A/N: Disclaimer here, I am not a doctor. I'm basing Bella's injuries on a guy who used to have physical therapy with my mother. I don't know the intimate details of his injuries. I'm just mimicking them. It was many a year ago, so it might be quite possible for Bella to have healed differently now. I apologize for my ignorance. The body is a strange, strange place.

Oh, also. Last chapter, I should have said Edward was twenty-five years old. He's twenty-five, Bella is about to turn twenty-four, Jasper is thirty-one.

~Three Years Ago, Two Weeks Post-Accident~

It was only a matter of happenstance that Edward was with Bella so often. His parents both worked. They'd offered to take time off, but Carlisle worked at the hospital anyway, and with Jasper gone, Esme needed the distraction of her job. Emmett and Rosalie worked and had Henry to take care of. Bella's other friends were all young and too far removed to understand the enormity of what she was going through. Edward was a fresh graduate looking for a job, so he had both the most time and the connection to Bella and Kaylee.

The morning before Bella was released, Edward was there again. The orderlies let him push Bella's wheelchair to the NICU. Her silence weighed heavily on his heart. When her doctor told her she was ready to go home, she'd burst into tears. Glad as he was she felt better, he would have done anything to take that broken look off her face, even keep her cooped up in the hospital room she hated.

Instead, as his steps echoed in the hospital hall, he kept up a constant stream of light conversation. She didn't respond, but she put her hand up behind her to squeeze his fingers. It was her silent acknowledgement she was listening.

They scrubbed in, and Edward stepped over to the incubator as the nurses helped Bella and her bulky cast get settled. He put his hand through the holes and ran his fingers along the baby's arm. When he reached her hand, her miniature fingers curled around his large one. "Hey, little face."

Kaylee squirmed and let out a little squawk. Edward grinned at her. "So impatient. Mommy's almost ready for you. Just one more minute."

The nurses glanced at him with indulgent expressions as they leaned in to scoop the baby out of her incubator. Edward sat back and watched them lay Kaylee in Bella's waiting arms, mindful of her various tubes and wires. She was so tiny to be so encumbered, but she was getting stronger every day.

This was Edward's favorite part. There was a moment, after the nurses had finally stepped back, when it was just Bella and Kaylee. For the first time that day, Bella smiled. It was a peaceful smile, as though there had been a restlessness inside her, an ache that could only be soothed by the bitty baby she held against her chest. She closed her eyes a moment and dipped her head so her nose nuzzled the baby's head. She had one hand firm against Kaylee's back, the other playing with her little foot.

Edward was quiet, content to watch for the time being. It should have been a heartbreaking sight, and in many ways, it was. Bella was so young. Most of her exposed skin was still scraped, bruised, and battered. Her leg was covered from her toes to above her knee in a cast that seemed far too big for her small body. Yet there she was, all the more gorgeous for her serene smile as she rocked her tiny daughter.

All too soon, her smile wavered. Her shoulders began to shake and tears escaped her closed eyelids. "Bella?" he said, and he moved to sit in the chair by her side.

She sniffled and opened her eyes. "I don't want to leave her," she whispered.

He reached out and rested his hand on her good knee. "She's growing every day. It won't be long before you can bring her home."

She gave her head a minute shake and curled her fingers tighter around the baby. "It feels awful that I'll be sleeping in my bed tonight while she's here. That's not how it's supposed to be. She's supposed keep me up at all hours. I'm the one that's supposed to rock her to sleep, not a nurse."

"You weren't supposed to do that for another seven weeks. You'll get there."

"Right." Bitterness crept into her tone. She moved her fingertips along Kaylee's back. "How am I going to take care of her when I can't walk?" She pressed her lips together, breathing deep through her nose to calm herself. Her eyes were wide and scared as she looked at him. "How am I supposed to do any of this alone?"

Edward raised his hand to her cheek, brushing away her tears since her hands were otherwise occupied. "You're not alone. You're never going to be alone."

~0~

Though Carlisle and Esme had offered to let her stay with them, Bella much preferred her own house. Edward knew her well enough to understand she hated feeling like a burden, as ridiculous as the thought was to him. Still, Edward thought she might have said yes if it wasn't for the fact it was Jasper's room his parents offered.

Edward had offered to stay with her, a move that had made his mother look at him with that pinched expression of concern. But as he laid it out point for point, Bella and his family had to agree he was the most logical choice. Much as she wanted to, she couldn't be alone, and even a home care nurse couldn't be with her all the time. Edward had the time, patience, and physical strength to help her.

Of course, the whole family was there. Carlisle and Esme made dinner. Emmett, Rosalie, and Henry did their best to make her smile despite her depression at having to leave her baby behind.

It was barely eight when Bella's eyelids began to droop. The rest of the family took their leave. Esme fussed. She wanted to stay, but both Edward and Bella shooed her back home. As it was, Edward was going to be sleeping on an inflatable mattress in the nursery. There was no room for her. She and Rosalie promised to come back in the afternoon to help Bella bathe.

When they were gone, Edward went to put his arms around Bella. Startled, she pulled back. "What are you doing?"

"You said you're tired. Don't you want to go to bed?"

She blinked a few times and a light blush tinged her cheeks. "Oh. Yeah, but you don't have to carry me."

He pursed his lips and bit back his amused smile. "How do you think you're going to get up there?"

Bella frowned. Obviously, she hadn't thought of that. "I could sit on my butt and scoot up."

"Or you could let me carry you. That's what I'm here for. To help." He sat down next to her on the couch. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's just me, Bella."

"I know. I just hate being so helpless."

He gave her hand a brief squeeze. "This part doesn't last forever."

She sighed. "Yeah."

Hesitantly, she looped her arms around his neck. Edward was careful as he got his arms around her, mindful of the bulky cast. "Sorry," he murmured at her quick intake of breath. He hated the idea of hurting her.

"S'okay. The pain really isn't that bad anymore."

When they reached the top of the stairs Edward turned his head to look at her. Whatever he'd been about to say died on his lips. He couldn't help the way he felt about Bella, the way he'd always felt. He kept a tight hold on it, but once in a while, like right then as he found her face so close to his, it was all he could do to remind himself she wasn't his.

He cleared his throat, but he didn't look away. "See?" he said as he continued down the hall to her room. "No big deal. I'm not even breathless."

"Show off." Her voice was soft, and she didn't look away either.

By the time he laid her down on her bed, the moment was broken. Her eyes were clouded with the same sadness that had made her every movement slow and stooped since the day before. More than anything, Edward wished he could know what she was thinking. Rather than pry, he lapsed into silence as he helped her get comfortable and brought her meds and water to her nightstand. He perched on the edge of her bed. "Do you need anything else?"

She shook her head, mute once again.

"Okay." He picked up her cell phone and showed it to her. "I put the walkie-talkie program on the home screen. If you need me, wake me up, okay?"

She nodded.

He tapped her chin with his finger. "Bella. Promise me. Promise you'll wake me up."

Her eyes met his briefly. "Promise," she said.

He lingered because it felt like there was more to say. He wished he could do more, wished he could do anything to make this whole crappy situation better. What could he say that hadn't already been said? Time was the only thing that would heal both her physical wounds and the ones his brother had left on her heart. So Edward only said goodnight as he got up.

"Edward?" she said when he reached the door.

"Yes?"

When he turned back, she wasn't looking at him. She was staring off at some fixed point in the distance, her eyes teary again. She swallowed several times, and when she finally spoke, her voice was thin. "Walking away from Kaylee was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life." She looked up. "Do you think it was hard for him? Do you think he thinks about us at all?"

Edward's heart twisted and anger stoked in his gut. He didn't have to ask who she was talking about. He also knew he had no words to make this better. He could have cursed his brother six ways from Sunday, but that wasn't what she wanted to hear. He could have told her what he knew-that when Jasper ran out of the hospital, he thought for sure Kaylee was going to die- but he didn't know if that would make things better or worse.

In the end, the only thing he could do was sit on the edge of her bed and wrap her up in a hug. He held her and rocked her until the grief let her go enough that she could sleep.

~Six Weeks After That~

"Bella, if you bounce out of this chair, I'm not going to pick you up," Edward said as he pushed her wheelchair toward the hospital.

Bella twisted around to make a face at him, and Esme clucked at his side. "Hush, Edward. Her baby is coming home." She patted Bella's shoulder. "I bet you feel like you could fly."

"I wish I could run," Bella said. Her leg was still casted, and it would be many months if not a year before she would be able to walk on it again.

"You'll get there."

When they got inside the hospital, Bella was patient as she filled out the release forms and listened to the doctor's last instructions. She looked like a little girl trying to be attentive in class when the sun was shining outside. Her hands were on her lap, but her fingers twisted in and out of her shirt.

Finally, finally, a nurse brought Kaylee out.

The baby was just over five pounds now and healthy. After the initial scare, when her lungs were deciding whether or not they would work, she'd gained ounces and strength without further complication. To Edward's eyes, she was still far too small, but she had a bit of baby fat to her. He no longer worried merely touching her would break her.

"Look at you, baby bird." Bella arranged the blanket around Kaylee's face. The tiny girl fussed but quieted as Bella drew her nearer. "Say goodbye to all your friends, Kaylee. We're going home now."

"Bella. Smile," Edward said, brandishing a camera.

Bella didn't protest. She looked up at him and grinned. It was a beautiful picture of a proud mommy holding a precious gift. Her eyes shone with tears, and her smile could have lit the whole world.

~0~

That same day, Bella received her first photograph from Jasper. It was Edward who found it first. It was getting late, and the rest of the family was still crowded in Bella's small living room. It had been his habit since he'd begun living with Bella to sort her mail for her. Just one less thing for her to deal with.

He recognized his brother's handwriting right away. His heart leapt into his throat. Anger and hope warred for their place as most prominent emotion. He opened the letter without thinking and a picture fell out. After he studied it a moment, Edward had to fight the urge not to crumple it in his fist.

In the last eight weeks, though life had continued at its typical up and down pace, there was a hole none of them could ignore. For all intents and purposes, Esme and Carlisle had lost a son the day of the accident. Their mourning was awkward and quiet. Their worry was all the more profound because there was no closure, no sense of finality. Edward knew they had talked to the police, but little could be done about a grown man who didn't want to come home.

In Emmett, Edward had seen the loss of his best friend. While Edward and Emmett had their own close relationship, it wasn't the same as what he'd shared with Jasper. Often, Emmett would seek Edward out, trying to fill the gap, trying to do things with his younger brother that he'd always done with his stepbrother. Though Emmett was an easygoing guy, Edward could often see when something he did was just a little bit off. Emmett missed Jasper.

And then Bella.

Day to day, Edward and Bella had fallen into a sort of routine. He brought her breakfast in bed in the morning, and they ate together while watching TV or just talking. Before or at noon, Esme or Rosalie would show up to help Bella bathe and dress. The afternoon was spent at the hospital with Kaylee with the occasional visit to Bella's doctors thrown in. Evenings were spent with family and supportive friends. It was stressful, but it was a semblance of a normal life.

Still, Jasper's presence lingered like dust on every surface. Often, when the nights grew quiet, Bella became sad and distant. Bella was under no delusion that she'd lost a great love, but it still hurt. Greater than that was the ache she felt for her daughter.

"We were arguing so much toward the end," she'd told him one day. "But not about her. Never about Kaylee. He put the crib together. He bought her so many things. He was stoked. I don't understand. I just don't understand."

All that day, Jasper's name hung in the air, though no one said it. He was supposed to be there to welcome his baby home. He was supposed to be the one hovering, watching as the baby was passed back and forth between everyone.

It had finally gotten to the point where Jasper's presence slipped away, when everyone, even Esme, was unabashedly happy. It wouldn't last, but no one was missing Jasper right at that moment, that evening. Yet here he was, inserting himself.

Edward clenched his jaw. He was irritated at the relief he felt. His big brother was alive and that made him happy, but on the heels of that emotion was fury. He was once again left to be the bearer of bad news. His words would be the ones to hurt Bella, his mother, his family.

"Edward?"

Edward looked up to find his father in the doorway.

"Where did you run off to?"

It was probably a cowardly thing to do, but Edward was glad to pawn off this task at least. He handed his father the envelope. Carlisle's breath caught. He shook the photo out and looked at it for a tense minute.

The photo was black and white. The atmosphere was smokey. The picture focused on the singer. Just by looking at it, Edward could tell he was singing the blues. Jasper was good at what he did. Edward could see the sadness on the man's face, the way his gnarled fingers curled around the guitar. He could almost hear the mournful tone of his voice.

His father looked up. "What does it mean?"

Edward's throat was tight. He spoke through gritted teeth. "It means he's sorry."

~Five Months After the Accident~

"Hey, Edward."

"Hi, Jake." Edward spared a smile for Bella's part-time nanny and then diverted his attention to the bundle he held. Kaylee squealed at him excitedly, and Edward pulled her out of Jake's arms and into his. "Hey, baby girl."

"I'm taking off. See you tomorrow," Jake said.

Edward clapped the man on the shoulder and closed the door behind him. He kissed Kaylee's forehead. "Where's Mommy, hmm?"

He moved into the house and found Bella on the couch. That she was leaning back with her eyes closed was telling. Despite being, for the most part, wheelchair bound, she did her best to be active. It had been a chore to get her to accept Esme and Carlisle's help so she would have a nanny to help her while everyone else was at work.

"What's wrong?" he asked, though he had a pretty good idea.

She blew out her breath and opened her eyes slowly. "Hey. How was work?"

"Same as it was yesterday." As he spoke, he untangled Kaylee's curious fingers from the pull strings of his jacket. "Talk to me."

Bella screwed up her lips and nose, but she acquiesced. She gestured at the leg she had propped up on a pillow. "Physical therapy wiped me out."

Edward got up and put Kaylee down on her playmat. He returned to Bella's side. "Can I sit?" he asked, nodding at the end of the couch.

"Sure." She winced when he lifted her leg enough so he could sit. He curled his hand up under her pant leg, massaging with a light touch. "Ugh. How can you stand to touch it like that?"

Edward clucked his disapproval at her words. She'd finally been released from the confines of her cast, but the damage was startling. Her leg was sickly. She'd called it a zombie leg-it more closely resembled a bleached grayish-green stick than a human leg. "It's not diseased, Bella."

"No." She glared as though she wanted to scold it. "It's just a useless, atrophied, malfuctioning piece of meat."

Edward studied her for a minute. He could have handed her platitudes, but he knew better. She was frustrated and in pain. He couldn't make it better, but he could distract her. "I know what we need." He stretched to retrieve the remote from the end table. "We need Doctor Who, the David Tennant era."

Bella rolled her head so she could look at him. A small smile played at her lips. "Rose or Donna?"

"Tough one." He tapped his lips. "Rose. Definitely Rose."

"Ah, now you're speaking my language."

~Ten Months Post Accident~

Edward had to laugh.

Bella groaned. "This isn't funny."

"Oh, come on. It's adorable." He got up and put his arm around Bella's waist. She leaned on him, letting him take the bulk of her weight as she panted, exhausted from doing her exercise. "Kaylee. Tell Momma you're learning to walk like her."

Kaylee giggled and continued walking the back and forth path across the living room. She was in her rolling walker, imitating the way Bella walked with hers. "Vum, vum, vum," she babbled as she walked, mimicking the vroom noises Edward often made when he pushed her around.

Edward chuckled as he guided Bella down on the couch. By the time she was settled, Kaylee was demanding, "Up, up, up," so Edward lifted her out of the walker.

When Edward sat down beside Bella, she'd caught her breath and pulled her textbooks over. She was managing a few classes that semester, and finals were coming up too quickly. "I need to study a bit, but I made a wicked good chicken piccata."

"Oh." Edward's mouth watered. Bella knew how much he loved her chicken piccata. "When did you have time to do that?"

She waggled her eyebrows at him playfully. "I'm sneaky like that. It's in the fridge. You just have to pop it in the oven for-"

They were interrupted by a commotion and Kaylee's sharp cry as she pulled a number of books off the coffee table. Edward was over at her side in a heartbeat, looking her over. She was intact, no bumps or cuts, so he pulled her into his arms. "Come here, sugar. It's okay. I'm here. Daddy's here."

When he heard Bella's gasp, he realized what he'd said. His stomach dropped down to his toes. The atmosphere became oppressively heavy. Edward busied himself wiping away Kaylee's tears and kissing her booboos better even though he was fairly certain she had only scared herself.

It was time to face the music. He swallowed down the lump in his throat, shifted Kaylee to his hip, and went to sit beside Bella. "Bella… I'm so sorry. It just slipped out. I didn't mean-"

She put her finger to his lips, silencing him. Edward didn't know how to read the look on her face as she stared at him. She seemed conflicted. Her eyes were stormy. She took a shaky breath…

And then she kissed him. Edward was so startled, he didn't move. He couldn't think. When she pulled back, he only blinked at her. His mind couldn't process what had happened. Since he'd fallen for Bella long before Jasper left and Kaylee was born, Edward was used to tamping down his longing. The last ten months, being near her every day, had only made the yearning in his heart worse. But he knew the difference between fantasy and reality. Bella kissing him was a fantasy.

"I…" She said. She looked away and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry. It's just… When you said that… I've wanted…"

Edward reached out with his free hand and cupped her cheek. He pulled her to him and kissed her the way he'd wanted to since forever. She kissed him back, moving her lips with his and threading her fingers into his hair.

It didn't last nearly long enough before they both pulled back. Her startled expression matched the emotions doing cartwheels in his belly. Almost in unison, they looked over at Kaylee. She had her head on Edward's shoulder and her fingers in her mouth. Her eyes were teary and her expression sullen. She seemed unaffected by their kiss.

Edward looked back to Bella and they shared tentative smiles. Rather than speak, Edward stroked her cheek with his thumb. He dipped his head and kissed her again.

A/N: Ahhh my girls are so great. Much heart to barburella, songster, and jessypt. And you, jfka06, are a pretty, pretty, benevolent princess. Thanks for indulging my impatience.

To the rest of you. We will be back to the present next update, and yes, we will meet Rosalie soon. I hope you enjoyed this little blast of the past.