First and foremost, thank you to the beta dude for making sure this is legible. Thanks for all the recent alert adds and reviews, as usual. I'm still shocked by everyone's interest in this.

Chapter 7

Bella

The feeling of my hand folding over Edward's flashed through my mind as we headed up to the top of the falls together. I swallowed hard, thinking of how amazing his skin felt against mine, how… right. I hadn't planned it. I'd known from our brief interaction that he didn't appreciate having his personal space invaded like that. But I hadn't been able to stop myself. It was like I'd been possessed. Terrifying since I had no way of knowing what his reaction would be.

But it had been worth it to see the look on his face, the silent wonder that followed...

Holy shit was it worth it.

I was beginning to notice my thighs burn from the effort it had taken to get up the steep cliff. A light sheen of sweat covered my skin, and my lungs pulled in heavy, exerted breaths with every step I took on the stones surrounding the waterfall. Birds continued to chirp around us, and the sun—shining brightly now for a change—filtered through the canopy of the forest and made everything seem impossibly green… dreamy, even.

I loved it all.

All day, I'd purposely ignored the watch on my wrist or the clock on my phone. The hike to the waterfall was my time to admire the place my father called home. The time I spent lying on the tree beside the stream had been spent getting to know Edward a little better, although, it'd been incredibly hard and I hadn't learned much. But what he had told me meant more to me than he'd ever know. If I understood Rosalie correctly, it meant that I was the first outsider he'd ever shared anything with, even if getting shot was likely public record in Chicago.

I thought this would have made me happy. It had been exactly what I'd been hoping for, to learn about Edward's past and figure out what the hell I was doing here. But given the circumstances of my arrival to Forks, my guilt over it was thick and strong in my chest, slowly squeezing the air out of my lungs as I thought about it.

So I didn't. There would be plenty of time to think of ways to tell Edward about Maggie. I just wanted... I wanted him comfortable with me first. It seemed wrong to just blurt it out like I'd originally planned. Especially now that I knew him better. It led me to believe that he wouldn't take it particularly well.

But I needed to keep watch of my time. I may still have had the rest of the summer before I left for college, but time, in general, had a tendency to quickly spin out of control. Before you knew it, you'd lost your grip on it.

And I couldn't lose hold of it.

I also needed to do a little more research on their mother, the Elizabeth Masen I'd read about in Maggie's adoption paperwork, before I said anything. She seemed... Well, telling Edward that she wasn't his mother at all was the least insulting thing I could say about the woman. I felt oddly protective over him, and highly pissed off that she had kept Edward involved in her… mess. Whatever had happened to Edward made it clear that this woman was in no position to raise any child at all... and that Maggie, however it had happened, had gotten lucky.

"Oh, my God. My legs are killing me."

"You were the one who wanted to come up here..."

"I know." I drew in a quick breath. "I still do. I'm just tired and bitchy, that's all."

Edward turned around, his eyebrow cocked challengingly. "If you want to take a break-"

"You won't finish that sentence if you don't want me to push you off this hill," I interrupted.

His lips twitched a little and he shook his head. His guard was down today, so I stupidly prayed for him to smile, chanting it over and over again in my head until he turned back and started climbing again.

So close.

"Then don't be such a fucking baby," he shot back.

"All right, now I am going to push you," I shouted playfully, hurrying up the cliff after him.

This man needed to let loose and have some fun for a change.

I made it three steps before my leftover clumsiness kicked in and I slipped on a loose rock, tumbling forward and uttering a little screech of fear. Surprisingly enough, my heart let out one solid thump as I fell, and I scrambled to get a hold of something—anything—before I plummeted to the hard ground below.

But I didn't need to. Edward jerked me up by my arm and threw me against the solid base of the cliff like I weighed absolutely nothing.

"You stupid fucking-" He broke off and groaned, dropping his head down so it almost touched my shoulder. His body pinned mine against the wall of rock, and if I hadn't been so full of fear, I would have groaned myself. For a completely different reason.

Edward Cullen felt fantastic against me.

"Why? Why would you do that?" he asked me angrily.

I trembled against him, unable to really speak. The weight of his chest moving steadily with his sharp breaths echoed my own, and I twisted a little to see him clearly, shocked that his reaction was so close to mine.

We were both terrified.

"I wasn't... I mean, I..." My let my eyes drift to the stream below us, looking at all the boulders underneath the clear surface of the water, and my stomach rolled. "I don't-"

I stopped trying to explain.

"I'm sorry," I managed to croak instead.

His head snapped up and his eyes blazed down at me. They were wild, filled with emotions I couldn't understand, and my heart started to race with it.

Or from the recognition of adrenaline in my veins. I didn't know which.

"You should be." He backed away, only to collapse beside me. "Fuck."

I slid down the rock to join him on the ground. "So I guess we're going back down now, huh?" I asked lamely.

He let his head fall back against the rock and closed his eyes. "I don't even have the balls to let you move right now. Forget actually climbing, Bella."

I laughed once.

"I should've known," he mumbled to himself. "She's so goddamned clumsy."

"Hey," I said indignantly. "I can't help it."

"Trust me. I know."

I frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It just means I watch you, that's all," he answered harshly. "We all do. It's impossible not to."

"Wait a minute, what did I do to you now?"

"You... It's..." His hands went into fists on the top of his knees, rubbing across the fabric of his jeans in frustration. "I cannot imagine not having you around."

I blinked. "And?"

"And that pisses me off."

"Really?" I whispered dubiously.

He shifted so that his whole body was facing me. "Did you know that every time I was an asshole to you was some ridiculous attempt to push you away? But I could never follow through, could I? Because I always end up letting you see some part of me that no one else does or do something... like taking you on this stupid hike or fixing your truck."

I was well aware of how unpredictable he was.

"You're a dick," I agreed. "I told my friend, Alice, that, by the way. Just you know... head's up or whatever."

"Oh, Jesus," he groaned. "See that is why I can't imagine not having you around. You're so... You just... You're the only person I've thought about trying to be with. Ever."

"You like me?" I asked, stunned.

"I think that's what this shit is."

"Think?" My chest started to ache, only instead of it being that strange pull I always felt whenever Edward was near, it was anxiety. I knew how I felt about him, how he was always on my mind and in this heart. I'd wanted him to touch me from the first glimmer of his personality he'd let me see. And despite my guilty conscience, I couldn't wait for him to kiss me.

I was an awful, horrible human being. But right then, I didn't care. I just wanted him to feel the same.

"Yeah, I fucking like you," he spat. "But it doesn't mean a thing."

Now I was confused. "Why not? I like you too."

His beautiful face crumpled in pain. "Don't say that. Please..."

"Then explain to me why the hell not," I bit out.

"I'm no good for you," he said so low I had to strain to hear him over the water. "I'm fucked up... I'll... I'll hurt you. I can't-"

"Whoa, stop." I moved to my knees so that I was eye-level with him. "Why would you ever think you're no good for me?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter, Edward." My chest burned so much I pressed my hand up against it in hopes of stopping it. His eyes followed the movement, watching it intensely... longingly. "I'm not really all that great myself-"

"Don't do that," he said between his teeth, his eyes never leaving the place my hand sat. "Please don't."

"Like you don't?" I countered.

He huffed in agitation and pushed away from me, closing himself off from the world again. I could see each brick being laid; they blocked any access I might've once had to him as each second ticked by. It was infuriating to see him do this, but I had no idea how to stop it. I didn't know enough about him to begin to even try. So I just sat there with him, waiting until we were both calm enough to attempt the climb down toward the beach and our belongings.

By the time we made it back to solid ground, I'd decided I hated Elizabeth Masen for destroying this amazing man.

"Ready to go home?" he asked as he started packing everything back up. He sounded so... defeated.

Much like I did at the moment.

"Whatever, Edward," I sighed.

I told myself again that he was ruined. It wasn't like it was a surprise; I'd known it all along. But that did nothing to ease the pressure in my chest. I had no idea what a broken heart felt like, but I was guessing it was fairly similar to what I felt now. And it hurt more than I could have ever thought possible.

His eyes flashed to mine, holding them for a brief moment before dropping them back down again, almost as if he was ashamed of seeing me hurt this way. "It's... it's for the best," he mumbled.

My mouth fell open. For the best?

"You do not get to tell me what's best for me," I growled, stomping away from him. I threw my backpack over my shoulder and headed down the trail.

Without Edward.

I knew he was behind me the whole time, though. He somehow managed to keep a safe distance away from me without ever letting me out of his sight. I could feel him and hear his footfalls on the ground behind me. I knew when his eyes bore into me, but I refused to turn around. He seemed to be letting me walk off my anger... or maybe he just didn't want to deal with me anymore. I had no idea which one it was, and I wasn't going to attempt to figure it out. He was much too complicated for my simple mind.

And I was still pissed off. So it didn't matter.

The sky was purple with twilight when we got back to our vehicles. I hurried over to my truck and threw my backpack inside. I debated leaving without a goodbye, but I couldn't do it. I could never just leave Edward in the dust.

Resigned, I spun around and came face to face with him, watching as his lips contorted into that snarl I loved so much as soon as our eyes connected.

"You're fucking mad at me..." He paused, raking me with a derisive look. "You're fucking pissed off because I was honest with you and told you I was no good for you? What kind of shit is-?"

"No, I'm fucking pissed off because you're telling me what I can and cannot do with my life, what's 'for the best'," I mocked. "I spent my entire life having my mother do it, and then have had to deal with the same shit coming from every doctor that has ever examined me. I'm not doing it with anyone else ever again, Edward. Not even you. No matter how much I might want to be with you."

"God," hand through the hair again, "fuck!" he screamed. "Do you know how badly I want to tell you to just fuck off? That I don't care if you're pissed at me?"

"Then do it," I challenged. But my body belied my words and sagged against the seat.

He growled. "Why is this so hard? Why can't I just let you stay mad at me?"

I stood there quietly and let him yell it all out. Curses and groans flew from his lips, and he looked like he wanted to throw something... or himself at the something. But not a single word was aimed at me. I was witnessing some sort of break down, and as much as I wanted to spit the words about Maggie's heart out at him and leave him here with his demons alone, it wasn't fair.

None of this was fair.

After a while, the turmoil inside him died down. He cautiously approached me, stopping so that he was just in front of me. My body reacted like it always did around him. Sweating palms, heavy breaths, flutters in my stomach. I wanted him to close the few inches between us and feel his lips on mine, but he didn't.

He didn't move for what felt like an eternity.

"Slow," he eventually said. "I can't... Not unless it's slow."

The way his green eyes burned with this sort of pleading sincerity made me want to take him in my arms, but if I did, I'd freak him out and make him flee. So I simply let my lips curve into a smile and replied with, "Crawling."

He exhaled in relief and nodded. I could see his jaw work as he chewed on his cheek and stared at me. I wanted desperately to know what he was thinking, because I just couldn't tell. As always, his face and his eyes displayed so many emotions I couldn't get a handle on them. But like the patient girl I was pretending to be, I waited for him to tell me.

"I... Let me try something," he whispered.

"Okay."

His fingers shook as they brushed over my cheek, down toward my jaw. He pulled his hand back for a split second before some kind of steel resolve came over him, and then touched me again. His hand was steadier now, moving down my neck until it came to the first, fastened button of my shirt. He expertly flicked it open, revealing the top of my scar, and then dragged his fingers down slowly... so fucking slowly—like he was reiterating his earlier words further—to feel the new flesh at the incision site.

Every inch of me yearned for more. More pressure, more of his fingers moving over my body, more of this... feeling he was giving me. My heart sped up the closer he got to it, startling me. My eyes widened and darted up to his, and then a soft moan came pouring out of my mouth when I got a good look of the desperation on his face.

The sound had been enough to break the spell, and with a quick jerk of his hand, he was no longer near me, standing two feet in front of me and looking absolutely torn.

"What was... um...?" I cleared my throat and tried to find my voice, my breath... anything. "What was that about?"

"I don't usually touch people," he said softly. "I normally don't like it."

"But I've seen people touch you."

"They touch me."

"Oh," I breathed in realization. Another first.

"I'll understand if you can't stomach the thought of me putting my hands on you. I feel like... like maybe I'm tarnishing you when I do."

"Absolutely not." Unthinkingly, I took a step toward him, causing his whole body to tense in panic. "I want you to touch me."

He visibly relaxed when he saw that I wasn't going to fling myself at him. "Really?" he asked skeptically.

"Fuck yes," I replied emphatically.

A broken laugh rumbled in his chest, and I thought I might keel over with the sound. 'Incredible' did not even begin to describe it.

"Was that a... a laugh?" I asked.

"I'm not the most experienced with this sort of shit, but yes; I think they call that a 'chuckle', Bella," he deadpanned.

"He's funny too," I teased. "Who'd have thought with all that bad boy bullshit he has going on?"

He ignored my jab.

"I like touching you," he murmured. "So fucking much it scares me."

"Everything about you—this—scares me," I admitted. It was the most truthful thing I could have ever said at that moment. I was afraid of it all; his temper, the way he made me feel, our pasts, any hope of a future with him dying when he finally learned what I held inside me.

"Yeah."

We'd stood there long enough that it was nearly dark outside now. The woods were black against the darkened sky, and I could barely make Edward out in the fading light, even though he stood just in front of me.

"I should go. I don't want Charlie to worry," I said reluctantly.

"Bella, I..." He glanced away and ran his hand over the back of his neck nervously. "I want to see you."

"You will. We work together, remember?"

"No, I mean like, fuck, I don't know... Outside of work."

"Like a date?" I questioned, clamping down on the giddy feeling that arose within me. I didn't need to scare the man away. We obviously had enough fear lurking around us as it was.

"No... Uh, maybe. I'm not ready to go back to the way it was before. You... Having you around is oddly therapeutic."

I blinked up at him, and surprisingly enough, he managed to see it despite the dark.

"Damn it, that sounded awful. I..." He muttered something under his breath. "You force me to deal with my shit. But not only that, I enjoy being with you. When I'm not being a defensive jackass, that is."

"Well," I dragged out the word, unable to keep the smile off my face, "how about we do something with your family? No pressure or anything. Slow."

Like you wanted, I finished to myself. Even though I was thinking again that I could dive headfirst into this. But at least I had the sense to put the brakes on that kind of behavior. I couldn't dive headfirst into anything until I'd told him about Maggie. Or until we were ready.

And we were far from ready.

He rocked on his heels and let his hand go up to mess with his hair. "You really want to deal with Emmett?"

"I like Emmett."

He looked at me like I was nuts. "All right."

"Okay." I bit down on my lip as we awkwardly stood there together. "So... I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Early."

"Early," I confirmed. Staying away from him now that I'd fully seen what was under that façade of his was going to kill me. I just knew it.

He reached out and brushed my hair over my shoulder, hovering just long enough for me to expel all the air from my lungs before he let his hand slide down my arm.

He squeezed my hand and whispered, "Drive carefully," just before turning away.

I wasn't exactly sure how I made it home. Dazed, I'd stood there until his Volvo whizzed by me, and then the next thing I knew, I was inside my room with my journal in my hand and a full-page letter to Maggie written inside. Edward seemed to always have that affect on me.

Realizing how late it was, I dropped it on the bed and hurried downstairs to make dinner for Charlie. I was silent as we ate, but I wasn't sure why. I was ecstatic when I was listening to Edward tell me that he wanted to see me more, and now I was… strangely morose.

"Did something happen today, Bella?" Charlie finally asked, breaking the silence.

"No. Nothing bad. Why?"

"You're quiet."

I stared at my food. "Oh."

A few beats of time went by before Charlie cleared his throat and tried again. "Have fun today out there by yourself?"

"I wasn't alone," I responded, not even thinking about it. "I was with Edward."

The sound of Charlie's fork clattering against the porcelain plate had my eyes snapping up to his. "Cullen?"

"Is there another Edward in this town I don't know about?"

He glowered at me.

"Yes, Cullen," I answered. "Esme was adamant he go with me. Didn't want me to get lost or whatever. What was with the weird reaction?"

"I don't know." He flushed. "He keeps to himself, that's all. I'm shocked he agreed to go."

"Neither of us had a choice, Dad. Esme's kind of… stubborn."

"Sounds like the two of you would get along well," he muttered dryly.

"Probably," I said with a laugh. "Edward's great, though, Dad. Once you get him to open up a little, anyway. I like him."

"You want to get close to your donor's brother before he even knows he has a sister or that she's gone?" Charlie nearly shouted. It was the most emotion I could remember ever coming from him outside of the hospital. "Are you crazy?"

Maybe.

"He's… he's had a hard life. I can't spring it on him like I thought I could. It won't work like that. He'll just use it as another way to hate himself. I know it."

Charlie leaned back and sighed, watching me steadily for a moment. "You know the kid better than I do. There really wasn't anything of substance in his file."

"Huh."

I'd never actually seen Edward's file. Anything I knew of his biological relation to Maggie was straight out of what Charlie had originally given me when I first started this madness and later, from the information the Carrs also supplied me with. As far as knowing anything of Edward's identity, I'd only seen his name scratched on a piece of paper. Charlie had neither offered any other information on him, nor did I ask for it. It felt oddly intrusive to look at anything of Edward's, like I was invading his privacy.

Though, that was exactly what I'd done with Maggie, now hadn't I? Only I hadn't been able to stop myself. But Edward was flesh; he was able to stand before me and tell me. Maggie didn't have that option anymore.

And I hated that still.

"Yeah. It's all just vague facts about his adoption and biological parents. The kid supposedly never got into trouble those couple of years he lived on the streets. I find that very hard to believe, though."

I didn't comment on that. I knew Edward well enough to know that he was inherently good. Anything he might've done in his past was likely out of self-defense. Not to mention at this point, Charlie was just speculating.

After we ate, I cleaned up the kitchen and did some laundry. Folding clothes wasn't exactly my idea of a fun-filled Sunday night, but it looked like Charlie wasn't going to touch the wash. I'd only been in Forks for two weeks, but I was beginning to wonder how anything got done around here at all…

When I was finished, I took a shower, and then I shut myself in my bedroom and lied down on the bed. Now that I was alone without anything to distract me, the weight of what I was doing to Edward started to settle on me. I was lying by omission. I was selfishly trying to keep him for myself, too afraid to think of the possibility of him looking at me in disgust when he knew whose heart I had. A sister's, a link to a past he desperately tried to forget.

It made me sick just thinking about it.

I jumped at the screeching sound at my window, letting my eyes move over to it as fear skittered up my spine. I gasped at what I saw, and then jumped up and raced over to throw the window open and get closer to him.

It crossed my mind as I did that maybe I'd always be itching to get closer to him.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed at Edward, though my face broke out into a massive grin as I did. "It's late. Shouldn't you be like, asleep or something?"

He gazed at me with the most adorable, sheepish expression I'd ever seen. And so I melted at his feet.

"I don't sleep much and I…" He took a steadying breath. "I wanted to see you. I always fucking want to see you."

Birds in my stomach again.

"Let me guess, it pisses you off?"

He moved closer to the window, precariously balancing on the tree limb just outside. "I might be getting accustomed to it after today," he breathed. "Can I come in?"

The way his tongue came out to wet his lips as he stared at my mouth drove me insane with need. "Yes," I practically squeaked.

I turned around and went back toward my bed, lightly sitting on it and gazing up at Edward questioningly. "So… I guess you can sit?"

His eyes went from the bed to me, and back again, before finding the old, wooden rocking chair in the corner of the small room. "I uh, I think I'll just sit there."

I watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed thickly and made his way across my tiny room and to my chair. I nearly burst out laughing as soon as he sat down. He looked ridiculous sitting there. But I kept it inside. I didn't want to freak him out any worse than he already seemed to be. His entire being radiated tension, his muscles were tight, his spin rigid. He nearly shook as he sat there and checked everything out, his knee bouncing rapidly as he did.

"Nice room."

"No, it's not," I scoffed. "Are you okay?"

"Not sure," he said honestly. "You… confined space… me… I don't, I mean, I'm not sure it's such a great idea."

Another quick shot of lust went through me, and it was my turn to swallow hard. "I know what you mean."

He looked amazed by my confession.

"Don't be so surprised. You're really hot." My voice grew weaker with every word and my face flushed. "In a weird, unattainable, broody sort of way."

I didn't get a response for longer than was comfortable, and squirmed on the bed nervously. I couldn't look at him, too afraid to see whatever mask or sickened expression that was currently there.

"I'm in love with your ass," he finally said. I shot a look down to check out my waist, like I could really ever see my ass clearly. Or in this case, not at all since I was sitting on the thing. "You can… what's that stupid saying? Bounce quarters off of it."

"Shut up. It's horrible."

"You have no idea how gorgeous you are, do you?" he whispered. "You… you make me ache in ways I never thought possible."

I blushed all the way to my chest with that, and I could have sworn I heard a low groan come from Edward's direction. "Thanks."

He nodded.

"So you uh, you don't sleep?" I asked, trying to get the subject off of anything remotely sexual before I exploded.

"No. Not unless I have to."

It explained the dark circles rooted under his eyes. "How come?"

"Nightmares." I waited for him to elaborate. Unwillingly, he did. "Mostly about my past. The shooting, the weeks in the hospital, all that time I spent in an alley somewhere."

Something unpleasant flickered through his mind, and he went green with the thought.

"Edward? Are you okay?" I asked worriedly. "We can talk about something else."

"Uh…" He scratched at his skin, as if he was trying to scrape away the memory from his very essence, and then ran his hands all over his body as he worked to compose himself. "Yeah, that'd be good. I don't think I can-"

"What do you want to do with your family when we go out? I mean, where do you want to go? I kind of limit the options since I'm underage."

His eyes shone with gratitude. "I hadn't thought about it. Whatever you want to do, I guess, is fine with me."

"I don't know what I want to do," I answered. "I don't know Forks that well still."

"We can have Rosalie pick the place then. Maybe go to Port Angeles?"

"Sure."

His eyes flashed over to the journal sitting on the edge of the bed, and I immediately cursed inwardly for not having put it away.

"You keep a diary?"

"Sort of," I hedged.

He just gave me a level, no-nonsense look.

"I didn't start it until after the transplant," I said on a sigh. "I had a lot of things to deal with."

"As do most people in your situation."

"No," I breathed. "Not like me."

"Bella…" He exhaled sharply through his nose, agitated again for some reason. "There's nothing wrong with you. You're alive because you're supposed to be. You can't think otherwise. If you weren't here… It's just like I said on that fucking cliff. I can't imagine you not around."

I stared at him, speechless from his passion.

"A lot of people feel that way. And some of them, including me, hardly know you. You don't give yourself enough credit." A bitter sound came out of him. "I guess we're a great fucking pair."

"It's just… Someone died, Edward," I said vaguely.

"Yeah, it's shitty. But that girl who donated her organs wanted to make sure someone could benefit from her death. It's not like you stole the heart from her, damn it," he replied tersely. "So enough with the guilt."

But she was stolen from you… her parents…

"I'm trying."

"I know. And you're doing a much better job than my fucked up ass could ever dream of doing. I barely function," he said dryly, "much less live."

I had no idea how to respond to that.

We sat there quietly for a while, neither of us wanting to talk. There was no discomfort, no sexually charged tension, though, like there usually was during the few times that we'd been alone together. It simply was.

Until I yawned.

"I should let you sleep," Edward said hurriedly, fidgeting nervously. "I shouldn't have done this. I'm such a fucking idiot."

I couldn't let him keep berating himself like he was. "Stay?"

"Wh- What?" Large eyes stared back at me in disbelief.

"Stay," I repeated, gathering all of my courage to elaborate. "I don't want you to go. Not yet."

"Okay. Right here, though. I'm just sitting here," he said firmly, glancing over at the bed like it was a shark getting ready to attack.

Again, he was adorable.

"Then I'll go brush my teeth. No trying to escape while I'm gone." I narrowed my eyes jokingly at him.

He rolled his.

I ran through my nightly routine, quickly brushing and flossing my teeth before I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I hadn't expected company so late. I had no make up on, my hair was in a ratty ponytail at the top of my head, and my pajamas… Well, I'd wished I'd have worn a better pair. But there was no use dwelling on it now. Edward had already seen me.

And hadn't really seemed to mind.

I rushed back to my room and peeked over at the rocking chair as I quietly shut the door behind me. He hadn't moved and inch, still sitting there like some stone statue in the corner of my room. I was afraid that if I blinked, he'd disappear.

All of a sudden, I got shy. Edward Cullen was in my room, and I didn't know how exactly to act or what to say… So I got into bed and pulled the covers over me without a word. I reached over and turned the light out, and then released a breath when I heard the rocking chair creak as he shifted his weight.

Footsteps sounded across the room, and then I could feel him standing next to me, gazing down at me in the dark.

I reached out for him, hoping like hell that he didn't run when I touched him. My hand found his and my fingers wound through his, squeezing back encouragingly.

"I think… I think I might want to lie down. Is… Is that okay?"

I didn't speak. I just pulled him down to me and reveled in the way his body felt next to mine. When he was settled on top of the covers, I curled up next to him and closed my eyes, listening to the way his breathing slowly evened out until I was sound asleep, feeling more peaceful than I had since…

Since I'd ever known what hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was.

Thank you to everyone who voted for Dear Maggie for TLS's Fic of the Week and put it in the top four. The review was amazing, and I'm honored to have something of mine featured with girls like PeppahLouie, Awesomesauce76, SheViking, and Cosmogirl7481 (whom we should all be reading, yes?).

www (dot) tehlemonadestand (dot) blogspot (dot) com

I'd give you the exact link, but it's really fkn long and no one wants to deal with the shit it takes to make it work. Srsly.