Hi, all! We're back. Poor Edward has been after me to get this part over with. It's just been really hard to put into words . . .

As usual, my thanks go out to the 'usual suspects' - Breath of Twilight, who keeps me straight and makes this pretty for you; SherryG, without whom I'd have nurses and doctors banging down my door for inaccuracies, LOL; and all my ladies, you know who you are girls!

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all things Twilight. Me? I just have a more fertile imagination than I used to.

Onward . . .

EPOV

"She's sedated," the charge nurse for Bella in ICU says. "We need to keep her as still as possible, her rib injury could still cause more problems if she starts moving around."

I know this, of course. But I'm glad that they're being careful with her. I walk into Bella's room and sit down in the chair next to her bed. She looks so still, so pale. My heart, which is still in my throat with worry over the love of my life, breaks into even smaller pieces as I watch over her. She has to make it. If she doesn't, my life is worthless. I might as well follow her, since I will never be whole again. Her existence is the reason for my own.

"Bella?" I say softly, taking her hand into mine. "It's me, my love; it's Edward. I love you so much. You can't leave me." Tears begin to stream down my face, once again. I try to remember what my life was like before I had met her. It is impossible. I can no longer remember that life.

I remember my childhood, growing up with Alice and Emmett, laughing and happy. I remember Emmett constantly getting into trouble, Alice's parties, Mom and Dad's loving eyes watching over all of us. I even remember dating, yeah, there were lots of girls. But, I can't remember my day to day life. It's as if I didn't start living until Bella came into my life. Everything since her arrival is crystal clear. The joy I have felt, every single day, is indescribable.

I rub circles on the back of Bella's hand and kiss her fingertips, praying as I've never prayed before that she will come back to me. Whole. Healthy.

I want that life back. Even more so, I want the life I've been dreaming about. The life with Bella as my wife. The one with our beautiful children with messy bronze hair and chocolate drop eyes, or lustrous brown hair and sparkling green eyes. I want the life where, when I come home from work, Bella is there greeting me with a smile and a passionate kiss, before I'm attacked by our children clamoring for my attention and love. A little girl with green eyes and mahogany hair wraps her arms around my legs, beaming at me, calling me Daddy. A slightly larger boy with chocolate drop eyes and a mess of bronze colored hair looks up to me as he places a hand on his sister's shoulder. I drop to my knees and pull both of them into a tight hug, dropping kisses on mahogany and tousling bronze.

I've been thinking about this and planning how to ask her for months. I know she loves me, but, still, I'm terrified that she might say no. My father has been quietly supporting me in my turmoil, helping me with the jeweler, looking at ring designs, stone shapes and sizes; he's even helped me plan the time we're planning to spend away. He's given me some suggestions about B&Bs. He and Mom take mini vacations on a regular basis, and often times they are to some romantic Bed and Breakfast, tucked away from the hubbub of Seattle; so he has a pretty good idea of what I'm looking for. I've been spending a lot of my time off checking them out on the internet, and a few I've driven out to check out, as well. I've narrowed it down to two or three, and was planning on making my decision and reservations within the week.

My eyes brimming with tears, I contemplate how things can change in the blink of an eye. Why was Bella out in a patrol car tonight? What happened to land her in my father's trauma unit? What will I do if she doesn't make it? What am I thinking? She has to make it.

As I sit, my heart shattering in my chest, suddenly anger rears its ugly head. Whoever did this to my girl will pay for it. I'll see to it. There's no way it could be Bella's fault that she was injured so severely. Sure, she can trip over a draft, but she's a damn fine driver, and she would have never ended up in such an accident through her own devices. Someone did something to cause this, and I am going to get to the bottom of it. My anger begins to get the better of me, and my fingers tighten on Bella's hand. As I look at her face, my eyes never leaving her beautiful countenance, her brow furrows.

Even though she's sedated, she seems to sense that I am there and I am upset. I cannot be the cause of her stress. She needs all her resources to heal. I make a conscious effort to calm myself and begin talking to her, again.

"Bella, baby. I love you. So much. Relax, sweetheart. Focus your strength on healing. I'll be right here. I'm not leaving you. I need you so much. Just don't leave me. Please." The tears begin rolling down my cheeks, again.

Bella's forehead smoothes, then furrows again. I use the hand not holding hers to touch her brow, smoothing the wrinkles. I ghost the backs of my fingers down the side of her face and trace her precious rose lips with my fingertip. I bring her hand to my face, pressing the palm against my face, I kiss her life line. She is more precious to me than my own life.

I sit by Bella's bed through the night, watching the monitors closely; speaking in hushed tones with the nurse as she comes in to perform her routine checks. I talk to Bella about all my hopes and dreams for the two of us, together. I tell her often how much I love her and encourage her to focus on healing. Even though she may not understand my words, I am certain she recognizes my voice and is comforted by knowing I'm there.

At some point, my head drops to Bella's bed and I fall asleep. I'm awoken by quiet voices in the room. Opening my eyes, I see that the sun has risen. My eyes shoot to the monitors, and I'm relieved to see the readings are as normal as can be expected. I look to where I hear the voices and see that my father is talking with a new nurse; the shift must have changed while I slept. When he sees me awake, Dad smiles a guarded smile at me and nods toward the door, indicating he wants to talk to me outside the room.

When the nurse leaves, I stand and lean over to kiss Bella's cheek. I tell her that I'm going to be right back; that I'm just stepping outside the door to talk to Dad for a few minutes.

"Bella seems to be responding well, Son. We still want to keep her sedated; the longer we keep her still, the faster her ribs will begin to heal. We don't want that injury to become more of a problem than it needs to be," Dad began. God, he looks tired. He's just as worried as I am about her. I can tell by the compassion in his eyes as he meets mine.

"All her vitals are looking good, which I'm sure you've been keeping tabs on, as well," he chuckles darkly. "I know you're worried about her, Edward," his voice takes on a more serious tone. "I won't insult you by telling you that she's going to be fine. We both know she's not quite out of the woods, yet. But, it is looking up. You know, without me telling you, that she's getting the best care possible. You need to get some rest. I happen to know your supervisor, and he agrees," Dad smiles at me.

"Seriously, Son. You aren't going to do Bella any good if you allow yourself to become so fatigued you get ill. Head home; get some rest; come back later. I'll make sure that you're notified if anything changes. Okay?"

I know he's right. I can't help Bella if I can't hold myself upright. But I hate to leave her like this. Obviously, I can sleep. I fell asleep sitting up, for crying out loud.

"Dad, do you think we could just bring a cot in here? I know it's irregular, but I think I'd actually sleep better with the monitors beeping than I would at home where everything is too quiet." My eyes were imploring my father to understand what I was asking.

He frowns for a moment, considering. "You're right, Edward, it is irregular. But, I think we can swing it. As long as we place it so it won't be in the way should an emergency arise. And remember, if something does happen, you need to let the nurses and me, or whomever else is here, handle it. You are much too close to the situation; your judgment cannot be trusted in this case." He holds my gaze until he can see acquiescence in my eyes. "Good. I'll make the arrangements, right now."

The cot arrives and is placed in the corner of the room, as far away from everything else as possible. While I understand the reasoning, and actually agree with it, the thought of being so far from Bella, even just across the room, fills me with apprehension. I stand at her bedside, her hand in mine, trying to will myself to go lie down. Finally, I smooth my fingers along Bella's jaw.

"I love you, Bella. I'm still right here. But I'm so very tired. I'm going to lie down for a little bit. They've brought a cot in for me. It's just across the room. I'm not leaving, Bella. I'm staying with you." I lean over, once again, to place a kiss on her forehead and another on each cheek, before brushing my lips across hers. Even in this state, the connection, the charge, is still there, humming between us. I take that as another good sign. As long as that connection is there, she has to know I'm here.

I cross the room and lie down on the cot. My eyelids are nearly too heavy to keep open. Not only is my body exhausted from the long hours, but I'm emotionally spent as well. The shock of seeing my Bella wheeled into the ER with traumatic injuries, the invasive procedures required to save her life, and the vigil I kept at her bedside last night, have all conspired to leave me mentally exhausted. I lay my head down on the pillow, and I'm out.

Well, what do you think? Is she going to make it? Is Edward going to survive? Did you figure out what he was planning yet? LOL

Thanks for reading, bbs! Drop me a line to let me know you were here, k? 'Til next we meet . . . muah!