashamed that I had let her go into that house. That I wasn't fast enough to keep her from this. I swear, if anything had to happen to her now because of me. . .

"She hasn't stopped asking for you," he continued sullenly.

This made me look up. "She can speak?"

"We don't know for how long. . ."

"Take me to her," I ordered.

Carlisle nodded and started walking toward the ICU quarters. I followed silently, mentally preparing myself for what I was about to see; my Kitten, battered and broken on a hospital bed, strapped to a machine to live. The thought made me want to cry. But I would stay strong. She must not worry about anything. She doesn't need any more drama at this point.
Carlisle stopped in front of a large double door. I pushed it open and immediately walk towards the bed I saw my Kitten laying on. As I approached I took a sharp intake of breath at what I saw. It was her, there was no mistaking it, but she was so different. Not just because of the gauze and bandages and blood, but because of the utter look of despair in her eyes. Where was the girl with the snappy attitude, short temper and mischievous sparkle in her eyes? Where was the girl that wouldn't take no for an answer no matter what? Where was the girl that stood up for herself, and wasn't afraid to show her frustrations?
One look at this broken, beaten, mess of a girl in front of me and I knew that that Bella was long gone.
I had to close my eyes against the whirlwind of emotions that overtook me at that moment. Hurt, pain, regret, heartbroken. But above all, rage. Anger toward the sick human being that could have done this to her. I could kill him.

"Edward?"

I looked down and saw that she was trying to reach out to me with her hand. That gesture alone made her look so fragile; I was afraid if I took her hand I would crush it without even meaning to. But I took it anyway, and kneeled down beside her.

"Edward, it hurts," she whispered feebly.

I choked back a sob. "I know. Don't worry, you'll be out of here soon, I promise."

She just moaned in agony, which was a sort of cue to Carlisle that the pain medication was wearing off, so he quickly went to fetch more, leaving us alone together in the room.

"I'm sorry, Bella, so, so sorry. This is my entire fault." I let my head fall onto the hard mattress so she couldn't see my face.

"No," I heard her mumble. "It isn't. I should have said something from the beginning about what was going on at home. If this is anyone's fault its mine."

I lifted my head up and waited for her to look me in the eye. "Don't you dare think like that. Anyway, this doesn't matter. You're going to be fine."

She rolled her eyes meekly. She looked like she would have even laughed if she wasn't so weak. "Please, Edward. We both know that that's not true. I've been to hospitals enough times to know what a life support machine looks like."

She nodded her head towards the beeping machine that lay beside the bed, and groaned at the pain that simple movement caused her. I flinched.

"No. you are going to be fine. And we'll be out of here before you know it. And you can come stay with my family. And you will go on with your life as if this never even happened. I swear."

I was trying to convince myself more than her at that point, but she was right. There was not much chance of her making it. I knew that, so did she. There wasn't much use in pretending it would all be alright when there was no guarantee it would be. But I just couldn't give up on her. This girl was strong enough to fight this. But analyzing all the blood and bruises that covered every visible part of her body, I couldn't help but wonder if she really was.

Just then, Carlisle walked into the room, followed by two nurses.

"Edward," he said softly, "we need to operate on her."

My eyebrows pinched together. "You can't. Not yet." I looked back at the fragile girl beside me. In all honesty, she didn't look like she would survive a major surgery right now. "Can't you wait a little longer?"

"I'm sorry," he aid, shaking his head. "She's lost a lot of blood. We need to do quite a few transfusions. And if we don't mend her bones they might puncture one of her vital organs. We're lucky it hasn't happened yet."

I didn't feel very lucky at all.

"Edward," he said, as the nurses approached the bed. "I think its time for you to go home and rest now. I will keep you informed about what's happening here."

I didn't move. Instead, I grasped my Kitten's hand tighter and clenched my jaw. There was no way I was letting her go. Especially with no guarantee that I would ever see her again. If she was going to die tonight, it wasn't going to be without me by her side. I wasn't about to let that happen.

"Edward, son, if she has any chance of survival then this is it. This may very well be her only chance. We need to operate. Now."

It took me a good few minutes, but eventually, I stood up, her tiny hand still enclosed by mine.

"Edward." Carlisle put his hand on my shoulder. "Emmett is waiting for you outside. He will take you home. I'll do the best I can for Bella."

I nodded, and without another word, I released Bella's hand and stormed out the door, not looking back. I didn't want to see her face as they dragged her out of the room, preparing her for a life-threatening operation. Carlisle's words never left my head.

This operation may very well be her only chance.

I only realized how hot and unusually stuffy that hospital was until I burst through the front doors into the cool air of the night. The sudden change of atmosphere made me feel dizzy. I leaned against the wall for support. Then I saw a very ostentatious red convertible parked near the door that could only be Rosalie's. It was Emmett.

"I'm supposed to be taking you home," he said, getting out of the vehicle.

I completely ignored him as he walked up to me and leaned against the cold wall next to me.

"She'll be okay," he eventually said. "That one's a fighter."

I looked over at him. "She looked bad, Emmett."

He nodded understandingly. "I get where you're coming from. I'm surprised her father is still alive. If that was Rose in there, I would be tracking him down."

As he was talking I realized that he had a point. Why was that bastard still alive while Bella is being operated on in a hospital bed? I forgot about all the sadness and despair ad once again found myself focused on the anger. He deserved to die. I pushed my self off the wall and started walking in the general direction of Bella's house.

"Edward," Emmett called after me, "where are you going?"

"To find the asshole that did this!" I yelled back.

"Edward, no!" He started following me. "I was kidding! You can't do anything to him! They'll already have his badge! He'll be going to priso0n for a very long time! You shouldn't do anything to hurt him!"

I ignored his reasoning pleas and just carried on walking. I heard his footsteps come to a halt behind me and I knew he had given up on following me. Unless he had gone to get the car. But I wasn't going to stop. I wasn't going to stop until Bella's worm of a father was dead. He would pay for what he had done to her. That was a promise.