Chapter 7: Shocking Revelation
"Bella? Can you hear me?" Edward begged her to respond as he sped to her side of the banged up pickup truck. He was amazed at how little the cab of the truck was damaged. He could see Bella's leg was trapped beneath the slightly shifted dashboard and that she had taken a knock to the head from the steering wheel that had reopened her healed cut, but aside from that, she appeared to be untouched.
"Edward?" She mumbled. "Couldn't take anymore…another package…just wanted it to be over…" Then she lost consciousness and it was a painfully long several seconds before they heard the emergency responders on their way.
"Alice, call Carlisle. Have him ready at the hospital. No one else touches her!" He practically growled at his sister as he stood, holding Bella's head still against the steering wheel with one hand and stroking her back with the other.
Charlie arrived on the scene a few seconds before the paramedics. He jumped out of his squad car, lights blazing and siren blaring, and ran up to Edward.
"What happened, Edward?" He looked at Edward suspiciously, as if he was somehow responsible.
"I don't know, Chief Swan. I was taking Alice home because she wasn't feeling well and we came upon the wreck. I don't know what happened. We found her like this." Edward sounded so helpless, so lost, that Charlie felt the need to comfort him.
"I'm sure she will be fine, son. These old trucks can take a beating without hurting anyone too seriously. Is your father working today? I hear he is the best at the hospital!"
"Yes, and Alice has already called him to tell him to be on standby."
"Thanks, Edward." And Charlie nudged his way in to replace Edward at Bella's side just as the paramedics finally arrived, the fire department close behind.
It took the fire department to remove the door of the truck and to extract her from under the dashboard, and then the paramedics quickly went to work stabilizing her neck and lying her on a gurney. When they went to put her in the ambulance, Alice held Edward back as Charlie climbed in beside Bella, holding her pale hand.
"Come on, Edward. We will drive straight to the hospital. We'll follow the ambulance." Alice pulled on his arm until she got him into the passenger seat of the car and then climbed into the driver's side herself. She started following the ambulance to Forks General Hospital, carefully obeying the traffic laws, which was driving Edward crazy. All was silent as she thought for a few moments about how to say to him, what she needed to say.
"Edward, I can tell how much you are starting to feel for Bella. I can see your future, I know that you are really starting to fall in love with her. But, I can't see her future because she is so confused and lost right now. I can't tell if she reciprocates your feelings or not. So, be careful. I don't want you hurt and I don't want her scared away. She is very vulnerable right now and—"Edward cut Alice off mid-sentence.
"Don't you think I know that? I'm the one who lies next to her all night and listens to her whimper! I'm the one she talks to and cries to and turns to when she needs someone. I know how vulnerable she is and I wish I could turn it off, Alice. I don't know what's happening. Two weeks ago, I barely knew who Isabella Swan was and now I ache when she isn't right next to me. I don't get it any more than any of you do. I just know what I feel and that I can't get her out of my head!"
Alice let Edward finish his tirade and calm down before she spoke again.
"I'm sorry, Edward. It's just that Bella is my best friend and I don't want to see her get hurt. I don't want you to have feelings for her because you feel sorry for her and then they go away when she has healed, emotionally, from this whole mess. That is if she doesn't manage to kill herself first."
"I'm sorry about my tantrum, Alice. I know you are worried about Bella. But, I can assure you, my feelings are going nowhere. But, it isn't as if I would ever act on them unless I knew that Bella reciprocated. And as for the kiss, if you saw what happened, you saw that she kissed me, not the other way around." Edward tried to defend himself while acknowledging his sister's feelings for Bella.
"I know. I saw it all." Alice said, and that was the last thing either of them said as they pulled into the Forks General Hospital parking lot and watched the ambulance carrying Bella and Charlie disappear into the ambulance bay. Edward was out of the car before Alice had even turned it off and was on his way inside. Once there, however, he met Charlie at the ER desk.
"Charlie, how is she?" Edward demanded, throwing Charlie off guard.
"Your father is with her now. He wouldn't let me stay. He said that kids Bella's age tend to freak if their father's see them naked and they were going to have to cut her clothes off and do a thorough examination. Neither of us would want that." Charlie said, almost as if he were defending his separation from Bella.
"Was she conscious in the ambulance? Did she say anything?"
"She never fully woke up but kept mumbling something about packages and blood and kept asking for you, Edward. Is there a reason she would be asking for you, son?" But he said 'son' as if it was a dirty word.
"We've grown rather close over the last week and a half, sir." And Edward cleared his throat under Charlie's glare.
"Have you, now? Exactly how close?"
"Just friends, Chief Swan. Bella and I have gotten to know each other a little better since she vacationed with us and we've become good friends."
"Good friends. OK." Charlie uttered with relief. Edward turned away to hide the chagrined look on his face. Every fiber of his being hoped that they were becoming more than friends but he knew that it was too soon for Bella to go there.
Alice motioned Edward over to the waiting room, she seemed desperate to tell him something. And when Alice had something to tell, it was usually very desperate, indeed.
"What is it, Alice?" Edward asked.
"It struck me when Charlie said 'packages' that Bella mentioned plural packages at the scene before she lost consciousness, as well. I did a little mental searching, and Bella received a new package today. I think that I need to go to their house and retrieve it before Charlie gets home and finds it." Alice said with urgency.
"What's in it?" Edward asked with trepidation.
"Her bloody panties from that night." Alice replied.
"Go, get them before anyone finds them but be careful not to contaminate the evidence in case it is needed someday." Edward instructed.
"OK, but I will be back soon. I want to be here when Carlisle comes out with news." And as fast as she could move and still appear human, Alice ran to the car and tore out of the lot.
"Where is she going?" Charlie asked. Surprised at her exit.
"To tell Esme and the rest of the family. They would want to know what's happening."
"I don't even know what's happening." Charlie said and sat down hard with his face in his hands. Edward sat next to him.
"It must have been some kind of freak accident, that's all." Edward tried to reassure Charlie.
"Of course it was an accident, Edward!" Charlie practically yelled at Edward for eluding to anything otherwise. "But, why didn't she hit her brakes?"
Edward and Charlie sat in silence for two hours as news spread of Bella's "accident" and soon after the Cullens arrived, half of the Forks High student body started trickling in saying that they couldn't concentrate on school with Bella in the hospital so their parents had given them permission to leave early.
'Hell, half of these people have never even met Bella', Edward thought, angry that they were using her for an afternoon off from school. It was Esme who took over the job of consoling Charlie, something she was quite adept at, and Edward wandered into the hallway all alone, standing near the ER door.
Suddenly, Alice's posture and expression caught his eye. She looked ashen and shaken and as soon as the vision finished, she quietly joined him.
"Edward, there is something I have to tell you. Carlisle just found out…he just got the results back…"
"What? Is she going to be OK? Alice, what is it?" Edward struggled to keep his voice to a whisper in his panic.
"Edward, Bella is pregnant." Alice finished, looking sick and quickly glancing around to make sure no one was close enough to hear their conversation. As she glanced, though, she saw every Cullen head pop up and stare in shock. They had heard above the melee in the waiting room. They had heard her whisper. Their vampire hearing had picked up what she had said and now seven vampires knew her secret even before Bella did, herself.
"What do you mean, pregnant?" Edward stammered. It was impossible. Bella was a virgin before the rape. He had heard she and Alice discussing it. The whole house had. Bella had a way of forgetting that everyone could hear them when she stayed over. So it had to be the rape that had gotten her pregnant. One of her three attackers. It took everything in him not to punch a wall but he knew that with the rage he was feeling, the hospital would lose an entire wing if that happened.
"I don't know how else to say it. Pregnant. Carlisle is trying to figure out how to tell her now." Alice answered.
"I want to be there when he does. She needs me."
"I agree, but how do you do that with Charlie right here?" Alice asked
"Easy, he comes discreetly with me," Carlisle whispered from the other side of the ER door. "Alice, you cover for him if anyone asks. Just make sure you aren't seen, Edward." With the speed of a vampire, Edward was through the door and on the other side before anyone could even see the door move and Alice was left standing alone, leaning against the wall.
Edward stared at Bella lying in the stark, white bed looking so small and so tired but with her eyes wide open, which was a welcomed sight. Her left arm was in a cast to the shoulder and her right leg up to the knee. She had oxygen tubes running from her nose and IV tubes going into both arms. She just looked so broken. She hadn't yet noticed Edward's presence.
"Edward," Carlisle whispered, "she is still a little sedated from the pain killers. But I need to tell her before Charlie comes in, which will be soon. Will you stay with her while I do so? She draws so much comfort from you and her injuries require that she stay calm."
"I will do my best, Carlisle," Edward whispered back as he moved into Bella's view.
"Edward!" She tried to exclaim but her raspy voice was too low for much of an exclamation. "You're here!"
"Where else would I be, Bella? Alice saw what was going to happen and we raced to stop you but we were too late." Edward said, obviously pained.
"I'm sorry, I know how stupid I was. I was just so shocked and so tired. I just couldn't take it anymore. Does Charlie know what I did?"
"Not exactly, but I think he suspects. He knows you didn't hit the brakes when you went towards the pole, so if you want to hide what really happened, better come up with something quick." Bella took her good arm and put it over her black eyes, which had returned, as had a split lip, and what appeared to be a broken nose had appeared. There were also new bruises peeking out from the top of the night gown in the shape of the bottom of a steering wheel. The nightgown did nothing to hide her bruises from the attack, however.
"Carlisle, before Charlie comes in, can you get her a jacket or a robe or something to cover her arms?" Edward asked. Bella instantly looked down and a panicked look appeared on her face.
"Charlie doesn't know what happened that night, right? He doesn't have to, does he?" She looked back and forth between Carlisle and Edward.
"No, Bella, he doesn't know. But there is something we need to talk about." Carlisle said gravely.
"Don't worry, I will be here the entire time," Edward said.
"Bella, there is a certain blood test we have to run before we do x-rays if time allows us to and we did that for you. That test tells us whether or not you should receive radiation." Carlisle began.
"So are you telling me that I have some kind of cancer or something?"
"No, Bella. I'm trying to tell you that you're…that is to say that you are…well, pregnant."
"WHAT? Came Charlie's booming voice from the doorway to the ER. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S PREGNANT?" And now everyone in the waiting room knew what Bella herself was just discovering. Carlisle quickly moved to close the door and usher Charlie in.
"And why is Edward the one in here when you tell her? Why not her own father? Wait…I get it! You bastard! You said that you were just friends. That baby is yours, isn't it?" Charlie looked at Edward as if he could rip his head off single handedly, vampire or not, and Edward had an inspiration.
"Yes, Chief Swan. My dad brought me in here to help tell Bella about the pregnancy because the baby is mine." There were hushed whispers outside the door as Esme tried to clear people away to give them some privacy, but to no avail, until Emmett stood in front of the door.
"Get the Hell out of here! You have all the gossip you need, now go!" Emmett boomed and people scattered, picking up their belongings and heading out as fast as they could. No one messed with Emmett Cullen.
So far, Bella had said nothing. She just remained frozen with a shocked look on her face and a feeling of dread and disgust in her gut. Esme entered the room and Bella was happy to see a woman's face. Bella grabbed Esme's hand and held both hers and Edwards for dear life as her father seethed at the end of the bed, a look of disappointment veiled by the anger.
"You get my child knocked up and then you have the nerve to sit next to me and tell me you are 'friends'? I trusted you. I trusted all of you, and this is what happened under your roof?" Charlie was still seething.
"Actually, Dad, it happened under your roof and Edward didn't have to force me to do anything I didn't want to do. This was not planned, it was an accident, but it's one we have to deal with now." Bella spoke for the first time, calmly and collected.
"Bella, I—" Charlie couldn't continue. He simply turned and walked out of the room.
Bella looked at Edward and reached for him with her good arm. He grabbed her and held her close to his chest, careful not to hurt her.
"Be careful, Edward. She has a bruised sternum and a break just above her wrist and just above her ankle but both are clean and should heal properly." Carlisle, ever the doctor, didn't know what else to do but give a rundown of the physical damage.
"Edward, why did you do that? Why did you claim responsibility for the…the…THIS?" Bella asked as she waved a hand over her abdomen.
"I couldn't have you forced to tell him until or unless you were ready to, Bella. And I knew that you weren't ready to do that, yet. I don't care if Charlie is mad or the rumor mill runs. I just want you safe and sound and able to do what you want to do about the fetus without anyone's input." Edward tried to console her.
"The 'fetus'? So there is no way there's been a mistake?" Bella asked Carlisle, who shook his head grimly.
"I'm sorry Bella, but no. No mistake. I had them run the blood test three times and all three times came up positive."
"I can't be pregnant. I just can't be. That would be the cruelest, cosmic joke. For me to be pregnant would be almost impossible. One time. My first time. No. The test has to be wrong." Bella's voice rose in panic.
"Bella, calm down, this isn't good for you. You've been in a terrible…er…accident." Edward said, trying to calm her.
"Bella, is your period late?" Carlisle prodded gently, trying to get her to accept reality.
She thought for a long moment, counting days and then realization washed over her face.
"I guess I was so shell-shocked that I didn't realize that I am a couple of days late." Bella mused to herself. "But stress can make someone late, right? Can stress cause a false pregnancy test? Please, Carlisle, please tell me that stress can cause a false pregnancy test!" She started to panic again, her raspy voice rising to an obviously painful level before Edward calmly placed his hand on her forehead and gently laid her back on the pillows, and stroked her face.
"No, Bella, honey. There can be no false positive on a pregnancy test. Not on a blood test. It is definitive. You are pregnant, but obviously very early.
"Pregnant? How can this be happening?" Bella asked Edward, begging him with the tone of her voice to wake her from this nightmare. "And why did you tell my Dad it's yours? You know everyone will believe that, now. Why put yourself on the hook like that, Edward?"
"To protect your secret. I know you aren't ready to tell your father, and you may never be, but I didn't want you forced into it and I would rather his anger be taken out on me than on you if you refused to tell him who the father is…" Edward prattled on, nervous that he had done the wrong thing.
"Thank you, Edward. I'm sorry, Carlisle and Esme, that your son has put himself in the line of fire for me, but I couldn't be more grateful." Carlisle and Esme looked pointedly at each other.
"We just wish it hadn't come to that. I wish I could have kept Charlie from noticing that Edward was gone and figuring out that he was likely at your bedside and walking in at just the right moment. It was like a bad movie, believe me!" Esme said. "It would have been best if you could have had time to consider your options before your father found out. He may not have ever had to know at all."
"You mean abortion? I never thought I could do that. I never thought I could even consider abortion, but how can I carry the bastard child of three rapists to term and raise it on my own?"
"No matter what you choose, Bella, I am here for you. I will support you emotionally and financially, if it comes to that, whatever decision you make. There is also adoption. There are plenty of families who would love to have a baby, just so you know all of your options to consider." Edward pointed out.
"Carry it to term and then give it to someone else to raise? I don't know what to do. What would you do, Esme?" Bella asked, desperate for someone to make it go away.
"It isn't up to me to say, Bella. This is your decision to make. I don't imagine Charlie would support an abortion or adoption, so you can count on our family for all of the support you need. I promise you that." Esme replied.
"Thanks, Esme. That means a lot. Do you know where my Dad has gone? I should talk to him alone."
"I can hear him pacing the hallway outside your room. Perhaps Edward and I should leave and Carlisle can speak to the two of you about your other injuries and then leave you and Charlie alone to talk?" Esme suggested.
"That sounds like a plan. Not a plan I'm necessarily happy with, but a plan nonetheless." Bella answered, resigned.
Edward leaned down and gave Bella a kiss on the forehead and she tilted her head back and kissed him on the lips, surprising everyone with her open affection and her ability to feel something for him after all that had happened. It was a chaste kiss, over quickly, and when Bella realized what she'd done in front of an audience, her face burned red and Edward grinned.
"We will go get your father." He said as he kissed her forehead again and put her hand down at her side.
Edward and Esme found Charlie walking outside the nurses' station fuming and muttering to himself. Esme tapped him on the shoulder and told him that Bella was asking for him, which made him look worried but did little to dissipate his anger and disappointment. Edward wanted to punch him for making her see that look on his face and deal with the repercussions of something that wasn't her fault, but he had to remind himself that Charlie didn't know it wasn't her fault. As far as he knew, his responsible, virginal daughter had just been incredibly careless and irresponsible and gotten herself knocked up. It was still difficult not to punch him with his balled up fists, though. Sensing the tension, Esme stood between the two.
"You and I will talk later. When I'm not wearing my gun." Charlie said to Edward and then stormed into Bella's room. Edward stayed close enough to hear the entire conversation.
"Hello Chief Swan. I apologize for the unprofessional way you were informed of Bella's delicate situation, but as her father, I need to inform you of her other injuries as well as the prognosis and treatment." Charlie said nothing to Carlisle, only listened.
"She has a bone bruise on her sternum, which is quite painful, but fortunately isn't broken. She has a fracture on her left arm, just above the wrist, and a fracture of her right leg, just above the ankle. Both are good, clean fractures so we expect them to be healed in about six weeks. She will wear casts until then. She does have a moderate concussion where her head hit the steering wheel and took 15 stitches to close the wound but the scar will be in her hairline and hardly noticeable once it has healed. She shows no signs of any internal bleeding, which is very fortunate on her part, considering how squarely she hit the steering wheel and the fact that she wasn't wearing a seatbelt—"
"What do you mean she wasn't wearing a seatbelt? Bella Swan, you know better than that! You certainly aren't the responsible person I thought you were. Any other careless behavior I need to know about? Besides your being pregnant, of course?" Charlie interrupted and spat out the last sentence as if it gave him a bad taste in his mouth.
"I'm sorry, Dad. For everything." Bella said meekly, staring at her hands the entire time. She didn't have the courage to look her father in the face.
"She will be fine to go home in a day or two, provided no fevers pop up and the pain is well controlled." Carlisle continued as if Charlie hadn't interrupted. "She will need some help bathing and taking care of herself for a while…I could volunteer—"
"Don't you DARE say Edward!" Carlisle shouted.
"I was going to volunteer Alice to stay at your home with you or Esme to come take care of things on an as-needed basis, whatever you prefer. But Bella will be bed-bound until both casts come off because she can't use crutches and she won't be able to use a walking cast with the kind of break she has, so she will be finishing the school year at home. I'm sure I could get the school to also let Alice finish up at home. She is a straight A student and has never given them any trouble. I will leave the two of you to discuss arrangements and you can let me know."
"Right now, I can't even look at you, Bells. I think it's best if you go home with the Cullens at this point. It isn't like Edward can do anymore damage and Esme can take better care of you there."
With that, Carlisle left the room and an embarrassed Bella lay trapped beneath her father's burning gaze.
"Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"
"What can I say? I didn't mean for it to happen. It just did. I'm sorry."
"Getting pregnant doesn't JUST happen!" Charlie yelled. "Bella, you are smarter than this. At least I thought you were! What happened to my little girl? What happened to the intelligent, careful, young woman you were growing into? What about your future? Have you thought of that?"
"I'm thinking about my future. I'm considering my options and—"
"Your options? What do you mean your options?"
"I mean the possibility of raising the baby, giving the baby up for adoption, or…well…not having the baby."
"An ABORTION? No daughter of mine will ever get an abortion! If you do, you will no longer be a daughter of mine!" Charlie turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, Edward hiding behind the nurses' station just in time. Esme standing in the hallway with Carlisle, both crushed for Bella.
Edward was angry as Hell and wanting to get into her room as soon as Charlie was far enough away. Esme went to the window to see if Charlie's cruiser, brought over by another policeman earlier, would disappear while Edward slipped back into Bella's room.
He found her sobbing, the tears running down her cheeks and soaking the pillow beneath her head. His heart nearly broke seeing her that way. She was already so broken and for Charlie to be so angry and so mean. He knew that he had a right to be disappointed, but to be so pointedly cruel was uncalled for. She was still his daughter and was carrying his grandchild, after all.
"Bella, honey, it's ok." He gently took her in his arms and she cried against his chest. It was difficult to maneuver around the casts and the tubes in her arms, but they managed. He rocked her back and forth as she sobbed. Finally, all cried out, she lay back down. She looked so pale and so tired.
All Bella wanted to do was sleep. It had been a horrible day. Getting that awful package in the mail, her suicide attempt, which she couldn't even pull that off correctly, then finding out she was pregnant. But she knew if she slept, the nightmares would come, so she fought it as long as she could. The pain medicine finally won out, though, and she drifted into a fitful slumber with Edward holding her hand. She didn't even ask anymore, she just knew that he would be there for her.
Carlisle and Esme entered the room quietly, having heard Bella's steady breathing from the hallway. They used the speed and stealth of vampires to reach her bedside so as not to disturb her.
"Edward," Esme whispered loudly enough so that only a vampire could hear, "how is she doing?"
"How do you think she is doing?" Edward said sarcastically. "I'm sorry, Esme. I'm still a little keyed up from Charlie's reaction."
"It's ok, son, I know that she means a great deal to you. I know that you want to protect her. Unfortunately none of us can protect her from the decision she is going to have to make. But we can be there to support her, answer any questions the two of you may discuss, anything you need. She has roughly 8 ½ weeks to make the decision to end the pregnancy if that's what she chooses." Esme tried to comfort Edward.
"8 ½ weeks? How does that work?" Edward asked, confused. He thought a woman had 12 weeks to decide and Bella had been attacked only a week and a half earlier.
"A pregnancy is counted from two weeks before conception, Edward." Carlisle answered. "That gives her 8 ½ weeks to decide whether or not to terminate."
"I wonder what she will decide?" Edward pondered, not envying her position.