Baby You Can Stop Running
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight... Though I wish I owned Edward sigh

Chapter Four

BPOV

I felt the hard plastic of what was supposed to be a faux leather chair, followed by the familiar sting of antiseptic on an open wound, and I stifled the groan that I so desperately wanted to let out. I blamed Jessica for this, had she not stopped me in the lobby I never would have had to rush and my shoes, wet from the ground outside, never would have lost traction causing me to fall, flat on my face, in front of everyone. For someone who doesn't like attention, I sure find a way to attract it. Stupid Jessica Stanley. I felt the wet cotton as it brushed against my chin followed by an intense sting, it must have been where the cut was the deepest, and I could feel my eyes tear up from the pain. I would have thought that by now I would have been use to it, use to the sting, to the pain accompanied by my accidents.

Opening my eye slightly, all I could see was a mess of hair, beautiful bronze hair and I could instantly feel my heart race. God I hope I'm not hooked up to one of those heart monitors. His warm hand brushed against my chin as he lifted my head to look at the cut in a different light. This touch sent shivers down my spine; it was a touch unlike any that I had ever felt before and even thinking about it, I began to feel my cheeks grow hot as the blood rushed to them.

"What happened?" I whispered quietly, afraid to break his concentration, afraid that he would look up and notice me, see that my cheeks were red from embarrassment. As much as I wanted to see his face, to see the face that had kept me from falling for the third time that day, but I knew that if I did my body would have some kind of reaction that I wasn't prepared to deal with, besides, hot doctors, they aren't looking for plain girls like myself.

"I didn't see the whole thing; you must have fallen and busted your chin open." His voice sounded like smooth velvet, the way his word rolled off his tongue, it was soothing, sensual and intense, all wrapped up into one, the thought only burned my cheeks more. "When you stood up you fainted, I'm assuming from losing your equilibrium, but I was able to catch you before you fell again. I just need to suture it up." I felt like I could have sat there forever if he had asked me to and I had yet to see his face, strange, I was never like this. Ever since… Well, like I've said that's all ancient history, no use stirring up the memories any more so than they already are.

"Great… They are going to have a field day with this one," I groaned, imagining the look that Emmet would give me as soon as I walked into the room. I could even hear the tone in his voice, 'what's silly Bella gone and done to herself now?' The doctor who was treating my gash was quiet now, presumably because how can you respond to something like that, it's not like I gave him an opening. Though, that was fine, at least it gave me time to gather my thoughts, gather my feelings and figure out just what the heck was happening to me.

I could hear him humming a beautiful tune that I couldn't place and though I wanted to ask what it was I continued to keep still, I didn't want to make this any harder than it already was. I was anxious, anxious to leave the room and see Emmet and Charlie. There were so many things that Emmet had yet to tell me about Charlie and I was concerned about his condition, concerned that I would be too late. Had I not been being stitched up I knew I would have been much more fidgety than I already was, every so often slipping a soft whisper of an 'I'm sorry' when I shifted my body weight. I know that it didn't take that long, ten minutes at the most before I felt the thick bandage taped on and the velvety voice speak once again.

"I'm sorry but I do have to make up a chart and do your paperwork." I couldn't remember than in typical hospital protocol and I couldn't fight the urge to open my eyes as I jumped from the table and in doing so I realized that I stood before the most beautiful man that I had ever seen in my twenty-two years of existence. As an art history major, I had learned the proportions of a perfect face, and his face paled in comparison to what I had thought it would look like upon witnessing it. It was inhuman to be so beautiful. His nose, perfect in its narrow structure, high cheek bones, a perfectly chiseled square jaw, his green eyes, spaced just right, and his hair, the messiest part of his features had to be his hair, and yet, even that was perfect, somehow in its imperfection it was exactly the way it should have been, something that gave his angel before me a human quality.

"I know… Listen they have a huge file here on me though it's been a few years…I just really have to get to another room. Whomever it is that needs my information can take it there." My voice cracked slightly as I tried to maintain my breathing, tried hard to imagine anything but this man in front of me whose eyes seemed to bore into my soul.

"I'll just need your name."

"Isabella Swan." I replied, moving quickly to the door, desperately doing all I could to get out of there fast enough, my hand was on the door knob when I turned around once more, realizing that I had left out a critical piece of information if he, or any of the nurses who would write the chart had been planning on locating me. ". "I need to get to Charlie Swan's room. Emmet will be worried that I haven't shown up yet."

I left the doctor standing there, not bothering to see if he would even reply, my heart was crushing against my chest, how could I possibly feel a connection that strong with someone I barely knew? Schoolgirl crush, that had to be it, the only logical explanation, it had been so long since I had even noticed anyone of the opposite sex so it just made sense, eventually my body would react to one, especially one as good looking at he was. I shook the thought from my mind as I reached Charlie's door and tried hard to compose myself. What would I see when I entered the room? How bad would it be? Would he really not push through?

Losing Charlie was something I never wanted, something that I was afraid of and something I wasn't prepared for. For so many years he had been my rock, my one steady in a world that seemed to be changing so rapidly before me. Which was why, when I left for California, I felt that I had betrayed him, that I had left him alone to rot in the small town. The quilt was only added to when I decided that disappearing was the best option, granted it wasn't a full removal from my past life, I did still have contact with Emmet who, if he told me the truth, frequently updated him on my whereabouts, my accomplishments and what not. I just thought it would be easier that way, I wasn't sure he would ever look at me the same as he once had if he had known the truth, the truth behind what I was hoping to leave behind in leaving Forks. But now, everything was so screwed up and I only realized that in trying to not hurt anyone, I hurt the one person who I knew, never would have abandoned me, who would have been there even in the mist of the ordeal, who would have looked beyond everything and loved me unconditionally. Now, I was afraid that I had messed it all up, that I had rejected him and in doing so he had shut me entirely out of his world.

I walked in, the door, like all the others in the hospital was propped open, it made it easier when the doctors had to come in, no need to formally ask for permission, not to mention if something went wrong they would know right away. Charlie was asleep on the bed, and I was flooded with a wave of distress; he looked so fragile, so breakable, my strong father looked like I could snap him in half if I tried. Emmet was lounging in a chair, his head hanging to his chest, he must have dozed off while waiting for me, and I placed my hand on his shoulder, watching as he thrust his head back up, supporting it with his strong neck.

"Bells what happened?" He smiled, acting as though he had never been asleep, his eyes falling on the bandage.

"Stupid Jessica Stanley…" I muttered, ignoring the curious glance that he gave me. "My shoes were wet and I was in a hurry to get here and my feet kind of slipped out from under me."

He chuckled softly, not wanting to wake our sleeping father. "How many stitches this time?"

"Fifteen." I grumbled collapsing into the chair next to him. "How long has he been sleeping?"

Emmet glanced at the clock, "About an hour… He'll wake up again soon, about twenty minutes before lunch. He's got his body regulated to it already. He would have passed out sooner but he was trying to stay awake because he knew you were coming."

"He probably thought I changed my mind." I sighed, the never ending guilt was something that would never go away. I hated that I hurt him so badly, that I could cause that much pain.

Emmet just shrugged, there was nothing he could say to reassure me and that meant there was no point in arguing with me. "Rose should be here soon."

The Emmet's mention of Rosalie perked me up slightly. The woman had singlehandedly changed the course of my brother's life and I had yet to even met her. Granted, that was my problem really, I was the one who had exiled myself. Still, I had a desire to know her. I had seen pictures and even I had to admit I had never seen anyone as beautiful as she was, well, the doctor this morning was pretty much on par with her but he was a he… She was the most beautiful woman that I had ever seen; it was as if she had stepped off the pages of a fashion magazine. Emmet adored her, it was obvious, in the pictures of the two of them that he had sent my way, he always starred at her with a love in his eyes that I had never known before, such adoration for a single person, it blew my mind.

"So you let her drive from the airport but you have to pick me up?" My voice was filled with slight indignation. I sometimes resented the leash that he kept me on.

"SHE isn't accident prone like you are. I don't have to worry about her driving off the side of the road trying to swerve to hit a squirrel that just happens to run out in front of her." I sighed my resignation, there was no point in arguing, I didn't really have stellar luck, there was no denying that.

"When did her flight get in?"

"Around ten I think." He pulled his phone and checked his call log. "Yeah, ten."

"I'm looking forward to meeting her, to see the girl who changed my brother's playboy ways." He laughed at that. Just as he liked to tease me about my constant accidents and frequent blushing, I chose to tease him about his womanizing ways, well, what used to be his womanizing ways, I suppose I'll have to find something else now. As much as I'd love to make fun of his sex life, I knew that as soon as I mentioned sex my cheeks would flush, only giving him more of an opening to ridicule me.

"Please don't tell her about those days…" He said softly, his eyes looking towards the bed as Charlie stirred slightly, though his breathing slowed once again as he found sleep.

"You mean to tell me that Rosalie is unaware of your past extracurricular activities with the ladies of U Dub?" My mouth was open in mock surprise, and I felt the pillow that he smacked me lightly with.

"Seriously Bells… This girl is different." He was serious, and his eyes pleaded with me and in so many ways it warmed my cold heart. I was pretty much anti relationship right now, never having found my own happy ending with the men that I allowed into my life, but seeing Emmet, seeing the look in his eyes, the abject fear that I would let something slip that would break this girlfriends heart made my insides tingle. It was a side of him that I wasn't sure I would ever see in my life, a side of him that I was happy to be able to see, a side that somewhat gave me hope that I might someday find my happy ending. My thoughts shifted to the doctor and my cheeks flushed once again.

"I promise." I replied, covering my face with my hands, not wanting him to see, not wanting to be the butt of another joke today. "I thought the doctor was going to come and talk to you."

"Oh, no… He probably went home now; I went straight to his office before I came to dad's room. Though I expect he'll be back later this afternoon to check on him, even if it is his weekend off."

"You seem to know the guy pretty well."

"Yeah well… I don't know, he's always around when I need to talk and he seems to listen which is kind of nice once in a while. Plus, he's been with dad since the beginning and he's really followed through with his medical care, I feel like I owe the guy more than I could ever give him. Carlisle's been great too, but his son is really a miracle worker, I can see why he wanted him to move over here so badly, most of the doctors here don't know a foot from a hand."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner."

"Don't worry about it Bells…" He sighed, I knew that we were heading straight towards a talk that I wasn't even sure I was ready for, wasn't sure I wanted to have in this room, with Charlie able to wake up at any moment and hear it. "I just… I guess I don't really understand why you had to cut off all contact, why you never… I mean, I get why you didn't want to come back, hell, I wouldn't have wanted to come back… But dad… He was always there for us, for you, and…"

"I know…" I whispered, hanging my head. "I know what I did was wrong, I just thought that if he knew the truth, if I ever let it slip that he would kill me, or Jacob, or lose the best friend that he ever really knew around here… You know as well as I do that he would never speak to Bill again… It just seemed like the only option. I mean, for so long I was just too wrapped up in what was happening to me that he would know, he would have known if he had talked to me…"

"But you took care of it, you seemed to have moved on and yet you wanted nothing to do with anything here…"

"It's the memories Em… This town is ripe with memories that all I want to do is forget, even Char… Dad is ripe with them… Even you a little."

"I know it was hard Bella, I'm not saying that it was easy for you… But maybe it would have been easier if you had your family around, if you let us help you through it."

"Maybe…" I said softly but I silenced myself when I heard Charlie's breathing quicken again, he was awake…

EPOV

I didn't chase after the brunette beauty who had raced from the room. I didn't even go to Charlie's room like I had told Emmet that I would, no, I couldn't see her looking as I did, a forty-eight hour shift meant that I was just a little rough around the edges, well, more than a little. I probably would have run away from me too. Still, as I got into my Volvo, I couldn't seem to get her out of my mind. This had been the girl that Emmet and Charlie had gone on and on about, for some reason she wasn't what I had been expecting.

If I was being honest with myself, I would have been expecting someone tall, much taller than what I assumed to be her five foot, three, maybe four inch frame; I imagined her to be muscular and instead she was slender, not a hint of athleticism about her. She was stunning, in a way that most women were not, and what made it even more appealing, she was completely unaware of her beauty, completely unaware that a glance from her had literally taken my breath away.

I sped down the quiet streets, barely taking notice of the few people in town walking around, presumably on their way to lunch. I wanted to go back; I wanted her to see me at my fullest potential, that required a shower and clean clothes. Esme's car was parked in the driveway and I took notice that Alice and Jasper were around as well, though as I turned the ignition off, I didn't really even think about stopping to talk to them. I wasn't sure how long they were going to be at the hospital so I wasn't sure how long my window of opportunity would be.

"Edward!" Esme's voice called out, stopping me halfway to the stairs to my bedroom. "Something's different…" She commented and I raised my eyebrows at her. "You met someone!"

"No." I spouted, it was true, sort of, after all I really hadn't met Bella in the way that I was hoping to met her this afternoon, if I could ever get out of this house, if they would stop bombarding me with questions and let me get to it, she could celebrate later, when I brought Bella over as my girlfriend… Hmm, might be jumping the gun there a little, she might want nothing to do with me, then again, I was a patient man, I could wait.

"Really?"

"Really what?" My youngest sister, because even though I was adopted I still thought of her like a sister, still treated her like a sister, asked walking in. I looked at her momentarily, trying hard not to laugh as I took in her outfit. I wasn't sure why she bothered with the outfits that she wore here, no one else wore five inch heels. It was rather out of place, and quite unnecessary, but if anyone tried to take them away from her, she through a fit like none other and no one wanted to deal with it after the first time that they tried.

"I think Edward met a girl." She smiled her warm smile. Esme was a natural at being a mom, and although I missed my own parents, her presence did help, there was no denying that. She took me in, no questions asked and treated me like one of her own, had I not lived ten years under the house of my dead parents, I never would have guessed that I had been adopted.

"I did not." I insisted, feeling the buzz of my cell phone in my pocket.

"Oh! Who is she?" Alice grinned. "Please don't tell me you let Jessica Stanley finally sink her claws into you… I might have to wash you in anti-bacterial when you get home from going out with her. That girl is vile." I stifled the laugh, and shook my head before reaching into my pocket and pulling my cell phone out.

"Hello?" I asked unsure as to who was calling, they had distracted me from looking at the LCD screen and I had failed to notice who had called. "Emmet, I'm sorry I didn't stop by before I left, I meant to but I was side tracked." That was putting it lightly. "Is Charlie okay?" I listened as Emmet described his condition, that he had spiked a small fever and was sleeping more than was usual. "I can stop by this afternoon if you like, I'm sure the sleeping is just his body trying to recover, the more he sleeps the better off he might be in the end, it allows his body to rest so he can fight the infections." I could hear the concern in Emmet's voice and it made me slightly uncomfortable, especially as he told me not to worry about it, that he was just being overly cautious, something that he attributed to Bella's constant questioning. "I can stop by and explain things to her…" I desperately hoped that he would say yes but he didn't, he told me to enjoy my weekend and I sighed slightly, not realizing how audible it was because he had invited me over for dinner a few moments after. "Oh, I wouldn't want to impose." I could feel myself grinning; I could see my dream girl once again. "Let me bring something then please. I feel like a shit just showing up empty handed." He insisted that I needn't bring anything and that I should be there around seven, it would give him plenty of time to clean up after leaving the hospital and for dinner to be prepared. "Are you sure?" I asked once again and he insisted that it was. "I'll be over later then." We said our goodbyes and I ended the call, looking up to see Esme and Alice's eyes staring straight at me.

"Who was that?" Alice grinned.

"Emmet, Officer Swan's son, apparently he was just worried and his youngest sister is back in town and was concerned." I replied, realizing then that the grin had not left my face. "I didn't have time to stop by and introduce myself and fill her in on the details, and she has been worrying him."

"The infamous Bella Swan is back?" Alice commented.

"I suppose… I've never met her." I lied.

"I use to see her around school when we had moved here." My heart raced when Alice said that, maybe I could find something out about her, yet I didn't want to appear too eager, I didn't want to give anything away, like the fact that I was falling head over heels for her.

"Oh…" I replied as nonchalantly as possible. "Was she in your class?" Alice narrowed her eyes as she looked at me, and I shook my head, a wordless expression telling her not to read too deeply into my questioning.

"No, she was a year older than me, popular though she never seemed to like that title, or that role. She mainly hung our around Angela Webber, though she was grouped together with Jessica Stanley, Lauren Mallory, Mike Newton and that lot…" I watched her shiver as she said their names; I knew she hated them as much as I did. "I think she even dated Jacob Black before she went to Stanford."

"What was she like?" I realized that my probing was going to get suspicious but I still wanted to know as much about her as I could before seeing her again. I felt a pang of jealousy as Alice mentioned Jacob Black's name and how Bella had dated him. I barely knew her and here I was, jealous? I needed to get a grip on myself.

"Quiet… Always did her work, she was probably one of the smartest girls in that grade… Though she was always pretty clumsy, tripping over her own two feet. The boys all liked her, Mike Newton even tried a few times to get with her, Tyler too, though she seemed to never pay any attention to them, then again, she had Jacob… She was defiantly pretty, though she never seemed aware of it, her sense of style was lacking, I always wanted to get my hands on her, give her a makeover though that probably would have scared her senseless. All I know is after she went to Stanford she dropped off the map, I guess that's why it took me by surprise that you said she was back. Why are you so curious anyway?" She lifted her eyebrow at me and I noticed that Esme looked on with curiosity.

"I'm just curious is all… I'm meeting her tonight and I have to explain what is happening with her father… Just wanted to get a little background information."

"Sure…" She grinned before turning her back on me and leaving the room.

"Well… I guess I'm going to go lay down before I head out tonight. I'm pretty tired."

"Okay sweetheart. I'm under the assumption you won't be joining us for dinner?" I shook my head as she placed a motherly kiss on my cheek. "Just say goodbye before you leave. I know you're old enough to go off without telling me but I just worry is all."

"I know." I smiled before turning and walking up the stairs and heading to my room, hoping that I would find a few hours of sleep. It seemed impossible though; my mind was too excited about the prospect of tonight and what might come from introducing myself to the girl who seemed to shake up my entire life in only a few minutes.

A/N: Just wanted to thank everyone who is reading and adding this story to your alerts/favorites, a special thanks to: Lady Persephone, Molly Cullen, TwilightLover12Edward, and rainpuddle13 for your reviews, I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know what you think! I'm already working on Chapter Five and it will have Bella's talk with Charlie, as well as Edward and Bella meeting for the second time, Rose will make her first appearance as well! So please continue to send me your thoughts! When I hear that people like what they are reading I tend to be a much better updater because I know people are looking foward to reading more! So don't be shy!