Chapter 7 – Chicken Soup

EPOV

I pushed my foot further down on the accelerator and screamed around the corner. I was in a hurry to be back with my Bella. I hadn't wanted to leave this morning when Alice appeared unexpectedly in Bella's window. It wasn't until she showed me the vision of Bella and Charlie fighting over my presence (Charlie at least was yelling, Bella was coughing too hard to yell back), that I agreed to leave until "visiting hours" began. Alice had helpfully provided me with a list of treatments for cold symptoms (she had included research papers on their effectiveness) and the address of a health food store in Seattle. I could only assume that she wanted to ensure my absence until the magical hour of 1:00.

I had decided to accede to her plan. I had no plans of my own; these days I did not seem to be capable of formulating ideas, let alone fully fledged plans, without my Bella. In the normal course of events, one of my family would take me hostage, usually to go hunting, until Bella was available. Sometimes I would just sit in the forest listening to her movements around the house, counting the seconds until I could see her again. I could not do that today though. Alice's vision of the fight did not change until I had agreed to drive to Seattle. Clearly I would not have been able to stay away knowing Bella was sick.

I glanced at the packages lining the backseat. My Bella would not be happy with me when she saw them. She did not like me to spend money on her at the best of times; she would be horrified when she saw what I had bought. The sales assistant at the health food shop had been very helpful. She had been genuinely sorry to hear of my girlfriend's illness and, out of some sort of feminine kinship, had kept her mental ogling of me to a minimum. As an unspoken token of my gratitude, I had accepted every item she gave me. The bill had come to a hefty total, not that I cared. I had been practically ecstatic to be able to buy my Bella something that she needed for once. It had probably not been entirely necessary to purchase the new electric blanket for Bella's bed. I entertained myself with a brief mental picture of her face when she found out. Maybe I should pass it off as a gift from Esme. Bella would never believe that it was a gift from Charlie.

Thoughts of Charlie brought the memory of Alice's vision to my mind. Charlie's face was contorted with rage as he watched me soothing Bella through a coughing fit. Without my normal access to his thoughts, the reason for his fury was unclear to me, but the target was not. I had long since ceased to hope that Bella's happiness at my return would cause a softening of Charlie's attitude towards me. To be honest, in some ways I welcomed his hatred. It seemed an apt penance for my excruciatingly bad judgement in my treatment of his daughter. Bella had forgiven me easily, too easily I often thought, given the pain I had caused her. Charlie had not; I wondered if he ever would. Bella's threat to move out kept him from banning me from the house entirely. Instead, he vacillated between treating me with open contempt and ignoring my presence with icy disdain. Had he but known it, his constant stream of mental invective, interspersed with images of Bella's face – sometimes streaked with tears, other times chillingly empty – was the greatest punishment he could possibly have devised.

I turned the corner into Bella's street and glanced at the clock. 12:53. Still seven more minutes until I could see my love. Charlie took vindictive pleasure in denying my entrance until official visiting hours began. In an effort to keep the peace between Bella and her father, I usually made sure I waited out of sight until the minute I was allowed inside. Today I was too eager to see she her, to hear her heartbeat and know that she was still safe.

I pulled the car in to stop in front of Bella's house. Miraculously, the Chief's cruiser was missing from its normal spot. Was it possible that he had actually gone fishing today? He hadn't been fishing since our return from Italy –only too clearly demonstrating his complete lack of faith in me.

The coast is clear, Edward. Come on in.

Alice. This could only be Alice's doing. I grabbed the bags with perishable groceries from the backseat and bounded towards the door.

BPOV

I jumped up off the couch and raced to the front door. All my aches and pains were forgotten in my hurry to see Edward again. He was early, for which I was profoundly grateful. The last ten minutes before his arrival were always painfully slow; today I thought the clock had actually stopped. Goodness only knows what kind of state I would have been in if I had been made to wait another five minutes.

I yanked the door open and breathed a sigh of relief. The fear lessened every time I saw him but it hadn't yet completely disappeared. My heart trusted Edward, but my body could never believe he would reappear until I saw him again. My eyes travelled his breathtaking face until I found his eyes and I gladly drowned in their golden depths. The rest of the world disappeared as Edward raised his hand and gently cupped my cheek.

"Would you like me to get the rest of them?"

Alice's voice jerked me out of my stupor. I glanced over at her to find her smirking at Edward, left eyebrow cocked mockingly. For his part, Edward was glaring balefully back. I was wondering what she was saying to him when the import of her question hit me. Rest of what, exactly?

I looked down for the first time and finally noticed the bags in Edward's other hand. Alice's comment about the health food shop rang in my ears and I groaned. How many other bags could there be and would he really expect me to take all that stuff? Tons and yes, my brain answered me. This was Edward. Now I would have to contend with dazzlement and soft pleading for me to take 400 different supplements in his quest to have my health restored.

I raised my eyes back up to his face. Sure enough, the pleading look was already on his face. Obviously my reluctance was anticipated. I tried to infuse a sense of outrage into my voice.

"What is all this, Edward?"

He offered me a disarming smile. "I am going to make you chicken soup, Bella."

I sat at the kitchen table staring in disgust at the collection of bottles in front of me. I did not even recognise most of the names on the bottles. Those I did recognise I had never taken in my life, with the sole exception of Vitamin C (and I had already consumed my daily dose of that). I was trying to decide which of the collection I could bear to take whilst Edward pottered around the kitchen readying the ingredients for the soup. It was a strangely domestic scene – unusual in my time with Edward but comforting. Edward had wanted me to recline in luxury on the lounge room couch – to "rest and recover" as he put it. In retaliation I had suggested that since I was the human, I should do the cooking. We had compromised on me sitting in the kitchen while Edward did the cooking.

Alice had left soon after Edward arrived, giving me a quick kiss and informing me that I had a date with a shopping mall as soon as I was better. I shuddered to think of the experience that was inevitably coming my way but chose to deal with it another day. Time alone with Edward was too precious to ruin by worrying over Alice's plans for my wardrobe.

For sheer entertainment value, Edward in the kitchen beat the television hands down. I smiled as I took in the evidence of his devotion to me. His beautiful face was screwed up in a look of absolute concentration as he studied the recipe as if it held the answer to the secrets of life. Failure was clearly not an option. Edward put the recipe book aside and picked up the chicken, a grimace of distaste marring his perfect features. I marvelled again at the lengths to which he would go to keep me safe and healthy. He picked up a knife and I settled back and prepared to enjoy the show.

"Wow Edward, that was fantastic!" Unusually, Edward had joined us for dinner that evening. I guessed that he wanted to ensure that I actually ate the soup he had slaved over (apparently Carlisle had told Edward that I needed to keep my fluids up). I sent Charlie a meaningful look. He only grunted, unable to bring himself to say anything complimentary to my boyfriend. Charlie was still sulking that he had come home to find Edward instead of Alice. I opened my mouth to reprimand him but Edward shook his head in quick negation. Fine – I would deal with my dad later. Charlie pushed his chair back and, with another grunt, strode into the lounge room. A second later the television was blaring.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly to Edward, embarrassment at Charlie's behaviour bringing the inevitable blush to my face. Edward reached up and brushed my cheek with cool, gentle fingers.

"Don't be sorry, sweetheart. It's not your fault. I don't blame Charlie for being angry with me. He loves you very much."

I sighed. "I know – he just doesn't seem to be able to trust my choices." I stood up and began collecting the dishes to take them to the sink.

A cold hand clamped over my wrist. "What are you doing?"

I looked up at Edward's frowning face in confusion. "I'm doing the dishes. You made dinner, I'll clean up."

"I don't think so, Bella. You should go and rest."

I made a face at him. "Edward, I have been resting all day. I think I can handle washing the dishes."

He sighed, "Don't be difficult, Bella. You are sick and you need to rest. I can do the dishes in half the time that you can."

I stiffened and turned away. "I'm not being difficult, Edward. I want to do something to help. You made dinner. It is only fair that I clean up."

Edward materialised in front of me. He tipped my chin up so that I was looking directly into his eyes. "Please Bella. Just let me take care of you for once."

My breath started coming faster as I stared up into Edward's beautiful face. I was pinned by his burning, golden gaze. Slowly, he moved in until his lips pressed gently against my own. I threw caution to the wind, as I always did, and rose up on my toes, pressing myself deeper into his kiss.

I was lightheaded from lack of oxygen when he ran his hands down to my shoulders and carefully pushed me back. The trademark smirk was firmly in place. "I'll be doing the dishes. You go and rest."

I nodded silently and made my way towards the lounge room. Charlie was due for a little talk about manners anyway.