Blurred pictures and a lot of muffled noises.

That was all Edward could see and hear.

It was a strange experience, and very confusing. Where was Scheduler? Was this what dying felt like? Shutting his eyes again with a groan, Edward hoped that the next time he opened them, things would make a little more sense.

…

He got his wish.

Though he was disoriented at first, things steadily became clearer as Edward continued to blink. I'm in the hospital, he realized when he saw how white and sterile the room was. It was also a little dim, which gave him the impression that it must be sometime in the middle of the night.

What's going on? he asked himself. Where is everyone?

Something warm squeezing his left hand surprised him so much he almost jumped, but instead, he spoke the first word he thought of.

"Hello?"

The movement on his hand increased, and he heard a gasp.

"Edward," the voice was soft and oddly familiar to him. "Oh gosh, you don't know how happy I am to hear you speak. I have to go call the nurse."

"Who are you?"

"Oh, sorry. You must be confused. Hang on," the warmth disappeared, and then a second later, light filled the room, and he could see everything. "Is this okay?"

Edward blinked rapidly initially, but he did manage to see the person speaking to him. "Mom," he whispered. "Mom?"

"Yes, it's me, it's me," Esme babbled. Tears fell from her eyes as she pushed his hair back from his forehead. "How are you?"

"Confused," Edward admitted. "I don't... What…?"

"You've been in a coma," Esme understood him despite his convoluted phrasing. "You've been asleep for about a month."

"Coma…"

"Yes, from a car accident. You don't remember, do you, sweetheart?"

Edward shook his head as he contemplated her words.

Coma…accident…

And then comprehension hit him full force.

A stream of jumbled memories came crashing in his mind, and for a second, he felt paralyzed by him. A mangled car, Rosalie, tears, Heaven, Scheduler, a bus, Jasper, Bella…it was overwhelming. But they did make sense to him somewhat. He knew he needed more help to understand, though.

"Bella," he turned back to his mother. "Where…and Jasper?"

"They went home for the night," Esme said. "They wanted to stay, but the hospital still has rules about visitors going beyond their allowed hours. I sent your dad home, too, since he had a massive headache."

Glancing at the clock, Edward cursed mentally when he realized that he wouldn't see Bella or Jasper anytime in the near future. He wanted to speak to them, but he knew he had no choice but to endure the doctor's round of checks, and wait until morning.

…

The next day brought with it a whole lot of food baskets, flowers, and visitors. Practically everyone within the Cullens' social circles came bearing gifts that ranged from imported fruits to elaborate arrangements.

Rejoicing was a common theme amongst everyone as well. Carlisle and Esme aside, no one was happier about Edward being awake than Bella, Jasper, and Irina. The three of them sat around the bed chatting amicably.

"Are you doing okay?" Irina asked from her place at the foot. "Esme mentioned something about you going through some physical therapy."

"Yeah," Edward nodded. "And a bunch of others," he sighed. "I want to go back to work." He was bored, and had been taking his frustration out on everyone this morning, too, but he didn't mention that anymore. He even cursed out his mother, for cripes' sake.

"You've been awake all of one day," Jasper smirked. "Don't worry, man. I'm sure you'll get back to the swing of things. You didn't graduate top of the class for nothing."

"He's right," Irina nodded just as her phone vibrated. "Shoot. I gotta go, guys. I'm supposed to meet with a potential roommate today."

The very next day after her discovery of Rosalie's infidelity, Irina wanted to move out of their shared apartment. Rose had apparently beat her to that, though, as she had already left without leaving a note or anything. Now, Irina was hunting for someone new.

"Are you sure you don't wanna move in, Bella?" Irina smiled hopefully at her. Though she harboured a little jealousy over the fact that Edward preferred Bella over her, she did genuinely like the girl, and her nice demeanour was a refreshing change from Rosalie's toxic personality. She had been trying to convince her to be her roommate since last week.

"I'm good," Bella replied. "I think it'd be awesome living with you, Irina, but I just don't feel comfortable staying in the same room as…Rose did."

"Right. Of course. That was stupid of me," Irina hit her forehead with the heel of her hand. "Well, I'll see you guys later, then. Good luck, Edward."

A chorus of goodbyes followed her out the door. As soon as she was well outside the room, Jasper, Bella, and Edward looked at each other.

"I'm really glad I can finally speak to you alone," Edward sighed. "I'm still so confused. What happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Bella asked.

"Lying in your bed," he answered. "Then…I dunno. I blanked out, then I'm at the hospital…and in my own body."

"How's that feeling, by the way?" Jasper inquired.

"Good. People can see and hear me now," Edward joked. "But really. Aside from the doctors and the therapies, I'm okay."

"Do you remember anything about your…journey?"

Edward nodded. "It was blurry at first, but things started making more sense this morning. Now, I remember more stuff."

"That's great," Jasper nodded as he leaned against the back of his chair. "To answer your original question, though, what happened after we left you in Bella's place was pretty insane." He launched into the story of finding Jacob, the confession that shook even Esme's kindness, and finally, seeing him open his eyes for the first time.

"That is insane," Edward agreed. He sighed. "Thank you both so much. I don't know how to repay you."

"Don't worry about it," Bella rested her elbows by his legs. "Just seeing you like this is enough for me."

"I-I think I promised you something," Edward faced Jasper, mischief glinting in his eyes. "Like a car…and new clothes…and a haircut."

"Hey, what's wrong with my hair?" Jasper touched his long, blond locks defensively. They were already touching his shoulders.

"I hated it," Edward grinned at him. "But really. I want to pay you back. Do you want to go back to school? For photography?"

"Edward, that's too much."

"It's not enough," Edward disagreed. "Just think about it. I'll still give you everything else that I've promised."

"I –"

"Don't bother, Jasper," Bella told him softly. "Edward's stubborn; once he sets out to do something, he will."

Jasper's ears turned red, and he exhaled loudly. "Fine. I'll…think about it."

He left not long after that, mumbling something about figuring out what he was supposed to do at Heaven now that he didn't really have a reason to be there anymore. That left Edward and Bella alone in the room for the first time.

"Bella?" Edward spoke after a few seconds of quiet. "I love you. A-And I hope –"

"Oh, Edward," Bella hugged him. "I love you, too. Nothing can change that. If anything, everything that's happened just makes me love you even more."

Edward nuzzled his nose in the hair at her temples, breathing a sigh of relief as he shakily lifted his arms to wrap around her, too.

"Is it too early to ask for that kiss?"

Bella laughed loudly, but pressed her lips to his.

…

"Mr. Cullen, can I get you anything?"

"Just some water will be fine." Carlisle massaged his forehead tiredly. The rapid change of events over such a short period of time was giving him a headache, and despite the overwhelming happiness he felt about his son being alright, anger still seemed to be his primary emotion.

Though with a narrow aisle just separating him from his main stressor, it was understandable.

Jacob had quit the firm before Carlisle could fire him, and he willingly provided the files Edward, Bella and Jasper were so desperately trying to access before. Those documents turned out to be falsified financial statements that were meant to cover up Rosalie's theft.

Jacob even volunteered to help locate Rosalie's whereabouts. Given, it was his lawyer's suggestion to avoid a lawsuit, but he was still eager to redeem himself.

"Jacob," Carlisle called to him gruffly. "You're sure we'll get answers here? You better not be lying to my face."

"I am," Jacob cleared his throat. "None of us know where Rosalie can be, but Lillian most probably does."

"And you think she'll just tell us her daughter's whereabouts?"

"Well, no," Jacob admitted. "But she's our best bet."

The plane touched down, and with their lawyers and some members of security, Carlisle and Jacob travelled to St. Catherine's Asylum.

Though their entourage wanted to come with them when they headed to speak to the woman, both insisted on going by themselves to avoid scaring her. They weren't sure about how her mental condition was, and they didn't want to take any chances.

"Mrs. Hale," Jacob kneeled in front of her wheelchair. "I'm not sure if you remember me, but…anyway, I'm Jacob Black. Rosalie and I used to go to high school together."

Lillian nodded, and smiled a small smile.

"We were wondering if you knew where Rosalie is. We really need to speak to her, and it's imperative we find her right away."

"We?"

"Carlisle Cullen's here with me," Jacob stood up to gesture to Carlisle. The panicked expression that suddenly filled Lillian's face made him backtrack a bit.

"No, no, he's not here to hurt you or anything, Mrs. Hale," Jacob assured her. "We just want to talk to you."

"Good afternoon, Lillian," Carlisle greeted with no malice or hatred in his voice. "It's been such a long time since I've seen you. Are you doing alright?"

"I…" Lillian stuttered before promptly bursting into tears. Garbled apologies poured from her mouth as nearby attendants quickly came over to see what was wrong. She waved them away.

"I knew J- Joseph did it. And if I s-said something –"

"No one's blaming you," Carlisle crouched so she could see how sincere he was. "What happened to your family was very unfortunate, and I'm sorry for not helping you better. I'm hoping you can help me now, though."

Lillian nodded as she wiped her eyes with her handkerchief. "I'll tell you anything you want to know."

…

"Edward. Hey. Ed, wake up!"

"Go away."

"Aw, come on. You get all your tears, but that's how you're gonna treat me?"

Edward was immediately alert. "Sched?"

"Hey," Scheduler lounged casually across him. "You're looking good."

"Thanks," Edward adjusted himself on his bed. "What is this place? Am I dreaming?" He figured it was since he could move his muscles without the slight instability he had been experiencing since waking. His hospital room now looked different, too.

"Something like that," Scheduler cocked her head slightly. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Okay. What's up?"

"Do you wanna know who gave you your three tears, Ed?"

"What?" Edward's eyebrows raised slightly. "But I thought I wasn't allowed to know."

"Just answer the question. Do you?"

"Yeah. Yeah, sure. Who are they?"

"Well, the first one's obvious," Scheduler picked at invisible sheet lint. "It was Bella."

Edward cracked a smile. "Yeah, I already knew that. Who was the second one?"

"Irina."

"Really? I…was not expecting that."

"If you were surprised by that, then your head will probably explode with the third. It was Jacob."

"You have to be joking," Edward deadpanned. "Of all the people…why him? I mean, I'm thankful, but…"

Scheduler shrugged. "Everyone does have a conscience. Guess his finally kicked in. And not too late, either. You only had two days left when he finally cried that tear."

"Wow," Edward murmured mostly to himself. "That's certainly an eye opener. Why'd you tell me all that? Won't you get in trouble?"

"Probably, but…" Scheduler paused, and Edward felt the tension rise in her silence. "I…I wanted to give you something – y'know, like info I know you've always wanted to know."

"Well, thank you, I guess. But what's the occasion?"

Scheduler sighed, and when she looked at him again, her eyes were incredibly sad. "You're going to die, Ed. A few days from now, I'll be returning to pick you up, because it's your real time to leave this earth."

Her eyes watered as she continued to look into his shocked gaze. "I'm sorry."

Remember that warning I gave a few chapters ago? Yeahh.