A/N: I do not own Twilight.

Sorry I took so long to update but I was waiting for my 25 reviews and I got them in the end. All of a sudden i got 5 yesterday... they mysteriously appeared ;) Thank you everyone and also to the anonymous reviewers who I can't reply to and thank!

So I have also had chance to write the next chapter so I'm going for 25 reviews again and I swear that the moment I get them I will update. So if you guys all review straight away then it could be up in 5 minutes time :) We'll have to wait and see but I think you're going to want to read the next chapter…

Anyway this is my longest chapter so far so enjoy.

Chapter 16

Edward

We flooded into the burning house and didn't expect what we were met with. Not at all. Flames were engulfing almost everything in the house and I knew if we were going to save them then we had to be quick. Very quick. I heard a woman screaming upstairs so I raced up following the screams. The other fire fighter scanned the downstairs. Just after I reached the first floor I knew my mistake. I'd run out of time already. The fixtures, furnishings and everything were being eaten away by the flames. This house was going to collapse any second and I couldn't see myself having the time to save them… let alone get out. We were trained for this sort of thing. To know when you had time to get in and out safely.

And to know when you didn't.

"Men get out NOW!" a voice commanded through my earpiece, "the building is going to explode any minute. You're running out of time."

I could barely make out his voice over the deafening noise surrounding me. There was a persistent crackling sound interrupted every now and then by smashes and booms. My suit was beginning to steam up on the outside from the intense heat so I wiped the lens frantically and looked around in search of a way out. I knew it was too late for the woman and her husband. But did I stand a chance?

I could make out the stairs below me through the smoke and ran back towards them. I stepped onto the first step and as I did so the entire staircase collapsed under my feet leaving a gaping hole in front of me. I gripped tightly onto the handrail which was already black, burned and disintegrating under my touch. I leapt back and could hear the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. Was I going to die here?

Suddenly a wooden pillar slammed to the ground in front of me. CRASH. I jumped back immediately and saw that my only exit was well and truly blocked.

I was trapped.

I peered around in search of another way out.

There wasn't one.

These were the times where my job terrified me. When I didn't know if I would live or die. These were the moments I hated.

I was scared.

Scared for my life. And scared that I would never see my beloved Bella again. I was the happiest I'd ever been with her and I feared that my happiness would be destroyed by this raging fire.

I raced around the upstairs and peered into every room that was open. The bedroom door was being eaten away by a relentless wall of fire. I guessed that's where the couple were. They didn't stand a chance. As I looked into another bedroom I noticed double doors leading out to a balcony at the front of the house. This was my only chance. The door was blocked by a fallen wardrobe. I ran over to it and used all my strength to heave it out of the way and get to the door. Miraculously I succeeded and I yanked open the door and stepped out onto the balcony into the fresh air. I looked down to the ground to see fire engines, people crowded round and my fellow firemen, amongst them were Emmett.

All of a sudden I felt my phone vibrating. I fished it out of my pocket and read Bella's number on the screen. Should I answer it? Or should I climb down quickly and ensure my safety. I knew I had to say goodbye to Bella in case there was no way down. If I wasn't going to make it then I had to say goodbye and let her know that I loved her.

"Bella?" I shouted.

I heard her speaking but could not make out her words.

"I'm at work Bella. I'm trapped." I shouted.

"Edward? Edward?" I heard her reply.

There were more booms behind me and Emmett suddenly shouted up from the street. "Edward get down. NOW."

"Bella," I said quickly while preparing to climb down "Never forget. I love y-."

Suddenly two things happened at once.

The balcony collapsed.

The building exploded.

I was thrown away from it with extreme force as the hard road below grew closer and closer and closer and-.

I was sweating uncontrollably and opened my eyes to see that I was in a white room. It was all blurry so I blinked trying to focus but still I saw nothing. Only white. Was I dead? Had I died and was now in heaven? Or Hell?

I could hear voices murmuring in the background and my thoughts became erratic.

Who was it?

The person who was going to decide my fait and would say if I ended up in Heaven or Hell?

Oh God, please say Heaven.

Oh shit I just used the Lord's name in vain. Sorry Lord.

Oh Fuck I just swore.

No I did it again.

Sorry Lord… again.

Yep, definitely off to Hell.

"Do you think he can hear us?" a voice asked, "Edward honey can you hear me?" I recognised the voice as my mothers and the room slowly came into focus. I was looking up at a plain white ceiling and in front of me was a large window covered by dull grey blinds. I vaguely registered a beeping noise in the background; one which I noticed was going at the same rate as my heart. I had a searing pain just below my chest and felt like I was bruised everywhere.

"His eyes are open," another voice said, "Edward it's me Bella. Can you hear me?"

Bella? My Bella? Suddenly I realised where I was. I was in hospital and Bella and my mother were here to see me. I was okay!

"Bella," my voice strained.

"Yes Edward it's me," she replied and I felt her take my hand in hers. I slowly turned my head towards the sound of the voices and saw that Bella's beautiful face was right in front of mine. Her big brown eyes were full of worry but the feeling of relief was clear on her face. Was she relieved that I'd woken up? Was I that close to dying?

I noticed three people standing behind her, all of who wore similar expressions on their faces. My father had his doctor's uniform on and was staring at me intently and my mother and Rosalie stood on either side of him.

I forced a smile, "hey everyone," I rasped which was followed by a chorus of "Edward!" by everyone else in the room.

My mother stepped forward, "Oh Edward I'm so glad you're alright. We were all so worried."

"Yeah we were," Bella continued and Rosalie turned to glare at her.

What was Rosalie's problem now?

"Oh Edward," Bella leaned into me, "I thought you wouldn't make it," her eyes were glistening with tears, "I love you so much," she whispered so only I could hear.

"Me too Bella," I smiled. I was alive. All those worries about me never seeing Bella again seemed so stupid now because I'd made it! Now I intended to spend every last second with her. The phrase 'you don't know how much something means to you until it's gone' had never been truer.

My Dad stepped forward, "Edward, son, how are you feeling?" he asked in his doctor manner but I could still sense the concern in his voice.

"Okay," I replied, "my chest hurts like hell and I feel like I'm bruised all over but other than that I feel fine."

"Any memory loss?" He asked.

"I don't think so."

"How many fingers am I holding up?" he raised four fingers.

"Four."

"What is five multiplied by seven?"

"Dad," I groaned.

"Just answer the question Edward!" he ordered.

"Thirty five."

"Good. You don't seem to have any brain damage but you do have a couple of broken ribs and a punctured lung. Luckily you seem to be breathing fine and you should make a full recovery."

I heard a small yelp from behind my dad and turned to see Rosalie and my mom grinning like idiots. Bella also seemed relieved but her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Now let's leave Edward to get some sleep," Carlisle announced as the three girls nodded their heads.

Bella came over to me quickly and said, "I'm going home for a bit but I'll be back this afternoon to see you, okay?"

"Yes. A quick kiss first?" I asked.

Bella smiled and leant down to give me a gentle peck on the lips. She walked towards the door and as she did so Rosalie shot her a look. Once she was gone I called Rose over.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"What?" she replied feigning ignorance.

"You know what. Giving Bella that look."

"Oh Edward that was nothing," she lied. She was my sister and if she wasn't telling the truth I could always tell. "Now get some sleep and I'll be back later. And Emmett is coming down too; he is really worried about you."

"Okay," I replied, "but you will tell me in the end."

"Yes yes," she dismissed me, "now get some sleep… and Edward," I looked up, "I really am glad you're okay."

"Thanks Rose." With that she left the room leaving me to slowly drift off to sleep.

Bella

I woke with a start at the sound of the alarm clock and turned it off quickly so not to wake Mike. I gently lifted his arm, which was draped across me, and rolled out of bed. I felt groggy from sniffing all night and my eyes felt sore from crying. I glanced back at Mike's sleeping form where he lay peacefully now sprawled out over the double bed. I felt so much gratitude towards him for how he looked after me last night and hated to think that I'd be throwing that back in his face someday soon. I tried desperately to squash those nagging thoughts and decided that I'd worry about what I was going to do when I'd actually made my mind up. No doubt Alice would help me with that this morning.

I got myself dressed deciding not to bother with breakfast and took a taxi to the hospital. Once I arrived I spotted Carlisle standing outside of Edward's room looking down at a clipboard. I couldn't make out whether his expression was one of happiness or sadness. "Carlisle," I said.

"Bella," he looked up from his clipboard, "how are you?"

"I'm okay. How is Edward? Any change?"

"I think so," he lips curved up into a smile, "he is breathing a lot better now and if he wakes up some time soon it looks like he will make a full recovery."

My heart did little flips. "Oh my God that's great. I'm so happy."

"Me too. Rosalie and Esme are in his room if you'd like to join them."

"Okay. Thank you," I replied as he walked off down the corridor. I'd never felt so relieved. Relief is an emotion I'd been pretty familiar with recently. I'd been relieved that Edward didn't find out I was married. I'd been relieved that Mike didn't find out I was having an affair. But nothing. Nothing. Was better than this relief. He was going to be okay.

I was ecstatic.

It felt like my slowing breaking heart was being put back together again by finding out he was going to be okay. And even if he did find out about Mike at least he would still be okay.

I went into his room and waited for a couple of hours before he woke up. We all talked to him briefly once he did and I left to make my way to Alice's so we could talk and decide what to do. I took a taxi and made my way up to her apartment. I knocked a couple of times and the door swung open to reveal a moody looking Jessica in the doorway.

I was not in the mood for this.

"Hey Jessica," I said trying to be nice, "is Alice in? I need to talk to her."

"Oh yeah. She said that you were coming round. She cancelled our shopping trip because of it."

"Oh sorry," I said even though I wasn't and walked past her into Alice's apartment.

"Alice!" I called.

"So," Jessica interrupted, "what was sooo important that she had to see you instead of me?"

I turned around to see her glaring at me with her hands on her hips. "Sorry it's private," I replied dismissively and turned round to see Alice coming out of her bedroom.

"Bella hi," she chirped coming over to give me a hug, "how are you? How is Edward? Is he okay?"

"Yes," I smiled, "the doctor's say he's going to be fine."

"Ooh Bella that's great!" She squealed jumping up and down.

"I know," I replied.

"Who's Edward?" interjected Jessica.

Was she still here?

"No one," I brushed her off.

"Look Jess I'll see you later okay," said Alice, "I just need to have a chat with Bella. We can go shopping tomorrow. Okay?"

"Yeah whatever," she replied, "I've just got to use the bathroom."

"Sure go ahead," Alice replied.

She sauntered over into the bathroom and once we heard the lock click Alice started speaking, "so Bella what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to tell Edward the truth."

"The truth?" she asked.

"I'll tell him that I'm married but that I still want to be with him and I'm leaving Mike for him. I'll tell him how I didn't want to keep secrets but I didn't know what else to do."

"So you'll tell him and then leave Mike?" she questioned.

"Yeah."

"And what if he doesn't want to be with you?"

"Urm… I don't know."

"You need to take a leap of faith here Bella. How much do you want to be with Edward?"

"A lot."

"Then you need to let him see that. You need to finish with Mike before you tell Edward. Then he will realise how serious you really are because you've already left your husband for him. Do you see what I mean?"

"Yes."

"He's more likely to agree to be with you I'm sure. I mean of course he'll need time but you need to take this risk if you really want to be with him."

"I do. I really do."

"Great," Alice replied.

"But how do I tell Mike? I mean what do I say?"

"I don't know Bella. Tell him how he's lovely but you just don't love him. And that you will move out and find a new place or something. You can come and stay with me for as long as you want. It will probably be easier than staying with Mike."

"Yes," I agreed, "thanks Alice."

"So when you break up with Mike come over to mine and you can stay with me." She walked over to the kitchen and took a key from a draw. "Here's a key in case I'm not in. You can sleep in the spare room."

"Oh Alice thank you so much. You're wonderful do you know that?"

"I do try," she joked and I wrapped my arms around her in a tight hug just as the bathroom door swung open.

"So," Jessica started walking out the door, "who is this Edward guy you're leaving your husband for?"

Little eavesdropping bitch.

"You were listening?" I asked outraged.

"It's not my fault you spoke so loud," she smirked, "so you're leaving Mike?"

"None of your business bitch!" I replied feeling increasingly irritated.

"Well it is now that I know what you're doing. You've been cheating on Mike with some guy named Edward. Tut, tut, naughty Bella."

"Get out of my face," I growled, "this is nothing to do with you."

"Oh really. Well it will be if I decide to tell Mike."

"You wouldn't dare," I snarled taking a step closer to her.

She stepped closer to me so we were now face to face. "Try me."

My anger was increasing rapidly and I raised my hand ready to slap her round the face when Alice stepped in. "Girls just stop okay. Look Jessica I think you should go and Bella just calm down."

"Fine I'm going." Jessica huffed, "I know when I'm not wanted."

"And don't tell Mike anything Jess. It's none of your business," Alice stepped in. I suddenly felt really grateful Alice was here as she had a weird sort of power over Jessica. Maybe it was because Alice was a top fashion designer and Jessica really wanted to be like her. I don't know exactly.

"Fine," she sulked and turned to walk out the door. She froze. "Wait. This wouldn't be Edward the fireman would it? That fireman who came round when Alice started the fire?"

None of us said anything.

"It is," she exclaimed and then proceeded to burst into a fit of laughter, "well this is hilarious."

"Jessica," Alice warned.

"Yes, yes my lips are sealed. I won't tell Mike anything about the hunky fireman you've been screwing. Wow Bella you really are a whore."

I snapped.

I stepped forward and grabbed her hair yanking her back into Alice's apartment, "I am not a whore you skank." I turned her head to face me and slapped her round the face. Hard.

"No Bella," Alice interjected and pulled Jessica away from me quickly before she could slap me back, "just stop it. Both of you. Jess go! Please."

Jessica turned to glare at me. "Fine," she smoothed down her hair, "see you later Alice. You too whore."

She walked out the door and Alice slammed it shut behind her. Now not only was I feeling upset and guilty, I could now add angry to the list.

"Don't worry Bella she won't tell Mike."

"Really?" I asked not believing her although she did know Jessica better than I did.

"Nah. She wouldn't bother going out of her way to tell him. She's lazy like that. Don't worry."

"If you say so." I took deep breaths to regulate my breathing.

"So the plan is that you leave Mike and then tell Edward the truth?" She questioned.

"Yes."

"So you know what you've got to do now Bella?" She asked. "You've got to tell Mike everything."

"Everything," I agreed. I was not looking forward to what was coming next.

-

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