So we have another mostly lighter chapter! I warn, it is going to get serious again after this, but I figured you all could do with a little fluff mixed in. I hope you guys are squealing with yay by the end! I am!

Please R&R! And thank you to everyone who has been, as always, I very much appreciate it.

Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight.

Chapter 11: Connections

BPOV

Alice left, and came back a minute later with Edward behind her. He froze the moment he entered, looking at me, something I didn't recognize in his eyes, as he stood there staring at me. Alice stood beside him just looking smug.

Holy Crap! Edward Cullen is looking at me like… like a man looks at a beautiful woman. What the hell is going on?

"Hey Eddie, doesn't Bella look amazing?!" Alice asked, bouncing up and down, and just like that, the spell was broken. He tore his gaze away from me to look down at Alice.

"Um, Yeah, she looks nice. I hope you didn't do anything against her will…" He muttered, looking a little flustered, the back of his neck and his ears red.

"Never! It was fun, wasn't it Bella?" Alice says, looking to me.

"Yeah, it was fun." I said, still staring at Edward, trying to decipher his reaction.

"Good. Okay then, lets go." He said somewhat awkwardly.

"Oh, Edward, these are clothes for Bella for when everyone comes over later." Alice says, handing him some clothes. It looked like some sort of top and a pair of jeans, and even undergarments.

"Does she really need to get dressed up? It's only Rose and Jasper coming over." He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course? Haven't you learned anything dear brother? Fashion is always important." She says with a no bullshit look on her face.

"Sure, whatever." He shrugs, raising his arms in defeat.

"That's what I thought." She said, before skipping over to me and giving me a hug. "See you later! And think about what I said!" She said.

Edward quirks his eyebrow at us in question.

"Girl talk." I shrugged, and he just nodded, clearly not interested in finding out.

Edward then comes over, and helps me up. As soon as we get out of her room, he notices how sluggish I am trying to keep up. I was getting exhausted, and my legs were starting to hurt more. He notices, and picks me up the rest of the way. I don't fight it, and just lean my head on his shoulder tiredly.

"I think you should try to catch a nap." He said seriously, looking down at me. "I'll wake you up." He then added when he saw I was about to protest.

"Alright." I say quietly.

He brings me into his room, and sets me on his bed, bringing the blankets up, before settling in on the sofa, leaning back, and pulling out a notebook.

"What do you write in there anyway?" I yawn out curiously.

"Mostly just song lyrics, sometimes other shit. It's kind of personal though." He says.

"Oh, alright." I say, knowing that means he wasn't going to elaborate.

"Sleep." He orders gently, and I nod.

As soon as I close my eyes, it doesn't take me long to fall asleep

I run out of the closet the moment I hear the door close behind daddy, and run into the living room. Immediately, I stop dead in my tracks. Mommy is laying on the floor, blood surrounding her. She has a gash in her head, and a wound in her chest with a knife sticking out, blood everywhere. Her head is at an unnatural angle, staring directly with unseeing blank eyes.

I run over, knowing she is dead, but not believing it. I shake her, crying, and beg her to wake up. I beg and I beg, but she doesn't move. I scream, I remove the knife, thinking somehow that if I take it out, she will suddenly revive, but instead, more blood just starts coming out. I scream in horror as my hands become covered in her blood, and I try in vain to try to wake her up again. "Mom! Mommy! Wake up! Please! Please mommy, Wake up!"

"Wake up! Bella, Wake up!"

"Wake up Bella!" I heard as my eyes snap open, finding myself staring directly into a pair of emerald green eyes. I am shaking all over, and covered in cold sweat again, the sheets tangled around me, and I feel like my heart is about to beat right out of my chest. I feel wetness on my cheeks, and quickly wipe away the traitorous tears as I get my emotions in check.

"I'm sorry Bella, I fell asleep. I would have woken you up sooner. I'm sorry." He said, sitting down beside me.

I searched his face, trying to distract myself from the dream I just had while my heart slowed back to its normal pace. He looked really tired himself, and his hands were shaking a little bit.

"Are you okay Edward?" I ask quietly, my voice rasping from the screaming I was surely doing.

"You're asking me?" He says half jokingly.

"Yeah… you look exhausted. Oh my god. You were probably up all night last night because of me, I am so sorry!" I realized suddenly.

"It's not an issue. Really."

"You're shaking." I state.

"That's not from lack of sleep."

"Withdrawals?" I ask quietly.

He swallows a lump in his throat before nodding.

"I'm sorry." I say again, feeling horrible for making him quit, even if I knew logically it was for the best, I knew it was making him suffer.

"Don't be. I should have quit the shit long ago anyway." He said quietly.

"You should have." I agree.

"At least you never sugarcoat shit." He grins a little bit.

"Nope, not unless it's my own life. That shit should come with a parental advisory message." I grin a little back at him.

"Yeah." He says with a sigh. "Want to talk about it? The dream?" He asks.

I shake my head quickly. "No. Maybe sometime, but not right now." I say, just needing to distance myself from it.

"Alright." He said. "Well, I think Jasper and Rose are here anyway."

"How long was I asleep?" I ask curiously.

"Only about two hours." He says with a sigh.

"Wow, that's a lot of sleep." I said.

He glares a little. "Hardly."

"For me it is."

He just shakes his head, his eyebrows furrowing. "Let's go" , he says before he hands me the clothes Alice sent with him.

"Do I have to?" I mutter, and he grins.

"Do you want to risk pissing off Alice?" he asks with a small smirk.

"Um… yeah, no. Okay, I will be a moment." I say, and he nods, leaving the room for a minute so I can change.

The clothes are way worse to put on than his, since the jeans were tight, but once they are on, they almost feel better than the sweats since they are putting a gentle pressure over the bandages. I then force my way to my feet, wincing, but manage to make it to his bathroom. I have an internal happy dance at my ability to be able to walk a little already, before I fix the makeup that Alice had put on me.

After I was done in the bathroom, I made my way to the door to the bedroom, and opened it to find a very surprised Edward on the other side.

"Damn, that was fast. I should have known you were too stubborn to let a major injury like that keep you down for long." He shakes his head in amazement.

"I've had worse." I shrugged, but his face darkened at that.

"Than that?" he asked, his voice a whisper.

"Yeah. That was the worst… pain wise, but not in severity." I said evenly.

"Remind me why I am allowing him to live?" he asked.

"Because you would go to jail if you murdered him, and if you tell anyone, you could be another Riley, or you could put your family in danger." I say evenly.

His eyebrows furrow, before he wraps an arm around my waist to help me down the stairs, not saying another word.

"I don't like it." He mutters quietly when we get to the bottom of the stairs.

"I know. I'm sorry." I say equally quiet.

"Don't apologize. None of this is your fault." He says.

"I know it's not. But I am sorry I dragged you into my life."

"You didn't. I would have found out eventually. I wasn't going to allow you to stay away much longer." He said seriously

"Really now?" I ask, curious. "Why is that?"

"I don't know." He answers honestly.

"Alright." I say in acceptance.

We continue into the living room after that, where Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmet are already sitting, fighting over which movie to put in.

"You got to pick last time! I want 'When in Rome'!" Alice complains.

"No way! That is a total chick flick! Jazz and I will start like, getting a period or something if we watch that!"

Jasper grins "What about Edward?"

"He already has his." Emmett says before guffawing.

Edward smacks Emmett over the top of his head as we pass by. "Dick."

Rosalie is suppressing a giggle as she cuddles into Emmett's side.

"Just for that, I am taking movie choice out of Emmett's hands." Edward says.

Emmett stares at him like he is surprised. "Since when do you give a shit what we watch?"

"When you accuse me of having a fucking period." He grins.

Jasper laughs, and pulls a movie out. "How about The Amazing Spiderman. That's a good movie. Even the chicks like it."

Alice grins. "Yeah, I like that one!"

Rosalie shrugs. "That works for me."

Edward looks down at me, clearly waiting for my opinion. I shrug. "I haven't seen it, but it sounds good." I smile.

Rosalie rolls her eyes. "Who cares what she thinks?" she says to herself.

I narrow my eyes at her, really tired of her shit. "Go on ahead, and keep rolling your eyes at me. Maybe you'll find a brain somewhere in there. I would appreciate it if you would stop fucking judging me. If you don't want me to judge you for the frigid, snotty, stuck up bitch that you are, than stop judging me for the nothing you know about me." I rant.

Rosalie glares, but doesn't say anything for a minute. Everyone is just staring at the two of us in awe. "Whatever." She mutters.

"That's what I thought." I snap back at her.

Edward grins a little to himself, obviously pleased at me putting her in her place.

Alice shot me a grin, and Emmett gives me an apologetic shrug. Jasper just looks entertained.

Edward and I take a seat on the one empty couch as Jasper sticks the Blu-ray into the player.

Edward doesn't take his arm away from around my waist, so I lean my head against his shoulder tiredly. I notice Alice shooting us another smug look, so I just stick my tongue out at her.

As the movie starts, Esme comes in with popcorn and a few pizzas for all of us. We all grab pizza, and Emmett eats almost an entire one to himself. I eat three slices, fully satiated, and then continue to lean on Edward for the rest of the movie, fully enjoying the warmth and safety it feels like. I had never felt this secure, without a drug anyway. This was way better though. I know he didn't actually feel anything for me like what Alice was suggesting, however I couldn't help enjoying it. However, as we sat there like that, I thought back to our conversation. Did I have a thing for Edward?

Did I love Edward? I barely knew him.

That was a lie. I had not known him for long, but he knew me better already than anyone. I was also fairly certain he had shared things with me that he hadn't shared with anyone else either. We did know each other. That didn't answer the question though, did I love him? Was I even capable of love after everything?

I decided to stop trying to think about it for now, and just resolved to enjoy the moment. Even if I did love him, it did not matter in the least, because I knew he didn't feel the same. I would rather just take what I could get, and this was far more than I had ever gotten.

I sighed contently, burrowing my head in a little deeper into his shoulder. He started absentmindedly stroking my hair while watching the moment, and I smiled despite myself. It felt so nice.

I don't remember what happened by the end of the movie, because I had fallen asleep at some point. I woke up when he gently shook me. It was dark in the living room now, and everyone was gone. I wiped the sleep out of my eyes, feeling slightly refreshed. "What time is it?" I yawned out, noticing I was still nestled under his arm.

"About one a.m." he whispered, yawning himself. He clearly fell asleep as well.

"Holy crap.. five hours?" I asked, astounded. I had slept five solid hours, without a single nightmare.

He nodded, and glanced down at me. "You didn't dream, did you?" He asked, sounding slightly awed.

I shook my head. "No, not at all."

"When was the last time that happened? Without help from a substance?" he asked seriously.

"When I was six years old." I answered.

He stared at me a moment, like he was trying to process what this meant. I hadn't slept soundly for almost eleven years, until this very moment.

"It was probably just the atmosphere. It was really comfortable in here." I said, not wanting to freak him out.

"Maybe." He said thoughtfully.

"Kids, you guys should head to bed." I heard from behind us. I nearly jumped out of my skin until I saw it was just Esme in her nightgown.

"Sorry mom, we just fell asleep." He said.

"I know honey. You two looked so sweet there, I didn't want to wake you up." She said with a smile, and I felt my face heat up. I noticed the back of Edward's ears got red as well, and I stifled a giggle.

"Alright, up to bed you two." Esme said with a kind smile. We both nodded before getting up. Edward walked with his hand around my waist, not holding me up, but there in case I needed the help.

I made it most of the way up the stairs without help, before it was too much and he helped, but then went back to letting me go on my own once we were on the second floor. I liked that he understood my need to be independent when I could be.

He walked me to the guest room, and stopped at the doorway. "If you can't sleep, you know where to find me." He said quietly. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Actually… Edward, could I grab that book I was reading last time? Wuthering Heights?" I asked.

He sighed a little, knowing that meant I had no intention of trying to sleep. "Sure."

"Thanks. Don't worry, I feel all sorts of refreshed. That is seven hours in one day. I haven't slept that much in years." I smiled at him, but he just furrowed his brows before walking away to go get the book.

I sat down on the bed. It was super comfortable. The room had gray carpeting, and purple walls with black stencil Celtic knot work around the parameter of the room. The curtains were sheer black, and the furniture was all cherry wood. There was an HD TV on the wall, and the comforter set on the bed was a plum color with black and grey accents. The whole room was perfect.

Edward came back a moment later with the book in hand. He brought it over, setting it down on the night stand. "Goodnight Bella." He said quietly, looking down at me like he wanted to say more. His hands were still shaking, but he looked oddly calm, if not a little conflicted.

"Goodnight Monsieur." I said back with a smile. Edward's lips lifted in response before he left the room, shutting the door softly behind him.

I lay down on the bed, and grabbed the book off the night stand. I spent the rest of the night reading until morning.

I left the bedroom as soon as I heard movement outside of my room, which was around six am, since it was now Monday, a school day.

I heard an annoying buzzing sound, and followed it to Edward's door. I waited for him to turn it off, but it didn't turn off. Worried, I knocked. When he didn't answer, I opened the door, and went in.

When I entered, I shut the door behind me, then looked at him on the bed. The sight was heartbreaking. He was curled up in a ball, gripping his blankets so tight his knuckles were white, and he was tossing and turning. His eyes were clenched tight, and his eyebrows were furrowed. He was having a nightmare, because he didn't have the drugs to keep them away.

I went over as quickly as my legs would allow, and turned off his alarm clock before leaning over him. I nervously bit my lip as I gently stroked his hair away from his face. He seemed to minutely calm down, so I gently tried shaking him awake, whispering. "Edward, wake up." I whispered. I felt a sudden déjà vu, remembering the last time I had tried to wake someone up. That last time though, I knew they wouldn't wake.

I stopped that chain of thought when he didn't wake, and just shook him a little harder, and spoke directly into his ear. "Edward, it's only a dream, please wake up." I said.

He seemed to stir a little more, but still didn't wake. I chewed on my lip, as I thought of what to do that wouldn't alert everyone else to this. I leaned down, and spoke a little more into his ear, louder this time, while shaking him. "Edward, Wake up, you have to wake up now, because it's a bad dream, and I know you would rather be awake." I said.

Finally he jolted awake, sitting up quickly as his head collided with mine with a loud "smack!"

"Oww!" "Fuck" we said in unison.

"Bella?" he asked, confused, and a little disoriented, and looking like he was trying to calm down. "What are you doing in here?"

"Your alarm was going off, and you weren't waking up. I came in and…"

"I was having a fucking nightmare." He said grimly.

"You haven't had one for awhile." I stated.

"Not since I started using." He said quietly.

"Is your head okay?"

"Yeah, yours?" he asks

"Yeah." I shrug. "Do you want to talk about it?" I offer.

"Not right now, no." He says, giving me the same response I gave him yesterday.

He sighs, and gets up, heading towards the bathroom without another word.

I stand and pace his room a little. My legs were still not working well, but the more I used them, the better they seemed to work, and I had every intention of going to school. I didn't really want to sit here while everyone else was in school.

He comes out of the bathroom twenty minutes, clad again in nothing but a towel, looking far more relaxed, and still fucking sexy as hell.

I could feel my cheeks heat up again as he chuckled. "That never gets any less entertaining. You should see your face, it's the color of a fucking tomato." He said.

Sure enough, my face gets even redder, and instead of trusting myself to speak, I just flip him off.

"You wish." He says, laughing. My face gets even hotter if possible.

"I have to go get ready." I say, frustrated.

"Ready for what?" He asks.

"School."

"You aren't going to school like that."

"I'm fine. I have had WAY worse, and I will be bored shitless waiting for everyone else to get home from school. Plus, you won't even be here, because you can't skip anymore."

He sighs. "Are you a masochist?"

"Maybe. " I shrug, daring another glance at the sexy half naked man in front of me.

"Figures. Whatever, you bring that one up with Carlisle." He says with a smirk.

"I will." I say as I walk out of his room. I slowly make my way down the stairs, holding onto the railing. When I get downstairs, Carlisle is sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and reading the paper.

"Bella, how are you feeling?" He asks, a hint of shock in his face to see me walking around so soon.

"Excellent actually. I haven't even been needing the pain meds you gave me." Which was the truth. The burns only really hurt a lot when there was major friction there. They constantly burned a little, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I had a very high pain tolerance.

"Really?" He looked astounded.

"I have a high pain tolerance." I shrug.

He looks concerned by that statement, but says nothing.

"Anyway, I wanted to know if I could get the okay to go to school? I don't really want to miss anymore. I have already missed a few days this year, and I am sure I will be fine."

Carlisle assesses me for a moment, then sets his coffee down. "Let me take a look at the burns first. If there is no infection, and they are healing right, then I don't see why not, but I will write you a note to get you out of gym."

"Works for me. Thanks Carlisle." I say as I follow him to his office.

I wince as I pull down my pants down for him, and remove the bandages, since he can't touch me.

He inspects the burns closely without actually touching me. Him being so close has my palms sweating, and my heart racing uncomfortably, but I do my best to not show any discomfort. I don't want him to read more into it than he probably already has.

"They seem to be healing quite nicely. Let me get Esme in here to help you wrap them back up, alright?"

"There's no need, I can do it myself. I am pretty good at wrapping things. Arms are way harder."

He furrows his brows, but nods before setting down some ointment and bandages next to me.

After he leaves, I clean the burns, and apply the ointment before redressing them.

I step out of the office, before going back upstairs carefully. I knock on Alice's door.

"Yeah?" she calls.

"Hey Alice, can I borrow some clothes? I don't think I have time to stop at home for some." I call through the door.

"Sure!" Alice calls as she opens the door, and drags me in with a grin before dancing over to her walk in closet. She looks over her stuff before pulling out a pair of jeans, and a long sleeved blouse. She tosses them along with a pair of underwear and a pushup bra at me. "There you go! I am doing your makeup too!"

"Do we have time for that?" I question as I step into her bathroom to change.

"Yeah, of course. I will just do it quickly." She says.

I come back out of the bathroom again once I am dressed, wincing from the jeans on the burns, but knowing it will get better as I get used to them. The jeans make almost nonexistent ass actually look halfway decent, and the long sleeved blouse hides the upper injuries, and makes me look like I have a figure. I figured if I could gain some weight I would have a pretty nice figure, but until then, this was as nice as I could look.

"You look fantastic! Okay, sit!" she calls, pointing at the chair at the vanity. She then quickly does my makeup, and puts my straightened hair up in a high ponytail, leaving my long bangs down in the front. She then curls the ends of my hair slightly. She stares at me a moment before pursing her lips. She glances at the time, then grins before pulling out a pair of scissors. I look at her in shock, but before I could stop her, she was trimming my bangs. She didn't make them short, but just angled them so they framed my face, and feathered around it. It looked amazing.

"Oh my god Alice, you are magical." I said, staring at what just the small changes did. It was amazing.

"I know. Now go catch up with Edward before he goes." She winks, before going to finish getting ready herself.

"Thanks Alice." I called as I left her bedroom. I went over to Edward's room, and knocked before walking in.

"Carlisle is letting you go?" He asked, staring at me again, his mouth slightly agape.

"Yup, and I even get to sit out of gym. I hate gym, so that's always a plus." I said with a grin.

He had that look in his eyes again, like he was devouring me. I shifted a little uncomfortably as my cheeks turned hot again.

"You're doing it again." He said in a soft voice that was mesmerizing, and just a little shy.

"Doing what?" I asked quietly, staring directly into his eyes now.

"Doing that pretty blushing thing." He said simply.

Oddly, I didn't blush more, I just nodded a little, not tearing my eyes away.

"Yo, are you guys ready yet, or what?! You don't even have time for breakfast!" Emmett yells as he slams the door open, poking his head in.

My head snaps over to his, the connection broken again.

"Yeah, We're ready." Edward said after clearing his throat.

I wasn't sure what that was, but I wasn't happy it ended.

"Let's go." Edward said, starting towards the door. On his way there, he grabbed my hand gently to pull me behind him. I couldn't help the smile that flirted across my lips then.

Thank you for reading! Reviews are better than a dripping wet, towel adorned Edward! Please R&R! Thank you!