A/N Happy Friday! I'm updating as promised in my last chapter, but I have to admit I'm a bit disappointed. There were well over a thousand hits, but only two reviews for the chapter. Your reviews really keep me motivated to keep writing and with only two, I start to wonder if it's worth it to continue. Please leave me a quick note after you read this and let me know if you want me to continue. If I don't get more than one or two people wanted me to finish, then I'll lower it on my priority list. I am extremely busy and do my best to make time to write this story. Please let me know it's worth it by sending me a quick review! I would really appreciate it! Anyway, here's the next chapter. I'm hoping to update again my Tuesday or Wednesday. If I get a ton of reviews, I'll update sooner if I can. :)
I hope you enjoy and again, please review!

Chapter 61 – More Tests

After leaving his father in the hallway and rejoining Bella, he was overcome with emotions. Without even really thinking about it, he walked straight to Bella and engulfed her in a warm embrace. He couldn't help it; he just felt such a strong need to hold her as close as he possibly could. He never realized that she might misread his actions and start to panic. After reassuring her that he just needed to hold her for a minute, he told her how much he loved her and that he would never be able to express it properly.

Her next words, combined with her actions, had him straining against his pants. "Mmmm. Maybe you can show me later. You know what they say, right? Actions speak louder than words," she practically purred in his ear before sucking his earlobe into her mouth. He felt a deep growl erupt from his chest and couldn't help thinking HOLY HELL! He wanted to take her right there in the trauma room but knew that wasn't a possibility.

The second she released him, he pulled back to look into her lust filled gaze. She definitely wanted him as much as he wanted her. Trying to adjust himself without being too obvious about it he said, "You're a little temptress, aren't you?"

His erection was still throbbing painfully but he feverishly pressed his lips to hers and forced his way into her mouth to deepen the kiss. Time and place ceased to exist as they kissed, at least until Irina came in and cleared her throat. When the noise broke their moment, they both sort of jumped apart, breathing heavily.

After Irina explained what was going to happen and Edward reassured Bella that he would be right outside, they headed to Radiology. Edward never once released Bella's hand because he knew how much she needed him there with her. The bond between them was stronger than he had ever seen in anyone. Even Carlisle and Esme's bond seemed to pale in comparison.

When they reached the room, Bella tugged on his hand, bringing him down to her level on the bed. "I love you, Edward. Thank you for being here with me," she whispered to him.

He thought he heard her voice tremble slightly, so he gently placed his index finger under her chin and tilted her face up to his. Looking directly into her eyes, he spoke in a husky whisper. "Bella, I will always be here for you for anything and everything. Always. I love you, Beautiful." He closed the short distance between their lips and kissed her sweetly before standing and gesturing for Irina to take her into the room.

When the door closed, he allowed himself to slump against the wall in the hallway. Looking at his watch, he discovered that it was only noon. Today had been one of the longest days of his life and he was truly exhausted, but he couldn't wait to take Bella out of here so they could continue with the wedding prep. In just barely more than a day, Bella would be his wife.

His thoughts were interrupted moments later when Irina reopened the door. They couldn't be done yet; it had only been a minute since they had gone in. The nurse motioned him into the room and explained that Bella needed help removing her bra for the x-rays. As soon as she was gone, he walked up to his beautiful fiancé and assessed the situation.

"Alright, Beautiful, I want to make this as easy as possible for you. Let's take your shirt off again and then we can slide your bra off your arms more easily. Ready?" His thought was that the fewer times she had to remove her shirt and then put it back on, the easier it would be for her. He knew they kept gowns in the drawers against the wall in the room, so after he had her ready, he would grab one for her to slip on. At least then she wouldn't have to lift her arms above her head again for a little while.

He quickly lifted her shirt up and off of her before moving to unclasp her bra. He had to admit to himself that he was getting better at releasing the offending clasps. Once free, he gently slid the shoulder straps down her arms and freed her breasts from their prison. When he looked at her, he didn't see the dark bruise that ran across her chest anymore; he saw her pure, raw beauty.

"You're perfect, Bella, even with this." He gently trailed his fingers across the bruise and then followed the same path with his lips before he stood up. "I'm sorry this happened to you, Love."

He could feel his erection pressing against the seam of his pants again and decided he needed to find that gown for Bella to wear, and soon, so he quickly straightened up and walked to the wall of cabinets and drawers. The third drawer he opened had just what he needed. He pulled out a folded gown and unfolded it as he approached Bella again. After explaining the purpose and helping her slip into it, he told her he'd see her in five minutes. Just before he opened the door and walked out, he heard her whispered "I love you."

Slumping against the wall again, he closed his eyes and sighed heavily. He would never get tired of hearing Bella say those words to him. They sustained him in so many ways and he prayed that she would never get tired of expressing her feelings.

He must have dozed off for a few minutes, because it seemed like only seconds later that Irina was opening the door again and ushering him back into the room. When the door closed, Irina smiled widely at both of them before speaking to Bella. "Miss Swan, you did great. I just need to check the photos to make sure they turned out okay and then you'll be all set. You can get dressed again while I'm checking them. I'll be back in just a few minutes."

When she was gone, Bella walked back to the bed and slowly lowered herself into a sitting position. He grabbed her clothes from where he had placed them at the foot of her bed and walked over to her. Reaching behind her neck, he gently tugged at the strings holding the thin material to her body. Once the tie was undone, he slowly guided the gown off her shoulders and off her arms.

He couldn't help but stare at her beautiful, naked breasts. They were absolutely perfect and he wanted to take them into his mouth and worship them. "I wish we were home right now so I could lick every inch of your beautiful breasts. They look so delicious," he told her in a husky voice.

Bella giggled at his words before telling her to get her dressed before he was tempted to follow through even though they were in the middle of the hospital. He sighed and pouted out his lower lip while he slipped her bra back on and clasped it. Once her shirt was fully covering her, he smiled into her eyes. "I love you so much, Bella Swan. I can't wait until sunset tomorrow when you become my wife."

His smile grew as she smiled in return and grabbed the collar of his shirt to pull him down so they were eye to eye. "Edward Cullen, I love you, too. You are everything to me. I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I promise you I will live every day of the rest of my life doing everything I can to show you what you mean to me." As she finished, she pulled him the remaining few inches and touched her lips to his. It was a soft kiss, but full of love for and from each other.

Irina came back moments later, intentionally dragging her feet to announce her arrival. She was smiling widely, like she knew exactly what had been going on in her absence, but Edward couldn't find it in himself to care.

Edward agreed to walk Bella to his father's office before his MRI so she wouldn't have to be pushed in a wheel chair. Once they were outside, he knocked once and then opened the door to an empty office. "He must be in the ER or doing his rounds. Why don't you have a seat on the couch and I'll be back as soon as I can. I love you, Beautiful." Edward knew his father was probably assisting Dr. Gerandy with James, but didn't want to say anything to Bella about it. She didn't need any more stress than she was already facing.

After Bella's 'I love you, too' and one more kiss, Edward turned and followed Irina back to Radiology. She talked to him about the procedure as they walked and seemed pleasantly surprised when he knew exactly what it entailed. When they got to the MRI room, Edward filled out the brief questionnaire and signed it before removing his shoes and belt. He placed his keys and wallet in his shoes and walked into the adjoining room that held the big tubular machine.

"Edward, man, how are you?" Alistair asked him. He had met Alistair about two years ago at one of the hospital Christmas parties. He was probably in his late twenties and a very jovial guy.

"I'm okay, thank you. I just want to get this test over with so I can get back to my fiancé. We've got a ton of stuff to do today." Edward was a little worried that he sounded clipped, but he knew Alistair wouldn't hold it against him.

"Alright, then, let's get you in the machine. You know the drill, I'm sure." When Edward nodded, Alistair handed him a pair of bright orange foam earplugs, which he quickly put in his ears before lying on the table. Once he was in the position Alistair wanted him in, the face shield was pulled down to cover his face and he felt a gentle tap on his hand and then a rubber ball was placed into it.

"Okay, Edward. Squeeze the ball if you're uncomfortable at all and I'll pull you out. The test should take about twenty-five minutes. Hold as still as you can. Your dad will read the results himself and said that once you're done, you're supposed to head to his office. Any questions?"

"No, man. I'm good."

Without another word, Edward felt the table he was lying on start to move as he was brought into the tight enclosure. He was grateful he wasn't claustrophobic; he had heard that an MRI for someone who was, was like a living hell. Once he was all the way in, Alistair's voice came through the speakers of the machine. "Okay Edward, You're going to hear a series of beeps, clicks, and whirring sounds. Remember to hold as still as you can. Here we go."

Edward closed his eyes and pictured Bella for the next twenty-five minutes. He was completely at peace seeing Bella's face behind his closed eyelids. She was absolutely perfect in every way possible. He must have dozed off a second time because he was surprised when he started moving again, this time sliding out of the machine. When the table was completely out, Edward opened his eyes to a smiling Alistair.

"You did great, Edward. I've already paged your dad to let him know that you're done. He's on his way right now to read the results. He asked me to let you know he'd meet you and Bella in his office in ten minutes." Alistair offered a hand to him as he sat up and hopped down off the table. Once the inner door was opened, he walked out and grabbed his wallet and keys before slipping into his shoes. He weaved his belt through the loops again and buckled it and then turned to shake Alistair's hand.

"Thank you, Alistair."

"Hey, it's my job, Edward, but you're welcome." With a grin on his face, Edward hurried out the door and made his way to his father's office to await the results of both his MRI and Bella's x-rays.

…..

Charlie waited outside the hospital for five minutes before Jake arrived to bring him back to his cruiser. The whole time he stood there, his mind kept running over everything that happened today. First, Lauren showed up at the station crying. Next, James attacked Edward and kidnapped Bella. Finally, Bella purposely ran the car into a tree in hopes to get away from James.

If Charlie was being honest with himself, he had to be grateful to Lauren. As much as he hated her for what she did to Bella just over a week ago, she was the one who told him James was still in town. She didn't directly save Bella, but she at least alerted him to the fact that he needed to be on his guard. As he came to this realization, he felt remorseful. No girl should have to go through what Lauren did this morning, even if she was a snot-nosed bitch.

Without putting much more thought into it, he pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and dialed the station. Heidi answered after two rings. "Forks Police Department, this is Heidi speaking," she said in a very professional yet cheerful voice.

"Heidi, it's Charlie. Do you have a second so we can talk?" He knew that she was supposed to be answering the phones today and catching up on paperwork, but he hoped it was slow enough that they would have a few minutes.

He heard her gasp on the other end of the line before she started talking at a mile a minute. "Oh my god! Chief Swan, are you okay? How is Bella? I heard what happened. That poor girl! I hope she's not too traumatized because of everything."

He knew he needed to interrupt her to get her to stop her rambling. She would go on forever if he allowed it. With a silent chuckle, he spoke. "Heidi, take a breath. Bella is okay. Dr. Cullen is examining her as we speak. He is confident that she will be okay and I have every confidence in him. Have you had a chance to speak to Lauren? I know I shouldn't have just left her alone in the station like I did, but I knew you would be arriving shortly. How is she?"

Heidi jumped right in again, this time in report mode. "Yes, I've talked to Lauren. She is a strong girl and seems to be holding herself together. I've called her parents and they are both heading down to the station now. Because Lauren is still seventeen, they want to press charges against James."

Charlie nodded his head; he was grateful that Lauren's parents were going to go after James legally. He knew Bella and Edward would as well, but the more charges against him, the less likely he would be getting out of jail any time soon. Hopefully, they would be able to put him away for years with all the charges.

"Alright, Jake is pulling up right now," he told Heidi. "I'm going to go grab my cruiser and make sure Sam's got everything in control at the accident scene, and then I'll head back to the station to meet with the Mallory's. I should be there in twenty minutes." Without giving her a change to respond, he flipped his cell phone shut. He knew she'd probably be ticked at him when he got there, but he also knew that he'd apologize to her and things would be fine again. Heidi was one of his most resilient officers.

Jake didn't even bother getting out of the car when he pulled up to the curb. He simply unlocked the door and waited for Charlie to join him. That was the good thing about Jake; he knew when he needed to let Charlie take care of business without interrupting him.

"Hey, Chief," he said by way of greeting when Charlie climbed into his car.

"Hey, Jake." With Jake, there was no reason to fill the silence. They both seemed comfortable whether there was conversation or not, and right then, Charlie really needed the time to think about everything some more. As Jake drove back to the accident site, Charlie made a mental list of everything he had to do to ensure James spent the next several years in jail.

He had to have Lauren write out her official statement about the events of this morning. He had to allow Mr. and Mrs. Mallory to file official charges against him for the assault of their minor daughter. He also needed to get official statements from Bella and Edward and briefly wondered if they'd have time to stop by the station to give them before heading out to Port Angeles today to shop. He figured if he gave them an hour before he called, that would be plenty of time for Carlisle to finish his exam of Bella and run any necessary tests.

Less than five minutes later, Jake pulled his car up right beside Charlie's cruiser. Sam was still on the scene, but he was sitting in his cruiser finishing up his paperwork and waiting for Paul to finish towing away the wrecked Toyota Corolla. There was no more need for the fire truck on scene, so they were gone by the time Charlie got back.

Charlie climbed out of Jake's car and headed over to Sam's cruiser. Jake climbed out and followed behind him. When Sam saw them approaching, he set his clipboard down on the passenger seat and climbed out to join them both. Standing there on the grass, the three of them began to discuss the accident and everything that needed to be done.

Charlie asked Sam to finish the report and get it filed once the Corolla was towed. He also put Sam in charge of tracking down the owner and informing him/her that the vehicle was being impounded because it was used in the commission of a crime and that it would be released as soon as everything was processed.

Jake's tasks involved processing the scene, running the gun for any available information, and processing the car for evidence.

Charlie got ready to head back to the station to deal with Lauren and the Mallory's. The day was turning out to be quite busy, but he had hopes that they would be able to lock James Ellsworth away for a very long time.

He sat in his car for a moment and decided to call Carlisle to get a report on Bella. He wasn't sure if his friend would be able to answer his cell or not, but he figured he could at least leave a message telling Carlisle to call him back as soon as he could. It turned out that he didn't have to worry too much though, because Carlisle picked up after two rings.

"Hey Charlie! Are you calling for an update?" Carlisle was always so happy no matter what was going on around him.

"You know me so well, Carlisle, and I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing." Yes, they had been friends since high school, but sometimes it seemed like it was more than that. Sometimes it seemed as if Carlisle was the only person in the world who understood him completely.

Carlisle's voice pulled him from his inner thoughts. "I'm just looking over her x-rays now. There was no internal bleeding, but she does have four broken ribs from the impact. The x-rays show the breaks were clean though, so we don't have to worry about bone fragments or anything like that." Charlie breathed a sigh of relief as Carlisle continued.

"Bella is waiting in my office while Edward has an MRI scan done. As long as he doesn't have a concussion, I'll go ahead and release them both. I know Bella is really anxious to get things ready for tomorrow." Charlie heard his friend's laugh though the phone and couldn't help but smile at the fact that he knew Bella was truly happy with Edward.

"Thank you, Carlisle. I know I've said it a lot today, but I really hope you know how much this all means to me. I feel like I can't say it enough for all you've done." He knew that he told Carlisle that he would be back to the hospital after he picked up his cruiser, but the issue with the Mallory family was more pressing. "I need to head to the station for a while. The Mallory's are on their way in to press formal charges against James and I need to take Lauren's official statement."

As soon as the words were out, he realized that he hadn't mentioned anything about what happened this morning to Carlisle, so the next words out of Carlisle's mouth didn't surprise him. "Charlie, what happened to Lauren Mallory? Is she okay?"

After reassuring his friend that Lauren seemed fine and he would have her parents take her to be checked out as soon as they took care of everything at the station, Charlie climbed in his cruiser and headed back toward the station.