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Talking It Out

Edward, Alice, and I sat on the couch watching Castle until Esme called us for lunch. I pushed myself off the couch, and watched as Alice wheeled Edward's wheelchair over and helped him into it. I wouldn't have thought someone as small as her would be strong enough to help pull Edward off the couch and into the chair, but I was wrong. Once Edward was settled, we made our way into the kitchen and found spots at the table. Esme and Carlisle brought over grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.

"This looks delicious," I said as Esme set my sandwich and bowl of soup in front of me.

"Thank you," Esme said, "Now, what can I get you to drink, Bella?"

"Oh, um, I'll just have whatever everyone is having," I said. Esme nodded poured milk for everyone. Once we all had our drinks, Esme joined us at the table and we all dug in. It wasn't until I started eating that I realized how hungry I really was; my waffle from breakfast had definitely worn off.

It didn't take long for us to finish, and when we did Esme, much to my surprise and delight, brought out more sugar cookies. After eating an unhealthy amount of cookies, Edward, Alice, and I made our way back to the living room. Alice helped Edward back onto the couch and we resumed our Castle marathon. We watched TV for the rest of the afternoon, as the marathon ended Esme came down the stairs and told me that my mom had called and she wanted me home soon.

"Bella, can I see your phone real quick?" Alice said as I stood up to leave. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and handed it to her; she fiddled with it for a minute before she handed it back to me.

"You have my number now," she said, "Call me if you ever want to hang out."

"Ok, thanks," I said as I slipped my phone back into my pocket. "I should give you my number too."

"I already have it," Alice said with an innocent smile.

"How?" I asked.

"I got it off of Edward's phone," Alice said.

"Of course you did," Edward said not looking at all surprised.

"Yeah, well if you don't want me to look at it, don't leave it out," Alice said as she stood up, "I'll leave you two alone so you can say goodbye in private."

"Bye, Alice," I said as she headed for the stairs.

"Bye, Bella," she called over her shoulder. When we were alone I turned back towards Edward, and he picked up my hand and held it gently between his own.

"So, I guess I will see you tomorrow?" I said as I looked up and met Edward's gaze.

"Yeah," Edward replied.

"I'm really nervous," I admitted.

"Me too," Edward said, "but we will get through it."

"Together," I said.

"Together," Edward agreed before his lips once again found mine. This kiss started as gently as the first one but it quickly became heated. When we broke apart we both had to catch our breath.

"Wow," I said.

"Yeah," Edward agreed.

"Bella, are you ready to go?" Esme asked as she came back into the room.

"Sure," I said as I stood up.

"See you tomorrow, Bella," Edward said as he gave my hand one last squeeze.

See you tomorrow," I said and headed for the door where Esme was waiting. With one last glance at Edward I walked out the door and made my way to Esme's car.

"Esme, thank you for letting me come over today," I said as she drove.

"Of course," Esme said, "I think you and Edward both needed it. Alice, too."

"We really did," I agreed.

"You know you are welcome at our house anytime," Esme said.

"Thank you," I said.

"No, thank you," Esme said as she pulled into my driveway.

"Thank you for the ride," I said.

"No problem, I'll see you tomorrow," Esme said.

"See you tomorrow," I said as I got of the car and made my way to my front door. Once I was inside I filled my parents in on my day, leaving out the part about Edward kissing me, and then made my way up to my room. I spent the rest of the night trying to prepare for the next day. Sleep didn't come easy, but thankfully when I finally did sleep it was dreamless.

Although my sleep was dreamless, my nerves knew enough about the upcoming day to cause major butterflies in my stomach. I woke rested, but with an anxious pit in my stomach that made me pass on any breakfast offerings. My mom helped me get dressed as usual, and once I was ready we got in the car and were on our way.

We met the Cullens in the parking lot. We said our hellos, and as soon as Edward was situated in his chair we made our way inside. The hospital was busy as always, and I let myself be distracted by the people in various states of distress as we headed for the elevator. Once Carlisle pushed the button that closed the door and sent us upwards I didn't pay attention to what floor we were going to, but the trip seemed to pass more quickly than I anticipated.

We proceeded down the hallway with Carlisle in the lead, and entered a door that led to a small waiting room. Carlisle went up to the desk and told the receptionist who we were before joining us in the row of matching chairs with the occasional separating table holding outdated magazines. I flipped through a People magazine that had to be at least a month old, not that it mattered to me. I wasn't paying attention to what I was looking at anyway.

After what seemed like forever, but was probably only five minutes, a woman walked into the waiting room to greet us. The woman looked to be in her early thirties; long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a friendly smile.

"Hello Carlisle," she said as she shook his hand.

"Hello Kate," he replied, "Thank you so much for fitting us in on such short notice."

"Not a problem," she replied with her friendly smile still firmly in place.

"This is my wife, Esme, and my son, Edward," Carlisle said as gestured to each one.

"It's very nice to meet you," she said as she shook their hands.

"It's nice to meet you too," Esme said.

"You must be Bella," Dr. Denali said as she turned to face me.

"Yes," I replied quietly as I shook her hand, "and these are my parents, Charlie and Renee."

"It's nice to meet you both," she said, shaking their hands as well. "Bella and Edward, why don't you come on back?" Dr. Denali led us back to her office. Her desk was in one corner, a tall bookshelf against one wall full of medical books, a chair, and a plush couch in the middle of the room.

"I'd like you both to be comfortable here. Edward, would you like me to help you to the couch, or would you like to stay in your chair?"

"Um, the couch, I guess," Edward replied, and Dr. Denali nodded. I watched as she helped maneuver Edward onto the couch, and then took a seat next to him.

"My name is Dr. Kate Denali," she said, "You can call me Kate or Dr. Denali, whatever you are more comfortable with."

"Okay," Edward and I said.

"Alright. Before our appointment I had a chance to review both of your files. First, let me say that I'm sorry this happened to you. While physically I know you are healing, there are other aspects to what happened that linger in the subconscious, and those are what we need to talk about and treat, differently than with bandages or a wheelchair. Why don't we start by talking a little bit about what has been happening since the incident at school," she said as she pulled out a small notebook and sat down.

"We have been having a hard time since the shooting," Edward said.

"That's certainly understandable," Kate said, "What kinds of things in particular have you been struggling with?"

"We both have been having really bad nightmares," I admitted quietly, and Edward nodded his head.

"And we had some kind of episode the other day," Edward added.

"Oh? Can you tell me what happened?" Kate asked as she took notes.

"We were at a restaurant. Somebody dropped a plate or something," Edward said, "and we both sort of flashed back to the day of the shooting."

"The loud noise brought you back to that day," Kate said, and we both nodded.

"I, um….I dove under the table," I said.

"I probably would have done the same if it wasn't for my leg," Edward said.

"Okay," Kate said as she jotted things down. "Then what?"

"Our parents got us out of the restaurant as quickly as they could. They were pretty freaked out, almost as much as we were. I knew we were in a restaurant. I knew that the one holding the gun at the school wasn't there. But all of a sudden I was in the school hallway again, petrified, not knowing what to do."

"I see," Kate said before turning to Edward, "And you, Edward? What was your reaction?"

"I was frozen. I knew I couldn't move well to take cover, but for some reason I just pictured a gun pointed at me and Bella. And most of all I felt helpless. I just couldn't make it go away."

"Okay," Kate said thoughtfully. "First, I need to make sure that you understand that what happened at the restaurant was a normal reaction. Have either of you ever heard of PTSD?"

"Yes," Edward replied and I nodded.

"Good. You know, it's common in people who have been through any type of traumatic experience," she explained, "but I want to reassure you both that it's also treatable."

"So, you think that's the problem?" I asked.

"Yes, I do. And frankly, I would be amazed if you didn't have PTSD after such a physically and emotionally draining event," she replied. "I won't lie to you; it's going to take a lot of hard work on both your parts, but I believe that you can move past it."

"Really?" Edward asked.

"Yes. It would mean attending therapy on a regular basis, either with me or another provider, and working with some desensitizing exercises. But if you're willing to do the work, then I think you can succeed in moving forward with your lives with far less anxiety or spontaneous recollections," she said with an encouraging smile.

"Alright," I said hesitantly, and I could see Edward nod also.

"Good. I'd like to see you both again, next week if possible," she said as she stood and walked over to help Edward back into his chair. Kate walked us to the door and when she got there she stopped and took both my hand and Edward's.

"The most important thing I want you two to remember is that it will get better," she said as she squeezed our hands before leading us back to where are parents waited.

We said our goodbyes and made another appointment before leaving. Once we were in the car I sat back and replayed Kate's last words to us. She said it would get better. For the first time in a long time I actually believed it could.

AN: Thanks to my beta Jenn! Thanks also to: Angelus Draco, jansails, jmeec316, debslmac, Iluvecookies, LiLi82, boo1414, ellaryne, sujari6 for taking the time to leave a review it means a lot.

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