I do not own Twilight or any of its' characters

EPOV

Chapter 43

Reconciliation

We sat in the emergency room, my leg up on a chair, my face swollen, and tiny Bella, next to me with her arms angrily folded across her chest. I must have looked like a victim of domestic abuse.

"If we don't get to see a nurse soon I'm going to kill someone." She muttered.

"Easy there slugger, you've done enough damage for one night." I snapped giving her a sideward glance.

She glanced back over at me, unamused, I must have looked ridiculous; my gym shorts on, my hair damp with sweat, one shoe off, a red hand print on my face. Indeed, I was quite the catch.

"How could you say those things to me Edward?" She asked suddenly, turning to face me.

I sat in my chair, slumped down and wondered how I could have said those things to her. Those terrible, heartless, unfiltered words of frustration that I said to the only person in the world that meant everything to me. Isabella Swan, the only person whose favor I craved the most.

"I said them out of anger and frustration." I answered her.

"I get upset about things too, but at least I can control my mouth." She said hurtfully. I had really screwed up royally this time. I turned my body slightly so that I could look at her.

"My choice of words were not, as tactful as they could have been and for that I apologize. But I don't think you fully understand how this is affecting me." I said, the more civilized, gentler Edward that Bella deserved shining through slightly.

"Then just tell me."

"What's the point?" I asked turning away from her again. "You've made your decision. I'm not going to try to stop you."

"Because," she said with tenderness, laying a hand on my thigh, "I want to know." Her eyes looked glassy and sore from crying. I tried to hold on to the animosity that I had felt toward her, and I could not. Knowing that the pain that still stood in her beautiful eyes was because of me I turned back to her and all of the turbulence I was feeling melted away. I couldn't stay angry with her, I loved her too much.

"Bella, don't you think that the fact that we have actually gotten to this point, where we can even have a discussion or an argument like this is something of a miracle?" I asked, now looking a little more lovingly at her. She said nothing. "What are the odds that you and I could even fathom having a physical relationship, what are the odds that you and I could have a child together?"

She looked down at her lap and bit her lip. I took her hand in mine, "I'm sorry that I reacted so…flippantly, but, I just feel as if, Bella, what if this is our only chance?" I was disturbed by the lack of confidence that now hung in my voice.

"It won't be," she answered quickly, rubbing her thumb nervously against the scar on my hand.

"How can you be sure of that?" I whispered, dropping my eyes to the floor.

"It's not possible." She said in an almost cheerful tone.

"Why is that?" I asked tiredly.

"Because you're right, the fact that we are having this discussion is a miracle. The odds of us even finding each other, it's just, I think it's just some kind of weird twist of fate. Therefore, I believe the day will come for us when everything is perfectly in place, and then it will be time."

"You sound very sure of yourself."

"I am. Trust me, this isn't our only chance."

How I wanted to believe her. I wanted to look into her eyes and see my future with her as bright and as hopeful as she seemed to believe it was going to be.

She stared intently at me and lifted my hand to her face, pressing her warm cheek against it. "You will make me a mother someday," she whispered in a very surreal tone. It was eerie the way she said it, it almost sounded like a premonition, I felt a chill go up my back.

"What if I already have?' I whispered, leaning my forehead against hers.

"Do you want me to find out while we're here?" She asked gently.

I nodded slowly, swallowing down the lump that was steadily crawling up my throat.

"Okay," she said, kissing my forehead softly. She stood and went up to the desk and spoke with the receptionist. I still couldn't bear the thought of her being pregnant and not following through with her term. But, she was right, I didn't own her, she didn't belong to me, and she seemed very certain that we would have another chance at parenthood. What more could I do than believe her? I didn't want to fight with her any more.

Shortly after she went to the desk, we were both called in; a nurse came and helped me down the hallway to x-ray, and a second nurse led Bella away from me toward the lab.

They took x-ray upon x-ray of my ankle from every angle possible and found that all I had was a severe sprain. I could have told them that, but I needed pain medication, and there was no way I was getting my hands on that without a prescription, at least not this far away from Carlisle. How ironic for me to require pain medication at this point in my life. They placed me in outpatient in a hospital bed while they filled my vicodan prescription and I waited patiently for Bella. I secretly was wishing that if she was indeed pregnant that having the piece of paper in front of her stating so would make her change her mind. I tapped my fingers nervously against my stomach while I waited. The nurse with my meds was back before Bella was. I quickly popped the two pills in my mouth and swallowed down a mouthful of water, maybe they would help me relax a little.

I waited in that stagnant little room for twenty minutes, the pills were starting to kick in, I felt pleasantly sleepy and heavy. Bella startled me when she approached me, placing a hand on my forearm, interrupting my drug induced stupor.

"Hey," she said, "I got the test done."

It took me a second to focus on her; the nurse must have given me a loading dose of the medication, because I didn't think vicodan was supposed to hit me this hard. "And?" I asked.

She shook her head, "that fight was over nothing, because the test was negative." Was that disappointment I saw on her face or was it the drugs?

"Are you just saying that to spare my feelings?" I asked. She shook her head again and handed me the test results.

"See for yourself." She said quietly.

I took the paper from her and examined it, squinting my eyes slightly to focus. Clear as day, the test was negative. That whole fight really was for nothing.

"I wouldn't say it was for nothing," I started, "I got some pretty sweet drugs out of the deal." I joked, trying to keep things light.

It worked, a tiny grin spread across Bella's face and I knew the fight was over. She laughed softly and climbed into the hospital bed next to me, putting her head against my chest. I put my arm around her and kissed the top of her head, glad to have her scent near me again.

"I'm sorry I slapped you and broke your ankle." She muttered sheepishly into my ear.

"Luckily, it's not broken, so you're forgiven. Besides, I got what I deserved." I whispered, kissing her head again.

"I know you did." She replied.

I chuckled softly, shaking the bed slightly. "Isabella Swan, such a force to be reckoned with." I murmured into her hair. "I don't think I could live without you."

Bella and I drove back to the gym to pick up my car. I really shouldn't have been driving, but it was only a short distance to get back home, and I was not about to leave my car in a parking lot overnight. We went right home and to bed, not that it would take much for me to fall asleep.

I don't know how long I had been sleeping, when I awoke with a start, a painful start, Bella kicked me in the ankle in her sleep. A shooting pain went up my leg as my eyes snapped open. This girl would be the death of me tonight. I sat up and turned and looked in her direction. She was dreaming, her hair was matted and tangled against her face, the sheet practically knotted around her thigh. She whimpered helplessly in her sleep and gripped her pillow tightly, muttering my name over and over again followed by words of protest.

I hesitated for a moment, not knowing if it would be a good idea to wake her. Maybe she could ride it out, I thought to myself. But, to my dismay, her subconscious panic was getting worse. She muttered more loudly and thrashed around violently.

"Bella," I said softly, placing a hand on her now trembling shoulder. "Bella," I said more loudly. She began to cry and I couldn't bear to watch her anymore.

I moved closer to her, I could feel the heat she was throwing coming off of the mattress, it had to be at least a ten degree temperature difference from my side of the bed to hers. I threw my arms around the front of her chest and pulled her tight against me.

"Bella, wake up." I said in a firm but soothing voice against her face.

I felt her clammy hand close over my arm, "Edward?" she whispered.

"I'm here love." I answered, still holding fast to her.

She stopped thrashing and I felt her body go limp against mine and then she started to cry. Her hair was plastered against her face and I carefully started to smooth it back out of her eyes and let her fall to pieces.

"What happened?" I murmured once she had begun to calm down.

"I couldn't get to you. I could see you, but I couldn't get to you. No matter what I did, and then, you died."

"It was just a dream." I said trying to no make a big deal about it. "People dream about things that they fear, it means nothing." I whispered, kissing her damp hair.

"What do you dream about?" She asked, sniffling a little and holding my arms tightly.

"Similar things I think," I replied.

"Why don't you ever tell me about them?"

"You don't need to see what I've seen. It would upset you." I said softly to calm her.

"Does it upset you?"

"Very much, but luckily those dreams don't come often."

"How come I never hear you?" She asked, confused.

"I'm a very sound sleeper." I replied lightly, kissing her hair again.

"Can you turn on the lamp?" She requested.

"Are you still frightened?"

"No, I just want to see you."

I let go of her for a moment, reluctantly, and reached over to the bedside stand and clicked on the light. She turned around on her side to face me. The way she looked at me at that moment, it seemed like she was looking at me for the first time. She placed the back of her hand against my cheek and traced a line down to my jaw with her knuckles. She smiled sadly at me and turned her head away, as if she were about to start crying again. I gathered her up again and pulled her against my chest, resting my chin on top of her head.

"If I could make these dreams stop, I would." I assured her, trying to protect the only part of her I couldn't; her mind.

"For some reason, I don't think that dream will be coming back." She whispered.

"That's a good thing then." I said still holding her.

"I hope it is." She murmured against me. It was difficult to perceive her tone, but for some reason, she didn't sound convinced.