So, a lot of you thought I was evil for the cliffy in the last chapter... I am sorry, but it had to be done. Hopefully, I will be forgiven after this chapter.

Thank you to kyla713 for looking it over, as well as my girls for pre-reading for me.

I'll just shut up now. I know you all want answers.

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Complications. That was the only thought in my head as I pulled open the doors to the main entrance of the hospital and made my way to the elevators.

It was supposed to be a simple procedure. Nothing should have gone wrong, and as a doctor, my mind was going through all the possible scenarios of what could have happened, which was only scaring me even more. I was okay with dealing with patients and possible problems, but this was too close to home. So much was on the line.

Maybe they nicked something? The picc line didn't take?

Once I reached Bella's hospital room, I noticed Bella was in bed. She looked like she was asleep, with Charlie sitting by her bedside and holding her hand. My father stopped me from going any further into the room. He placed his hand on my chest and shook his head as he pushed me back out into the hall. When all I wanted to do was move him out of my way and go to Bella.

"Dad... what?" I only had one goal, and he was obstructing me. "I need to see her." I told him as I ran an anxious hand through my hair.

"Son, I didn't mean to make you freak out. It's nothing too bad. Honest. I probably shouldn't have used the word complications..."

I interrupted him "Just tell me what the hell happened then! Please?"

My dad sighed. "Okay, then, why don't we go sit down in the waiting room and talk?"

My heart was still trying to beat its way out of my chest as we made our way to the waiting room. Luckily, the floor's waiting room was devoid of any other people, so we could talk in private.

"According to your colleague, Dr. McCarty, they had a difficult time inserting the port, and at one point, feared they had a bleed and possibly nicked something as they were threading the line through." My dad told me, his eyes searching for something as he nodded his head and continued. "They did finally get it successfully inserted, but she will be in more pain due to the soreness brought on by the extra prodding she endured while they tried to get it situated. She will most likely have a lot of bruising and discomfort."

I had a feeling that there was more to it. My knee bounced with nervousness. "I knew I shouldn't have left."

Dad grabbed my hand. "Stop that right now! There was no way you could have known. As a doctor yourself, this should be common knowledge."

I nodded, knowing my dad had a very valid point.

"Now, the reason for all the calls and freak outs from us is due to Bella's reaction after the procedure. We honestly didn't know what to do. Not even Charlie could calm her down once she started to wake up from the meds."

"What? What do you mean reaction?" I asked—the urge to run back to Bella's room was strong.

"Calm down, son. She's okay, I promise. We think it was the coming down from the anesthesia and all of the emotions that caused Bella to have a mini episode. Which, given all that she has already been through, is kind of a given."

I sighed and tugged at the back of my neck as I looked up at the ceiling. "I should have been here. I fell asleep. I didn't mean to," I told him, my guilt overwhelming me.

"You needed that sleep, Edward. You have nothing to feel guilty over. Sometimes, things are unavoidable. You can't sit around and wait for things to happen so that you'll be there in time to stop them. That is impossible," he said, his eyes a bit watery. "Anyway, when she woke up from the meds, she freaked out, pulled out one of her IV's and sent herself into a panic attack. It's possible the meds made her anxiety spike, causing her to forget for a few brief moments where she was."

Oh god, my sweet girl. Why did you make me leave you? "She's okay now, right?" I asked, my voice wavering with emotion.

Dad nodded. "As far as we can tell. Though, I suspect with the port causing trouble, they may want to push the first dose of chemo back and watch for possible infection."

Somehow, I had a feeling that news would not make Bella happy. I knew that she wanted to get on top of everything as fast as she could. She wasn't the most patient person in the world. I still laughed about the fact she used to send me texts, saying that she wanted to post, screw real life and waiting on the beta. She just wanted her words out there, instead of sitting on her laptop, waiting to be read. I felt pretty sure that she would have viewed that situation the same way. She didn't want to sit around being sick; she'd rather be better.

I smiled at my dad and stood up. "Can I go see her now?" I found that when it came to Bella, I possessed the same amount of impatience as Bella did with her posting schedule.

"Yeah, son. Keep in mind, she may still be a bit disorientated."

The door was closed when we walked back to her room. Charlie was standing outside her door, hands in his pockets, staring at the floor. When he heard us approach, he looked up at us. "The nurse is in with her now. I think she's checking and changing Bella's bandages and helping her off to the bathroom." Charlie rubbed the back of his neck. "She's been waiting for you, Edward."

I looked at Charlie and the guilt rose up in me again. "I'm sorry, Charlie...I—"

"Son, don't even finish that sentence. There is absolutely nothing to feel sorry for. She was the one who insisted that you go. And trust me when I tell you that she's not mad. If anything, she's glad you got some time away to yourself."

I nodded, not at all sure what else I could say.

Charlie sighed and turned toward the window that gave a view of the street below. "I, um, hate the idea of going home. I know she's in good hands with you guys, but with everything that's happened the past few days and her starting chemo soon has me…"Charlie shook his head, emotion obviously holding him back. "I'm scared. I'm her dad. I'm supposed to be her protector, and yet, I can't protect her from this."

My dad stepped up to Charlie and patted him on the back. "You are doing the best you can as a father. Life and all of the unpredictable moments are out of our hands as parents. We can only save them from so much, prevent so much. I had a somewhat similar conversation with Edward. This is life, and sadly, it's a game we have no control of."

Charlie wiped at his face as he cleared his throat. "That is what tears at me, Carlisle. With all of the throws and twists and turns that life puts us through, God could at least make cancer not a thing. We fight death enough every day just to live a few seconds, minutes, years longer."

Our moment was interrupted when the nurse came out, followed by mom, who looked exhausted. We said our thanks to the nurse as she went about her shift and on to the next patient. My mom came up to me and hugged me, holding me just a bit tighter.

"The nurse says the dressings are looking good, no redness on her abdomen. So are the staples and they should be on track to come out soon. Her port is causing the nurse some worries, though, which is stressing me out. The skin around it is very red and inflamed, so we will have to keep a close eye on it. Bella still hasn't had any fluid of any kind," she told us, sighing.

"You guys go on in and see my girl. I think I'll just hang out here and call the station, see how much more time off I can secure," Charlie told us as he grabbed his cell phone and began walking down the hall.

I went to step into Bella's room when my mom tugged at my arm. "I think your father and I will head down to the cafeteria, you go on and spend time with our girl."

"Hey," I heard a raspy voice call out to me and I looked up to find Bella's head turned towards me, a smile adorned her face. I walked up to her and kissed her softly as I ran my hand down her hair before pulling back and smiling.

"Hey yourself, pretty girl." I pulled up the chair closer to her bed and sat down. "Thank you for that email. I didn't realize just how much I did needed those words."

Her eyes looked glassy from what I guessed was the pain medicine and a few tears. I wanted to cradle her in my arms and hold her, but all of the tubes from the IV's they had her hooked up to prevented that.

"I know you love my words and it has been so long since I shared any with you. Sometimes, I have so much that I want to say up here," she said, pointed to her temple. "That it just needs to break free. Often times, though, I hide a lot of what I want to say, should say."

"Well, nonetheless, I'm glad you shared them. I need your words, thoughts, everything, more than breathing," I told her, and she giggled, which made me smile even more. Grabbing her free hand, I kissed her knuckles before intertwining our fingers. "I'm sure you're sick of people asking, but how are you feeling?"

She sighed and sent a mock glare my way before indulging me. "I feel...okay. Though, my chest and right arm is a new source of pain today. I can't even lift that arm, so it is probably a good thing that the IV is in that one," she said and huffed out a little laugh. "The staples, though… I hate looking at them, Edward. Makes me feel like I'm Frankenstein, or something."

I shook my head and frowned as I gently placed my hand on her stomach. "You are so far from that, Bella. You are so beautiful, I can't properly put it into words. And so strong. So amazingly strong. These staples will be gone, and after some time, the pain and scar will fade. I will make sure to kiss it every day, if that helps. But God, don't sell yourself short. You are doing so well, way better than I probably would if I was dealing with this. So please, don't worry about those small staples, okay? I know it's easier said than done, sweet girl, but just let me take on all those small worries of yours. Deal?"

Bella nodded and leaned in to kiss me. "Thank you."

"You are more than welcome." I kissed her again, before leaning my forehead against hers. "I am so sorry, Bella. I should have been here. I...I fell asleep and… God, I can't...I'm just so sorry."

I felt her fingers on the back of my neck and move up into my hair. "I'm sure I'm not the first, nor will I be the last to tell you this, but shut up, Edward," she said, shaking her head. "I love you and I love that you want to protect me, but you can't just not take care of yourself. You matter, too."

I let out a shuddering breath as I nodded and clenched my eyes shut. "It hurts me...I feel something deep inside my chest when anything bad happens to you. I know that I can't stop whatever fate has in store for us or you, but I want to. I know it is impossible, but I still want to so much. There are times where I just want to gather you up in my arms and shield you from all pain and hurt. The fact that I can't do that... it hurts, Bella. I can't imagine a world where you don't exist."

I felt her lips kissing me all over my face as I continued. "You said I was your knight, your reason for fighting, but Bella, you are my hero, my reason for everything. And it scares me that there are so many unknowns, so many variables thrown in this game of life...when all I want to do is have a map, a direction and know where to go and that we will get our happy ending."

Her fingers went under my chin and nudged me up so that I would look at her. "Edward, honey, open your eyes, please." She was looking at me with nothing but pure love and a smile. "I admire and love that you want to save me from everything, but you need to stop thinking and worrying about the what if's. Someone needs to not think of them... I worry enough over them for the both of us. Okay?"

I nodded and laid my head down so she could run her fingers through it, allowing it to calm me. "Why don't we both promise to try and focus on the things we can control rather than what's completely out of our hands?"

"So, I was thinking..." She began, and I turned my head so I could face her as she continued to run her fingers across my scalp. "Your mom was mentioning to me that they have a lake cabin, and I was wondering if maybe we could make plans to go up there for a few days?"

"Yeah, we could do that. We have to do some planning, but I'll get working on it."

She smiled down at me, looking a bit more happier. "I just want a break from everything and to just... be with you, ya know."

"Yeah, sweetheart. I'll get talking to mom and dad about it. In the meantime, can you please drink something for me?"

I got up and poured her a glass of water, handing it off to her. She brought her left hand up, which caused the right side of her hospital gown to move down, barely covering her chest. The skin around her port was definitely red and inflamed. Without even thinking, I bent my head down, gently prodding my fingers around the insertion site, being careful not to hurt her. "This may push back your first chemo treatment. I'll have to keep an eye out for infection," I told her and gently kissed her skin above where her port was, causing her breath to hitch.

"I know…and that…well, that sucks. But we'll get through it."

As I stood back up again and looked at her, I realized the truth in that statement. That, yeah, we would, no matter the obstacles ahead.

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Am I forgiven now, guys? * pouts *

As always, thank you to all of you who review and read this little story of mine. I read each and everyone.