A/N

Wow you people surely didn't like the lawyer! For another view on him though I'm posting an outtake that you may be interested in reading.

Thanks for all the reviews, I fail at answering but I promise I read them all!

30

Charlie Swan clenched his jaw as he watched his ex-wife plot and plan. She had already asked her lawyer if there was any compensation to be had from the school for not gritting the car park properly, and had asked for the Crowley's insurance details. The fact that her only child was laying in the small room down the corridor, injured, upset and fragile, didn't seem to bother her. Charlie could tell her lawyer wasn't impressed by his client's attitude either.

"As soon as she is discharged she has to come home." Renée stated, much to everyone's amazement. "Now Phil has left I can look after her properly."

"Aren't you forgetting you will be in prison?" Charlie asked.

"I'm sure, once the judge hears what happened that I will get a non-custodial sentence." He ground his teeth once more, knowing she was probably right.

"Bella lives with me now." He pointed out.

"You work all day, I don't have a job. She will need care. Legally I still have custody. I only allowed her to visit you out of the goodness of my heart and look at what happens? Only weeks after arriving and she is at death's door." Her melodrama didn't go down well with any of the family.

She had it all worked out. Charlie put his head in his hands. No way was he going to allow his daughter to be put back into that situation, even if he had to take drastic action, such as giving up his job (or worse), he wasn't going to hand Bella back into the torment she had just escaped from.

Edward suddenly appeared in the doorway to the waiting room. He passed Charlie a note, turned and left.

'Sir, I would like to see you outside if I may.'

Charlie got to his feet, Renée followed. "What is it?" she asked. "What has she done now?" Charlie glared at her and walked out of the room, he heard her try and follow him but Jasper's low voice growled something and the door remained closed behind him.

He went into Bella's room. It was clear that she wasn't sleeping, as tears ran freely down her cheeks. Alice stood at the side of the bed, her eyes closed. Charlie wasn't sure if she was just trying not to see how upset her friend was or if she was trying to see the future.

"Sir," Edward stood by the bed, his hand tightly clasping Bella's. "You know she will get custody of Bella if we don't do something."

"What can be done son?" he asked. "I did a bit of investigation into the law firm representing her, they are good. How she is affording them I don't know, but I know they will try everything they can to get her off, and if she gets off, Bella may have to move there. She isn't 18 until September. And Renée is right. I work." He slumped into the chair.

"I do have a solution." Alice's eyes popped open and a huge grin split her face.

"Yes!" Edward's gaze was fixed on his sister as he read her mind.

Bella opened her eyes. The wounded look in them almost broke Charlie's heart.

"It will work. Oh Bella!" Alice carefully hugged her.

"What solution?" Charlie asked.

Edward didn't answer him directly, he turned to his daughter and smiled. He raised the hand he held to his lips, careful of the needle in the back of it, and kissed it softly, slowly he lowered himself to lean over her and stare right into her eyes.

"Isabella Swan, I promise to love you forever- every single day of forever. Will you marry me?"

Panic had taken over her every thought. As Alice and Edward swapped ideas silently over her prone body she knew in her heart that she was headed back to Phoenix and she felt sick at the idea.

She couldn't face it. Wouldn't the courts take her wishes into consideration? After all she wasn't a child any more. She was almost 18. She didn't want to go live with Renée, but she knew her 'mother' would do everything in her power to get her back if it meant keeping out of jail. Especially as Phil had deserted her. Renée could never look after herself. She had no idea about budgeting, and her sense of entitlement meant she honestly could not see anything wrong with taking Bella's college fund.

Edward squeezed her hand and left the room, returning in moments with Charlie.

She didn't listen to what they were saying. Tears finally ran freely down her cheeks as she contemplated all the ways Renée was going to make her pay for what had happened. It was true her mother had never been physically violent, but she sure made up for it with the way she treated her.

"I do have a solution." Alice's voice sounded exuberant. Bella could hardly hope they had a solution, but she wouldn't sound so happy if they didn't… would she?

"Yes!" Edward sounded just as happy.

"It will work. Oh Bella!" Alice leant over her and carefully hugged her, then spun off to dance around the room.

"What solution?" Charlie asked, coming to his feet from where he had slumped in the chair.

She felt Edward kiss her knuckles and the look in his eyes mesmerised her. "Isabella Swan, I promise to love you forever- every single day of forever. Will you marry me?"

Panic rushed through her, her instinct was to scream NO! But her hand tingled where he held it, she remembered Jasper's advice on allowing him to love her and as she looked into his eyes and saw his soul, and she knew… this was right. If she didn't marry him now she knew she would eventually, he was the other half of her soul. Why should she make him wait? Calm descended on her and she smiled softly.

"Yes."

"Today?" Edward asked, holding his breath. He couldn't believe she had said yes!

"Today?" she squeaked. She swallowed and then nodded, wincing as her head moved against the pillow.

Alice started muttering in the corner the stylus on her phone moving so fast even he had trouble seeing it, Edward closed his eyes and pinched his nose as pictures of wedding dresses, cakes, Tuxedos and shoes… oh god the myriad pairs of shoes!

Carlisle walked into the room and grabbed the phone that Alice was furiously working on.

"Let's take a moment before you go ordering a huge fairytale wedding." He calmly stood beside the bed and took Bella's hand. "First, we need to contact Jenks. We need to get the underage papers signed and notarised, and put before a judge. If you want to marry today we also have to have the 3 day waiting period waived. You can't move yet Bella, the ceremony will have to be here, with you in bed." Bella agreed, rather relieved. "We also need to keep it quiet, Renée mustn't know until it is fait accompli."

"But…" Alice pouted, this time Edward stepped in.

"No Alice, it isn't happening." He told her sternly.

"I can't even brush my hair Alice. There's no way I can dress up." Bella interjected, touching the bandage on her head gingerly.

"You don't have to sound so pleased about it." Alice pouted. If she could have produced tears she would. Edward knew how much she would love organising a wedding, well… Alice loved organising people, no matter what the occasion.

"So," Charlie looked around at them all. "Can we get it done before Renée finds out and puts a stop to it?" he took Bella's hand. "I'm sorry love, I couldn't protect you from her." Edward could read just how sorry he was. How much he regretted pushing his daughter into marriage at 17, just to save her from her mother, the one other person in the world that should have loved her unconditionally.

"It will be OK Charlie." Edward gripped his shoulder. "I will take care of her."

"I know son, if it was anyone else I would find another way, but I know you love her as much as I do." The other way involved a gun and some bullets, so Edward was doubly happy that Bella had agreed. Charlie was determined he was going to stop Renée, one way or another.

With a warning look Carlisle handed the phone back to Alice and, subdued, she continued doing whatever it was she was doing.

"What do I need to do?" Bella asked.

"Nothing, just rest." Carlisle said. "Are you in pain?"

"It isn't too bad." She insisted, Edward moaned, he hadn't thought that she would not say anything. Of course, being Bella she would just suffer in silence. She blushed as all three men in the room looked at her frowning, (Alice gave a quick grimace and went back to her phone). Carlisle turned the medication on the drip up slightly.

"There isn't any need for you to suffer." He said gently, smoothing her hair from her forehead he gently kissed her there. "Get some sleep, we will wake you when it's time." Bella nodded and settled back gingerly.

{Son, are you ok with this?} Carlisle asked, knowing that Edward had planned to marry her eventually wasn't the same as the situation they found themselves in now.

"I love her, it is as simple as that… I will do anything I have to, to keep her safe," he told his father not bothering to modulate his voice so the humans in the room could not hear. He smiled at Bella and she smiled sleepily back at him. "And this is what I wanted all along, it's about time I settled down."

"But she is still human," Carlisle did modulate his voice.

"If she wants to remain so, then so be it, but I won't let that woman near her!" Edward spat, to protect Bella from the sheer hatred in his voice he spoke to his father in a pitch she couldn't hear.

Charlie got to his feet and coughed slightly, drawing their attention. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked. Edward could understand that the man felt superfluous, he thought rapidly.

"Actually there is." He said, he drew his soon-to-be father-in-law from the room. "While the rest are keeping Renée pinned could you go to our house and get me the ring? Jasper is going to get the forms from Jenks in Seattle, Emmett and Rose will keep Renée in the waiting room with her lawyer, if they move they will follow them and keep tabs on them. I'll ask Esme to get Parson Webber for the ceremony, Jasper should be back in an hour, then he has to go to the judge." He took a piece of paper from the table near the nurses' station and wrote directions to the safe in Carlisle's office and the combination. "On the right hand side there's a wooden box, it's carved on the top, you can't miss it. Inside is a black velvet box, it says Holden and Sons on the top in gold. Could you bring it and the blue velvet bag next to it, please?" Charlie nodded and tucked the paper in his pocket. Edward gave him his keys and he left. Edward headed back to Bella.

Jasper actually got back before Charlie did. Carlisle asked Dr. Gerandy if his son could attend, as he was licensed as a notary, and as soon as Charlie returned the papers were signed in front of the witness, notarised and stamped, and Jasper was off again to put the papers before a local judge that Jenks had recommended. Charlie handed over the box and bag he had retrieved, and looked astonished when Edward opened the box and pulled the ring out.

"This was my mother's," he told Bella, holding the ring up to the light and running his finger over the surface of the 65 diamonds as he had as a child. His mother had always worn it on her right hand, as it was too big to wear with her wedding ring. Edward had been fascinated as a child at the colours that he could see in the facetted gems. He slipped it onto the left ring finger that Bella held out to him. Tears streamed down her face again, but the look in her eye told him that this time they were definitely happy tears.

"It's beautiful!" Bella gasped, looking at the ring. Edward silently gave a sigh of relief, she had balked at a $100 box of chocolates, he had dreaded her asking how much the ring was worth.

{It's because it's your mother's ring that she hasn't asked,} Alice thought, {you didn't spend anything on it yourself and yet it means more to both of you than if you had gone to Tiffany's and spent millions.}

"I love you," he kissed her gently on the lips.

"I love you too, oh Edward, so much." He lightly placed his forehead to hers, breathing in her breath as she raised her hand and stroked the side of his face.

Carlisle took the bandage off her head, just for the ceremony, and Alice, being very careful, brushed as much of Bella's hair as would not pull, luckily the amount of hair she had lost was minimal and easily covered by the longer hair on the top of her head. Alice had also applied (ignoring Bella's protest) a light makeup. She made Edward change into a suit, she had originally wanted him to wear a tux but he refused and Bella agreed so she gave in.

She also decorated the room with small bunches of white flowers, giving Bella a posy of the same.

Dr. Webber came into the room to have a word with the young couple, he was concerned that they were marrying so quickly, so Edward told him a slightly altered version of history, noting how long the 'families' had known each other and hinting that he had also known Bella a long time. Eventually all was settled and while Renée and her lawyer were out of the hospital, getting something to eat, the wedding took place.

It had been perfect. As much as she had believed she would never marry, the service in the small hospital room was everything she could have wished for. Everyone she loved was there, and no one she didn't want. There was no excessive fuss, nothing too fancy or expensive, no months and months of planning. Just two people who loved each other and their families. She settled back into her pillow and looked at the plain white gold band that circled her left ring finger. The ring Edward had given her earlier now rested on her right hand, as it had on his mother's before her it was large and rather excessive, but she knew what it meant to him for her to wear it, so she did… but the plain, simple band on her left would always mean more to her than the other, especially as Jasper had produced a matching ring during the service that now adorned Edwards left hand.

She settled back into the bed, glad that the new dressing was much smaller than the old one, she was tired but happy… yes happy, that was what she was feeling. At last she could recognise it, the warm glow Edward put into her life wasn't just safety, it was love and happiness. He held her hand so softly, as if she were made of spun sugar, his fingers brushed the side of her face regularly, but best of all he kept thanking her for accepting him, and it was obvious that he was speaking from his heart. She, who never thought she was worth loving had this angel of a man thanking her, and he meant it! Her heart swelled, beating just for him, and so loudly she swore the whole of Forks should be able to hear it. She had had a worry at one point that he would think that she was just marrying him to get away from her mother, but he had laughed and kissed her softly, telling her that he knew she loved him and so it didn't matter WHY she said yes, just that she HAD.

Her head throbbed, but she was reluctant to sleep. She didn't want this day to end. So much had happened… good and bad… but she wanted to savour the feeling she had discovered. Her head nodded as her blinks were harder and harder to recover from.

"Shhh, go to sleep my love." Edward could tell how tired she was, his cool fingers drew soothing circles on her temples.

"Don't leave." She whispered.

"Where would I go?" he asked. She drifted off to sleep.

Charlie hadn't been idle the whole time either. As much as he believed the Cullen's could look after Bella, he wanted to make sure that he had a hand in it too.

The reason he had taken so long getting Edward's mother's ring was because he had stopped at the police station and set in motion an injunction. Meanwhile, using just evidence from Bella's previous schools and the counsellors she had been forced to see occasionally, he had asked for a temporary restraining order to stop Renée from bothering her while she was ill, on the grounds that she would disrupt the hospital and cause distress to others, as well as untold harm to her daughter's health. Luckily (or maybe luck was not involved) Judge Yorkie, who Charlie applied to was an old, close friend of his, one who had disliked Renée right from the start and had frequently advised Charlie to cut her loose. Advice Charlie wished he had taken. The man was almost gleefully vindictive as he made out the order prohibiting Renée from going within 500 yards of Isabella Marie Cullen. His was also the signature on the form Jasper brought back to the hospital waiving the three day waiting period.

All evening and night, Charlie expected Renée to return to the hospital, however it seemed it was more important to her to get a hotel room and a good night's sleep than to see if her daughter was still well. No one was surprised at the total lack of care Renée showed, but some had supposed she would have at least pretended to care in front of the lawyer who would supposedly be fighting for her right to look after Bella.

When Renée arrived (lawyer in tow) the next morning, Mark and Steve were both there to back him up as he presented the TRO papers to his ex-wife before she could even enter the hospital building. Renée looked at the papers in disbelief and tore them in half without giving them a second glance. She made to march past the two deputies and when they blocked her path she grew abusive.

"That is MY daughter in there and no lackey of my husband is going to stop me seeing her. She is the only way I will stay out of jail and I AM going to see her." she tried to push past the pair. Charlie stood to one side, Carlisle had warned him that Alice had seen him getting seriously hurt if he did not, he had to time everything to the last second or one of the vampires could step in and ruin what he had planned. He saw his opportunity as she was winding up to hit Mark, he quickly stepped into her path. Renée, seeing him there in reach, finally lost it and flew at him, claws out.

He grunted in pain as she hit his still delicate broken ribs, she didn't stop hitting him and screaming as he fell to the floor, unable to breathe for the pain. Even more pain was to come though, as she kicked him in the chest. Something snapped and suddenly it wasn't just hard to breathe, it was almost impossible. However he could not help but smile as the two deputies threw her onto the floor, one kneeling on her back as the other read her rights off of a card. There was no way they were risking her getting off on a technicality. His men were loyal to a fault, and they had both seen, over the years, just how much he and Bella had suffered because of her. Charlie knew they would do everything correctly as they threw the book at her.

As she was lifted into the back of the cruiser, one man holding her shoulders, the other her cuffed ankles, the lawyer followed the trussed woman, trying (not very hard it seemed) to give her advice, telling her to calm down or he would not be able to help her.

Carlisle and a couple of nurses rushed out and brought a gurney, they carefully lifted him onto it. Words like "pneumothorax," and "Chest tube" floated around him. He winced, he knew what was coming now. He had watched enough late night drama programmes when on shift with nothing else to do, and no sport to watch, to know what had happened. His lung had collapsed, probably pierced by a rib, leaking air into his chest cavity and stopping his lung inflating. A sharp stabbing pain on the right hand side of his chest was followed by fingers and a plastic tube pushing their way in through the skin to his torso. Suddenly he could breathe again, however the pain was excruciating. A mask covered his face and he felt a sharp prick in his arm and he drifted off, a smile still on his face.

She was safe. It was all that mattered.