Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight

BPOV

I didn't make it in time.

I searched for him for the full three days, even going so far as sitting at my mother's old duplex for an entire afternoon. I tried calling the number back repeatedly, only to get hung up on. I tried asking my mother about his usual whereabouts, being careful not to alert her to the current crisis. I tried asking the neighbors if they had seen him in the last few days, only to be told that they hadn't seen him since my mother had left.

I was at a complete loss at what to do. I couldn't tell anyone, especially Edward or Emmett, they'd want me to go straight to the police. I've tried that route before, James would have only caused more trouble; he would have gone after the people I love one by one. No, I had to do this on my own.

After sitting at my mother's old house all day, I made my way back down to Palm Beach. I had made a dinner date with Edward for 8:00pm so that if I didn't show up, someone would know that something was wrong.

And something was definitely wrong.

I had just pulled up to pick up my and Edward's food at a little café a few minutes away from the apartment and was walking towards the garage exit when I noticed I was being followed. A dark, hooded figure stalked behind me in the shadows. I could tell by the build and height that the figure was a male. He slinked past cars and ducked behind the building's pillars as I made my way through the parking garage.

Why, oh why, didn't I park on the street?

I picked up my pace when I saw the exit, but it wasn't fast enough. Before I could even register what had happened, a hand was muffling my screams as the figure looped his other arm around my torso and pulled me through the emergency exit doors and into the dark alleyway. He pushed me roughly against the concrete wall, slamming my head against the hard surface in the process. The coarse exterior of the garage scraped and cut into the flesh of my cheek and temple as the man fisted a handful of my hair and ripped my head to the side.

"Times up," He growled.

James.

Tears immediately sprang to my eyes and spilled down my cheeks as I wailed about how hard I had looked for him. I pleaded for him to just come to my car and I'd give him the money now. I took the punch to my ribs as a 'no'. He seethed into my ear, telling me how I took away his best customer and had cost him more money that I could even begin to fathom. With every statement he made, he hit me as punctuation. I closed my eyes tight and just prayed for it to be over soon.

That's how I found myself laying broken and beaten in the dark, damp alleyway. My face was throbbing and tender, I could feel the swelling increase as the puffy flesh encroached on my vision. The taste of blood on my tongue nauseated me, and a sharp pain in my ribs made it difficult for me to take a proper breath. My sobs had quieted hours ago, leaving behind a scratchy throat that burned with every inhale.

I was somehow able to hear footsteps approaching over the pounding in my head.

Oh, please! See me!

I tried to get up, call out, but couldn't move; I couldn't make any noise. The darkness was closing in on me; I was too weak to fight it.

"Please," I was able to whisper, before the blackness took over completely.

Beep…

Beep…

Beep…

Well if that isn't the most annoying noise in the world…

Beep…

Beep…

My eyes fluttered open only to shut quickly and squeeze tight against the sharp light. I groaned and tried to pull my hands to cover my face.

"Oh, no you don't!"

A foreign voice accompanied the foreign hands that batted mine away from my face. I cracked open one squinty eye and peering into the face of the stranger.

She was a young nurse in green scrubs, petite with brunette hair that was pulled back away from her face, and her shining green eyes were framed by cute little black frame glasses. Her name tag read 'Jessica' and I vaguely remember Edward talking about a Jessica that he worked with when he was just volunteering at St. Mary's.

Wait… Nurse… beeping… bright lights…

I'm in the damn hospital!

Jessica smiled at me as she checked my vitals and all the beeping monitors. My head and limbs felt heavy as I watched her move around the room.

"How did I get here? How long have I been here?" I rasped out.

I clutched my throat as soon as the words left my lips. My throat was on fire! It felt like there were tiny cuts all over my trachea. Jessica smiled again and handed me a glass of water. The liquid soothed the scratchiness and eased the burn as it traveled down my throat.

"Dr. Cullen brought you in. He found you in the alley behind the parking garage at Abacoa yesterday," Jessica informed. "He's been here for hours! I just made him to get something to eat, he should be back soon." Jessica gathered up the charts and walked out of the room.

So I haven't been here too long. Edward had found me? How? Did he know about James?

I looked up at the sound of the door opening. Edward stood in the doorway looking worn with worry. Dark circles shadowed under his eyes, his hair stood on end from his fingers constant pulling, and his clothes were rumpled. He looked as though he hadn't slept in days! He froze in the doorway and took in my alert state before he bolted into the room and to my bedside.

"Baby! Oh my god, I was so worried! Are you in pain? What happened to you? Who did this to you?" Edward rambled as he looked me over, checking my IVs and the monitors.

"I'm a little groggy, but I'm alright," I said softly.

"Who did this to you?" he lowered his voice before he continued, "They did a rape kit and it came back negative so you weren't…. God, Bella, if he had done that to you!"

He started pacing the room, shaking his head and pulling at his hair. His face was pained and red with rage. I tried to sit up, my groaning alerting him. He dashed to my bed and pushed me back down gently.

"Bella, you've got three fractured ribs, a slight concussion, and multiple contusions and lacerations. I think you need to lie down and just rest, baby."

Edward had officially started his internship back in August and ever since then I've been getting "Doctor Talk".

And "Doctor Talk" is hot.

Just then Emmett and Rosalie burst through the doors, them too looking like worry had beaten them with a stick… well, actually they looked like they had just had sex! Rosalie catapulted herself at me, smoothing my hair out of my face before her eyes burned into mine.

"Who did this to you?" she demanded.

"Uh… James," I whispered.

"WHAT?"

I jumped at the volume of Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett's voices. The nurse, Jessica came running in all in a panic.

"What? What's wrong?" Her eyes flickered to me, Emmett, and Rose before they landed on Edward and glazed over. Jessica blushed and bit her lip, peeking up at Edward and fidgeted with her hands.

Oh for the love of…

"We're fine, thanks!" I barked. She startled and scurried out the door.

"Relax, Bella," Edward smirked, "Jessica is engaged and just found out she's expecting."

"Well it would do her well to remember that. I'd hate to have to rip her pretty little face off."

Rosalie guffawed and mimed a high five, "Bella's back!"

"James did this to you?" Emmett growled. Rosalie immediately went back in to 'serious mode' and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, um, he called a few days ago saying that mom owed him money and that I had three days to pay it to him. I looked for him for all three days, but he set me up. He made sure I didn't find him until he found me." I didn't notice that I was crying until Edward had cupped my cheeks and was wiping my tears away with his thumbs. He kissed me sweetly, being careful of my bruised lips.

"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch!" Emmett said lowly.

"Em, come on. You know that would only cause more problems. It isn't even funny," I mumbled and looked down. "I just want it to be over. He got the money; he'll leave us alone now."

Edward tipped my chin up with finger and looked heatedly into my eyes.

"Bella, I will find the mother fucker who did this to you, if it's the last thing I do. He doesn't deserve the break. He needs to pay for what he's done to you, what he did to your mother!"

Tears once again flooded my vision as I leaned forward to brush my lips against his. When we broke away he kissed all of the bruises and cuts on my face. I could literally feel the love he was pouring out onto my skin, as though it could heal the abrasions. His love was a soothing balm for the pain I was in. Edward carefully climbed into the bed with me and held me tenderly to his chest, rubbing my back comfortingly.

The next several hours found me to be quite busy as I listened to the doctor list my injuries, underwent multiple test (some of them completely unnecessarily ordered by Edward), and spoke to the authorities about the incident. Edward didn't leave my side the whole time, even going so far as to go to his locker to put on all his doctor gear so that he could get past security.

I wanted to pull that naughty nurse outfit out of the closet, injuries be damned!

I was finally released from the hospital late afternoon, with instructions for rest to allow the fractures to heal properly. Edward insisted that I stay with him for a week so that he could personally tend to my injuries. No complaint here, sunshine. After leaving the hospital, Emmett and Rosalie accompanied me and Edward to the police station so that I could give a more detailed report of what happened. James apparently had more than a few warrants out, and most of them dealing with drugs and assault. The officer told us that they were following a lead that looked promising, and were hopeful to have him in custody in the next few days. We parted ways after leaving the station with promises that I would take it easy and let Edward take care of me. When Edward and I pulled in to the parking garage at our apartments I saw that someone must have had my car towed back here to the building.

"That was thoughtful," I mumbled absentmindedly.

"Hm?" Edward glanced over at me as he turned the wheel to park the car.

"My car, who had it brought here?"

"Oh, um, I asked Alice to drive it here for you," he said and looked sheepishly at me, "That's all right, right?"

I smiled at his thoughtfulness, "Yes. Thank you."

He grinned and leaned over the console to kiss me softly. He pulled away after a few minutes and jumped out of the car to open my door for me. Helping me out, he placed a hand at the small of my back and gently guided me towards the elevators. Once we were in his apartment he lead me to his bedroom and helped me change into my pajamas, kissing bruises and cuts tenderly as they were exposed. Once we were both in our sleepwear, Edward propped up some pillows and tucked me in to his bed.

"Would you like something to eat or drink, my love?"

"Some water would be nice."

Edward winked and dashed off to get me my water, bringing some cheese and crackers, too. He climbed in to bed with me and together we cuddled while we snacked and watched 'Up'.

"We always watch this movie," I mused.

"It's a good movie."

"Yes, I enjoy it, too. But ALL the time?"

Working in the Pediatric ward at St. Mary's, Edward often sat with the kids in the theater while they watched movies. 'Up' was his favorite and he could quote the entire fucking movie. It was ridiculously adorkable.

He smiled at me and whispered in my ear, "I was hiding under your porch because I love you… can I stay?"

Edward recited Doug's line with the most heart (and panty) melting puppy-pout. I giggled and buried my face in his chest, feeling the vibrations of his chuckles more than hearing them. The rest of our evening was spent in bed watching movies and gorging on junk food. I tossed popcorn in the air and Edward caught it in his mouth…most of the time. We laughed and joked around about inconsequential things, and quoted our favorite lines from the movies we watched. He made me forget, completely, about the angst we were currently knee deep in. I fell asleep in the arms of the man I love, with him whispering words of his returned affection.

XxXxXx…

Masculine hands smoothed their way from my knees up and over my thighs, sliding callused thumbs over my inner thighs and then continuing up to wrap nimble fingers around the waistband of my pajama shorts and panties. Soft, pillowed lips pressed unhurried against the exposed surface of my tummy and my pajamas and panties were tugged down my legs slowly. My sleep fogged brain tried to catch up to what was going on, consciousness trying to fight its way to the surface.

My eyes snapped open when I felt a warm wet muscle probe my delicate folds. I gasped and looked between my legs to find a tuft of bronze colored hair and blazing green eyes peeking heatedly up at me. Edward grinned wickedly before dipping his head down once again to lick up my suddenly soaked slit with the flat of his tongue, never once breaking eye contact. A strangled squeak left my lips as I fought to keep my eyes open. My legs fell open, and my hands drifted up my stomach and over my ribs to massage my breast on their own accord. Edward growled and began to lick and suck at me with a new vigor. He took my clit tenderly between his teeth and flicked my bud rapidly with his tongue. I cried out is ecstasy, thrusting my fingers roughly into his hair and tugging him closer. His tongue alternated between swirling in random patters and seemingly writing letters of the alphabet. Two lithe fingers skimmed my opening before delving into my entrance. I flung my head back into the pillows forcefully, my mouth agape while gasping for air and moaning from the intense sensations rushing through my body. With conviction, Edward curled his fingers and sucked on my clit, making my legs shake and my hips buck into his face. My toes started to curl and tingle, the feeling traveling up my jelly-legs and into the pit of my stomach. My nipples were so pert it hurt in the most delicious way, my skin pimpled in good bumps as a pleasurable fire burned through my veins. I screamed Edward's name as I came hard on his tongue, arching my back, thrashing about, and digging my heels into the mattress with my thighs trapping his head between them. My body convulsed and whimpered as I came down from my orgasmic high, sinking limply back onto the sheets. I vaguely remember Edward kissing my thighs and getting up to wash off before he climbed back in to bed with me.

"Good morning, beautiful."

I smiled lazily, blinking slowly as I turned my face towards him.

"Good morning, indeed," I sighed and kissed his lips softly. "What time is it anyway?"

"Just after seven. I have to go in to the hospital for rounds, but I'll be back this afternoon. Will you be alright here by yourself? I could call Alice, I'm sure she'd love to come over and hang out with you."

"I'd like that," I told him, biting my lip. I didn't want people to feel as though I needed to be babysat. "I can call her. You finish getting ready."

"I believe I earned a victory dance…"

Oh god…

Edward stood up and proceeded to do his 'victory dace', adding an extra pep when he sang 'jump on it, jump on it, jump on it'.

He gave me a searing kiss before winking at me and trotting off to finish getting ready. I grabbed my cell phone off of the side table and dialed Alice's number. I knew she would be up because the bitch never sleeps! She agreed, being way too awake for 7 am if you ask me, and told me she'd be over in about an hour and a half. Edward walked in to the bedroom dressed in his scrubs and I was suddenly not so tired anymore.

Thin scrub pants. For the mother fucking win!

"Alright, baby," he said distractedly, tying his scrubs pants, "I'll be home around 4. You'll be alright until then, yeah?"

I looked at him in a daze, dickmatized by the outline you could just make out beneath the fabric. You know… if you stare at it and hard as I was.

Heh, hard…

And now I'm a 14 year old boy.

I slapped my palm to my face and groaned, stifling a giggle when Edward's head snapped up to look at me.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked.

"My inner monologue," I deadpanned.

Edward stared at me and blinked a few times before he just shrugged and chuckled. He took the few necessary steps to kiss me and then he was out the door. With an hour and a half to do whateverthefuck, I got my bruised ass up and took a shower. I had to move slowly, as my tender ribs made it difficult for me to move and wash at a normal pace. I knew I would hear an earful for this later. But hell! What am I supposed to do? It took me twice as long, but I managed without further injuring myself. Alice came over at around 9, having got stuck in morning rush hour traffic. We watched movies, painted our toes nails, and other girly shit. Alice made Cuban sandwiches for lunch and I was thisclose to buying a plane ticket so I could move to Cuba. You know… if it weren't for how shitty they treat their citizens. We were getting things together for facials when we heard something out in the hall. Alice and I froze and looked at each other before tip toeing to the door. I peeked through the viewer and stumbled back a few paces, my hand flying up to cover my mouth to stifle the gasp. After taking a few deep breaths and motioning to Alice to call 911, I inched my way back to the peep hole.

James stood in the hall with his ear pressed to the door of my apartment. My heart was racing as I tried to regulate my breathing, watch James through the peep hole, and text Emmett and Edward all at the same time. I watched in rapt attention as James stalked the hallway, looking at random things. He walked be to my door a knocked placidly then quickly pressed his ear, once again, to the door. My phone vibrated in my hand, alerting me to a new message; there were two.

Stay inside; Emmett and I are just getting in the elevator now. ~E

I'll fucking kill him. ~Em

The sound of a weighty fist pounding purposefully on my door grabbed my attention. James was shouting and pounding on the door. I was thankful that it was early afternoon and most of my neighbors were still at work. I held my breath and grabbed Alice's hand as I watched the crazed man try to break in my door, his staccato beating matching the tempo of my sprinting heart. Thunderous footsteps roared through the hallway seconds before a flash of bronze tackled James to the ground and started throwing punches. Emmett was right behind him and pulled Edward off, only to start kicking James in the ribs.

"OH SHIT!" I yelled and wrenched open the door, my tender ribs screaming in protest at the quick movements.

Pulling Alice with me, she and I stood in front of the scuffling men. James didn't stand a chance against Edward and Emmet as they tag teamed him and screamed warnings at the top of their lungs. Emmett somehow managed to pin his arms and legs down, enabling Edward to get James' head in a choke hold. After a few seconds, James' body went limp and Emmett immediately punched him square in the face.

"Jeebus, Em!" I whisper-shouted. Because that's soooo effective.

Emmett and Edward's angry expressions turned in to ones of triumph before snapping back to the seriousness of the situation. The police arrived then, with James just starting to regain consciousness, and escorted him away. The deputy informed us that James would be incarcerated for a long time, due to all of his offenses. Alice and I clung to each other, trembling from the fear and adrenaline. Edward engulfed the two of us in a hug as we watched the authorities drag a cuffed James out of sight.

"Bella, Alice?" Edward asked lowly, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just glad they got him," Alice said, and squeezed me tighter.

"Baby?" Edward turned my face towards him with his finger; he titled my chin up and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. "Are you alright, love?"

"Mmmhmm," I said and snuggled in to his chest. "I love you."

Edward tightened his grip on me, circling his arms around my shoulders. "I love you, too, baby."

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Over the next few weeks, James was tried and convicted on all counts and would be in jail for a upwards of 10 years with no chance of parole. I didn't attend the trial; I wanted to put it all behind me. Emmett and I discussed the whole thing with the counselors at Orchid's and together we decided not to tell Renee about what had happened until she was further along in her treatment. Things were back to normal after that: I went back to working at the station, doing crazy stunts for The Morning Show with Emmett and Rosalie, Alice was now the manager at the day spa, Jasper was planning a trip to Washington, DC with his students, and Edward was working ridiculous hours at the hospital.

With our Disney vacation only a week away and my ribs properly healed, I devised a plan to put my Medward fantasies in to action. So, I strapped on my red stilettos, buttoned up my white lab coat, pinned on my white and red nurse's hat, and walked out the door.

This naughty nurse has an appointment to see the doctor in the on-call room.

A/N:

Hello, beautifuls. See, that wasn't SO bad, was it? Thank you for your patience waiting for this chapter, it was difficult for me to write. Next chapter is Disney, tell me some of your stories and I may give you a little shout out *winks*.

Thank you, also, for all your sweet words regarding my family and grandmother. She's doing as well as can be expected and isn't in as much pain as she was before. Though, the medicine she's currently on makes her a little loopy.