*Knocks on Kella's door with PB M&M's*

GIMME GIMME GIMME! I mean uh... hi :D *waves*

Lol, I knew this was the only way to get you to come out :P

Duh, I'm a hermit like Hemmingway just without the alcohol problem. Whattup bels?

Not too much Kella kels... just a secrets update *snuggles*

Word word. Sorry to say but even after almost 30 chaps, we still don't own the characters, only the lemons. SMeyer still owns the peeps.

Def def. But leave some reviews? And please try to keep in mind that Edward and Bella are having an affair... contrary to popular belief, that is the point of the story.

You said it lady! So leave us some love, please? OH BUT WAIT! FIRST! OR LAST! WHICHEV! Bels and I want to give a super huge THANK YOU AND LOVES YOU to one awesome bird.. Chickenn. Chicken is super positive, awesome and come on... everyone should love her too.

BPOV

I woke up sweltering. My eyes fluttered open and I noticed that Edward had thrown all the covers over me and was now sleeping on his back, sweating but sleeping somewhat peacefully. I crept from the bed slowly and threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, scribbling a note to Edward and taping it to the back of the door so he wouldn't miss it. I grabbed the keys to his studio from the pocket of his jeans and headed out the door.

I drove quickly to his studio, hesitantly opening the door and hoping that Tanya wasn't still there. To my relief, she wasn't; no trace of her was in the loft. I quickly stuffed his gym duffel bag with a couple boxer shorts, sweat pants, another hoodie and two more t-shirts before locking up and heading over to Walgreens. After a far too long conversation with the pharmacist, I settled on a bottle of good ol' fashion Nyquil to at least help with the fever and chills. I wasn't sure what would help the dizziness he seemed to go through when he sat up. I also grabbed a toothbrush for him, and a bottle of the soap he used, which was mostly for selfish reasons; I wanted Edward to smell like Edward and not like my strawberry $1.99 shampoo. A little over an hour had passed by the time I was walking back into my apartment.

I left the soap and unopened toothbrush on the bathroom sink, and moved into the bedroom noticing that Edward was sitting up and looking miserable. I smiled faintly and pulled the bottle of medicine from the bag, shaking it from where I stood at the foot of the bed. "Nyquil?" I asked hoping he wouldn't protest.

He nodded, reaching for me weakly. "Are you okay?"

I tossed the duffel bag onto the floor beside me and sat on the edge of the bed beside him, nodding and placing a hand against his forehead. He was still burning up. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I've been run over by a car." He said, laughing dryly before coughing up a storm. He calmed down after a few moment and looked up at me sadly.

My hand reached up to cup his jaw and kissed his lips softly. "I don't get how you manage to be as sick as a dog and still the sexiest man I've ever seen." I quipped, opening up the bottle of medicine and pouring out the doseage into the designated cup.

"You shouldn't... kiss me. You'll... get sick." He stated, pulling his knees up and looking at me as if he were really worried for my health.

I pursed my lips, grinning as I kissed him again. "Don't care. I love you and I'm going to kiss you more or less whenever I want." I kissed him again to prove my point and stood up to grab the zip up hoodie I'd brought from his apartment, over. I tossed it in his direction. "Do you need anything else? Soup? I can order like... wonton soup from the chinese place, or I can run and get some from the italian place near the studio?" I needed to do something; I couldn't do nothing and just watch him be sick.

His face blanched even more as he shook his head. "I think I'm gonna puke. Just come talk to me?"

I nodded and walked over to the linen closet to grab a bucket for him, just in case, before sliding out of my jeans and crawling in bed. His arms circled around my hips loosely, as he rested his head on my stomach. "First crush?" I asked, running my fingers through his hair lazily.

"Lauren Mallory, but that's not what I wanted to talk about."

My fingers scratched at his scalp lightly. "What did you want to talk about?"

He took a wheezy deep breath, coughing a little as he began to speak. "Last night. It hurts my head."

My heart sank. Was he going to leave? Did he realize that he loved Tanya more? I sighed, and gulped. "Alright. What about last night?"

"You think I slept with her. That's why you were upset and you didn't want me around. You thought I was cheating on you." He stated knowingly, in a soft whisper.

I bit my lip. What was I supposed to say? Yes, how dare you sleep with your girlfriend? "Edward, you can't cheat on me with your own girlfriend. I'm the other woman, remember?"

"You're my woman. But regardless of your title, I didn't sleep with her. I... I can't."

I sighed, relieved that it had just been a misunderstanding. "Edward, she's your girlfriend; I'm not. If you should be sleeping with anyone it should be her." I felt my heart ripping as I spoke, but it was the truth.

He pressed his lips into my stomach, mumbling against my skin. "You don't mean that."

"I kind of do. She is your girlfriend. I'm not; I'm the girl on the side. If us sleeping together is getting in the way of you guys really trying to work it out, then maybe you should spend less time with me and more with her."

"Maybe I don't want to work it out. Maybe I want to be with you. Maybe I want to ease into it. Maybe I'm afraid that you'll leave me. Maybe I can't be without you."

"Those are a lot of maybes, but nothing concrete."

I felt his hot breath beating against my skin. "I understand." He murmured.

"Edward, I don't need maybes." I sighed and felt my body tense up. "I need you to be honest and I need you to tell me something that is more definite than a 'maybe' because all of the love and ideas I have for our future in my head are certain and it petrifies me that you aren't."

He sat up quickly, reaching to brace one arm against the bedframe, closing his eyes and clenching his jaw. After a moment, his eyes opened and he turned to look at me, sighing. ''Bella, I am but I'm scared of everything that we're facing. I'm nervous and confused and I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do next." He swerved his body towards the side of the bed and planeted one foot tenatively on the floor."I'm gonna go back to the studio, I think."

I felt my heart seize up. So much for being able to be honest. "Oh...ok." I said quietly, biting my lip and staring down at my lap. "You're feeling good enough to drive? Because if you're not I can just go in the other room and you can rest. I won't... bother you or anything."

He moved his other leg over the side of the bed and I was terrified he was really going to leave. Instead he bent over, putting his head between his knees. "Bella, you aren't bothering me." He echoed from his place between his legs. "I feel like shit, and honestly the only thing making it remotely better is that you're here. I want to be with you, but it seems like you don't want me."

My head shot up and I looked at him, utterly shocked. "Excuse me?"

I saw him nonchalantly reach for the bucket, taking a deep breath. I wasn't sure if it was to prevent puking or at the weight of what he was about to say. "Bella, I love you. That's definite. That's everything. But when you push me to her; to things and to a person I don't want to be anymore it hurts. It makes me feel like you don't want me. Shit." He grunted, before turning and heaving his head into the bucket, gagging.

I leaned over, rubbing his back in soft circles and holding my breath as he yakked into the bucket beside the bed. He continued to wretch for a few more minutes, before I felt his breath steady against my hand that was still massaging his back lightly.

"I'm sorry. I know it's not fair, and I know it's not what you want, but this... this is what I have right now." He panted, trying to catch his breath. "I'm sorry it's not enough."

I wasn't sure what to say. I didn't want to tell him it was okay, that it was enough, because it wasn't. But he was too sick to argue with. I moved off the bed and pulled out a pair of sweats, new boxers and a tshirt. "I'm going to get a shower started for you." I replied quietly, walking towards bathroom. "I bought you a bottle of your soap and a toothbrush; they're on the sink." I dropped his change of clothes on the closed toilet lid and walked into the linen closet to grab a towel for him. I folded it on top of his pile of clothes and walked back to the bedroom. "I'm going to run and get some soup and gatorade. You need to at least get some electrolytes down. Do you need anything else?" I asked, softly.

"No." He whispered, staring down at the blanket in front of him and refusing to meet my eyes.

I nodded and slid on my shoes silently before grabbing my keys and walking out the door.

EPOV

I listened to the door slam, and groaned as the noise moved across my ear drums. Guh, it was so fucking loud. I stood slowly, bracing myself with one hand and taking the bucket in the other. This was going to be harder than it looked. I stumbled and limped my way to the bathroom, and with all of the pauses and my lack of coordination, It took a good ten minutes to get into the bathroom. Luckily, the space was small, so it didn't take me as long to dump and rinse out the bucket. I stopped and tried to catch my breath again and I lifted my head, looking at my reflection. I groaned when I realized that this is exactly how it was our first night together. I was in exactly the same position, wondering what the hell to do next. But then I had let myself fall deeper. And now? Now, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. Go back to Tanya? Did Bella really want that? Maybe. That's the way it sounded to me.

I groaned, leaning my head against the counter. I didn't want that, I wanted Bella. What a huge fucking mess I'd made and now I had no clue how to fix it. None. I turned my head slightly to the side and saw the toothbrush shampoo on the counter. Fuck. Bella had gone out and bought my shit. She like, specifically picked out the things that I liked so that she could have them here with her. So maybe she did want me after all? She wanted to keep me here with her, and why couldn't I give her that, since I was insisting that that's what I wanted too. I had no fucking clue. I lifted my body slowly and grabbed the shampoo, carefully lifting my legs over the edge of the tub and climbing in.

I was able to shower without too much of a problem, considering and the water definitely helped to shed that disgusting ill feeling from my skin. I still felt like shit, even if I didn't smell like it. I reached over and shut off the water, taking a second to regain my stability when the dizziness set in again. Fucking shit, this really sucked. I had to get out of the shower, though. I couldn't just stay here. i couldn't. I tried to get one leg over the edge, but I couldn't. For whatever reason I just wasn't able to get out of the shower. I sighed and slumped down against the wall, closing my eyes. I guess I'd have to wait for Bella to get home.

It seemed like hours later, I heard her frantically calling my name. "Edward?" She was nervous, I could tell, the most I could do was grunt.

She pushed open the bathroom door and all I could see was fear in her eyes. "Oh my god, are you okay?"

I kept my eyes shut as I replied. "I can't get out."

Bella kicked off her shoes and got into the tub with me. "Okay, we can do this together." She said, wrapping an arm around my waist.

I laughed shakily as I put my arm over her shoulder. "There's no way we can do this, Love."

"Sure we can." She turned her head and planted a small kiss on my bicep. "I've got you and you can lean on me as much as you need, alright?"

I sighed, moving slowly to my knees. "You sure?"

Bella gave a small laugh. "Mhm. I'm stronger than I look." She replied, getting on her own knees and watching me carefully.

Bella helped me stand slowly, and sure enough she got me out of the tub. "Here, lean on the counter."

I did as she asked as she grabbed the towel and dried me off carefully. "Still okay?" She asked, pulling up my boxers.

"Mhm," I said, closing my eyes again, "Love, I'm tired."

"Then we'll get you back to bed." She said, then my shirt was over my head.

"You'll come right? You'll be with me?"

She sighed, "Of course Edward, always. Where else would I go?"

She put my arm back over her shoulder and we walked slowly to the bed. "I love you."

Bella tucked me back in bed, and as she moved away I could hear her undressing. "I love you too."

I looked over my shoulder at her, "You're naked."

She laughed softly, "Would you prefer I wasn't?"

I shook my head twisting my arm around my body to hold onto her. "No. Should I be naked, too?"

Bella shook her head and pushed the hair from my forehead. "No, you aren't feeling well." She paused for a moment, watching me. "I just like feeling you against me as close as you can be."

I sighed, then shivered as the chills returned. This was it; this was our defining moment. We were teetering on the brink of something major, and we were skirting around it instead of saying it out loud. I burrowed deeper into the blankets, warding off the chill that seemed ever present. "Bella, you need me... you want me here."

She nodded against the pillow. "Of course I need you here Edward, and I want you here... always. Was that in question?" She asked softly, her eye brows knitting together.

"I think so. But the soap... and you bought me a tooth brush. Those things... those things mean that you want me here. You want me with you... don't they?" I looked up at her worriedly, thinking that perhaps for the first time I'd misread both Bella and the situation.

She pulled up the edge of my blanket, and slide under so that her skin was against mine. One hand rested on my side while the other came up to cup my jaw."Edward of course I want you with me. I want you to be mine and only mine. I want you here, or me at the studio with you, and I want us to be together - just us. I want you more than I've ever wanted anyone and I need you more than I ever thought I could need someone. You're my entire heart."

I sighed, leaning my head against hers. "Bella, it's the same for me, I promise. It's always been the same for me. I love you."

She kissed me softly. "I love you too." She admitted with a sigh. "I dream about being with you forever; never doubt that. You're the only one I want; the only one I'll ever want."

"I hope so," I whispered. I tried my best to keep my breath out of her face, and I felt my eyelids go heavy. "I'm so tired, love."

Bella reached up and pushed the hair away from my face. "So sleep. I'll be here."

I sighed into her hair, "Promise?"

Her lips pressed to my chest briefly. "Promise."

That was the last thing I remembered before falling asleep. I was restless the entire night, and I just couldn't seem to sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time. Finally at around two, I gave up and tossed the covers off and stood slowly. I was thirsty, at least, and Bella said she was getting gatorade. I walked carefully to the kitchen, trying not to lose my balance or wake Bella. I stumbled around in the dark, then heaved a huge sigh of relief when I made it to the kitchen.

Then my phone rang.

Fuck. I hobbled as quickly as I could, thanking whatever type of sense I had that I'd left my pants in here. I flipped my phone open, and was shocked at how horse my voice sounded.

"Hello?"

"Edward this is Tanya."

I rolled my eyes, slumping against the side of the couch. "Hi."

"Are you okay? I need to speak to you."

I closed my eyes and rubbed my face with my free hand. "No, I'm pretty sick. And you are speaking to me."

"About stuff, Edward."

I scoffed, "Tanya, you're calling me at two in the morning to talk about stuff?"

"It's important."

Wait. "Tanya, are you breaking up with me?"

She was silent for way too long. "A little."

I groaned again. "A little?"

"Yes," She said, clearing her throat.

"You can't break up with someone a little. You either do or you don't."

"WELL I SAID A LITTLE!" She wailed into the phone, "I'm a little bit drunk right now, and I don't know if I'm going to regret this in the morning, so I don't want to break up with you all the way."

"Tanya, I'll call you when I'm feeling better and you're coherent enough to remember this conversation. But in the mean time, don't bother me."

I hung up my phone without another word to her. I didn't need that right now. If we were going to end this, I at least wanted her to remember it. I carefully lifted myself back up and stopped when I saw Bella standing half naked in the doorway.

"Hi." Was my lame greeting. I thought I was going to puke all over her couch.

"Who was that?"

"Tanya."

Bella nodded and moved toward me, "Are you okay? Did you need something?"

I blinked, "I was just thirsty."

She nodded, breezing into the kitchen. "I bought gatorade."

I slumped back onto the couch, and closed my eyes. A second later, I felt a cool hand pressed to my forehead. "You still feel warm." She murmured, peering down at me.

"Bella, I feel terrible." I complained, leaning into her touch.

She handed me a cup of gatorade. "drink some of this. I'll go get the nyquil."

I groaned a little as she left me, and sat back. Maybe I should go back to the studio. Probably. She was obviously still hurting and having me here wasn't helping. I went to stand, but I couldn't. I was still too fucking dizzy. I leaned back against the couch and felt another wave of nausea rip through me. I groaned. "Here." I heard Bella say, but I pushed her away.

"No. I think I'm going to be sick again."

"Do you want me to get a bag?"

I lifted myself slowly and started to wobble toward the bathroom. "I got it."

Bella was hot on my heels and wrapped an arm protectively around my waist. "Edward, please just let me help you. You need to lay down and relax."

I flexed my grip on the door frame as I adjusted to her weight beside me. "No, I gotta puke."

She was right with me the entire way to the bathroom, even when I collapsed to the ground and threw my head into the toilet. I felt her hands running up and down my back as I shook violently over and over. I thought it wasn't ever going to stop. After dry heaving a few times, I was finally done. Bella reached up and flushed the toilet for me, then grabbed a wash cloth and helped me wipe my face. I stared at her, completely in awe. "You deserve so much better than me," I whispered.

She smiled warmly at me, dabbing at my mouth with a washcloth. "You forget, there is no one better."

I shook my head, leaning against the wall a little to catch my breath. "Then I'm sorry, because Bella there's no way I could ever be enough. You deserve... you should have so much more than what I have. Or what I am."

She cupped my jaw with one hand, watching me intently. "Edward, you really need to see yourself better. You're so much more than I ever thought I would ever have in boyfriend, lover, friend... You're amazing. I am constantly in awe of how much you juggle and how well you keep everything together. Stop selling yourself short; if anyone is inferior in our relationship, it's me."

I laughed, then coughed because it was too much. "Bella, are you kidding? You're taking care of me... letting me stay with you even though you're hurting. I really can't believe you're doing this for me." I looked down at my hands as I mumbled, "No one's ever done anything like this for me." Well, except my mother. And that's a given.

Her hand dropped down to my side where she rubbed over my feverish skin. "You would do the same for me."

I nodded, turning my hands in my lap. "I'll stay on the couch if you want." I thought for a second, then tried to push myself up. "But I'll strip the bed for you first. You shouldn't sleep in my germs."

Bella sighed and tried to help me stand. "That's not what I want." She paused, "But you're right about the bed. I'll change it; you shouldn't be sleeping in the germs if we're trying to get you better."

She wrapped my arm over her shoulder and we hobbled into the bedroom. I stopped and she looked up at me. "I can't sleep there without you and I won't kick you out of your bed."

She pulled away, letting me lean against the door frame as she went over to strip the bed. "Who said I wasn't going to be sleeping here with you?"

I tried to stand but my legs felt like jell-o. "I just implied..."

She looked up, confused. "You just implied what?"

"That you were upset, and you wouldn't want to. I can't... I hate that I'm forcing myself on you right now, Bella."

She went back to making the bed, tucking the sheet neatly under neath the mattress. "Edward, you're not forcing yourself on me. If I didn't think you should be here right now I'd ask you to leave. But you're sick. We'll work everything out when you're feeling better. Right now my main concern is making sure you're okay."

"Are you okay?" I asked, my ass once again hitting the cool floor.

Bella tossed the last pillow onto the bed, then came over to me and put a hand to my forehead. "You're still warm and I'm not liking that you can't stand up; We'll go to the hospital tomorrow if that's not better by morning. For now, let's get you back to bed." She stated, helping me up.

She helped me back into bed and tucked me in. She fucking tucked me in. "You didn't answer the question."

Bella sighed, going into the living room where I could see the lights go off. She came back in and stripped down to her tank top and under wear then crawled into bed beside me. "Tell me if my body heat is making you too warm, and I'll go into the other room, alright?"

I closed my eyes, swallowing hard. Fuck, I was still thirsty. "You're avoiding."

Bella must have been watching me because she sat up, and looked at me her brow furrowed. "I'm going to get you more water and bring over the Gatorade." She left me in bed, then reappeared with a bottle and a glass of water.. "Here, sit up." She asked, coming to sit beside me on the edge of the bed.

I took the glass from her and watched her sad eyes carefully. "You're still avoiding. I feel like I'm in a Beckett play. Everything I say will go ignored."

She put the bottle on the nightstand with a sigh. "I'm not avoiding. I just don't want to fight when you're sick. We've been fighting enough as is, the last thing I want to do is make you upset on top of everything else when you're not feeling well."

"It makes me even more upset that you won't talk to me. I... I want you to talk to me. But really, Bella if this is too much for you right now, then I'll call Ben to come and get me. You... you wanted me to leave yesterday, and yet I'm still here."

"Is Ben going to take care of you? Probably not. Edward you need someone to help you right now, just let me be that person okay? If you want to leave then I don't want to stop you, but know that's not what I want."

"I don't want to leave. I never want to leave." I sighed, slouching against the bed frame. "Bella, I love you."

She took the cup from me and replaced it on the nightstand before reaching over to brush the hair from my eyes."I love you too."

I watched as she came around to the other side of the bed and got in. We didn't say anything for a while, and then I felt her pushing on my side. "Roll over." She asked, so I obliged. Her hand went to work on my back, rubbing gentle, soothing circles over my skin. It was then that I realized that this was it for me. It didn't matter that Tanya only broke up with me a little. I broke up with her all the way.

The next morning, I woke up to the sun streaming in through the window. I groaned when I felt the cold on my back. Monday. Of course Bella was gone. I tried to sit up a little, but my body wasn't having it just yet. Then I heard Bella's voice coming from the half opened door of the bathroom.

"Mike, I understand. Please give them my cell phone number -- yes I understand this is not the way to start off a new relationship with a client..." I heard Bella sigh into the phone, and my heart dropped. "Michael, listen to me. I don't care. I have a sick boyfriend and I'm going to take care of him today. If you feel that is unprofessional then so be it, we can compare unprofessionalism notes with the higher ups when I get back.... I will bring up the incident with your secretary. Yes, I'm serious." She paused. All I wanted to do was run in there and tell her I wasn't worth it. "Great, I'm glad you understand. Again, please give them my cell number and I'll be checking work emails when I can today and tomorrow, if I'm unable to make it in." Another pause. "Mike, prior to a few months months ago I hadn't taken a single sick day or vacation day in over two years. I think I've more than proven myself to this company and if you feel differently, again this is something we can discuss with the executive team when I get back. For the time being, please note that I plan to be out of the office today and possibly tomorrow." Her voice was sure and decisive. So much so that I was a little afraid. "Yes, my boyfriend is more important than this job... Yes, I'm sure. Now stop prying into my personal business. I'll touch base with you regarding the start of the project with the new company later today and I'll follow up with Francois at Chanel to confirm that we're a go for an early September launch... alright, bye." She hung up and walked back into the bedroom, her hair tied up in a bun wearing one of my tee shirts.

I felt like such a miserable shit right then. "You didn't have to do that." God, Edward. Not even good morning, Bella, thanks for saving my life?

She came around to my side of the bed, her face etched with worry."Do what?"

I looked back from her to the bathroom. "Call out... you didn't have to do that."

"I know, but you need someone here to take care of you and possibly take you to the doctor and I'm that person." She said softly, cupping my jaw with her right hand. "We're a team, remember?"

I blinked at her, leaning into her touch. "But you'll get in trouble. Won't you? It didn't sound like he was happy."

"You're more important."

I blinked at her. Fuck, my eyes. "I am?"

She leaned in, placing a lingering kiss to my forehead. "Mhm."

I sighed, closing my eyes then grabbing her hand. "Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me."

"Don't thank me Edward. I love you; you'll always be the most important thing in my life." She paused, then scooted closer to me. "How're you feeling?"

I groaned, inching back down under the covers. "Shitty."

Her face fell, and all of a sudden I felt bad for making her feel bad. "Okay. Do you have the number to your doctor in your phone? I think we should go in and get you something, since obviously the over the counter stuff isn't helping at all."

I nodded, "My mom."

"Okay, did you want to call her or me?"

I started to say me, but I felt my stomach start to turn. I looked at Bella, then pointed to her. Before I knew it my head was back in the bucket.

BPOV

I rubbed his back as he continued to heave into the bucket, poor thing. Once he was done I kissed the back of his neck softly, and stood to get his phone. I was torn between being protective over him and wanting him to get better and being completely hurt.

I'd heard pretty much the entire conversation he'd had with Tanya the night before and had just been playing dumb when I asked who it was. I had heard everything he'd said, from him sounding worried that she was leaving, to him pretty much telling her not to dump him til he was feeling better. He didn't want to leave her; that's what I'd gotten from it. And that's why I couldn't answer him the five hundred times he'd asked if I was okay, because I wasn't.

His cell phone was tucked into his jeans that were a pile on the bathroom floor and I pulled it out scrolling for "mom". I hit talk and took a deep breath.

"Esme Cullen."

"Dr. Cullen? Hi, my name's Isabella. I'm a-- a friend of Edward's. Do you have a moment?" I asked shakily; incredibly nervous that my first introduction to his mother would be made under such circumstances.

She laughed lightly, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "Of course, dear. How are you?"

"I'm doing well." I replied, felling myself instantly relax at her response. "And yourself?"

"Fine, fine. What seems to be the trouble?"

"Well, Edward's a bit sick. He's had a persistent cough, chills, fever and has been vomiting a lot for the past 36 hours or so. He mentioned you were his doctor so I was calling to see if you could prescribe anything so that I could run and grab it for him."

"Any bleeding, swelling, aches, pains, fatigue?"

"No bleeding or swelling that I noticed. But he has seemed a bit achy and tired; He hasn't been able to really walk around on his own without assistance."

"Hm. Disoriented? Confused? Does he he know who you are at all times?"

"A little disoriented but that seems to come with the dizziness, I think. No confusion and he seems to know me." I replied with a smile.

"Okay. Well, it just sounds like the flu. I'm afraid you'll have to ride it out. Has he been able to keep anything down?"

My face fell a bit as I answered her. "No, not even Gatorade."

She was silent for a moment and I briefly wondered if the phone had dropped her called until I heard her hum into the receiver. "If that... persists, I want you to call me then 911 immediately. Let's see...it's 8:30 now, so we'll give him until eight tonight. Can you stay with him that long?"

"Of course. Is there anything I should be doing? That I can do to make this a bit more bearable for him?"

"Motrin should help the fever, and tell him to sip the Gatorade every once in a while. But if he can't keep them down, I'm afraid he'll have to wait until he gets to the hospital."

"Alright. I'll make sure to keep an eye on him then, to make sure he's keeping the gatorade down. Should I try giving him toast so he has food in his system before he takes the Motrin?"

"Try the gatorade first, to make sure he keeps it down. That way the acid in his stomach will be at a minimum. It has to stay down for 45 minutes, then you can give him toast. Saltines would also be okay."

"Okay, got it." I paused to scribble down what she said on a pad of paper. "I really appreciate this, Dr. Cullen."

"Alright dear. And remember to call me if you need anything or if something changes." She went silent, but I heard her shuffling papers around before she continued. "Oh, and Isabella? I really appreciate you doing this for my son. He could have used a good friend like you years ago. But never matter. At least he's found you now."

I bit my lip blushing at her words. "Thank you, I really appreciate it. You've raised a great man Dr. Cullen. Edward's..." I paused trying to think of the best way to put how I saw him into one word. "Edward is an incredible person." She thanked me for my kind words in return, and requested that I call her later if we wound up going to the ER. I agreed and hung up, grabbing a bottle of Motrin from my medicine cabinet before walking back into the bedroom where Edward was sitting up in bed, sipping the water that was beside him. I moved to sit next to him on the edge of the mattress. "Your mom says it's just the flu and you'll be feeling like crap for a bit." I held up the Motrin and shook it lightly in front of him. "For now you need to drink some Gatorade, take a couple of these and rest."

He nodded slowly. "Okay."

I reached for the Gatorade and opened the bottle, handing it to him. Once he had grabbed it, I poured 2 tablets into my hand and handed them to him watching him take the medicine and hand the bottle back to me. I screwed the lid back on and placed it back on the table beside him. "You should get some sleep, Edward."

"It feels like I've been sleeping for days. SHIT BELLA!" He exclaimed, bolting upright.

My eyes went wide and I scooted back, taken by surprise at his outburst. "What?"

"I have a shoot today. Shit motherfucking balls... fuck." He slumped back against the headboard, his face going a light shade of pea green.

"No, you're resting today." I replied firmly. "Who is it with? I'll reschedule it for you."

He shook his head, covering his face with his hands as he mumbled, "Vanity Fair."

My eyes widened. "Excuse me? You are getting to do a shoot for Vanity Fair and you didn't tell me? That's great news!" I replied before I could stop myself. Fuck. I sighed. "Okay, listen. I'll call them. We'll reschedule you for later in the week; I'm sure it'll be fine." I said, placing a hand on his chest. "I'll work my magic." I added with a wink.

He shook his head repeatedly. "Fucking fucking... fuck."

"Edward, listen to me. I'll fix it; we'll get it changed to later in the week and it'll be fine."

"I'm okay though... I'm okay. I don't look too sick, right?"

"Edward, you can't walk on your own volition and you're getting sick anytime you drink more than a sip of juice. You're staying home."

He dropped his head back, hitting the headboard with a solid 'thud' but not seeming phased. "You could go for me."

"Excuse me? Edward, even if I knew a little bit about photography, they want you to do it."

He groaned again, shaking his head against the headboard. "Fuck."

I kissed his cheek softly. "I'm going to run to your studio. You have a file for them there, with contact info right?"

He thought a moment before nodding. "Yeah, it's in my bag. In the darkroom. I think I still have some prints hanging up so be careful, okay?"

"I will, I won't touch anything except for your bag, promise." I stood up to change, throwing on a pair of jeans and a green sweater. "Do you need anything while I'm out?"

"A new body."

I puffed out a laugh. "No. This one just needs to get healthy so I can jump it again." I replied with a smirk as I walked over to him and kissed his forehead. "Call me if you think of anything okay?"

"Okay." He said grabbing my wrist feebly. "I love you."

I bent down and kissed his forehead again. "Love you too. I'll be back soon."

The Vanity Fair conversation wound up taking a lot longer than I thought. I'd had to call Francois at Chanel for a favor and have him threaten to pull their ads from the magazine - including the payments for the ads, if they didn't push back the shoot by 72 hours. Edward now had til Friday to get better; though he'd only have the weekend to take care of the slides as they couldn't move their proof deadline beyond next Monday. It was past 11 by the time I walked back into my apartment, the smell of sickness: sweat and germs, permeated in the air and I opened the windows in the living room that overlooked my complex's pool. I made my way into the bedroom, leaning my body against the door frame and smiling at the sleeping lump of Edward in my bed. He finally seemed to be sleeping a bit more peacefully and only had a few blankets thrown over him; much better than the 6 or so he'd needed the night before.

I crept quietly into the room and grabbed my laptop and cord, bring it back into the living room so I could do some work. I managed to get over 3 hours worth of work done before I heard Edward groan in the other room, a little after 2. I closed my notebook and walked quickly to the bedroom.

"Baby, everything okay?" I whispered as I approached him slowly. He groaned, his eyes half opened as his hand cluctched my wrist. "You were gone awhile." He murmured, his voice thick with sleep. I nodded. "Yeah, I got your shoot rescheduled to Friday and then I came home and was doing some work."

"Why didn't you lay with me?"

"You looked pretty peaceful; I didn't want to disturb you."

"I don't sleep as well without you Bella." He confessed.

"It's okay, I'm here now. I promise." I replied softly, standing up and getting down to my tshirt and underwear before crawling in beside him. I felt him sigh and saw him reach for the Gatorade, untwisting the cap and sipping it slowly before putting it back down. He turned onto his side and looked at me sleepily.

"I can't believe you put up with me." He lamented quietly.

"I don't put up with you Edward; I love you. People who love each other take care of one another. Thank you for letting me take care of you."

He laughed lightly, coughing a little as he did so. "Bella, only you would thank someone for 'letting them' be taken care of." I wasn't sure what to say to that, so I just smiled and moved closer, pressing my ear to his heart and rubbing my hands up and down his back gently.

"I love you; let's sleep some more." I replied into his t-shirt.

"Mhm." He agreed and I felt the top of his head rest on top of mine. "I love you too Bella. So, so much."

I smiled against his chest and closed my eyes, trying to add this memory to the vault of them I'd collected in my time with Edward. Ones, that I could look back at fondly once everything came crashing down.

Because after overhearing his conversation with Tanya, I knew now that it was inevitable.

No mater what he said to the contrary; I would lose him.