Baby You Can Stop Running
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight

Chapter Thirty Two

Edward

I stood by the window watching the rain as it pelted violently against the glass and the clouds told a tale of thunder and lightning that threatened to strike at any minute. I couldn't keep myself from looking, knowing that even if there was something out there, there was nothing I could do about it. They were there; the authorities would take care of it. Still, I had a desire to protect Bella, knowing that she was only a few feet away. If anything were to happen to her…

I let my eyes fall upon the unmarked car parked outside where I could see the agent shift around in his seat; undoubtedly he was surveying the area once again. Squinting, I could see another agent perched in a tree, a green tarp shielding him from the elements and I wanted to bring something out to him to make sure he was warm, or at the most, decently comfortable. I owed these men everything, they were keeping my family and my Bella safe, though still I couldn't help but feel that this wouldn't be enough. If these people really wanted to get to me, they would find a way. I just hoped if that were to be the case, they would get to me before they could get to Bella.

"No. I won't go," Bella mumbled for what I thought must have been the tenth time since she had fallen asleep. I turned from my place near the window and let my eyes fall upon her sleeping frame on my large bed. My lip twitched as I moved closer, pulling into a slightly frown. My weight fell onto the mattress and I watched as she moved on the pillow, snuggling her head deeper into it, her long, chocolate hair scattered against the white pillow like a halo. She continued to mummer and I reached forward and tangled my hand in her hair, every now and then running my fingers against her temple.

"Dr. Cullen, there is a woman at the nurses' station asking to speak to you. She seems a little troubled." Janie said as she walked into the empty room that I was taking some refuge in. I had been working non-stop since stepping foot into the hospital and I still have five hours left on my shift. I suppose that's what you get when your personal life falls apart and you have to take so much time off to fix it.

"Who is it?" I asked. I didn't want to go out there if it was just Alice. Alice could wait, I just needed a break.

"Miss. Swan."

"Is she okay? She isn't hurt is she?"

"I don't think so but she is upset." Janie replied and I nodded, following her out to the nurses' station where Bella was leaning against the counter, her head buried in her hands and I could see her back shaking from what were probably the silent sobs she was crying.

"Bella?" She turned around and I saw her tear streaked face, her eyes puffy and red. "Bella, what's wrong?"

"I-I left," she replied as I pulled her into my arms just as Carlisle walked by, stopping a few feet away to observe.

"Left where?"

"Charlie…" I could feel her tears as they began to soak through the fabric of my scrubs but I wasn't concentrating on that, I had to calm her down so I pulled her tighter against me, feeling every inch of her body against my own. "He wanted me to go… To leave but I can't. I won't."

"Shhh…" I whispered, my hand rubbing small circles on her back as I felt her deep breaths to calm the sobs that had rocked her body.

"I won't go. I won't leave you," she said over and over again while she gripped my waist tighter as though she was afraid if she let go I would be gone. There was nothing I could do so I just held her, rubbing small circles on her back while resting my chin on the crown of her head, allowing me to breath in the scent of her shampoo.

"I know Bella… I know." I locked eyes with my adoptive father who nodded with understanding. I couldn't be at work, Bella needed me and it was the least I could do for her. It would be another week where I would spend only a few hours at the hospital, but somehow, I didn't care. I didn't care about any of it, all I wanted was to be with Bella and to make sure she was okay. She needed me more than the hospital needed me right now.

"Edward, your shift is up. You should take Bella to the house."

I had taken her home immediately where she proceeded to hang on to me, her arms wrapped tightly around my neck as we laid in bed. Her tears subsided however as she began to fall asleep, exhausted after having exerted so much energy crying but I continued to hold her until the rain had started.

This hadn't been the life that I had signed up for, and I was certain that this wasn't what she had signed up for either when she had agreed to be with me and yet here she was, sticking beside me and neglecting everything else that she had going for her in her life. The guilt that racked my mind was intense, I was taking her from the family that she was only being reunited with and I knew there was no way that Charlie or Emmett would ever be able to forgive me for that. If I was in their position, it would take all the strength in me to not get a gun and hunt down the man stealing my daughter from me. There were the two people who had been patiently waiting for her to return for four years and instead of keeping her, I was ripping it all apart for them.

I felt sick that this was happening, and sick that there was nothing I could do about it. I was too selfish to give her up. I needed her to survive now. She was the only thing keeping me hanging on.

The door creaked as it opened and I looked up from where I was sitting to see Alice standing with half her body in the room.

"Edward?" She said softly and I looked up to meet her eyes. "Agent Uley is here."

"Does he want to see Bella too?"

"No… But Chief Swan does."

"Chief Swan is here?"

She nodded and I groaned. He was going to kill me.

Chief Swan was standing by the couch, his body stiff and when his eyes locked with mine, I was finally aware of what it meant when someone said 'if looks could kill.' His eyes were dark with a rage that he was trying hard to conceal and the only reason that I knew that, was because I knew the look so well. It was the same look that I so often saw when I looked in the mirror when my thoughts drifted to the people who were trying to rip apart my life, the people who were trying to harm the most innocent and most perfect thing in my life.

The tension in the room was palpable and I knew the look on my face showed my desperation. I wanted nothing more than for all this to be over and for my life and my life with Bella to move forward. I fell onto the couch, sinking down into the cushions and leaning my head back against the pillows before pinching the bridge of my nose. There were so many questions I wanted to ask but I wasn't sure where to start or if I wanted to know, but the look on Sam Uley's face showed me that there was something that was happening and it was something that everyone in that room needed to know.

"What's the news?" My voice came easier than I had anticipated under the scrutiny.

"I'm afraid it's not good, but it's not exactly bad either." He started and I raised my eyebrows. "We've linked a Mr. Laurent DuBois and a Mr. Riley Hartson to the area who have an obscure connection to the Malinovsky's."

"So they have been apprehended?"

"No… We traced them to a house not far out of town but when we searched the place there was nothing there. We think that somehow they caught wind of our presence and moved out."

"So they're gone?" I asked, leaning forward, my arms on my lap, supporting my upper body.

"I can't answer that. We've put out a report for police in Kitsup, Pierce and King Counties to be on the lookout, just in case."

"What are the chances of finding them?" I heard Carlisle ask and I looked over to see his arm around Esme, his hand rubbing circles against her arm in an attempt to sooth the fears that I knew she was feeling as well. I had been so wrapped up in all this that I often found myself forgetting that this was happening to others too. True they were no after them, they were after me, they were after Bella, and I knew that they were feeling the pain as well. It was just different and with everything that was on my plate, I had pushed their feelings to the wayside.

"I don't know… D.C. headquarters have been in touch with Illinois and New York and they are doing all they can to round up as many of the Malinovsky's as they can but it's much more difficult than it seems. Those that they have found won't talk for fear that if they are released that they will pay the price."

"What if we put them in witness protection?" Carlisle continued to press.

"It's pointless. I'd like to say that the FBI is impenetrable but we all know that's not the case. The Malinovsky's have been around far too long and have their hands in every government operation that exists: CIA, NSA, FBI…"

"So this is never going to end?" I sighed.

"I can end… We need to find who it is that is after you now… Then we'll see if there is something we can offer the family, something that will get them away from you and from Bella…"

"Like what? What could they possibly want? And doesn't that go against the purpose of the law?"

"The point of the law is to protect the citizens… Sometimes, there are different things we have to do to go about making sure that is the ultimate outcome."

"But you want to take down the Malinovsky's," I countered. I still had no idea what it was they were planning on doing, how they were planning on doing it, or even if it would work. It just didn't seem plausible.

"Everyone has a price and right now, the ultimate goal is making sure that you are okay… Money for the Malinovsky's and the Volturi is what matters, money dictates power but ultimately, money is traceable and eventually we are certain that we will find a way to get to them successfully without a high cost."

"It doesn't seem plausible."

"It never does when you are so close to the situation. If you were to remove yourself from it, I think it might make more sense. Either way… When this is all over, we will move you and Bella to a secure location and will guarantee protection, just in case. It's always easier to thwart something that is just starting than when it is in a full blown attack."

"So witness protection is out of the picture?" Esme prodded and Sam nodded his head.

"I take it Bella is here, at the house?" Sam questioned and I nodded.

"Where's my daughter?" Charlie asked, and I looked up to find him standing only a few feet away from me.

"Sleeping upstairs… She exhausted herself."

"I don't want her here. I want her out of the state."

"Charlie, as an agent, I have to advise you against making that decision." Sam interrupted and I was thankful that he had. "We can keep an eye on her here and more than anything, they will probably follow her there and there won't be anyone to protect her there. I know it's hard to take as a father, but I'm fairly certain that Edward would die to protect her if it came down to it, which I promise it won't."

Charlie grunted something that was incomprehensible and I looked towards the stairs. I could wake her up, I could show him that she was safe, but I would never have his trust ever again and in that moment I could taste the salty iron flavor as tiny drops of blood tickled my taste buds from the vicious manner at which I had been attacking the sides of my cheeks with my molars.

"Chief Swan…" I began after I ran my tongue over the mangled patch of the inside of my mouth, "if I could change this, if I could go back and make it so that Bella was never in this position I would do it in a heartbeat."

"So get the hell out of town," he glowered.

"I can't leave her." I hung my head with my confession. "If I could I would but I can't physically detach myself from her. I am so sorry but I would never want to take her away from you… I know, better than most, what she's been through and what you've been through and I'm sorry that this is coming at this time… I just want you to know that I care about her, that I love her, and that I'll never let anything happen to her. I won't be like him."

"I suggest you leave him out of it. I just want to see my daughter…"

I nodded, he was upset and he had every right to it. Who was I to keep him from her? If I did, then I was no better than Jacob. I would have been exactly like him.

My hands stilled over the ivory colored keys of my piano when I heard the footsteps in the hall. Though I knew that it couldn't be anyone but my family or Bella, my heart still raced with the thoughts of someone else, of an intruder. I hated the edge that I was on, the constant state of panic that seemed to course through my veins and body. I wanted to be relaxed; I wanted to go back to the easy days of the beginning of my relationship with her. The days when I was genuinely happy, before I thought much of the threats. I wanted to go back to San Francisco, to the days before Alice had called and told me that they knew about my sweet Bella.

"Edward?" Her voice broke through the silence like bells and I looked up to see her standing there, clad in my boxers and an old undershirt. I was gnawing on my cheek again.

"Are you angry with me?" She asked, keeping her distance.

"Why would you think that?"

"Ever since Charlie spoke with me… You've been distant and then I woke to find you gone."

"I'm sorry…" I replied, before lifting my hand and beckoning her. She walked slowly and when she was standing by the bench, I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her down so she was sitting next to me.

"I couldn't sleep and you were sleeping so soundly I didn't want to bother you with my tossing and turning because I couldn't sleep." I buried my head in the crook of her neck, smelling the sweet scent of lavender against her skin.

"So you aren't upset with me?"

"Bella I could never be upset with you…"

We sat there, in the silence as she ran her fingers through my hair. I didn't want the moment to end, just wanting to make this last forever, for everything to be good and calm and pleasant.

"Don't ever do that again… Leave and not tell me. I didn't like waking up and not knowing where you were." She finally broke the silence, pulling away from me so that her eyes met my own so I could see just how serious she was about it.

"I won't."

Bella

Three days and still no word of what was happening, no word as to when life could continue to move forward and I was getting cabin fever. The Cullen's house was large, and that was putting it in modest terms, but being cooped up in a house wasn't something that I had ever enjoyed. Christmas was merely a few days away and I hadn't been able to get anyone presents because Edward wouldn't let me leave the house. I couldn't blame him exactly, I knew how dangerous it was to leave but I just wanted him to see that I couldn't stand it anymore. My thoughts shifted to Charlie, to how angry he was.

"Why are you doing this Bella?"

"Because he needs me and I can't leave him… It won't do anyone any good and I'm so much better off staying here… I'm safe here."

"You aren't safe anywhere… I want to get you out of the country, to get you as far away from here as possible."

"What about what I want dad?" I asked, looking down at my hands.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I don't want to go," I replied softly and I felt his weight on the edge of the bed as he sat down. I looked up and met his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere… I'm not leaving you, I'm not leaving Emmett and I'm certainly not leaving Edward. I know how crazy this is going to sound amongst all this but even though I'm scared about what is happening, I've never been so happy dad… I have you and Emmett again and I found someone I love and who loves me enough to die for me… Not that I want that, or that I will let it come to that because it's not… We're going to get through this and life is going to keep going and we are all going to move forward together."

He was shaking his head at me, "Bella that's naïve… You don't know that everything is going to be okay, you can never know that something is going to turn out favorably."

"I do… Just… Trust me. I'm not going anywhere."

"I just…"

"Don't blame him dad… He didn't know… All of this… It's new for each and every single one of us. And, as much as you think this is hard for you and for me… Imagine if you woke up one day to find out that your mom wasn't the person you thought she was…" I reached forward to place my hand on Charlie's. We weren't an affectionate family, he always shied away from anything resembling emotion but for some reason, it felt like the right thing to do. "He needs to know that this isn't his fault and you aren't making this any easier… Don't make me chose between the two of you… Please… Don't you owe him a chance?"

"I don't see what I owe him after this." He grunted and I pulled my hand away, suddenly angry.

"He saved your life… If only for that, he deserves a second chance…"

"I'll think about it."

"I guess that's all I have to say to you then…"

Outside the rain was still pouring and I looked towards the fire that Edward had started before he went to take a shower. Being cooped up would have been much more difficult if he hadn't been around and I was thankful that Carlisle had allowed Edward time off, though it didn't seem like he had any other option. Just as I knew it wasn't safe for me to be out, it was equally, if not even more, unsafe for Edward to be walking around alone outside.

I couldn't help but chuckle. Forks was never a place where anyone would think it would be unsafe to walk around alone. And yet, here we were, unable to enter the world outside for fear that something would go horribly wrong. It was amazing what could change over four years.

My fingers touched the leather cover the Esme's old, first edition of Pride and Prejudice and I willed my mind to settle so I could focus on the words.

"How are you holding up?" I felt the cushion next to me move and I looked to the side to see Alice sitting there.

"Best as I can I suppose… I wish I could say the same for your brother," I shrugged.

"Yeah, he has been a little moody lately."

"It's hard to be angry with him about it… You should cut him some slack, he's going through a lot and even though I've told him numerous times that I'm not upset with him for all this he doesn't seem to understand. I just wish that he would let me out of this house… I'm feeling claustrophobic which seems blasphemous in a house this large."

"He hasn't really had anyone in his life like you Bella… He doesn't know how to react to something like this."

"I know…"

"No… Let me finish… I've been wanting to talk to you for awhile but he's been hogging you," she chuckled which caused me to smile back at her. "There have been girls in his life but you are the first person that he has ever gotten close to, besides mom, dad and I… I know how smothered you feel right now but he doesn't know anything other than this… It's the only way that he feels he can keep you safe. He feels so bad for everything…"

"I know… Trust me."

"I just want you to know… That before all this happened, before shit hit the fan, I'd never seen him so damn happy. You changed him for the best and I'm thankful for that…"

"We'll… He's changed me too and I'll always feel indebted to him. If it wasn't for him I'm pretty sure I would have gone back to California as soon as Charlie recuperated."

"What are you talking about?" I turned and smiled when I saw him walking into the room and he smiled back.

"Nothing." Alice replied and he lifted his eyebrows with suspicion.

"So… I've been a little bit like a prison ward lately and I'm sorry," he said as he sat down next to me, pulling me tightly into his side. "Alice has talked me into letting you go with her to go shopping… There will be an agent with you both and I can't imagine that anyone would try something in a crowded mall…"

I wasn't sure if I wanted to kiss or kill him. I was thankful for the opportunity to get out of the house but shopping wasn't something that I wanted to do, especially if the stories about Alice's shopping habits were true.

"I promise I will go easy on you." Alice grinned.

"You knew about this all along didn't you?" I asked and she nodded enthusiastically. "I don't really have a choice then do I?"

"No." She grinned and I turned into Edward's side, tucking myself into him.

"Now that I'm telling you that you can go out, you are snuggling up against me?" He laughed and I nearly cried. It had been so long since he had been so light, since his tone had been so worry free and calm and for some many reasons I suddenly wanted to stay with him, to revel in the happy, calm Edward that was before me. It was this person that I missed the most and had been waiting for.

"I don't want to go shopping." I whined and he dropped a kiss to my head.

"Go… You should get out of the house… I was being a little bit too over protective," He said softly before I felt his warm breath against my ear sending delicious chills down my spine. "I just wanted to keep you safe because I don't want to lose you."

"What are you going to do while we are out?"

"Don't you worry about that."

"But you will be back when we do?"

"I will." He replied with a soft smile.

"Alright… Lead the way Alice." I relented, savoring the goodbye kiss that he had placed against my lips before allowing her to drag me out to her car and to an uncertain destiny.

A/N:

I know, I know I said I would send previews but with everything going on I want to say I am so so sorry that I didn't get around to it… BUT I WILL SEND A PREVIEW OF THE NEXT CHAPTER! As for updates in the future… Things are really, really busy for me right now with me applying to grad schools and with school work but as soon as Spring Break rolls around, I'm thinking things will let up a bit! Which is good because I want to end this story and get a move on with the next one!

Now… This WAS ready on Sunday, but fanfiction has been a pain in the ass… As you probably know…

So, I know it's a short chapter but for some reason I can't bring myself to add more… Nevertheless… Things are going to get intense from here on out…

Lil-Mz-Sunshine: I love long reviews! Thank you for your kind words!

Insane Bliss: I'm so glad to hear that you followed me from my Buffy stories! Thank you for your review! And I'm so glad that you like it!

ALSO!

I have another story that I'm working on… It's much different than this one… Angsty and fluffy… So please check it out and let me know what you think… It's called You Found Me and I'll be posting chapter five hopefully tomorrow!

Please review! It's better than a day of sunshine in Washington!