A/N: Thank you to everyone who has been leaving me reviews and/or putting me on alert. The response has been overwhelming, and I wish that I could respond to each of you, but I figure you'd prefer for me to write the next chapter! To answer a question that has been quite common, yes, many people with Medicaid are treated how Bella and Matt have been treated. I work in the healthcare field, and have witnessed this first hand. I think it's a horrible thing, as patients, to me, are people, not just what their insurance is. But it does happen. I'm also humbled by the reviews who tell me that they have dealt with the same situation that Bella and Matt find themselves in, whether it's fighting diabetes or dealing with the Medicaid system. This is a very real situation, and I hope that I am able to draw some attention to both. I send all of you cyber hugs of support! I know it's not easy.

The other question is about Bella's attitude toward handouts. Bella is a very proud person who never saw herself in this type of situation, and just as it's hard for her to show her emotions, it's also difficult to accept help. Many people in these types of situations find it difficult to accept that they are not able to provide for themselves and their children. I was a young mother, and I can relate to this Bella. It's more of an embarrassment issue than pride. She's coming around though!

Now, as always, I cannot thank my wonderful pre-reader and ficwife, EternallyCullen, and my fantastic beta, Jenny Cullen, aka Jenrar, for all of their help. This story wouldn't be what it is without their help.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the characters (even though I would love to have my own Edward!), I just own Matthew.

He nodded. "Yeah, but this time, my intensions are clear. Go out with me, Bella? Please?"

She didn't know what to say. If she was honest with herself, deep down, she knew she wanted to. But life had taught her to be realistic and practical. And she had Matt to think about. Matt was already getting too attached to Edward, and she was fearful of the hurt he would suffer when things didn't work out. Am I willing to put him through that for just a bit of fun?

It's not about me; it's about Matt.

But who says you don't deserve to have a bit of something for yourself?

I do! He's been through enough in his short life. I don't think I can put him through that.

But Edward's different than James.

But he's still a man. And you know your luck with men.

Yeah, I'm zero for one. But what if this is "the one?"

What if he's not? Be practical, Bella!

The hospital rising up in front of her pulled her from her thoughts.

Edward pulled into the parking lot of Seattle Children Hospital, and Bella practically flung herself from the Volvo before he had put it in park.

"We're here," she stated obviously. "Where do we go to find Matt?"

Edward smiled to himself as he turned the engine off. He got out at a much safer speed and turned to her in the parking lot, setting the alarm on the car. "You're changing the subject."

She looked up into his bright, green eyes, and she almost faltered. Practical, practical, practical. "Okay. Now, where do we go?" she asked, trying to seem as if she'd agreed just so he would help her.

You are such a liar! You know you agreed because you wanted to!

He grinned at her. "Thank you."

She was heading across the parking lot. "For what?"

He caught up with her easily. "For agreeing to go out with me."

Why is he thanking me? I'm the one that should be grateful for everything he's done… "Yeah," she said distractedly. "Where do we go?" she asked exasperatedly. Her nerves had handled almost everything they could.

He reached down and linked his fingers with her, causing that pleasurable tingling to go up her arm again.

"Do you feel that?" she blurted out, suddenly embarrassed. Her lack of sleep was starting to get to her.

He squeezed her fingers, leading her toward the entrance. "Yeah. Weird, huh?" he asked, but did not let go of her hand.

"Yeah," she replied, looking up at his face, but he continued to look straight ahead.

She found herself admiring his profile, with the strong jaw and straight nose. She knew that others found him very handsome, and when she admitted it to herself, she found him breathtakingly beautiful. It was almost painful to look at him, at times.

They walked through the sliding doors, and Edward walked confidently up to the receptionist. "Hello. We're here for Matthew Swan. He was transferred by ambulance from Forks Community Hospital."

She tapped some keys. "He's been admitted to room 4518. Just take those elevators to the fourth floor, and make a right. He'll be in that unit."

"Thank you," Edward said smoothly, leading Bella toward the elevators.

She was silent on the ride up.

"I'm sorry; did I overstep my bounds?" he asked her, worried that his tendency to take control over a situation had isolated her once again.

She shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. "N-no. Thank you."

"You're about to drop. Bella, when was the last time you slept?"

She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision. "Um… I-I guess the other night, before the school sent him to the hospital."

Edward looked at her worriedly. "Bella, that was over forty-eight hours ago. You need to sleep."

She shook her head. "N-no. I'm fine. I have to make sure Matt's okay." She swallowed the lump in her throat. She was dead on her feet, but she could not rest until she laid eyes on her son and verified to herself that he was all right.

He led her to the right when they arrived at the fourth floor and through the double doors of the Endocrinology unit. He walked straight up to the nurses' station and quickly got the attention of the unit clerk.

"How may I help you?" she asked breathlessly.

"We're here for Matthew Swan. He was just transferred from Forks Community Hospital."

"Are you his parents?"

He nodded to Bella. "Yes, she's his mother."

She smiled at Bella. "He's in room 4518; it's just around that corner. The nurse is in with him now."

Bella attempted to return her smile. "Thank you."

Edward pulled her around the corner, easily finding the room. He entered the door, and they both spotted Matthew on the bed, the nurse adjusting the IV fluids hanging from the hook.

"Mom! Edward!" he greeted.

Bella let go of Edward's hand and rushed over to the bed, hugging him gently. "Hey, munchkin. How are you feeling?"

"Better," he replied, his brown eyes unusually bright. He already looked worlds better – to her, at least.

"Hi, you must be his mom," the nurse said, smiling at her. "I'm Erica, and I'll be taking care of him tonight."

"Does Dr. Taplin know he's arrived?" Edward asked.

She nodded. "Yes, I just paged him. He's called a couple of times already to see if he had arrived," she said. "You're a VIP," she told Matt with a smile.

"What's that?" Matt asked.

She grinned at him again and collected her paperwork. "It means you're a very important patient."

Bella swiped at her eyes again. They were very swollen and tender at that point. "Thank you," she whispered.

Erica nodded at her. "There are washcloths in the bathroom. A cold one might make your eyes feel better," she said helpfully, before walking out of the room.

Bella looked at Edward, confused. She'd never been treated so well at a hospital.

Suddenly, her cell phone rang, making her jump. "Hello?"

"Bells, what's going on?" Charlie asked on the other end.

"Hey, Dad. We just got to the hospital in Seattle."

"How's everything going?"

She swallowed. "Good. They've been really nice here. And the doctor should be here pretty soon."

"Well, Jake's been calling, asking about you."

She smiled slightly. "I'll call him."

"'Kay. Just call me if you need anything. I'll be up there as soon as I get off work."

"Dad, no. Don't make that long drive tonight. Really, we're fine."

"Bells—"

"No, Dad. Go home, and put your feet up. We'll be fine."

"That boy's with you, isn't he?" he asked astutely.

"Um, yeah."

He chuckled. "Okay. I know when I'm not needed around. But call me when you find something out."

"I will. And I'll call Jake."

"All right. Bye, Bells. Tell Matt I said hello… and that I love him. And you," he said awkwardly.

She could almost see Charlie fidgeting in his chair. "Sure thing, and love you, too, Dad." She quickly disconnected the call before they got too mushy.

"Edward!" a male voice said from the doorway. "It's so good to see you again. How's med school treating you?"

Edward smiled and shook the man's hand. "Good. It's good to see you, too. Dr. Taplin, this is Bella Swan, and this"—he gestured to the bed—"is Matthew."

Dr. Taplin reached out and shook her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Swan. And Matt! How's it going, buddy?" He sat on the side of the bed.

"Okay," he replied.

Dr. Taplin flipped through the chart. "Well, from what I can find from his records that the hospital sent over, he has had a lot of trouble controlling his sugars."

Bella nodded. "Yes. We count carbs, and he eats no sugar, but it still fluctuates so much. It's all over the place."

"Well, let's see what we can do about that," he said with a smile. "We're going to do a lot of tests and some labs to see what we can do. How much insulin is he on?"

Bella recounted his medication regimen, including his sliding scale.

He smiled at her. "I can see you've been dealing with this for a while. But apparently, that's not working, so let's do some changing around with his insulin and see what we get, shall we?"

She sank down onto the other side of the bed, relief making her legs weak. "T-thank you. So much."

"We're going to do everything we can to take care of Matt, Ms. Swan. Try not to worry. And if you have any questions, please, don't hesitate to ask."

She nodded, scrubbing at her eyes again. That cold washcloth was sounding pretty good right now.

xXx

Bella settled down into the chair in Matt's room, trying to get comfortable. The lights had been dimmed, and Edward had left a few minutes ago to stay at Rosalie's apartment with Emmett, as only one adult was allowed to stay overnight. Before she let sleep overtake her, however, she called Jake's number to fill him in.

"Bells? That you?" he asked, obviously seeing her name on the caller ID.

"Yeah, hey, Jake."

He sighed in relief. "What's going on? Charlie just said that you had to take Matt to Seattle to the hospital. I've been worried sick."

She yawned widely. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"'S okay. How's Matt?"

"He's doing better. His blood sugars have been staying around one fifty, so they're so much better than they were. This new doctor is really nice, too. We both really like him."

Jake hesitated. "You need me to come down and stay with you?" he offered.

Bella sighed. She appreciated Jake's offer, but he had more than once made his feelings for her known, and so she had not been as forthcoming with her affection. She knew that Leah Clearwater had a thing for him, and she had been trying to steer him in that direction. "No, I'm fine. How are things with Leah?" she prompted.

"Bells, you don't need to be there alone."

I'm not… "Really, Jake. That's a long drive, and they'll probably let us go home in a few days. There's no point. So, have you seen Leah?"

She heard him sigh on the other end of the line. "Bella…"

"Jake, seriously. You know she likes you."

He laughed sharply. "Are you giving me relationship advice?"

"Oh, shut up."

"I'd rather be there with you, Bells," he said softly.

She was going to have to break the news to him; between Jake and Mike, she should be a pro at turning men down. She still was unsure why she was gaining their attention in the first place. "Jake, look, you know I love you; you're my best friend. But that's all we'll ever be – friends."

He sighed. "Bella, you need someone to help you – to take care of you. And Matt needs a father. You know I'd be there to do it all."

Bella's inner bitch came out; she was too tired to reign her in. She could take care of herself, by hell. "Jake, I don't need you to take care of me; I'm not a child."

"Shit, Bells. You know what I meant."

"Look, I haven't slept for two days. We'll talk about this later; I just wanted you to know we're doing fine. Edward's here, and he's helping us out."

Suddenly, she realized her slip.

"Who's Edward?" he asked suspiciously.

She sighed. She really was sleepy; Matthew was sleeping soundly in the bed. "He's a medical student who's been helping me get Matt into a specialist." It wasn't necessarily a lie.

"Oh. Well, call me if you need anything," he said, his voice dull.

She nodded. "Yeah, I will. Thanks, Jake."

She hung up the phone and finally rested her head on the pull out chair. The room was dark and quiet, with the exception of the IV machine quietly whirring and Matt's steady breathing. She was so drowsy, yet sleep did not seem to come easily. She could not get Jake's conversation out of her mind.

She had known Jake since she had been a child and had spent part of her summers in Forks. When she had begun to fill out in her early teenage years, she had known that Jake wanted more, but she had always seen him as a brother – and nothing more. However, she had often wondered how her life would have turned out differently if she had decided to date Jacob. She knew that she would never have dated James, and therefore, would not have Matthew in her life.

Her life was hard, there was no way around that. But she could not imagine her universe without Matt in it. She remembered back to when she had discovered she was pregnant – and the fear she had felt. But at the time, she had never imagined that James would run out on her. She had instead held to a fantasy future where they would be married and happy.

That had taught her not to dream, and that dreams never came true.

He had immediately abandoned her. She hadn't heard from him since, but she had always secretly wished that he had at least wanted to be part of his son's life. She wondered where he was and what he was currently doing.

She then found her mind wandering to Edward Cullen. He was interested in her as more than a school assignment, that was now obvious. Angela had been right. But was she willing to take a chance with this medical student? He already held some sort of power over her that scared her – and thrilled her at the same time. She had never felt this way before, even when she had been dating James.

James had shown an interest in her, and she had latched onto that with her entire being. She later realized that he had only been excited about getting her in the sack for his own pleasure. He had never been truly attracted to her.

But Edward acted as if he were completely enthralled by her. He wanted to spend time with her. At first, it had been under the guise of their project, but then he had asked her out – alone. And now, he had done it again, by being as open and honest as he could be.

As her eyes slid closed and she finally drifted into a restless sleep, her last thought was if Edward Cullen would truly fit in her life. And if he would stay.