Bella's POV:
Rose didn't bring up Edward until we were in her car on the way to the hospital.
"So do you think Edward or Alice was responsible for this?" She glanced over at me as we turned onto the interstate- one of the quickest routes to the hospital.
"I don't think," I said gritting my teeth in anger "I know they were. The police already are looking for them because of the restraining orders we have against them."
Thankfully traffic wasn't bad and we made it to the hospital in twenty minutes instead of the hour it sometimes took me in rush hour.
"Rosie," I finally admitted as we started towards the emergency department "I'm scared."
"What are you scared of Bella?" She asked grabbing my hand in hers and squeezing it reassuringly.
"That Jasper isn't going to make it," I said quietly "That I'm going to be stuck raising Charlotte and Cole alone, that I'm going to have to tell my little girl that he is never going to be coming home, kissing her goodnight, calling her princess ever again"
She cut me off "Bella you can't think like that. You have to keep up hope that all will turn out okay. I know your scared, hell, I am too but no matter what happens you will never be alone ever. That I can guarantee you."
I nodded and squeezed her hand back. I felt a hundred times safer with her by my side.
We were met at the triage desk by Emmett who didn't say anything just scooped me into his burly arms and held me tightly.
"Any word?" Rose asked as my big brother carried me to one of the private family waiting rooms, usually only reserved for life and death surgeries, where doctors usually weren't optimistic of the outcome.
"A nurse popped her head in ten minutes ago," He said as we all sat down "They got him stabilized and have started operating, they aren't sure yet what they'll find when they go in but they're cautiously optimistic. He lost a lot of blood though. She said they've given him two bags since he got here and is on a third."
We didn't say anything for a few minutes and then Emmett asked "What the hell happened Bells?"
"I got a call, we rushed home." I tried to sum up quickly "I found Jasper on the floor. Paul talked to Peter about what happened and he said that Jasper told them to run and hide and not come out until either Rose or I found them and then he was shot. Peter took Charlotte and ran he said he remembered the big buckets in your greenhouse so he hid them behind one of them."
"Wow," Emmett said resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his fisted hands. "How are they doing?"
"Charlotte doesn't really seem to know what's going on thankfully," I said "She was terrified but once I was there she was okay and she was excited to see Leah and Seth. I'm worried about Peter though. He's a little older, he saw everything, hell he saved my daughter. I don't know how I'll ever thank him enough."
"He's just going to need lots of hugs and love and reminders that none of this was his fault and that he did the right thing." Rose said firmly rubbing my back soothingly.
"Where's Brooke?" Emmett asked Rose a furrow appearing between his eyes.
"She's with Leah and Seth I didn't want her at the hospital with all of this going on. You know how cranky and loud she gets when she is tired." Rose explained running a hand over her face. She looked exhausted and I was sure I looked even worse.
We fell into silence again and stayed that way for almost an hour when Rose suddenly spoke "Bella I have an idea. I think we should call Sam. He owns that security company maybe if we called him and explain the situation we could hire them to be with you and the kids at all times?"
"I like that idea," Emmett said definitively and I knew that one way or another we were going to end up with 'body guards'.
I just nodded and Rose picked up the receiver of the telephone the waiting room had.
She dug through her purse and pulled out the card Sam had given us on the first day of classes and dialled the number.
I listened in on her end of the conversation.
"Hi Sam? This is Rose from the self defence class that just graduated. Yes Rose Swan."
She paused as he responded.
"We've had a situation and I'd really appreciate it if you could meet me and my family at the Seattle Grace Hospital. I know it's an odd request but a lot has happened since we left this morning and we need the type of help only you can provide." She paused again and then thanked him and told him what room we were in so we could be found in.
J&BJ&BJ&BJ&B
An hour later, Sam walked in a worried look furrowing his brow. "What's going on?" He cut directly to the chase as he sat down beside me.
"As we were leaving the gym," I went on to explain everything in detail to him and he grasped my hand sympathetically. It was a simple gesture but it meant a lot to me.
"Well," He said calmly after a moment's thought. "We're going to start with me getting a couple of my buddies over to your sister's house. The hospital is fairly safe, I saw the police as I came in, I have a feeling they are here protecting you and your husband from whoever did this. They're probably there too but my guys are trained to blend in and not be noticed unless necessary."
We all nodded so he continued "I'm going to stick around here with you if that's alright with you?"
"I'd appreciate that" I nodded and gave him a terse smile.
"We're going to stick around till whoever did this is caught or you tell us to leave." He said "Do you know who did this?"
"The police are already looking for my ex. He's the only one I can think that would do something like this. He's a sociopath." I said trying to keep the fear from my voice.
"I'm going to go and make those calls. Rose come with me and you can give my buddies the addresses we need to know. One last thing, all of my friends and myself have clear records both child abuse and criminal. Just so you know you can trust us with yourself and kids. We're going to keep you safe."
"Thanks," I said faintly as he disappeared through the door with Rose hot on his tail, leaving me to fall against my brother the emotions suddenly overwhelming me again.
J&BJ&BJ&BJ&B
When Charlie and Sue arrived two hours later we still hadn't heard anything about Jasper and I'd taken to pacing anxiously across the room.
Emmett had gone and picked up food a little while prior and tried to urge me to eat but I couldn't, not when I didn't know how my husband was.
"Bella," Charlie said and simply opened his arms allowing me to rush into them and hugging me tightly as if I was just a little girl again.
"Daddy," I sobbed and clung to him. I didn't know how I was going to be able to keep it all together for Jasper but I'd need to figure it out soon.
"Shh," he ran his hand through my hair just as he used to do after my mom had left and I'd cry myself to sleep. "It'll all be okay."
"I don't know what to do," I sobbed "I can't do this."
"You're going to take care of yourself and your kids and you're going to support Jasper though all of this and in any way he needs and all of us are going to be behind you one hundred and ten percent." He said carefully "Sue and I are going to come back up here when you're allowed into your house again and stay with you until everything settles down."
"Thank you," I said for the umpteenth time that day.
We had hardly sat down again when a doctor in green scrubs wearing a surgical cap came walking in the door a grim expression on his face.
"Just tell me if he's alive before you say anything else." I threw up my hand to stop him from talking first. "I just need to know if my husband is alive and then we can go from there."
"He is," the doctor said cautiously but I let out a huge breath I didn't even realize I'd been holding until that moment.
"Okay," I said firmly "Then we can deal with anything that comes our way. How is he? How was the surgery?"
The doctor took the seat next to me that Rose had just vacated and spoke slowly and in that low tone reserved for bad news "He lost a lot of blood and he's on a ventilator. The bullet entered through the left side of his chest cavity. It didn't exit but we were able to remove most of the fragments."
"Most?" I said.
"Fragments?" My dad asked at the same time.
"The bullet fractured on impact. We removed all the fragments that we found but we didn't want to leave him open longer than necessary due to all the blood loss he'd already suffered. If we decide in the future to remove it, it will be a simple enough procedure that I decided it was the best move for the moment. He's on his fourth transfusion and we have a drainage tube in his chest to prevent pressure build up on his heart, damaged lung or any surrounding tissues."
"When is he going to wake up? When can I see him?" I asked in quick succession.
"You can see him in a few hours once we've been able to ensure he's stable in the SICU. You know the routine Mrs. Whitlock."
I nodded "You still haven't answered when is he going to wake up?"
"I can't say for sure Mrs. Whitlock." He looked at the chart laying on his lap and not at me.
"What do you mean you can't say for sure?" I fumed suddenly furious at the slight man in front of me.
He pushed his glasses up his nose and said in a gentle tone "I mean that it appears at some point today Jasper, your husband, slipped into a coma and we aren't sure when if ever he will pull out of it."
I heard sharp intakes of air all around the room and at the same time felt like all the air was knocked out of me and like I couldn't breathe.
My Jasper was in a coma. I went to stand as the doctor did to thank him and instead my legs gave out and I collapsed sobbing. Emmett picked me up swiftly and settled me on his lap and Rose and Sue both surrounded me whispering soothing words into my ears and brushing my hair back with their fingers.
My dad reached out and rubbed my back calmly and I noticed that the doctor had left the room looking extremely uncomfortable by the sudden show of emotion.
Sam even came over and tried to calm me and I was thankful for his new friendship at the time in my life when my friends and family were going to be crucial in my coping process.
"Bella?" Kate's tinkling voice suddenly broke the bubble we'd made around ourselves "The doctor's said you can come in and see Jasper when you've calmed down. I need to tell you though and prepare you he looks much worse than he actually is. There are lots of tubes and wires- just like after Charlotte's surgery."
I nodded and pulled myself from my family. I took a couple of deep breaths and walked towards my friend. I needed to do this. I needed to see him, to make sure he really was alive for myself.