Charlie hated his ex-wife, but not in the normal 'you left me, I'm bitter' sort of way. He hated her deeply, hated her with the same passion that he used to love her with. Renee used to be beautiful to him, her smile used to light up his life, but when their daughter was born, something changed inside of her. Something darkened that amazing woman that he had married. The two of them fought daily, screamed over the littlest things, and when the divorce concluded, her new boyfriend hired only the best lawyer to take his baby away from him. She was 7 then, bright, full of life; she was the most precious thing he had ever had. When she came back at 15 she was similar to that girl, she was loving, compassionate, but she was guarded. He'd known she was sick, but he didn't want to treat her like she was dying, he wanted to treat her like his little girl, the little girl he'd lost all those years ago. She was in remission for a while and he'd convinced her to live, to love, and when she had met Edward, he thought they'd be okay. But life happens, shit happens, and it fell apart.
He smiled softly as he watched his baby girl sleep in the bed next to him. He had all but forced the Cullen family to go home and rest, but he couldn't take his own advice. He just wanted to be here, to see her, to make sure with his own two eyes that she'd be okay.
"You should get some sleep, Charlie" Sue Clearwater, Bella's nurse, brushed her hand down his arm, smiling at the two of them. "Her vitals are good, Dr. McCarty thinks she's in for a full recovery, you'll have plenty of time to be with her."
"I'm glad to hear that." He kept a hand on his sleeping daughter as Sue fiddled with the charts at the end of the bed. "I'll probably just stay here tonight though." He tore his gaze away from Bella and his eyes landed on Sue. She was a beautiful woman, tall and tanned to perfection. Her straight black hair fell down her back until it reached the middle of her back and he could swear it looked like pure silk. She was from the reservation where Jake and Billy lived, so he'd have known her for a while, but he just now realized how beautiful she truly was. "Is Edward still out in the waiting room?" He needed to clear his mind of the woman, get back to the real life he was living.
"He hasn't left." She wrote something on the chart in her hands and then set it aside. "I tried to tell him the same thing that I told you, but he wasn't hearing it. He wants to be here in case she needs him, as if we all couldn't handle it."
"The boy's dedicated, I'll give him that." Charlie smiled at the nurse again before turning back to his daughter. "She's lucky to have him."
Sue placed her hands on his shoulder, her body close enough to his that he could feel her warmth. "You could be lucky too, Charlie, if you'd give it a chance."
Down the hall Edward sat in the most uncomfortable chair the hospital had to offer. He was constantly wriggling his body to get in a decent position, but it just seemed impossible. His mind swarmed with everything he had learned during that day. Bella's mother, if he could even call her a mother, needed to pay for what she had done, but how far could it go? How much could he do before Bella found out that he was behind it? Charlie had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with the Dwyers, but Edward was having a hard time accepting that and he didn't even have the full story yet. Would he get more out of Bella or would he have to do some more digging? He sighed loudly, fidgeting with his phone, the woman's number programmed inside of it.
"Hey, Eddie." Emmett's booming voice seemed to echo in the small waiting room, vibrating the chair Edward was sitting in, and effectively pulling him from his thoughts. "I've got a question for you."
"Shoot." Edward was annoyed by the man, that's for sure, but he was thankful for the distraction.
"You know that blonde that's come in with your sister every now and then? The one with those mile long legs." He closed his eyes, as if picturing the woman. "The one that always seems to have a sour look on her face. Well, I was wondering, you know, if you could set something up."
Edward grinned, straightening up. "You mean Rosalie?"
Emmett blushed a shade of red that Edward has never seen before, especially on a man of his own age. "Yeah, her. I asked Bella about her a while back, but all she did was laugh at me."
Edward could tell the big guy was nervous, so he chose to let any wise cracks he had slide. "Yeah Rose and Bella aren't the best of friends, or really friends at all, but I'll see what I can do. But I'll warn you; she's a tough one. Not one you want to mess with."
Emmett's smile grew wider, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Perfect. Just my type."