UPDATE! Did anyone like the interludes? I didn't get much feedback on those. Anyway, ONWARD!
The beeping is something with I, unfortunately, am intimately familiar with. It means that my heart is beating. It also means that something happened that got me really hurt. Great. I pried my eyes open and immediately wished I hadn't. Before me, Dr. Cullen was whispering urgently to one person I never wanted to see again.
"Sorry, Bells. I couldn't talk her down." Phil offered, making sure to keep his voice soft. Carlisle turned toward me with Renee in tow. He was going to speak but the she-devil cut him off.
"What happened to you? I've seen corpses with better color! Oh, I knew I shouldn't have let Charlie take you, you're not ready for him and he obviously can't take care of you-."
How ironic of her.
"I'm going to sign you out and when you feel better we'll get you home."
"I'm not going anywhere with you." I rasped.
"What are you talking about?! I'm your mother and you've been hanging around on your own for too long! Charlie let you run off with some boy he probably doesn't even know about, that I don't know anything about… he could have been a rapist for all you knew, or an axe-murderer-!"
Even from my bed, I heard the not-so-audible click that came with the grinding of teeth. Carlisle had a murderous look on his face. I twitched an ear and he relaxed… barely.
"-what else could you have been keeping from me?! No, we're going home as soon as possible and that's final!"
"If you want to discuss the matter of custody, I suggest you do so in a room far away from here and with Chief Swan present to voice his opinions. Whatever you do, Bella is hurting and if her doctor comes in to ask why, you will be removed from the hospital. Have a nice day, Mrs. Dwyer." Carlisle's voice was cold with clipped words and well-restricted anger.
"I hope you get better, Bella. I really do." Phil murmured before following and outraged Renee out of sight. I sighed and closed my eyes.
"That wasn't who I think it was-?" Andrew's voice drifted to my ears and I rolled my eyes.
"Get in here." I gasped. "She's gone and if Dr. Cullen's threat holds out then she can't come back.
"What did she say?" He asked gently.
"I have to go back with her."
"No,"
"It's not like anyone can stop her. She is my mother, and considering that I just up and ran away from Charlie, I don't know how a judge would take that."
"They'll take it if they know anything about Renee."
"I'm not going to put up a fight and you're not going to argue. Whatever Renee has planned we'll get through that when it comes up. I'm tired, Ang."
"Then sleep, Princess. You're safe here."
"She's more than I realized." The doctor told his wife when they met up that night. "It was absolutely amazing, the amount of influence she had with her words alone… I wanted to kill the woman."
"What happened today, Carlisle?" Esme prompted. She hadn't seen her mate this upset in a while.
"Renee started ranting about how she was injured and that meant Charlie couldn't take care of her- I know she didn't intend to but she insulted us while she went on. Then she said she signed Bella out, poor girl froze up quicker than ice, Esme~ It was ridiculous! Bella protested a little, but she obviously knows Renee because she didn't bother after the first time. Renee just plowed over her and Bella let her talk. Actions speak louder than words, though, so I hope she has a plan. She seemed more comfortable around the boy than Renee, and if the conversation they had after was any indication… Bella must not have had much with her mother."
"Then who did she turn to? She had to have someone to teach her what she knows now."
"That's the question, love, and we'll wait for Bella's answer when she's ready to give it."
Renee signed her out, true to her words, and they were about to leave when Charlie approached them with a guilty-looking Phil in tow. Guilty, but determined.
"I don't know what the hell you think you're playing but you're not taking my daughter anywhere." The Chief growled.
"Says the one who let her go off on her own without any protest whatsoever." Renee sneered.
"Well maybe if you'd focused her for more than five seconds she wouldn't have felt the need to run away."
"She ran to me, Charlie. That should tell you something."
"She ran to Andrew, Renee. That tells me something. What the hell did you do while she was growing up anyway? You're supposed to be her mother and at the first sign of trouble you just ship her off to me without even an explanation?!"
I tugged on Charlie's shirt and he turned to me.
"I think we should go somewhere with less people." I told him. He glanced around and nodded.
"Me too, kid. Let's all go back to Phil's and we can talk there. I don't care how long I have to argue but I'm taking you home." He murmured. I grinned and he flashed a smile back.
"So we're going home? Oh, Bella, you're going to love our new house; it's just gorgeous!" Renee gushed.
I narrowed my eyes and shook my head.
"I'm staying with Andrew. Dad can come get me when you three have sorted things out."
"Isabella Marie Swan, I am your mother-!"
"Leah was more of a mother than you can ever claim, and look where that almost got her!" I hissed. "I pray to God that you don't have any more kids, Renee, because they'd be dead within the hour."
"You little-!"
"Renee!" Phil snapped. "We can finish this at home. Bella will ride with Charlie and Andrew. The Cullens are still here so if Bella is going to be at your house you might want to expect them as well. Renee and I will take our car home and Charlie, you can meet us there after you've dropped Bella off."
"That sounds like a marvelous idea, Phil. Let's go."
At this point in the story, Bella has been out for a week since the incident with James and Renee has known about Bella for a day. Everyone's favorite she-wolf will show up in the next chapter along with the parental issues that may come up. Any Questions?