Chapter 16: Dead or Alive?

AN: Wow, wow, wow. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'm not going to explain anything. I'll just give you the next chapter now.

EPOV

Oh no.

Oh no!

This couldn't be happening!

My life was ending. There was no other explanation for what was happening now. Bella, the love of my life, was hanging onto life by a thread.

After we had left the courthouse, we decided to take the girls out for ice cream. If I hadn't been too preoccupied with getting to the other side of the road, I would have noticed Bella had fallen behind because her bag ripped.

If I had been paying attention, I would have seen the red pickup truck sitting in the corner of the street, waiting for us. I also would have seen the guy in the eye patch sitting at the table in the outdoor café with the small laser in his hand he used to split the bottom of Bella's bag.

Instead, I was preoccupied with getting the three girls into the Coldstone Creamery across the street. I thought Bella was right behind me, so when I heard the squealing of wheels and someone cry out in pain, I didn't turn around immediately. I made sure Emily, Olivia, and Charlotte were all still with me before turning to look what had just happened. That was when my life ended.

In front of me, sprawled on the ground, was Bella, my wife of three years. Her bag, ripped at the bottom, was two feet away from her while all of its contents were scattered over the road. I saw a cut on her temple that was bleeding. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving.

There was no car in sight, so who ever had hit her had fled the scene like a coward. It was a good thing they had because I would have killed them if they were still there.

I stood where I was while other people rushed over to her to see if she was still breathing. I saw Alice and Jasper rush to her side, but I couldn't move. I was in a state of shock and I didn't know what would bring me out of it.

"Aunt Bella!"

I looked next to me and saw horror etched on Charlotte's small face. I knew she was seeing her parents dead all over again. My poor niece had just buried her parents and was finally returning to a normal family life when this happened. It was like Emmett and Rosalie all over again.

No, I didn't know that. I didn't know if Bella was dead or not. She could still be alive for all I knew. I wasn't examining her, so I couldn't give my medical opinion.

"Edward, get over here!" Alice called to me. I ran over to her with Olivia, Emily, and Charlotte all behind me. I knelt beside my wife and placed two fingers on the side of her neck, searching for a pulse. I didn't feel one.

"C'mon Bella," I whispered. "Don't do this to me. I need you, okay? Don't you dare leave me like this!" I grabbed her wrist and felt for her pulse. I was about to give up when I felt something weak touch my finger. "Oh my god!" I gasped.

"What is it?" Alice asked, looking at me, fearing the worst.

"She has a pulse!"

********

BPOV

"So you're telling me I'm not dead?" I asked again.

"No, you're not dead," Jacob sighed, sitting next to me on some sort of bench. "You're almost dead, but you're still alive."

"I'm confused," I said. "If I'm not dead, why am I seeing all three of you? You are dead, right?"

"Yes, we're all dead," Emmett said.

"You're seeing us because we're the people you would want to see," Rosalie explained.

"No offense to any of you," I said, "But if there was one person I would choose to see it would be—"

"Bella!" someone called. I looked for the origin of the voice and spotted a woman with curly, light brown hair. She had a warm smile and looked at me like we hadn't seen each other for ages. She wore a black dress with matching pumps and was about my age. Even though it had been years, I would recognize her anywhere.

"Mom!" I rushed forward to pull her into a hug, but she went through my fingers. It was like she was a ghost. I looked at her confusedly. "What's going on?" I asked all of them. "Why can't I tough you?"

"Well, we're not really here sweetie," my mom said.

"So, is this a dream?" I asked. "Is this not really happening?"

"Oh, it's happening all right," Emmett said. "You're here until they decide if you stay with us or go back to the land of the living."

"Huh?"

"Basically, you're stuck here until you either die or wake up. You're in a coma. You're brain suffered so much damage from the accident that until the swelling goes down, you're here with us," Jacob explained.

"So you mean I might die?" I gasped. They all nodded. "But why? What did I do?"

"You pissed off my mother. If you can even call her that," Rosalie said darkly, her eyes narrowing into slits. "You too possession of Gisele and Charlotte while she wanted them so she could corrupt their innocent minds and steal their inheritance for her own petty reasons. When the judge gave them to you, all her plans went out the window and you became public enemy number one."

"But why me?"

"You were alone. Edward was walking with the kids and they had the perfect opportunity to take you out. You know, splitting your bag with a laser while you were in the middle of the street and having my father parked around the corner, waiting for the signal to run you over."

I gasped. "They were waiting for me?"

"Well, not so much you. More like they were waiting for someone from your family to stop long enough for the car to hit them," Emmett explained.

"Wait, how do you know all this?" I asked, looking at the four of them.

"Honey, we're dead. We watch you and know everything," my mom said kindly.

"Like the fact that you've been talking to my dad ever since I died," Jacob said, staring at me.

"Does that bother you?" I asked him.

He smiled. "Bella, we were going to be married. He was going to be your father-in-law. Why would that bother me?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. I thought it might bother you that Edward and he became friends."

Jacob laughed. "Bella, anything that makes him happy makes me happy. I wish I hadn't died and left you alone. I wish I had lived so I could have been the one to marry you and have babies with you and grow old with you. But since I wasn't, I'm glad you found someone who is right for you and was able to give you everything you wanted out of life. I'm glad my father was able to grow close to you. He might have lost me as a son, but he gained you as a daughter."

"But I'm not his daughter," I reminded him.

"Maybe not legally, but that's what he sees you as. When Charlie stopped talking to you, who did you turn to? When you had no one to walk you down the aisle, who was the first person you thought of to ask? When your daughters wanted to see their grandpa, who did you take them to instead?"

I thought about what Jacob had just said, and realized that when Charlie had left me without a father, I turned to Billy instead. He filled the void Charlie had left in my heart. Jacob was right—I had become Billy's daughter. He filled the absence of Charlie while I filled the absence of Jacob.

"What's going on with me now?" I asked. "Am I dead yet?"

"No, you're on your way to the hospital where Edward is desperately hoping they will be able to save you," Rosalie said bluntly. She never was one to sugarcoat things.

"Can't I see what's going on?" I asked.

Emmett shook his head. "You're still a part of your body. You're not a ghost or something like that. You're just…here."

********

EPOV

"Female, Caucasian, 29. Automobile accident," the EMT told the doctor as we walked into the hospital. They were wheeling Bella on a gurney and had an IV hooked up to her. This was not looking good.

"What kind of injuries are we dealing with?" the doctor asked. I knew who he was—Doctor Stewart, a smart-ass punk who, in my opinion, had been promoted to an attending way to early. He acted like he was better than everyone, and I hated him.

"Head trauma and internal injuries," the EMT responded. They wheeled Bella into an emergency room. I went to follow when Kelly, the ER nurse on duty, stopped me.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Cullen, but you know you can't go in there."

"Kelly, I'm a doctor!"

"Yes, sir, I know. But you know the hospital policy. I'm sorry, but you have to wait out here. We'll let you know her status as soon as we can." Kelly gave me an apologetic look before disappearing behind the doors into the emergency room where they were working on Bella. I glared at the door before taking a seat in the waiting area.

Emily and Olivia were sitting next to each other while Charlotte sat in front of them, reading them a picture book. They both looked up at her, mesmerized by the story.

"Hey," Alice said, kissing me on the cheek before taking a seat next to me. "What's happening?"

"They took Bella into one of the emergency rooms, but they wouldn't let me in."

"What? Why?" Leah asked.

"Hospital policy. Only the doctors, nurses, and EMTs can be in the ER."

"But you're a doctor!" Cynthia protested. "You work at this hospital!"

I sighed. "I know. It doesn't matter—I'm off-duty, so I'm the same as you." I put my head in my hands and tried to breathe. Evan, Bryant, and Ryan had all joined the three girls on the floor. David was in Alice's lap sleeping.

We all sat there for the next few hours, waiting for news. We hadn't seen one doctor, nurse, or EMT. We hadn't seen anything.

"No news is good news, right?" Jasper said, trying to cheer me up.

"Maybe. Maybe not. She could be fading right now, and they're trying to save her before she flat lines. She could be coming out of surgery and they're waiting for her to wake up before telling us. I have no idea what's going on because no one will fucking tell me anything!"

All the kids turned to stare at me.

"Go back you your book," I told them quietly.

"Dr. Cullen?" someone asked. I turned and saw Nurse Kelly standing there.

"Where's the doctor?" I asked her, getting up. This wasn't good—Doctor Stewart was known for sending his nurses to tell families bad news. Maybe that was one of the reasons I hated him so much.

Kelly gave me a look. "I have news about your wife," she said quietly. I looked at her. "She's very lucky. There wasn't much internal damage, which is unusual in a case like this. We were able to operate and stop any of the bleeding."

"That's great," I said, knowing she was about to tell me something that would shatter my world.

"There's some bad news too," she said.

I sighed and looked at her. "What is it?"

"There was a significant amount of swelling and bleeding in the brain. Bella has slipped into a coma. There's nothing we can do except wait for the swelling to go down. Assuming that happens, she should wake up. You can go and see her now." She gave me a pitying look before walking back to her desk.

I walked over to everyone. My face must have mirrored what I was feeling because Newton stood up instantly. "What happened?"

"She's in a coma," I whispered. "There was swelling to the brain, but they can't do anything about it except wait for the swelling to go down."

"What if that doesn't happen?" Seth asked.

I shook my head. "It'll be very bad if that doesn't happen. We can go and see her now." I went over to get Olivia, Emily, and Charlotte. The four of us walked to Bella's room with everyone else following us. I walked into the room and saw my beautiful wife lying in the hospital bed, giving no notice that I had just entered the room.

I sat down next to her bed, took her hand in mine, and began to pray.

********

BPOV

"Can't I do anything to help myself?" I asked in frustration. "I mean, can't I do something to make myself wake up?"

Jacob shook his head. "There's nothing anyone can do. The doctors put you in your room to let you lay there. They're hoping for the best, but fearing the worst."

"Great," I said, sinking into a chair that had just appeared in the room. "If I die, I'll never get to say goodbye to Edward. Or Charlotte, Gisele, Olivia, or Emily. This is just what I need."

"Bella, you need to think positive," Rosalie said to me. "If you think you're going to die, you'll die. Plain and simple."

"But I am going to die," I whispered. "It doesn't matter, either. Edward will move on and forget all about me."

Rosalie got up and walked over to me. She reared her hand back and struck me across the face.

"Ow!" I said, touching the spot on my cheek where she had struck me. "What was that for? And I thought you couldn't touch me."

"We can't unless we have enough emotion in us. You made me so mad I had to slap some sense into you."

"What do you care if I die?" I asked them. "I'll be with all of you. Don't you want that?"

"Bella, why would we want you to join us? That would mean you were dead, and I would never wish that on anybody, not even my worst enemy," Jacob said, walking over and sitting next to me on the chair that had just become a couch. "When I was alive, you were my life. You were the most important thing to me. After I died, I kept watching over you. I never want you to join me. I love you enough to let you go."

I looked at him.

"Bella, if you die now, it will destroy Edward," Emmett told me. "My brother is hanging onto sanity by a thread. If you die, I don't know what will happen to him. You're his soul mate. He honestly can't live without you."

"Think about what your death would do to your daughters," my mother said. "Remember how you felt after I was killed? Do you want that to happen to Olivia and Emily too? I died when you were so young, and I don't think you ever truly got over it. I mean, I was never there to give you guidance. Plus, it destroyed your father. He was never there for you, which resulted in a teenage pregnancy, no college, and you working as a waitress at a strip club."

"Bella, Charlotte and Gisele have already lost both their parents. Don't make them lose their only aunt too. Gisele is finally recovering. Charlotte is able to have a conversation without screaming for me or Emmett. If you die, she's going to regress back into her screaming, crying stage and I don't think she would ever recover from it. Gisele will go back into shock, and probably never come out of it. Bella, you have to fight to live."

"But none of you did!" I cried. "You all left me when I needed you. Why should I fight to live when I can stay with you forever? I'll see Edward, Alice, and everyone else eventually. I want to stay here."

"Bella, we didn't have a choice. It was our time to go, so we went," my mother said softly. "When it's God's plan, you don't have an option. You, however, aren't meant to go yet. You need to fight to live! You need to live for everyone else. Your death will destroy them. Bella, fight for your life!"

I looked at Emmett, Rosalie, Jacob, and my mother. They were all glaring at me, daring me to disagree with them. I didn't because I knew they were right. If I died, Edward would never be the same. He would be a half person, like Charlie was when Renee died. He'd either keep living that way or kill himself to end the pain. Then what would happen to the kids? Maybe they'd go to Esme and Carlisle. Maybe they'd go to Charlie. Maybe they'd go to Rosalie's parents. Whatever happened to them, it would be my fault.

"You're right," I whispered. "I don't belong here with you. Not yet, at least. Someday I'll be back, but not now. I have my family to look after, and I can't desert them. I love you all, but I have to go." I felt tears failing down my cheeks, so I wiped them away. I wasn't prepared for what happened next.

When I pulled my hand away, it started burning. It glowed bright before fading.

"What's happening?" I asked, panicking. I wanted to live, but I was slowly disappearing. My entire body was fading. I looked over to where Jacob and the others had been, but they were gone. "Jacob!" I shouted. "Rosalie! Emmett! Mom! Where are you?"

"We're here," came Rosalie's voice. "We're here with you, whatever happens. Never forget that."

"We all love you, Bella," Jacob added. "Remember that."

Everything faded into darkness again before I opened my eyes.

"Bella?"

********

EPOV

I laid my head on Bella's bed, trying to make her wake up. She just had to. I don't know what I would do without her. She was everything to me, and I don't think I would be able to live without her.

I looked at her beautiful face, but her eyes were still closed. Her room was now empty—Seth and Cynthia had taken Olivia, Emily, and Charlotte back to their place for the night so I could be alone with Bella.

I got up and went into the hall to breath for a minute. I had to prepare myself for what might be coming. I was upset when Emmett died, but if Bella died—no, I wouldn't think about it yet.

I walked into the cafeteria and grabbed a cup of coffee. I grabbed a doughnut too before walking back up the stairs into Bella's room. When I walked in, I noticed something different.

Bella's eyes were open.

"Bella?" I asked. Her eyes darted to my face.

"Edward?" she croaked.

"Oh my god, Bella!" I said, rushing to her side. I couldn't believe it—she was actually awake. I set my coffee on the table before wrapping my arms around her.

"Edward," she gasped.

"Bella, I'm here. I'm never letting go of you again."

"Could you maybe let go right now? You're kind of crushing my spine."

"Oh, sorry." I dropped my arms, but took her hand before sitting down. "So are you okay?"

"Edward, I'm great. I've never been better in my life."

"Baby, you just came out of a coma. You were hit by a car."

"I know. But Edward, I left the hospital when I was in the coma. I mean, I didn't, but I did."

I looked at her. "Honey, what are you talking about?"

"I saw Emmett and Rosalie and Jacob and my mother. They talked to me while I was unconscious. Edward, they brought me back to life!"

I looked at her skeptically.

"You don't believe me," she said.

"Of course I do," I told her.

"No you don't, but it doesn't matter. I'm just happy to be alive."

"You'll be happy about one more thing," I told her.

"What?"

"That Hale's are in jail. The police found out they were the ones who ran you over, so their in jail for attempted murder, reckless driving, and a bunch of other stuff."

"Oh, Edward, that's wonderful!"

"I know. Now let's go home baby."

Only a few more chapters left! It makes me want to cry!