AN: I'm glad the sex was as good for you guys as it was for me. ;) I'll save all the important stuff for afterwards.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE MEDICAL FIELD AND EVERYTHING I USED HERE WAS STUFF I PULLED FROM THE WEB. IF IT'S WRONG, REMEMBER, I'M NOT A DOCTOR. :)

EPOV

A low humming wakes me. It takes me a second to recognize what it is.

Why the fuck is Bella's truck running?

I rise up and look out the window to see it backing out of its spot rather quickly before taking off down the drive. I frown in confusion as I watch it go. A sinking feeling sets in my stomach, and I don't like it one bit. I get up and grab my jeans from the floor, slipping them on before looking around the room for a note or something. I go downstairs and look in the kitchen, then over by the door. I take a peek in the living room and the den as a last resort. No note.

I run back upstairs and grab my cell, dialing her number. After four rings, it goes straight to voicemail. I hang up and pull on a shirt before I call the number again as I walk back downstairs. As I pass Bella's room, I hear Etta James' At Last coming from inside. I follow the music until it leads me to her cell phone. I can't help the smile that spreads across my face at the song she has for my ringtone, but then I realize its three-forty-five in the morning and Bella is in her dilapidated truck without her cell phone.

What the fuck is she thinking?!

I slide my phone in my back pocket and walk downstairs. I'll give her fifteen minutes. If I go after her right now, she'll blow the fuck up in my face as soon as I find her. I'm her boyfriend not her guardian. I pace back and forth in the living room while I wait for her to come back. I look at the clock on the mantel and see that it's only three-fifty. I just need to wait ten more minutes. I can do that.

After a few more passes by the clock, I look back and see that it's been two minutes. I shake my head. "She's just going to have to get pissed."

I pull on my shoes by the door and grab my keys, running out to my car. I speed off down the drive and take the right towards town. Where else would she go? I don't even get a mile down the road before my whole world comes to a complete halt.

In the woods, wrapped around a tree, is Bella's truck. I slam on the breaks and jump out of the car.

"Bella!! Bella!! Fuck, baby, answer me!"

I run to the driver's side door and see her slumped over the steering wheel. I feel a strong urge to vomit, but I get control of myself and pull her door open, but the fucker won't budge. I run around to the other side to try that door. I look down and see the cause of the accident: a blown tire. I try the door and it won't open either.

They're fucking locked, you dumbass!

I start looking around for something to break the glass and find a thick branch near the front of the truck. I grab it and bust out the passenger side window. I unlock the door, pull it open and crawl across. I vaguely feel the sting of the glass as it cuts into me. My only concern is getting her to the hospital as fast as possible.

I unlock her door and push it open. I get her out of her seatbelt and pick her up, running over to my car and setting her in the passenger seat. Once I get back in the car, I pick up her hand and hold it to my chest. "Bella. Bella, please wake up!"

I'm at the hospital before I realize it. I park the car near the ER entrance and hop out. I don't even bother to cut it off or shut my door. I pick up Bella gently and hold her to me as I run to the door. A high pitched beeping sounds out to alert the nurses as we walk in. Everything happens in such a rush. They start demanding to know what happened. They need to know why she's unconscious, how long she's been that way, and why I'm bleeding. All I can get out is, "Car accident."

The doctor on hand, Doctor Harold Mitchell, takes her from me and sets her on a hospital bed. I watch them wheel her away as the doctor tries to get my attention.

"Edward, can you hear me?"

I feel my body start to jerk and realize Dr. Mitchell is shaking my shoulder. I look at him. "Son, were you in the car with her?"

I shake my head. "No, I found her."

I start walking towards the doors they took her through but Dr. Mitchell cuts in front of me. "Edward, you can't go back there. We need to take care of you."

I push his hand off of me. "I don't give a fuck about me! I'm fine!"

Dr. Mitchell nods. "No, you're not and even if you were you still can't go back there. I'm sorry. If you go with the nurses, I can go to her."

I take a step back, letting him know I won't cause any problems. He rushes off through the doors as a nurse walks up to me. "Is there anyone you need us to call for you?"

I keep my eyes on the doors as I tell her, "Yes, my father, Dr. Cullen…and Chief Swan."

The nurse's eyes got big at the mention of both names. She scurried off as another one came up to me. "I'm sorry, sir, but you're bleeding on the floor."

I tear my eyes away from the door and look at the floor around me. I am bleeding on the floor. I nod at the nurse and she leads me into a long room where two other patients are being treated. I watch as she removes the glass shards from my arm and hand.

"Does this hurt?"

I nod my head before asking my own question, "Can you tell me if she's going to be okay?"

She gives me a small smile. "I'll let you know as soon as we find something out. Are you her husband?"

I shake my head. "Not yet."

Another nurse walks up. "Mr. Cullen?"

I look up at her, but the look on my face made her gasp. I could only imagine what they saw in my eyes. I had no idea what kind of condition Bella was in when I found her. I didn't act like a doctor, that's for fucking sure. I should of checked for any broken bones or tried to stabilize her head incase her neck was broken, but I didn't do any of that shit.

"You-your mother is on the phone."

The nurse stitching up my arm nods to the phone mounted on the wall by the door. "The cord will reach."

The other nurse hands me the phone before walking back over to it, pressing a few buttons and nodding for me to go ahead.

"Hey Mom," I say in a voice I don't even recognize.

"Oh, Edward, baby, are you okay? Is Bella okay? What happened?"

"I don't know if she's okay. She was in a car accident."

"You weren't with her?"

"No," I whisper.

"Edward, I don't understand. What was Bella doing out at four in the morning if you weren't with her?"

"I don't know. I woke up to her truck leaving."

"Then how did you find her?" she asks, still confused.

"I tried to wait for her to come home, but I couldn't take it knowing she was in that fucking truck…I had a bad feeling so I went looking for her."

"Okay, okay. We'll be home as soon as possible. We're checking out right now. Have you called Charlie?"

"I told the hospital to. You might want to call Alice."

"I already have. She's on her way. Just hang in there, honey. Everything will be okay," she says trying to reassure me.

"Yeah. I need to go."

I don't listen to what she says next as I hand the phone to the nurse who hangs it up and leaves. The nurse that patched me up catches my attention. "I'll go see what Dr. Mitchell can tell us. If you go wait in the waiting room, we'll bring you some paper work for you to fill out."

I watch her walk out and look down at my arm. Halfway down the length of my forearm is now stitched close. Various other little nicks and scraps cover it, but I know they'll be nothing but a memory in a couple of days. The stitches, however, will scar.

None of this means anything to me. I have no idea what kind of condition Bella is in and feel like a complete and total failure. I was supposed to take care of her. If I can't even take care of her in the safe little town of Forks, then how the fuck was I supposed to do it in a big city like Seattle. I slide off the bed and head towards the waiting room.

However, before I can get there, something throws me against the wall.

"What were you thinking letting her get in that truck by herself at this hour?! I should be the shit out of you, you piece of –"

"Chief Swan!" a nurse calls out in shock.

My back is flat against the wall and his forearm is holding me across my chest. I turn my head and remind myself not to hit him over and over.

"I thought you said you grew up!" he screams in my ear.

"Chief Swan!" she screams out again.

I feel the tears hot on my face. My anger is getting the best of me and I'm about to break. Thankfully, before a second longer, I hear Alice.

"Charlie! No! Stop!" Alice runs up to us, trying to pull him off of me. "Please, Charlie!"

Charlie allows her to pull him away. I look up and see the fear and anger on his face.

"Get out of here," he tells me in a calm voice.

I shake my head. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You're done enough damage!"

"You want to talk about damage?" I ask quietly. "You want to talk about damage?! What about all the fucking damage that you've done?! How about lying to Bella's friend?! You told Jacob Black that I fucking hit her!"

Charlie looks shocked. He snaps his mouth shut and shakes his head. "I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Oh really?! Then why don't you go fucking ask Jacob. Or better yet your accomplice Billy!"

Dr. Mitchell walks out of the double doors they'd taken Bella through when we got here. Dr. Mitchell turns to the blonde nurse behind Charlie. "Bethany, what's going on?"

"Ch-Chief Swan attacked this man."

Charlie looks at Dr. Mitchell. "How is my daughter, doctor?"

Dr. Mitchell looks back at Bethany. "Is Dr. Cullen on his way?"

She nods. "Yes, sir."

I lean off the wall. "What's wrong with Bella?"

Dr. Mitchell raises his hands. "First of all, we need to calm down. Let's go into the waiting room."

It isn't until then I notice that Jasper is with Alice. We nod to one another as we take a seat in front of the doctor.

He looks at me. "Are you her husband?"

"Not yet. She's living with my family and me, though. We're all family."

Charlie rests his head in his hands. Dr. Mitchell nods, "Bella is unconscious right now. We're doing CAT scans and x-rays to make sure everything is okay on the inside. The important thing is she's alive and stable."

A small weight is lifted from my shoulders by his words. I lean back in the chair and cover my face with my hands, wishing this was all some horrible dream that I'll wake up from at any moment and find Bella lying beside me.

"With that being said, I won't have the two of you fighting in my waiting room. There's nothing either of you can do right now, but go home." Charlie and I both look at him incredulously. "Carlisle will be here soon and he can deal with the two of you."

Two large orderlies walk into the room, waiting for us to put up a fight. Charlie and I both turn to Alice. "Don't worry about it. I'm not going anywhere. I know how to behave myself in public."

Dr. Mitchell motions to the door, signaling for Charlie and me to leave. I get up and walk out, leaving Charlie behind me. As I walk out the door to my car, Charlie asks me, "Why can't you just leave her alone?"

"I told you in the beginning I was in love with her. That isn't something that has or will change," I tell him in the calmest voice I could muster.

"I just don't understand why it has to be my daughter," he says looking at the sky. As if he was begging for an answer from God himself.

"Tell me Charlie. What would you do for everything you ever wanted? Would you not go after it because her father hates your guts?"

Charlie looks at me pleadingly. "How could you know she's everything you ever wanted?! You just met her!"

"I don't need to know her, Charlie. Knowing what happened to her when she was a kid or when she lived in Phoenix or Florida isn't what makes me love her. Her kindness and giving nature makes me love her. Her open mindedness and inability to judge makes me love her. After everything you've done to her, she still loves you completely. Even though you've treated her horribly, lied to her best friend, and treated the man she loves like the criminal he didn't grown up to be, she still loves you completely. I know she didn't leave her home for herself. She did it for me. She did it so I wouldn't have to be subjected to your disrespect. Every action Bella does is for someone else because you and her mother made her that way. When I look at your daughter, I see a woman that needs to be taken care of, that needs to be loved, and when she looks at me, she sees someone that can do that."

"If you care for her so much, why is she in that hospital?!" he demands, stepping closer to me.

I shake my head and look at the ground. "I don't know what she was thinking, Charlie. I woke up to the sound of her truck leaving. Only she knows what she was doing."

Charlie shakes his head. "This is entirely my fault," he whispers.

He wanders over to his cruiser. "Charlie, are you okay to drive?"

He doesn't answer me as he gets in and starts up the cruiser. I watch him back out of the parking spot and drive back towards the station. Part of me wants to go after him, but the part, the bigger part, agrees with him. I get in my car and head back to the house. I need to get all this blood off of me and get back to the hospital.

* * *

As I walk down the stairs, showered and changed, my mother comes busting through the front door. She sees me at the foot of the stairs and nearly tackles me.

"Are you okay?"

I wrap my arms around her and lay my head on her shoulder. "No," I whisper, "Have you heard anything?"

She pulls away. "Just that Charlie threw you against a wall in the hospital."

I shrug and move past her, walking to the foyer. "I need to get back."

"Let me drive you, dear."

"Mom?" Emmett calls from the kitchen. He walks out and sees my arm. "What the hell is going on?" he asks with a confused frown.

Mom looks at me and I shake my head, answering her unasked question. She tells Emmett, "Why don't you and Rose get dressed and come on down to the hospital? Bella's been in an accident." Emmett opens his mouth but Mom tells him, "I'll explain at the hospital."

Mom takes my keys and we get in the car. I didn't notice all the blood on the door and steering wheel before, but she just pats my knee and starts the car. I don't even let her pull into the parking space good enough before I'm out of the car and walking towards the entrance. Alice and Jasper stand when I walk into the empty waiting room.

"What have you heard?"

Alice looks at Jasper before looking at me and the sinking feeling I've been feeling since three-thirty gets worse.

"She hasn't woken up."

I fall into the chair beside me. "You mean she's in a coma?"

"Edward," I heard my dad sigh my name as he walks into the waiting room. Dad comes and kneels in front of me, "Have you eaten? You look rather pale. How much blood did you lose?"

All I can do is shake my head. Bella not waking up is so much more important than what's wrong with me. Dad tries to check my pulse but I push his hand away. "Don't worry about me, Dad. Bella is more important. Please just go fix her."

"Edward," Dad says sternly, "Listen to me, Bella wouldn't want you to sit here and refuse medical attention when you need it. Bella is stable; we're just waiting for her to wake up. You, on the other hand, have lost a lot of blood. If you don't eat here, then I'm going to send you home until you get something in your stomach."

"Ugh! Fine!"

They call my Dad's name over the intercom. He turns to Alice but Jasper steps up. "I'll get him some orange juice and a cookie or something from the cafeteria."

"I'll show you where it's at," Dad offers.

Alice sits beside me as Carlisle and Jasper walk out. Alice lays her head on my shoulder. "I failed her, Alice."

She takes my hand into hers. "No you didn't."

"I didn't protect her."

"You couldn't have stopped her unless you were awake, Edward. You can't be there twenty-four hours a day."

"Even when I found her, I panicked. I know I'm not a doctor yet, but I didn't even do any of the things I learned to do. I could be the reason she's in this coma."

"She's not in a coma Edward. She's just still unconscious. It's a little early to say for sure."

I pull away from her so I can look into her eyes. "I feel there's something wrong, Alice! I felt it since I woke up and she was gone. I felt it even worse after I got her out of that truck and I still feel it now!"

Alice sighs and nods. "I think it's just because we haven't seen her yet."

"Do you know when we can?"

She shakes her head. I sit forward, placing my head in my hands. "God, please let her be okay."

Alice's small little hand ran up and down my back. The both of us jump when we hear Charlie's voice. "You did what any man would do, Edward."

I stand and turn to the door. I never realized how much more of a father he looks like when he's not wearing his cop uniform. He ran a hand through his hair as he walks over to me. "There's nothing you could've done. There's no reason to beat yourself up over this."

We stand in front of one another, not looking at each other, waiting for the other to say something first. Alice gets up. "I'll let you guys have some time alone…"

We watch her walk out before we look back at each other.

"Those years you were terrorizing Forks were a long time ago. I know you've changed. Not completely, but enough. I didn't doubt that. I'd heard several good things about you when I spoke to your father." He sighs. "Every time I'd get a call about some kids terrorizing something, I felt like I was letting the town down. I couldn't catch you guys in the act to save my life. The times I did finally haul you in, it was never for anything I could get you sent to Remann Hall for. You being in my daughter's life, in turn my life, just brought all those memories back and I didn't want that."

I sigh. "All I can do is apologize, sir. I had a lot of stupid issues growing up. Middle child syndrome and all that…"

Charlie chuckles softly. "The problem now is that in doing what I've done, I've failed Bella as a father. I've used her friend against her. Thankfully, I didn't mess their friendship up. I've already failed as a husband and a cop." He takes a deep breath. "I want to fix this. It's the only way I can get her back in my life."

I shake my head. "I don't know how much you're going to get back. She's planning on moving back to Seattle with me this fall. She's looking into finishing high school there and then going on to UW."

Charlie's mouth hangs open for a second as he looks at me in complete shock. Before I can say anything else Alice storms into the waiting room.

"What?! She's going to do what?!"

I pinch the bridge of my nose and take a deep breath. Alice was not supposed to hear that. Bella wanted to tell her on her own. Alone.

Fucking perfect…

"Alice –"

"When were you going to tell me!?"

"Bella wanted to tell you after we spoke to Mom and Dad. She wanted their approval before she told you because if she didn't get it, she was going to wait. We had this all planned out for Monday when they got home."

Alice crosses her arms over her chest. "You can't take her from me!"

Charlie nods. "I agree."

I hold up my hands. "I'm not taking her anywhere. Bella wants to move to Seattle with me. I'm not making her do anything."

Dad walks into the waiting room. "What's going on in here!?" he asks in a hard low voice.

His eyes immediately fall onto Charlie and me, but I shake my head. "It's nothing. Alice just misheard something and got a little upset."

I gave Alice a pointed look. She takes a deep breath and nods her head, looking up at Dad, "Sorry, Daddy."

He nods, rubbing her back. "Keep it down. This is still a hospital."

Charlie asks, "Has she woken up yet?"

Dad shakes his head. "No, we're still performing some tests. Nothing's broken but the bump to her head is pretty bad. We feel it's the reason she's still unconscious. Blunt trauma to the head usually leads to unconsciousness."

"But the longer she stays out…" I can't even say the rest of it, let alone think it.

Dad shakes his head. "There's no reason to assume that she's in a coma. It's only been five hours since the accident. She's liable to wake up any minute." He motions to the chair. "You need to be resting. Has Jasper come back yet?"

"Here I am," Jasper calls from the door. He walks over to me with a couple of cookies and a bottle of orange juice out of the vending machines. "The cafeteria didn't have any cookies or orange juice oddly enough."

I smile at him. "Thanks, Jasper."

* * *

Rose and Emmett arrived not long after Mom and me. Alice called Jacob around seven am. The lot of us sat in the waiting room with little patience. If Charlie wasn't pacing, I was pacing. If Alice wasn't tapping her foot, Jacob was tapping his. We all sighed regularly and more than once I had to get some fresh air. Waiting isn't one of my specialties.

Finally, around ten am, Dad comes into the waiting room. Everyone perks up at the sight of him. Charlie stands. "Well?"

Dad looks Charlie in his eye and tells him. "She still hasn't woken up. We've tried a few things, but nothing seems to be working. She has a small skull fracture where she hit her head and a little swelling of the brain. Her vitals are strong but her brain activity seems to be slowing. We might have to put her on a respirator soon."

She's in a coma… My God…

"We have her in her own room right now. Room seven. I'll allow you to see her one at a time."

I don't wait for anyone to ask who wanted to see her first. I had to see her. I'm out of my chair and out the door before I even realize it. I run into room seven and see my girl hooked up to machines. The tears that fall down my face this time aren't from anger. The sight before me crushes my heart.

I slowly walk over to her and kneel by her bed. I pick up her hand, pressing it to the side of my face. "Bella? Bella, please wake up, baby. I need you to wake up. I need you, Bella."

I hear a loud wailing cry, but it takes me a minute to realize it's me. I beg her to wake up, to just open her eyes and look at me. She doesn't have to smile or say anything. I just need to see her beautiful brown eyes.

But she won't open them.

"I'm so sorry, baby," I whisper against her hand.

"Edward," a voice calls to me from the doorway.

I ignore them. I'm trying to wake her up! "Bella, love, please just wake up. Please?" I beg with everything I have.

"Edward, son, get off the floor," the voice tells me. It's much closer now.

I kiss her hand. "Baby, please, wake up," I whisper against her warm skin.

"Carlisle!" the voice calls out.

"Please, please, please, please, please wake up," I beg again.

"Edward, please, son. You need to get up. Come on."

I feel a set of hands on my shoulders. I shake them off. "I'm not leaving her."

"Edward, you don't have to leave her, just get up."

I kiss her hand a couple of times before standing up. I look behind me and see Dad and Charlie staring at me like I'm going to break down at any moment. I look behind them and see Alice and Mom at the door crying. I feel the fresh wave of tears fall down my face as I look back at my girl. She looks like she's sleeping peacefully. She's so beautiful even with the large fissure on her forehead. It'll scar, but she'll still look stunning to me.

Dad motions to the chair in the corner. "Why don't you go sit over there, Edward? That way everyone else can see her."

I nod my head and reluctantly let go of her hand. I walk over to the chair backwards, never taking my eyes off of her. I keep watch on her monitors out of the corner of my eyes. If things start falling below normal, they'll put her on more machines. I can't think about that right now. I keep my eyes on the steady rise and fall of her chest as she breaths deeply.

The feeling hasn't lessened like Alice said it might. It's still there and strong as ever.

I watch as everyone comes in one by one. Charlie is first. He clutches her hand and apologizes over and over for what he's done and how he'll explain it all once she's awake. He promises to make things right with her and me and that when she wakes up things are going to be the way they should.

Alice comes in after Charlie. He doesn't leave. He stays like I do, sitting in the chair in the opposite corner. Alice walks up to Bella and takes her hand.

"You wouldn't believe this if you saw it, Bella. Your Dad and boyfriend are sitting in the same room and they aren't fighting." Out of the corner of my eye, I see her look between the two of us before looking back at Bella. "It's sad that it takes something like this to bring them together." She laughs lightly. "But this is just like you, risking yourself for the sake of others." Her voice fills with tears. "You've got to stop doing that, girly."

She kisses her cheek and whispers, "I love you," in her ear before walking out the door and into Jasper's arms where she starts crying. I hear Dad tell her, "It's going to be okay, Alice."

Jacob strolls into the room, watching me intently before taking Bella's hand. He smiles down at her. "Bells, you gotta wake up. Edward's losing his mind. I've never seen a guy act this way. You mean a lot to him, to all of us. You gotta fight, Bells. We need you here. The wor-world won't be the same without you." He takes a deep breath. "I love you, Bella."

He kisses her hand before holding it to his cheek. He sets it down gently before looking up at me. "If you need anything, let me know. I'll be back tomorrow."

I nod, not taking my eyes off of Bella. As he walks out, I hear my mother ask, "Emmett? Rose? Do you want to see her?"

"No, I'll see her when she wakes up," Emmett says.

"Yeah. I can't see her like this," Rose adds.

"Edward?" Mom calls out to me.

"Yeah?"

"Are you hungry? I'm going to grab something for Carlisle, Alice, and Jasper."

I shake my head. She runs her hand through my hair and tells me, "I'll pick you something up anyways. You'll get hungry later." She walks away from me and turns to Charlie. "Charlie, are you hungry?"

"No, thank you, Esme. I'm going to leave soon. I can't bear to see her like this. I need to call her mother and call the wrecker service."

As soon as everyone leaves, I pull my chair up to the side of her bed and lower the railing. I wrap my hand around hers and smile at how mine swallows hers whole.

"You know, I wanted to wake up with you this morning. I'd had it all planned out. I was going to shower you with kisses to wake you up like I did the other morning. We were going to make love and then take a nice hot bath together. I love bathing you, baby. I don't know what it is about bathing you, but I want to take a shower with you every day when we move in together. Once we were dressed, we were going to make breakfast and then I was going to teach you to drive a standard." I feel more tears fall down my face as I shake my head. "What were you thinking?" I whispered, "What were you doing? I wish I knew why you even got in the truck."

My mind filled with horrible scenarios of why she'd be leaving that early in the morning. I quickly squashed the ideas of her being unhappy. She reassured me time and time again last night that she was fine, that she was happy. Anytime there were tears, there was a smile right with it. She wouldn't let me stop holding her. She kept telling me how much she loved me. Everything was perfect last night and I knew it would be perfect when we woke up! That was until I heard that roar of her truck…

An hour later, Mom comes back with something from the diner. She sets it on the table at the foot of Bella's bed before grabbing the other chair and moving it to the other side of the bed. She takes Bella's hand like me and tells me, "She'll wake up."

"Why do I have a feeling she won't?"

"I don't know," she whispers, "But I have a feeling she's going to wake up and be just like Bella and apologize for everything."

I lean forward and lay my head on her hand. "She's done nothing wrong. Her tire blew out on her."

"That's what Charlie called and told us."

"How is he?"

"I'm not sure. He sounds numb. Renee is on her way."

I pull my head up and look her in the eye. "Just Renee?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. Why?"

I feel my brow pull together. I'm not sure if I should tell her or not. This is Bella's secret, not mine, but I can't let that son-of-bitch anywhere near my girl.

"Phil…Bella doesn't like Phil."

Mom stares at me for a moment, reading my face and body language. Realization dawns on her face and she frowns. "I'll make sure to keep him away from her." She pauses. "He didn't…"

I shake my head. "No, but she thinks he might have if she stayed long enough."

Mom pats her hand and stands up. "I'll go and speak with Carlisle. I'd tell you to try and get some sleep, but I doubt you will."

"Look at what sleeping got me last time," I say with no emotion.

"Edward –"

"I know I can't be there all the time. I know I can't, but I can try. She means too much to me, Mom. I've never felt like this about someone before. Ever."

She nods. "Try and eat something."

I nod just to get her out of the room. I'm tired of everyone looking after me when my girl is in a coma. Ugh…I hate thinking that. She'll wake up. I need to listen to my mother for once. Derive some kind of hope from her words.

For the rest of the day, Alice, Mom, and Dad come and go. They stay and talk with me for a few minutes and try to get me to eat. Alice finally told me she'd tell Charlie about last night if I didn't eat something. It seems like Charlie is finally taking to the idea of Bella and me being together. I didn't want to ruin it so quickly, so I ate.

That night, Dad comes by before he leaves. He stands at the foot of her bed and watches Bella.

"There's a pull-out bed in that couch behind you. I know you won't, but I wish you'd at least lie down."

"I'll try," I tell him.

"She'll wake up, Edward. Her body is just recovering. Even though she had on her seatbelt, she still hit her head pretty hard on that steering wheel. She just needs a little time."

"How long is too long?"

"Thursday."

"How long is too late?"

"There's no need to even consider that, Edward."

"How long?!" I ask a little louder.

"It depends on her, Edward. How slow her brain activity gets, her heart rate, her breathing, it all depends." He sighs. "Don't think about it. She's young and strong willed. She won't give up that easily."

I nod, letting him know I took in what he said.

"Get some sleep, son. I'll see you in the morning."

I sit and watch her for a couple of hours before my eyes start to get heavy. When I start to doze off, I decide I need to do lie down, but I just can't let go of her hand. The idea to move the couch over to the bed presents itself. I move the chair and pull the couch over to her bedside. I grab the pillow and blanket at the foot of the couch and get comfortable, snaking my arm through the bar to hold it up so I could lay my hand in hers.

* * *

Sunday comes and goes with Bella not waking up. Betty and Joe from the diner come and see her. Alice and Mom come by with flowers. I ask Alice to bring me as many red tulips as she can because I wasn't leaving her side. Mom brought me some different clothes to change into but I didn't bother. Renee comes to the hospital, and thankfully, she's alone.

"Are you Edward?"

I look up at the new face. "Yes."

"I'm Renee, Bella's mother."

I stand and extend my hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Dwyer."

I try my damnedest to be cordial and show that I'm good son-in-law material, but I can't muster up enough will to care. Renee seems to understand. She pulls the other chair closer to the bed and takes Bella's hand.

"Do you know why she left?"

I shake my head. "No," I whisper.

Tears fall down Renee's cheeks. A small voice in the back of my head tells me that I should give her a moment alone with her daughter, but just can't do it. I need to be here when she wakes up.

The rest of Sunday passes and I find that I'm not the only one unwilling to leave Bella's side. I offer the couch to Renee as I keep watch over Bella. I watch her intent. Nothing's changed. Everything is still like yesterday, which is both good and bad. I talk to her when I think of things to say. I kiss her hand and ask her to wake up.

But she doesn't.

* * *

Monday comes and goes and Bella still doesn't wake up. My hope sky rocketed when her hand jumped and she moaned softly. Renee ran from the room to get a nurse, but Bella never woke up. Dad assured me it's a good sign. They took her for testing after that and found that her brain activity has increased since she'd came in, which is another good sign. However, she still hasn't woken up.

Alice brings the flowers I asked her to and my mother makes me leave to go take a shower. She uses the same technique as Alice: threatening to tell Charlie about Friday night. I roll my eyes at her childish tactics but go and take a shower anyways. I'm not gone more than thirty minutes and find that Bella still hasn't woke up.

Jacob comes by Monday afternoon. He tells me he's fixing up a car for Bella to trade in for a better car. I try and tell him that I'll take care of getting her a vehicle, but he quickly shuts me down.

"Look, Edward, I understand that you're madly in love with Bella. I get that. She's a great girl. A guy would be stupid not to love her, but before you came along, I took care of her. She's my little sister." He chuckles. "Even if she is two years older than me. The point is I'm not giving up that job as protector so easily. It's ingrained."

I sigh. "At least let me pay you for –"

"No."

"Jacob, you can't just give her a car."

He laughs at me. "And you can?"

I open my mouth to argue, but I had no ground. I decided yesterday to take her to get a car once she's ready. She has no idea that I have a trust fund with too much money in it. Thanks to my mother's side of the family and their old money, I would be able to take care of my girl and our family.

"Okay, okay, but you know you're going to have to deal with her telling you no."

He nods. "I know. I'm prepared for the fight."

I cringe. "Just wait until she's back to normal, okay?"

He grins. "Of course. I want a fair fight."

By the time Monday night rolls around, my dismal mood changes. My bad feeling turns into hope and I know she's going to wake up. Before I lay my head on the side of her bed to catch a little sleep, I kiss her hand and whisper, "I'll see you when I wake up, beautiful."

* * *

I fucking love it when she runs her hand through my hair. It feels like she's petting me, but the feeling of her short flat nails running against my scalp is so calming and relaxing. I understand why dogs dig this. I nuzzle my face against her leg and sigh.

"Edward?"

______________________

The high school and apartment from last chapter are real. I forgot to say that. The juvenile detention center mentioned (Remann Hall) is real too. I'm real too. :D

Also! If you want to see a picture of the banner Selita (Selita1990) made for me, you can go look this story up on www(dot)twilighted(dot)net. If you search under Jocasta you can find it a lot faster! Its amazing and she's amazing!

***THIS IS IMPORTANT!! I've got two more chapters planned out. I promise that's true this time. Honest! The last of these two chapters is a glimpse into the future. And remember, before you review, I'm not a doctor, so don't hate me for saying something wrong about Bella's condition. I'm an engineer, Jim, not a doctor! (Yes, I know that's backwards. LOL!)***

Also, I didn't realize how stupid I was, but I'm now able to receive PMs. So if you got something to add after your review, feel free to let me know.

Sorry if Edward was a little…emotastic in this chapter. You have to understand where he's coming from. Before you ask, Bella does NOT have amnesia. I had a lot people ask me that and I don't have time for her to have amnesia. LOL!

Okay. I'm done. Go review or read another story! xoxo