We're almost over the rough patch, guys! Hang in there :)

Once again, your love for wee Coop blows me away.

Chapter 19
Bella.

The barking was heard before Esme had the key in the lock. The excited scatter of claws came nearer and nearer until we were let inside the house and Flash bounded in circles around us. The Twins were sleeping in their car carrier, so I kept them in there and placed it gently on the floor. Flash took advantage of me bending down and practically knocked me over when his large front paws found my shoulders.

I laughed at his silliness, rubbed his ears and patted his side; "thank you, Flash." I whispered against his forehead - I felt the tears take over. "You saved that little boy, and we shall always be grateful." I finally had the moment to sit and let everything of the day wash over me. It started off so perfectly, and now we were at the opposite end of the scale. So many minutes had passed, so many tears had been shed. But all we could do was watch the recovery.

Coop's surgery lasted a little over five hours and all the surgeons praised how well he did. It was ten at night and they had predicted that Cooper would be out of it until at least the next morning. So with that, Edward told me to go home with Esme, put the Twins to bed and get some sleep. Carlisle was starting his nightshift anyway, so he promised to be with Edward as much as possible.

We were warned that, depending on how quickly he recovers, Cooper may have to stay in PICU for up to 5 days, and seeing that Edward was meant to start work in the next 2, I had to make all the calls to Seattle saying that we had to make an unscheduled leave due to family problems. They didn't need to know the finer details.

The Twins didn't take long to settle down - it had been a long day for them as well - but sleep wasn't on my list of things to do. Instead, I sat in the living room with a hot drink and Cooper's Tony Bear crushed to my chest. I was so scared, that little boy had so much going for him. Why - why must something like that take over him? He didn't deserve any of the pain. What I did know for certain however, was that Edward was going to keep him on a very short leash; if he ran too fast with Flash or if he joined the Jackass gang again and leaped from the stairs, Edward would put a stop to it rapidly. If Coop thinks his dad is protective now, he hasn't seen anything yet.

"Bella?" Esme joined me on the couch, dressed in her light blue gown and holding her own hot drink. "Are you okay?"

I shrugged, "as okay as I could be." Esme rubbed my arm sympathetically and it was then I realized I hadn't thanked her for what she did. "I realize we haven't said it, but I hope you know how much we appreciate everything you and Carlisle did earlier on. It must have been horrible."

"You don't have to thank me, Bella - it's what anyone would have done. And, yes... it's close to being one of the scariest things I've witnessed. We were all lucky to have Carlisle only upstairs. Ringing you, though, was just as scary. From my own experience, I knew exactly what was running through your mind, and it made me feel physically sick."

I took a sip of my tea and processed those words. "I pray to God that is the last phone call I hear about any of my children getting hurt."

A sweet smile appeared on Esme's face. She patted my hand that held my mug. "Oh, dear girl; if things turn out the way I think they will, unfortunately that won't be your last phone call. I can see that little Marco of yours being just as wild as his brother."

"Then all three of them are grounded until they're adults. Starting when we get home."

0-0

We reached 2a.m and sleep still hadn't found us. I think I dozed off here and there, but I never managed to settle.

"Why don't you go back to the hospital, Bella?"

I pulled the sleeves of my sweater further down my arms and cuddled myself; "I can't leave Ellie and Marco; I'll go when they wake up." I longed to be with my boys, but the Twins needed their sleep and I couldn't interrupt that.

"I'll be here if they need me and I'll bring them over in the morning. Honestly, Bella - you're not doing yourself any good sitting here worrying. The Twins are perfectly safe."

After a bit more persuading Esme had me donning my outdoor jacket and kissing Ellie and Marco before I left. I brought Tony Bear with me because I knew Cooper would love his bear's company.

Carlisle met me at reception, so I assume Esme had notified him. He happily took me back along the hallways to PICU and gave me a brief hug before I entered. The scene I happened upon brought fresh tears back to my eyes.

Edward was bent over using one arm as a pillow, his other hand still clutched with Coop's. Both were sleeping peacefully. I shrugged off my jacket and left it hanging over a spare seat in the corner.

"Edward?" I whispered and tapped his shoulders gently. He made a cute little whine but continued to sleep. "Edward," this time his eyes fluttered open; a small smile formed when he noticed me next to him. After he stretched and sat up his eyes moved to Cooper and the smile faded and his eyes glistened with unshed tears.

Cooper still had his breathing tubes and white tape was around his mouth to keep the tubes in place. His eyes were slightly red and looked almost swollen.

"Hows he doing?" It was so hard to watch Edward's reactions; during everything that happened with Garrett I thought I had seen him at his weakest, but this fell way below that invisible line.

"He's a little hypertensive, so they're going to start him on vasotec shortly to control his blood pressure."

"It's all for the best," I gripped his clenched fist, "everything they do is to help his road of recovery."

"I guess, I just...," Edward sighed loudly, "all I want is to hear one of his quirky lines, or his superhero fantasies! I simply want my boy back, why is that so damn hard?"

"We will get him back - before we know it he'll have made a full recovery. We just have to be patient."

0-0

Three days passed. His blood pressure went back to normal, the breathing tubes were taken out and Cooper was waking up a lot more often than before. His aunts and uncles came by, along with Little Lottie, and, of course, Cooper and Emmett had a scar contest.

"Dude," Emmett pulled up his right sleeve, twisted his arm and pointed to the pink, swollen line that dragged down his elbow, "this was sick - my buddy and I had one-too-many Buds, I tried to skateboard down the stairs..." Everyone in the room either sighed at typical Emmett behavior or winced at the image. "...I ended up as a heap on the floor with a concussion and fractured elbow." Emmett nodded proudly of his stupidity.

"Lucky," Cooper mumbled in his drugged state. "My Padre won't lemme do stuff like that."

"I wonder why..." Edward rolled his eyes, but smiled because Coop was clearly on the mend.

"But Uncle Emmett... I have a better one." He pointed to the large white gauze on his left side, below his armpit, that covered the healing wound. "The doctors went through my ribs so they could operate on my heart."

"That is pretty badass, dude." Uncle and nephew knuckle-punched each other. "And you know, you're gonna be the coolest little kid at school now - scars are way of showing what a fighter you are."

"Yeah," Jasper scooted past his wife to stand next to Emmett, "I bet those bullies at school haven't been through what you have. You're a tough kid, Cooper."

It was so humbling to watch the expressions on everyones' face - the strong love was clear in their eyes. It was a sign that, no matter what happened, we'd always have their love and support.

"'Fanks, guys." Coop mumbled again through yawning, his eyes fluttered and he snuggled in the covers. "I'm gonna get more sleep now, I think."

"Okay, bud. We'll come back and see you soon." In turn Jasper, Emmett, Rose and Alice all gave Coop a kiss on the forehead and a careful hug. Little Lottie was passed down from her mother's arms to give her cousin a hug too. "Bye!" She shouted in her little voice.

Cooper was asleep before they all left the room.

0-0

On the fourth day doctors checked him over and proudly announced that, if everything stayed the way they were, he would be released the next day. We were warned, however, that he had to take it easy for a while and that he wasn't to take part in anything that could possibly put force on his chest or cause him to over-exercise.

He had another guest that afternoon - good ol' Grandpa Chief.

Charlie had promised to come and visit whenever he found the time, and I was beyond grateful that he kept his word. He'd thought of Cooper as his grandson, long before I even got engaged, and nothing made me happier.

"Thanks for coming, Dad." I said as we hugged. Not gonna lie, I felt emotional.

"How's he doin'?" Charlie headed towards the bed.

"Much better, thanks. He should be able to leave tomorrow." Edward replied and swapped Ellie from his right knee to his left.

"Good - that's great. And how are you coping?"

The two men shook hands, "better than he is, I think." Edward laughed lightly through his nose. "It was tough, but we're getting there."

Charlie stole the chair I just vacated and happily took the Twins in his arms. They instantly recognized their grandpa and were all smiles and giggles.

"Hey, Coop..." Edward shook his shoulder, "there's someone here to see you."

It took a few minutes to get him awake, but when Charlie said his greeting, a smile spread on Coop's face. "Grandpa Chief?" His voice was drowsy from sleep.

"How ya doin', solider?"

"...I gotta... I gotta real big, wicked awesome... scar on my side... it's badass." Still half asleep, his smile looked like one of satisfaction.

Charlie let out a bellowing laugh. "I'm sure it is."

"I still feel real sore though."

Dad put a comforting hand on Cooper's. "Keep fighting, Solider. Your size may be small, but your heart and stamina sure are strong."

0-0

As predicted, on the fifth day he was released. We packed up our stuff and Esme met us at reception to take us back to the Cullen home where we'd be staying until Carlisle thought Cooper was fit to travel back to Seattle.

Edward stopped me just inside the hospital when Esme pushed Coop in his wheelchair to the car.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He let out a giant breath, like he had kept it in for the past week. "Yeah... I'm so happy that's over with now."

I clenched his hand and kissed his cheek. "We all are, baby. Things are going to be different, and we'll have to keep a closer eye on him, but together, we'll get through it."

"If this had happened before, when it was just him and I, there was no way I could have gotten through that. But it's because I had you by my side and the Twins on my lap that I managed to find some happiness in that hell. Thank you."

I cupped my hands around his cheeks, "why are you thanking me?" I kissed him sweetly. "You know I would have stayed be you - through anything, I'll always be there."

"I know. I love you."

"I love you, too. Now, shall we take our boy home?"

I almost cried as the happiest smile appeared on his tired face. "That is the best thing I've heard in such a long time."

0-0

And... relax.

I haven't mentioned this in a few chapters, so I'm saying it now: remember you can follow my updating schedule and look at a very cute picture of Ellie and Marco on my Facebook group - RosieRathbone FanFiction.

Or, if you want to follow Coop and see his reaction to going home, you can join his FB group - Cooper Troopers Working of Fate.

Thoughts?

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